The Things You Learn on Antiques Roadshow

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We often watch Antiques Roadshow. The one we watch is set in Britain and is all repeats. A piece of chain was displayed which had been forged by a woman in a backyard forge. In the early 1900s, heavy and medium chains were made in factories but lighter chains were made by women and children. Hundreds of women, mostly from an area in the West Midlands, sweated in cramped dark backyard forges producing each link by hand and with the most basic of tools. They were paid a pittance and really had little choice but to accept the few pence that was offered. In 1910, led by union organised and campaigner, Mary Macarthur, the women went on strike. Their plight became known outside of their own area and after ten long weeks, their pay was roughly doubled. Their victory helped cement the idea of a minimum wage in the UK. The only slightly-appropriate photo I could find shows a wax model of a blacksmith in Westonia Museum, Western Australia.