1 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:09,320 For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name. 2 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:11,720 At a time when railways were new, 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:16,160 Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks. 4 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,480 I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide to understand how trains 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,400 transformed Britain, its landscape, its industry, 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,080 society and leisure time. 7 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,280 As I crisscross the country 150 years later, 8 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,680 it helps me to discover the Britain of today. 9 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,640 I'm now more than halfway through my journey 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,080 travelling to the south west of London. 11 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:02,040 Today I'll visit two palaces, one famous and one forgotten. 12 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:06,480 I'll discover how Queen Victoria was an accident of birth 13 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,400 and learn how her subjects 14 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,520 changed their attitudes to duelling and disabilities. 15 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,920 Using my Bradshaw's Guide, I've taken in the beauty of Kent, 16 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,720 and followed a route south of London into Surrey. 17 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,640 Racing through the Home Counties, I'll now be visiting royals 18 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:37,320 and reformers before ending riverside in Henley-on-Thames. 19 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,000 Today I discover forgotten royal histories in Esher, 20 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,360 follow in the footsteps of the Victorian tourist at Hampton Court, 21 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:54,200 pass through Teddington, and defend my honour on a London common. 22 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,200 I'm let loose on the longest vine in the world. 23 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,600 Have you ever allowed an incompetent like me to do this? 24 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,120 No. No. 25 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,680 I get fired up like an early Victorian gent... 26 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,760 I've hit my man. 27 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:19,400 ..and find out how the course of British history was set in Esher. 28 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,600 If Charlotte had not died, Victoria would never have been conceived 29 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,760 and we would never have had the Victorian era. 30 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,720 It's early morning as I begin my journey. 31 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:38,360 My first stop will be Hampton Court where I will be visiting the palace. 32 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,280 Bradshaw's reminds us that Cardinal Wolsey, 33 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,360 "Created great envy at court," when he built it. 34 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:49,440 So much so that, unsurprisingly, King Henry VIII took it over. 35 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,680 "Numerous sovereigns since have made it their temporary abode 36 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,320 "and the last who resided here was George II, 37 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,680 "since which the Crown reserves the right of resuming possession," 38 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,280 a surprising thought to us, who think of the palace as a museum 39 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:07,800 and a film set. 40 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,640 Hampton Court Station is 41 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,880 the terminus of a branch of the South West Main Line. 42 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,520 It arrived here in 1849, 43 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,720 enabling visitors to visit Hampton Court Palace, which had been 44 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,360 open to the public by Queen Victoria in the previous decade. 45 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,720 The railways unleashed mass tourism, as sightseers 46 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:38,520 from across the country were enabled to visit spectacular locations. 47 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,280 Here, the original Tudor palace had been repeatedly extended... 48 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:58,640 Thank you very much. 49 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,560 ..offering courtyards, royal chambers, 50 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,600 galleries and beautiful gardens to explore. 51 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,960 Good morning. Good morning, sir. Thank you very much. My pleasure. 52 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,720 I'm here before the crowds to meet 53 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,200 the Curator of Historic Buildings, Daniel Jackson. 54 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,280 Hello, Dan. Nice to meet you. 55 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:33,400 Judging by the dimensions, this magnificent hall must be 56 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,120 what's described in my Bradshaw's as Wolsey's Hall. 57 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:37,760 Did he, in fact, establish it? 58 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,080 So, it's a very complicated history. 59 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,160 There's an awful lot of academic debate as to 60 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,560 whether this is Wolsey's Hall or Henry's Hall. 61 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,120 But, I think we're coming down 62 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,680 on the side that this is probably Henry's Hall. 63 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,200 The tapestries on the wall are purchased by Henry, 64 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,400 the roof certainly is finished by Henry. 65 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,040 When was Hampton Court opened up to mass tourism? 66 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:58,760 It's not until 1838. 67 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,400 Queen Victoria throws open the doors to the masses, free of charge, 68 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,000 and from that point you very quickly 69 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,040 have a huge number 70 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:06,080 of people visiting. 71 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:07,120 It's over 100,000 72 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:08,360 in the first ten years, 73 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,640 up to over 300,000 by the end of the 19th century. 