1 00:00:04,660 --> 00:00:06,620 For Edwardian Britons, 2 00:00:06,620 --> 00:00:09,340 a Bradshaw's was an indispensable guide 3 00:00:09,340 --> 00:00:13,740 to a railway network at its peak. 4 00:00:13,740 --> 00:00:17,660 I'm using an early 20th-century edition to navigate 5 00:00:17,860 --> 00:00:20,140 a vibrant and optimistic Britain 6 00:00:20,140 --> 00:00:23,380 at the height of its power and influence in the world... 7 00:00:25,660 --> 00:00:29,660 ..but a nation wrestling with political, social and industrial 8 00:00:29,660 --> 00:00:31,420 unrest at home. 9 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:58,220 My journey through south-west England will continue 10 00:00:58,220 --> 00:01:02,340 the length of the peninsula that links Bristol with Land's End. 11 00:01:02,340 --> 00:01:04,340 On this part of the journey, 12 00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:07,620 I'll rake over the art and craft of gardening, 13 00:01:07,620 --> 00:01:11,140 find out how folk danced and sang 14 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:14,380 while barons of commerce built castles, 15 00:01:14,380 --> 00:01:18,420 and discover for whom the bells tolled in Exeter 16 00:01:18,420 --> 00:01:20,740 after Queen Victoria had died. 17 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:34,700 I began in Wales, 18 00:01:34,700 --> 00:01:37,940 where I took in the cities of Swansea and Cardiff, 19 00:01:37,940 --> 00:01:41,820 en route to the Severn Estuary and the English border. 20 00:01:41,820 --> 00:01:45,220 I admired Edwardian ingenuity in Bristol. 21 00:01:45,220 --> 00:01:48,460 And now, as I head deeper into the West Country, 22 00:01:48,460 --> 00:01:50,860 I shall cross pastures and gardens 23 00:01:50,860 --> 00:01:54,380 on my way to England's south-westerly tip. 24 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:58,220 Today's journey starts in the Somerset town of Taunton, 25 00:01:58,220 --> 00:02:00,380 and heads to Exeter in Devon. 26 00:02:00,380 --> 00:02:04,940 From there, I'll skirt the coast, before finishing in Newton Abbot, 27 00:02:04,940 --> 00:02:06,780 destined for Dartmoor, 28 00:02:06,780 --> 00:02:10,220 where my journey's end is rewarded with a regal feast. 29 00:02:11,660 --> 00:02:15,900 On this trip, I discover how Edwardian gardens came into bloom. 30 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:17,700 They're old-fashioned roses. 31 00:02:17,700 --> 00:02:19,340 Their scent is really powerful. 32 00:02:19,340 --> 00:02:20,820 Yes, wonderful fragrance. 33 00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:27,300 Learn how new bells pealed to herald the incoming monarch. 34 00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:28,740 Isn't that lovely? 35 00:02:28,740 --> 00:02:32,700 And I'm led a merry dance in the name of fertility. 36 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:36,020 BELLS JINGLE 37 00:02:44,860 --> 00:02:46,820 From about 1880, 38 00:02:46,820 --> 00:02:51,020 Britain and North America were gripped by an aesthetic movement. 39 00:02:51,020 --> 00:02:54,700 Reacting against urbanisation and industrialisation, 40 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:57,780 Arts and Crafts architects and designers 41 00:02:57,780 --> 00:03:02,820 were inspired by nature and by traditional craftsmanship 42 00:03:02,820 --> 00:03:05,900 and by the simplicities of yesteryear. 43 00:03:05,900 --> 00:03:09,100 Their impact was felt not only within buildings, 44 00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:11,140 but extended to their gardens too. 45 00:03:15,860 --> 00:03:20,860 My first stop is Taunton Station, which opened in July 1842 46 00:03:21,020 --> 00:03:24,180 as the terminus of the Bristol and Exeter Railway. 47 00:03:27,820 --> 00:03:29,980 I ventured three miles north, 48 00:03:29,980 --> 00:03:33,740 destined for the Grade I listed estate of Hestercombe. 49 00:03:37,780 --> 00:03:40,060 From this balcony, beyond this balustrade, 50 00:03:40,060 --> 00:03:44,660 is the Edwardian garden, which has been done with a touch of genius. 51 00:03:45,940 --> 00:03:49,580 This much celebrated early 20th-century garden 52 00:03:49,580 --> 00:03:52,340 is managed by head gardener Claire Greenslade. 53 00:03:53,940 --> 00:03:56,300 Hi, there. Claire, hello. 54 00:03:56,300 --> 00:03:57,660 This is heavenly. 55 00:03:57,660 --> 00:03:59,540 Who created this Edwardian garden? 56 00:03:59,540 --> 00:04:02,860 So, Gertrude Jekyll is responsible for the planting plan. 57 00:04:02,860 --> 00:04:06,820 All the hard landscaping is by architect Edwin Lutyens. 