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In 1840, one man transformed
travel in Britain.

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His name was George Bradshaw,

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and his railway guides
inspired the Victorians

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to take to the tracks.

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Stop by stop, he told them
where to go, what to see,

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and where to stay.

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And now, 170 years later,

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I'm aboard for a series
of rail adventures

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across the United Kingdom

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to see what of
Bradshaw's Britain remains.

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All this week, I've been
travelling away from the capital

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and its urban bustle,

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heading north on Robert Stephenson's
London to Birmingham line.

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I'll explore the Victorian
manufacturing hub

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of the East Midlands,

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before terminating my journey
in the heart of Yorkshire.

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On this final leg,
I travel from Nottingham,

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once the lace-making capital of the
country, and then on to Mansfield.

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I visit Worksop, known as
the Gateway to the Dukeries,

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and on to Doncaster,

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before exploring
the rich heritage of Leeds.

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I'm now concluding
my journey towards Leeds.

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From the end of the 18th century,
the North of England

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became crowded with the chimneys of
the so-called Dark Satanic Mills.

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But this period also coincided
with a revival in the arts,

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as people tried to recall,

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amongst the grime
of industrialisation,

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the natural beauties of
their green and pleasant land.

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Today on my journey I see the
grand designs of a Victorian duke.

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This building is huge.

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When it was built,
it was the largest in Europe,

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with the exception of the manege
next the Kremlin in Moscow.

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'I discover a treasure trove
of locomotive history.'

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This, I do not believe.

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Every square inch of wall is
filled with railway memorabilia.

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'And I break a leg
on the stage in Leeds.'

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Welcome to this Valhalla

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of Victorian variety.

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Bravo!

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Bradshaw's tells me that
a notable native of Nottingham -

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my next stop -
was Henry Kirke White.

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"Born in 1785, a butcher's son.

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"He was chosen Professor Of
Literature in the Literary Society

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"by acclamation
when only 15 years old."

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I need to discover
the rhyme and reason of that.

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Nottingham in the 1780s
was a city greatly divided

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between the very wealthy
and the extremely poor.

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It was Kirke White's Nottingham
working-class background

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that marked him out.

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And as Bradshaw says so much
about him, I want to know more.

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I'm meeting Lynda Pratt,
from Nottingham University,

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at Bromley House Library,

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where there's a large
collection of his work.

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Lynda, hello.
Michael, nice to meet you.

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Evidently, he was a child prodigy.

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"He was elected
Professor Of Literature

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"of the Literary Society by
acclamation at the age of 15."

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This is just extraordinary.

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He does seem to have been
immensely bright and ambitious.

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Yeah, he is a working-class boy.

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He works his way up into
the local textile industry,

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from there, into a trainee lawyer.

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The onset of deafness
actually prevented him

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pursuing a legal career.

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Eventually sent to Cambridge,
did extremely well,

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won a university prize
in his first year

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and, unfortunately,
he works himself to death.

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So, this was a very,
very short life.

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He dies at the age of 21.

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The strain of continuous
study proved fatal.

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Dying so young fuelled
the Victorians' interest in him,

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and his posthumous work
The Remains became a bestseller.

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It strikes a chord,
because it tells a great story -

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a story about an ambitious
lad who dies young.

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He's evidently a favourite
son of Nottingham.

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How did he and the city
relate to each other?

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Ambivalently. He celebrates
a local beauty spot, Clifton Grove.

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The poem he writes
about this beauty spot

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is very critical of what he can see,

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which is manufacturing
industrialising Nottingham.

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So offended were certain members
of the local population,

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that when one of
his contemporaries

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came to write a history
of Nottingham in 1815,

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it was suggested that White
should have been horsewhipped

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through the streets
for his portrayal of the city.

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Bradshaw's leads me to believe
that White was more than a poet.

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Was White a social commentator?

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Yes, there's evidence of this.

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There's a letter he wrote

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complaining about
the conditions that young girls

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who worked in
the lace making industry.

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He sort of says if you keep
young girls hard-working and poor,

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they have no money. So in order
to go out and earn more

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and improve their lot in life,
they'll turn to prostitution.

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Social campaigning seems to have
been in his mind very much.