74 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,240 So a huge number of people coming into the palace, 75 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,600 people from all walks of life, so you have wonderful 76 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,520 stories of this becoming a hive of cockneydom, 77 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,720 and you have lots of people visiting in hobnailed boots, which causes 78 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,240 chaos for the floors, which is 79 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,120 why we have very few original floors left, in fact. 80 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,320 But Hampton Court is somewhere anyone can visit and enjoy, 81 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,120 and that's true in the 19th century, as it is today. 82 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,560 Another notable attraction which Bradshaw's is making me 83 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,040 want to see is the Great Vine. Which way would that be? 84 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,480 Just back the way you came, and then through Clock Court. 85 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:43,760 Thank you very much, Dan. My pleasure. 86 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,200 The Great Vine, which Bradshaw's records, was reputedly 87 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,800 planted in 1768, and I'm going to find it, 88 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,040 and the lady charged with its welfare, Jill Strudwick. 89 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,240 Hello, Jill. Oh, hello. How do you do? 90 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,920 I was last here, I think, about 55 years ago. I came as a child. 91 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,040 Oh, goodness, did you? I have the best memory of it. 92 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,920 Ah, well, did you get to taste the grapes? I certainly didn't. 93 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,200 Oh, well, we're really onto autumn now, 94 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,920 but I've just found one or two little bits left over 95 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:26,640 that haven't been pruned. 96 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,560 If you'd like, you're very welcome to taste some of the very 97 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,560 last this year before we start with the next job. 98 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:34,960 I would love to. 99 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:38,400 And they've got the lovely bloom on, 100 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,840 which you don't get in the supermarkets. 101 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:43,640 I'm thrilled to try this. Ah. 102 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,120 Bradshaw's tells me they're Black Hamburg grapes, is that correct? 103 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:48,200 Yes, that's right. 104 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,320 It's a very old variety, so, sweet dessert grapes, 105 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,560 but you will find they've got pips in. 106 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,400 So sweet, they're lovely. Yes, we like to think so. 107 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:00,920 And that's because I'm always trying to pick them ripe. 108 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,080 RADIO: 'Once again the world's oldest grapevine 109 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:04,960 'is ready to give the world its fruit. 110 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,960 'If you like really luscious grapes, take some of these. 111 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,040 'They'll cost you six shillings a pound, but who cares about that 112 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,800 'because the money goes to charity.' 113 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,720 Now, you have the most extraordinary, 114 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,600 the most wonderful title. What is it? 115 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,520 Well, I'm the vine keeper. How long have you been the vine keeper? 116 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:25,160 Oh, oh, oh, am I going to admit to 30 years 117 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:26,760 if you don't tell anybody else? 118 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,320 Really? And do you live on the premises? 119 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,800 Yeah, yeah, I live just over there behind the wall. 120 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,760 Grown in a very traditional way, under glass and with heat, 121 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,600 the Hampton Court specimen appears in the Guinness Book Of Records 122 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,080 as the largest productive vine in the world. 123 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,160 Bradshaw's tells me it's 110 feet long, is that still true? 124 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,960 Well, when I had to measure it for the Guinness Book Of Records, 125 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,120 it was 120. Oh, that's reasonable. 126 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,320 Yes, there's not much in that, is there, really? 127 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,640 Ten foot in a century and a half. And what do you have to do with the vine? 128 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,360 Well, it's so large that it's like the Forth Bridge, 129 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,280 as I finish one operation, it's time to start the next, 130 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:07,880 and the next thing is the pruning. 131 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,800 I don't normally allow it but you're welcome 132 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:11,240 to come and help me, if you'd like. 133 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,520 Well, I'd be privileged. Thank you very much indeed. 134 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,280 We're doing something rather special today, actually. 135 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:21,480 Each autumn, I cut this year's growth back by about half, 136 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,640 and that will encourage it to grow a bit more next year, and that's 137 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,760 how we're gradually increasing the length of some of these 138 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,320 branches, the main framework. 139 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,280 That's really very exciting, so, erm, ooh, 140 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,880 am I going to be entrusted to do this? Yes, you're going to be 141 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:36,760 entrusted with my secateurs to make 142 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,760 the first cut for this autumn's pruning. 143 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,560 Have you ever allowed an incompetent like me to do this? 144 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:45,280 No, no, no, I haven't. 145 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,920 No, normally I wouldn't let anybody prune the vine, 146 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:49,600 except me and my deputy. 147 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,960 I feel slightly queasy cutting a 250-year-old vine. 148 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,760 Oh, tough as old boots. Here we go. There we are, an expert already. 149 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,040 Jill, do you know, in all the years that I've been 150 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,360 using my Bradshaw's Guide, I don't remember before 151 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,280 being guided to a living thing that is still alive today. 152 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,600 Oh, what an interesting thought. Mmm. 153 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,320 For the next leg of my journey, I'm boarding 154 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,160 the train at Hampton Court... 