1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,080 'For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name. 2 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,520 'At a time when railways were new, 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,600 'Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.' 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,360 I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide 5 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,960 to understand how trains transformed Britain. 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,520 Its landscape, its industry, society and leisure time. 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,240 As I criss-cross the country 150 years later, 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,600 it helps me to discover the Britain of today. 9 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,560 My rail journey from Blackpool to Harwich 10 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:57,440 progresses through Yorkshire. 11 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:02,560 I hope to get out into the country to appreciate the wildness of nature 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,040 which so appealed to the romanticism of Victorians. 13 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,560 Back in the cities, entrepreneurs who'd made a fortune, 14 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,080 like steel manufacturers in Sheffield, 15 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,120 saw the importance of investing in better education 16 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,520 if Britain was to stay ahead, 17 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,520 and I'm hoping to get a leg up myself. 18 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,560 My route is taking me across England to the southern edge of East Anglia. 19 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:35,560 I started in Blackpool 20 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,120 and moved through the industrial cities of northern England. 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,720 From Manchester, I'll cross the Peak District, 22 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,960 following the route of the North Country Continental rail service 23 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:51,480 and I'll traverse the Fens to end at Essex's gateway to Europe. 24 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,480 Today, my journey begins by scaling the heights near Chapeltown 25 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,080 before heading south to Sheffield. 26 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,720 From there, I travel north-east to Conisbrough and finish in the great 27 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,280 railway town of Doncaster. 28 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,080 'On this journey...' 29 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:10,600 - Up there? - That's the one. 30 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:12,760 '..I climb beyond my comfort zone...' 31 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,320 - Put another foot on the next hold. - All the way over there? 32 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,760 Yeah, you'll be fine, I've got you nice and safe. 33 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,680 '..uncover a museum of curiosities...' 34 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,400 If a predator tries to grab them they'll ooze 35 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:25,960 out all this slime and the predator will 36 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,160 literally kind of spit the hagfish out in disgust. 37 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,440 '..and embrace a new language with open arms.' 38 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,760 - This is have to. - Oh. That's have to. - Yeah. 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,080 - Yeah. - That's good, yes. 40 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,080 My first stop will be Chapeltown. 41 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,240 Bradshaw's mentions Wharncliffe Crags, and the Dragon's Den, 42 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,720 from all of which may be obtained the most beautiful views. 43 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:57,680 For some Victorians, 44 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,960 it wasn't enough to observe the lofty crags from a distance. 45 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,960 They had to be tackled, tamed, conquered, 46 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,880 or perish in the attempt. 47 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,280 'The Victorians would have alighted at Deepcar, 48 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,080 'but that station closed in 1959 and the nearest stop today' 49 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,480 is Chapeltown, north of Sheffield. 50 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,840 From there it's a six-mile journey to the foot of Wharncliffe Crags. 51 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,360 In Bradshaw's time, Victorians would take their constitutionals atop the 52 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,440 crags to admire the views. 53 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,840 But that was too genteel for the flintier adventurer, 54 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,920 who invented a vertical challenge, rock climbing. 55 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,240 I've come to meet writer and climber Graham Hoey 56 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:55,960 to get a foothold on the story. 57 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,160 - Good morning, Mike. - What a perfect morning. 58 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,920 - Absolutely wonderful, isn't it? - How far to Wharncliffe Crags? 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,080 - About ten minutes or so, I think. - Best foot forward? - OK. 60 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,720 'The crags were the habitat of the legendary Dragon of Wantley.' 61 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,200 A cave at the southern end of the cliffs is named Dragon's Den and 62 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,440 featured in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Ivanhoe. 63 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:27,120 These intimidating giant broken rock structures would easily suggest 64 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,400 superhuman interventions. 65 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,560 Here we are approaching the crags. 66 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,320 When did rock climbing get going? 67 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,240 Well, it wasn't until the late 19th century, really. 