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For Victorian Britons, George
Bradshaw was a household name.

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'At a time when railways were new,

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'Bradshaw's guidebook inspired
them to take to the tracks.'

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I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to
understand how trains transformed

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Britain - its landscape,

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its industry, society
and leisure time.

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As I crisscross the country
150 years later, it helps me

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to discover the Britain of today.

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I'm continuing a journey that
began in the west of Wales

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and will end in the east of England.

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Victorian scientific advances
drew on centuries of scholarship

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in British universities.

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Well educated gentleman,
schooled in the Christian virtues,

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tended to be charitable.

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My journey today will take me
from the cloisters of academia

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to houses for the poor,
from varsity to philanthropy.

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I began in naval Pembroke,
went underground in Swansea,

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tasted the fruits of Herefordshire
and ventured through the rolling

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hills of the Cotswolds to discover
a land transformed by railways.

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From here I'll head
into Bedfordshire,

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before ending my journey
in the scholarly city of Cambridge.

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Today's leg takes me straight to
the heart of academia in Oxford,

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then east to Bicester

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and onto the charitable town of
Bedford, before ending in Luton.

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'I discover a miniature edition
from my favourite publisher...'

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And this is actually the first
edition of Bradshaw's.

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Oh, that is exciting.

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Very, very ephemeral
little publication,

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so it's incredibly rare.

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'..marvel at the ambition
of a new railway...'

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You're going to raise this up, bring
the rail across by this weekend?

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Yes. There's a man speaking
with confidence.

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'..and learn the power of a hat.'

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It's amazing. In a moment,
you've converted me

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from an investment
banker into a rake!

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According to Bradshaw's, Oxford
has an advantage over Cambridge

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"being placed among more
attractive scenery

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"and combining a greater variety
of splendid architecture."

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As a Cambridge graduate,
I say bunkum,

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but my guidebook is on safer ground,
saying that,

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"The Bodleian Library was founded
in 1602 by Sir T Bodley

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"and contains nearly a quarter
of one million of books,

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"old, new and rare,"

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which speaks volumes for such
an ancient institution.

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For a city whose university
alumni include some of

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the world's most innovative
thinkers,

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it's surprising to discover that
the arrival of the railway in 1844

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met with such great opposition.

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College wardens feared that the
bright lights of London would

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lure its students away
from their studies.

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Yet, for Victorian students
intrigued by science

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and the classification
of the natural world,

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Britain's capital could not compete
with the University's main

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research library, The Bodleian.

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Today, it holds over
11 million items

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and is second in size only
to the British Library.

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It's here that Bodley's librarian
Richard Ovenden is to give me

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privileged access to
its rare collection.

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Welcome. Welcome to
Duke Humphrey's Library.

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What wonderful surroundings
I find you in,

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it's like a sort of temple
of scholarship, isn't it?

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Absolutely, and it has been for
400 years. Yes, what a thought.

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My Bradshaw's says that you have
books old, rare and new.

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I certainly don't doubt
that you have old. Yeah.

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Anything you want to tell me about?

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Well, I thought we might start
with something rare.

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One of Oxford's greatest sons
was the poet Percy Shelley.

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And, of course, he married another
great writer - Mary Shelley.

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And this is the manuscript,
the earliest surviving

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drafts of her great literary
masterpiece, Frankenstein.

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Good heavens. So this was written
in the summer of 1816

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when she and Percy were staying
in the villa of Lord Byron

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on the banks of Lake Geneva.

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And during a famous thunderstorm,
they had a ghost story competition.

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MICHAEL LAUGHS

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And Mary Shelley
invented the creature

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that we know as Frankenstein.

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It has the classic horror story
beginning, doesn't it?

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"It was on a dreary night of
November that I beheld my man

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"completed with an anxiety
that almost amounted to agony."

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And she continues, "By the glimmer
of the half-extinguished light,

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"I saw the dull, yellow eye
of the creature open.

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"It breathed hard and a convulsive
motion agitated its limbs."

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Frankenstein's monster
comes to life.

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Yeah, and sparking almost
two centuries of cultural life.

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I mean, Frankenstein generated
words which we use all the time

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when we're discussing science
or medical innovation,

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and it all began when Mary had this
fantastic moment of genius.

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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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certainly captured the early
Victorians' imagination.

