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In 1840, one man transformed
travel in the British Isles.

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His name was George Bradshaw

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and his railway guides inspired the
Victorians to take to the tracks.

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Stop by stop he told them
where to travel,

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what to see and where to stay.

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Now, 170 years later,
I'm making a series of journeys

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across the length and breadth
of these isles

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to see what of Bradshaw's Britain
remains.

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The advent of the railways
in the 19th century

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connected the interior
of the British Isles to
6,000 miles of coastline,

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carrying sailors to military ports
and fish to British cities.

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Using my Bradshaw's Guide,

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I'm embarked on a new journey
from sea to sea.

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From the centuries old naval hub
at Portsmouth

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through the port of London,

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to what was once the largest fishing
port in the world - Grimsby.

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'On today's journey,
I'll be feeding the crew

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'of Britain's newest warship...'

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Lovely gooey beans.

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Tomato? Yes, please.
Slippery little fellows.

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Have a great commissioning day.

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'..Discovering how the Victorians
planned to repel

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'a possible French invasion...'

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Fire!

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'..And learning that there's
well established industry

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'where one might least
expect to find it.'

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BELL CLANGS

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Not a bad turn of speed
considering she's 98 years old.

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Using my Bradshaw's Guide,

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I'll begin on the Hampshire
coast in Portsmouth,

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travel up through Surrey,
on to London

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and push north east
to Cambridgeshire,

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alighting finally in Grimsby
on the Lincolnshire coast.

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The first leg of my journey
starts in Portsmouth,

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takes me north to Godalming
in Surrey,

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on to Guildford and finally
to the village of Gomshall.

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My first stop, Portsmouth, is still
a major dockyard and military base.

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In Victorian times, the Royal Navy
defended the realm

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and its empire, so no wonder that
Bradshaw's is patriotic in tone.

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"Portsmouth is the principle
rendezvous of the British Navy.

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"The power of the English Navy
consists in the vast

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"collection of materials,
the number of ships, the skill

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"and experience of the officers
and the excellence of the seamen".

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In those days, Britannia
really did rule the waves,

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and the arrival of the railways
in Portsmouth

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enabled it to increase
its military efficiency.

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When trains first arrived here
in 1847,

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they terminated
at Portsmouth Town Station.

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Because the docks were
so heavily fortified,

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rail wasn't allowed direct
access to the quayside.

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It wasn't until 1876

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that my first stop,
Portsmouth Harbour Station, opened.

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Portsmouth Harbour Station
is exceptional

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because it's cantilevered
over the sea.

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We used to use this station
when I was a kid

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going on holidays to the Isle of
Wight, and it used to thrill me.

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In those days, you could look
between your feet

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and you could see the foam billowing
beneath you.

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And when you can see the sea from
your railway station,

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then you know that your holiday
has begun.

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But rail links to Britain's ports
are more than mere holiday gateways.

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Trains have transported supplies
and sailors to boats,

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and raw materials to the shipyards
that build them

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since the Industrial Revolution.

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But today, the ships
look very different.

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If George Bradshaw were alive today,
he might be disappointed

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at how few vessels the Royal Navy
now has,

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but he would surely be overawed
by their fire power

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and their technology,
and this one here is brand new.

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It's a Type 45 destroyer.
It's called HMS Dragon,

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and by an extraordinary bit of
coincidence and luck

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I am here on the day that
it's being commissioned.

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The fourth of six Type 45
Daring Class Destroyers,

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HMS Dragon is 152 metres long,

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displaces over 7,500 tonnes,
can reach over 30 knots,

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and has the Sea Viper missile
system which packs a punch.

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She's also an extraordinary
and futuristic shape.

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I've been invited aboard to help out
on the vessel's commissioning day,

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her official welcome into
the Royal Navy.

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Morning, gentlemen.

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What a fantastic morning
to commission a ship.

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Welcome to Dragon. Thank you.

