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For Edwardian Britons,

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00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,920
a Bradshaw's was an indispensable
guide to a railway network

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00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:12,000
at its peak.

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00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,480
I'm using an early 20th century
edition to navigate a vibrant and

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00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,320
optimistic Britain at the height of
its power

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00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,360
and influence in the
world.

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But a nation wrestling with
political,

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00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,280
social and industrial unrest at
home.

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00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,560
In 1901, shortly before the
publication of my Bradshaw's,

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00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,680
Queen Victoria died after nearly 64
years on the throne.

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Her successor Edward VII was hardly
a young man,

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00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,760
and yet his accession clearly
represented a big change.

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He was enormous where she had been
petite.

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He was wayward where she had been
discreet.

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00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,960
Starting in one of his favourite
counties, Norfolk,

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00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,480
on this rail journey I will embrace
Edward and the Edwardians.

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My rail journey will take me from

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00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,000
aristocratic estates in Norfolk
through

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00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,640
the university city of Cambridge,
onto the high life of the capital.

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I'll make my way along the south
coast,

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crossing the Solent to explore the
King's childhood

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00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,160
on the Isle of Wight.

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Returning to the mainland,

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I'll experience turn-of-the-century
past times in the seaside resorts of

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Bournemouth and Poole.

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The first leg starts at Cromer.

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My route heads south to the Norfolk
Broads at Wroxham,

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where I'll shoot across to
Attleborough

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and the Quidenham Estate before
ending in my alma mater.

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On the way, I learn the ropes on an
Edwardian pleasure boat...

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Are they up there yet, skipper?

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Nearly there. Heave! Ho!

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00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,160
..take a pot shot at the sport of
kings...

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00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,320
Is this the sort of place His
Majesty would have shot?

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The King would have been probably

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standing not far from where we are
now.

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Pull!

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00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,080
..and, Fred Astaire, watch out,

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00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:43,320
as I'm persuaded to put on my
dancing shoes to strut my stuff.

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00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,800
The railways came relatively late to
parts of Norfolk.

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As a result, it offered unspoiled
resorts,

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and as these timetables make clear,

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there were good connections to
London and other places.

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Bradshaw's says Cromer is one of the
few English health resorts that

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combine country and sea in close
proximity,

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which is very restful to the eye.

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00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,520
More than one Royal personage has
been ordered here.

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Cromer was in the same county as
Sandringham,

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00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:27,840
which in 1862 had become Edward's
country house

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00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,920
when he was still Prince of Wales,
with the landscape

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00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,520
reminding his bride, Alexandra, of
her native Denmark.

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Lying at the foot of a cliff, Cromer
beach has been awarded a blue flag,

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meaning it's top quality.

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At the time of my guidebook,

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the town aimed to attract a
high class of visitor.

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Indeed, Bradshaw's supplement to the
spas and health resorts of

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Great Britain tells me that, "Cromer
has a fine promenade of pier,

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"with an enclosure for 1,000
persons, safe bathing,

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"firm, level sands, boating,

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00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,840
"fishing, first-class band and
theatre,

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00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:24,200
"Royal Cromer golf links, tennis,
bowls."

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00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,160
Every kind of amusement for the
fun-loving Edwardian!

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00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,560
I'm meeting Alistair Murphy, curator
of Cromer Museum,

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00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,280
to find out what made this into a
holiday spot fit for a king.

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00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,760
Alistair, hello. Hi.

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00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,200
So, Cromer is a beautiful place
today,

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00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,760
but what was its making as an
Edwardian resort?

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00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,320
Well, the railways didn't get here
until 1877,

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00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:56,680
and as a result it was a relatively
undiscovered part of the coast at a

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00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,400
time when holidays were already
pretty well established.

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00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,400
It meant that Cromer was unspoiled.

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00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,520
According to my Bradshaw's, there's
sailing,

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00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,000
there's the royal golf links - it's
catering for the upper classes,

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00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:11,800
is that right? Absolutely.

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00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:13,840
In the 1880s, 1890s, even the

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00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:16,680
crowned heads of Europe came to
Cromer.

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00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:21,160
But with people bathing here, was
there any risque element?

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00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,200
Cromer may be a trendsetter in that
respect.

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00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,400
If you went to the seaside in the
1880s, 1890s,

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00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,520
the fathers and the sons would have

81
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,840
to go to one end of the beach to
bathe,

82
00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:33,960
and women and daughters would have
to go the other end,

83
00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,600
but we think that Cromer was the
first place

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00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,080
to allow the indecent
behaviour

85
00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,440
of women and men bathing together.