155 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:25,640 ..for Surbiton... 156 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,520 ..where I change to travel one stop south. 157 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,880 My next stop will be Esher, where I'm going to visit Claremont, 158 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,360 a house which, according to Bradshaw's, "Has a melancholy 159 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:49,120 "interest from the death of the lamented Princess Charlotte, in 1817. 160 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,320 "The palace has since belonged to her husband, 161 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,720 "the King of the Belgians, who subsequently appropriated it 162 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,680 "to the use of the exiled King Louis Philippe, 163 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:02,480 "who left France in 1848." 164 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,680 It seems that swathes of 19th-century history are to be found 165 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:08,320 under a single roof. 166 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,200 Many pass through Esher, on the outskirts 167 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,720 of London, on their way to the racecourse at Sandown Park. 168 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,760 Just outside the town is Claremont House, 169 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:34,600 built in the late 18th century for Sir Robert Clive of India. 170 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:39,120 He commissioned the famous landscape architect Capability Brown 171 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,120 to position the house in a remodelled park. 172 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,920 Since the 1930s, it's been a school and I'm meeting Pamela Rider, 173 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:54,000 who's worked here for 27 years, to hear its intriguing history. 174 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,600 Pamela, hello. Hello. Nice to meet you. What a wonderful house. 175 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,080 I had no idea it existed. 176 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,200 Yes, aren't we lucky? It's really wonderful. 177 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:03,960 Please come inside. I'll show you some wonderful parts. 178 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,200 In 1816, Claremont House was given as a wedding gift to 179 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,680 Princess Charlotte, the granddaughter of the reigning monarch, George III, 180 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:30,080 and daughter of his regent, George IV, 181 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,280 on her marriage to the German Prince Leopold. 182 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:39,240 Pamela, I never saw a classroom with such beautiful decor. 183 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,200 What was this room at one time? 184 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,000 It was the bedroom, in 1816, of Princess Charlotte, 185 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,280 and Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg 186 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:50,840 had moved here on their marriage. 187 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:55,080 Then she gets pregnant and the birth was to occur in this very bedroom. 188 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,080 Yes, she went into labour on the 3rd of November, 189 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,800 and the birth went on and on, and it took 50 hours. 190 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,960 Eventually, the baby was born, but it was stillborn 191 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,200 and, very unexpectedly, during the night, Charlotte died. 192 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:18,120 So in one night, Prince Leopold had lost, not only his wife, but his son 193 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,240 and his reason for being in England, which was to be the prince consort. 194 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,200 What was the impact on the British public of this double tragedy? 195 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:26,440 They were devastated. 196 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,520 Everybody put black armbands on, everybody suddenly had cups 197 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,400 and saucers with black round them, 198 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,200 the churches were full of mourning at the time of the funeral. 199 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,000 Now, what impact does that have on British history, 200 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:40,680 on the history of the monarchy? 201 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:45,520 Oh, enormous, because suddenly we have no proper heir to the throne. 202 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:52,800 Since Charlotte had been an only child, the line passing through 203 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,720 her father, the Prince Regent and future George IV, came to an end. 204 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:03,880 The pressure came on to the other children of George III 205 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:05,360 to provide an heir. 206 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,120 All George III's children, 207 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:11,920 he had 12 of them still living at that time, 208 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,080 but none of them had legitimate heirs, 209 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,880 so all the princes and the princesses have got to get married. 210 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,560 And the Duke of Kent, who is the fourth son, 211 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:24,440 had in fact got a mistress out in Brussels whom he'd had for 28 years. 212 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:26,320 He was extremely happy with her, 213 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,600 but he agreed that he, too, would find a wife 214 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:35,000 and Leopold suggested that he might marry his widowed sister, 215 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,760 Victoire of Meiningen, and the child that was born was Victoria. 216 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,400 It's absolutely amazing to think that, in this room, 217 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,080 the history of England changed. 218 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:48,000 If Charlotte had not died, Victoria would never have been conceived, 219 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,040 and we would never have had the Victorian era. 220 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:54,760 In the middle of the 19th century, 221 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,560 another remarkable chapter was to unfold at Claremont House. 222 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,240 25 years after the French Revolution, 223 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,440 the monarchy had been re-established in France. 224 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:11,120 However, in 1848, further unrest caused King Louis Philippe, 225 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:15,480 and his wife Queen Marie-Amelie, to flee for their lives. 226 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,120 They made it to British shores, and were offered Claremont House 227 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,120 as a safe haven. 