1
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,920
'In 1840, one man transformed
travel in the British Isles.

2
00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:12,720
'His name was George Bradshaw,

3
00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,880
'and his railway guides inspired the
Victorians to take to the tracks.'

4
00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,880
'Stop by stop,
he told them where to travel,

5
00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:23,480
'what to see and where to stay.'

6
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,600
'Now, 170 years later,
I'm making a series of journeys

7
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,520
'across the length and breadth
of these isles

8
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,080
'to see what of Bradshaw's
Britain remains.'

9
00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,920
'I'm now more than half way through
a journey that began in Portsmouth

10
00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,040
'and which has given me time
to explore my home city of London.

11
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,600
'On this leg, I'll be continuing
that exploration.'

12
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,920
'Today, I'll discover how derelict
Victorian London

13
00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,520
'is being rejuvenated.'

14
00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,000
This used to be called
Granary Square,

15
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,600
and will be bigger than
Trafalgar Square. Amazing.

16
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,480
'I'll put in a shift
at a Cambridgeshire brick factory.'

17
00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,040
Oh, dear boy, would you like to come
and have a go?

18
00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:31,720
Always one for a challenge.

19
00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,240
'And I'll meet a brick-built
immigrant community.'

20
00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,400
THEY SING

21
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:45,760
'Using my Bradshaw's Guide,

22
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,400
'I began on the Hampshire
coast in Portsmouth,

23
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,240
'travelled up through Surrey
and on to London,

24
00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,320
'and I'll soon push
north east to Cambridgeshire,

25
00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,800
'completing my journey
at Grimsby in Lincolnshire.'

26
00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,760
'The fourth leg of my journey
starts in Kings Cross,

27
00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,240
'heads north to Alexandra Palace,

28
00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,040
'on to Knebworth, into Bedfordshire
and ends in Peterborough.'

29
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,640
The Victorian railways made
their biggest architectural impact

30
00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:20,280
in our city centres,
with the erection of vast termini,

31
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,120
cathedrals of steam.

32
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,000
Today, thanks to an enormous
rebuilding programme,

33
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,280
they are returning to
their Victorian exuberance,

34
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,680
revealing again
architectural details

35
00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:33,840
pointed out in my Bradshaw's Guide.

36
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:41,800
'Built by the Great Northern Railway

37
00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,680
'and named in homage
to King George IV,

38
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,920
'central London's King's Cross
opened in 1852.

39
00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:51,240
'Today, it's a busy London terminus

40
00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,400
'with over 40 million passengers
passing through it each year.

41
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,640
'And after decades of neglect,

42
00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:01,760
'the station is finally being
restored to its beautiful grandeur.'

43
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,400
This station is, to me, a wonder

44
00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,680
and it was to George Bradshaw, too.

45
00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,640
"King's Cross presents
a most imposing appearance.

46
00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:15,120
"In the facade, the two main arches
mark the end of the arrival

47
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:21,000
"and departures platforms and each
has a span of no less than 72 feet.

48
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:22,520
"On reaching the platform,

49
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,600
"the traveller cannot fail
to admire

50
00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,320
"the size and character of the
station, the semi-spherical roof

51
00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,400
"the immense area covered in."

52
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,480
And thanks to the recent
refurbishment of King's Cross,

53
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,680
we are seeing it today
as no-one has seen it

54
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,680
since Queen Victoria
went to her grave.

55
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,800
'Affectionately dubbed
The Great Station,

56
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,840
'King's Cross was designed
in an Italianate style

57
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,080
'by architect Lewis Cubitt.

58
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,280
'Now the station and the 67 acres

59
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,600
'of previously derelict land
and buildings behind it

60
00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,280
'are undergoing one of the largest
urban regenerations in Europe.'

61
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,520
'I'm meeting Roger Mann
of the redevelopment team

62
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,760
'at the Grade II listed
Granary Complex.

63
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,200
'At the height of
the Victorian industrial boom,

64
00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,080
'it was part of a goods interchange,
and now forms a new campus

65
00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,720
'for the Central Saint Martins
College of Art and Design.'

66
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,600
This is a fantastic space.

67
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,560
And the railway history is
written on the wall,

68
00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,560
so it's been left intact,
hasn't it? It has.

