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The Secret History of Our Streets

Documentaries

Factual: History

Series exploring the history of archetypal streets in Britain.

Series exploring the history of archetypal streets in Britain, which reveal the story of a nation.

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The Secret History of Our Streets: Series 1

Steven Mackintosh

Joseph Bullman

Katie Bailiff

The Secret History of Our Streets: Series 1: Episode 1: Deptford High Street

Deptford High Street

Episode 1

Episode 1: Deptford High Street

Series 1

BBC Two - The Secret History of Our Streets, Series 1, Deptford High Street

Looking at Deptford High Street, once seen as 'the Oxford Street of south London'.

How London has changed since Charles Booth's survey recorded social conditions in 1886. Deptford High Street was once 'the Oxford Street of south London'.

In 1886 Charles Booth embarked on an ambitious plan to visit every one of London's streets to record the social conditions of residents. His project took him 17 years.  

Once he had finished he had constructed a groundbreaking series of maps which recorded the social class and standing of inhabitants. These maps transformed the way Victorians felt about their capital city. 

This series takes six archetypal London streets as they are now, discovering how they have fared since Booth's day.

Booth colour-coded each street, from yellow for the 'servant keeping classes', down to black for the 'vicious and semi-criminal'. With the aid of maps the series explores why certain streets have been transformed from desperate slums to become some of the most desirable and valuable property in the UK, whilst others have barely changed. 

This landmark series features residents past and present, exploring how what happened on the street in the last 125 years continues to shape the lives of those who live there now.

In Booth's time, Deptford High Street was 'the Oxford Street of south London'. Today, marooned amid 1970s housing blocks, it is one of the poorest shopping streets in London.
 
Featuring compelling accounts from residents, including one family which has been trading on the high street for 250 years, the film tells the story of transformation and endurance as the people themselves tell the history of their own past and the street they lived in. Through these deeply personal accounts of huge extended families living together in a single street, the bigger story of slum clearance and the unravelling of the old ways of life emerge - a change which shaped the lives of tens of millions of British families all over the country.

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Series looking at how London has changed since Charles Booth's survey in 1886.

Series looking at how London has changed since Charles Booth's survey recording social conditions in 1886, returning to six archetypal London streets.

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The Secret History of Our Streets

Series 1

Episode 1: Deptford High Street

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