The Mill, Series 2

It’s 1838. Just four years have passed since the end of the first series but now the effects of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 are beginning to take effect. The first of the impoverished economic migrants from the South of England start to arrive at Quarry Bank Mill. The appearance of John (Mark Frost) and Rebecca (Laura Main) Howlett with their children Jack (Joshua Isherwood) and Timothy (Ewan Philips), and the Whittakers – Will (Mark Strepan) with his grandfather Abe (Dave Hill) – causes unease in Styal village as the mill workers fear the arrival of these desperately poor families will drive down everyone’s wages. The impact of the new law hits home for feisty apprentice Esther Price (Kerrie Hayes) when she discovers the filthy beggar in the mill yard is, in fact, her own sister, Martha (Vicky Binns).