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Today, he's an important
reminder of the vitality

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of English regional literary culture
during the nineteenth century.

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Discovering the unexpected
in Nottingham

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could keep me occupied
for many more hours,

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but the tracks are calling,

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and now I'm heading north
to my next destination.

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"The picturesque tracts
of woodland of Sherwood Forest,"

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says Bradshaw's, "still bring
to mind the unsettled times

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"when Hugh Little John
and Friar Tuck

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"hunted the king's venison
without licence."

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Yes, I'm on the Robin Hood line.

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Mansfield and the countryside around

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may have once been home
to landed gentry and outlaws.

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But by Bradshaw's day, numerous
coalfields supplied industry,

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making use of
a comprehensive rail network

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that shifted workers and materials.

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In the 1960s, Dr Richard Beeching,

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chairman of British Railways,

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axed many lines to slash losses.

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I'm meeting Tony Egginton,
the town's mayor,

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to find out what happened.

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So, for some time,
this Robin Hood line was closed.

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Yes, for just over 30 years.

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Closed in '64, as a result
of the Beeching Report,

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and then reopened in '95.
So Mansfield had no railway station?

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No station at all. We were
cut off from the rail links.

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And who was it who arranged
to have it reopened?

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Well, it was A group of
businesspeople called Mansfield 2010

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who worked together

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with the county council and the
district council at the time,

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lobbying central government

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to try and turn over
the Beeching recommendation.

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Lo and behold, they won the fight.

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It shows the resilience
of the people of Mansfield

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because, having lost their station,

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by the 1980s, they were also
losing their industrial heritage.

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The coal mines were closing,

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the brewery and the shoe factories
were in decline.

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Reopening their station
was a massive achievement.

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What would you say to
those people around the country

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who have cherished lines
that they'd like to reopen?

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Just keep at it. You must work hard.

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You need everybody to get behind you

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and, of course, common sense
ultimately prevails.

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And you have brought back to life
a wonderful Victorian station.

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Mansfield Station reopened in 1995

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and thanks to an investment
of £36 million,

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the whole Robin Hood line,
from Worksop to Nottingham,

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was back in action by 1998,
reversing the Beeching closure.

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Every year, over a million people
use the line

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and I'm going to
take advantage of it

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as I travel north again
to its terminus.

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Bradshaw's tells me that Worksop
is situated in the Dukery

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which comprises four ducal seats.

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Welbeck Abbey belongs
to the Duke of Portland

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and, when I go there, Bradshaw's
advises me to look out

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for the riding house and stable,
130ft long.

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That's surely a misprint for yards

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because these grand estates,
with their vast buildings,

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were a feature
of the Victorian landscape.

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Amongst the ducal properties
in Sherwood Forest,

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Welbeck Abbey has one
of the richest histories.

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Still privately owned

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by the descendants
of the Duke of Portland,

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the abbey is in a sculpted park.

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The most eccentric
episode of its history

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came in the mid-19th century,
when it was owned by the fifth duke.

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I'm meeting curator Derek Adlam

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to discover more about this
fascinating Victorian aristocrat.

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Derek, this building
is handsome and huge.

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I take it that this is
the riding house and stables

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referred to in my Bradshaw's.
Absolutely right.

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When it was built,
it was the largest in Europe,

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with the exception of the manege
next to the Kremlin in Moscow.

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It looks as if it's
a traditional tiled building,

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but those tiles conceal
a glass and iron vault,

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like a London railway station.

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So, who was responsible for
such magnificence on the estate?

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Well, this is the work
of the Fifth Duke of Portland

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and he inherited the estate
from his father in 1854,

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came to live here round about 1860

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and began the work
you see all around.

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There was nothing here
when he started work.

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It must have taken a very long time.

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No, 20 years. In fact, even
a little less. He died in 1879

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and work then came to a stop

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because it was virtually complete.

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The family's vast wealth
came from its agricultural assets,

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allowing the duke
to think on a grand scale.

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To all the opulent furnishings,

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he added a subterranean
tropical house

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and 22 acres of kitchen garden,

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growing exotic fruit and vegetables
to feed the estate.

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And what sort of a man
was this fifth duke?