58 00:04:06,820 --> 00:04:09,460 Were they exact contemporaries, Lutyens and Jekyll? 59 00:04:09,460 --> 00:04:12,060 No. She's quite a lot older than him. 60 00:04:12,060 --> 00:04:14,940 He was young and new into the scene, if you like. 61 00:04:14,940 --> 00:04:18,340 She was quite established, so it was quite an unusual partnership. 62 00:04:18,340 --> 00:04:21,340 Now, she in particular, I think, was supposedly much influenced 63 00:04:21,340 --> 00:04:23,300 by the Arts and Craft movement. 64 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:25,300 How do we see it in her work? 65 00:04:25,300 --> 00:04:27,460 She was primarily an artist. 66 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:30,380 As she got older, her eyesight began to degenerate. 67 00:04:30,380 --> 00:04:32,660 She basically needed a bigger canvas. 68 00:04:32,660 --> 00:04:34,660 And that's where the gardening comes into it. 69 00:04:34,660 --> 00:04:39,020 When you look at her planting, it's almost in painterly brush strokes. 70 00:04:39,020 --> 00:04:42,340 It's almost like watercolour, the colours bleed into one another. 71 00:04:43,820 --> 00:04:47,380 It was the Portman family who called on the expertise 72 00:04:47,380 --> 00:04:50,020 of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, 73 00:04:50,020 --> 00:04:53,140 and horticulturalist Gertrude Jekyll, 74 00:04:53,140 --> 00:04:56,100 to create new gardens here in 1904. 75 00:04:57,740 --> 00:04:59,660 The family had made its fortune 76 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:02,340 through land and estates in central London. 77 00:05:03,540 --> 00:05:05,340 Planted over four years, 78 00:05:05,340 --> 00:05:09,380 the gardens that they commissioned created horticultural fashion. 79 00:05:10,860 --> 00:05:14,460 Pre all of this, Victorian bedding schemes were the thing, 80 00:05:14,460 --> 00:05:18,740 so it's all exotics and annuals and very geometric and very laid out. 81 00:05:18,740 --> 00:05:22,780 This was very loose and informal, and much softer. 82 00:05:22,780 --> 00:05:24,860 It would have been radical. 83 00:05:24,860 --> 00:05:27,100 We all garden like this now, 84 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:30,300 but it would have been really strange to put shrubs, roses, 85 00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:33,780 grasses, annuals, herbaceous all together. 86 00:05:33,780 --> 00:05:36,540 What did the young Edwin Lutyens bring to the party? 87 00:05:36,540 --> 00:05:40,100 I think his sense of geometry and placing and space 88 00:05:40,100 --> 00:05:43,780 so, whereas his part of this garden is very formal, 89 00:05:43,780 --> 00:05:46,060 hers softens it and flows over it. 90 00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:49,060 I always describe it like she's thrown a blanket of flowers 91 00:05:49,060 --> 00:05:50,580 over his landscaping. 92 00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:57,140 The influential double-act collaborated on over 300 gardens, 93 00:05:57,140 --> 00:06:00,180 and first met when Jekyll employed Lutyens 94 00:06:00,180 --> 00:06:02,620 to design her own Surrey home. 95 00:06:02,620 --> 00:06:07,820 Their 26-year age difference was no barrier to the long and successful 96 00:06:07,860 --> 00:06:10,340 working relationship that developed. 97 00:06:10,340 --> 00:06:14,340 Featuring a sunken parterre, a water garden, 98 00:06:14,340 --> 00:06:16,220 and a large pergola, 99 00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:20,100 Hestercombe is considered to be one of their finest projects, 100 00:06:20,100 --> 00:06:24,540 embodying a style that has come to define the English country garden. 101 00:06:28,020 --> 00:06:31,460 Claire, apart from the swishes of colour, 102 00:06:31,460 --> 00:06:34,420 it's also the fragrances, and the sounds of birdsong, 103 00:06:34,420 --> 00:06:37,580 and the many fountains, all part of the design, I suppose? 104 00:06:37,580 --> 00:06:38,780 Yeah, I think so. 105 00:06:38,780 --> 00:06:41,420 I think having a sunken garden, as well, helps trap scent, 106 00:06:41,420 --> 00:06:44,860 helps trap sound as well, so it's quite an overall... 107 00:06:44,860 --> 00:06:47,260 All your senses are evoked. 108 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:50,340 And were the gardens always in this lovely state of preservation? 