In a unique experiment, historian Ruth Goodman, Professor of Pharmacy Nick Barber and PhD student Tom Quick are recreating an authentic 19th century pharmacy. The team discover the world of the pharmacy at the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837 - a world where traditional remedies such as leeches, Oil of Earthworm and potions laced with cannabis and opium were popular and regularly used. Ruth gathers herbs and plants to make a traditional cough medicine for a customer to try while other volunteers try some safe cures from Victorian times – will any of them work or was it all just quackery?
The eight part series begins on Thursday 10 February at 10pm on BBC Two.