68 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,120 Until then, it was just a small part 69 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,800 of what was seen to be the far grander sport of mountaineering, 70 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:43,880 a pastime that took place in the Alps 71 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:45,280 in the summer and winter seasons. 72 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:49,080 And what was the distinction between mountaineering and rock climbing? 73 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,040 Well, in mountaineering, the whole aim really was to get to the summit, 74 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:54,160 not necessarily by 75 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,600 the most difficult route, often the easiest route. 76 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,320 That often involved scrambling, 77 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,000 some snow and ice work, and sometimes some rock climbing. 78 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,560 But the rock climbing wasn't the 79 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,160 aim of it and often the rock climbing wasn't that difficult. 80 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:06,880 And how did that change here? 81 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,960 Well, in 1885, Jimmy Puttrell came out and started climbing 82 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,840 alone on these rocks. 83 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,920 He was just coming to enjoy himself. There was no summit to be attained. 84 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,920 He just got pleasure from climbing 85 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,840 the rocks and inventing ways up and ways down. 86 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:22,520 He turned it into an outdoor gymnasium, really. 87 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,440 Puttrell climbed without ropes or safety devices. 88 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,440 He popularised what is now known as gritstone climbing. 89 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,000 By 1900, there were about 35 recorded routes 90 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,480 on Wharncliffe Crags. 91 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,200 He died in 1939 at the age of 70, 92 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:44,640 after living to see his sport taken up across the world. 93 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,440 How has the sport moved on? 94 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:48,240 Well, Jimmy Puttrell would not 95 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,440 recognise the standard of rock climbing nowadays. 96 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:51,880 Climbers have got much fitter, 97 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,080 much stronger and rock climbers are able to really pull up on just the 98 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,000 very end of one finger. On and overhanging wall, 99 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,640 the feet would leave the rock 100 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,440 and they would go through to a similar hold. 101 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,320 It's just absolutely phenomenal. 102 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,520 Well, it sounds completely terrifying. 103 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,200 Today, the Peak District 104 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,360 is celebrated as the UK's climbing capital. 105 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,480 A fitting tribute to Jimmy Puttrell. 106 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,800 OK, Michael, this is the climb we're going to do. 107 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,720 It's called Alpha Crack and was climbed by Jimmy Puttrell 108 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:23,560 sometime around 1885. 109 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,040 - Up there? - That's the one. 110 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,560 And what will stop me falling off? 111 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,960 A rope which will take about 640 kilos. 112 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,240 That should just about cover it, I think. 113 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:32,960 OK. Tie me on. 114 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,760 OK, right. I'm now going to climb to the top of the route and I'm going 115 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,240 to secure myself on the ledge. 116 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,120 I'm then going to take the rope in and it will come tight on you. 117 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,880 When it comes tight on you, I want you to say, "That's me." 118 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,880 - That's me. - And I will say, "Climb when you're ready." 119 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,480 And you will tell me when you're climbing by saying, "Climbing." 120 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,560 Wait till I say OK and then you set off. 121 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:56,200 - OK. - Good luck. - Thank you. 122 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,040 Thankfully, safety precautions have developed since Puttrell's day, 123 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,160 but I find it still a major challenge. 124 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:07,640 Taking in. 125 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,480 - That's me. - Climb when you're ready, Michael. 126 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,560 This is the insanest thing I ever did. 127 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,720 I just signed up to travel by train. 128 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,080 - I'm climbing. - OK. 129 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:36,120 Trust your balance. 130 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:40,080 - Go left now. - Left? 131 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,240 Yes. Excellent. 132 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,080 You're a natural, Michael. 133 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,680 - OK. - OK, that's lovely, that. 134 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:50,880 - OK. - OK. 135 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:52,480 - Now what? - Keep going across. 136 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,520 Put your other foot on the next hold. 137 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,920 - All the way over there? - Yeah, you'll be fine, I've got you nice and safe. 138 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,120 - With my right foot? - Yes, that's lovely that. 139 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,040 Ah, lovely. 140 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,000 That's it, keep moving across. 