Episode 2 Brick by Brick: Rebuilding Our Past


Episode 2

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Every year, countless thousands of ordinary buildings are demolished,

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smashed down to make way for the new.

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For many, this fate is unavoidable.

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But some are so special they are saved, carefully taken down

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piece by piece, stored away until a new home for them can be found.

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They can be lovingly and painstakingly rebuilt.

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These are not grand buildings

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but always exceptional pieces of architecture.

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But preserved within the fabric are extraordinary stories.

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Stories about who we are as a nation and what we have achieved.

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About the materials and techniques that we use.

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It's not as easy as it looks.

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And why we build the way we do.

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It feels like you're making it the way it should be made.

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In this series, I'm going to uncover the hidden history

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behind these seemingly humble buildings

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to reveal that it's not just the houses of the great and rich

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that have remarkable stories to tell.

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My grandfather was probably

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-the first airman to die in the First World War.

-Goodness me.

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I'll be seeing how these huge, incredibly complex jigsaw puzzles

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that were once buildings are actually put back together again.

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I'm here at Beamish, the living museum of the north-east of England,

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at the beginning of an exciting and intriguing build.

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One that promises to tell the story of our national dish.

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Down below me in the reconstructed old colliery town,

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they've begun work on an Edwardian coal-fired fish and chip shop

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where it's hoped they'll soon be serving our nation's favourite,

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cooked exactly the same way as it was 100 years ago.

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And I'm going to explore the surprising origins

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of this seemingly thoroughly British dish and I hope in the process

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to discover where and when the momentous marriage

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of chips and fried and battered fish actually took place.

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The museum covers a vast 300 acre site and is dedicated to preserving

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examples of everyday life in north-east England.

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Normally, here at Beamish, it's the building like this schoolhouse

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that is saved and preserved in the museum

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and the interiors are pieced together to fit the building.

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But in this case,

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it's the interior they are desperate to save

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and they need to create a building around it to house it.

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The challenge for Jim Reece, the project's mastermind,

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is to create a building that feels genuinely old.

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What's the thinking that's gone on in the design process?

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I think there are two Victorian...Edwardian

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chip ranges left in the world and we've got one of them.

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So that's one of the key points to start with.

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The other is that 30 years ago, we collected all these wonderful tiles

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and so we've got to get a building

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where we can put them in and make it make sense historically.

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So here we've got, if you like,

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the typical late-Victorian industrial unit.

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There's an office and a stables

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and here our guy has invested all his savings in this chip range

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and he takes this building and puts his chip range in

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and it starts to make money and in 1910, he achieves his ambition,

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which is a sit-in restaurant, and then they called them saloons.

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Even our nearby town had two fish and chip saloons by about 1905.

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Where does the kind of authenticity come from?

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You could happily beam this down in any pit village around County Durham

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and it wouldn't even notice.

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We've got colliery bricks, chimney pots from the local fire clay works.

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It's got to be the real stuff of history.

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Jim's plans are certainly ambitious and he seems very, very confident

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but I have a couple of concerns.

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The first is that he's trying to create this hybrid building,

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a jigsaw puzzle of pieces taken from here, there and everywhere.

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Bringing those together and making it feel right,

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to fit in with all these authentic buildings, is going to be tough.

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The second is he's trying to work with Edwardian coal-fired ranges,

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100-year-old technology,

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and make that into a modern restaurant

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with all the health and hygiene standards that go with that,

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producing hundreds of meals a day.

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I think that's going to be very, very hard

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and I just hope that he hasn't underestimated

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the scale of the challenge.

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And the first challenge

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is to build walls that look authentically Victorian

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using a combination of reclaimed and modern materials.

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While work gets under way, I've headed to the museum's archives,

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hoping to discover something

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about the origins of the fish and chip shop.

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Goodness me!

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Early fish fryers had a terrible evil reputation.

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The great Henry Mayhew, social observer, social reformer,

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had this to say in 1861,

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"The fried fish sellers live in some out-of-the-way alleys.

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"For even amongst the poorest class, there are great objections

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"to their being fellow lodgers on account of the odour of the frying.

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"A gin-drinking neighbourhood, one coster said, suits best,

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"for people haven't their smell so correct there."

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HE LAUGHS

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Of course, if you remember, a few years earlier,

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Charles Dickens writing Oliver Twist had the frightful Fagin

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living in an area of fried fish warehouses.

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There's a good reason Dickens had Fagin, a Jewish character,

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living amongst the fish fryers.

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Because the earliest reference to fried, battered fish I can uncover

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comes from the 1830s, where it is called "fried fish Jewish style".

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In the Jewish communities of Victorian east London,

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off cuts of any available fish were battered, fried

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and then hawked on the streets as a cheap, cold snack.

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Baked potatoes were also sold, but no chips.

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The earliest chip shops sprang up

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around the cotton mills of Lancashire in the 1860s,

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using the readily available cotton seed oil

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to fry potatoes in what was called the French method.

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It's not known for certain when Jewish fish first joined French

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chips but by the 1870s, thoroughly British fish and chips

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were spreading like wildfire

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through the country's working-class communities.

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The museum's director, Richard Evans,

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has been researching these first fish and chip shops.

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It was actually a really important source of income

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for people and often people who were down on their luck,

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they needed a second source of income.

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Perhaps the main breadwinner had been hurt in an industrial accident

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so they might have been serving fish and chips

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from a house like this, frying in the back,

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serving from the front, in the heart of the community.

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So you could plant a load of spuds in your front garden,

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-get yourself a fryer and start your own fish and chip shop.

-Yeah.

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There was very little legislation in the early years

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and quite a lot of fires and accidents,

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I should think, around it. But it was a real centre for the community.

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A family or a pitman might eat from a fish and chip shop

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three or four times a week.

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These thousands of front room enterprises in the backstreets

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could be revoltingly squalid establishments,

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as another book in the archives reveals.

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Here we see an account written by a chap called Sir Shirley Murphy.

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Obviously a bit of a stickler for health.

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He says, "The conditions under which fish are cleansed and stored are,

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"as a rule, most unsatisfactory.

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"Numerous instances have been found where floors and walls were fouled

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"with decomposing fish, slime and excremental matter."

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Going out to the chippie in the 1900s was obviously,

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you were really rather taking your life in your hands!

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I just hope they're not planning to replicate those hygiene standards

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in our backstreet fish and chip shop.

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Work on the walls is already well underway,

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so I head over to offer a helping hand to Kenny, the bricklayer.

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-Where do you want them?

-Drop them on top of them, Charlie.

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I'm glad to see you working

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with these nice modern, lightweight bricks!

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No, there's nothing light about these bricks!

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There's no holes in these, like the modern day bricks.

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A little bit longer, a little bit wider, little bit deeper.

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You seem to be doing a very nice job here.

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-Shall I muck it up a bit and have a go?

-You can have a go, Charlie. Yes.

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I can't say I'm a great bricklayer but...

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-I am not sure I'm very good at this, Kenny.

-That's all right.

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-Is that all right?

-Yeah. Just tap it out. That's it.

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-You're happy for me to put some of these bricks up?

-Yes.