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Well, apparently,
he was a rather indolent,

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not very interesting
or interested person.

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But he had no occupation.

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It was as if a spring was released
when his father died

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and moved here, began work
and he turned out to be

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the most astonishing organiser.

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He was employing up to
1,000 people at a time.

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A sociable fellow?
No, absolutely not.

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When he grew older,
he became quite a recluse,

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but a very unusual kind of recluse

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in that he refused to see
his social peers and equals,

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but got on very well
with his workmen

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and was out and about
on the estate every day.

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I rather wish I had met him.

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I do too.

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In the 1850s, a duke was expected
to have stables to match his status

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and this duke was a keen horseman.

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No-one really knows
why he was so reclusive,

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but the psoriasis from which
he reputedly suffered

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might have been a factor

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and help to explain
why there are no photos of him

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and why he took to the depths
to avoid being seen.

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Well, that is an unexpected sight.
A tunnel.

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The 5th Duke was the great tunneller,
the Burrowing Duke.

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On the estate, he built 2.5 miles

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of these underground drives.

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This is one of the larger ones
and it's wide enough

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for two horse-drawn carriages
to pass side-by-side.

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So, what use did he make
of this extensive tunnel network?

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Well, it meant that he could
move around on the estate unseen.

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He would go underground while all the
life of the estate went on above him.

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But I think it's more likely
that it's the other way round.

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Did he make use of railways?

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Yes, some of the tunnels
have railways.

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And did our reclusive duke
have much use for public railways?

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Yes, he would have made use of them
to go to London, in particular.

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His carriage would go with him
in it, with the curtains drawn,

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to Worksop Station.

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His carriage would then be placed
on a kind of flatbed truck,

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strapped into position,

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and he would then
go in his own carriage

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down to London on the railway.

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But he was a great enthusiast
for the railway

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and at the time of his death

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he was planning for a railway
to come all the way onto the estate,

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mainly for moving goods around.

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The more I hear of this duke,
the more fascinating he becomes.

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Yes, absolutely right.

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For all his resourcefulness,
the duke never married.

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When he died, his cherished estate
passed to his cousin.

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And although the railway
was never built,

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I think Bradshaw
would have approved of him.

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As for me, after travelling
a good few miles,

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I'm more than happy
to break my journey here.

244
00:13:46,860 --> 00:13:50,020
I'm up early to catch
the train north from Worksop

245
00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:52,620
on a journey that should
take me about an hour.

246
00:13:56,300 --> 00:14:00,420
Doncaster. Bradshaw's tells me
that it was the Roman Danam

247
00:14:00,420 --> 00:14:02,340
and the Saxon Donacastre,

248
00:14:02,340 --> 00:14:05,540
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
on the River Don

249
00:14:05,540 --> 00:14:07,460
and the North Midland Railway.

250
00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:10,660
And indeed, the words
Doncaster and railway

251
00:14:10,660 --> 00:14:13,300
go together like love and marriage,

252
00:14:13,300 --> 00:14:16,380
because its people
produced locomotives

253
00:14:16,380 --> 00:14:19,140
that were as fast
as they were elegant,

254
00:14:19,140 --> 00:14:22,540
classics of British design
at its zenith.

255
00:14:29,780 --> 00:14:32,860
ANNOUNCER: 'We are now
arriving into Doncaster.

256
00:14:32,860 --> 00:14:35,860
'Please change here for Leeds,
York, Newcastle...'

257
00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:39,740
Today, Doncaster is
a city of regeneration,

258
00:14:39,740 --> 00:14:43,340
following the demise of its
coal mining and heavy industries.

259
00:14:44,260 --> 00:14:47,460
But in the late 19th century,
it was railway city,

260
00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:49,500
employing thousands of people

261
00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:52,460
building and making
everything to do with trains.

262
00:14:53,940 --> 00:14:56,100
If all lines pointed to London,

263
00:14:56,100 --> 00:15:00,140
all things rail came out of "Donny",
as the locals call it.

264
00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:04,460
Doncaster's Nigel Gresley
is known today

265
00:15:04,460 --> 00:15:07,660
as one of the best locomotive
designers of the 20th century.