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No matter how new the ship,

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centuries old traditions
must be maintained.

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I just have my one action.
One action. One job.

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Which follows the words,
"Make it so". Make it so.

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Happy? Happy. Brilliant.

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Make it so.

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BELL RINGS

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'At 0800 hours every day,

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'all docked Royal Navy vessels
inform their crew

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'that the watch is changing with
eight tolls of the ship's bell.'

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Pipe the still.

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'And then immediately salute
Her Majesty the Queen

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'by raising the White Ensign.

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'Napoleon famously said that an
army marches on its stomach,

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'and my next duty should tell me
whether the same is true

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'of their navy colleagues.'

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Morning. Morning.
What can I do for you, sir?

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Two bacon, two sausage, please.

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We've got two sorts of eggs. Which
would you like? Fried egg, please.

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Beans. Lovely gooey beans.

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Tomato? Yes, please.

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And sausages. How many today?
Slippery little fellows.

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And some mushrooms.
You like your mushrooms? Yes, I do.

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Have a great commissioning day.
Thank you.

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They tell me you're a butler
in civvy street.

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I was, sir, yes, in civvy street.

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How long have you
been in the Royal Navy?

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I've been in for five years, sir.
What are your signature dishes?

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We usually give the captain
three options to choose from,

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and generally it's the fillet steak
he goes for.

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It's quite a long way
from Hornblower, isn't it?
It certainly is, sir.

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How important is the food
to the ship's morale?

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Sometimes when we're at sea
it's the only thing that changes,

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and so it's the only thing
that they look forward to,

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and afterwards the only thing
they seem to moan about.

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I don't think they moan much about
your food. That's my feeling.

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'Kitchen duties dispensed,

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'HMS Dragon's steak loving
Commanding Officer Darren Houston

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'has granted me a sneak preview
of the bridge

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'on his state-of-the-art ship.'

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Captain, good morning. Good morning,
Michael. Welcome to HMS Dragon.

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You must be the proudest man in the
Royal Navy today. Very much so.

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The Royal Navy today has
fewer ships than it used to have,

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but the firepower of these things

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has to be compared with
battleships of the past

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or indeed numbers of
battleships of the past.

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Well, interesting you pick up on
that, because the size of this ship

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is going back to the size
of a cruiser, for example,

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in World War II.

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We may not have the large
double barrelled guns on the front,

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however the Sea Viper missile
system is the latest technology.

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Being that big you must be
pretty visible to the enemy.

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We've got a little cunning plan
there. Because the angles

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of the side of the ship
are sloping, in actual fact

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we look like a fishing vessel
to an enemy radar -

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or that's what we hope we do.

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You've got the most beautiful
red leather chair here.

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This is presumably where you sit?
It is, this is the captain's chair.

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I'm very, very lucky to have
a Rolls Royce Ghost chair,

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which was fitted recently and
should make sitting on the bridge

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extremely comfortable. I think
it'll worry the officer's watch

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slightly, because I'll spend
an awful lot of time here.

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And here is the beautiful
ship's crest,

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which we see on
the commissioning day.

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We do, yes. Congratulations.
Thank you very much indeed.

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The Royal Navy may be shrinking,
but the senior service is active

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on the world's stage,

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policing the Arabian Gulf,
fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean

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and protecting territories as
far away as the Falkland Islands.

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And as HMS Dragon is welcomed
into active service,

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I've no doubt
she will prove a valuable asset.

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May your joint endeavours
to uphold the high traditions

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of the Royal Navy in the service
of Her Majesty the Queen

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be crowned with success
and happiness.

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On right. Quick, march!

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Having seen its nautical present,
I want to find out about

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Portsmouth's maritime
and railway past

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from local historian Nick Hewitt.

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Nick, great to see you.
Good to meet you, Michael.

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How far does the Royal Navy
history go back in Portsmouth?

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When did it establish
its connections?

