1 00:00:05,350 --> 00:00:10,430 In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain. 2 00:00:10,430 --> 00:00:12,430 His name was George Bradshaw. 3 00:00:12,430 --> 00:00:16,510 And his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks. 4 00:00:18,150 --> 00:00:23,110 Stop by stop, he told them where to go, what to see and where to stay. 5 00:00:23,110 --> 00:00:28,710 And now, 170 years later, I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures, 6 00:00:28,710 --> 00:00:34,230 across the United Kingdom, to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains. 7 00:00:54,190 --> 00:00:57,350 I'm now halfway through a journey that began in Norwich 8 00:00:57,350 --> 00:00:59,750 and will end in Chichester. 9 00:00:59,750 --> 00:01:03,870 Today, I'll be running along the Essex bank of the Thames 10 00:01:03,870 --> 00:01:08,470 before crossing the river into the so-called Garden of England, Kent. 11 00:01:12,670 --> 00:01:16,510 My journey began in a cathedral city in Norfolk. 12 00:01:16,510 --> 00:01:20,950 I travelled south, through East Anglia, to Ipswich and Chelmsford. 13 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:26,390 Now I'll cross the Thames at Tilbury and continue through Kent to Dover. 14 00:01:26,390 --> 00:01:29,710 After heading inland to Tonbridge, I'll return to the coast 15 00:01:29,710 --> 00:01:34,150 at Brighton before ending my journey in another cathedral city, 16 00:01:34,150 --> 00:01:36,070 this time in West Sussex. 17 00:01:36,070 --> 00:01:38,590 On this leg, I'll start in Ilford 18 00:01:38,590 --> 00:01:42,470 in Essex before travelling to Tilbury on the Thames. 19 00:01:42,470 --> 00:01:46,390 After crossing by ferry to Gravesend, I'll continue into Kent 20 00:01:46,390 --> 00:01:48,510 and end in historic Rochester. 21 00:01:50,990 --> 00:01:54,430 Today, I'll try my hand at lowering a massive container 22 00:01:54,430 --> 00:01:56,910 onto a freight train. 23 00:01:56,910 --> 00:01:59,950 That bell means Michael Portillo is at the controls, stand aside. 24 00:02:01,110 --> 00:02:05,030 I'll discover the work of a renowned Victorian philanthropist. 25 00:02:05,030 --> 00:02:07,870 Each of the images has a before and after photograph. 26 00:02:07,870 --> 00:02:11,110 And I'll ask myself, "Who the Dickens are these characters?" 27 00:02:11,110 --> 00:02:13,110 No doubt about who you are 28 00:02:13,110 --> 00:02:14,950 cos you've got the iron around your leg 29 00:02:14,950 --> 00:02:16,790 and you've got the rag around your head. 30 00:02:16,790 --> 00:02:20,830 You're the convict, Magwitch, from Great Expectations, aren't you? 31 00:02:23,070 --> 00:02:25,270 My first stop will be Ilford. 32 00:02:25,270 --> 00:02:27,750 Bradshaw's tells me about Sir Charles Montague, 33 00:02:27,750 --> 00:02:30,310 a 17th-century Member of Parliament, 34 00:02:30,310 --> 00:02:32,630 who's buried in St Margaret's Church. 35 00:02:32,630 --> 00:02:35,470 But had the book been published any later, it would 36 00:02:35,470 --> 00:02:37,910 surely have mentioned another eminent citizen, 37 00:02:37,910 --> 00:02:40,550 Dr Thomas John Barnardo. 38 00:02:42,390 --> 00:02:44,350 By the late 19th century, 39 00:02:44,350 --> 00:02:47,270 the Industrial Revolution had made Britain wealthy. 40 00:02:47,270 --> 00:02:49,790 But there was a gulf between rich and poor, 41 00:02:49,790 --> 00:02:54,030 which troubled the conscience of some Victorians. 42 00:02:54,030 --> 00:02:56,590 A significant number of those who'd made fortunes 43 00:02:56,590 --> 00:02:59,190 became philanthropists. 44 00:02:59,190 --> 00:03:03,110 One of the most celebrated left his mark here in Barkingside just 45 00:03:03,110 --> 00:03:07,790 outside Ilford and I'm meeting Diana Tickell from Barnardo's 46 00:03:07,790 --> 00:03:11,230 amongst this unusual group of cottages. 47 00:03:11,230 --> 00:03:14,230 Welcome to Barnardo's Barkingside. 48 00:03:14,230 --> 00:03:16,910 Thank you very much indeed. So, who was Dr Barnardo? 49 00:03:16,910 --> 00:03:20,030 Well, Thomas Barnardo came over from Dublin in 1866. 50 00:03:20,030 --> 00:03:24,310 He was actually a very Christian man, was on a missionary expedition 51 00:03:24,310 --> 00:03:27,470 to plan to go to the Far East, but in fact when he arrived in London 52 00:03:27,470 --> 00:03:30,510 he visited the East End and was so appalled by the conditions 53 00:03:30,510 --> 00:03:32,790 that he found, particularly for the children, 54 00:03:32,790 --> 00:03:34,990 that it changed his whole life course and 55 00:03:34,990 --> 00:03:39,870 he decided to stay and create what is now Barnardo's the organisation. 56 00:03:39,870 --> 00:03:43,070 The London that Thomas Barnardo encountered in 1866, 57 00:03:43,070 --> 00:03:46,990 particularly in the East End, presented harrowing sights. 58 00:03:46,990 --> 00:03:51,230 Overcrowded slums, unemployment, and disease were rife. 59 00:03:51,230 --> 00:03:56,550 Gangs of destitute children roamed the streets, scrabbling to survive. 60 00:03:56,550 --> 00:03:59,270 What's Barnardo's attitude to the poor? 61 00:03:59,270 --> 00:04:02,630 Well, he's a very philanthropic man and believes that the 62 00:04:02,630 --> 00:04:05,310 children that he finds really should have a better chance. 