266
00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:16,740
Following in the footsteps

267
00:15:16,740 --> 00:15:19,300
of two of the most eminent
railway engineers,

268
00:15:19,300 --> 00:15:21,380
Patrick Stirling and Henry Ivatt,

269
00:15:21,380 --> 00:15:23,820
famous for building
locomotive race horses,

270
00:15:23,820 --> 00:15:25,900
Gresley pushed
the boundaries further.

271
00:15:27,860 --> 00:15:30,340
Just alongside Gresley's old office,

272
00:15:30,340 --> 00:15:34,140
I'm meeting railway historian
Graham Boyes.

273
00:15:34,140 --> 00:15:38,220
Which are the locomotives
that we most remember him for?

274
00:15:38,220 --> 00:15:41,860
Well, I think there are two -
the Flying Scotsman and Mallard.

275
00:15:41,860 --> 00:15:43,500
Tell me about the Flying Scotsman

276
00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:46,340
It was much bigger than anything
that had been built here before.

277
00:15:46,340 --> 00:15:49,780
It was the first of these
Pacific 462 locomotives.

278
00:15:49,780 --> 00:15:52,060
It was in a lovely
apple-green colour,

279
00:15:52,060 --> 00:15:55,060
which was the
Great Northern Railways' livery

280
00:15:55,060 --> 00:15:56,500
for express locomotives.

281
00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:59,140
He soon showed it could
go faster than anything else

282
00:15:59,140 --> 00:16:00,980
that had been on this line before,

283
00:16:00,980 --> 00:16:04,700
certainly speeds of over 100mph.

284
00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:06,860
What's Mallard's place in history?

285
00:16:06,860 --> 00:16:08,740
Well, Mallard, it's a classic.

286
00:16:08,740 --> 00:16:14,020
It's streamlined, of course,
which helped it gain maximum speed

287
00:16:14,020 --> 00:16:17,380
and, indeed, it holds
the world speed record

288
00:16:17,380 --> 00:16:20,340
at 126mph for a steam locomotive.

289
00:16:20,340 --> 00:16:23,340
Given the extraordinary series
of chief engineers

290
00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:25,220
that there were at Doncaster,

291
00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:27,380
the enduring fame
of Sir Nigel Gresley,

292
00:16:27,380 --> 00:16:29,820
the fame of the Flying Scotsman
and the Mallard,

293
00:16:29,820 --> 00:16:31,820
is it not strange that most people

294
00:16:31,820 --> 00:16:35,500
might associate York more than
Doncaster with the railways?

295
00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:37,180
I don't think so, really.

296
00:16:37,180 --> 00:16:40,580
York has become associated
with the locomotives

297
00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:42,820
since the National
Rail Museum opened,

298
00:16:42,820 --> 00:16:45,620
but Doncaster was always
the more important place,

299
00:16:45,620 --> 00:16:48,220
throughout railway history,

300
00:16:48,220 --> 00:16:54,340
as one of THE locomotive design
and building places in the world.

301
00:16:54,340 --> 00:16:57,860
They don't design locomotives
in Doncaster any more,

302
00:16:57,860 --> 00:17:01,500
but its signalling centre is one
of the largest on the UK network

303
00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:03,580
and it has one railway workshop

304
00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:06,780
overhauling and repairing
rolling stock.

305
00:17:06,780 --> 00:17:10,900
Graham wants to show me something
of Doncaster's illustrious history

306
00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:15,180
in what I can only describe
as an Aladdin's cave of locomotives.

307
00:17:17,740 --> 00:17:20,940
This, I do NOT believe!

308
00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:26,020
Every square inch of wall
is filled with...

309
00:17:26,020 --> 00:17:31,180
railway memorabilia. Graham,
this is absolutely astonishing.

310
00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:33,260
What is the origin of all of this?

311
00:17:33,260 --> 00:17:36,620
It was a collection of the Doncaster
Grammar School Railway Society.

312
00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:39,020
Of the 600 boys in the school,

313
00:17:39,020 --> 00:17:42,140
about 100 were members
of the society.

314
00:17:42,140 --> 00:17:45,100
Many of their fathers
would work on the railways

315
00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:49,140
and some of them themselves, like me,
went on to work for the railways.