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You have the Navy Royal
in the Medieval period,

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and basically this harbour has
been the home of the Royal Navy

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since then, right through
to the hey day, you could argue,

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which was the 18th century,
and the great wars

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with Revolutionary
and then Napoleonic France.

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It was the Royal Navy
that saved our bacon in 1805.

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Absolutely, countless times.

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This was the ship that led
the way - HMS Victory.

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Celebrated as Nelson's flagship
at Trafalgar.

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Is it true that Victory
is still a commissioned ship

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in the Royal Navy?

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She is indeed. She is the flagship
of the flag office of Portsmouth.

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She still flies the White Ensign
and she's still part,

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the heart, really, of the Royal
Navy's presence here in Portsmouth.

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1805 - Trafalgar. The only thing
wrong with that date

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is it's pre-railways. It is indeed.

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Can you show me some railway history
please? I think we certainly can.

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Leaving Admiral Nelson's Victory
behind, Nick promises to take me

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even higher up the echelons
of 19th-century society.

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This really says railway shed,

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but it doesn't look like a
Royal Navy piece of equipment.

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The clue's in the crown
on the top of it.

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South Railway Jetty was constructed
for Queen Victoria in 1888,

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and what this did was provide her
with a private railway line

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from the main line over
at Portsmouth harbour

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that would take her seamlessly right
to the royal yacht.

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And to celebrate Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee in 1897,

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and Queen Elizabeth's
coronation in 1953,

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thousands of ordinary day trippers
also took trains

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to Portsmouth to witness
the fleet's royal reviews.

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Paint me a picture of what
Portsmouth was like

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at the heyday of the Royal Navy
and the heyday of the railways.

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Railways are the lifeblood
of the dockyard,

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so the whole site is criss-crossed
with railway tracks.

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Everything that's required
to sustain the fleet

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has to arrive by railway, whether
that's the men to crew the ships,

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the ammunition, the food.

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All the provisions, everything,
all the output of Victorian Britain

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at its heyday comes here,
and then passes on to the ships

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of the Royal Navy, and then out
to the empire around the world.

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Why does Portsmouth become
so important to the Royal Navy?

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The remarkable thing
about Portsmouth is

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it is a huge natural harbour.

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To get a proper sense of its scale,
Nick's arranged for us

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to sail out into the harbour
whose size impressed Bradshaw.

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My Bradshaw's Guide says
of Portsmouth,

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"Situated on the western side
of the island of Portsea

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"at the mouth of the bay
termed Portsmouth Harbour,

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"Portsmouth Harbour ranks
among first in Great Britain

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"for its capaciousness,
depth, and security."

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Those are the qualities
that make it so important.

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You only have to look around you
to see what you've got is

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this immense body of calm water
surrounded on three sides by land,

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so you can't attack this by sea from

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any other direction
apart from that way

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and that way is protected across
the end by the Isle of Wight.

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You've got a completely
defensive location.

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I'm seeing around us these enormous
forts. Who built these things?

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These were built in 1860.

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They were commissioned
by the Palmerston government.

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They were commissioned because
there was a fear at the time

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about the growing strength
of the French navy.

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Did they see action? Not at all.
This was the great irony about them.

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They took ten years to build.

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By the time they were built,
France had been broken

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by the Franco-Prussian war,

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and they became known
as the Palmerston Follies.

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That is the catch of politics.

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If you spend the money,
you're criticised for waste,

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and if you fail to spend the money,
the French invade

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and you're criticised for that.

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00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,120
On my railway journeys, I've seen
many feats of Victorian engineering,

236
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,560
and although dubbed follies,
these four sea forts

237
00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,840
are another extraordinary example.

238
00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,920
The stone foundations were hewn
in quarries, transported by rail,

239
00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,560
delivered by barge and
manoeuvred into place by divers.

240
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:18,200
And once above sea level,

241
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,360
a circular railway was laid to move
the builders' steam-powered crane.