69
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,000
There was a great debate
about sandblasting this building,

70
00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,200
but I think the right decision
was made.

71
00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,640
Originally,
this was built purely for goods

72
00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,680
and a passenger was something
not necessarily thought of.

73
00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,720
So it was always a bit of
a by-product.

74
00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,400
Because the money was in freight?
Exactly so.

75
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,800
What were the sorts of goods being
moved through this part
of King's Cross?

76
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,640
Potatoes and coal, together with
fish and then lots of other goods.

77
00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:57,920
Fantastic.

78
00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,360
'The redevelopment of King's Cross
isn't confined to its interior.

79
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,840
'The exterior is being
transformed, too.'

80
00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,640
I had no idea that this vast space
existed. What was it?

81
00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,160
This was a canal basin.
The canal itself, just over there,

82
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,040
came into the site
all the way to the granary building

83
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,920
and underneath and, in fact,
there were two openings

84
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,760
under the main building
and one on either end of the shed.

85
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:27,920
The barges could pass
under the building?

86
00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,000
Under the building and disgorged
of their product or, in fact,
took a load on.

87
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,080
And what will this space be now?

88
00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,400
This is to be called Granary Square,

89
00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,360
we'll have a number
of fountains playing,

90
00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,600
probably with
music from time to time

91
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,920
and will be bigger than
Trafalgar Square. Amazing.

92
00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,040
'The station's original roof,

93
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,920
'modelled on the Russian Tsar's
riding school,

94
00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:56,120
'was the largest in the world,
spanning 105 by 800 feet.

95
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,240
'And the new 1,700-ton
steel-and-glass dome

96
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,720
'covering the refurbished concourse
is the centrepiece of architect

97
00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,200
John McAslan's vision
for King's Cross.

98
00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:09,600
John...

99
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,360
If you seek his monument,
look about you. Exactly.

100
00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,480
Congratulations, it's magnificent.

101
00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:16,720
You've chosen to make
this sweeping roof.

102
00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,800
Are you making reference here
to Victorian architecture?

103
00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,920
We are. We are inspired
by the original architecture,

104
00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,960
the original train shed roof
and we've tried to interpret that

105
00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,120
and I think people genuinely
enjoy the quality of the space

106
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,360
and understand the references
we've made.

107
00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,040
I've noticed, for example,
that the passenger sheds,

108
00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:38,800
the glazing has all been redone,

109
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,920
light is now pouring
on to the platforms.

110
00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:42,720
That didn't happen for many years.

111
00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:44,760
That's right, all of the old
polychromatic

112
00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,600
coverings have been removed,
we've reinstated glass.

113
00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,480
We've put photovoltaics on top so
energy is produced now, so yes,

114
00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,080
they're represented.
and I think as you'll agree,

115
00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,280
fantastic light is streaming
in to the shed

116
00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:58,360
for the first time in about 50 years.

117
00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,440
If George Bradshaw were writing
today and he came here,

118
00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,760
would he write with such admiration
about your spans and arches?

119
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,120
I think he'd see the connection
we've made between

120
00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,760
Victorian engineering and
21st century architecture

121
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,400
and engineering and I'd hope
he would respond well to it.

122
00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,280
WHISTLE

123
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,600
'My next stop, like King's Cross,'

124
00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,840
is another piece of iconic
Victorian architecture,

125
00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,200
built with its own railway station,
looming over the railway tracks.

126
00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,680
A palace named after
the Princess of Wales.

127
00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,320
But it wasn't built
for the Princess's pleasure,

128
00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,640
but for the pleasure of the public.

129
00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:57,480
Alexandra Palace.

130
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,200
'Five miles north of King's Cross,
in 1873,

131
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,160
'The People's Palace opened

132
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,440
'as a centre of recreation
for Victorian Londoners.

133
00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,680
'But after just 16 days, Alexandra
Palace was destroyed by fire.

134
00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:19,000
'Two years later, a new palace,
covering seven acres, opened.

135
00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,480
'In 1936,

136
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,520
'the first public television
pictures were transmitted from here

137
00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:29,600
'and then in 1980, the palace
was severely fire damaged again.

138
00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,920
'I'm hoping that current
Chief Executive, Duncan Wilson,

139
00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,400
'will tell me how it's recovered.'