228 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,320 All the sons came as well and their children. 229 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:24,840 I don't know how they all packed in. 230 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:25,960 There were 70 of them 231 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:28,640 and so they had to make this into their dining room. 232 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,720 So they all ate in here. Does Louis Philippe live in the house for long? 233 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,440 Not really, because he dies within two years. 234 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,320 I think he's very much a broken man. 235 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:38,960 And then, where was he buried? 236 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,800 That's a very extraordinary story, really, 237 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,640 because his wife, Marie-Amelie, wanted him 238 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,560 to be buried on Catholic ground, 239 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:48,400 which was quite difficult round here, 240 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,640 but there was a Roman Catholic living in Weybridge, 241 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:57,520 called Charles Taylor, and he had built himself a little chapel, 242 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,240 with a vault underneath where he was going to have his family buried 243 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,080 and he offered this vault to the Orleans family and so, actually, 244 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:11,440 amazingly, the last King of the French was buried in Weybridge. 245 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,600 This house has astonished me. 246 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:23,120 How often on my travels have I talked about the Victorian age? 247 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,400 And yet, had it not been for the death of Charlotte, 248 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:30,200 the forgotten princess, Victoria would not have reigned. 249 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,000 She might not even have been conceived 250 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,960 and we'd be talking instead about the Charlottian era. 251 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,960 But, as it is, I don't suppose that 252 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:44,880 there's one British person in a thousand who's ever heard of her. 253 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,560 My overnight stop is going to be Wimbledon. 254 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,520 Bradshaw's mentions the Rose And Crown. 255 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,760 It won't be a palace like Hampton Court or Claremont, 256 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,840 but it can be a rose for Charlotte, and a crown for Victoria. 257 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,360 The station is a busy interchange between rail, 258 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,240 London Underground and tram services. 259 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,360 Wimbledon town surrounds the station, 260 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,760 and in the old village up the hill, I find the Rose And Crown. 261 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:36,800 The earliest recorded mention of this coach inn is 1659, 262 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,000 and I just imagine it then, it would have been maybe the first stop 263 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,400 for travellers out of London, going down to Southampton or Portsmouth. 264 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:49,280 And now it's become a local pub in a highly populated area, 265 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,160 and the main reason for that change - the railways. 266 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:11,200 It's a new day and I'm leaving my hotel, 267 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,280 headed towards one of the most famous green spaces in the country. 268 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:20,040 Not the All England Lawn Tennis Club, but Wimbledon Common. 269 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,080 Today it's a favourite place for dog walkers 270 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,280 and the setting for The Wombles' adventures. 271 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,440 But in previous centuries, it witnessed more violent activity. 272 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,360 "Wimbledon," says Bradshaw's, 273 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:39,480 "Was formerly celebrated in the annals of duelling, which has 274 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:44,080 "now become synonymous with our notions of such killing being murder. 275 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,520 "And like many other customs of uncivilised beings, 276 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,880 "is now condemned." 277 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:55,640 I can scarcely imagine peering down the barrel of a gun into 278 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:02,920 another man's hating eyes, or indeed, squeezing the trigger in cold blood. 279 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:08,360 Duelling became established in the late 16th century as a way for 280 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:14,280 the upper classes to resolve personal disputes and to defend reputations. 281 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:18,360 Adherence to a very particular code of conduct was held to set them 282 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,520 apart from their social inferiors. 283 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,240 I'm meeting Professor Clive Emsley 284 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:26,000 of the Open University. 285 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,560 Clive, good to see you. 286 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,400 My Bradshaw's celebrates the fact that duelling has 287 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,360 become beyond the pale. 288 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,120 Was it quite a problem? Had it become quite an epidemic? 289 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:38,960 I wouldn't say it was an epidemic, but it was 290 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:40,960 something that gentlemen did. 291 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,120 Was Wimbledon, then, a favourite place for this? 292 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:47,120 Wimbledon Common was unquestionably a favourable spot 293 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,560 and even prime ministers fought to the north of the common. 294 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,160 William Pitt the Younger fought a duel here in 1798. 295 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,240 So, were people killed in these duels 296 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,960 or did gentlemen just meet and call it a day? 297 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,920 Very often, it was enough for a gentleman to appear, 298 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,320 and sometimes they fired their pistols in the air. 299 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,280 But nonetheless there were fatalities. 300 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,000 Oh, there were fatalities, yeah. 301 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,360 What was the most celebrated duel? 302 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,560 Probably the one that's stuck in everyone's mind was 303 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:20,200 Lord Cardigan against Captain Tuckett in 1840, 304 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,040 Lord Cardigan being the man who led the Light Brigade at Balaclava. 305 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:25,960 And what was the cause of their dispute? 306 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,480 Tuckett had written a few articles critical of Cardigan. 307 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,200 I mean, Cardigan was the worst kind of snob 308 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:40,120 and if you crossed Cardigan you are really asking for trouble. 309 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:42,200 THUNDER ROLLS 310 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,280 RAIN FALLS 311 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,040 Once challenged to the duel, 312 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,680 Captain Tuckett met with Earl Cardigan on Wimbledon Common. 313 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:56,520 In accordance with etiquette, each was accompanied by his second. 314 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:03,920 They were armed with duelling pistols of equal match. 315 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,200 Gentlemen, I design to resolve the affair in this manner. 316 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:12,640 Then you'll each take six good paces, turn and fire. 317 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:13,880 One, 318 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:15,120 two, 319 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:16,520 three, 320 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:17,640 four, 321 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:19,240 five, 322 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,000 six. 323 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:29,880 Cardigan shot and wounded Captain Tuckett. 324 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:31,720 I've hit my man. 325 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,960 Cardigan was charged with intent to murder, 326 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,040 but acquitted on a technicality. 327 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,760 The fact that he was arrested showed that public attitudes were changing. 328 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,680 Subsequent trial verdicts, alongside pressure from Queen Victoria, 329 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,960 put an end to the practice. 330 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,800 By the 1850s, the duel was as good as dead. 331 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:14,320 Back at Wimbledon Station, I'm taking a train a little further west, 332 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,800 to Teddington, which, like Wimbledon, is a leafy Outer London suburb. 333 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,280 What makes us civilised? 334 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,360 Is it literature, architecture, institutions of government, 335 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,160 maybe liberty, or fairness? 336 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,160 As I hope to discover when I leave this train at Teddington, 337 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,400 it dawned on the Victorians quite late 338 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,320 that one of the marks of civilisation might be the way a society treated 339 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,560 people with special needs. 340 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:48,880 As I leave the train, 341 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,320 I'm making my way to an institution built at the time of my Bradshaw's 342 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,680 by a Victorian Reformer, John Langdon Down, 343 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,200 and his wife, Mary. 344 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,080 He was a distinguished physician, who, in 1858, took up 345 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:08,240 a post in the then unpopular and ostracised field of mental health, 346 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,960 becoming Medical Superintendent of the Earlswood Asylum in Surrey. 347 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:19,000 The first to classify the condition now known as Down's syndrome, 348 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,600 he revolutionised the treatment of those with learning disabilities 349 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,160 and, in 1868, built his own facility here at Normansfield. 350 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:30,600 I'm meeting Ian Jones-Healey, 351 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,080 the archivist of the Langdon Down Museum, 352 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:34,400 which is housed here. 353 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:38,800 Hello, Ian. Hello there. Very good to see you. 354 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,640 Ian, first of all, I have to ask 355 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,440 about this extraordinary model of the ship. 356 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,840 This was created by James Henry Pullen, 357 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,360 who was a resident at the Royal Earlswood Asylum 358 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,280 when John Langdon Down was working there. 359 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:54,120 And although James Henry Pullen had certain difficulties 360 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:55,800 with hearing and speech, 361 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,960 he was able to make three-dimensional models 362 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,880 from very little information, perhaps a picture in the 363 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,880 Illustrated London News, so he created the Great Eastern, 364 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,200 which the original was 365 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,320 built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel of Millwall on the banks of the Thames. 366 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,000 Yes, it's a remarkable, a splendid piece of work, isn't it? 367 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,320 In the 19th century, 368 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,600 what are the attitudes towards people with learning difficulties? 369 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,160 Certainly for the upper middle classes 370 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,880 and upper classes sometimes it could be a matter of shame 371 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:29,120 and people could be kept very much in secret. 372 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:32,000 What was the new approach that John Langdon Down brought? 373 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,240 Well, he set up a revolutionary institution here. 374 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,600 He took people mostly from the upper classes 375 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,000 because he had to have an income. 376 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,280 He didn't have any state funding and he decided that 377 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,760 the whole regime should be much more enlightened. 378 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,520 You should be dressed properly, you should have good food to eat, 379 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,320 you should have stimulation, you should have walks that you could 380 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:57,400 go out on and, I think, most of all, you should have some 381 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,560 form of education, and perhaps learn a trade, 382 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,040 if you wanted to or were able to. 383 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,520 Can you give me an example of how 384 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,920 patients benefitted from this approach? 385 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,760 Well, they would have had a lifestyle that was, 386 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,480 as far as possible, almost like a home from home. 387 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,160 Mary Arnott is an example of somebody that came to 388 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:20,520 live at Normansfield. 389 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,520 She lived into her late 50s, 390 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,360 which was quite rare in that time for somebody with her condition. 391 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:28,480 I think that's testament, may be, to the 392 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,440 quality of life that she was enjoying here. 393 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:33,840 I didn't know about John Langdon Down. 394 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:35,600 Have we forgotten about him? 395 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,240 I think we're probably rediscovering him. 396 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,320 I think he stands next to some of the great Victorian reformers 397 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,800 of the period, somebody that really wanted to 398 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,440 improve the lives of people with disabilities, and certainly did so. 399 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:56,560 In the 1950s, Normansfield became part of the National Health Service 400 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,560 and in 1997, it closed as a hospital. 401 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,360 Today, in a wing of the original building, 402 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:08,640 is the Langdon Down Centre, home of the Down's Syndrome Association, 403 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,000 which provides workshops, drama groups 404 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,040 and a support network for people with Down's syndrome. 405 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,960 One of John Langdon Down's legacies is the beautiful Victorian playhouse, 406 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,320 which is listed, and here I meet Kate Powell. 407 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:30,840 Hello, Kate. Hello. 408 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,000 I'm Michael. Hi. 409 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,200 How long have you been coming to work at the association? 410 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,160 I've been coming here for 15 years. 411 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:45,800 I get involved in giving talks, I get involved in big meetings 412 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,720 and AGMs, and I always get involved in any kind of raising awareness 413 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,640 for people with Down's syndrome. 414 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,440 And here you are, clutching a magazine... 415 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,080 Yes. ..of which you are the editor. 416 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,120 I am. This is the Down2Earth magazine. 417 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:01,320 Thank you very much. This is what I do. 418 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,440 What sort of things are in it and how does it all work? 419 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,920 It all works with people's letters, they also do art, 420 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:16,960 creative art, poetry, they also put in people's photography. 421 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:18,600 It's a very fine magazine, 422 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:23,720 and I gather you have made a speech at the United Nations, is that true? 423 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,200 It is true. What were you speaking about? 424 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,960 I was speaking about a project called WorkFit. 425 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,440 It encourages people to be in the world of work. 426 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,600 How did you feel speaking to the United Nations? 427 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,440 Proud, I felt very proud. 428 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,000 And what about nervous? 429 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,040 No, I wasn't nervous at all. 430 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:43,840 Not nervous? Never! 431 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:48,360 What do you think of the work that John Langdon Down did? 432 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,160 Well, the work that he did encouraged people with 433 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,520 learning disabilities and Down's syndrome, he loved people, 434 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,920 he helped people, with his work, 435 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,000 and I think he was a very good man. 436 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,360 Excellent, thank you very much indeed. 437 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,520 Perhaps it's not surprising that Princess Charlotte 438 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,560 has been largely forgotten. 439 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,440 She died at a young age and the era in which she would have reigned 440 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:26,560 has become inextricably linked to her cousin, Queen Victoria. 441 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,280 It's harder to understand that, whilst we remember reformers 442 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,280 like William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury, 443 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,400 few of us could name a man who was a visionary 444 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,520 and a pioneer in the field of disability. 445 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,760 The time has come to add 446 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:47,480 the name of John Langdon Down to the Victorian roll of honour. 447 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:55,680 Next time, I attempt to pull my weight on the River Thames... 448 00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:00,440 Push on the legs, hands right. Sorry, I've lost it completely. 449 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:02,840 ..discover the radical implications 450 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,200 of one of the country's first universities for women... 451 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,120 I think it really was a starting point. 452 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:12,920 By having an education, by having a choice, they demanded other choices. 453 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,440 ..and let off some steam at a vintage funfair. 454 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:18,560 HE LAUGHS 455 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:23,440 Oh! This is horrible! Oh! Enough! Enough!