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00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,280
We've got records of a local town

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00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,320
council meeting where an elderly
member

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00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,280
of the council is apoplectic about

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00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,280
the idea that mixed bathing should
be

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00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,840
happening in his seaside resort.

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00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,320
As the 20th century got into its
stride,

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00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,720
Cromer acquired something that had
become an essential part of the

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00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:01,560
British holiday.

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00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,080
Alistair, the pier is lovely and
very, very well preserved.

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00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:08,880
Is it Edwardian? It is.

96
00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,640
It was officially opened in 1901.

97
00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,400
I think Cromer, as all the resorts
did,

98
00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,640
looked to see what their competitors
were doing and try and better them.

99
00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,920
Officiating at the opening ceremony
was Lord Claud Hamilton,

100
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,120
chairman of the Great Eastern
Railway -

101
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,600
a sure sign of how important trains

102
00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,640
had become to the town's tourist
business.

103
00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,720
Bradshaw's tells me, of course, it
has a large theatre.

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00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:36,600
It does, although in 1901 there was

105
00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,000
just a small bandstand to start
with.

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00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,840
This pavilion was built the winter
of 1905-06.

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00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:44,920
And what sort of entertainment do
you think

108
00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:46,680
they might have got in those days?

109
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,600
Well, when the pavilion opened you
would have had variety and

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00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,520
musical and comedy.

111
00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:55,880
Around that time,

112
00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:57,920
bawdy music hall was being

113
00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,520
rebranded as the more
respectable-sounding variety.

114
00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,040
Tables and chairs were replaced with
theatre-style seating,

115
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,560
and variety included acrobats,
animal acts,

116
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,120
jugglers and dancers on the same
bill.

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00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,000
It's a tradition that continues on
Cromer Pier today.

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00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,120
Director of this year's show is
Diane Cook.

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00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,960
Five, six, seven, eight.

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00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,600
And going into the next dancing
section, next tapping section.

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00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:36,000
Hello, Di. I'm Michael.

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00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:37,480
Hi, Michael. Good to see you.

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00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,320
Hello, Company. Hello! So, would you
call this variety after all these

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00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,720
years? It's absolutely still
traditional variety,

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00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,600
but it does have 21st-century
content now.

126
00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:47,840
And is tap still a very big and
popular thing?

127
00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,840
Absolutely, yes. I think it's the
rhythms of tap that people like,

128
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:52,720
and it's been around for a long
time,

129
00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,520
but of course now we're doing it in

130
00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,040
a street style, so it's really
given it a modern feel.

131
00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,040
How do you start someone on tap?

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00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,640
Mostly dancers start at a very early
age, but the first...

133
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:05,880
Slightly younger than you, Michael.

134
00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,320
Oh, right, OK. Yeah. But you would
start with stamps and rhythms and

135
00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:11,000
getting the rhythms together by

136
00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,280
teaching them how to clap the
rhythms,

137
00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,040
and then they'll start with a stamp,
that's the way.

138
00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,320
And then they'll go onto a brush
back and stamp.

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00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,360
That's it now. Brush, back and
stamp.

140
00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,200
Brush, back and stamp.

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00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,000
And then they'll add a hop, shuffle,
hop, step, shuffle.

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00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,240
I feel naked. That's better.

143
00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:31,680
Here we go.

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00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:36,680
Fabulous.

145
00:08:36,680 --> 00:08:37,640
Here we go.

146
00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:40,400
Take it away, Michael.

147
00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,160
I think that deserves a bow, doesn't
it?

148
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:51,960
Well done. Thank you.

149
00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,760
Tickets. Hello, there. Hello.

150
00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:22,400
From Cromer, I'm taking the train
inland, leaving the sea behind,

151
00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,680
but not the water.

152
00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,360
I'm heading for the complex
of waterways and lakes

153
00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,840
known as the
Norfolk Broads.

154
00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,480
After the naughty titillations of
the seaside and the pier,

155
00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,680
I'm feeling broad-minded.

156
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,280
The capital of the Norfolk Broads,

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00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,320
Wroxham, is a magnet for visitors
planning a day out.

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00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,760
Modern tourists explore the
waterways on motor cruisers,

159
00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,280
but for most Edwardian travellers
boating was under sail.

160
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,080
I'm meeting yacht owner
Andrew Scull.