109 00:06:50,340 --> 00:06:53,020 No, they have been restored over time. 110 00:06:53,020 --> 00:06:56,260 We were lucky enough to find Jekyll's original planting plans 111 00:06:56,260 --> 00:06:57,300 in a potting shed. 112 00:06:57,300 --> 00:06:59,060 So, as far as possible, 113 00:06:59,060 --> 00:07:03,300 everything that you see here is what was on her planting plan. 114 00:07:03,300 --> 00:07:05,740 Set within 50 acres, 115 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:09,940 the grounds at Hestercombe contain gardens from three different eras, 116 00:07:09,940 --> 00:07:12,820 including Georgian and Victorian designs, 117 00:07:12,820 --> 00:07:16,700 sitting alongside the masterpiece by Jekyll and Lutyens. 118 00:07:16,700 --> 00:07:19,580 They all need care and attention. 119 00:07:19,580 --> 00:07:21,860 I've got some roses to deadhead. 120 00:07:21,860 --> 00:07:24,460 The idea is, the more you deadhead, 121 00:07:24,460 --> 00:07:26,900 the more the rose will keep re-flowering. 122 00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:29,700 What you don't want with a plant is for it to go to seed. 123 00:07:29,700 --> 00:07:31,580 So, when you're looking to deadhead, 124 00:07:31,580 --> 00:07:34,420 you need to be following the stem down, 125 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:37,460 and looking for the next leaf, or to the next bud. 126 00:07:37,460 --> 00:07:40,500 So with this one, there's nothing much going on until here. 127 00:07:41,740 --> 00:07:43,900 And then that goes in the bucket. 128 00:07:43,900 --> 00:07:48,420 These roses, are they special? Are they a Jekyll signature as well? 129 00:07:48,420 --> 00:07:51,460 Yes. All the roses that we use in here are ones that she's suggested, 130 00:07:51,460 --> 00:07:53,340 thank you, and has in her plans. 131 00:07:53,340 --> 00:07:55,300 So this one is called Caroline Testout. 132 00:07:55,300 --> 00:07:57,180 And they're old-fashioned roses, 133 00:07:57,180 --> 00:08:00,140 so they don't have the modern disease resistance 134 00:08:00,140 --> 00:08:02,740 in their rootstock, so they're prone to lots of blackspot. 135 00:08:02,740 --> 00:08:04,700 We have to look after them quite a lot. 136 00:08:04,700 --> 00:08:06,300 But on the other hand, they have the scent. 137 00:08:06,300 --> 00:08:09,380 The scent's really powerful in the old roses. Yes, wonderful fragrance. 138 00:08:09,380 --> 00:08:13,220 Claire, what is it that's special about Hestercombe, do you think? 139 00:08:13,220 --> 00:08:18,180 I think having three eras of garden design in one place, 140 00:08:18,340 --> 00:08:20,860 and the fact that this Edwardian garden, 141 00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:24,620 we have planted it as it was planted, as the plans said. 142 00:08:24,620 --> 00:08:27,260 So it is really like stepping back in time. 143 00:08:27,260 --> 00:08:30,500 And an extraordinary example of Lutyens and Jekyll together? 144 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:34,100 Yeah, definitely. Claire, thank you so much. Pleasure. 145 00:08:38,220 --> 00:08:41,020 Leaving behind the fragrant landscaping, 146 00:08:41,020 --> 00:08:43,300 I'm making my way seven miles east 147 00:08:43,300 --> 00:08:46,500 to rejoin the railway at Bishops Lydeard. 148 00:08:48,180 --> 00:08:53,100 This station lies on the longest heritage line in England, 149 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:55,060 the West Somerset Railway. 150 00:08:58,140 --> 00:09:01,580 I'm headed for the magnificently named Stogumber, 151 00:09:01,580 --> 00:09:03,780 which, at the time of my Bradshaw's guide, 152 00:09:03,780 --> 00:09:05,540 was part of the national network. 153 00:09:05,540 --> 00:09:08,660 In fact, it represented the last piece of work 154 00:09:08,660 --> 00:09:13,340 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the Great Western region before he died. 155 00:09:17,620 --> 00:09:21,500 Is that cup of tea a necessary part of your preparation 156 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:24,100 for driving the loco? We wouldn't go without it. 157 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:27,540 Or I wouldn't! What is it about you people that draws you so much 158 00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:29,980 to steam? It's entertaining. 159 00:09:29,980 --> 00:09:31,660 I mean, yesterday she wouldn't go. 160 00:09:31,660 --> 00:09:34,580 I had her yesterday. I don't know why. 161 00:09:34,580 --> 00:09:36,660 Today she went like a rocket. 162 00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:38,540 Yeah. And you can't tell. 163 00:09:38,540 --> 00:09:41,620 Enjoy your cuppa. I will. Thank you for that. Bye-bye. Cheers. 164 00:10:01,260 --> 00:10:03,740 This is the longest heritage line in England. 165 00:10:03,740 --> 00:10:06,340 Is it attractive too? Oh, yes, very. 166 00:10:06,340 --> 00:10:09,340 What are the highlights? The scenery. Really beautiful. 167 00:10:11,220 --> 00:10:13,260 Are you fans of steam trains? 168 00:10:13,260 --> 00:10:15,700 Oh, yeah. Absolutely. 169 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:18,420 And have you been to heritage lines all over the country? 170 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:20,580 We go as many as we can. 171 00:10:20,580 --> 00:10:23,060 And how do you rate this one? Oh, it's very good. 172 00:10:23,060 --> 00:10:25,380 It's a nice long line, it's good. It is long, isn't it? 173 00:10:27,180 --> 00:10:29,500 I'm travelling just two stops, 174 00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:33,980 revelling in around eight miles of scenic Somerset landscape. 175 00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:40,620 As part of the Edwardian rejection of the modern world, 176 00:10:40,620 --> 00:10:43,180 some sought to conserve the past. 177 00:10:43,180 --> 00:10:45,740 A music teacher called Cecil Sharp 178 00:10:45,740 --> 00:10:50,660 collected and preserved the lyrics and melodies of folk music, 179 00:10:50,660 --> 00:10:53,460 meaning that, today, I'll be able to hear singing. 180 00:11:00,180 --> 00:11:03,260 Sharp began his mission here in Somerset, 181 00:11:03,260 --> 00:11:07,180 travelling the countryside by steam train and bicycle. 182 00:11:07,180 --> 00:11:09,340 The picturesque station of Stogumber 183 00:11:09,340 --> 00:11:12,020 seems barely to have changed since his day. 184 00:11:12,020 --> 00:11:15,180 Afternoon. Good afternoon! 185 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:23,140 Nearby in the Quantock Hills is Halsway Manor, 186 00:11:23,140 --> 00:11:26,140 home to the National Centre for the Folk Arts. 187 00:11:28,220 --> 00:11:30,620 Michael, welcome to Halsway Manor. 188 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:32,380 It's such a beautiful place. 189 00:11:32,380 --> 00:11:34,540 Come through. Thank you. 190 00:11:34,540 --> 00:11:37,780 Singer and folk historian Yvette Staelens 191 00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:42,540 is passionate about keeping Cecil Sharp's legacy alive. 192 00:11:43,860 --> 00:11:46,580 The hall is lovely, isn't it? It is. It's beautiful. 193 00:11:46,580 --> 00:11:50,580 How important is the achievement of Cecil Sharp, do you think? 194 00:11:50,580 --> 00:11:55,220 I think it's fundamental to folk in England. 195 00:11:55,220 --> 00:11:58,500 And the material he collected is still used today. 196 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:02,340 Schools still sing it. It was very much part of the folk revival. 197 00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:05,620 These are songs that we still find interesting today. 198 00:12:05,620 --> 00:12:08,140 Were these songs in danger of being lost? 199 00:12:08,140 --> 00:12:12,100 Very much so, actually. It's not about composed, written songs. 200 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:14,540 It's about songs passed from person to person 201 00:12:14,540 --> 00:12:16,580 through what we call the oral tradition. 202 00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:20,580 And Sharp came to Somerset, and on the 22nd of August, 1903, 203 00:12:20,580 --> 00:12:23,420 there was an iconic moment in folk history 204 00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:26,420 where he heard the gardener at the vicarage, John England, 205 00:12:26,420 --> 00:12:28,540 singing The Seeds of Love. 206 00:12:28,540 --> 00:12:32,180 # I sowed the seeds of love 207 00:12:32,180 --> 00:12:35,900 # And I sowed them in the spring... # 208 00:12:35,900 --> 00:12:40,180 So, a really gorgeous song, and apposite for a gardener to sing. 209 00:12:40,180 --> 00:12:42,540 That was the first song Cecil Sharp collected. 210 00:12:42,540 --> 00:12:46,420 Wait a minute, you're not telling me the gardener was called John England?! Isn't it terrific? 211 00:12:46,420 --> 00:12:50,300 Yes, absolutely! You couldn't write it any better, could you? 212 00:12:51,620 --> 00:12:56,740 Cecil Sharp collected nearly 5,000 tunes in England and North America 213 00:12:57,820 --> 00:13:01,860 and took photographs of the many singers and dancers that he met 214 00:13:01,860 --> 00:13:03,380 on his travels. 215 00:13:03,380 --> 00:13:07,500 These portraits provide a valuable record of the rural working classes 216 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:08,980 of the time. 217 00:13:10,340 --> 00:13:11,860 I think it says a lot about Sharp 218 00:13:11,860 --> 00:13:14,100 that he was able to get the confidence of people 219 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:15,700 so they would give him these songs. 220 00:13:15,700 --> 00:13:19,060 But he could not publish what he heard, 221 00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:22,300 because, clearly, Edwardian sensibilities would not allow this. 222 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:27,060 Some of this material was, frankly, edgy, let's say. 223 00:13:27,060 --> 00:13:29,340 So they had to soften the words. 224 00:13:29,340 --> 00:13:32,340 What's the song we're going to hear from the choir this afternoon? 225 00:13:32,340 --> 00:13:35,620 We're going to sing a version of Blow Away The Morning Dew, 226 00:13:35,620 --> 00:13:37,940 which was collected across the South of England. 227 00:13:37,940 --> 00:13:39,860 It's really about a battle of the sexes. 228 00:13:39,860 --> 00:13:42,220 Wow, I can't wait! And the choir's ready? They are. 229 00:13:44,020 --> 00:13:47,340 CHOIR HUMS 230 00:13:48,780 --> 00:13:51,620 # There was a shepherd's boy 231 00:13:51,620 --> 00:13:54,620 # Keeping sheep upon the hill 232 00:13:54,620 --> 00:13:58,260 # He laid his bow and arrow down 233 00:13:58,260 --> 00:14:01,740 # For war to take its fill 234 00:14:01,740 --> 00:14:05,700 # And sing blow away the morning dew 235 00:14:05,700 --> 00:14:08,500 # The dew and the view 236 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:11,620 # Sing blow away the morning dew 237 00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:16,820 # Sing blow, blow, blow. # 238 00:14:20,380 --> 00:14:21,740 Bravo, bravo, bravo! 239 00:14:23,220 --> 00:14:26,580 After his initial interest in collecting folk songs, 240 00:14:26,580 --> 00:14:30,300 Cecil Sharp turned his attention to traditional dances. 241 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:33,060 MORRIS DANCE MUSIC PLAYS 242 00:14:33,060 --> 00:14:35,700 BELLS JINGLE 243 00:14:39,380 --> 00:14:44,220 Brian Heaton is a member of the West Somerset Morris Men. 244 00:14:46,020 --> 00:14:47,900 Bravo, bravo, bravo! 245 00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:51,060 So, how far back does Morris dancing go, Brian? 246 00:14:51,060 --> 00:14:53,580 Well, nobody really knows, Michael. 247 00:14:53,580 --> 00:14:56,460 It's lost in the mists of time. 248 00:14:56,460 --> 00:14:57,900 What's it all about, then? 249 00:14:57,900 --> 00:15:01,060 Well, it's fertility rites, and things of that kind, you see? 250 00:15:01,060 --> 00:15:02,700 No?! Absolutely, yes. 251 00:15:02,700 --> 00:15:05,140 Now... I'll give it a go! 252 00:15:06,180 --> 00:15:08,140 Hello, do you mind if I step in? 253 00:15:08,140 --> 00:15:11,260 So, what are the basics here? 254 00:15:11,260 --> 00:15:13,980 Basic step is a single step in front. 255 00:15:17,980 --> 00:15:21,220 Yes. And you dance that to the beat of the music. 256 00:15:21,220 --> 00:15:24,500 That's the tricky bit. That's all the step is. 257 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,220 Right, OK. But what about this swordplay, then? 258 00:15:27,220 --> 00:15:30,340 The swordplay! The chorus, as we call it! 259 00:15:30,340 --> 00:15:33,540 It's like a sword or sabre. 260 00:15:33,540 --> 00:15:37,060 We swipe at the top, carry through, 261 00:15:37,060 --> 00:15:39,020 round the bottom... 262 00:16:16,020 --> 00:16:17,060 Thank you! 263 00:16:18,820 --> 00:16:20,100 Thank you. 264 00:16:36,740 --> 00:16:38,380 As evening draws in, 265 00:16:38,380 --> 00:16:42,060 this train is taking me towards the historic city of Exeter. 266 00:16:42,060 --> 00:16:45,500 Its diocese dates back to the 11th century, 267 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:49,340 and the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter to the 12th. 268 00:16:49,340 --> 00:16:52,140 I'll have to leave my visit there till the morning, 269 00:16:52,140 --> 00:16:54,420 but nothing buttresses my good humour 270 00:16:54,420 --> 00:16:56,620 like a good English cathedral. 271 00:17:14,740 --> 00:17:17,420 This building, at the time of my guidebook, 272 00:17:17,420 --> 00:17:20,420 was the newly opened eye infirmary in Exeter. 273 00:17:20,420 --> 00:17:22,860 Look at the size of it. 274 00:17:22,860 --> 00:17:25,980 It was second in importance only to Moorfields. 275 00:17:25,980 --> 00:17:29,780 It's now a hotel, somewhere for me to get 40 winks. 276 00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:51,340 I'm beginning my day at a spot visited by Her Majesty the Queen 277 00:17:51,340 --> 00:17:55,940 on her Golden Jubilee tour of the country in 2002. 278 00:17:55,940 --> 00:17:58,260 She was greeted by crowds of well-wishers 279 00:17:58,260 --> 00:18:00,060 outside Exeter Cathedral. 280 00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:05,540 I'm here to find out how the city prepared for another royal occasion 281 00:18:05,540 --> 00:18:07,540 exactly a century earlier. 282 00:18:11,140 --> 00:18:13,460 Whose mug is this? 283 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:18,740 It is Edward VII's, and it was made for his coronation in 1902. 284 00:18:19,180 --> 00:18:22,380 Most people had known no monarch other than Victoria, 285 00:18:22,380 --> 00:18:25,060 who had reigned for 64 years, 286 00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:27,500 and she was much mourned. 287 00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:29,900 But, then again, it was a new century. 288 00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:34,500 There were motorcars and telephones, and soon there would be aeroplanes, 289 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:38,300 the possibilities of the future were untold. 290 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:41,500 It was time to ring in the new. 291 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:42,500 BELLS PEAL 292 00:18:45,980 --> 00:18:50,980 Exeter Cathedral's history stretches back almost 1,000 years. 293 00:18:51,060 --> 00:18:56,100 145 feet tall and 383 feet long, 294 00:18:56,340 --> 00:18:59,620 it's a shining example of Gothic architecture. 295 00:19:03,660 --> 00:19:06,900 What you see when you enter this cathedral is a sight 296 00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:10,060 that you'll have in no other medieval structure. 297 00:19:10,060 --> 00:19:12,980 And it is the length, almost the infinity, 298 00:19:12,980 --> 00:19:16,060 of this beautiful, vaulted ceiling. 299 00:19:16,060 --> 00:19:20,340 And what is so miraculous is the lightness of the whole thing. 300 00:19:20,340 --> 00:19:24,980 Those stone struts that hold the roof aloft, 301 00:19:24,980 --> 00:19:27,620 they're almost like fingers in prayer 302 00:19:27,620 --> 00:19:31,060 that have separated and been locked in place. 303 00:19:37,620 --> 00:19:39,180 Hello, Ian. 304 00:19:39,180 --> 00:19:42,860 I'm meeting long-serving ringing master Ian Campbell 305 00:19:42,860 --> 00:19:45,900 to find out how this ancient building was updated 306 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:48,300 to usher in the Edwardian era. 307 00:19:49,780 --> 00:19:52,260 Gosh, Ian, how many steps are there? 308 00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:54,260 There's a lot, but if you take them two at a time, 309 00:19:54,260 --> 00:19:55,820 there's only half as many. 310 00:19:55,820 --> 00:19:57,660 Ah, good point. 311 00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:04,580 We're ascending the South Tower, up to the belfry. 312 00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:08,900 Ian, what a very impressive space. 313 00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:10,060 What bells do you have here? 314 00:20:10,060 --> 00:20:13,300 How many? There are 14 bells. 315 00:20:13,300 --> 00:20:17,980 And the biggest bell, Grandisson, the tenor, is 72 hundredweight, 316 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:21,700 that makes it the second-heaviest bell in the world 317 00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:26,420 that will ring in a full circle. And that's about four tonnes? 318 00:20:26,420 --> 00:20:27,980 Just about four tonnes, yes. 319 00:20:27,980 --> 00:20:29,780 What was it that happened here 320 00:20:29,780 --> 00:20:31,980 around the time of the coronation of Edward VII? 321 00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:33,620 Grandisson was not a very good bell, 322 00:20:33,620 --> 00:20:38,100 so it was recast, and at the same time, Fox, the seventh, was cracked, 323 00:20:38,100 --> 00:20:39,940 so that was recast, as well. 324 00:20:39,940 --> 00:20:43,500 And when they recast it they put an Edwardian penny in the mould, 325 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:46,340 and you can see it on the side of the bell now as part of the casting. 326 00:20:46,340 --> 00:20:49,260 And can we hear the bells today in their glory? 327 00:20:49,260 --> 00:20:51,740 If you're feeling very brave, we'll have a go. 328 00:20:51,740 --> 00:20:53,100 Brave? Hmm! 329 00:20:54,940 --> 00:20:58,660 I've heard that it usually takes four people to ring Grandisson. 330 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:02,700 Right. I suggest you climb up on the box. 331 00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:06,340 But I'm taking on this beast of nearly four tonnes 332 00:21:06,340 --> 00:21:08,940 with just a little assistance from Ian. 333 00:21:10,820 --> 00:21:15,020 Stretch up high and pull it very gently down and let it go up again. 334 00:21:15,020 --> 00:21:16,500 But you'll feel it's quite heavy. 335 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:20,580 So, let it go up as far as it wants to go and then pull it down. 336 00:21:20,580 --> 00:21:22,940 And then in a minute you'll be off the bottom of the sally, 337 00:21:22,940 --> 00:21:24,740 which is the furry bit. 338 00:21:24,740 --> 00:21:26,020 BELL CHIMES 339 00:21:28,380 --> 00:21:30,260 Right, so it's chiming. 340 00:21:30,260 --> 00:21:31,300 Isn't that lovely? 341 00:21:32,460 --> 00:21:35,100 What a great, deep sound. 342 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:42,700 I've made Grandisson chime. 343 00:21:42,700 --> 00:21:46,260 But really to ring an English church bell, 344 00:21:46,260 --> 00:21:49,380 you need to swing it through 360 degrees. 345 00:21:50,740 --> 00:21:52,660 Shall we give it a go? We'll give it a shot. 346 00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:56,340 Perhaps I'll have more luck with its smaller sibling, Fox. 347 00:21:56,340 --> 00:21:57,300 BELL RINGS 348 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:12,620 With bells ringing in my ears, there's just time 349 00:22:12,620 --> 00:22:15,580 to pick up a newspaper before continuing my journey. 350 00:22:22,820 --> 00:22:25,340 I'm leaving Exeter and heading south. 351 00:22:29,380 --> 00:22:32,220 WH Smith was a man who realised 352 00:22:32,220 --> 00:22:37,140 that the railways transformed the national distribution of newspapers 353 00:22:37,140 --> 00:22:42,300 and he established a near monopoly of bookstalls on railway stations. 354 00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:45,140 Those who had traditional money 355 00:22:45,140 --> 00:22:48,500 regarded people who made their fortunes in commerce 356 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:52,340 as the new rich, the nouveau riche - 357 00:22:52,340 --> 00:22:55,620 people who had to buy their own furniture. 358 00:22:55,620 --> 00:23:00,540 Nonetheless, that new wealth cascaded down the generations. 359 00:23:13,900 --> 00:23:18,580 Well-heeled Edwardians used this stunning route to reach 360 00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:21,780 the fashionable Devon seaside resorts of the English Riviera. 361 00:23:37,260 --> 00:23:40,980 But I shall alight at the inland stop of Newton Abbot, 362 00:23:40,980 --> 00:23:42,900 bound for Dartmoor National Park. 363 00:23:45,980 --> 00:23:49,420 My destination is the imposing Bovey Castle. 364 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:57,740 Author David Parker has studied its Edwardian roots. 365 00:24:00,420 --> 00:24:03,340 Hello, David. Hello, Michael, nice to speak to you. 366 00:24:03,340 --> 00:24:06,700 David, Bovey Castle is certainly quite a pile, isn't it? 367 00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:08,540 It is, indeed. Who built it? 368 00:24:08,540 --> 00:24:11,820 It was built by a man who went under the name of Freddy Smith 369 00:24:11,820 --> 00:24:15,380 to his friends, but his father was William Henry Smith, 370 00:24:15,380 --> 00:24:18,980 of WH Smith & Sons, the celebrated stationers, 371 00:24:18,980 --> 00:24:23,660 so he inherited in 1891 all his father's wealth. 372 00:24:23,660 --> 00:24:26,420 A considerable fortune? A considerable fortune - 373 00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:29,220 many, many hundreds of millions in today's money. 374 00:24:29,220 --> 00:24:31,700 Freddy built this in 1907, 375 00:24:31,700 --> 00:24:36,940 as Bovey Manor, at the height of the Edwardian prosperity of his company. 376 00:24:37,380 --> 00:24:41,860 What was it that the Smith family aimed to do with such a house? 377 00:24:41,860 --> 00:24:45,300 He built this purely as a shooting lodge, 378 00:24:45,300 --> 00:24:48,900 where he could bring all of his friends, show off his wealth, 379 00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:51,540 and show off the countryside, and entertain them, 380 00:24:51,540 --> 00:24:53,020 hunting, shooting and fishing. 381 00:24:53,020 --> 00:24:57,700 It was the height of the period of Edwardian conspicuous consumption. 382 00:24:57,700 --> 00:25:01,260 Did the Smith family face snobbery from aristocrats? 