140
00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:37,200
Duncan, hello. Hello.

141
00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,960
So I take it from the architecture
that this was a railway station.

142
00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,560
Indeed. This was the booking hall of
the railway station,

143
00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:46,600
which lay between the hall
and Alexandra Palace itself.

144
00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,320
So when Alexandra Palace
was built in 1873,

145
00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:50,960
it already had its railway station?

146
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,560
Indeed, it was part of the
whole concept to get people up here

147
00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:58,800
in massive numbers to enjoy this
enormous palace of entertainment.

148
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,280
And did the railway
succeed in sucking people in?

149
00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,280
It did, there were 94,000 people
arrived on the Whit Monday

150
00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,120
after it opened, although they did
arrive rather late,

151
00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,360
because there was a derailment
just outside King's Cross.

152
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,920
'Alexandra Palace's entertainment
spaces include its Palm Court,

153
00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:20,120
'ice rink and - the largest of all -
its Great Hall.'

154
00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,600
This is absolutely
extraordinary, isn't it?

155
00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,200
So what did
they build this vast space for?

156
00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,280
It was built for, amongst other
things, organ concerts

157
00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,640
for audiences of ten to 15,000,
choral concerts,

158
00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,360
orchestral concerts, massive events.

159
00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,600
It could accommodate
nearly 2,000 performers.

160
00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,680
From your knowledge
of Alexandra Palace,

161
00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:41,880
what impression do you get of what
entertained the Victorians?

162
00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,760
An amazing range of things by modern
standards. I think, in a way,

163
00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,200
it was the combination
of the wildlife documentary

164
00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,840
and the art history programme
on television

165
00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,280
all presented as an exhibition
to the public, or a series of them,

166
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,520
so we had exhibitions
of goat and rabbit breeding,

167
00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:03,120
a Moorish bazaar and 1,000 monkeys
exhibited in the Palm Court,

168
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,240
and they even brought elephants here
by train,

169
00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,120
led out through the
front of the building to the circus.

170
00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,440
On the trunk line?
On the trunk line, yes.

171
00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,240
What plans do you have for all
this in the future?

172
00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,880
Currently, we operate the Great
and West halls as a successful

173
00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:26,160
concert venue, but there's a lot
we can do more with Alexander Palace,

174
00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,960
if we can get the money
to invest in it.

175
00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,680
It's heartening that,
like King's Cross,

176
00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,120
another great Victorian edifice
is highly valued today.

177
00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,040
From the current
Alexandra Palace station,

178
00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,600
I am catching my next train north,
out of the capital.

179
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,720
I've left London well behind me now,

180
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,160
and my train is swishing
through Hertfordshire.

181
00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,640
For my last stop of the day,
I have taken a tip from Bradshaw's,

182
00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,640
which says that in the vicinity
is Knebworth Hall,

183
00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,480
"the fine seat of
Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton."

184
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,520
Bulwer-Lytton? That rings a bell.
An author, I think,

185
00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:21,920
but I don't think I have
ever read anything by him.

186
00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,520
The name Knebworth might be
synonymous with its rock festival,

187
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,840
but it's been home
to the Lytton family since 1490,

188
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,840
and in the 19th century,
to Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton,

189
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,880
author and member of Parliament.

190
00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,120
I'm meeting descendant
Henry Lytton-Cobbold.

191
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:43,160
Hi, Michael.

192
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,400
Henry, lovely to see you.
Very pleased you popped by.

193
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,880
A fine seat, as my Bradshaw's says.
Thank you very much.

194
00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,920
But Bulwer-Lytton, I don't know much
about him. There's lots to
tell you about Bulwer.

195
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,480
Let me show you round.
Let me show you his influence.

196
00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:02,280
So we have the most hideous
and scary preachers here.

197
00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:06,080
Yes, warding off evil spirits, which
they still do to this day, I trust.

198
00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,400
Does that tells us
something about his mind?

199
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,440
It tells us a lot about his mind.

200
00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,480
I mean, look at these. Everywhere
you'll see bats on barrels.

201
00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,080
Bats on barrels is a play
on the word "Lytton",

202
00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:23,360
the old English word for a bat being
"lit", and for a barrel being "ton".

203
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,680
So everywhere you'll see
different bats on barrels.