141 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,160 That's lovely. 142 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,360 There's a nice... That's it. 143 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,400 - Where do I hold on? - That's it. 144 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,320 And there's the top just here. 145 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,000 That's it. Lovely. That's it. 146 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,440 - There? - That's the one. Press with your right foot. 147 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,400 - Fantastic. That's the one. - OK. 148 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,800 - Now where does the foot go? - And up again. 149 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:25,320 - That it, you're there. - OK. 150 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,000 You're doing fine, big pull. 151 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,160 - Big pull. - Big pull. - That's it. 152 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:31,880 You OK? 153 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,760 - Yep. - Come on. 154 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:34,880 Fantastic! 155 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,480 Amazing. 156 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,400 Superb. 157 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,160 - Of course, we've still got a bit to do here. - Yeah. 158 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:47,680 OK. 159 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,520 - Graham, I've made it. - Well done. That's you firm. 160 00:08:57,520 --> 00:08:58,880 Fantastic view. 161 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,760 The most terrifying thing I've ever done. 162 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,400 I will never do it again. 163 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,280 - Thank you, Graham. - OK, Michael. 164 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,400 Without encountering a single fire-breathing dragon, 165 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,520 today has been very scary. 166 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,680 Returning to Chapeltown, I'm taking a short seven-mile journey south. 167 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:26,800 My next stop will be Sheffield, 168 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:31,600 which my guidebook describes as the great seat of the cutlery trade. 169 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,440 It's also a great city of learning, partly because some of those whose 170 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,440 bread and butter was knives and forks 171 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,640 helped others to learn their ABC and pi R squared. 172 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,120 Sheffield is known as Steel City and steel is still produced here, 173 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,000 but the traditional heavy steel industry 174 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,200 has been in decline for 40 years. 175 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,320 The city's changed into a modern business hub 176 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,200 with award-winning public spaces and thriving cultural institutions. 177 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,280 Sheffield's population increased tenfold 178 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,360 during the Industrial Revolution. 179 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,440 As the city grew, so did its need for education. 180 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,280 Local steel magnate and philanthropist Mark Firth 181 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,920 paid for the opening of Firth College in 1879 182 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,600 to teach arts and science. 183 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:42,080 The college became part of today's University of Sheffield. 184 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,160 During the 1880s, 185 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,960 one of the college's founding professors was inspired 186 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,040 by the new theories of evolution to found a pioneering 187 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,920 natural-history collection which still exists. 188 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:02,480 I'm meeting Dr Nicola Hemmings, 189 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,360 a research fellow in the university's department 190 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,360 of animal and plant sciences. 191 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:08,400 Nicola? 192 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:11,600 - Hello. - Hi, Michael. 193 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,400 What an extraordinary collection of skeletons and other specimens. 194 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,240 How does it come to be here? 195 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:21,360 So this collection was established by Alfred Denny, who was the first 196 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,400 professor of biology at the University of Sheffield. 197 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:30,000 Legend has it that he arrived with a single dog skull and from then on he 198 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,920 amassed this amazing collection 199 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,640 of different skeletons and taxidermy specimens. 200 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,320 Did Alfred Denny go out and make the collection himself 201 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:40,440 or did he acquire it? 202 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,920 We actually don't know a lot of the history of many of our specimens 203 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,080 because records were lost in the World War II bombings, 204 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:52,440 but we do know that there was at least one private zoo 205 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,920 in Sheffield in the late 1800s which, when animals died, 206 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,400 they would be given or bought by the university. 207 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,000 And Alfred Denny would have 208 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,720 prepared many of these specimens himself, as well. 209 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,920 So what sort of contribution was Denny able to make to the college, 210 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,680 to the university, with the aid of his collection? 211 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:14,760 This kind of collection is absolutely crucial 212 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,960 for teaching students the evolutionary relationships 213 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,000 between different species. 