Vol 1. Chapter 4 - The Green Stuff

What education Alice (Skinny Granny) had, came to an end when she reached 13 and she was forced into the adult world of employment. She became a watercress seller, or the “Green Stuff” as it was commonly known.

Although largely out of favour now and considered just a garnish, back then this tasty and nutritious snack was a central part of the Victorian Diet. Watercress was the original fast-food, especially amongst the working classes.  Victorians loved the tangy, spicy flavour of watercress. It was cheap and readily available and able to be eaten “on-the-go”. Today we would buy a packet of crisps, an ice cream of a skinny latte. Back then, it was a “Crease of Cress.”

Watercress sellers were considered the lowest type of street vendors or “Hawkers”. Because of the pay and conditions, it was the sort of job that you would only do, if you were threatened with the workhouse.  And young Alice and her mother had already spent two spells in the Workhouse.

Other hawkers looked down on the watercress sellers as an inferior class.  Watercress sellers were usually children, who had been sent out to work by their parents

It is reported that as many as 500 Watercress sellers would converge on Farringdon Market to buy watercress, arriving there at 4am when the Watercress wholesalers opened for business. Each day, Alice would walk the 3 miles from her home in Artillery Row to be at Farringdomn Market by 4am: a 13 year old girl walking alone through the dark streets of the Capital. The only other people around at that time were the lamplighters and prostitutes.

Having bought her watercress in bulk, she would then have to separate the springs and tie them into small bunches or “creases” as they were called. The steps of St. Stevens Church opposite the market was a popular place to do this.

Watercress sellers could been seen all over London, even in the coldest winters, tramping about without shoes or socks on. They would trundle about London during the day selling to workmen. The cress was usually carried in a wicker basked on the arm, or in a tin tray slung around the neck. These baskets or tin trays were described as "tattered and worn...; Sometimes the holes...have been laced up or darned together with rope and string, or twigs and split lathes have been fastened across; whilst others are lined with oilcloth, or old pieces of sheet-tin."

After a while, the watercress would become dry and limp. So, they would go off to the water pumps at Hatton Garden to refresh the cress and then spend the evening hawking around the more respectable areas of the Capital.

A Watercress seller would rarely get home before 10pm. And then it was up gain the next day to get to market by 4am. It was a hard life by anyone’s standards, working 18 hours a day. The money would be barely enough to buy a bottle of milk.

Alice continued her life of poverty. Then disaster struck: her mother, Eliza, died. Alone on the world, Alice was rescued by Guinness.

Coming soon........Chapter 5 - Guinness is good for you.