316
00:17:49,140 --> 00:17:51,660
I came to the school in 1949,

317
00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:53,020
11 years old,

318
00:17:53,020 --> 00:17:58,820
and that was the year in which
the first of these objects arrived.

319
00:17:58,820 --> 00:18:01,620
So, here we've got
a locomotive plate. "Doncaster."

320
00:18:01,620 --> 00:18:06,660
That's the same class as
Flying Scotsman. Just amazing.

321
00:18:08,980 --> 00:18:12,620
Then here we have two more
locomotive nameplates

322
00:18:12,620 --> 00:18:14,460
that arrived while
I was at the school

323
00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:17,300
and they're two of the three
locomotives that were in

324
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:20,980
the Harrow and Wealdstone
disaster of 1952.

325
00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:23,700
They were so badly damaged,
they were scraped.

326
00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:27,060
That's really very moving, isn't it?
When you think about the wreckage

327
00:18:27,060 --> 00:18:30,460
and the number of people who
lost their lives that day... Yes.

328
00:18:30,460 --> 00:18:34,260
..and here are plates
of two of the locomotives

329
00:18:34,260 --> 00:18:39,100
from Britain's worst-ever
peacetime disaster. Yes. Indeed.

330
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:44,300
Doncaster's railway history
had broader consequences.

331
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:47,940
Rail workers also shaped
our political development.

332
00:18:47,940 --> 00:18:52,180
At the end of the Victorian era,
Thomas Steels and Jimmy Holmes

333
00:18:52,180 --> 00:18:54,820
began to fight for workers' rights.

334
00:18:54,820 --> 00:18:57,540
I'm making my way to
Sir Nigel Gresley Square

335
00:18:57,540 --> 00:19:00,140
to meet a former
political adversary,

336
00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:01,980
Labour MP Rosie Winterton.

337
00:19:04,420 --> 00:19:08,380
So, why is it that the Labour Party
particularly celebrates

338
00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:11,140
the memory of two railwaymen
from Doncaster?

339
00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:15,140
Thomas Steels and Jimmy Holmes
campaigned within parliament

340
00:19:15,140 --> 00:19:19,380
to ensure that working people
had proper representations

341
00:19:19,380 --> 00:19:22,860
and their views and concerns
were expressed there.

342
00:19:22,860 --> 00:19:24,220
Why did working men not feel

343
00:19:24,220 --> 00:19:26,180
that the Conservatives,
or the Liberals,

344
00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:28,580
could represent their interests
perfectly well?

345
00:19:28,580 --> 00:19:31,020
Quite honestly because
they didn't represent them

346
00:19:31,020 --> 00:19:35,060
and the working people
felt they wanted to see

347
00:19:35,060 --> 00:19:37,100
people in parliament

348
00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:39,300
who would take up their concerns.

349
00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:41,780
For example, around issues
like health and safety.

350
00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:43,820
They worked in dangerous industries

351
00:19:43,820 --> 00:19:46,460
and wanted to have that
representation there

352
00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:50,300
so that people understood and laws
could be passed to protect them.

353
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:52,940
How does that lead
to the Labour Party?

354
00:19:52,940 --> 00:19:54,500
Well, by 1906,

355
00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:57,620
they had endorsed 50 candidates

356
00:19:57,620 --> 00:19:59,260
in the general election.

357
00:19:59,260 --> 00:20:02,620
29 of them were elected

358
00:20:02,620 --> 00:20:04,540
and after the election

359
00:20:04,540 --> 00:20:07,140
the Parliamentary Labour Party

360
00:20:07,140 --> 00:20:08,900
was set up to ensure that

361
00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:11,300
the Labour voice could be heard

362
00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:13,740
and organised in Parliament.

363
00:20:13,740 --> 00:20:15,900
Doncaster made history. Exactly.

364
00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:27,700
After discovering such rich
railway history in Doncaster,

365
00:20:27,700 --> 00:20:30,340
I'm excited to be heading
to my last stop, Leeds.

366
00:20:37,620 --> 00:20:40,300
But maybe this isn't
going to be my last stop.