63 00:04:05,310 --> 00:04:07,670 He believes that they are not waifs 64 00:04:07,670 --> 00:04:09,870 and strays that should just be left to die. 65 00:04:09,870 --> 00:04:13,110 He wants to transform their lives and give them a future. 66 00:04:13,110 --> 00:04:17,230 In 1867, just a year after arriving in London, Thomas Barnardo 67 00:04:17,230 --> 00:04:19,870 set up a ragged school in the East End, 68 00:04:19,870 --> 00:04:23,750 where destitute boys could get a basic education. 69 00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:25,750 And what's the connection between Barnardo 70 00:04:25,750 --> 00:04:27,990 and this rather idyllic housing development? 71 00:04:27,990 --> 00:04:32,070 Well, this lovely site here is the actual homes for girls. 72 00:04:32,070 --> 00:04:36,030 Victorian morals decreed that it wasn't "proper" for Barnardo, 73 00:04:36,030 --> 00:04:39,390 as a bachelor, to open a home for girls. 74 00:04:39,390 --> 00:04:43,670 But in 1876, three years after he married, he converted a lodge, 75 00:04:43,670 --> 00:04:48,390 received as a wedding present, into this charming group of 12 cottages. 76 00:04:48,390 --> 00:04:52,430 His aim was to provide "family homes" for penniless girls, 77 00:04:52,430 --> 00:04:56,030 who were particularly vulnerable on the streets of the East End. 78 00:04:56,030 --> 00:04:58,030 I mean, it seems beautiful even now. 79 00:04:58,030 --> 00:05:00,190 It must have been revolutionary in its day. 80 00:05:00,190 --> 00:05:03,510 Well, absolutely. To create an environment like this so far 81 00:05:03,510 --> 00:05:07,630 away from the Victorian East End slums was really quite different. 82 00:05:07,630 --> 00:05:09,830 How did he get the money that he required? 83 00:05:09,830 --> 00:05:12,870 Well, he wasn't a rich man so he had to set about fund raising. 84 00:05:12,870 --> 00:05:15,950 He made everybody understand that they were 85 00:05:15,950 --> 00:05:19,590 responsible, as well, for the plight of children in Victorian Britain. 86 00:05:19,590 --> 00:05:21,830 And he was very successful. 87 00:05:21,830 --> 00:05:24,590 By 1905, Barnardo's charity was looking 88 00:05:24,590 --> 00:05:28,310 after 8,500 children in 96 homes. 89 00:05:29,950 --> 00:05:34,150 He raised the money using some rather modern marketing techniques. 90 00:05:34,150 --> 00:05:37,270 So, Michael, what we have here is one of the first 91 00:05:37,270 --> 00:05:41,350 volumes ever of the register for boys from Dr Barnardo's homes. 92 00:05:41,350 --> 00:05:42,950 Just after my Bradshaw's. 93 00:05:42,950 --> 00:05:44,750 Yes, so, right on time. 94 00:05:45,990 --> 00:05:48,870 So, here we have some lovely images of some of the children. 95 00:05:48,870 --> 00:05:52,310 Each of the images has a before and after photograph where you 96 00:05:52,310 --> 00:05:55,550 record how the boy arrived and how they developed once 97 00:05:55,550 --> 00:05:58,470 they had grown and been supported by Barnardo. 98 00:05:58,470 --> 00:06:01,190 We have a story of the child and the reason for their admission. 99 00:06:01,190 --> 00:06:03,670 We also often have the child's own statement, 100 00:06:03,670 --> 00:06:05,510 which is quite unique for the time. 101 00:06:05,510 --> 00:06:06,750 What were these photos for? 102 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:09,590 Well, these photographs originated for fundraising purposes. 103 00:06:09,590 --> 00:06:12,830 He absolutely took the photos for the records but also 104 00:06:12,830 --> 00:06:16,230 so that he could fundraise and in particular was able to show 105 00:06:16,230 --> 00:06:18,710 Victorian Britain the difference that he could make. 106 00:06:18,710 --> 00:06:21,350 Barnardo understood the power of these pictures. 107 00:06:21,350 --> 00:06:23,390 Using them to advertise and 108 00:06:23,390 --> 00:06:26,390 to raise funds put him ahead of his time. 109 00:06:26,390 --> 00:06:29,470 Over the decades, some people who were children in Barnardo's homes 110 00:06:29,470 --> 00:06:31,710 said that they weren't very well treated. 111 00:06:31,710 --> 00:06:33,510 What led to that, do you think? 112 00:06:33,510 --> 00:06:37,190 Well, I think often in those days children were seen and not heard. 113 00:06:37,190 --> 00:06:40,230 I think we now know that some children didn't have the best of 114 00:06:40,230 --> 00:06:43,710 upbringings and we regret that when that's happened but actually what's 115 00:06:43,710 --> 00:06:46,150 happened today is off the back of some of those stories, that 116 00:06:46,150 --> 00:06:48,990 children's lives are now supported in a much more different way 117 00:06:48,990 --> 00:06:51,110 and children's voices are really, really heard 118 00:06:51,110 --> 00:06:53,030 and I think the majority of children had 119 00:06:53,030 --> 00:06:57,270 a very good upbringing and have gone on to have very successful lives. 120 00:06:57,270 --> 00:07:00,510 Barnardo's devotion to the wellbeing of children can be 121 00:07:00,510 --> 00:07:04,830 seen in this unusual church at Barkingside. 