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Everyone's going to think you built this.

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It doesn't matter. You carry on.

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When I get this back filled, nobody will ever know.

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-This is going underground? That's why you're letting me do it?

-Yes.

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THEY LAUGH

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-So these are colliery bricks, are they?

-Yeah.

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They were made at the old collieries

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and all the local mines used to put in,

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like you can see there, Howden. That would come from the Howden mine.

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Amazing. I had no idea collieries made bricks.

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This is one of my favourite ones. It's not that I love them bricks,

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but that's the only one I've seen with love in it.

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That's a very well made brick, though, isn't it?

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-It's a much better made brick than this? Decorative, with moulding.

-Yes.

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That's fantastic.

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Within the Durham area alone, more than 50 colliery brickworks

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produced the millions of bricks that were required to feed

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the building boom of the Industrial Revolution.

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Colliery towns of the north-east, such as Tantobie,

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possess a distinct architectural charm and quality

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that's due largely to geology.

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When coal was sourced in an area like this,

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workers' housing was needed rapidly and in large quantities.

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The solution was rather brilliant.

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The shafts were sunk, searching for the coal seam.

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In the process, the overburden of clay that had to be removed

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to reach the coal was brought to the surface

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and used to provide cheap and readily available building material.

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Colliery towns can possess a great visual uniformity

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because the houses tend to be built at the same time

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to more or less standard designs and all using the same colliery bricks.

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But the bricks can possess

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beautiful, subtle variations of colour and tone,

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depending on the mineral content of local clay.

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The incredible variety of colliery bricks are on display

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in one of the tram stops at Beamish.

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That is absolutely magnificent!

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-It's wonderful, isn't it?

-It is. It's beautiful.

-It is beautiful.

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Incredible colour scheme, isn't it? Just like subtle variations.

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All the different clays.

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From this one here that's incredibly white,

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to these dark, dark bricks down here.

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You can see the different names, the different ages,

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sometimes the same name going from a crude impression

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like the F&L up there,

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F&L even cruder.

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Ferens & Love in that lovely accurate brick.

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It was sort of an ego thing, "Not only are you working in my pit,

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"I'm building your houses,

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"but my name is inside all of the bricks that built it.

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-Nebuchadnezzar did it, I think.

-It has a history, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

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I think he did it in Babylon.

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That's exactly the kind of vernacular detail and character

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that everyone thought industrialisation was killing off

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but here it was, so local!

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Here we've got a fantastic fish brick.

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When we were building this wall,

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an old lady came up to Kenny the bricklayer, and said,

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"When we were little, we used to have these bricks with fish in."

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So he rummaged about and sure enough, there's the fish brick.

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And he said, "Do you remember these?" She said, "Yes, pet.

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"We used to get lead, heat it up,

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"pour this into the brick using it as a mould and make these little

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"silver fish that they would wear as necklaces and so on."

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And that really made that old lady's day.

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She hadn't seen that fish brick for years. And there it is.

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Wonderful. Such an amazing collection.

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After three months' hard work,

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Kenny's brickwork is high enough for the windows to be fitted.

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This main section of the building will house the shop and kitchens.

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A wing for the restaurant will be built later using corrugated iron.

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Like the other Victorian materials, the windows have been reclaimed

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from various demolitions and now all these elements must somehow

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be pieced together seamlessly.

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Inside the authentic colliery brickwork,

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Kenny's building a second skin of breeze blocks,

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allowing modern cavity insulation to be added.

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I've headed across the road from the build

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to one of the reconstructed miners' cottages

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to partake in some traditional chip chopping

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with Professor John Walton, who has written a history of fish and chips.

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When do you think was the first time that fish and chips,

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fish battered or fried, came together as a dish

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and sold in a fish and chip shop?

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There is no hard evidence for this

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because nobody knew at the time it was going to be important.

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There are various claimants from the 1860s in Lancashire,

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the West Riding of Yorkshire, Mossley and Oldham.

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What's now Greater Manchester, mainly.

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There was a boom in the Edwardian era around about 1900.

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Tell me about that.

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-Really, fish and chips takes off from the 1870s onwards.

-1870s.

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It's a mixture, I think,

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of rising working-class living standards creating the demand,

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partly because of falling food prices and the supply...

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-Yes.

-..expanding rapidly because of the development of steam trawlers

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and refrigeration techniques and of course railways,

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to bring the fish quickly to inland consumers.

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So it's an almost perfect storm of supply meeting demand

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and churning things up.

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The astonishing proliferation of fish and chip shops in the 1870s

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generated a whole new industry supplying them with cooking ranges.

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The early fryers simply used clothes washing cauldrons,

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but soon companies were producing purpose-built ranges.

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They became evermore elaborate and ornate

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and by the turn of the century,

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they were mechanical marvels of true beauty.

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Only three Edwardian ranges survive. Beamish has one of them.

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John Walton has gone to admire it with Richard Evans,

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the museum director.

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Yes. Not necessarily from Newcastle, of course.

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It could have been from almost anywhere

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where there was a range-making firm.

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Every industrial town by the early 20th century

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had its range-making firm.

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It's one step up from the late-19th century basic ranges.

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You've got the tiles, you've got this wonderful decoration.

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In fact, in a lot of cases, I think these would be custom made

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to the designs the individual fryers wanted.

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-Oh, right.

-That is wonderful, isn't it?

-It's fantastic.

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These were the tubs in which the fish and the chips would be fried.

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That's the thing, is it?

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-There are tubs in here.

-Yes. You'd get a fire under each tub.

-I see.

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You've got to this equipment whereby you can regulate the air that comes through.

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And of course getting the right temperature and sustaining it,

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that was the art, wasn't it? That affected the flavour.

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You had to do that by eye and by experience.

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I think in these days of high technology, coming back to life,

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it's really exciting, isn't it? It is splendid, isn't it?

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'The question now is can we actually get it working?'

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The boom in trade at the turn of the 20th century

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produced another great leap forward in fish and chip technology.

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The mobile takeaway.

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Thousands of these horse-drawn coal-fired carts

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once plied their trade across Britain but now, only one remains.

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It worked the streets of Spennymoor for 50 years

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right up until 1972,

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when it was saved from a scrap heap by Beamish Museum.

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They are now going to fully restore it,

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to live next door to the Edwardian chip shop.

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-Is this it, here?

-That's it. That was it.

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So you're seriously telling me that this was a fish and chip van?

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Because to me it looks like something you would find gently rotting

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by the side of a field somewhere.

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I suspect that's where they had it from in the first place.

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-It looks like an old farm cart they've acquired.

-Look.

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-This is completely charred.

-Yes.

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The actual oven itself was so heavy that over the years,

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it's physically twisted these two pieces of timber holding it.

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-What did that look like?

-Would you like to see the original? That's it.

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-That's it?

-These were not in this condition when we found them.

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-These are the originals?

-They're the originals.

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They've come up beautifully, haven't they?

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-How does this thing work?

-You have four separate coke fires.

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They're all vented up through the same central chimney.

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-So that would have gone up...

-Yes.

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..through the top of the van and the smoke...

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Well, most of it would go up the chimney.

