19/07/2023
East London's "knocker-uppers" paid to shoot peas at windows to wake up over sleepers so they didn't lose their jobs.
Mary Smith, a famous knocker-upper in London's East End, shot dried peas out of a pea shooter instead of a pole. She charged a sixpence a week for her pea-shooting service.
Some knocker-uppers simply banged on doors to wake up their customers, but they found that by doing this they were also waking up their customer's neighbours for free.
Mary Smith's pea shooting method solved this problem, as they tap of peas on the window was loud enough to wake up the clients without disturbing anyone else on the street.
She became one of the most beloved characters in the East End in the 1930s, with her nearest competition being a knocker-upper three miles away who used a fishing rod to tap on the windows.
She was so loved, that she had her own children's book written and named after her.