242
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,560
Palmerston also built
another landmark.

243
00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:30,080
Atop Portsdown Hill, Fort Nelson
was designed to defend against

244
00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,720
a land invasion
that also never came.

245
00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:38,880
It's now a military museum
housing more than 350 cannon.

246
00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:40,520
Good afternoon, Michael.

247
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,960
Via its labyrinthine tunnels,

248
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,640
curator of artillery
Phil Magrath is taking me

249
00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:48,720
to the area of the fort designed
to defend its ditches

250
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:53,520
with a series of 32 pounder,
cast iron smooth bore cannon,

251
00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,560
and where members of the
Portsdown Artillery Volunteers

252
00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,200
demonstrate their use. Clear!

253
00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,040
What are they doing
with the gun now?

254
00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,880
They're going through a preparatory
drill to get the gun ready

255
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,040
to load and fire. Clear!

256
00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,560
What kind of ammunition
was fired from this?

257
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:15,280
It's essentially a tin case
containing

258
00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,520
around 200 mixed metal balls
of various sizes.

259
00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,560
That's horrible.

260
00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,320
These are really heavy
and nasty, aren't they?

261
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,680
Was this gun ever fired in anger?
As far as we know, no.

262
00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,440
But we're going to hear it go 'pop'?

263
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,040
We'll hear it go 'pop' shortly(!)

264
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:34,960
Fire!

265
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:37,840
My goodness!

266
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,640
You wouldn't want to be a French
invader with that going on.

267
00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:42,560
Who could resist the opportunity

268
00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,720
of firing an antique
32 pounder cannon?

269
00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:47,360
I can't.

270
00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,800
When he gives the command, I go...
You pull.

271
00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,760
You don't pull, you bring your body.

272
00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:53,200
Fire!

273
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,200
Oops. That's not happened.
It's got to be more then? Yes.

274
00:14:58,200 --> 00:14:59,600
Fire!

275
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,600
Quite a responsibility, that.

276
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,120
Much as I would love to fire
a few more rounds

277
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,320
at the imaginary French hoard,

278
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,800
it's time for me
to leave Portsmouth

279
00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,000
and start the next leg
of my northbound journey,

280
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,160
across Hampshire and into Surrey.

281
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,680
As I travel up through Hampshire
towards my next destination

282
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:32,240
of Godalming, my Bradshaw's remarks
that the junction of the south coast

283
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,280
and the south western lines
is at Portcreek,

284
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,360
between Havant and Cosham,

285
00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,960
but it's necessary
to go to Portsmouth

286
00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,600
to change from one line
to the other.

287
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,800
There were these two circuitous
routes down to Portsmouth.

288
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,400
Naturally, the people of the city
wanted a direct line,

289
00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,720
and a direct line company
was formed.

290
00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:52,760
But when it started operations,

291
00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,040
it had to run over the other
company's railways.

292
00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,640
When they first tried to operate
a train, they found

293
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,720
that the South Coast Railway
had put an engine in the way

294
00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:03,640
and even dug up some of the tracks.

295
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,400
This was the so-called
Battle of Havant,

296
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,640
and it illustrates
how fierce competition was

297
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,840
at the height of
Victorian railway mania.

298
00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:22,480
Home to Charterhouse School,

299
00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,840
Godalming,
with its historic buildings

300
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,200
and attractive narrow streets,
bears witness to a prosperity

301
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,360
built around the town's wool,
leather and paper mills.

302
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,760
Bradshaw writes, "This town is
situated on the banks of the Wey

303
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,280
"at a point where the river divides
into several streams".

304
00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,760
I'm meeting local historian
Stephen Goddard

305
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,520
to discuss how Victorian Godalming
harnessed its abundant water.

306
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:50,640
Hello, Stephen. Hello, Michael.

307
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,080
We're meeting under
this delightful lamp because

308
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,360
you're going to illuminate me about
Godalming's place in history.