383 00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:05,020 The celebrated WH Smith had been on the receiving end 384 00:25:05,020 --> 00:25:08,660 of a lot of snobbery at the time. Freddy, his son, 385 00:25:08,660 --> 00:25:12,540 did not seem to have so much snobbishness attached to him. 386 00:25:12,540 --> 00:25:16,140 He had the advantage of going to Eton and Oxford. 387 00:25:16,140 --> 00:25:18,420 So, with a couple of generations they were there, 388 00:25:18,420 --> 00:25:21,660 firmly into the aristocracy? They were firmly into the aristocracy. 389 00:25:21,660 --> 00:25:26,700 The Edwardian years of pleasure and indulgence were cut short in 1914 390 00:25:26,860 --> 00:25:30,620 by the First World War. As an officer in the Devon Yeomanry, 391 00:25:30,620 --> 00:25:33,980 Freddy Smith fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. 392 00:25:35,020 --> 00:25:36,700 He died in 1928, 393 00:25:36,700 --> 00:25:39,940 and the manor was sold to the Great Western Railway 394 00:25:39,940 --> 00:25:42,500 to pay off a million pounds' worth of death duties. 395 00:25:44,380 --> 00:25:46,220 What did the GWR do with it? 396 00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:48,060 They turned it into a hotel. 397 00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:49,580 Nobody else wanted it. 398 00:25:49,580 --> 00:25:54,500 It was just a huge aristocratic pile that nobody wanted. 399 00:25:57,620 --> 00:26:01,660 Bovey Castle is no longer owned by the GWR, 400 00:26:01,660 --> 00:26:03,860 but it remains in use as a hotel. 401 00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:10,620 Thank you. 402 00:26:10,620 --> 00:26:14,220 Head chef Mark Bard has been busy preparing a feast 403 00:26:14,220 --> 00:26:18,700 fit for the lavish tastes of the nouveau riche and, indeed, the King. 404 00:26:20,060 --> 00:26:24,620 His pot roast white chicken stuffed with truffles and poached 405 00:26:24,620 --> 00:26:29,100 in Sauternes wine is a modern variation of Poularde Edouard VII, 406 00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:32,100 served at King Edward's coronation gala dinner. 407 00:26:33,580 --> 00:26:35,820 Please enjoy. Thank you very much indeed. 408 00:26:35,820 --> 00:26:37,620 My pleasure. Looks delicious. 409 00:26:39,980 --> 00:26:44,100 So, truffles lurking here under the skin. 410 00:26:47,940 --> 00:26:48,940 Mmm! 411 00:26:50,180 --> 00:26:52,820 Chicken is very, very flavoursome. 412 00:26:52,820 --> 00:26:54,380 It's very, very rich. 413 00:26:54,380 --> 00:26:58,420 It is, um, it is a great Edwardian dish. 414 00:26:58,420 --> 00:27:01,580 This was the time of ostentation. 415 00:27:01,580 --> 00:27:02,780 I'm going to enjoy this. 416 00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:17,700 Exeter Cathedral's new bells rang out to mark the arrival 417 00:27:17,700 --> 00:27:19,700 of the Edwardian age. 418 00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:24,580 In gardening, Gertrude Jekyll abandoned Victorian formality 419 00:27:24,580 --> 00:27:28,420 in favour of looser splashes of colour. 420 00:27:28,420 --> 00:27:31,820 After railways and factories had transformed this country, 421 00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:34,900 Cecil Sharp toured the villages 422 00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:38,580 in search of traditional songs and dances. 423 00:27:38,580 --> 00:27:42,940 But in truth Britain was no longer a rural society. 424 00:27:42,940 --> 00:27:46,300 To the horror of the Edwardian landed classes, 425 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:50,980 this Bovey estate was built up on the proceeds of trade. 426 00:27:50,980 --> 00:27:52,300 How vulgar! 427 00:27:58,500 --> 00:28:00,500 Next time - 428 00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:03,660 I rediscover a stylish Edwardian author... 429 00:28:03,660 --> 00:28:05,940 A little bit racy, I would have thought, wouldn't you? 430 00:28:05,940 --> 00:28:08,060 ..have a bash at creating 431 00:28:08,060 --> 00:28:10,620 turn-of-the-century Cornish collectables... 432 00:28:10,620 --> 00:28:11,700 And there we are. 433 00:28:11,700 --> 00:28:14,100 There's our image starting to come through on the front. 434 00:28:14,100 --> 00:28:17,740 ..and boldly go where no railway traveller has gone before. 435 00:28:17,740 --> 00:28:19,820 Even Bradshaw never went to the moon. 436 00:28:19,820 --> 00:28:22,420 RECORDED MESSAGE: Even Bradshaw never went to the moon. 437 00:28:22,420 --> 00:28:26,060 That is fantastic! My voice has gone to the moon and back.