204
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:28,000
Some of these gargoyles
seem to have a thirst on them.

205
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,880
Their very long tongues
are hanging out.

206
00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,320
In fact, English Heritage,
which insisted everything go back

207
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:35,880
exactly the way it was,

208
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:37,960
when we were able to restore
these a few years ago,

209
00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,000
did allow us to shorten
the tongues just a little bit,

210
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,120
just for decency's sake.

211
00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,680
But great fun to restore them back
up to their original position,

212
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,440
up above the library bay window here.

213
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,080
Having found out about
Bulwer-Lytton's taste

214
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:58,120
in exterior decor, I want to
discover more of the man himself.

215
00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,360
He was perhaps best known
for his historical novels.

216
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,160
This is his collection
of medieval armour,

217
00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,680
which is armour that still
has dents in it

218
00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,440
where spears and musket shell
has hit it.

219
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,520
Here we are in
Bulwer-Lytton's study,

220
00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,160
where he wrote his
enormous volume of work.

221
00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,360
What was his reputation at the time?

222
00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,840
He was the best-selling novelist
in Britain in the 1830s,

223
00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,680
until the young whippersnapper
journalist Charles Dickens

224
00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:25,120
came along and usurped him.

225
00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,560
Of course, they were great friends,
and they went on to work together.

226
00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,360
Poor Lytton became very much
a grand old man of literature

227
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,640
for the mid-19th-century
authors and poets.

228
00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:37,680
And would those other authors
come down?

229
00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:40,520
Yes, Dickens would bring his
chums down, his actor friends down

230
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,800
for great weekend parties,
and perform in the hall downstairs.

231
00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,240
So, this is his rather
splendid library. Wonderful.

232
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,400
Literally built from scratch,
a Victorian gentleman's library.

233
00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,040
Wonderful. It's funny to think, even
right from the start of his career,

234
00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,840
but even quite late into his career,
he was writing for money.

235
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,440
I mean, he spent a lot of money
on this towards the end of the 1840s,

236
00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,160
when the railway was being built.

237
00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,000
I think he relied rather too
heavily on making money out of that,

238
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,360
and he ended up having
to write the novel Harold

239
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,400
to help pay the solicitors'
bills that he'd run up,

240
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,040
trying to fight for his fair share

241
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,480
for having the railway
go right through his estate.

242
00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:22,160
In the 1840s, like so many other
landowners across these islands,

243
00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,960
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
had to decide whether he would

244
00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,680
allow the railways
to traverse his land,

245
00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,200
and if he did, how much he would
accept from them for the privilege.

246
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,880
So, here we have
his estate at that time.

247
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:39,240
You can see how the railway
literally seared it in two.

248
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,080
It really brings home to you
what landowners

249
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,280
had to sacrifice in those days,
if the railway passed through.

250
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:46,200
Yes.

251
00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,160
Edward Bulwer-Lytton was the first
writer to begin a novel

252
00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,680
with the words,
"It was a dark and stormy night."

253
00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,880
He also gave us the phrase, "The
pen is mightier than the sword,"

254
00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,920
and the expression,
"The great unwashed."

255
00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,160
Which after the long day
that I've had,

256
00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,360
is rather the way I'm feeling now.

257
00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,880
It's off to a local hostelry,
and early to bed.

258
00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,000
Rejuvenated, and set for
the next leg of my journey,

259
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:30,840
it's less than a half-hour trip

260
00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,280
on the King's Cross-to-Peterborough
main line.

261
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,560
I'm now in Bedfordshire,
and my Bradshaw's tells me

262
00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,680
some of the finest vegetables are
produced here for the London market.

263
00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,000
They must benefit
from all this rain.

264
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,720
My next stop is Biggleswade,

265
00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:02,760
and Bradshaw's tells me
it was formerly

266
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,200
one of the most extensive
corn markets in England,

267
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,560
and that's the clue
I'm going to pursue,

268
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,480
because in my view, you don't get
a corn market without corn.

269
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,160
In Bradshaw's day,
mills in this area were abundant.

270
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,800
In the 1850s, Biggleswade was
the first town in Bedfordshire

271
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,480
to have a main line station.

272
00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,600
I've come to one of the last
working mills in the county

273
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,160
to meet Bill Jordan, whose
family has for generations

274
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,840
pushed forward
the technology of milling.