367
00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:43,180
Are we on the wrong train?

368
00:20:43,180 --> 00:20:45,740
Where's this train for?
It's the Newcastle train.

369
00:20:47,180 --> 00:20:49,620
I think that's what
you call human error.

370
00:20:53,220 --> 00:20:56,300
But after a quick change at York,
I'm now back on track...

371
00:20:56,300 --> 00:20:57,940
The next stop will be Leeds.

372
00:21:05,460 --> 00:21:07,260
In the 17th and 18th centuries,

373
00:21:07,260 --> 00:21:08,900
Leeds became a major centre

374
00:21:08,900 --> 00:21:11,740
for producing and trading wool.

375
00:21:11,740 --> 00:21:13,780
During the Industrial Revolution,

376
00:21:13,780 --> 00:21:17,700
engineering, iron foundries
and printing became important

377
00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:20,460
and Leeds fast developed
into a rich city

378
00:21:20,460 --> 00:21:22,540
with a large working population.

379
00:21:22,540 --> 00:21:24,740
It's evident from Bradshaw's

380
00:21:24,740 --> 00:21:26,860
that mid-19th century Leeds

381
00:21:26,860 --> 00:21:29,660
enjoyed every modern facility.

382
00:21:29,660 --> 00:21:33,700
Public baths, a society for the
encouragement of the fine arts,

383
00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:39,220
a music hall, a mechanics' institute
and a general infirmary.

384
00:21:39,220 --> 00:21:43,020
As they say,
the spice of life is variety.

385
00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:53,420
Travelling performers
broadened their horizons

386
00:21:53,420 --> 00:21:55,020
with the advent of the railways.

387
00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:58,460
Many great names passed through
the City Varieties' dressing rooms

388
00:21:58,460 --> 00:21:59,740
to make their debut

389
00:21:59,740 --> 00:22:02,940
at Britain's oldest
continuously working music hall.

390
00:22:04,580 --> 00:22:08,820
In its 148-year history,
it's accumulated a wealth of tales.

391
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:14,740
I'm meeting the music hall's
Rachel Lythe, who knows its history.

392
00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:16,220
Rachel. Hi.

393
00:22:16,220 --> 00:22:18,580
Have I come to the mother's womb
of music hall,

394
00:22:18,580 --> 00:22:22,660
the temple of titillation,
the Venus and Venice of variety?

395
00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:27,980
Absolutely. What is the difference
between theatre and music hall?

396
00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:31,180
The main difference, I think,
is partly to do with the licensing.

397
00:22:31,180 --> 00:22:33,020
The theatres were
licensed to do drama,

398
00:22:33,020 --> 00:22:35,100
whereas the music halls
were licensed to do

399
00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:37,900
music, singing, dancing,
drinking, eating, smoking.

400
00:22:37,900 --> 00:22:39,900
It was a noisy venue.

401
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,140
My Bradshaw's, which is mid-1860s,

402
00:22:42,140 --> 00:22:44,180
says that Leeds had a music hall.

403
00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:46,860
So, when did it all begin?
Well, actually much earlier.

404
00:22:46,860 --> 00:22:50,140
It dates back to the mid-1700s.
There were music halls
on every street corner.

405
00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:53,100
It all started off with singing rooms
in pubs and inns and taverns.

406
00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:56,380
This building has links back to 1762.
The Swan Inn next door,

407
00:22:56,380 --> 00:22:59,020
they then created
a singing room in '66

408
00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:03,500
and then 1865, this glorious
Varieties Music Hall was opened.

409
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:06,740
It's absolutely glorious,
but it looks very genteel to me.

410
00:23:06,740 --> 00:23:09,620
Look at all these stalls. Did
the hoi polloi sit in such stalls?

411
00:23:09,620 --> 00:23:12,540
When we first opened, it would have
looked completely different.

412
00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:15,700
None of these seats would have been
there. Tables, chairs, benches.

413
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:17,300
You would have had
a bar in here as well,

414
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,060
so you would have been able to
easily eat and drink and socialise.

415
00:23:20,060 --> 00:23:22,980
But it would have been
a very noisy, rowdy experience.

416
00:23:22,980 --> 00:23:25,020
What was going on on the stage
in those days?