161
00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:05,920
Hello, are you Andrew?

162
00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,720
Hello. I am. Hello, Michael.

163
00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,240
And this is a wherry?

164
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,040
This is Olive - the first of the
wherry yachts to be built in 1909.

165
00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:14,720
Absolutely spectacular.

166
00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:16,040
May we go on board? Of course.

167
00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:22,000
Olive was named after the daughter
of boat builder Ernest Collins,

168
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:23,600
who was based in Wroxham.

169
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,280
Andrew, what are the Norfolk Broads?

170
00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,720
They are a couple of principal
rivers, the Bure,

171
00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,600
on which we are sailing today, and
the Yare.

172
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,000
Yare being "Yaremouth," Yarmouth.

173
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,000
But the rest were peat diggings from
medieval times,

174
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,080
which essentially filled with water.

175
00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,200
And they were very useful for
navigation?

176
00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:47,000
Indeed, in those days lots of the
villages were in need of various

177
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,440
products, so the things that the
trading wherries would carry,

178
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,680
it would be coal, grain, cloth,

179
00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:57,440
and they were designed to be able to
be sailed by just one person.

180
00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,000
When the railways arrived in the
late 19th century,

181
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,440
they could move cargo more quickly
and cheaply,

182
00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:09,160
but the resourceful wherrymen just
moved sideways into leisure.

183
00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,800
And the railways that had ruined the
cargo trade now began to bring

184
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,400
holiday-makers to
the Norfolk Broads.

185
00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,320
In Edwardian times, were tourists
coming and they

186
00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:22,720
were able to ride for pleasure on
the wherries?

187
00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,400
They were, and as more and more
came, the wherry yacht came into

188
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,600
existence, which was essentially
designed

189
00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,880
for carrying holiday-makers.

190
00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,720
So, we've got the use of a skipper
and also crew,

191
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,560
who when they weren't attending to
the duties of sailing the boat,

192
00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,640
would be providing meals and serving
the visitors who came.

193
00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:41,240
So the visitors had a choice of

194
00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:44,000
doing as much or as little as they
wanted to do onboard.

195
00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,080
Now, we are drifting around very
nicely but we have a sail?

196
00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:49,480
Indeed. Should we put it up?

197
00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,160
Let's do that.

198
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,440
Michael, can I introduce you to
Jerry?

199
00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,080
Jerry, Michael. I'm Michael, indeed.

200
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,120
So, what do we have to do here?

201
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,120
Basically, we need to pick up a
winch handle each.

202
00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,640
You have yours pointed downwards,

203
00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,680
I'll have mine pointing upwards, and
then we need to wind roughly the

204
00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:09,640
same speed, exerting a little bit of

205
00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,080
inward pressure so the winch handle
doesn't come off.

206
00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,640
OK. Basically, We keep going
until the skipper tells us to stop.

207
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,400
OK.

208
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,120
The sail is going up.

209
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:31,360
A bit harder. When you can do it
with two hands.

210
00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,200
Right. Let me know when.

211
00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:34,400
OK.

212
00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,800
Two hands.

213
00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,240
Is it not up there yet, skipper?

214
00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:45,360
Nearly there.

215
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:46,800
Nearly there. It's getting hard.

216
00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,440
Heave! Ho!

217
00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:53,720
That'll do, thank you.

218
00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,320
That was good exercise.

219
00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,120
Look at that. What a beautiful
craft.

220
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,600
Exquisite.

221
00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,720
You can see the Edwardian attraction
in it, can't you?

222
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,960
Far from the madding crowd, far
from the old smoke of London.

223
00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,680
Absolutely delightful, especially on
a day like this.

224
00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:18,080
Really lovely.

225
00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:25,400
Bye, Andrew. Bye-bye, Michael.

226
00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,200
Thank you. Skipper, bye.

227
00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:28,400
Goodbye.

228
00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,240
Bye-bye now. Bye-bye.

229
00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,560
BRASS BAND PLAYS

230
00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:50,280
Brass bands became popular in the
mid-19th century.

231
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,880
And by the early 20th century, there
were thousands,

232
00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:54,840
all over the country.

233
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,560
It was truly a golden age of brass.

234
00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:04,800
HE APPLAUDS

235
00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,080
Bravo! The Norfolk Wherry Brass.

236
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,520
And why are you called the Norfolk
Wherry Brass?

237
00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,520
Wherry ties everything together in
Norfolk.

238
00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,200
A form of transport,

239
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,200
because many of these people come
from different parts of Norfolk.

240
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,880
And the wherry connects you all.

241
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:22,880
And what was that piece you are
playing?

242
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,320
That was a march called
Viscount Nelson.

243
00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:26,960
And what's the connection? Nelson,

244
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,920
of course, was born in Norfolk and
learnt to sail

245
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,440
on Barton Broad very close to
here.

246
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,600
Are you telling me that the Battle
of Trafalgar

247
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,280
was won on the sailing broads of

248
00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:36,680
Norfolk? Absolutely.

249
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,920
I rejoin the train at Hoveton and
Wroxham station,

250
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:52,720
bidding farewell to the Broads.

251
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,360
I'm on the Bittern line,

252
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,320
which takes its name from a species

253
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,440
of heron found in the reedy
wetlands.

254
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,440
A golden evening caps a beautiful
summer's day,

255
00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,800
and I'm going to spend the night in
Norwich.

256
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,240
At the time of my Bradshaw's,
Norwich had not one,

257
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:25,280
but three railway stations, drawing
lines from all corners of Norfolk.

258
00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,680
It was, until the Industrial
Revolution,

259
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:30,760
the largest city in England after
London,

260
00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,600
with the Norman Cathedral at its
heart.

261
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,080
An advertisement in my Bradshaw's
has drawn me to the

262
00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:39,720
Maids' Head Hotel.

263
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:41,720
"County hotel of Norfolk,

264
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,040
"for 500 years," and this was
written 100 years ago.

265
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,000
"Sanitary certificate in every
room."

266
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,040
Irresistible.

267
00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,720
I'll be leaving this train at
Attleborough, headed for Quidenham.

268
00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:26,280
The standard newspaper in October

269
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,040
1909 tells me that the little
village,

270
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,080
one of the prettiest in Norfolk,

271
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,760
was all agog because of the visit
of His Majesty the King.

272
00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,800
He travelled from London by special
train and when he descended from the

273
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,280
royal saloon he was a picture of
good health.

274
00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,960
There was very good shooting at
Quidenham,

275
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,440
but now that I look at the guest
list,

276
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,360
present were the honourable George
and Mrs Keppel.

277
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,240
Now, she was the king's devoted
mistress,

278
00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,760
so at Quidenham there was a target

279
00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,720
even more important than the
partridge

280
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,120
that fell victim to his majestic
marksmanship.

281
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:19,640
King Edward VII already owned a
Norfolk estate at Sandringham,

282
00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,240
bought for him by Queen Victoria
when he turned 21.

283
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,680
He became a regular visitor at
Quidenham,

284
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,680
home of the eighth Earl of
Albermarle,

285
00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,200
Arnold Keppel.

286
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,960
Today, you don't have to be royalty
to shoot here -

287
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,640
the grounds are open to the paying
public.

288
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,640
I'm meeting gamekeeper Robert Brown.

289
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,040
Robert, Quidenham Hall presents a
fine facade, impressive building.

290
00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,440
What would this scene have been
like, do you think,

291
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,000
when King Edward VII visited?

292
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,880
Well, the Hall itself pretty much
has not changed, but in front of us,

293
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,320
people lined the roadside with
flags, torches,

294
00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,960
bunting in the hedges.

295
00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,520
It would have been a very impressive
site, I would have thought.

296
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:09,440
And if it was a royal weekend, how

297
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,960
much shooting would there be, do you
think?

298
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,640
Well, they normally shot for
two-three days, consecutive days.

299
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,400
And that takes a lot of
organisation?

300
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,320
Yes. You can imagine the amount of
staff that they would have had.

301
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,760
Two teams of beaters, 25 on each,

302
00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,200
head keeper on the horse directing
everything.

303
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,760
It must have been like a military
operation.

304
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,360
A regular presence at the shooting
parties

305
00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,000
was Lord Albermarle's
sister-in-law.

306
00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,040
On the guest list was Alice Keppel.

307
00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,440
Yes. She would have come up here
with her husband

308
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,320
and she was the king's

309
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,160
mistress. And what do you know of
her?

310
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,360
She was a very beautiful woman, very
popular.

311
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,200
Pretty convenient for the king,

312
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,480
to combine two of his great
interests in life.

313
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,000
Probably. Yeah, I think they had to
be given time, shall we say.

314
00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,080
I'm going to try my luck with some
clay pigeons.

315
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,800
It's my opportunity to walk in the
footsteps of King Edward VII.

316
00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,360
Is this the sort of place His
Majesty would have shot?

317
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,560
Yeah, this would have been one of
the pheasant drives.

318
00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:16,400
The king would have been probably

319
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,400
standing not far from where we are
now.

320
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,760
Well, although I carried this gun, I
thought, rather skilfully,

321
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,960
I don't actually know how to use it.

322
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,880
But would you...? Shall we have a
little go?

323
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:27,160
Yeah, certainly.

324
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,560
Cartridges in.

325
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:36,760
What's that thing there? Safety
catch.

326
00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,120
Push forward when you're ready and
it's live.

327
00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:40,760
It's all loaded. Ready?

328
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,360
Safety catch on.

329
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,720
How do I pull the trigger? Do you
squeeze it or...?

330
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,240
You want to give it a good snatch.

331
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,800
A good snatch. Yes.

332
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:52,520
Pull.

333
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,120
No luck on that one.

334
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,160
You've actually hit it but it didn't
smash.

335
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,360
I hit it? The second one, yes.

336
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:10,440
I hit it!

337
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,600
Let's have another go. Safety catch
on.

338
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,400
Again, slide it forward when you're
ready.

339
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,200
OK.

340
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:22,440
Pull.

341
00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:27,240
Yes.

342
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,480
I'm so pleased. I can't tell you how
pleased I am.

343
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,240
How did I hit that?
That's amazing.

344
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,880
Maybe I was to the manor born. What
do you think?

345
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:41,120
Well done.

346
00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,200
And just like the king, who loved
his food and drink,

347
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,440
after my sporting triumph, I'm
ready for a pick-me-up.

348
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,960
A sloe gin with some fizz for you.

349
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,200
Good health. Thank you very much.

350
00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:56,600
Why sloe gin? Very traditional.

351
00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,400
It's what the king would have had on
a shoot.

352
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,440
And we serve it at elevenses on all
our shoots.

353
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:03,680
Elevenses. Here we go.

354
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,920
Good health. Cheers.

355
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:07,760
Thank you, Robert. Cheers.

356
00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,800
Sloe gin, but it gets through you
quickly, doesn't it?

357
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,880
Marvellous. Hits the spot. It's what
you need.

358
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,320
And we have a selection of savoury
treats here,

359
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,640
some home-made sausage rolls, some
tartlets.

360
00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:25,560
Home cooking, absolutely delicious.

361
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,440
Wonderful.

362
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:28,480
Well, Robert, to our...

363
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,720
..success. Very surprising in my
case.

364
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,160
Well shot. Well shot.

365
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:55,560
On the final leg of my journey, I'm
travelling from rural East Anglia to

366
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,320
a world-famous centre of academia.

367
00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,960
The career of King Edward VII now
leads me to Cambridge because he was

368
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,000
an undergraduate there.

369
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:06,840
But I'm also in pursuit of a
novelist

370
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,120
who links the Edwardian era with my
own,

371
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:14,280
because just shortly before I went
to the university,

372
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:15,840
there died an old man

373
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,800
who had been a resident of King's
College, Cambridge, for decades.

374
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,480
The extraordinary EM Forster.

375
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,080
Cambridge is dominated by its
university,

376
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,800
made up of 31 separate colleges
scattered around the city centre.

377
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,760
The Prince of Wales - then known as
Bertie,

378
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,600
and already something of a ladies'
man -

379
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,000
arrived here to study in 1861.

380
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:03,960
The future King Edward VII studied
here at Trinity College, Cambridge.

381
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:09,040
Rumours circulated of an affair with
an actress in Ireland.

382
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,240
His father, Prince Albert, though
ill,

383
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,040
travelled to Cambridge to
remonstrate

384
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,000
with the heir to the throne.

385
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,960
On his return to London, Albert's
health deteriorated,

386
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,800
and within three weeks he was dead.

387
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,160
A distraught Queen Victoria would
always feel

388
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,440
that her promiscuous son was

389
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,560
partly responsible for the death of
her beloved husband.

390
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,480
36 years later
at nearby King's College,

391
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,320
the future best-selling author of

392
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,960
A Room With A View and Howards End,
Edward Morgan Forster,

393
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:46,960
arrived to study classics.

394
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,080
Hello, Peter. Very nice to meet you.

395
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,280
I'm Michael. Good to see you.

396
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:58,160
I've come to meet fellow of King's
and Forster expert Peter Jones

397
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:02,280
in the shadow of the hallowed King's
College Chapel.

398
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,880
When a very young EM Forster first
comes to Cambridge, to King's,

399
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:07,720
what sort of a person is he?

400
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:09,560
He would have been very shy.

401
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,640
His mother brought him up and she
kept him very sheltered,

402
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,440
and he went to a public school but
he wasn't really comfortable there,

403
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,080
he didn't make many friends,

404
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,320
so King's was for him a big opening
up of his life

405
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:22,960
and a chance to make friends.

406
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,320
What sort of a place was King's when
he came here?

407
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:26,800
In the middle of the 19th century,

408
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,240
it would still have been a college
for old Etonians.

409
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,680
In 1861, the college said they were
going to take everybody,

410
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:34,800
so King's expanded hugely.

411
00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,680
This opened the place up to all
kinds of influences

412
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,640
that had not been there before.

413
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,680
How did Forster feel about religion?

414
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,880
I don't think he had any faith.

415
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,920
It was something of a relief to him
to find his tutor was an atheist and

416
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,560
immediately that led Forster to feel
relaxed.

417
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,880
He didn't have to show that he was
Christian.

418
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,480
And for much of his life he was a
humanist, wasn't he?

419
00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:00,120
Yes, that's right, the sort of faith
he professed later as a liberal

420
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:02,560
individualist was very much what he

421
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,520
imbibed at King's, because that was
the ethos here.

422
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,680
Steeped in this radical atmosphere,

423
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,800
the young Forster began to explore

424
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,680
the big themes that would run
through his writing.

425
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,840
We have two of his student diaries.

426
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:22,960
You can see the crest of
King's College

427
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,320
and then underneath
EMF on each of them.

428
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,560
And the year -
1898 and 1899.

429
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:33,600
And if we look inside, we are in
November 1899.

430
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,880
"Ainsworth came in and ate bacon.

431
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,480
"Then he and Meredith argued about
beauty."

432
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,160
It shows that he's beginning to

433
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,200
relax enough to talk with his
friends

434
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:44,560
about serious matters.

435
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,040
Love, beauty, friendship.

436
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,440
And here we see some of the novels,

437
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,280
with which we're so familiar.

438
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,680
That's right. The Edwardian period
of Forster's novel writing,

439
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,200
he's building on his experiences in
Cambridge and you get a sequence of

440
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,920
novels - The Longest Journey,

441
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,160
and then A Room With A View, and
finally Howards End in 1910.

442
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,760
He became somebody who was willing
to express

443
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,280
a very liberal and
humanist view.

444
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,280
In Forster's novels,

445
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,280
liberal idealists come up against
the rigid conventions of class-bound

446
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,680
Edwardian society.

447
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,720
With human relationships at their
core,

448
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,680
they continue to appeal to modern
readers.

449
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,480
Why do you think so many of the
novels have been filmed?

450
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,520
Film-makers find the romance plots

451
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:41,080
and the swishier Edwardian dresses
and cars

452
00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:45,120
and so on very attractive, so they
can make a kind of heritage movie

453
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:47,760
and all of those things - they're
not really what he felt

454
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,480
he was about as a novelist. Yes.

455
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,240
Although they have had the effect of
making his novels popular again.

456
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,360
The Norfolk Broads wherry was a

457
00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,360
large boat designed for one-man
operation,

458
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,720
but I find a Cambridge
punt enough of a challenge for me.

459
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,000
Whilst Edwardians enjoyed the

460
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,240
sauciness of the theatre and of the
beach,

461
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:34,120
their monarch was enjoying shooting
and Alice Keppel.

462
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,400
EM Forster, in one of his novels,
describes undergraduate life with

463
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,480
the college providing a servant to

464
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,040
make your bed, but goes on to argue
that the

465
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,240
real privilege of Cambridge was, for

466
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,240
a few years, to be surrounded by
the

467
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,720
greatest minds of your time.

468
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:02,920
Next time, I discover a new era of

469
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:05,360
tunnelling deep beneath the
capital...

470
00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:10,760
Every 45 minutes we can get another
1.5 metres completed.

471
00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:13,320
..I tip the scales at a historic
wine merchant...

472
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,120
I've obviously misjudged you,
Michael,

473
00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:18,000
because I can see that
actually you're a lot

474
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,120
lighter than I thought you were and
I apologise.

475
00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:23,120
..and get on my bike in
Lycra.

476
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,560
That was great. Whoa!