309
00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:01,400
It was in 1881, with the increase in
the price of gas to light the town,

310
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,880
that one Mr Pullman offered
the service of his water mill

311
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,800
to provide electric power
to light the town -

312
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:13,000
in fact the very first town
in the country and indeed the world.

313
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,040
It was innovative mill owner
RJ Pullman who spotted

314
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,800
that if hydropower could keep
his leather mill running,

315
00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,720
all he needed was a dynamo
and it could also light

316
00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,600
Godalming's four high street lamps.

317
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:30,320
Because private residences were also
able to purchase electric power

318
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:31,680
from the entrepreneur,

319
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,720
the National Grid dates
its founding to the evening

320
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,560
that hydroelectricity
first lit up Godalming.

321
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,160
Diarist Samuel Pepys stayed here

322
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,480
and my Bradshaw's recommends
The Kings Arms.

323
00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,960
At the end of a long day's travel,
I'm looking forward to lights out.

324
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,360
Refreshed and ready to continue,

325
00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:05,920
the next leg of my journey
is just one stop away.

326
00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:16,880
Guildford next,
and my Bradshaw's says,

327
00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,800
"The situation of the town
on the banks of the Wey

328
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,080
"and spreading over the steep hill

329
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:26,520
"as it rises from the side of the
river is particularly picturesque."

330
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,760
I associate Guildford with bowler
hats, and the 7.41 to Waterloo,

331
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,960
and harrumphing letters
to the Daily Telegraph,

332
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,480
but there's more
to Guildford than that.

333
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,360
There's industry too.

334
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,120
Once a Saxon village,
Guildford boasts a Norman castle,

335
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,640
a much more modern cathedral,
and an attractive,

336
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,920
centuries old cobbled
high street.

337
00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,520
The town once boasted brewers
and iron works,

338
00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,240
and I'm meeting Andy Boulton,
who works for Dennis,

339
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,920
a vehicle manufacturer
in Guildford since 1895.

340
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,400
He's picking me up in a very
precious and very old company asset.

341
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,520
Good morning. Morning.

342
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,640
How are you? Very good indeed.

343
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:19,280
What a beautiful machine.

344
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:23,000
BELL CLANGS

345
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,040
Andy, what is this
wonderful machine?

346
00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,160
This is a 1914
Dennis fire appliance.

347
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,480
We've been building fire appliances
in Guildford since 1908,

348
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,800
and this is one
of the earliest survivors.

349
00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:44,120
Not a bad turn of speed considering
she's 98 years old. Amazing.

350
00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,120
At the turn of the 20th century,
the Dennis factory,

351
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,080
then in the centre of town,
produced cars.

352
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:55,320
Customers included a Brazilian
viscount and a Russian duke.

353
00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,680
But as automobiles were such
a luxury, niche product,

354
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,200
in 1904 the firm decided
to build commercial vehicles,

355
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,040
and, in 1908, fire engines.

356
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,760
The Dennis factory is now
on the outskirts of Guildford,

357
00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,360
and there are other relics
of the company's past here too.

358
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,200
I can see, Andy,
that you love your history,

359
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,040
and this vehicle's even older
than the fire engine, isn't it?

360
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,120
Yeah, this is beautiful,
this is a 1902 Dennis car.

361
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,880
What was the origin of vehicle
manufacture here in Guildford?

362
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:31,040
It started really in 1895
when two brothers,

363
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,960
John Dennis and Raymond Dennis,

364
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,600
decided to set up a small bicycle
shop on Guildford High Street.

365
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,800
One of them had a great idea
of bolting a small petrol engine

366
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,800
onto the back end of one
of their tricycles.

367
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,680
One day, I believe it was John
was stopped on the street

368
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,360
by a police officer
for doing what was described

369
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:50,800
as the ferocious speed,
in the courts,

370
00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,600
of 12mph, going up
Guildford High Street,

371
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,240
which was quite a challenge
at the time,

372
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,880
and that was publicised
and sales boomed.