417
00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:27,660
Everything from high-wire acts,

418
00:23:27,660 --> 00:23:29,460
to animal acts as well.

419
00:23:29,460 --> 00:23:32,740
You would have had singing, dancing.
Any big names in the early days?

420
00:23:32,740 --> 00:23:35,580
One of the ones that started us off
was Lillie Langtry,

421
00:23:35,580 --> 00:23:36,780
the famous Jersey Belle.

422
00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:39,100
She would have sung
and performed on this stage.

423
00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:40,900
There's a lovely story about Lillie.

424
00:23:40,900 --> 00:23:44,740
It's rumoured that Edward VII
used to have an affection for her,

425
00:23:44,740 --> 00:23:45,860
so it's rumoured that

426
00:23:45,860 --> 00:23:48,380
he used to come grouse-shooting
to Yorkshire Moors

427
00:23:48,380 --> 00:23:50,620
and then sneak in here
when no-one was looking

428
00:23:50,620 --> 00:23:53,500
and he'd sit in Box D over here
and he'd close the curtains,

429
00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:56,100
so that he could watch
her performance on stage.

430
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:59,140
And then again, it's rumoured that
the crest up here was donated to us

431
00:23:59,140 --> 00:24:02,380
once he became king as
a thank you for our discretion.

432
00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:03,620
That's marvellous.

433
00:24:03,620 --> 00:24:06,700
We've also had the famous
Harry Houdini. That was 1902.

434
00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:09,700
He was paid £130
to perform on this stage.

435
00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:12,340
It's about the equivalent
to £7,500 today.

436
00:24:12,340 --> 00:24:13,740
I think you're holding out on me.

437
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:16,220
What was the naughtiest thing
that happened on the stage?

438
00:24:16,220 --> 00:24:18,860
Actually, this was later years,
more the '40s and '50s,

439
00:24:18,860 --> 00:24:20,700
we had the stripteases
and the nude shows.

440
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,740
But, interestingly, because of the
licensing, they couldn't move,

441
00:24:23,740 --> 00:24:26,500
so they had to do still poses,
so it was like a classical pose.

442
00:24:26,500 --> 00:24:28,580
Groups of boys used to come,
get front-row seats

443
00:24:28,580 --> 00:24:30,580
and they'd bring along
their pea shooters.

444
00:24:30,580 --> 00:24:32,860
So they'd try
and make the nudes move

445
00:24:32,860 --> 00:24:35,700
and, again, sit in the boxes and
a whole group would get together

446
00:24:35,700 --> 00:24:38,740
and blow at once to try and make
the feathers part to reveal more.

447
00:24:41,180 --> 00:24:43,860
By the 1950s, television and cinema

448
00:24:43,860 --> 00:24:46,460
had taken their toll
on the music hall

449
00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:48,500
and audiences fell away.

450
00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:52,980
However, television was also
the making of this theatre,

451
00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:57,060
thanks to the TV extravaganza
The Good Old Days.

452
00:24:57,060 --> 00:25:00,860
Since 1988, Johnny Dennis
has been the chairman

453
00:25:00,860 --> 00:25:02,740
who introduces every show.

454
00:25:04,740 --> 00:25:10,260
Johnny, when did The Good Old Days
begin on television? 1953.

455
00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:13,580
It was Barney Colehan's, who was
a staff producer at the BBC,

456
00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:16,740
idea to run a pilot show
from this theatre

457
00:25:16,740 --> 00:25:19,380
and he got together
a cast of artists

458
00:25:19,380 --> 00:25:23,220
from the Players' Theatre in London.
Leonard Sachs was the chairman

459
00:25:23,220 --> 00:25:27,860
and it ran for 30 years and
became the most popular programme

460
00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:29,700
at that time on the BBC.

461
00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:30,900
What was the origin of

462
00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:34,660
the very over-the-top alliterative
introductions of the acts?

463
00:25:34,660 --> 00:25:36,580
That was Leonard Sachs's idea.