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And by Bradshaw's day,
the interplay of science

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and the supernatural had become
a national preoccupation...

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alongside a new appetite for travel.

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I thought it might be interesting
just to see the growth

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of the railway network in England
at the time of Bradshaw.

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So here we have Picot's map
of England and Wales

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with part of Scotland,
published in 1840.

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There's much about this map
that we all recognise.

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Here is what we now call
the West Coast Main Line,

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and I can tell you that
Cambridge has its railway...

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..but I'm not sure that Oxford does.

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No. Well, those are
fantastic examples.

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I thought I'd just pull one
small thing which was

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printed for a gentleman's
jacket pocket like this.

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This is actually the first
edition of Bradshaw's.

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Ah, that is exciting.

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So, we can see the Northwest of
England, we can see Lancashire

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and this fantastic
little railway map.

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Very, very ephemeral little
publication, so it's incredibly rare.

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Now, the one thing that Bradshaw's
didn't tell me about...

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because you couldn't,
was the future.

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What is the future?

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Well, the future is a mixture of
the physical and the digital,

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and I think we should go
and look at that now.

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Let us do that. Thank you so much.

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In 1946, a new Bodleian Library
opened,

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designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott,

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the architect behind London's
Battersea Power Station

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and the red telephone box.

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Work is now under way to expand
and update the facility

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for 21st century needs, and Richard
is taking me to see its progress.

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We spent a year just moving
all of those millions of books

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and journals. And the last year
we spent fitting out the interior.

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And we're just at the final
few weeks of that,

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ready to open for the start of term.

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And what's going to be new?

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It's really going to be,
you know, future-proofed

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for very high bandwidth

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to enable the highest levels
of digital scholarship.

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The new exhibition gallery is going
to be open freely to the public.

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You name it, it's going
to be open to the world.

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Anything more that I should see?

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I think we should go up on the roof.

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My word, Richard,
that is a glorious sight.

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Well, it's a pretty amazing vista.

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You can see the University church
from the 12th, 13th centuries.

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The Radcliffe Camera, James Gibbs'
fantastic building - 1749.

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The unknown architect of the old
Bodleian from the early 17th century.

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And of course Wren's
Sheldonian Theatre,

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his first commission as an architect,
finished in 1667.

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This view will not have changed
much since Bradshaw's day.

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And I think if Bradshaw's
were written today,

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this balcony would be named
as the vantage point.

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The next leg of my journey leads
me to Bicester, the hub of two

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exciting rail projects, one of
which will establish the first

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new link between London and a
major city in over 100 years.

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With the line from
Oxford to Bicester Town

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currently out of service,

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I've made my way here
under my own steam.

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When my Bradshaw's guide
was published

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they had just opened
that vital link of track

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that completed the varsity line
connecting Oxford and Cambridge.

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By the time I was at university,
the quickest way between the two

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cities was via London.

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But where I'm standing now is
new track that will enable you

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to travel from Oxford
to London Marylebone.

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And it opens up the hope that,
one day,

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the boffins will again
be able to travel

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from university to university.

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This ambitious project comes
at the time of the greatest

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investment in Britain's rail network
since the Victorian era.

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My first port of call is Bicester
Town station, opened in 1850.

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It enjoyed a connection with the two
old university cities until 1967,

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when the Oxford-to-Bletchley
and Bedford-to-Cambridge services

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were withdrawn.

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Today, Chiltern Railways is
resurrecting long lost rail links

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and upgrading the track.

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I'm meeting Graham Cross
from the railway company.

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Graham, standing here amongst the
weeds at Bicester Town Station,

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which is presently
closed at the moment,

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may seem to be a strange place
to ask about it,

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but what is the scale
of this project?

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So, this is a project that
cost Chiltern Railways

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about £130 million.

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We're investing in
new infrastructure

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and new stations to greatly improve
the train services in this area.

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And here at Bicester Town,
what is it you've been doing?

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So, here at Bicester Town,
what we're doing is

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constructing a brand-new station.

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It's being upgraded from a
single track to dual track

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and the speeds are increasing
from 40mph to 100mph

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with modern signalling.

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An extraordinary number of changes.

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There are other projects around it
as well, aren't there?

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That's right. From this station,
around about 2018/19,

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you'll be able to take a train
through to Milton Keynes

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when the second stage of the
East West project is complete.