214 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,160 Denny's collection brought far-flung species to Sheffield. 215 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,320 For over a century, the collection remained obscure, 216 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,800 open only to staff and for student research. 217 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,480 It finally opened its doors to the public in 2012. 218 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,640 So what you can see here is a very typical collection 219 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:44,680 of what we call wet specimens, preserved in some kind of fixative, 220 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,080 suspended in these lovely glass jars. 221 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:53,000 I kind of think of this as much of a historic collection 222 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,360 as it is a zoological collection. 223 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,360 These bell jars could be Victorian 224 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,120 and the liquid wouldn't have changed? 225 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,480 No, I mean, it will have probably been topped up since then, 226 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,640 but certainly these are as they were, 227 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,000 collected and preserved over 100 years ago. 228 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,960 What on Earth are these things? 229 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,080 This one here is a hagfish. 230 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,560 I know they look a little bit disgusting, 231 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,640 but they are absolutely amazing. 232 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:22,320 They produce loads of slime and so if a predator tries to grab them, 233 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,120 they'll ooze out all this slime and the predator will literally kind of 234 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,480 spit the hagfish out in disgust. 235 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,320 And poor fish to be called hag. 236 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,560 Well, it's not particularly pretty, is it? 237 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,600 Denny was a compelling and charismatic communicator, 238 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,920 popular with students and public alike. 239 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,680 In 1859, Charles Darwin revolutionised biology 240 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:52,320 with his publication of On the Origin of Species, 241 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,720 outlining his theory of evolution. 242 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,760 Now this fellow, I think I recognise. 243 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,720 Yep, well you should do. This is what you look like inside. 244 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,720 Obviously this is a human skeleton, and then we have the gorilla, 245 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,600 the chimpanzee, and then the gibbon at the end there. 246 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:15,640 Having specimens set out like this allows us to see how close 247 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,160 our evolutionary relationships are to other great apes. 248 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:23,920 This kind of study really became popular after Darwin and he really 249 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,440 brought about a huge change in thinking at the time. 250 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,600 Was there any connection between Darwin and Denny? 251 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:34,080 Well, there wasn't a direct connection between Alfred Denny 252 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,160 and Darwin but Alfred Denny's father, Henry Denny, 253 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,640 who was an entomologist and he was curator at Leeds Museum, 254 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,160 he actually corresponded with Darwin, 255 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,080 so we actually have those letters in our collection. 256 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,560 Did Alfred Denny take up the subject of evolution? 257 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,000 Yes, and it wasn't just his teaching. 258 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,640 He gave public lectures which were really popular on evolution 259 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:58,640 and adaptation in the animal world 260 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,080 and he drew crowds of hundreds of people, 261 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,000 so he was really kind of key in teaching some of these ideas. 262 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,200 - A sort of Darwinian evangelist. - Yeah, exactly. 263 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,800 Still exhausted from my mountain exertions, 264 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,000 it's time for a well-earned rest. 265 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,680 Continuing on the route of the North Country Continental, 266 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,120 I am re-joining the railway at Sheffield, 267 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,920 and travelling 16 miles north-east to Conisbrough. 268 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,640 As I know from many a railway station, 269 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,880 the Victorians like their architecture Gothic. 270 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:50,960 They like their novels that way too, 271 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,560 tales of knights errant and chivalry, 272 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:59,280 and the very symbol of Romanticism was the ancient ruin. 273 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,680 Bradshaw's tells me that at Conisbrough, 274 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,240 I'll find a castle belonging to the Duke of Leeds 275 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,520 built at the time of the conquest, with a keep 78-feet high. 276 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:12,640 I believe I've found my Grail. 