464
00:25:36,580 --> 00:25:38,860
He was an actor,
he loved to be grand,

465
00:25:38,860 --> 00:25:41,740
he invented this
very extravagant language,

466
00:25:41,740 --> 00:25:45,220
not strictly period of the musical
chairman of the Victorian age,

467
00:25:45,220 --> 00:25:47,420
but he was world-famous for it.

468
00:25:47,420 --> 00:25:51,460
Give me some examples of
your fine, flowing introductions.

469
00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:53,700
My lords, ladies and gentlemen,

470
00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:58,220
all the artists have been brought
to you at e-nor-mous expense.

471
00:25:58,220 --> 00:26:02,220
And then you say, "And welcome to
this magnificent melange

472
00:26:02,220 --> 00:26:05,860
"of musicality, magic and mirth."

473
00:26:05,860 --> 00:26:07,900
Let me see if I can try that.

474
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:11,940
Welcome to this
cavern of conviviality,

475
00:26:11,940 --> 00:26:15,460
this Valhalla of variety...
Very good.

476
00:26:15,460 --> 00:26:18,700
..this emporium of entertainment.

477
00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:21,740
Very good. It could use
a little improvement, actually.

478
00:26:21,740 --> 00:26:25,300
Imagine that you were
a Victorian actor of the day.

479
00:26:25,300 --> 00:26:29,980
So, you have to gain their attention
by making dramatic gestures like,

480
00:26:29,980 --> 00:26:34,100
"Welcome!" and use your hands like
this, with the gavel in your hand,

481
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:37,020
and then dominate the audience.

482
00:26:37,020 --> 00:26:39,820
Try that with the gavel.
That's Leonard Sachs's gavel

483
00:26:39,820 --> 00:26:41,660
Would you mind holding my Bradshaw?

484
00:26:41,660 --> 00:26:45,140
I would be honoured
to hold Mr Bradshaw.

485
00:26:45,140 --> 00:26:49,540
Welcome to this
cavern of conviviality,

486
00:26:49,540 --> 00:26:54,900
this emporium of entertainment,

487
00:26:54,900 --> 00:27:00,020
to this Valhalla
of Victorian variety.

488
00:27:00,020 --> 00:27:01,780
Bravo.

489
00:27:01,780 --> 00:27:05,820
It was the gavel that did it.
It's that gavel always that does it.

490
00:27:05,820 --> 00:27:09,660
So, the show that you perform today,

491
00:27:09,660 --> 00:27:12,820
would it be recognisable
to Mr George Bradshaw?

492
00:27:12,820 --> 00:27:16,580
I would like to think so.
I'm a great admirer of Mr Bradshaw

493
00:27:16,580 --> 00:27:19,820
and I'm sure he would have been
a great admirer of the music hall.

494
00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:28,340
The names of great locomotives
are etched in British history.

495
00:27:28,340 --> 00:27:31,820
Railwaymen switched the points
on British politics,

496
00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:34,380
taking them in new directions.

497
00:27:34,380 --> 00:27:39,140
Famous names have graced the
playbills in this music hall too.

498
00:27:39,140 --> 00:27:42,780
As I complete my journey
from London to Leeds,

499
00:27:42,780 --> 00:27:45,620
Bradshaw's has opened up England

500
00:27:45,620 --> 00:27:48,740
with all its rich variety.

501
00:27:48,740 --> 00:27:50,900
Journey over...

502
00:27:50,900 --> 00:27:52,540
the final curtain.

503
00:27:52,540 --> 00:27:55,660
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

504
00:28:01,420 --> 00:28:06,220
On my next adventure, I learn to
set table aboard an ocean liner...

505
00:28:06,220 --> 00:28:08,140
Oh, you're faster than me!

506
00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:11,820
I visit a suspected
Solent smuggler's hideaway...

507
00:28:11,820 --> 00:28:13,860
Whoa! What a view!

508
00:28:15,580 --> 00:28:17,900
And I discover the tactics employed

509
00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:20,220
by the Victorian
temperance movement...

510
00:28:20,220 --> 00:28:23,500
All of a sudden, a group
of uniformed invaders come along,

511
00:28:23,500 --> 00:28:26,580
shouting, "You're going to hell!
You will not be saved

512
00:28:26,580 --> 00:28:29,100
"if you carry on
drinking this foul liquid."