373
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,240
I always have to ask people
whether their business

374
00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:03,640
has ever had a railways connection.
Has yours?

375
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,320
Yes, it has.
During the heyday of Dennis,

376
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,360
when the factory was really
the focal point of the town,

377
00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:12,000
there was quite
a substantial railhead

378
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,480
that delivered raw materials
into the factory,

379
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,800
and I think probably
more importantly

380
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,400
the finished goods leaving the
factory off around the countryside.

381
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,160
The factory's railhead was at its
busiest during the Second World War

382
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:32,360
when Dennis built 700 Churchill
tanks, 4,500 army lorries,

383
00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:34,320
and 3,000 carriers.

384
00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:41,560
What is it the factory does today?

385
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,880
These days, we focus on just bus
chassis, and we put the body on it

386
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,840
in one of our other factories
around the rest of the UK.

387
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,000
Can Britain compete with imports?

388
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,480
The UK bus fleet is made up
of about three quarters

389
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,360
British built buses.
I think we should be proud of that.

390
00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,840
What about exports? About 30%
of the vehicles around us here

391
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,160
are destined to be going overseas,

392
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,520
whether it be to Hong Kong,
New Zealand or North America.

393
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,200
And where's this one destined for?
This one's destined for London.

394
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,680
Very good. We'll see it
on the streets of London soon.

395
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,200
Thank you very much.

396
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,800
On my journeys, I've driven trains,
cranes and automobiles,

397
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,680
but a vehicle without
a body is a first.

398
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,840
And evidently takes some
getting used to.

399
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:33,920
During my railway journeys,

400
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,160
I often visit factories
that have become museums,

401
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,680
because Britain is not the
manufacturing country it once was.

402
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,440
But here at Guildford,
they've been producing vehicles

403
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,920
during three centuries,
and they still are.

404
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,480
With the coming of the railways,
Londoners built luxurious homes

405
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,640
here in Surrey to escape
the hustle and bustle of the city.

406
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,600
'I'm on my way to Gomshall,
a village six miles east

407
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,800
'of Guildford on the line
towards Dorking.'

408
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,560
As industrialisation progressed,

409
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,360
many Victorians yearned
for a simpler life,

410
00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,840
and in particular in their homes.

411
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,960
In an age of mass production, they
sought inspiration from the artisans

412
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,200
and wanted to have hand made goods.

413
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,440
I'm on my way to such a house.

414
00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:50,360
Arts and crafts, a movement based on
simple design and natural materials,

415
00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:52,960
flourished in the late 19th century,

416
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,760
and I'm in Gomshall
to visit Goddards,

417
00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,840
a house whose Tudor pretensions,
sweeping planes of roof tiles

418
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,480
and dalliances with form
are typical of it.

419
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,520
Goddards was built by
a philanthropic local businessman

420
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,760
as a rest home
for women of poor means.

421
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,880
The architect was Sir Edwin Lutyens,
famous for the Cenotaph,

422
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,000
the Viceroy's House in Delhi,

423
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,160
and countless other early
to mid-20th century country houses

424
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,440
and war memorials.

425
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,400
It's now owned by
The Landmark Trust,

426
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:28,880
and its historian, Caroline
Stanford, is going to show me round.

427
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,880
Caroline. Hello. Lovely to see you.
Thank you.

428
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,640
Absolutely stunning.

429
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,840
Do I smell Victorian money here?

430
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,560
You do. Ironically, you smell
Victorian shipping money,

431
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,440
not railway money.

432
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,240
This house was built
by Frederick Mirrielees,

433
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,160
who made his money from
the Castle Union shipping line,

434
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,400
so quite a different
kind of transport in fact.

435
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,280
And he used an architect
very well known to us?

436
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,560
He did. He used a young,
relatively young still,

437
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,440
Edward Lutyens,
who was 29 at the time.

438
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,720
And Lutyens followed the arts
and crafts tradition, did he not?

439
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,480
Yes, indeed. I think all his work
is infused with that fantastic

440
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,200
sense of materials
and good workmanship

441
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,680
that so characterised the
arts and crafts movement.

442
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:16,440
So, taking in this room, what should

443
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,400
I look for to understand the
passion for arts and crafts?

444
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,520
You can see the timber framing, you
can see the massive beams and braces

445
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,760
and trusses all pegged.

446
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,240
You see the little wooden pegs
in the beams.

447
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,840
The brick vaulting over
the fireplace, for example,

448
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,320
the little coves and vaults
over the fireplace,

449
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,120
not exactly medieval at all really,

450
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,200
and it's clearly modern brickwork,

451
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,160
but nevertheless there's this lovely
warm, reassuring use of materials.

452
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,520
The door furniture - the hinges,
the latches, the locks on the doors

453
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:50,640
are all beautifully made, very
honestly made out of forged iron.

454
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:52,720
So this is the drawing room.

455
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:55,600
What does this tell us

456
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,760
that the new men of wealth
were looking for in their home?

457
00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,280
I think they were
looking for nostalgic comfort,

458
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,000
and you can imagine them hopping on
the train at Charing Cross

459
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,040
at the end of a long week
and coming down to these leafy lanes

460
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,280
looking forward to a good
cigar by a comfortable fireside.

461
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,440
The gardens of the house are also
in the arts and crafts style.

462
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,840
Lutyens collaborated on their
construction with Gertrude Jekyll,

463
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,680
arguably the most influential
gardener of the time.

464
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,680
The gardens are a wonderful
example of the kind of harmony

465
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,200
between gardening and architecture
that Lutyens and Jekyll

466
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,400
contrived between them.

467
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,520
You see how Jekyll has used
the old materials again,

468
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:42,360
the lovely stone, the local Surrey
stone slabs, the brick paths.

469
00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:47,240
And the pond really is a classic
Gertrude Jekyll feature.

470
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,680
She was very concerned with
practicality.

471
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,520
The rain water drains off the roofs
into the dipping pond

472
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,960
and then you can dip your watering
can in easily and water your plants.

473
00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,040
And here, a very lovely aspect.

474
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,720
Yes. We look out over a ha-ha
into the ancient woodland,

475
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,280
and Sir Frederick Mirrielees
could be lord of all he surveyed.

476
00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,080
If, like me, Sir Frederick
or the ladies of poor means

477
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,080
who stayed here
had need of shelter from the rain,

478
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,280
they would surely
have headed inside,

479
00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,400
to the most surprising room
in the house.

480
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:22,960
And here's the skittle alley.

481
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,640
May I have a go? Of course.

482
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,880
The original bowls await you.

483
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:37,000
This house has bowled me over!

484
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,080
A beautiful Victorian
house like Goddards

485
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:46,600
was the product of our
national prosperity,

486
00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,360
based on industry and empire.

487
00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,680
Bradshaw's Britain had the wealth
to defend its possessions

488
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,640
by creating the largest fleet
the world had ever seen.

489
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:58,520
After centuries of service,

490
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,280
still today the Royal Navy
stands ready to do its duty.

491
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:07,600
'On the next leg of my journey,

492
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,320
'I'll get close to some precious
Victorian botany...'

493
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,160
So here you can see a lovely
specimen of a maidenhair fern,

494
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,920
collected by Charles Darwin on
the famous voyage of The Beagle.

495
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,040
It's quite moving to see this stuff.

496
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,200
'I'll play croquet...'

497
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,320
You can not be serious!

498
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:26,120
This is where I get a hammering.

499
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,960
'In Surrey, I'll visit a surprising
19th-century place of worship.'

500
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,600
But it's not only
the first UK mosque,

501
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,320
it's the first mosque to be
built in Northern Europe.

502
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:49,160
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