277 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:19,760 Conisbrough Castle is one 278 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,920 of the best-preserved medieval fortifications in England, 279 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:25,000 dating from the 1170s. 280 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,120 This is the sort of castle keep that I was asked to draw at school 281 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:38,240 as a child, and even now, to me, it means a damsel in distress, 282 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:42,240 or the ultimate triumph of good over evil. 283 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,040 I suppose that there is a bit of 19th-century Romanticism 284 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,520 that is forever in the British DNA. 285 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,720 At the spectacular Conisbrough, 286 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,600 my interest is as much literary as historical. 287 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,520 I'm meeting Kevin Booth, senior curator for English Heritage. 288 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:04,800 Very good to see you, 289 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,240 and what a splendid view of the castle from here. 290 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,800 Now Bradshaw's, which is not always right, 291 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,240 tells me that the castle is from the Norman conquest. 292 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,240 - Right or wrong? - Right, and wrong, I suppose. 293 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,720 Yes, there is a castle here, a defence here, 294 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,040 from the conquest period, 295 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,400 but what we see in front of us is about a century later. 296 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,280 The castle was the seat of the de Warenne family. 297 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:30,120 Hamelin Plantagenet, the illegitimate son of Henry II, 298 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:33,960 acquired the property by marrying Isabel de Warenne. 299 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,600 Hamelin transformed Conisbrough into the imposing fortress seen today. 300 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,080 It's about authority of the de Warennes. 301 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,120 They're making a statement to both Conisbrough town 302 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:49,000 and the wider estate that they have control, they are, after all, 303 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,000 the great Norman family coming over with the Conqueror. 304 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,760 And did this magnificent structure ever see battle? 305 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,040 In the early 14th century, 306 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,240 Thomas of Lancaster turns up with his men. 307 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,600 The Earl of de Warenne has kidnapped his wife, so he lay siege. 308 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,200 There were six people in the castle, including the town miller. 309 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,720 It's almost sort of Python-esque in its progression. 310 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,720 How did it fall into ruin? 311 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,680 I think Conisbrough is one of those classic English castles, really. 312 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,760 It ceases to have a great function, it's no longer a military defence, 313 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,000 it's no longer really a family home, 314 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,960 and literally in the case of Conisbrough, 315 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,040 it simply slides away from history. 316 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,400 'In 1537, the castle was surveyed for Henry VIII. 317 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,240 'It was found abandoned and dilapidated 318 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,520 'with its gate collapsed into a ditch.' 319 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,800 But it was unexpectedly to enjoy a new literary lease of life 320 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,760 in the 19th century, when it became the inspiration 321 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,120 for Conisbrough Castle in the 1820 novel 322 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:51,960 Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. 323 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,560 The fact that it's mentioned in my Bradshaw's makes me think that the 324 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,120 castle was popular in Victorian times. 325 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:02,560 It became exceedingly popular as the century went on, 326 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,600 and I think a lot of that is based on Ivanhoe. 327 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,720 And, Ivanhoe, how would you summarise its themes? 328 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,800 Well, it's an interesting historical account, certainly. 329 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,760 We have Anglo-Saxons and Normans, we have Richard the Lionheart, 330 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,040 we have Robin Hood, we have the oppressed, we have tyranny. 331 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:22,200 Yeah, it's a fair mix 332 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,120 of all the sort of great Romantic themes, I think. 333 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:29,040 In as much as Walter Scott dealt with the history of the castle, 334 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,720 - does he get it right? - Not especially! 335 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,000 I mean, the idea that this is a great tower 336 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,600 of a royal Anglo-Saxon Lord, 337 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,240 the irony really is that it's built by the Norman oppressors 338 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,200 precisely to stamp their authority on the land. 339 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,320 But there are elements of what he says 340 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,000 which are actually quite accurate. 341 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,920 Do you have a sense of why Victorians are so drawn to castles, 342 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:51,720 ruins and Romanticism? 343 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,800 I think there is the idea that the Victorians are looking back to some 344 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,480 kind of preindustrial age, and Conisbrough itself, by the 1850s, 345 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,080 is really developing as an industrial hub, 346 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,080 so works like Ivanhoe potentially 347 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,320 are creating that sort of aspiration, 348 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,560 that nostalgia, for medieval Britain. 