122 00:07:04,830 --> 00:07:07,790 This is the first church ever built for children 123 00:07:07,790 --> 00:07:10,110 and we think it's the only one in the country still. 124 00:07:10,110 --> 00:07:13,950 For example, we have the low level bell pulls here for children! 125 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:17,470 BELLS RING 126 00:07:20,830 --> 00:07:22,870 I am a child at heart! 127 00:07:22,870 --> 00:07:23,910 Absolutely. 128 00:07:25,510 --> 00:07:27,830 Religion was very important to Dr Barnardo. 129 00:07:27,830 --> 00:07:31,430 The organisation, clearly, has Christian roots and today we embrace 130 00:07:31,430 --> 00:07:34,550 those roots and they are enhanced by those of many other faiths. 131 00:07:34,550 --> 00:07:36,150 When did Dr Barnardo die? 132 00:07:36,150 --> 00:07:38,310 Well, Dr Barnardo died in 1905. 133 00:07:38,310 --> 00:07:40,990 He had become a very popular man, 134 00:07:40,990 --> 00:07:43,390 particularly amongst the people of the East End, 135 00:07:43,390 --> 00:07:46,110 for all the effort he had made for the children, in particular, 136 00:07:46,110 --> 00:07:48,190 and when he had his funeral procession, 137 00:07:48,190 --> 00:07:50,710 which went from Stepney to Liverpool Street, 138 00:07:50,710 --> 00:07:54,750 the streets were thronged with people wanting to well wish him on his way. 139 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:57,550 His coffin then went from Liverpool Street 140 00:07:57,550 --> 00:08:00,030 to Barkingside station on the railway. 141 00:08:01,710 --> 00:08:06,150 So, like Queen Victoria, just before him, his last journey was by train. 142 00:08:06,150 --> 00:08:07,870 Absolutely! 143 00:08:07,870 --> 00:08:10,830 This site is still part of the Barnardo's estate 144 00:08:10,830 --> 00:08:14,870 and his organisation has survived to become one of the biggest 145 00:08:14,870 --> 00:08:17,110 children's charities in the country. 146 00:08:22,430 --> 00:08:26,550 I'm continuing my journey from nearby Upminster station. 147 00:08:28,230 --> 00:08:31,750 I'll now be travelling on the London, Tilbury and Southend line. 148 00:08:31,750 --> 00:08:34,470 It wasn't built by Brunel or by George Stephenson 149 00:08:34,470 --> 00:08:37,230 or by Robert Stephenson, but by Thomas Brassey, 150 00:08:37,230 --> 00:08:40,270 the least well remembered of Britain's railway engineers. 151 00:08:40,270 --> 00:08:44,110 But by 1847 he was responsible for one in three miles 152 00:08:44,110 --> 00:08:47,390 of the British railway system and by the time of his death 153 00:08:47,390 --> 00:08:51,750 in 1870, for one mile in 20 of the world's railways! 154 00:09:04,470 --> 00:09:06,270 My next stop will be Tilbury. 155 00:09:06,270 --> 00:09:08,950 Bradshaw's reminds us that it was there, 156 00:09:08,950 --> 00:09:12,590 when Britain was threatened by the Spanish Armada, that Queen Elizabeth 157 00:09:12,590 --> 00:09:17,510 "by a spirited harangue inspired her army with dauntless courage." 158 00:09:17,510 --> 00:09:20,310 That's when she said, "I know I have the body of a weak 159 00:09:20,310 --> 00:09:24,390 "and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, 160 00:09:24,390 --> 00:09:26,950 "and a king of England, too!" 161 00:09:31,470 --> 00:09:36,190 Even in Bradshaw's time, a sturdy fort discouraged potential invaders 162 00:09:36,190 --> 00:09:40,230 from venturing further up the River Thames towards the capital. 163 00:09:40,230 --> 00:09:44,870 In 1854, the railway arrived with enormous consequences for the town. 164 00:09:47,710 --> 00:09:50,710 The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway opened 165 00:09:50,710 --> 00:09:52,670 a station at Tilbury Riverside, 166 00:09:52,670 --> 00:09:55,230 to profit from the passenger steamer services 167 00:09:55,230 --> 00:09:58,070 across the Thames from Kent and beyond. 168 00:09:58,070 --> 00:10:00,150 Today, the station is closed, 169 00:10:00,150 --> 00:10:02,990 but Jonathan Catton has kindly agreed to explain how it 170 00:10:02,990 --> 00:10:07,030 transformed Tilbury into one of the country's most important ports. 171 00:10:07,030 --> 00:10:08,430 Hello, Jonathan. 172 00:10:08,430 --> 00:10:10,710 Hello, Michael. Welcome to Riverside station. 173 00:10:10,710 --> 00:10:13,110 This would be the one mentioned in Bradshaw's, I suppose, 174 00:10:13,110 --> 00:10:15,670 cos it says, "Steamers ply between the station and the pier 175 00:10:15,670 --> 00:10:18,390 "at Gravesend, at the departure and arrival of every train." 176 00:10:18,390 --> 00:10:19,830 So, that was happening from here? 177 00:10:19,830 --> 00:10:21,590 Well, we're standing on top of it, 178 00:10:21,590 --> 00:10:25,270 but it was superseded in the 1930s with the new railway terminus. 179 00:10:25,270 --> 00:10:27,070 And lots of railway heritage. 180 00:10:27,070 --> 00:10:29,350 We've got the booking office here, evidently. 181 00:10:29,350 --> 00:10:32,190 Over four million tickets sold in 1947. 182 00:10:32,190 --> 00:10:34,630 How on earth could it have been so many? 183 00:10:34,630 --> 00:10:37,430 Well, because there were so many stevedores and dockers 184 00:10:37,430 --> 00:10:39,790 and, of course, all the people arriving on boats 185 00:10:39,790 --> 00:10:42,550 were all coming in and out, so it was very vibrant. 