Mud Men

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[edit] General Information

History Documentary hosted by Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker, published by History Channel in 2011 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Mud Men with Johnny Vaughan This guerrilla archaeology series, starring Johnny Vaughan with his guide Mud God Mudlarker Steve Brooker, reveals the astonishing mud-covered, hidden history of London. Vaughan and Brooker are on an adventure, digging up the banks of the Thames to reveal a unique and original perspective on London s rich history. Armed with metal detectors and shovels the pair have just five hours before the tide rushes in to wade, search and dig the banks of the River Thames finding artefacts, from jewelled daggers to slave manacles, medieval tiles to cursed Bellarmine pots, which lead them on a quest

[edit] Guns

Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker hit gold on day one, as they mudlark on the holy grail of Thames foreshores at the Tower of London. While Steve investigates the military origins of a mysterious golden trumpet, Johnny re-unites a 250 year old musket ball with the Brown Bess gun that fired it. Together the boys go ballistic as they head to the firing range and try out the guns that have shaped 200 years of British Military history.

[edit] Tough Trades

Our Mud Men, Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker, take a journey into London’s historical trades via the Thames at Wapping. Steve’s on a quest to find out about London’s historic alternative coinage and return an ancient trading token to its original home while Johnny gets to grips with the murky world of tobacco. Together they try out some very smelly 17th century trades and get a bit more than they bargained for with a gutsy sheep as they learn how to make condoms, 17th century style.

[edit] Tudor Beer and Witchcraft

Digging on the foreshore at Greenwich leads Mud Men Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker back to the time of Henry VIII. Johnny gets his hands on some massive jugs and finds out about how the Tudors used beer bottles to ward off evil witches and Steve discovers the secret of how the Tudors drank beer morning noon and night yet somehow stayed sober. Together they embark on an investigation into the witch hunts that led thousands to their death and Steve gets a dunking as the finger of suspicion falls on the Mud God.

[edit] Georgian Gentlemen

The Thames foreshore at Limehouse reveals a rich collection of Georgian finds and leads Mud Men, Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker, on a dandy adventure. Steve goes tops of the fops with a gorgeous Georgian makeover and Johnny uncovers the seedy world of 18th century London prostitutes. But things get personal as the finds lead the boys to investigate the 18th century gentleman’s obsession with duelling.

[edit] Prisons

Today’s penal finds on the Millbank foreshore, site of London’s largest Victorian prison, result in Mud Men Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker looking at life inside. Johnny gets banged up in the secret remains of London’s oldest surviving prison while Steve experiences solitary confinement as he explores the Victorian idea of rehabilitation. And it’s a painful experience for Steve at the hands of enthusiastic rooky interrogator, Johnny, as they get to grips with rough justice in the form of torture.

[edit] WWII

The foreshore at Silvertown is the location for the Mud Men’s dig today. Infamous as the site of the largest explosion on mainland Britain in 1917 when the munitions factory blew up, the remnants of two world wars litter the banks of the river. Johnny Vaughan liberates an anti aircraft shell case from the mud which leads our intrepid Mud Men on a journey back in time to World War Two. Johnny discovers what it was like on the front line of London’s top secret defences, whilst Steve Brooker experiences the Blitz through the eyes of a survivor. And the Mud Men join the crew of HMS St Albans on an intensive experience of life as a raw recruit in the Royal Navy.

[edit] Thames Shipping

Rotherhithe, the home of shipbuilding on the Thames for hundreds of years, is the venue for the Mud Men’s mudlarking today. Steve Brooker delves into the rich history of shipbuilding and trade on the Thames and discovers the sad demise of the industry today. Johnny Vaughan and Steve then venture deep under the Thames to get some Victorian pleasure and reveal the secret origins of the London Underground. And there’s mutiny in the ranks as the boys get to grips with a 19th century steam ship.

[edit] Medicine

The Mud Men, Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker are mudlarking on the historic north Thames foreshore at Cannon Street. Their finds have a distinctly medicinal theme and lead them to discover the gruesome evolution of surgery and medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries. Steve gets to grips with some painful medical equipment while Johnny is in a graveyard to discover the ghoulish practice of bodysnatching. Their quest takes them deep into the very smelly bowels of the city’s sewers before Steve draws the short straw as the Mud Men investigate the Victorian obsession with death.