349 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,880 Conisbrough station opened in 1849, 350 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,680 allowing curious Victorians to visit. 351 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,520 As the century progressed, their numbers swelled. 352 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,360 On Good Friday in 1882, holiday special trains, 353 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,640 laid on by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway, 354 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,400 brought up to 10,000 to visit the castle and its grounds. 355 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,160 You get a wonderful view from the tower. 356 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,320 What are the highlights of what we can see? 357 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,920 The heart of Conisbrough is early eighth century, 358 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,680 but really everything else is 19th, 20th century, urban. 359 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,360 So, you have the pits, you have glassworks, brickworks, 360 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,280 you have the monumental viaduct across the River Don. 361 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,680 Really, Conisbrough, in the late 19th and early 20th century, 362 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,600 is a vibrant, powerful economic hub. 363 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,520 And if you didn't like the grime and the dust and the smoke, 364 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:09,360 you could escape to the keep. 365 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,160 Or immerse yourself in Ivanhoe. 366 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,880 From the ruined splendour of Conisbrough, 367 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,280 I'm re-joining the train, 368 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,120 and travelling six miles north-east to Doncaster. 369 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,160 The novels of Charles Dickens indicate that Victorians 370 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,480 became increasingly concerned with the plight of vulnerable children. 371 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,440 Bradshaw's tells me that among the principal buildings of Doncaster 372 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,960 are the New Mansion House, and the Yorkshire Deaf and Dumb School, 373 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,440 founded in 1829. 374 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,480 So, pre-Victorian, ahead of its time. 375 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,600 In the late 18th and 19th centuries, 376 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,280 Doncaster was dominated by engineering, 377 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,080 and the Great Northern Railway 378 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,120 moved its engine-building works to the town in 1853. 379 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,520 The building to the left is iconic. 380 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,240 It's where the Flying Scotsman was designed. 381 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,280 19th century industrialists were often generous philanthropists, 382 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,960 and the churches were also active in promoting 383 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,840 new ideas to help those less fortunate. 384 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,680 - Alan, hello. - Michael, lovely to meet you. 385 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,680 Alan W Robinson is the head teacher 386 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:33,560 of what is now known as the Doncaster School for the Deaf. 387 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,760 Well, Michael, this is the Reverend Carr Fenton, 388 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,320 he's the founder of our institution in 1829. 389 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:42,440 What you will notice here is 390 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,320 that there is a painting of a building here, 391 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,480 which is known as Eastfield house, 392 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,520 the first building that was used to house our school for the deaf. 393 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,440 What kind of a man was William Carr Fenton? 394 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,520 Well, he is a Church of England minister in South Yorkshire, 395 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,680 and it was while he was out in the parish, he overheard a labourer, 396 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,400 who said he had 397 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:08,280 five members of his family who were profoundly deaf, 398 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:09,800 and he felt, at that point, 399 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,640 challenged to think about their education. 400 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,480 From where could you gain inspiration in those days? 401 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,520 Well, one of the fundamental things he did was travel 402 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,240 to the school for the deaf in Paris, and at that institution, 403 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:28,720 he decided that he would come back to his parish in Yorkshire, 404 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,760 and create an institution for the deaf and dumb. 405 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,000 Without the education facilities on offer today, 406 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,920 deaf people at the time were largely cut off 407 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,280 from their surrounding world. 408 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,880 Although there were five deaf schools in Britain by 1828, 409 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:48,720 none existed in Yorkshire. 410 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,520 To remedy that, Carr Fenton held a public meeting 411 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,760 at Doncaster's Mansion House, 412 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,480 which raised £70, a decent sum, for what was then called 413 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,560 the Yorkshire Institution for the Deaf and Dumb Poor. 414 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,920 This is the minutes of our institution from 1829, 415 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,520 and you can see here it was determined that a school 416 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,600 should be formed. 