186 00:10:42,550 --> 00:10:46,230 With the Empire at its peak and manufacturing booming, 187 00:10:46,230 --> 00:10:50,270 by the 1880s the London docks were becoming increasingly overcrowded, 188 00:10:50,270 --> 00:10:53,350 so Tilbury provided an alternative. 189 00:10:53,350 --> 00:10:56,190 Now, Bradshaw's mentions the fort, all right, 190 00:10:56,190 --> 00:10:58,230 but it doesn't really mention the port. 191 00:10:58,230 --> 00:11:00,310 How was it that the port came to exist? 192 00:11:00,310 --> 00:11:03,510 It was only in 1882 that the East and West India Dock Company 193 00:11:03,510 --> 00:11:05,710 decided to build a new downstream dock. 194 00:11:05,710 --> 00:11:07,550 And they were looking and, obviously, 195 00:11:07,550 --> 00:11:09,990 saw that there was already a fantastic railway line here 196 00:11:09,990 --> 00:11:13,430 and so, on the back of that, the docks were built here in 1886. 197 00:11:13,430 --> 00:11:15,630 So, the railways made it all happen. 198 00:11:15,630 --> 00:11:18,350 Yeah, the railways were the catalyst for the whole development. 199 00:11:18,350 --> 00:11:19,750 And how's the port doing now? 200 00:11:19,750 --> 00:11:24,030 Oh, doing very well and a very vast, diverse set of services 201 00:11:24,030 --> 00:11:27,550 which we ought to go and have a look at. 202 00:11:27,550 --> 00:11:29,070 Today Tilbury Docks 203 00:11:29,070 --> 00:11:32,630 is the United Kingdom's third-largest container port. 204 00:11:32,630 --> 00:11:36,030 About 3,000 cargo ships a year use the port, 205 00:11:36,030 --> 00:11:39,830 handling over 12.5 million tonnes of cargo. 206 00:11:39,830 --> 00:11:42,910 It's an amazingly busy port today. 207 00:11:42,910 --> 00:11:45,190 What were they doing here in Victorian times? 208 00:11:45,190 --> 00:11:48,870 Well, when the dock first opened, of course, it was a bit sluggish, 209 00:11:48,870 --> 00:11:51,630 but there were general cargos coming in. 210 00:11:53,470 --> 00:11:57,190 For instance, strangely, sausage skins was one, 211 00:11:57,190 --> 00:12:00,990 but jute and timber products were also coming in. 212 00:12:00,990 --> 00:12:03,630 One of the oddities was the arrival of zoos. 213 00:12:03,630 --> 00:12:06,110 Whole zoos were being packed up and - 214 00:12:06,110 --> 00:12:09,070 well, London Zoo, indeed - and being brought here. 215 00:12:09,070 --> 00:12:11,150 So, there were strange pictures I've seen 216 00:12:11,150 --> 00:12:13,190 of elephants coming off on cranes 217 00:12:13,190 --> 00:12:17,230 and also quite wild animals like leopards and lions. 218 00:12:17,230 --> 00:12:19,390 How is it that Tilbury has done so well? 219 00:12:19,390 --> 00:12:21,910 Well, it has maintained the railway and the road link 220 00:12:21,910 --> 00:12:24,550 and therefore it is pretty efficient. 221 00:12:24,550 --> 00:12:26,790 And by comparison with the port of London? 222 00:12:26,790 --> 00:12:28,630 Doesn't exist...does it? 223 00:12:28,630 --> 00:12:31,030 With all these containers, are they using trains today? 224 00:12:31,030 --> 00:12:33,270 Absolutely, you can see all around us, 225 00:12:33,270 --> 00:12:35,910 there's something like 50 miles of rail within the docks 226 00:12:35,910 --> 00:12:39,590 originally and freight liner services are still taking 227 00:12:39,590 --> 00:12:42,190 out 80% of containers around Great Britain 228 00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:43,830 and it's absolutely amazing! 229 00:12:43,830 --> 00:12:45,950 Well, that I have to look at. 230 00:12:47,110 --> 00:12:51,150 These immensely powerful cranes whisk the containers along as 231 00:12:51,150 --> 00:12:52,790 though they were weightless. 232 00:12:52,790 --> 00:12:56,230 Looks like there's nothing to it. I'll give it a try! 233 00:12:57,430 --> 00:12:59,870 Hello, Ron! Hello, Michael! Come on up, sir. 234 00:13:05,550 --> 00:13:08,190 We're going to pick that container up there 235 00:13:08,190 --> 00:13:10,830 and we're going to put it in what we call a pocket wagon. 236 00:13:10,830 --> 00:13:13,830 Oh, yes, look at that lovely hole waiting for our container! OK. 237 00:13:13,830 --> 00:13:18,350 That bell means Michael Portillo is at the controls, stand aside. 238 00:13:18,350 --> 00:13:21,710 That's it, forwards, down you go. 239 00:13:21,710 --> 00:13:24,670 Right, one notch and it is beginning to lower. 240 00:13:29,630 --> 00:13:32,590 That's about right. 241 00:13:43,350 --> 00:13:45,390 Now we're well over the target. 242 00:13:45,390 --> 00:13:47,510 We're going to drop it into that hole. 243 00:13:54,910 --> 00:13:56,950 Job done. Thank you very much indeed. 244 00:13:56,950 --> 00:13:59,190 No problem. One container down. 245 00:13:59,190 --> 00:14:02,030 I think I'll leave the rest to Ron! 246 00:14:02,030 --> 00:14:04,710 Are you driving the train? I am indeed. Where's it headed for? 247 00:14:04,710 --> 00:14:06,430 This one's going out to Leeds. 248 00:14:06,430 --> 00:14:09,470 Oh, well, a tip for you, I loaded that first wagon there. Oh, OK. 249 00:14:09,470 --> 00:14:11,030 So careful on the bends! 250 00:14:11,030 --> 00:14:14,150 OK, I'll keep my eye on that one then. Thank you. 251 00:14:19,910 --> 00:14:22,990 It's time for me to continue my journey. 252 00:14:22,990 --> 00:14:27,430 I'm heading now to Kent, so I need to cross the Thames. 253 00:14:27,430 --> 00:14:30,750 Bradshaw's tells me that, "Steamers ply between this station and the 254 00:14:30,750 --> 00:14:35,110 "pier at Gravesend at the departure and arrival of every train". 255 00:14:35,110 --> 00:14:39,030 Sadly, there are no more trains, but the ferry still runs. 256 00:14:42,310 --> 00:14:45,390 The ferry is still used by dock workers 257 00:14:45,390 --> 00:14:48,950 and provides the most easterly crossing of the River Thames. 258 00:14:56,070 --> 00:14:58,270 Gravesend, says my guide, is, 259 00:14:58,270 --> 00:15:01,550 "A capital starting point for a series of excursions throughout 260 00:15:01,550 --> 00:15:03,790 "the finest parts of Kent. 261 00:15:03,790 --> 00:15:07,070 "None should neglect Cobham, where, in the old 262 00:15:07,070 --> 00:15:11,710 "wood and hall, a day's enjoyment can be most fully insured." 263 00:15:11,710 --> 00:15:13,910 Well, it should therefore be good enough 264 00:15:13,910 --> 00:15:15,350 for what remains of the evening. 265 00:15:17,270 --> 00:15:20,990 Cobham Hall was the seat of an old Kentish aristocratic family, 266 00:15:20,990 --> 00:15:22,310 The Darnleys. 267 00:15:22,310 --> 00:15:25,750 Bradshaw's mentions a family mausoleum, grandly situated 268 00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:28,390 on William's Hill in the grounds of the estate. 269 00:15:29,630 --> 00:15:31,870 David Standen is going to show me around. 270 00:15:33,030 --> 00:15:35,870 Bradshaw's says that this was "a spacious mausoleum 271 00:15:35,870 --> 00:15:39,550 "erected in 1783 by Lord Darnley, 272 00:15:39,550 --> 00:15:42,670 "but never was consecrated." 273 00:15:42,670 --> 00:15:44,630 What's the story there? 274 00:15:44,630 --> 00:15:48,470 There are a number of stories as to why it wasn't consecrated, 275 00:15:48,470 --> 00:15:51,750 ranging from the Bishop running into a storm crossing the Channel 276 00:15:51,750 --> 00:15:54,270 the day before he was due to consecrate it, 277 00:15:54,270 --> 00:15:55,990 but the most likely reason, 278 00:15:55,990 --> 00:15:58,430 the reason that it is sitting here empty today, 279 00:15:58,430 --> 00:16:02,390 is probably a dispute, an argument between the Earl and the archbishop 280 00:16:02,390 --> 00:16:05,150 about funding, particularly the amount of money 281 00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:07,550 that the Darnley family put into the church. 282 00:16:07,550 --> 00:16:10,310 The Third Earl of Darnley ordered the mausoleum to be built 283 00:16:10,310 --> 00:16:13,550 after his family ran out of burial space in Westminster Abbey. 284 00:16:13,550 --> 00:16:18,550 Completed in 1786, the design was inspired by the classical 285 00:16:18,550 --> 00:16:21,390 architecture that the Earl had admired 286 00:16:21,390 --> 00:16:24,470 on his Grand Tour of Italy as a young man. 287 00:16:24,470 --> 00:16:28,710 It must have been considered extraordinary, architecturally speaking. 288 00:16:28,710 --> 00:16:31,190 Bradshaw's devotes a lot of space to it. 289 00:16:31,190 --> 00:16:34,190 He tells me that it's built of Portland stone, 290 00:16:34,190 --> 00:16:38,110 in an octagonal form, and that it cost £9,000! 291 00:16:38,110 --> 00:16:41,230 It was an incredible piece of architecture of the time. 292 00:16:41,230 --> 00:16:43,910 Well, we're very lucky then that it's survived to the present day. 293 00:16:43,910 --> 00:16:46,790 Quite a miracle that it's survived to the current day. 294 00:16:46,790 --> 00:16:49,190 It has gone through some very turbulent times, 295 00:16:49,190 --> 00:16:51,550 particularly in the '70s and '80s. 296 00:16:51,550 --> 00:16:55,150 The crypt itself was filled with car tyres on Bonfire Night, 297 00:16:55,150 --> 00:16:57,350 petrol poured on it and set light to, 298 00:16:57,350 --> 00:17:00,830 which caused the collapse of the roof that's above us now. 299 00:17:00,830 --> 00:17:05,390 And so how is it that it's been restored to its present very good condition? 300 00:17:05,390 --> 00:17:10,350 The catalyst was the impact of the high-speed rail link on the edge of the historic park. 301 00:17:10,350 --> 00:17:14,070 The rail company agreed to put forward £750,000 in compensation 302 00:17:14,070 --> 00:17:17,470 and that acted as a seed funding for the restoration of the park. 303 00:17:17,470 --> 00:17:19,710 There's no limit to what the railways can achieve! 304 00:17:19,710 --> 00:17:20,710 Absolutely. 305 00:17:26,030 --> 00:17:31,230 It's the end of the day and I'm fortunate to be staying the night at Cobham Hall. 306 00:17:42,110 --> 00:17:45,870 Today, I'm back in Gravesend, pursuing a recommendation 307 00:17:45,870 --> 00:17:47,550 from my trusty Bradshaw's. 308 00:17:48,550 --> 00:17:51,190 The guidebook tells me that, "The terraced gardens 309 00:17:51,190 --> 00:17:54,670 "on each side of the entrance to Gravesend pier 310 00:17:54,670 --> 00:17:59,070 "are really very creditably and tastefully laid out." 311 00:17:59,070 --> 00:18:01,630 Unfortunately, they haven't survived, 312 00:18:01,630 --> 00:18:03,550 but thanks to a military hero 313 00:18:03,550 --> 00:18:07,310 who lived in Gravesend, there's another delightful open space. 314 00:18:12,710 --> 00:18:14,670 How are you? Very well indeed, thank you. 315 00:18:14,670 --> 00:18:17,830 Good. Can I join you for a moment? You can. Who's this? 316 00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:20,030 Lily. Hello, Lily. 317 00:18:20,030 --> 00:18:23,470 Lily, do you walk sometimes in the Gordon Gardens? 318 00:18:23,470 --> 00:18:26,550 Oh, yes. Every morning, we're down here. 319 00:18:26,550 --> 00:18:31,830 I wanted to ask you whether you knew who General Gordon was. Yes. 320 00:18:31,830 --> 00:18:36,190 He was the chap that led the British Army at Khartoum. 321 00:18:36,190 --> 00:18:40,110 The natives took a little bit of a dislike to him 322 00:18:40,110 --> 00:18:42,950 and pulled him out and - bomp - that was it. 323 00:18:42,950 --> 00:18:47,630 General Gordon was one of Queen Victoria's favourite army officers. 324 00:18:47,630 --> 00:18:50,070 Born in Woolwich, the son of an artillery officer, 325 00:18:50,070 --> 00:18:52,150 he distinguished himself in the Crimea 326 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:57,670 and in 1860 was posted to China to fight in the so-called Opium Wars. 327 00:18:57,670 --> 00:19:01,390 Upon his return to Britain, he had become a popular figure, 328 00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:03,710 and was posted here to Gravesend. 329 00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:06,990 I'm meeting Tony Larkin in the gardens named after Gordon 330 00:19:06,990 --> 00:19:09,390 to find out more. 331 00:19:09,390 --> 00:19:12,030 Now, Gordon of Khartoum, I think of. He died in the Sudan. 332 00:19:12,030 --> 00:19:13,630 What's he got to do with Gravesend? 333 00:19:13,630 --> 00:19:15,670 He was in Gravesend for six years. 334 00:19:15,670 --> 00:19:18,190 It was the longest posting he ever had in one place. 335 00:19:18,190 --> 00:19:21,950 What was he doing here? Redevelopment of the forts. 336 00:19:21,950 --> 00:19:24,070 They were falling to pieces. 337 00:19:24,070 --> 00:19:26,830 Was he already quite well known? Probably not in Gravesend, 338 00:19:26,830 --> 00:19:29,670 but around the nation as Chinese Gordon, yes. 339 00:19:29,670 --> 00:19:31,270 Why was he called Chinese Gordon? 340 00:19:31,270 --> 00:19:33,750 Because of the squashing of the Taiping rebellion. 341 00:19:35,390 --> 00:19:39,310 In May 1862, Gordon's corps of engineers had been assigned 342 00:19:39,310 --> 00:19:42,470 to strengthen the defence of Shanghai. 343 00:19:42,470 --> 00:19:45,430 This free port, so valuable to British trade, 344 00:19:45,430 --> 00:19:48,190 was threatened by an uprising, the Taiping Rebellion, 345 00:19:48,190 --> 00:19:49,990 which had raged for 12 years. 346 00:19:51,870 --> 00:19:54,870 During 18 months, troops under Gordon's command 347 00:19:54,870 --> 00:19:56,910 helped to suppress the insurrection, 348 00:19:56,910 --> 00:19:59,350 and to keep the port open. 349 00:19:59,350 --> 00:20:03,830 This man was so used to warfare, to action and then he's sent to, 350 00:20:03,830 --> 00:20:07,910 forgive me, Gravesend. Doesn't he get a bit bored here? 351 00:20:07,910 --> 00:20:10,470 Yes, cos at the end of the day, when you've been 352 00:20:10,470 --> 00:20:13,550 in action for something like seven years from one place to another, 353 00:20:13,550 --> 00:20:15,190 fighting and fighting and fighting, 354 00:20:15,190 --> 00:20:17,630 and suddenly come to a place like Gravesend... 355 00:20:17,630 --> 00:20:20,190 Did he warm to Gravesend eventually? Oh, yes. 356 00:20:20,190 --> 00:20:23,590 I think he really genuinely loved the place. 357 00:20:23,590 --> 00:20:26,990 Probably not the town itself, but its people. 358 00:20:26,990 --> 00:20:29,430 And it seems that the feeling was mutual. 359 00:20:29,430 --> 00:20:31,830 Tony has led me to an impressive statue 360 00:20:31,830 --> 00:20:34,070 commemorating General Gordon. 361 00:20:34,070 --> 00:20:37,110 Why were the people of Gravesend so keen to remember Gordon? 362 00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:39,550 What had he done for them? It's the good works, really. 363 00:20:39,550 --> 00:20:41,470 Gordon spent six years here 364 00:20:41,470 --> 00:20:45,630 looking after the poor and needy of the parish, really. 365 00:20:45,630 --> 00:20:48,910 General Gordon became the chairman of the local ragged school, 366 00:20:48,910 --> 00:20:52,790 where he insisted on a far-sighted new code of practice. 367 00:20:52,790 --> 00:20:55,390 He made laws that any child that came to this school, 368 00:20:55,390 --> 00:20:58,630 whatever their religion or creed, they were fed with food. 369 00:20:58,630 --> 00:21:01,550 Because there were still these demarcation lines about faiths. 