275
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,360
Hello. Hello, Bill. Welcome.

276
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,240
Thank you so much.

277
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,480
This is a gorgeous mill.
How old is it?

278
00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,800
This was built in 1896, so it
was a model mill in its day.

279
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,520
Had there been mills here before?

280
00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,360
Yes, there's been a mill here
since the Domesday Book, 1086,

281
00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,440
because this
was a great grain-growing area.

282
00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,720
Yes, my Bradshaw's Guide
refers to the corn markets

283
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,680
of Biggleswade being amongst
the most important in the country.

284
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:12,240
It was a real bread basket area.
400 mills alone in Bedfordshire,

285
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,440
and the great thing here, the River
Ivel is a tributary of the Ouse,

286
00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,120
so there was always
reasonably good water here.

287
00:17:18,120 --> 00:17:21,280
We're wearing our hard hats in here.
What are you doing with this mill?

288
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,400
It's all about showing
people how milling is done,

289
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:29,480
how we use water power to drive
the mill, so sustainable power.

290
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,080
So this is a great example of an old
Victorian roller mill

291
00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:34,160
driven by water.

292
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,520
When this mill opened,
what were its features?

293
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,320
Was it advanced for its time?

294
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,400
Oh, this was the last word.

295
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,480
The whole thing about flour
milling was survival.

296
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,800
Those 400 mills came crashing down
to just one, which was this one,

297
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,040
only a few years ago,

298
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:53,240
and the whole thing about milling
was to try and use technology

299
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,000
to just get a step ahead
of your competition.

300
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,600
Looking at this machinery,
what should I notice about it?

301
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,560
Well, you weren't paying
much for your power,

302
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:04,200
because we're working on a
four-foot drop in the River Ivel

303
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,320
to actually drive this turbine,

304
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:08,880
which develops something
like 28 horsepower.

305
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,120
So it was a clever piece of kit.
Have you got it in working order?

306
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:13,760
This is absolutely in working order.

307
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,600
This will be one of the finest
examples, really,

308
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,840
of a Victorian roller mill
still in use.

309
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,560
You have to take your hat off
to these Victorian engineers.

310
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:28,720
You really do.

311
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,880
This has been working for over 110
years, very little maintenance.

312
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,800
A few separate teeth occasionally,
when there was a breakdown.

313
00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:38,960
But absolutely.

314
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,680
All that power, 28 horsepower,
just run off the river.

315
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,400
Very clever.

316
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,520
Bill's not merely
an enthusiast for old mills.

317
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:54,160
In the 1970s, he and his brother saw
a new future in breakfast cereals.

318
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,400
They swapped granary for granola,

319
00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,240
traded in wheat for oats,

320
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,240
left flour milling behind,

321
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,680
and created their multi-million
pound brand, Jordan's Cereal.

322
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,600
Paul Bell is a shift
manager at their factory.

323
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,840
Paul, this is breakfast cereals
on a industrial scale.

324
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:14,840
This whole thing we walked along
is an oven.

325
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:16,520
It is indeed, 62 metres of it, yes.

326
00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,960
This oven can do any cereal
you like, can it?

327
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,920
Yes, essentially. We can do 13,
14 different types of base product.

328
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,280
Give me some idea of
your output from this plant.

329
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,720
We produce, on average, 1,500 pallets
of finished goods a week,

330
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,000
which is about 135,000 cases.

331
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,400
How many boxes of cereal is that?
You multiply by what?

332
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,480
By six, as a rule. So that's
quite some undertaking.

333
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:46,080
The technology that gets over
800,000 boxes of cereal per week

334
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,840
cooked, bagged, boxed, packed
and distributed is a long step

335
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:54,920
forward from the water-powered mills
of the company's Victorian history.

336
00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,520
What we have here, flat-pack cartons,

337
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,200
and every time the sensor sees
a bag on the belt,

338
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,720
it'll pull the carton down,
push it into shape.

339
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,240
As we walk along the process,

340
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,920
we can watch the pushers
push the bags into the boxes.

341
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,480
They're then folded
and glued and sealed,

342
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,600
and fed down to the next process.

343
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,040
After going through a check weigher,
which is obviously

344
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,720
a legal requirement for
our 500g declarations.