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-Because I mean, you've only got that.

-Yes. They don't fit.

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There is a huge gap there so surely,

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most of the smoke is just going to come straight up into your face.

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-It's very basic, isn't it?

-It's frightening.

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What's your vision for this restoration?

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It my personal dream to take this back to Spennymoor

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with a horse on the front, smoke coming up through the chimney

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and actually being able to serve fish cake and chips again.

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Well, there's a lot of work to do. HE LAUGHS

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And with so much to do, I lend a hand.

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There we go. Beautiful.

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You really see the shape, don't you?

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The cart's frame was so badly deteriorated, it's being replaced.

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But much of the cart is remaining,

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including the kitchen cupboards, made from old floorboards.

0:19:240:19:29

Bingo! Like a glove. Perfect.

0:19:290:19:31

So how did this bit of the operation work?

0:19:330:19:35

Well, standing either side of me were two coke scuttles,

0:19:350:19:40

quite a bit of coke actually survived,

0:19:400:19:43

so did the original shovel.

0:19:430:19:45

You would get the coke in there.

0:19:450:19:47

You would lift your very, very heavy cast iron pan

0:19:470:19:51

with boiling dripping in it.

0:19:510:19:53

That's actually a bit of a struggle for you, isn't it,

0:19:530:19:55

-without any dripping in it?

-It is.

0:19:550:19:57

And I'm only reaching the near one. How did you get that one?

0:19:570:20:00

And then without spilling any, you put it back down again.

0:20:000:20:04

And how did you not sort of cook your arm reaching to this one

0:20:040:20:09

and then even more so, what did that one do?

0:20:090:20:13

Yes, indeed. Certainly at some point they didn't get it right

0:20:130:20:17

because there's evidence there's been at least one serious fire here.

0:20:170:20:21

That piece of wood down there really clearly shows

0:20:210:20:24

what happens when you get it wrong.

0:20:240:20:26

That's been really charred.

0:20:260:20:28

-It's just carbon.

-Properly burnt, isn't it?

0:20:280:20:32

It's kind of mental, isn't it?

0:20:320:20:34

And you're serious that you want to get it up and running for one cook?

0:20:340:20:38

We do, yes. Yes. You've got to do, haven't you?

0:20:380:20:41

It's November, six months into the build.

0:20:450:20:48

The walls of the Edwardian fish and chip shop are almost complete

0:20:480:20:53

and work is about to begin on the roof.

0:20:530:20:55

The size of the building is now becoming apparent

0:20:560:20:59

and this is certainly no Victorian front room enterprise.

0:20:590:21:04

That's because the early 1900s he saw a concerted effort

0:21:070:21:10

by the fish fryers to escape their reputation

0:21:100:21:13

as a scourge of the backstreets,

0:21:130:21:15

producing food fit only for the lowest classes.

0:21:150:21:18

This is a fascinating book.

0:21:190:21:22

It says here, "Why on earth should a fish shop be a dark, dismal place,

0:21:220:21:27

"enough to give one a fit of the blues on entry?

0:21:270:21:31

"The walls," the author says,

0:21:310:21:34

"Should be painted from floor to ceiling an electric green."

0:21:340:21:38

"All surfaces must be tiled

0:21:380:21:41

"in accordance with the strictest standards of hygiene."

0:21:410:21:45

This passage is from a book called The Fish Fryer And His Trade

0:21:450:21:50

and the author is a fellow who calls himself Chat Chip. Fascinating.

0:21:500:21:55

We know Chat Chip was in fact a man called William Loftus from Sheffield

0:21:550:22:00

who was a union man

0:22:000:22:01

but, branded as an agitator, he couldn't get work

0:22:010:22:04

so he became a fish fryer

0:22:040:22:06

and made it his life's campaign to elevate the fish and chip shop

0:22:060:22:12

and to elevate the status of the humble fish fryer.

0:22:120:22:17

It's intended that our establishment

0:22:190:22:21

should be one to make Chat Chip proud,

0:22:210:22:23

so colourful, hygienic tiling is crucial.

0:22:230:22:27

And fortunately, we have just the thing for the job.

0:22:270:22:32

Well, this is a fantastic hoard that the museum collected

0:22:320:22:35

from a fish and chip shop in Berwick.

0:22:350:22:37

It's a really rare find, actually. These tiles, which are from Glasgow,

0:22:370:22:40

from J Duncan, it's that period of history

0:22:400:22:43

when Glasgow was producing tremendous decorative art.

0:22:430:22:47

Mackintosh and others.

0:22:470:22:48

So Charlie here is putting it all back together.

0:22:480:22:52

This is the one we're working on. This lighthouse.

0:22:520:22:55

-I see. So you've got a bit here.

-That's right.

0:22:550:22:58

-It's like a big jigsaw puzzle.

-And a bit here.

-That's right. The beacon.

0:22:580:23:02

It's lovely, isn't it? It's beautiful.

0:23:020:23:05

Before the precious tiles can be re-used,

0:23:070:23:10

the old concrete adhesive needs to be removed

0:23:100:23:13

and they allow me to work on one.

0:23:130:23:15

First I have to slice the concrete into little columns,

0:23:170:23:21

which then need to be very cautiously chipped away.

0:23:210:23:24

Be very careful with these, Charlie.

0:23:240:23:26

The body of the tile is very low fired, it's very fragile.

0:23:260:23:30

Right, so the cement's really hard...

0:23:300:23:32

The cement's hard and the tile's soft. Yeah.

0:23:320:23:35

A task like this really brings home to me the staggering effort

0:23:360:23:40

and attention to detail that goes into preserving

0:23:400:23:42

and restoring our building heritage.

0:23:420:23:46

It takes me over an hour to finish just one tile,

0:23:460:23:49

and there are over 1,000 tiles to clean.

0:23:490:23:52

-You've done well.

-There she is.

-Very nice.

0:23:520:23:57

I've got these tiles here which are totally smashed up.

0:23:570:24:00

I want you to remake that tile completely.

0:24:020:24:05

But to complete this whole panel,

0:24:050:24:07

we'll actually need three decent tiles.

0:24:070:24:11

I want this corner piece replaced and this one here, look,

0:24:110:24:15

has been smashed and stuck together in the past.

0:24:150:24:19

That would complete that panel cos it's a lovely panel.

0:24:190:24:22

-Do you think you can do that?

-HE LAUGHS

0:24:220:24:25

It certainly isn't something I can do on my own

0:24:250:24:28

so I head to Craven Dunhill in Ironbridge,

0:24:280:24:31

the last tile factory in the country still making tube lined tiles.

0:24:310:24:35

Walking through the factory

0:24:380:24:40

is like being in an Edwardian industrial backstreet,

0:24:400:24:43

just the sort of area that would have been home to our fish and chip shop.

0:24:430:24:48

Chief designer Robin Brindley is going to help me make

0:24:480:24:51

the replacement tiles that we need.

0:24:510:24:54

We can take the tube lining bag

0:24:550:24:57

and that's filled with a liquid clay slip.

0:24:570:25:00

-It's literally just brown clay?

-Yes.

-Very heavily watered down?

0:25:000:25:04

It is called slip trailing basically because you are just trailing slip.

0:25:040:25:09

-It's like cake icing?

-That's correct, yes.

0:25:090:25:12

-I'm sure that you will pick it up very quickly.

-Great.

0:25:120:25:15

You are filling me with confidence. OK.

0:25:150:25:18

Ta-da! The big moment.

0:25:180:25:21

The design has been traced onto a tile

0:25:220:25:24

and all I have to do is follow the lines.

0:25:240:25:28

I'm not looking forward to this. OK.

0:25:290:25:31

-You really, you have to give it a bit of a squeeze.

-Yes.

0:25:380:25:41

-That's right.

-Woah!

-Yeah. Now it's flowing too much.

0:25:410:25:44

You're squeezing too hard.

0:25:440:25:46

Tube lined tiles were the creme de la creme of shop fittings

0:25:460:25:51

and were 30 times more expensive than standard glazed tiles.

0:25:510:25:56

The technique produces a raised design which more effectively

0:25:560:26:00

caught the light in poorly-gas-lit shops.

0:26:000:26:04

I think rather than fish dinner, it's more like a dog's dinner.

0:26:040:26:08

What's next?

0:26:080:26:09

-What we need to do is introduce some colours.

-OK.

0:26:100:26:15

If you apply it around the edge first. That's correct.

0:26:150:26:18

That makes it easier to fill in.

0:26:180:26:21

-OK? You covered it over, that's the main thing.

-That's the main thing.

0:26:210:26:26

Let's think positive.

0:26:260:26:28

The tube lining allows deep pools of glaze to be applied,

0:26:290:26:33

producing the most vibrant colours possible in ceramics.

0:26:330:26:37

-Yay! Done.

-Well done.

0:26:410:26:43

That to me looks pretty poor.

0:26:430:26:45

I mean, how does that turn into these beautiful tiles?

0:26:450:26:48

-What's the next thing that happens?

-Once it's been fired,

0:26:480:26:51

all those gorgeous colours will actually come through in the firing.

0:26:510:26:55

-OK.

-So at the end, it will look completely different.

0:26:550:26:58

One down, two to go.

0:26:580:26:59

The Victorian obsession for walls of tiles in their shops

0:27:010:27:04

reflected new scientific discoveries about the nature of hygiene.

0:27:040:27:10

The concept there was a connection between cleanliness and health

0:27:100:27:14

was well established by the 1860s.

0:27:140:27:16

So the shop-going public wanted,

0:27:160:27:19

when they went to food shops, to see the shops looking sparklingly clean,

0:27:190:27:23

walls of tiles had to be scrubbed, washed down.

0:27:230:27:26

No places for germs to lurk.

0:27:260:27:29

This became particularly important for fish fryers.

0:27:290:27:33

Their business was still under a cloud so, by 1900,

0:27:330:27:37

when they were still regarded really as a smelly backstreet enterprise,

0:27:370:27:41

they embraced fully the technology of tile-clad interiors

0:27:410:27:45

to make their emporiums sparkle with health and cleanliness.

0:27:450:27:49

The obsession for tiles extended rather predictably

0:27:520:27:55

to public conveniences.

0:27:550:27:57

Here we see a wonderful practical and handsome example

0:27:570:28:02

of a wash-down tiled wall.

0:28:020:28:04

It's January, eight months into the build and, despite a bitter winter,

0:28:110:28:16

the traditionally made roof of the main chip shop is almost finished.

0:28:160:28:21

The corrugated ironclad extension has also shot up.

0:28:210:28:27

Designed by Jim to look like a later addition,

0:28:270:28:30

it will house the restaurant

0:28:300:28:31

and give the impression the building has evolved over years.

0:28:310:28:35

Fish and chip restaurants, known as saloons,

0:28:370:28:40

began to appear in Edwardian times.

0:28:400:28:42

They were the first restaurants within reach of the working classes.

0:28:430:28:46

Soon, fish and chip palaces followed.

0:28:480:28:50

Most famously, Harry Ramsden's in West Yorkshire.

0:28:500:28:54

With their oak panelling and wall-to-wall carpets,

0:28:540:28:57

they allowed workers to escape the harsh realities

0:28:570:29:00

of their normal lives, if only for a few hours.

0:29:000:29:04

Our saloon is far humbler.

0:29:050:29:08

In the story Jim's invented for the building,

0:29:080:29:11

it's a low-cost later addition,

0:29:110:29:13

thrown up using cheap corrugated iron cladding.

0:29:130:29:17

I'm not sure many people would say this,

0:29:170:29:20

but I absolutely love corrugated iron.

0:29:200:29:24

It is the most incredible building material.

0:29:240:29:27

While today, it is very everyday and very commonplace,

0:29:270:29:31

when it was patented in 1829,

0:29:310:29:34

it must have seemed like it was from a very bright future indeed.

0:29:340:29:39

It is the most perfectly functional material.

0:29:390:29:42

It's very light, very easy to transform.

0:29:420:29:45

It can be bent, rolled, formed.

0:29:450:29:48

It's incredibly versatile,

0:29:480:29:50

so you can sling it over any simple, lightweight timber or steel frame.

0:29:500:29:54

Anything, in fact - make it waterproof.

0:29:540:29:57

Because of these characteristics of lightness and ease of transportation,

0:29:570:30:01

millions of kit houses were manufactured

0:30:010:30:04

and sent right across the world,

0:30:040:30:07

from gold prospectors in California,

0:30:070:30:09

all over Australia, Africa.

0:30:090:30:12

In fact, there's almost nowhere in the world

0:30:120:30:14

that hasn't been revolutionised by crinkly tin.

0:30:140:30:19

The building may be nearing completion,

0:30:210:30:24

but Richard has some bad news about the interior restoration.

0:30:240:30:28

I'm afraid we've had a bit of a problem with the early range.

0:30:280:30:31

What? It's broken?

0:30:310:30:33

It's broken, it was adapted later in its life for gas,

0:30:330:30:36

and because it's such a rare surviving example from the turn of the 20th century,

0:30:360:30:40

we can't really bring ourselves to damage it.

0:30:400:30:42

I see. To make it functional would mean damaging the artefact.

0:30:420:30:47

So what are you going to do? Abandon the fish and chip shop?

0:30:470:30:50

Well, ideally, we'd like to use an Edwardian range.

0:30:500:30:53

We do have one from a slightly later period,

0:30:530:30:55

a '20s range, that we've collected.

0:30:550:30:57

-Would you like me to show you that?

-Yes.

0:30:570:31:00

Oh dear! It's in a bit of a sorry state, isn't it? The top's missing.

0:31:000:31:04

You're happy to restore this one? This is not that historic.

0:31:040:31:08

It is much less rare. This 1920s' range here, we can adapt.

0:31:080:31:12

We can get it up in working order.

0:31:120:31:14

-You're looking slightly doubtful.

-It looks like a lot of work.

0:31:140:31:19

Is it really a viable option, getting this thing up and running?

0:31:190:31:22

I certainly hope so. Although it's looking a bit sorry,

0:31:220:31:24

the fire bricks will be renewed,

0:31:240:31:27

the tiling will be restored and, where possible, re-used.

0:31:270:31:32

So it won't be entirely replaced.

0:31:320:31:34

Fortunately, the fish and chip cart restoration

0:31:360:31:40

hasn't suffered any major issues and the bodywork is now complete.

0:31:400:31:44

Before the stove is finally fitted,

0:31:450:31:48

the team decides a test firing would be prudent.

0:31:480:31:52

But a few tweaks may be needed

0:31:540:31:57

before the stove is lit inside the cart.

0:31:570:32:01

Nine months into the build,

0:32:050:32:06

the exterior of both the fish and chip shop

0:32:060:32:09

and saloon extension are complete.

0:32:090:32:11

We're now weatherproof. The weather can throw anything at us.

0:32:130:32:17

Now, we've to do ranges, tiles, counters, get it going.

0:32:170:32:20

But we're just running now.

0:32:200:32:22

But there are some really nice little features.

0:32:220:32:24

Obviously, all the windows are different.

0:32:240:32:26

-That's on purpose.

-Deliberately.

0:32:260:32:28

To show that evolution, you've got the sash window

0:32:280:32:31

with its thought-out, quasi-scientific airflow -

0:32:310:32:35

open the top, open the bottom - of the Victorians.

0:32:350:32:38

And you are heading towards...

0:32:380:32:40

It's the first glimpse of the hideous 1970s' picture window

0:32:400:32:42

with a top light opening bit.

0:32:420:32:45

It's cheap, it's quick, you just whack it together.

0:32:450:32:48

Tell me about the windows on the corrugated tin shed. What are they?

0:32:480:32:52

The corrugated iron extension, it fascinates me,

0:32:520:32:55

because those buildings are disappearing so fast.

0:32:550:32:58

These tin sheds have been village halls, they've been chapels,

0:32:580:33:01

they've been labour halls, they've been British kitchens.

0:33:010:33:04

They've been all those things and in a way,

0:33:040:33:08

they're an ominous precursor to the massive building

0:33:080:33:12

of soldiers' huts in the First War.

0:33:120:33:15

The army hut came out of this sort of instant building.

0:33:150:33:19

By the start of the First World War,

0:33:230:33:26

fish and chips had become a vital source of nutrition

0:33:260:33:29

for the working people of Britain.

0:33:290:33:31

Take Bradford, for example.

0:33:310:33:33

In 1917, it had 303 fish and chip shops,

0:33:330:33:38

selling 900,000 meals per week.

0:33:380:33:42

That's two and a half portions per week

0:33:420:33:45

for every man, woman and child living in the city.

0:33:450:33:48

Fish and chips were deemed to be

0:33:480:33:51

such a crucial source of nutrition for the war workers,

0:33:510:33:54

that government never rationed fish or potatoes.

0:33:540:33:58

There was even a move to exempt fish fryers from the call-up.

0:33:580:34:01

So after years of shame and infamy,

0:34:030:34:06

the fish fryers had come to be celebrated as national saviours.

0:34:060:34:11

Work has now begun on the interior

0:34:150:34:18

and the painstakingly restored tiles are being fitted.

0:34:180:34:22

But they're still missing the three broken ones.

0:34:220:34:25

I have brought some of the tiles.

0:34:250:34:28

This is what we were...

0:34:280:34:30

That's the one that was very badly damaged. The sort of seascape one.

0:34:300:34:36

This was our totally had it, end of the boat.

0:34:360:34:40

Obviously, there is a complete missing one.

0:34:400:34:44

-It's a moment of revelation.

-It is!

0:34:440:34:48

I went and tried to make a replacement one for this.

0:34:480:34:53

I have to say, it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.

0:34:530:34:57

Are you breaking us in gently?

0:34:570:34:59

You've got the shape!

0:35:030:35:05

Look at it. It's dreadful!

0:35:050:35:07

The guy helping me realised it was so rubbish that, bless him,

0:35:070:35:12

he had to go and do it properly.

0:35:120:35:18

That's a bit more like it!

0:35:180:35:19

So you can all relax. That's that one. The colour is perfect.

0:35:190:35:25

-Then this is the missing tile.

-Oh, right. The bottom of the boat.

0:35:250:35:32

Look at that. That's fantastic!

0:35:320:35:35

Charlie is a skilful guy. He couldn't do it.

0:35:350:35:39

These people were brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

0:35:390:35:42

They were at the top of their game. They were famous across the country.

0:35:420:35:45

Duncan's tiles.

0:35:450:35:47

So...a good try,

0:35:470:35:49

but we'll use this one!

0:35:490:35:51

-Is this the hard bit?

-This is the messy bit.

0:35:540:35:58

-So what? Just stick it on?

-Stick it on.

0:35:580:36:01

Just twist and make sure it beds.

0:36:010:36:04

That's not going to fall off, is it?

0:36:040:36:07

I'll keep a hold while you get the other ones.

0:36:070:36:09

-We don't want to break any.

-I really don't want to break any!

0:36:110:36:14

That's fine.

0:36:160:36:18

So in the space there.

0:36:200:36:22

This is the missing one. This is the panel...

0:36:220:36:24

The one we've never seen.

0:36:240:36:27

The one we've never seen.

0:36:270:36:29

That...is your panel.

0:36:310:36:34

It's absolutely fantastic. It is a perfect match.

0:36:340:36:36

It's really, really good.

0:36:360:36:38

It's only when you see these tiles restored and back on the wall,

0:36:440:36:49

that you actually get a real sense of how powerful and evocative they are.

0:36:490:36:53

And how bright and fresh those colours must have seemed

0:36:530:36:58

to someone who's spent a day in the darkness of the mine.

0:36:580:37:02

Imagine coming out of there, being filthy, washing yourself off,

0:37:020:37:06

coming up and getting a lovely, hot fish supper,

0:37:060:37:09

sitting down, looking at these evocative scenes,

0:37:090:37:13

and for just a while, sort of being transported to a distant place.

0:37:130:37:18

The 1920s' range has now been restored to full working order

0:37:210:37:28

and it's being installed.

0:37:280:37:31

OK, Charlie. This is our latest discovery. What do you think?

0:37:310:37:34

That's beautiful. It's in amazing condition, isn't it?

0:37:340:37:37

-That would have been where the fire was.

-There's the fire down there.

0:37:370:37:40

We haven't currently got the pans in but we've got the pans.

0:37:400:37:43

-So you've got the original pans?

-The original pans.

0:37:430:37:46

They were preserved because they were soaked in fat, funnily enough!

0:37:460:37:51

It is very beautiful. It is really quite small though, isn't it?

0:37:510:37:55

I think of a fish shop today, you'll have like a whole counter thing.

0:37:550:37:59

-Yes.

-This is not going to have that big a capacity, is it?

0:37:590:38:03

It is a problem.

0:38:030:38:05

It's sweet, it's beautiful, but there's two little pans,

0:38:050:38:07

two little fires and the capacity is not huge.

0:38:070:38:10

The good thing is, we've found something else

0:38:100:38:13

that will at least speed up our chip production.

0:38:130:38:16

-Right.

-Come and have a look.

0:38:160:38:17

-Jim.

-Yes?

-What's that?

0:38:220:38:25

That's a state-of-the-art chip chipper.

0:38:250:38:28

-From when?

-This engine is a 1909 gas engine.

0:38:280:38:32

If you look in the books and catalogues

0:38:320:38:35

how to do a chip shop in the Edwardian period,

0:38:350:38:38

this is the exact model that was being recommended

0:38:380:38:41

to the up-and-coming chip shop owner just before the First War.

0:38:410:38:44

How does it work?

0:38:440:38:45

The gas comes in into the cylinder,

0:38:450:38:50

it's driving a little belt.

0:38:500:38:51

The belt's driving a little chain.

0:38:510:38:54

Inside here, the little teeth are going round

0:38:540:38:57

and if you want to pop a potato down there...

0:38:570:39:00

-Two holes.

-The big hole. It's a big potato.

0:39:000:39:04

And then push it down with your hygienic pusher

0:39:040:39:08

and out should come your chips.

0:39:080:39:11

Look at that!

0:39:140:39:16

-French fries!

-Yes.

0:39:160:39:18

-Not bad, eh?

-So you're going to use this, are you, in the shop?

0:39:180:39:22

This is a test.

0:39:220:39:25

It'll be clean and spotless and we'll have a hygienic plunger.

0:39:250:39:30

It is fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!

0:39:300:39:33

Although marvellous, the gas chipper alone

0:39:350:39:38

isn't going to solve the chip shop's capacity problem.

0:39:380:39:41

But I've discovered that in nearby Winlaton Mill,

0:39:410:39:45

there's another old, traditionally coal-fired range

0:39:450:39:48

that may offer a solution.

0:39:480:39:50

-Evening, gentlemen.

-Nice to see you.

-Very nice to meet you.

0:39:500:39:53

Gosh! What a wonderful range.

0:39:530:39:57

Yes. It is well preserved, really.

0:39:570:40:01

-But the obvious point is, you aren't frying tonight. Why is that?

-No.

0:40:010:40:06

The reason is because in 2007, our mother died,

0:40:060:40:11

and she left instructions that

0:40:110:40:14

that had to be the end of the business

0:40:140:40:16

but she really just thought that it was time

0:40:160:40:20

for us to have early retirement and enjoy life.

0:40:200:40:24

It's incredible to meet someone

0:40:240:40:26

who has actually toiled with, for years, a coal-fired range.

0:40:260:40:30

Can you show me how it works?

0:40:300:40:32

-What we used to do, was put some newspaper in first.

-In the morning?

0:40:320:40:38

Put some newspaper in

0:40:380:40:40

and then you'd put some sticks on and set it alight.

0:40:400:40:44

Once the sticks got alight, you started putting your coal on.

0:40:440:40:48

So you've got fish there, chips in that. And that's a backup?

0:40:480:40:52

Yes. That's just a backup, that one.

0:40:520:40:55

It's amazing to think that for over 70 years,

0:40:550:40:58

this room was at the heart of the local community.

0:40:580:41:00

People coming here to meet, to feed, to chat.

0:41:000:41:03

It is very haunting, really.

0:41:030:41:05

Grandchildren of people that used to come to the shop years ago

0:41:050:41:09

were coming in near the end of the business.

0:41:090:41:12

So there's been generations served at this counter.

0:41:120:41:15

It is really thrilling to be here and to meet you

0:41:150:41:18

and to see this wonderful, wonderful machine.

0:41:180:41:21

-Yes, it's survived.

-Thank you very much.

0:41:210:41:23

Since you're not frying, I think I'll pop down to the local pub.

0:41:230:41:26

-Good idea.

-Maybe I'll see you down there!

0:41:260:41:29

Although the Davy brothers' range is 1930s rather than Edwardian,

0:41:340:41:38

it has the capacity Beamish desperately needs.

0:41:380:41:42

So it decided to add it to the fish and chip shop,

0:41:420:41:45

meaning that one of the few remaining coal-fired ranges

0:41:450:41:48

left in the country will not only be saved from the scrapheap,

0:41:480:41:52

but will be fully restored and soon frying once again.

0:41:520:41:55

It is an emotional day already.

0:41:590:42:01

It's one of those days we'll never forget.

0:42:010:42:03

It's been amazing that we were found, so to speak,

0:42:030:42:08

and it's been able to find a good home and will be well cared for.

0:42:080:42:15

It's there for posterity.

0:42:160:42:19

It's taken nine months

0:42:240:42:26

of painstaking work to restore the fish and chip cart

0:42:260:42:28

and after 40 years collecting dust at Beamish,

0:42:280:42:31

it is finally ready for its triumphal homecoming

0:42:310:42:34

here to the streets of Spennymoor.

0:42:340:42:37

What's going to be fascinating to see

0:42:370:42:40

is if anyone can remember the once famous Berriman fish and chip cart.

0:42:400:42:45

I think this is your fault because you were the one who suggested

0:43:090:43:12

bringing it back here and cooking some chips.

0:43:120:43:15

-How does it feel?

-It's brilliant. I've waited a long time for this.

0:43:150:43:19

The pleasure of restoration for me

0:43:190:43:21

is to make something live again and breathe again.

0:43:210:43:24

I think we better get out of the way!

0:43:270:43:30

That's it.

0:43:300:43:31

It's funny because I thought that people might not remember,

0:43:370:43:41

but everyone seems to remember.

0:43:410:43:43

-It was the main thing in Spennymoor.

-Was it?

-Yes.

0:43:430:43:46

Everybody was to come out of the pub

0:43:460:43:49

to get themselves a bag of chips or a fishcake.

0:43:490:43:51

-And good chips?

-They were beautiful.

-Absolutely beautiful.

0:43:510:43:56

-So are you ready to go?

-I think so.

-Go on then. Let's see how it works.

0:43:570:44:01

Let's be brave.

0:44:010:44:03

Brave or foolhardy!

0:44:040:44:06

-Is it going?

-Yes, it's going.

0:44:070:44:09

-There's a bit of a breeze on, isn't there?

-Yes.

0:44:110:44:14

It's drawing really strong.

0:44:140:44:16

While we wait for the beef dripping to heat up,

0:44:170:44:20

the son of one of the brothers who owned the cart

0:44:200:44:23

comes to pay us a visit.

0:44:230:44:26

-You must be Mr Berriman?

-I am.

-Hello. Pleased to meet you. Charlie.

0:44:260:44:30

I've brought these Tilley lamps

0:44:300:44:32

that have been in the garage for 35 years or more.

0:44:320:44:35

So these lit the van, did they?

0:44:350:44:37

They lit the van when it got dark on a night.

0:44:370:44:40

-It's a proper Tilley lamp as well, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:44:420:44:45

-So where do they go?

-Actually up on those hooks on the back.

0:44:450:44:50

Do you want to stick that up there?

0:44:500:44:52

One of the hooks has gone missing, so we'll just put that there.

0:44:520:44:56

-They're back home.

-They're back home, where they belong.

-Yes.

-Yes.

0:44:560:45:01

After half an hour, the first batch of chips for 40 years

0:45:030:45:08

can be fried up for the people of Spennymoor.

0:45:080:45:11

There we go.

0:45:150:45:17

Right, kids.

0:45:220:45:23

No. Don't grab them!

0:45:230:45:27

How good are they?

0:45:280:45:31

-Yeah, they're lovely. 1 out of 10!

-Very nice.

-11 out of 10?

0:45:310:45:34

11 out of 10 for the chips.

0:45:340:45:37

Even the mayor turns up for a bag of chips.

0:45:380:45:41

-No salt.

-No salt, just vinegar.

0:45:410:45:43

-There you go. I hope you like them.

-Thank you. They look nice.

0:45:450:45:48

Go on, have a try and see what you think.

0:45:480:45:51

Was the Berriman van an iconic part of the community?

0:45:540:45:57

There's no doubt about that whatsoever.

0:45:570:45:59

Anybody that came into the town,

0:45:590:46:01

whether it be from Spennymoor or the surrounding area,

0:46:010:46:04

they always made, on a night, for the chips at that van.

0:46:040:46:08

And what's this here?

0:46:080:46:10

That's the Berriman's chip van done by Mr George Teasdale.

0:46:100:46:15

-So you took this photo?

-In the '60s.

-Did you?

-Yes.

0:46:150:46:18

-Do you remember taking it?

-Not really.

0:46:180:46:21

I suppose it was a while ago.

0:46:210:46:23

It was a while ago.

0:46:230:46:24

-But you remember the van?

-Yes. It was in the High Street

0:46:240:46:27

opposite the Waterloo pub, which isn't there any more.

0:46:270:46:31

In the 1900s, there were about five chip vans in Spennymoor.

0:46:310:46:34

-Happy days.

-That's an amazing document.

0:46:340:46:36

So obviously a really important part of the local community.

0:46:360:46:39

It's the final push to put the finishing touches on the fish and chip shop

0:46:470:46:52

before it's handed over to the team who will run it.

0:46:520:46:55

Moment of truth.

0:46:550:46:57

The Davy brothers' 1930s' range has been rejuvenated

0:47:000:47:05

and is being installed.

0:47:050:47:07

Jim has also managed to source another authentic Edwardian gem.

0:47:070:47:12

I never thought I'd need to explain but that's a toilet cistern.

0:47:120:47:15

Cisterns have gone lower down the wall.

0:47:150:47:18

In the old days, when people had hearty and thick diets,

0:47:180:47:20

the water needed a bit of acceleration from on high.

0:47:200:47:23

So you pulled the chain and it came roaring down with a wonderful noise.

0:47:230:47:27

This cistern is rather good

0:47:270:47:28

because it's a typical working-class housing cistern.

0:47:280:47:32

It's wood, lined with lead.

0:47:320:47:35

The toilet itself might look well worn but it's actually

0:47:350:47:38

what they euphemistically call 'new old stock'.

0:47:380:47:42

It is extremely old but it's never been used. It's never seen action.

0:47:420:47:47

It is a race species of toilet

0:47:470:47:49

known from workhouses and poor people's outside toilets,

0:47:490:47:53

that was entirely made of salt glaze,

0:47:530:47:56

rather than white, expensive glaze.

0:47:560:47:59

I don't think I've ever seen one in use,

0:47:590:48:02

but we're going to see one in use.

0:48:020:48:04

The ranges can now be connected to the flue

0:48:050:48:08

and the team has assembled for the crucial smoke test.

0:48:080:48:12

If it doesn't go right, everybody's going to be looking at me.

0:48:120:48:16

But there are some bushes behind.

0:48:160:48:19

I will just disappear quietly into the bushes!

0:48:190:48:22

It'll be fine.

0:48:220:48:24

It should fire up.

0:48:310:48:33

-No.

-No. I am staring at that...

0:48:350:48:38

He'll come running out the door!

0:48:380:48:39

There she blows.

0:48:390:48:41

-Well done!

-There we go.

-Look at that.

0:48:430:48:47

-Goodness me, that's a lot of smoke.

-Watch him come out, coughing!

0:48:470:48:50

It's a highly accelerated Kenny flue system!

0:48:520:48:56

It's more or less turbo charged!

0:48:560:48:59

Three days later, the building work is complete.

0:49:020:49:06

and the fish and chip shop can be furnished and spruced up

0:49:060:49:09

in preparation for the grand opening, giving Dan and me

0:49:090:49:13

our first opportunity to see it in all its glory.

0:49:130:49:16

There's the bunting, all getting ready for the opening day.

0:49:160:49:21

-Absolutely. Shall we go in and have a look?

-Absolutely.

-In you go.

0:49:210:49:24

-Check this out! Look at it!

-This is the 1910 range over there.

0:49:260:49:32

-Yes. Edwardian range.

-It looks sensational now.

0:49:320:49:36

Look at the way the tiles have come up. It's stunning.

0:49:360:49:39

That is too precious an historic object to function.

0:49:390:49:42

That really is a museum display.

0:49:420:49:45

-Exactly.

-And this wonderful thing here.

-A manual chipper.

0:49:450:49:48

-You put a potato here and I see, yes, indeed.

-Whack!

0:49:480:49:51

Complete with comedy spring noise!

0:49:530:49:56

Next on the tour, the palatial main kitchen.

0:49:590:50:03

-Good Lord! This is absolutely staggering.

-Amazing.

-It's wonderful.

0:50:040:50:09

Look at the tiles. They're absolutely beautiful.

0:50:090:50:12

The idea that everything is tiled, helps reflect the light,

0:50:120:50:15

because you'd have had gas lights and very dim levels of light.

0:50:150:50:18

The highly reflective surfaces would have just punched the light levels up.

0:50:180:50:22

And with the tube lining, the raised delineation of it catches the light

0:50:220:50:26

and reinforces the vibrant, vivid, very clear defined colour fields.

0:50:260:50:32

And you imagine a slightly flickering gas flame,

0:50:320:50:35

how it would almost be like a living thing.

0:50:350:50:37

-And the escapism.

-It's like gin palaces, isn't it,

0:50:370:50:40

sparkling with gasoliers and cut glass.

0:50:400:50:43

This was an escape from your humble home or down the pit

0:50:430:50:46

and you see this escapist fantasy world, don't you?

0:50:460:50:48

The 1920s' range may look similar to the Edwardian range,

0:50:500:50:54

but as it's less rare, it's been possible to restore it

0:50:540:50:57

to full working order.

0:50:570:50:59

Very practical, yet also ornamental.

0:50:590:51:01

A wonderful marriage of art and industry and utilitarian.

0:51:010:51:06

I love the little scene here. This view of a Highland loch, I suppose.

0:51:060:51:10

Really for the benefit of the fish fryer, standing here.

0:51:100:51:13

Just to give him a little bit of escape.

0:51:130:51:16

And the Davy brothers' range

0:51:180:51:20

will supply the capacity needed on busy days.

0:51:200:51:22

Beautiful.

0:51:230:51:25

I last saw this when it was utterly abandoned in its old home.

0:51:250:51:29

Doesn't that take you back to childhood? Do you know what I mean?

0:51:290:51:33

It's just all of that sort of scooping, and salt flying around

0:51:330:51:37

and vinegar everywhere. It's fantastic!

0:51:370:51:40

The dining saloon is far more modestly furnished

0:51:410:51:44

with reclaimed timber and exposed brickwork.

0:51:440:51:46

Less is more.

0:51:460:51:48

Keeping it simple makes it so much more authentic

0:51:480:51:52

and evocative, doesn't it?

0:51:520:51:54

And Jim's obsessive attention to detail is exemplified

0:51:550:51:58

by the authentically woebegone toilet.

0:51:580:52:02

-And of course, it works.

-It does, absolutely.

0:52:040:52:07

-There we go.

-Lovely!

0:52:100:52:11

So now, finally, the time has arrived for the first fry up.

0:52:150:52:20

And who better to show us the ropes than the Davy brothers?

0:52:200:52:24

-Well...

-Wow!

0:52:240:52:26

-There's the range.

-Dear!

-What do you think?

-Fantastic!

0:52:260:52:31

What do you think of that?

0:52:310:52:33

-Does that take you back a few years?

-Goodness me!

0:52:350:52:37

Are you all right, Ramsay?

0:52:370:52:39

-And this is our counter and the chipper.

-Who used to light it?

-Me.

0:52:410:52:47

Right, Ramsay, you and I are going to light it.

0:52:470:52:49

Ramsay's technique is watched closely by Denise,

0:52:520:52:55

who will be running the chip shop.

0:52:550:52:58

Ceremonial lighting.

0:52:580:53:00

That's it.

0:53:040:53:05

I seize the opportunity to get my hands on that chipper.

0:53:060:53:09

So do you want to be the first to use it?

0:53:090:53:13

You've to keep the potato that way up. That's it.

0:53:130:53:16

I'm going to keep my hands reasonably well away.

0:53:160:53:19

Then straight down.

0:53:190:53:21

-Then, remember to move my fingers.

-That should be OK now.

0:53:210:53:24

-Do you wish to do another?

-That's not a bad potato.

-It's a great potato.

0:53:270:53:31

Doing them that way means you get a nice, long potato.

0:53:310:53:33

The other way, short and fat, no good.

0:53:330:53:35

I'm going to experiment the other way. Of course, I'm being very slow.

0:53:350:53:39

Dan, where are the chips? We need the chips pretty soon.

0:53:390:53:45

Good heavens! Patience!

0:53:450:53:46

But I shall take the challenge. Let's speed up the operation.

0:53:460:53:49

I might get a finger in with the chips!

0:53:490:53:52

-Good Lord, Charlie! A pinafore!

-It's the only apron we've got.

0:53:560:54:00

Here are the chips anyway. I will stand back.

0:54:000:54:04

-So I'm allowed to put these in, am I?

-Yes, put them in. Just be gentle.

0:54:040:54:08

-Don't throw them in.

-From here?

-Yes.

-I will just tip it.

0:54:080:54:14

-Whoa!

-There we go.

0:54:150:54:18

-Oh my God!

-Go on.

-There we are.

0:54:180:54:20

-Give them a stir.

-They are definitely cooking, aren't they?

0:54:260:54:30

-They definitely are.

-Well, we've done it.

0:54:300:54:33

-We have a coal-fired fish and chip shop. Well done, everyone!

-Well done.

0:54:330:54:38

Well done, Ramsay.

0:54:380:54:40

-It's a wonderful noise, isn't it?

-There it is.

0:54:400:54:44

SIZZLING

0:54:440:54:45

With the fish and chip shop fully operational,

0:54:510:54:55

it can now be officially opened to the public.

0:54:550:54:58

Thank you for coming and welcome to a very exciting event today,

0:55:000:55:04

the opening of Beamish's very own fried fish shop.

0:55:040:55:07

Special thanks to this very finely dressed man to my left here, Jim,

0:55:070:55:12

whose brainchild this is,

0:55:120:55:14

whose head this building literally popped out of

0:55:140:55:17

and is in front of you here today, so special thanks to Jim.

0:55:170:55:20

APPLAUSE

0:55:200:55:23

I would also like to make a special mention to the Davy brothers,

0:55:230:55:28

who had a coal-fired range working in Tyneside until very recently

0:55:280:55:31

and were kind enough to let us have it here for the fried fish shop at Beamish.

0:55:310:55:37

To mark the event, I would like to ask the Davy brothers to cut the ribbon.

0:55:370:55:41

APPLAUSE

0:55:420:55:44

-Come on in. In you go. In you go. After you, Charlie.

-Thank you very much.

0:55:500:55:54

The honour of being served the very first portion

0:55:590:56:02

goes to Kenny the bricklayer.

0:56:020:56:05

Congratulations. Well done, Kenny.

0:56:050:56:07

APPLAUSE

0:56:070:56:08

-Wonderful!

-Would you like some salt?

0:56:120:56:15

Next time, we'll have to open a brewery!

0:56:150:56:18

The public are next in line.

0:56:190:56:21

They're cooked in proper dripping.

0:56:210:56:24

-It's far better.

-Better than oil and all these newfangled concoctions.

0:56:240:56:29

They're just as good as what we used to have 40 or 50 years ago, when we were kids.

0:56:290:56:34

It feels very good to see that finally open. Very good indeed.

0:56:360:56:40

It's the smell, the taste, the sight.

0:56:400:56:42

It isn't walking around,

0:56:420:56:44

looking at the world's oldest chip range in a glass case.

0:56:440:56:47

All of us are used to fish ranges smelling of fish and chips,

0:56:470:56:50

which is not odd until you see one that doesn't.

0:56:500:56:53

But to go in there and it's hot and it smells right

0:56:530:56:56

and people are laughing and joking, that's great.

0:56:560:57:00

I think everyone associated with this build ended up very proud indeed.

0:57:000:57:04

Because they started from scratch, it's been an enormous challenge

0:57:050:57:09

to bring together the ranges, the colliery bricks,

0:57:090:57:12

the windows and to create a coherent building that feels right.

0:57:120:57:17

I think Jim and his team have more than achieved that

0:57:170:57:21

because they've created a building that clearly

0:57:210:57:23

and quietly tells the story of the incredible rise of fish and chips.

0:57:230:57:28

That's an important story because of the fundamental role

0:57:280:57:32

that fish and chips played in working communities across Britain.

0:57:320:57:36

I think, at last, I understand how this humble food

0:57:380:57:42

has become of such national importance.

0:57:420:57:45

Fish and chips is of course very nourishing, tasty

0:57:450:57:48

and has always been relatively cheap.

0:57:480:57:51

But more important, it represents a fusion of cultures.

0:57:510:57:55

A fusion of the Jewish emigre culture of East London

0:57:550:57:59

with the working class communities of the North.

0:57:590:58:02

It represents, in a particular way, a portrait of Britain.

0:58:020:58:06

And isn't it wonderful the way fish and chips started

0:58:060:58:11

as a rather dubious, backstreet industry

0:58:110:58:14

and then blossomed to occupy splendid,

0:58:140:58:17

palatial emporia like this.

0:58:170:58:21

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