370 00:21:01,550 --> 00:21:05,750 But Gordon said, you will feed any child or any person 371 00:21:05,750 --> 00:21:08,310 that comes to this place and you will give them soup and bread 372 00:21:08,310 --> 00:21:10,870 and that became known as the Gordon law. 373 00:21:10,870 --> 00:21:15,910 It's been estimated that he gave away 90% of his army pay of £3,000 a year 374 00:21:15,910 --> 00:21:17,830 to the poor of Gravesend, 375 00:21:17,830 --> 00:21:21,230 and kept up his generosity in the years after he left. 376 00:21:21,230 --> 00:21:24,270 In 1884, Gordon was sent to the Sudan 377 00:21:24,270 --> 00:21:27,430 to help the Egyptians deal with a rebellion. 378 00:21:27,430 --> 00:21:30,150 He died at the siege of Khartoum. 379 00:21:30,150 --> 00:21:33,190 What led to Gordon's death? Well, basically, he was trapped. 380 00:21:33,190 --> 00:21:35,550 On a personal level, he could have got out, I believe, 381 00:21:35,550 --> 00:21:37,470 but he would not betray his people. 382 00:21:37,470 --> 00:21:40,710 He was their father, their guv'nor. He was their boss, 383 00:21:40,710 --> 00:21:44,630 and basically, he decided he would stay with them 384 00:21:44,630 --> 00:21:47,430 because it would look morally bad for him to run away. 385 00:21:47,430 --> 00:21:49,430 Gordon was a national hero, 386 00:21:49,430 --> 00:21:52,870 and news of his death led to an outpouring of grief... 387 00:21:54,950 --> 00:21:56,750 ..nowhere more than at Gravesend. 388 00:22:02,870 --> 00:22:06,190 From here I'm embarking on a railway journey across Kent, 389 00:22:06,190 --> 00:22:08,350 and it sounds as if I'm in for a treat. 390 00:22:18,910 --> 00:22:22,950 My guidebook enthuses about Kent. "From the diversity 391 00:22:22,950 --> 00:22:27,790 "of its surface, the noble rivers by which it is watered, the richness 392 00:22:27,790 --> 00:22:30,270 "and variety of its inland scenery, 393 00:22:30,270 --> 00:22:33,950 "and the more sublime beauties of its sea coast, 394 00:22:33,950 --> 00:22:38,990 "this county ranks among the most interesting portions of our island." 395 00:22:38,990 --> 00:22:41,510 According to Bradshaw's, 396 00:22:41,510 --> 00:22:44,910 this is not so much the Garden of England as the Garden of Eden! 397 00:22:53,790 --> 00:22:57,350 I'll be getting out at Rochester, which, Bradshaw's reminds me, was 398 00:22:57,350 --> 00:23:01,550 "a British town before the Roman invasion. 399 00:23:01,550 --> 00:23:05,910 "An amphitheatre of hills encircles the beautiful landscape. 400 00:23:05,910 --> 00:23:09,870 "The Medway serpentines round the castle and cathedral, 401 00:23:09,870 --> 00:23:14,030 "to render a complete picturesque panorama". 402 00:23:14,030 --> 00:23:15,950 I have great expectations. 403 00:23:22,470 --> 00:23:26,510 'I'm told there's a tale or two of this city.' 404 00:23:26,510 --> 00:23:28,710 You can barely turn or twist 405 00:23:28,710 --> 00:23:32,630 without spotting a reference to a truly great author. 406 00:23:32,630 --> 00:23:35,030 This bleak place, overgrown with nettles... 407 00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:36,990 Charles Dickens. 408 00:23:36,990 --> 00:23:38,990 ..and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, 409 00:23:38,990 --> 00:23:42,670 and also Georgina, wife of the above, were dead and buried. 410 00:23:45,950 --> 00:23:47,470 Well read! Thank you! 411 00:23:47,470 --> 00:23:51,950 You must be very keen Dickensians to get dressed up like this. 412 00:23:51,950 --> 00:23:53,550 There's no doubt who you are. 413 00:23:53,550 --> 00:23:56,430 You've got the iron around your leg and the rag around your head. 414 00:23:56,430 --> 00:23:59,630 And I've got my pork pie. You've got a pork pie so you're the convict, 415 00:23:59,630 --> 00:24:01,710 Magwitch, from Great Expectations, aren't you? 416 00:24:01,710 --> 00:24:05,390 Why is Dickens so great, in your view? 417 00:24:05,390 --> 00:24:07,430 I think it was just the characters he had. 418 00:24:07,430 --> 00:24:09,390 Such marvellous characters. 419 00:24:09,390 --> 00:24:12,630 This is why I like doing Magwitch, but also you have Fagin 420 00:24:12,630 --> 00:24:15,830 and Miss Havisham. Just so many characters. 421 00:24:15,830 --> 00:24:16,910 He was an artist! 422 00:24:16,910 --> 00:24:21,390 He painted these stories so well for us 423 00:24:21,390 --> 00:24:24,670 and gave us such great descriptive language 424 00:24:24,670 --> 00:24:26,870 and you're drawn into it straightaway. 425 00:24:28,910 --> 00:24:31,110 Charles Dickens grew up near Rochester, 426 00:24:31,110 --> 00:24:33,750 falling in love with the house at Gads Hill Place 427 00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:35,190 when he was a boy. 428 00:24:35,190 --> 00:24:39,670 He never forgot it and came back to live there in his mid-forties. 429 00:24:39,670 --> 00:24:41,470 With his photographic memory, 430 00:24:41,470 --> 00:24:45,550 he could pepper his works with descriptions of people and places, 431 00:24:45,550 --> 00:24:48,590 drawn from the Rochester of his childhood. 432 00:24:48,590 --> 00:24:51,830 Steve Martin is giving me a tour of this Dickensian city. 433 00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:55,830 Does Rochester make its way into the novels? 434 00:24:55,830 --> 00:24:57,950 All the way through his major works, 435 00:24:57,950 --> 00:25:00,390 he uses the buildings that he knew from his youth. 436 00:25:00,390 --> 00:25:02,670 Behind us you've got the lovely clock, 437 00:25:02,670 --> 00:25:05,590 which, when he was a small boy, he was frightened of. 438 00:25:05,590 --> 00:25:09,510 In later life he wrote that why on earth was he frightened of such a thing as that? 439 00:25:09,510 --> 00:25:12,710 Another major feature of the High Street here is Rochester Cathedral 440 00:25:12,710 --> 00:25:13,950 and the castle. 441 00:25:13,950 --> 00:25:17,430 And the town of Rochester in Edwin Drood was called Cloisterham. 442 00:25:17,430 --> 00:25:20,670 And the centre of the story is based on Rochester Cathedral. 443 00:25:20,670 --> 00:25:22,110 How did he feel about railways? 444 00:25:22,110 --> 00:25:24,430 Wherever he went, he went by railway, 445 00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:26,590 even when he was in America. 446 00:25:26,590 --> 00:25:28,190 But that all changed 447 00:25:28,190 --> 00:25:31,030 when he was involved in the Staplehurst rail crash. 448 00:25:32,270 --> 00:25:34,230 The Folkestone to London boat train 449 00:25:34,230 --> 00:25:40,190 derailed on a viaduct in Staplehurst in Kent in June 1865. 450 00:25:40,190 --> 00:25:42,510 Dickens was in a first-class compartment 451 00:25:42,510 --> 00:25:45,190 and narrowly escaped with his life. 452 00:25:45,190 --> 00:25:48,710 Charles Dickens was seen to wander around the scene 453 00:25:48,710 --> 00:25:51,150 giving people brandy and water from his top hat. 454 00:25:52,630 --> 00:25:54,830 So did he not use the railways again? 455 00:25:54,830 --> 00:25:56,870 Reluctantly, he did use the railways 456 00:25:56,870 --> 00:26:01,190 but it did change his opinions of it and he was very reluctant to use them. 457 00:26:01,190 --> 00:26:03,750 Tucked away off the High Street is another gem 458 00:26:03,750 --> 00:26:05,990 of Rochester's Dickensian heritage 459 00:26:05,990 --> 00:26:09,430 which was moved here from its original site in Gads Hill. 460 00:26:09,430 --> 00:26:12,670 And this, of course, is Charles Dickens' writing chalet. 461 00:26:12,670 --> 00:26:16,150 Christmas Eve in 1864, Charles Fector, 462 00:26:16,150 --> 00:26:18,590 the actor friend of Charles Dickens, 463 00:26:18,590 --> 00:26:21,470 said he had a Christmas present waiting for him at Higham station 464 00:26:21,470 --> 00:26:24,070 but he'd have to collect it because it was heavy. 465 00:26:24,070 --> 00:26:27,710 When they eventually went down there, there were 56 packing cases 466 00:26:27,710 --> 00:26:29,790 containing 94 pieces. 467 00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:32,190 The early flat pack and it was the Swiss chalet. 468 00:26:32,190 --> 00:26:34,950 The story goes he used all his guests and his staff 469 00:26:34,950 --> 00:26:37,270 to go down and collect it 470 00:26:37,270 --> 00:26:40,110 and spent the Christmas festivities trying to put it together. 471 00:26:40,110 --> 00:26:43,270 What use did Charles Dickens make of his Swiss chalet? 472 00:26:43,270 --> 00:26:45,870 He furnished the upper floor as a study 473 00:26:45,870 --> 00:26:49,670 and did some of his most famous and most serious work in there. 474 00:26:49,670 --> 00:26:53,350 What do you think was Dickens' contribution to Victorian society? 475 00:26:53,350 --> 00:26:57,750 Charles Dickens was one of the most...or the best social reformers of his time. 476 00:26:57,750 --> 00:27:00,070 He was asked to stand for Parliament a couple of times 477 00:27:00,070 --> 00:27:04,670 but he turned it down, saying to the effect of he could do more by writing one book 478 00:27:04,670 --> 00:27:07,590 than he could for a lifetime in Parliament. 479 00:27:07,590 --> 00:27:15,070 Charles Dickens was laid to rest in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey after his death in June 1870. 480 00:27:15,070 --> 00:27:19,510 His wish to be buried in a simple grave at Rochester Cathedral was ignored. 481 00:27:25,470 --> 00:27:30,470 General Gordon of Khartoum fought a battle against poverty in Gravesend. 482 00:27:30,470 --> 00:27:33,350 Dr Barnardo, with evangelical zeal, 483 00:27:33,350 --> 00:27:38,790 created a national institution for the relief of destitute children. 484 00:27:38,790 --> 00:27:43,710 Charles Dickens was perhaps the greatest Victorian social reformer of all. 485 00:27:43,710 --> 00:27:48,350 His novels revealed the horrors of the slums and the workhouses 486 00:27:48,350 --> 00:27:51,390 and he spread the word on speaking tours, 487 00:27:51,390 --> 00:27:53,550 making use of the new railways. 488 00:27:58,790 --> 00:28:03,070 'Next time, I'll deliver beer with old-fashioned directness...' 489 00:28:03,070 --> 00:28:04,990 Anyone in need of a drink? 490 00:28:06,190 --> 00:28:09,110 '..learn about some old balls...' 491 00:28:09,110 --> 00:28:12,510 That is the oldest cricket ball known to exist anywhere in the world. 492 00:28:12,510 --> 00:28:15,350 It was used in a match at Lords in 1820. 493 00:28:16,670 --> 00:28:19,670 '..and ruffle some feathers in Dorking.' 494 00:28:19,670 --> 00:28:23,510 I quite like a wash and blow-dry myself, so we're birds of a feather.