345
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,640
From the bread basket
of Bedfordshire,

346
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,880
I'm destined now for Cambridgeshire,

347
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,880
the county of my old university
and for which,

348
00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,120
unlike Bradshaw's,
I have an affinity.

349
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,240
My Bradshaw's can be
pretty opinionated.

350
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,760
Under the entry for Peterborough,
where I'll be changing trains,

351
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:50,560
it writes "the country is flat
and uninteresting in winter

352
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:54,200
"and when the floods are up,
the roads are almost impassable."

353
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,800
It sounds as if some unfortunate
personal experience

354
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,720
lies behind that.
I find the Eastern Plain

355
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,160
rather more charming
than Bradshaw's did.

356
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,840
Peterborough station serves
all four points of the compass,

357
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:10,880
and four million passengers a year.

358
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,320
'Train just arriving at platform 5.

359
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:17,560
'Whittlesey is an additional stop
today for this service.'

360
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,560
I'm taking the branch line
east to Whittlesey.

361
00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,320
Relying on the constituents
of what Bradshaw's dismissed

362
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,760
as its boggy ground,
since the 1880s

363
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:32,640
Peterborough and its surrounds

364
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,080
have built a prosperity
based on the manufacture

365
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,120
of a construction product that
most of us take for granted.

366
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:41,480
Bricks.

367
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,240
In the late 19th
and early 20th centuries,

368
00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,080
so much of our capital city
was built with these,

369
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,800
that the product became known
simply as London Brick.

370
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,280
I'm in Whittlesey
to meet David Weeks,

371
00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:00,440
whose company bought the original
London Brick Company in the 1980s.

372
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,120
So this wonderful stuff
is clay, is it?

373
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,840
Yeah, this is really the heart
of the whole process.

374
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,960
It's called Lower Oxford clay,
and interestingly,

375
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,640
when the brick works
first started in Peterborough,

376
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,720
they used the very soft clay
on the top,

377
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,520
and a guy called James Craig who set
up the first brickworks

378
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,560
discovered this much harder clay
underneath and purely by chance

379
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,800
as they dug further and further.

380
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,280
And there's a rich seam that
goes from Oxford all the way

381
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:30,680
up to Yorkshire and
all these brick works

382
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,520
were sited along the seam of clay.

383
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,000
With its high carbon content,

384
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,160
Lower Oxford Clay had
a unique property -

385
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,080
it was combustible,
so less fuel was needed

386
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,840
to fire the bricks
in the production process.

387
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,560
In the late 19th century,

388
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,000
this industry was able
to save energy,

389
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,520
and to make use of a raw material
that was both natural and plentiful.

390
00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,160
There's been quarrying around
this part of Peterborough

391
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:01,760
for over 100 years now.

392
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,280
This is the last
working clay quarry,

393
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,680
and when this is finished
it will be the end of an era,

394
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,720
because the market for these bricks
is gradually tailing off,

395
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,360
because although they're
very hard-wearing and durable,

396
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,920
they don't have the insulation
properties of a modern brick.

397
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,680
By the 1930s, the market
for London bricks was huge...

398
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,800
..and most of the
Peterborough brickyards

399
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,720
had their own railway sidings to
transport their finished products.

400
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,640
David wants to show me how the very
finest London bricks are produced.

401
00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,840
So, tell me about this process here.

402
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,840
Well, at the back you can see
what we call the green bricks,

403
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,080
which are just the natural clay
as it's just come out

404
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,720
after the bricks have been pressed.
This is one of the kiln chambers.

405
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,360
You put it into the kiln chamber
ready to be fired

406
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,800
and these guys are now bricking
it up with old reject bricks

407
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,440
and they will then seal it
with a render

408
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,160
and then gradually the fire
will then work its way round

409
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:03,920
into this chamber
and fire these bricks

410
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:05,760
and move on to the next chamber.

411
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,240
How long will your green bricks stay
there until they're proper bricks?

412
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,440
They'll be in the kiln
for about five days.

413
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,840
To ensure that the enormous kiln
is working to maximum capacity,

414
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,600
it's been given handy
portholes to add fuel.

415
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,040
Oh, wow, that is
a brilliant sight, isn't it?