417 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,920 And here we have the minute of the first 11 boys 418 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,000 that were entered into the school. 419 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,720 By the time Carr Fenton had spent almost 40 years 420 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,840 as the chairman of the school, the school had grown to over 100 pupils. 421 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:33,120 Extraordinary. 422 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,680 Now, the subject of the education of deaf people has been, 423 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,840 and I think is, controversial. 424 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,000 What were the movements that were present during the 19th century? 425 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,480 There was a split. 426 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,000 There was the oralist movement 427 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:50,680 and there was the sign-language-teaching movement. 428 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:55,680 And they often clashed as to which was the best way forward. 429 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,440 The oralists believed in teaching lip-reading and speech, 430 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,880 arguing that sign language would impede students' progress 431 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,920 in integrating with the hearing world. 432 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,640 The natural language of a pre-lingually deaf, 433 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:13,280 profoundly deaf individual was to use sign language and gesture. 434 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,160 But in fact in the early days, 435 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,280 pupils were often expected to sit on their hands 436 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,680 and not use their natural language. 437 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:25,440 Today, sign language is seen as a mother language of deaf people. 438 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,480 Things have clearly moved hugely 439 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,880 since the days of William Carr Fenton, 440 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:32,520 but is there still a residual affection and respect 441 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,920 - for what he did? - Oh, absolutely. 442 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,720 This is a jewel in the crown of the British education system 443 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,480 from its inception to its present day. 444 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,320 Today, there are 32 pupils at the Doncaster School for the Deaf. 445 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,880 'Simon Tacey is a former student.' 446 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,240 Excuse me. I'm Michael. Good to see you. 447 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,960 - Laura. Hi, how do you do? - Nice to meet you? 448 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:06,080 Simon, you were a pupil at this school and college. 449 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:07,920 How did the school help you? 450 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:12,800 - TRANSLATED: - The school helped me a lot. 451 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,680 The teachers all used BSL and could sign so that was useful for me to 452 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,520 understand the education. 453 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,880 You're now employed at the college. 454 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,480 What is the work that you do? 455 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,320 So I work in employment support, 456 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:34,320 so that is finding work for people who are disabled and deaf. 457 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,040 And your native language is British Sign Language. 458 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,120 Yes, that's right. 459 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:44,360 I started learning BSL when I was around 18 months old 460 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:46,720 and I've used it all my life, so I'm used to it now. 461 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,200 I use it everyday. 462 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,440 I wonder if you could help me with a little sign language? 463 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:54,840 Sure, no problem. 464 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,960 I'm always having to rush for a train. 465 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,840 Could you help me to say, "I have a train to catch." 466 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:03,560 So, point to yourself for I. 467 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,680 - This is have to. - Oh, that's have to. - Yeah. - Yeah. 468 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,880 Then you'd say catch. 469 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:10,920 And this is train. 470 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,960 - That's correct, yes. - Thank you. 471 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,760 We may scoff at the Victorian taste for romantic medievalism, 472 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:38,400 but men like William Carr Fenton were in earnest 473 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,200 about educating deaf children, 474 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:46,000 and Alfred Denny about spreading knowledge of the natural world. 475 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:51,640 Their ambition was for a better society to move onward and up, 476 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:56,200 which is rather how I felt when suspended from a craggy rock. 477 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,960 'Next time, I have my reaction times tested by a mechanical marvel...' 478 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,480 This would drive you mad if you did this all day. 479 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,400 '..get carried away by the cadences of conflict.' 480 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,800 "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, 481 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,440 "into the valley of death rode the 600." 482 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:20,480 '..and see how today's railway is regenerating its past.' 483 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,200 We recycled around 46,000 tonnes of steel last year, 484 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,360 which is actually the equivalent of six Eiffel Towers.