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And that is part of a wider vision
to continue then to extend that

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railway through Bedford
and on to Cambridge,

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so reinstating the
Oxford to Cambridge railway line.

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That would be a fantastic
achievement, wouldn't it?

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It would be marvellous.

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But the plans don't stop there.

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A new stretch of track,
three quarters of a mile long,

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is being laid at Bicester

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to connect the existing route
between Oxford and Bicester Town

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with the London Marylebone
to Birmingham Moor Street line.

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One of the things really that we're
seeking to do here is to connect

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the parts of southern England
which aren't well connected

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by rail at the moment.

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Is that because there's been a
change in the sort of journeys

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that people want to make?

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I think so, yeah. 20 years ago,
people were just wanting to travel

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to London, but as the economy
has broadened and places like

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Oxford and Bicester have grown
in importance, there's ever more

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demand now to travel between those
places without going through London,

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and that really is
what this project does.

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Work on the new connection
to the main line is under way

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just a mile from Bicester Town
station.

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And there I'm meeting
senior construction manager

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Merrick Murphy.

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So, Merrick, I feel as though
you've brought me

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to the pivotal part of the project.

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Well, what we're actually
doing is creating

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a tie-in point whereby you will
be able to come from Marylebone

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00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,400
or London and then
turn out to Oxford.

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The line will be operational
in summer 2015.

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So, we're putting in new points
here and then we connect down to

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a line that's running absolutely at
right angles to us at this point.

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Yes, indeed. What stage then
are you at right now?

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We are in the earthworks phase,
whereby we're matching

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00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:29,080
the embankment sizes so that the
rail can go down directly on top.

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00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,360
So how much material do you think
this is taking?

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Well, I would approximately think,
at its current state,

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75,000 tonnes of material.

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My goodness.

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And when are you actually going
to connect that rail to here?

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This weekend we're going to be
bringing the earthworks through

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and getting the rail over this side.

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I find that unbelievable.
You're going to raise this up,

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bring the rail across
by this weekend?

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00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,280
Yes. There's a man speaking
with confidence.

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Oh, we'll manage that, no problem.

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'This time-critical task is
supervised by senior site engineer

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'Barry Burrows.

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00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,520
'And I'm pleased to be given
a small part in its execution.'

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Thank you very much.

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00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,920
So, this instrument tells you
what exactly?

239
00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,040
This controls the level
of the embankment.

240
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,600
So it's a GPS. I hope it's more
accurate than the one in my car,

241
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:18,960
is it? Yes, a lot more accurate.

242
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:20,600
And it is giving us
the level up there

243
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,800
of how much materials to go
on at this current point.

244
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,440
So, if I'm reading this correctly,
at this point you need

245
00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,880
456 mil to be added here.

246
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,400
Yes. So, what tonnage do you still
have to put on, do you think?

247
00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,200
About 7,000-10,000.

248
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,640
7,000-10,000. Which is only about
a tenth of what you've done.

249
00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:40,400
Yeah, we've done about 75,000 so...

250
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,640
So nearly there. Yeah.
Congratulations.

251
00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,760
I think I can safely leave it
to you. Thank you.

252
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:46,840
Thank you, Barry. Cheers. Bye. Bye.

253
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,720
I'm impressed by the vision behind
the Oxford to London mainline

254
00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,560
project and I'm sure that if
George Bradshaw were here today,

255
00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:57,560
it would get his seal
of approval too.

256
00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,800
A new day, and I'm resuming
my journey at Bletchley station,

257
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:22,000
heading northeast.

258
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,160
My first stop today will be Bedford.

259
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,400
Bradshaw's tells me that a Lord
Mayor of London - William Harpur -

260
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:37,960
was born here.

261
00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:44,320
"The founder of an extensive charity
now possessing a revenue of £2,000

262
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:49,600
"per annum from land in Holborn
and in his native town.

263
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,640
"Being open to all, the charity
has the effect of drawing many

264
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:59,200
"families to the town where there
are 70 or 80 almshouses."

265
00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:03,520
Alms has its origin in a Greek word
meaning 'pity'.

266
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:08,280
I prefer a word with a Latin
derivation - benefaction,

267
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,200
implying someone trying to do good.

268
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,400
By the time of my guidebook,

269
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,880
Bedford had acquired sanitation
and gas lighting

270
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,640
and had been transformed from
a small, agricultural community

271
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,160
into an engineering hub.

272
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,520
But the focus of my visit
today is philanthropy

273
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,720
and the generosity of a man
named William Harpur.

274
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:40,120
I'm heading to St Paul's Church,
where he was buried in 1574,

275
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,160
to meet local historian
James Collett-White.

276
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:47,800
James, hello. Hello, Michael.

277
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,880
Welcome to St Paul's.
Thank you very much.

278
00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,280
Since I've been in Bedford,

279
00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,760
lots of references to
William Harpur, street names...

280
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,920
And to Dame Alice, his wife.
I've seen a statue of him.

281
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,600
And this window is dedicated
to them as well?

282
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:01,840
Yes, indeed.

283
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:08,880
This window was made in 1976,
erected by the Harpur Trust.

284
00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,200
Sir William Harpur
was born in Bedford,

285
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,880
he went to a school in Bedford

286
00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,720
and that was obviously a very
important influence on his life.

287
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,960
Harpur went on to work as a master
of the Merchant Taylors' Company

288
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:22,280
in London.

289
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:26,240
An investment in land in the capital
made him rich and provided him

290
00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,200
with enough money to transform
his home town.

291
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,120
Tell me about his philanthropy
towards Bedford.

292
00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:38,200
In the 1550s, he bought
the site of what was to be

293
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:39,720
the grammar school,

294
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:45,880
and this school was endowed by
land from Holborn by the 1760s.

295
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,600
The land became part
of the Harpur Trust,

296
00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:54,080
and out of that was endowed,
from the 1870s onwards,

297
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,960
four public schools and the
primary schools of Bedford.

298
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,320
Until the late 19th century
when the state school system

299
00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:06,440
that we know today began to take
shape, many working-class children

300
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:10,400
received no education at
all beyond Sunday school.

301
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,920
Harpur's generosity
spread opportunity.

302
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,800
He was also concerned
to tackle poverty.

303
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:19,680
How did the almshouses come about?

304
00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:25,200
Well, there was always almsgiving
but in 1793 Act, there was

305
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,760
a provision to be made
for building 20 almshouses

306
00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:35,000
and then 46 houses for
the industrious poor.

307
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,720
What happened, in fact,
was that the 20 were built

308
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:43,040
and the 46 were, in fact,
created as almshouses

309
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,120
because that was the need after
the great fire of Bedford of 1802.

310
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:52,160
By the time the railway arrived
in Bedford in 1846,

311
00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,080
the Poor Law of 1834
had changed everything.

312
00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,880
Parish assistance to the needy
was limited to those

313
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,080
who entered the grim workhouses.

314
00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,440
Some rich industrialists saw it as
their Christian duty to support

315
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:13,200
worthy causes, many of which
are still going strong today.

316
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,920
In today's Bedford,
are there still people

317
00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,160
benefiting from the Harpur Trust?

318
00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:23,160
Indeed, in Harpur House,
which was built from the sale

319
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,240
of the western part of
the old almshouses.

320
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,000
I must go and see the people there.

321
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,360
Very good.

322
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:34,640
There are nearly 1,800 almshouse
charities in the UK.

323
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,760
The Harpur Trust provides
accommodation to 25 elderly people

324
00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:40,000
in Harpur House.

325
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,320
Many of the residents are from
Bedford and went to Harpur schools,

326
00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,120
so they've known the Harpur
name all their lives.

327
00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:50,600
Good morning, everybody.

328
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:51,640
ALL: Good morning.

329
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,080
Lovely to see you. May I sit here?

330
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,040
You may. Thank you very much indeed.

331
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,800
How long have you been here, sir?

332
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,360
About ten weeks. So you're...
I'm a new boy. You are a new boy.

333
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:03,840
Yes. And how are you settling in?

334
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:04,920
Very well.

335
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,800
I came in on the Sunday,
and by Monday,

336
00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,280
I felt as though I'd
been here for years.

337
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,720
I've really settled in, yes,
and I'm happy I made the move.

338
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:15,680
May I join you for a minute?

339
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,040
Are you from Bedford?
Well, I was born in Harpur Street.

340
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,440
You were born in Harpur Street?!
Yeah, yeah.

341
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,080
So, at the beginning of your life,

342
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,040
you lived in a place
named after Harpur.

343
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,080
Yeah, I did. And here you are now
living in a place

344
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,400
named after Harpur. Exactly.
That's extraordinary.

345
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:30,960
It is extraordinary, yeah.

346
00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,000
Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
Now, do we have two sisters here?

347
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:36,040
Yes. These two.

348
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,480
We are a real big family.

349
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,360
Our mum and dad used to live in
Dame Alice Street,

350
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:47,480
Dorothy's in-laws used to live
in Dame Alice Street

351
00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:48,960
and one of my brothers,

352
00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,400
they lived in Dame Alice Street also.

353
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,720
Do you think, while we're here,
ladies and gentlemen,

354
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,160
we should raise our tea cups

355
00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:01,640
and drink a sip to Sir William
Harpur and Dame Alice?

356
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:02,880
Dame Alice.

357
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:10,240
In the 16th century, it was
possible to become fabulously

358
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,960
wealthy as it is today.

359
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,200
For those now who are rich and who
are considering philanthropy,

360
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,200
think of the case of
Sir William Harpur.

361
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,280
500 years after his birth,

362
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,080
he's still remembered
for his charity

363
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,520
and praised by his beneficiaries.

364
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,240
Back at Bedford station,
it's a short, 20-minute ride

365
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,120
to the final destination
on this leg of my journey.

366
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,000
My next stop, Luton, was famous
for hats in Bradshaw's time,

367
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,960
being, as my guidebook says,
"A town of straw platters."

368
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,760
There were, in fact, many
thousands in Bedfordshire.

369
00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,920
So, I'll weave in a visit
as I head onwards.

370
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,000
By the time of my guidebook,
Luton had been transformed

371
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,480
from a country market town
to a busy urban centre

372
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,920
thanks to a thriving straw hatting
and plaiting industry.

373
00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:18,200
Its good fortune arose out of
an embargo on straw imports

374
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,640
from the Continent during
the Napoleonic Wars

375
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,560
of the early 19th century and
the unprecedented demand that

376
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,840
this placed on Bedfordshire's
wheat and corn producers.

377
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,200
One company to reap the benefits
was Walter Wright Hats.

378
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:35,400
Philip, hello.

379
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,120
Hello, and welcome
to Walter Wright's.

380
00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:38,760
Thank you very much indeed.

381
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,720
When you meet someone for the
first time... For example, me.

382
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,920
..do you find that you're
always sizing them up?

383
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,360
It's not just size,
it's the proportion of hat

384
00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:51,600
and it's the demeanour.

385
00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:56,200
So, you have to find a hat that just
reflects their look, their style,

386
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,960
their message and the environment
where that hat's going to be worn.

387
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:03,760
No respectable Victorian
man or woman would leave home

388
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,200
without a hat.

389
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,160
They were expected to know
when, where, and how to wear it.

390
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:13,040
So, having sized me up and having
studied my demeanour,

391
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:14,880
what do you think we should look at?

392
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,480
It's got to be classical
but with an edge of fun.

393
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,040
Ooh.

394
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,800
This is a brushed fur felt.

395
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:27,560
So we have a severe bad look
at a wedding.

396
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:29,880
However...

397
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,720
..Champagne Charlie would have
always worn it on a slight angle

398
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,680
to soften the eyes.

399
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,760
It's amazing, in a moment
you've converted me

400
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,720
from an investment banker
into a rake!

401
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,320
Ooh, I quite fancy myself in that.

402
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:52,600
Copper.

403
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,440
Rake.
THEY LAUGH

404
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:57,920
Do you know, I've learnt more
about hats in the last minute

405
00:23:57,920 --> 00:23:59,480
than in the rest of my life.

406
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:00,680
It's my passion.

407
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:05,200
Top hats were standard,
year round attire

408
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,640
for the upper and middle class
Victorian gent

409
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:10,560
until the late 19th century,

410
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,400
when the straw boater became
de rigueur in summer.

411
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:15,840
Philip has offered to show me

412
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,520
what goes into creating
this classic design.

413
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,680
Around the sort of late 1800s,

414
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,480
these blocks would have been
made solely out of wood.

415
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,640
The process of wooden blocking meant
that the dehydration process

416
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:33,080
was a lot slower.

417
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,920
They would've had to
dry them in an oven.

418
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,560
By having the aluminium hot, it means
the fibre dries on the block,

419
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:41,800
it's a lot quicker.

420
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,440
So by the 1910, 1920s,
it meant my great-grandmother

421
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,240
could produce 1,000 dozen a week
as opposed to a lot less using wood.

422
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:55,680
So, we've taken a natural straw and
now we are going to heat gently.

423
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,440
Ease the fibre. Oh! That's quite hot!

424
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,120
It's as warm as an iron.

425
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:01,360
MICHAEL PANTS

426
00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:05,360
A good blocker. You can tell he knows
what he's doing cos he can take

427
00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:09,360
the Sunday roast out of the oven
without using oven gloves.

428
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:10,640
What are you doing now?

429
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,360
I'm putting the string round edge
of the block which stretches

430
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:19,120
the material and gives the
machinists an edge to go by.

431
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:21,880
I'm just going to pop her up...

432
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,600
..into the other side of the mould.

433
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,320
And more heat applied there?

434
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,520
More heat applied. So she's now
being fully baked top and under.

435
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,840
Now, your family has been
in hats for a long time.

436
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,160
My great-grandfather...

437
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,920
he'd been making hats for 400 years,
or his family, for 400 years.

438
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:41,160
It's in the blood, I guess.

439
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,720
That's nice and dry
and holding its shape.

440
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,080
Yep. And so there is your boater.

441
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,880
Hmm, not quite. You're right.

442
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:54,120
Next step, follow me.

443
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:55,960
Thank you.

444
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,600
Michael, Janet. Janet, Michael.
BOTH: Hello.

445
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,960
And you're going to take the hat
to the next stage.

446
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,480
I'm going to cut this edge off
so it comes down to this line

447
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,320
and I'm going to put a wire in it.

448
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,960
This is giving Janet a clear mark,

449
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,640
a clear edge to work to
with her scissors.

450
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,240
It's a lovely, scrunchy noise
it makes.

451
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,320
Right, now that is looking like
a boater, I'll give you that.

452
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,400
'After the edge has been trimmed
a reed is inserted

453
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:23,800
'to strengthen the brim...

454
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,200
'..and then sewn into place.'

455
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,720
Wow, done!

456
00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:37,880
'The next stage is to stitch in the
headband to keep the hat in place.'

457
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,200
Wow, Janet, that is
extraordinary skill

458
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,040
and absolutely faultless.

459
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:46,080
Fantastic.

460
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,480
So now to Linda for the decoration.

461
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,120
Hello, Linda. Hello, nice to meet
you. Very good to see you.

462
00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:52,920
How does a chap choose
his ribbon colour?

463
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:58,880
Choices from old school, colours,
old regiment, old university,

464
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:00,680
old college, or...

465
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,680
Old party, how about that?

466
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,960
Well, there's a surprise!

467
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,560
An historic hat for
an historic party,

468
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,480
the perfect way to end my day.

469
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,520
I think of my guidebook as
a valuable historic volume

470
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,800
but it doesn't compare with
George Bradshaw's earliest

471
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:31,240
railway publication which I
encountered in Oxford University.

472
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,680
Even before Sir Thomas Bodley
had bequeathed his library,

473
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,680
Sir William Harpur had left money
for the relief of the poor

474
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,720
in Bedford, good works
that continue to this day.

475
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,680
It will soon be possible
again to travel by train

476
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,800
from Oxford to Bedford,

477
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:52,160
and on that great day,
I'll throw my hat in the air.

478
00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:59,360
Next time, I get to grips
with a Victorian melodrama.

479
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:02,120
It's a story about a signalman
who gets the opportunity

480
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:05,520
to either save his son
or crash a train.

481
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:06,800
MICHAEL GASPS

482
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,520
I hear ghoulish hospital tales...

483
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,120
Something like an amputation

484
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:13,680
would have taken around about
two to three minutes.

485
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,800
Have to work extremely fast.

486
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,080
..and learn about the student days
of Charles Darwin.

487
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,040
These are the actual beetles
that gave him so much pleasure

488
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,680
and so much obsession when
he was an undergraduate.

489
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:28,560
This is absolutely stunning.