416
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,640
Those are glowing,
glowing bricks, are they?

417
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,680
Yep, a thousand degrees.

418
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,520
Oh, yes, so that's quite nice
on a cold day!

419
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,160
The process starts with them,
as they approach the fire,

420
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,240
they gradually dry out and then
the temperature rises

421
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,640
up to 1,000 degrees
when they're fired properly

422
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,120
and then there's a process
when they cool down

423
00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:42,600
and the whole cycle
takes about 12 days

424
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,080
and the fire moves around the kiln.
The bricks are static all the time,

425
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,440
the fire tracks its way around

426
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,480
and we load the green bricks
in ahead of the fire

427
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,280
and then take out the fired bricks
behind the fire.

428
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:55,720
And it's a continuous process.

429
00:24:55,720 --> 00:25:00,240
Once fired and cooled,
even in today's mechanised world,

430
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,440
London bricks are packed
the old-fashioned way, by hand.

431
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,520
Oh, dear boy, would you like
to come and have a go?

432
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,440
Always one for a challenge!

433
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,000
What do I have to do?

434
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,720
Just pick two bricks up like that
and put them on there.

435
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,880
Just make sure they're...

436
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,680
That's it. Mind your fingers,
because they bite.

437
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:26,200
They bite, do they?

438
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,480
The other thing is to go
at speed, isn't it?

439
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,280
Do you do this all day, do you, Reg?
All day, yes. Goodness.

440
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,520
Do you do any of the other jobs
around the brickworks?

441
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:35,800
No, not really, no.

442
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,840
We have done 'em, but, like,
this is our main job, this is.

443
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,480
So, makes you pretty tough?

444
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,320
Yeah, exactly. It hurts
at the end of the day,

445
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,680
and plus we just come back
off holidays, so...

446
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:51,800
So you're a little bit
out of practice?

447
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,440
Stiff, yeah, at the minute, yeah.

448
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,560
Many thousands have put in
shifts at London Brick,

449
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,960
some of them from
surprising backgrounds.

450
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:06,000
After the Second World War,

451
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,880
Britain's cities had to be rebuilt,
and the demand for bricks soared.

452
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,640
The London Brick Company employed
more than 3,000 prisoners of war.

453
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,840
But after they went home
in the early 1950s,

454
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,440
London Brick began a recruitment
drive in Southern Italy.

455
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:28,800
As a result, Peterborough has a
thriving Italian ex-pat community.

456
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,840
Anyone here connected with
the brickworks? These two.

457
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,480
In 1955. We come from
the same place in Italy.

458
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,560
Did you know each
other in those days?

459
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,560
Yes, I go to school with him.
No! Yeah.

460
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,800
Signora, when did you
come to England? 1952.

461
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,360
Now, what did you come to do?

462
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,440
You didn't come to work
in a brick factory?

463
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,480
No, darling, I just came
for my love. My husband.

464
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:51,880
And what did he do?

465
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:53,320
Work in the London Brick Company.

466
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,040
In the London Brick Company.

467
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:56,560
THEY SING IN ITALIAN

468
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,760
What better way to end a journey

469
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,920
than to be immersed in a vibrant
community built brick by brick?

470
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,120
THEY SING: "Nessun Dorma"

471
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,680
The story of the Italian
brick makers

472
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,920
reminds me that despite the
industrialisation of Bradshaw's era,

473
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,600
most people continued
to be manual labourers.

474
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,440
These tracks were laid
by beef and brawn

475
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:39,840
and in the fields,
the wheat was gathered

476
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,120
largely without the use of machines.
In this era of mechanisation,

477
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,560
it's as well to remember those who
lived by the sweat of their brow.

478
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,440
On the next leg of my journey,

479
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,680
I see how Lincolnshire
farmers utilised rails

480
00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,600
to improve their harvests.

481
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,320
That was fun!

482
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:05,280
I visit one of Britain's most
ancient and impressive cathedrals.

483
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:11,120
The tower is like fingers
of honey-coloured stone

484
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,360
against the blue sky.
Absolutely breathtaking.

485
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,440
And I look to the future
of rail freight.

486
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,480
It gives me the most enormous
pleasure to be able

487
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,600
to name this locomotive
Immingham 100.

488
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,360
APPLAUSE

489
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,400
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd