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'Life's but a walking shadow... | 0:00:04 | 0:00:06 | |
'..a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage... | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
'..and then is heard no more.' | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
Sir Ian McKellen has been one of Britain's leading actors | 0:00:18 | 0:00:21 | |
for over 50 years. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:24 | |
Since his breakthrough in the 1960s, | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
he's enjoyed a glittering career on stage, television and screen, | 0:00:26 | 0:00:32 | |
with roles like the wizard Gandalf | 0:00:32 | 0:00:34 | |
in The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit | 0:00:34 | 0:00:36 | |
bringing him worldwide fame. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
I was born in North Lancashire, | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
and my youth was in Bolton. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
My mother died when I was 12 - breast cancer. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
Probably got a bit introverted and certainly got shy. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:55 | |
I was a shy child. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:57 | |
But in the 1940s and '50s, | 0:00:57 | 0:01:00 | |
there were three professional theatres | 0:01:00 | 0:01:02 | |
in a town with only 150,000 people. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
By the time I was early teens, I was going on my own. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:09 | |
I would stand in the wings, | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
see the performers getting ready to go on | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
and then stepping out of the dark into the light onto the stage. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:18 | |
And that seemed to me the most magical thing | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
I'd ever seen in my life. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
Alongside his acting career, | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
Ian is also one of the UK's leading campaigners | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:34 | |
People say, "When did you first know you were gay?" | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
And I say, "Well, when did you first know that you weren't?" | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
But don't forget, at that time, it was a silent territory. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
Nobody talked about it. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:45 | |
And by the time I might have plucked up courage to broach it | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
with my dad, he too was dead. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
He died when I was 24. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
And my sister Jean died a few years ago | 0:01:55 | 0:01:59 | |
so, now, I am the last of the McKellens. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
The last of my line. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:04 | |
I'm not producing any children with my name. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
I suppose that's the point to be made. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
So I'm just left with some photographs, really. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
And there's no-one left for me to ask about the people in them. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
I'm intrigued by my paternal grandmother, Alice McKellen. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:23 | |
Known as Mother Mac. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
She died two years before I was born. | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
But when I was growing up, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:29 | |
everyone talked about her as a real star of the family. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
Alice was apparently a wonderful singer, | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
but I don't know where she'd come from. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
I don't know, really, anything about her family. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:40 | |
So if I come out of this knowing more about my grandmother, | 0:02:40 | 0:02:44 | |
who clearly made such an impact on everyone she met, | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
and I didn't meet her, | 0:02:48 | 0:02:49 | |
so perhaps I can now get to meet her a little more. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
To find out more about his paternal grandmother, Alice, | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
Ian is heading north to Cheshire, | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
where she lived with her husband, William McKellen. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
'..ask you to sit back, relax, and enjoy your journey to Manchester Piccadilly. Thank you.' | 0:03:39 | 0:03:43 | |
Born Alice Murray, after her marriage, | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
Ian's grandmother became known to all as Mother Mac. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:50 | |
When my grandmother died, Mother Mac, | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
her son - my father, Dennis - | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
made this. And it is just a collection of letters | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
that were written to the family and here is a tribute to her. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:03 | |
"Mrs McKellen, Mother Mac, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
"had an excellent mezzo-soprano voice." | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
The story I was told was that my grandad, Mr McKellen, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
met his future bride because he had enjoyed her singing. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
There's another little bit written by Reverend Will Powicke. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:23 | |
"She is associated in my mind with many happy and serious experiences | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
"in the old Christian Endeavour Society at Hatherlow." | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
Mother Mac and her husband William | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
were both active members of a religious movement | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
called Christian Endeavour, | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
which aimed to improve the lives of inner-city workers | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
during the early 20th century. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:47 | |
They lived just outside Stockport for over 40 years | 0:04:47 | 0:04:50 | |
and worshipped here at Hatherlow Church. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
-Hello. How are you? -Hello, Ian. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:57 | |
Religious historian Martin Palmer | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
has been researching Ian's family history. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
-Are we going in? -Please, come on in. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:05 | |
So, Ian, welcome to what is in a sense your dynastic church. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
This is a record going back to 1846 | 0:05:11 | 0:05:16 | |
of the baptisms that took place here. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:20 | |
August 20, 1939. Why is my name in here? | 0:05:23 | 0:05:27 | |
-Because you were baptised here. -I was baptised here?! -Yes. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
And we even have the font at the front there | 0:05:30 | 0:05:33 | |
-that you were baptised in. -Well! | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
Does that mean I'm going to heaven? | 0:05:37 | 0:05:39 | |
-Yes, I'm afraid so. -That's fine. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
So this was our family church. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
When Mother Mac was here, she was a huge figure | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
in the Sunday school and the choir - particularly the choir. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:50 | |
Well, the family story is that Grandad McKellen heard her singing. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:54 | |
Well, in 1902, the Christian Endeavour Movement | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
held a huge gathering in Manchester. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
The main event at which your grandmother sang | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
was at the Free Trade Hall, which held 10,000 people, | 0:06:04 | 0:06:08 | |
and this is the programme | 0:06:08 | 0:06:13 | |
for this event. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:14 | |
Oh! Secretary, Mr WH McKellen. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
So this is my grandfather. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:22 | |
-It's a funny feeling, seeing your own name. -Yeah. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:26 | |
Mr McKellen. Because I'm the only Mr McKellen I know! But.. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:31 | |
And this is the opening grand ceremonial event. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:35 | |
May 17, 1902, Free Trade Hall. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
Well, there's a hymn and then there's a prayer. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:41 | |
Solo, Miss Murray... | 0:06:41 | 0:06:45 | |
-..my grandmother. -And let's put that in context. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
You probably had 1,000 churches sent people to this event. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
Each of them would have had a choir, 30 or 40 strong. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
Each of them would have had someone who thought that they were | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
the bees' knees as far as singing. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
The fact that your grandmother was chosen to give the solo, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
this is Britain's Got Talent circa 1902. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
She must have had some notes, mustn't she? | 0:07:07 | 0:07:10 | |
She certainly must've done. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
Anything else you know about Alice? | 0:07:12 | 0:07:15 | |
I have found her birth certificate. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:18 | |
Alice Beatrice, yes. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:20 | |
August, 1879. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
3 Barton Road, Stretford. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:26 | |
-Central Manchester, isn't it? -Yes, edge of inner-city Manchester. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
Her father was William Whyte - with a Y - Murray. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:33 | |
And her mother, also called Alice, was formerly Lowes. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:39 | |
You mentioned the Lowes. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
Well, I've found a little bit more about them. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
This is the 1871 census. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
Here is your great-grandmother, Alice Lowes. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
This is Mother Mac's mother. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
-That's right. -Age 21. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:53 | |
And just above, her older brother, I suppose, Frank. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:57 | |
Aged 24. | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
Occupation... | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
-Actor?! -Yes. -Oh, stop it! | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
MARTIN LAUGHS | 0:08:04 | 0:08:06 | |
-Actor? -Yes. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:07 | |
Actor. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:09 | |
So Mother Mac's uncle Frank... | 0:08:11 | 0:08:14 | |
Was a professional actor. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:16 | |
Oh, stop it! | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
You're not the first. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:20 | |
Your great-great-uncle beat you to the stage. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
Well, that's all right. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:25 | |
It all sort of fits together, doesn't it? | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
Mother Mac was a performer, | 0:08:30 | 0:08:32 | |
but no-one mentioned to me that she shone so brightly | 0:08:32 | 0:08:35 | |
in the Free Trade Hall. | 0:08:35 | 0:08:37 | |
And then to discover that her Uncle Frank... | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
..her mother's elder brother Frank Lowes | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
is down in the census as an actor. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
Well! | 0:08:49 | 0:08:50 | |
But where was he acting? | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
What was he acting? | 0:08:53 | 0:08:54 | |
Ian has discovered that his great-great-uncle | 0:08:57 | 0:09:00 | |
was a professional actor | 0:09:00 | 0:09:02 | |
called Frank Lowes. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:03 | |
In the 1860s, Frank had just begun his theatrical career, | 0:09:05 | 0:09:10 | |
and was living with his family in Manchester. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
To find out more, Ian's come to the city's central library | 0:09:15 | 0:09:19 | |
to meet theatrical historian Dr Anne Featherstone. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:24 | |
-Hello, love. How are you? -Lovely to meet you. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
The library's theatrical records stretch back over 250 years. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:31 | |
Right, Ian. Here we are | 0:09:33 | 0:09:34 | |
in the bowels of Manchester Central Library. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
I'm going to have to climb up this ladder. | 0:09:37 | 0:09:39 | |
-Off you go. -Right. -And I'll help you. -Thank you. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
So these are full of programmes, are they? | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
They're full of posters. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
-That's the one. -Goodness. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:48 | |
-Steady on. -Here we go. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
-Right. I think you will love this. -OK. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
So here we have the playbills for the Queen's Theatre in Manchester. | 0:09:55 | 0:10:00 | |
Oh! How beautiful. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
And we have here True Steel. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
What year are we here? | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
We're 1876. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:09 | |
And a list of characters. Oh! | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
Ohhh...ever since I heard about him, I've been thinking about him. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
Mr Frank Lowe plays Charles Williams. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:22 | |
Let's show you another. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
I've only just discovered that there's another actor in the family. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
-Ah! -But a little confusion. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
On the census, his name is not Lowe but Lowes, with an S. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
-Yes. -Are we sure we've got the right man? | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
Yes, absolutely. He has just cut to Frank Lowe. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
And then I'm going to turn over again. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
Always Ready. "A North Country Story." | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
That's the important bit, I think. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
"With north country actors" like, look here... | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
Frederik Lauder played by Mr Frank Lowe. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:57 | |
This is a sensational melodrama. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
It's about money, it's about morals and virtue and seduction. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:05 | |
And these start to arrive in the 1850s and '60s. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:09 | |
I'm sorry. I've just seen in the next play - | 0:11:09 | 0:11:11 | |
they did two plays on same day - he is playing a leading part. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:15 | |
-Yes. -The Rev Mr Webb is played by Mr Frank Lowe. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
Yes. This is really quite a plum part for him. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:21 | |
He'd be only 30 now. | 0:11:21 | 0:11:23 | |
And he is top of the bill. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:24 | |
What more can you tell me about him? Anything? | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
Well, we have a review of the play from The Era, | 0:11:27 | 0:11:31 | |
the Bible of the profession. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:33 | |
-The Era. -Yes. -Yes, I've heard of that. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:35 | |
Huddersfield Theatre Royal. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
-Arrah-na-Boyne... -Arrah-na-Pogue. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
Oh. "Arrah-na-Pogue was produced here on Monday | 0:11:39 | 0:11:41 | |
"by the company from the new Queen's Theatre, Manchester, | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
"and has been favourably received during the week. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
"Miss Lillian Harris plays the heroine with great pathos. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:51 | |
"Mr Frank Lowe, however, deserves the laurels | 0:11:51 | 0:11:55 | |
"for his masterly conception of the sneak, Michael Feeny. | 0:11:55 | 0:12:01 | |
"He looks and acts the character to the life." | 0:12:01 | 0:12:05 | |
-You know, you could not have a better review than that. -Nope. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
Frank Lowe's early career coincided with a theatrical boom | 0:12:09 | 0:12:14 | |
in the north of England. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:16 | |
By 1875, Manchester theatres alone | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
were selling over 15,000 tickets a night. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:22 | |
But acting was still a very precarious way to make a living. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
And catching the eye of one of the region's powerful theatre producers | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
was essential if you wanted to climb up the bill. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
So Frank is picking up work regularly. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:38 | |
He's made a name for himself, but in order to move his career on, | 0:12:38 | 0:12:43 | |
he needs a bit of a... He needs a break. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
-Don't we all(?) -Yes. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:47 | |
One of the things I wanted to show you | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
was an advert, again from The Era, from 1875. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:54 | |
"The two orphans. Mr J Pitney Weston..." | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
In big letters, "has selected the following artists." | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
So we've got Frank Lowe... | 0:13:02 | 0:13:04 | |
Oh, wait a minute... "Mrs Frank Lowe." | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
-That must be Frank Lowe's wife. -That's right. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:10 | |
But it is the Two Orphans which is the big break. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
-I see. -Mr Pitney Weston bought the rights to The Two Orphans, | 0:13:13 | 0:13:18 | |
a successful London production, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
and was going to produce it across the north. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:24 | |
And of course, we know where Mr Weston is based. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:28 | |
Bolton! He's based in Bolton? | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
-Mmm. -Where I used to live when I was a teenager. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
Theatre and Opera House... | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
Ooh! | 0:13:38 | 0:13:39 | |
The Two Orphans. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:41 | |
"And Mr Frank Lowe gave an excellent impersonation | 0:13:41 | 0:13:45 | |
"of the Minister of Police." | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
So Frank lived in Bolton for a time, or stayed in Bolton, in digs, | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
I suppose. Well, well, well, well, well. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
I first came to this street when I was three years old | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
to see Peter Pan at the Opera House just down there. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
But now I know | 0:14:07 | 0:14:09 | |
that the Free Trade Hall was where, in 1902, | 0:14:09 | 0:14:13 | |
my grandmother, Mother Mac, sang. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
But just here now I realise... | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
..the Theatre Royal, Bolton, 1845, | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
was just the sort of theatre that Mother Mac's uncle, | 0:14:22 | 0:14:25 | |
Frank Lowe, actor, would have performed. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
So I'm seeing this street with new eyes. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
As a fellow professional, I wonder what life was like for Frank. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:41 | |
Did he do all his acting in the north? | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
Was he earning enough money, and where did his career lead to? | 0:14:43 | 0:14:47 | |
Well, it certainly took him to Bolton, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:49 | |
which is where I spent my youth, so it's a bit spooky | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
to think that I didn't know that I had a great-great-uncle, | 0:14:52 | 0:14:57 | |
professionally acting in my hometown. | 0:14:57 | 0:14:59 | |
Ian's family moved to Bolton when he was 11, | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
and he gave his first performance here as a young amateur actor | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
in the 1950s. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:11 | |
This is the grandeur of Bolton. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
The grandeur of the north of England. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
Of course, the streets all look a little bit different. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
Market square where the fair used to come twice a year - | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
I used to love that. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:25 | |
This is where the two theatres were. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:29 | |
The Grand Theatre, | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
which was a variety theatre, | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
and then the Theatre Royal, which took in touring companies. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
They were beautiful, beautiful, intimate theatres. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:41 | |
Why did they pull them down? | 0:15:41 | 0:15:43 | |
Ian knows that his great-great-uncle Frank Lowes | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
also performed here in Bolton in 1876. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:51 | |
To find out more about Frank's time here, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:55 | |
he's come to meet theatrical historian Professor James Moran. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:59 | |
-Ian, great to see. -Very nice to see you. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
-Welcome back to your old stomping ground. -Thank you very much. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
In the 1870s, there were three large theatres in Bolton | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
run by the impresario James Pitney Weston. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
Today, The Octagon is the town's only professional theatre. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:17 | |
Frank is in this play which you know about. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
-Two Orphans, yeah. -And James Pitney Weston, | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
this big character in Bolton's entertainment industry, | 0:16:22 | 0:16:26 | |
acquires the rights to tour it outside London | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
and recruits Frank to be in that production. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
So a job that lasted a long time? | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
Well, I'll give you a document that gives you some indication of that. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
Yeah, OK. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:38 | |
This says "Mr Frank Lowe." | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
I love it when they call actors "Mr", don't you? | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
"Mr Frank Lowe as Count De Linieres | 0:16:45 | 0:16:49 | |
"in Two Orphans for the 150th time." | 0:16:49 | 0:16:53 | |
So is this a little ad he's put in the paper? | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
This is an advert that Frank himself has put into a theatrical newspaper. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:59 | |
Most of the actors at this time are touting for business. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
This may been a very canny way of him telling theatre managers | 0:17:02 | 0:17:06 | |
that he's had this lovely run of 150 performances. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
I see! | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
-I see. -The play itself, The Two Orphans, is a melodrama, | 0:17:11 | 0:17:15 | |
so it's a drama of heightened emotion. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
Yeah. Has anyone ever read it? | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
-Does it exist? -I have a copy here, would you like to...? | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
Of course I would. Of course I would! | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
In fact, would you like to try it on the stage? | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
-All right. First read-through. -Sure. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
So what is Frank's part? | 0:17:31 | 0:17:33 | |
Frank's playing the French nobleman, | 0:17:33 | 0:17:35 | |
and the count suspects that his wife has this terrible secret, | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
and I will read in the part of your nephew, | 0:17:38 | 0:17:40 | |
who is a noble young man who wants to prevent you from | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
ruining yourself and your family. OK. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
Now, Chevalier, speak out. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
What did the Countess say? | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
I desire to know all. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:51 | |
-Monsieur... -I beg of you. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
-I command! -I have really nothing to say, monsieur. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
Very well, monsieur. | 0:17:58 | 0:17:59 | |
Twice in this one day have you opposed my orders, my entreaties. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
Nevertheless, I shall discover the mystery | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
which you refuse to unveil. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
Monsieur, you shall read no further. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
-Who will hinder me? -Count, I will. -You?! | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
Rash fool! | 0:18:16 | 0:18:18 | |
So there you go. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
You are reading the lines that Frank read here in Bolton... | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
-Oh, stop it. -..over 140 years ago. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
Wow. Why did nobody in my family ever tell me | 0:18:27 | 0:18:29 | |
that we had an actor in the family? | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
Either they didn't know or they weren't very pleased about it. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
So I think The Two Orphans is | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
probably a great gig for Frank to get. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
Because it's a steady income | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
and he's been engaged by James Pitney Weston. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
The problem is, Weston is very, very ambitious | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
and emigrates to the USA, so that's potentially a real blow | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
for Frank, who has lost someone who's been supporting his career. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:02 | |
Yes. So when Weston went off to States... | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
Frank is out of work, or... What happens to him? | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
I've got a record that I found from 1884 in Coventry. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
Coventry, it's where I had my first job acting | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
for the first time professionally. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
"Theatre Royal. Somewhat meagre attendances this week | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
"but notwithstanding the depressing effect of small audiences, | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
"the artists play with considerable spirit. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
"Mr Frank Lowe plays Bob Garfield, the village blacksmith, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:36 | |
"very artistically." | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
So I think he's struggling with a pretty terrible part | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
in a fairly fourth-rate play. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:42 | |
I afraid that is probably the case. | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
By now he is late 30s, | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
so he's been in the business for quite a while | 0:19:47 | 0:19:49 | |
and the records that we do have from the 1880s | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
show him in productions of what we might say was | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
really very variable quality. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
So obviously, pickings are rather thin, but do you know anything else? | 0:19:57 | 0:20:02 | |
He's married. He might have had children by this time. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
Well, I do have a census return from 1891 | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
which gives some information about Frank and his wife | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
and their domestic circumstances. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:14 | |
This is from Wavertree. that's Liverpool, isn't it? | 0:20:14 | 0:20:18 | |
-That's right. -Frank Lowe, head of the household by this time. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:23 | |
43, actor, | 0:20:23 | 0:20:26 | |
Ellen Lowe, wife. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:30 | |
So his wife is called Ellen. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
Doesn't give her an occupation. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
So it looks as though Frank and Ellen don't have children. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:38 | |
No. And they're living in Liverpool. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
This is Ellen's hometown | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
and I think she's probably living with Frank and her extended family. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:48 | |
I see. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:50 | |
And Frank goes missing from the archive entirely | 0:20:50 | 0:20:52 | |
between 1886 and 1889. I couldn't find anything about him. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:57 | |
So I think it might be a good idea perhaps to go to Liverpool | 0:20:57 | 0:21:01 | |
and see what you can find there. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:02 | |
-Well, thank you very much. I will. -You're very welcome. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
However successful or unsuccessful Frank was, | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
I do like the idea that he contributed to | 0:21:13 | 0:21:18 | |
the gaiety of things by being in a show. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:23 | |
You know? And touring round, bringing entertainment to people. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:28 | |
That's what my mother apparently said. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:30 | |
"If Ian decides to be an actor, | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
"it's a good job because it brings pleasure to people." | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
And my sister, who was an amateur actor to the day she died, | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
would have loved to know this about Frank Lowe. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
As much as I do. But I feel I'm sort of on my own, | 0:21:44 | 0:21:47 | |
a bit of an orphan. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:48 | |
So there is a bit of melancholy going on... | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:21:54 | 0:21:56 | |
..in the midst of the thrill of discovery. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
Ian has travelled to Liverpool, | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
where his great-great-uncle Frank Lowes | 0:22:14 | 0:22:16 | |
lived with his wife Ellen in the 1890s. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
To discover what happened to Frank's career as an actor, | 0:22:20 | 0:22:24 | |
he has come to the city's Central Library | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
to meet theatrical historian Dr Caroline Radcliffe. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:30 | |
In the census of 1891, Frank Lowe is down as living here in Liverpool. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:37 | |
Anything you know... | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
Well, I've got this document. It's very small, so... | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
-The amusements in Liverpool. -Yeah. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
We're looking at 1892. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
And now the Paddington Palace Of Varieties. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
"Here as usual, tempting fare | 0:22:51 | 0:22:53 | |
"has been fully appreciated by large audiences. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
"Mr Frank Lowe, with company." | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
Oh, can you explain this? The Palace Of Varieties. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:03 | |
Variety was just a posh name for music hall, | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
-and it was trying to compete with the legitimate theatres. -I see. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:10 | |
But for a professional actor like Frank Lowe, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:14 | |
it was a real drop down - | 0:23:14 | 0:23:16 | |
to be in a music hall was something | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
which he probably wouldn't have chosen. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
He is at the bottom of the bill now in a musical hall, | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
in a rather rough area of Liverpool. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
By the 1890s, the new variety palaces | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
had started to replace the more traditional music halls | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
and were competing with the dramatic theatre for audiences. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:40 | |
To gain respectability, they added plush theatre-style seating, | 0:23:40 | 0:23:44 | |
banned alcohol and smoking | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
and employed actors like Frank Lowes | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
to perform short dramatic sketches | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
alongside more traditional music-hall acts. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:55 | |
Now we know that Frank was performing drama | 0:23:55 | 0:23:59 | |
because he is listed with a company, | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
but they could only perform a short scene. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:04 | |
-So these would be extracts? -Yeah. -Famous plays? | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
Yes, you had Shakespeare | 0:24:08 | 0:24:10 | |
or you had the latest big production from London. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
And then that would be interspersed with people singing? | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
That would be mixed with musicians, and conjurers, dog orchestras. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:23 | |
Oh, dear. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:25 | |
Now, the Palace Of Varieties where he was performing, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
would this be a season? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
No, a music hall ran a week of entertainment. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:33 | |
And then the company would... | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
They'd move off and they'd have to find some other engagement. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:39 | |
It was extremely unreliable and precarious. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
So he's not quite on his uppers even when he is in employment. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
Actually, this is the last record that we found of him | 0:24:46 | 0:24:50 | |
performing on stage - on any type of stage. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:53 | |
Oh, do you know anything more? | 0:24:53 | 0:24:55 | |
What he did instead? | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
Well, we do have another document. | 0:24:57 | 0:24:59 | |
What is this book? | 0:25:05 | 0:25:06 | |
This is the admissions book to the Liverpool workhouse. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:10 | |
No! Dear, oh, dear. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
And this is in 1893 | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
which is the year just after the Paddington Palace Of Varieties. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:21 | |
No. Frank, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:25 | |
he's down as an actor, not as a performer or a comic or anything. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:29 | |
Married. And he was admitted by his wife Ellen. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:37 | |
It's odd. Ellen's address is given here in pencil - 4 Mill Row. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:44 | |
Where he slept last night was at 8 Moore Place. | 0:25:44 | 0:25:49 | |
Well, what we see is that Ellen at this time | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
was living at a different address, | 0:25:51 | 0:25:53 | |
and he had spent the night obviously somewhere else. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:57 | |
We don't know how long they had been separated for. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
All we know is that they were separated, at that time. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:05 | |
And in the last column, | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
it gives us an indication of what was wrong with him. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
-And what? -"Bronchial." | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
So he had bronchial problems. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:16 | |
Oh, Frank. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:19 | |
Well, at that time, there was no hospitals, no insurance. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:24 | |
So if you were an actor on very little money, | 0:26:24 | 0:26:27 | |
the workhouse was the last resort to get help. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:31 | |
And do we know how long he stayed? | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
We do. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:35 | |
This is the death certificate. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
-Of who?! -For Frank. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:40 | |
Ohhh! | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
"Frank Lowe, 47 years, | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
"actor", and he died on January 2, 1894. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:55 | |
At the Liverpool workhouse. | 0:26:56 | 0:26:58 | |
The cause of death...phthisis? | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
It's another word for TB or tuberculosis. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
Oh! | 0:27:05 | 0:27:06 | |
And exhaustion. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
But he would have been pleased, I suppose, | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
that he was defined by that occupation, actor. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
I don't know many actors - and I wasn't one of them - | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
who thought, "Oh, I'm going to become an actor | 0:27:25 | 0:27:27 | |
"because I'm going to be rich and famous." | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
And you know, so many of my own friends, | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
and so many actors I've admired... | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
-HE SIGHS -..didn't have very easy lives. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
Didn't make a lot of money. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:41 | |
And that is the fact about being an actor, that... | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
..the few of us who are lucky enough to be in work constantly | 0:27:48 | 0:27:52 | |
and rewarding work and varied work, I mean, we are the exceptions. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:57 | |
But I would like to know what the Lowe family thought. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
Maybe they just said, when they heard over in Manchester | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
that he'd died in the workhouse in Liverpool, separated from his wife, | 0:28:05 | 0:28:09 | |
"Well, there you go. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:11 | |
"That's what happens when you go into the theatre." | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
Ian knows that, as a young man, | 0:28:19 | 0:28:21 | |
Frank lived with his family in Manchester, | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
and that his father was a clerk called Robert Lowes, | 0:28:24 | 0:28:28 | |
Ian's great-great-grandfather. | 0:28:28 | 0:28:30 | |
To find out more about Robert, Ian is heading back to Manchester. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:37 | |
Professor Martin Hewitt has been looking into | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
Robert Lowes' life in the city, | 0:28:43 | 0:28:45 | |
And has asked Ian to meet him at Salford Old Town Hall. | 0:28:45 | 0:28:49 | |
Ian, good to meet you, Martin. | 0:28:49 | 0:28:50 | |
-Very nice to see you. -Welcome to Salford. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:52 | |
I hear that you're interested in finding out | 0:28:52 | 0:28:54 | |
-something more about Robert Lowes. -Yes. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
I found him in the census in 1841. | 0:28:56 | 0:28:59 | |
-Right. -He was working as a clerk, | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
but he had quite strong connections with this building here, | 0:29:01 | 0:29:05 | |
-which is the Salford Town Hall. -I see. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:07 | |
So this is from the Manchester Times in 1843. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:13 | |
Salford Lyceum. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:15 | |
"The first and second of a course of lectures | 0:29:15 | 0:29:18 | |
"on humour and pathos by Mr RJ Lowes." | 0:29:18 | 0:29:23 | |
So this is our Robert? | 0:29:24 | 0:29:25 | |
Absolutely. And that lecture was given here in this building, | 0:29:25 | 0:29:29 | |
-the Salford Town Hall. -I don't know what year this is. | 0:29:29 | 0:29:31 | |
1843. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:33 | |
So Robert would have been 27 - he's still a young man. | 0:29:33 | 0:29:36 | |
"Each lecture was concluded with a dramatic illustration, | 0:29:36 | 0:29:39 | |
"the characters in which were creditably sustained | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
"by amateurs and members | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
"connected with the classes of the institution." | 0:29:44 | 0:29:47 | |
Now, what institution? | 0:29:47 | 0:29:48 | |
That would be the Salford Lyceum. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:50 | |
And Lyceum, is that from the same root as "lycee" in French? | 0:29:50 | 0:29:54 | |
It means teaching of some sort. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:56 | |
The Lyceums were all about making more of yourself, | 0:29:56 | 0:30:00 | |
building your education, reading, writing. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
Perhaps literary classes. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:04 | |
-Getting on and improving yourself. -Yeah, absolutely. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:07 | |
It was that classic Victorian thing, rational recreation, | 0:30:07 | 0:30:10 | |
which is obviously about enjoying your leisure time, | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
but to make sure that it's done in a way which is improving. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:17 | |
Robert worked as a clerk, | 0:30:17 | 0:30:18 | |
but he was one of the directors of the Lyceum | 0:30:18 | 0:30:21 | |
and would have been very much involved | 0:30:21 | 0:30:24 | |
in the government of the institution. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:27 | |
Wow. Who would come to these lectures? | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
Middle classes? Lower-middle, working classes? | 0:30:30 | 0:30:32 | |
Working class or very lower-middle class. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:35 | |
So after a heavy day in the factory you'd come along here? | 0:30:35 | 0:30:38 | |
And that's the big challenge. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
You've got to try and fit this education and this leisure | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
into a week which is already full of very long days. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:47 | |
Six days a week, or...? | 0:30:47 | 0:30:48 | |
They would at this stage have been working six days a week | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
and that was also a challenge that Robert decided | 0:30:51 | 0:30:55 | |
that he was going to have to take on. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
By the 1840s, | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
Manchester was the largest industrial city in the world. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:03 | |
The textiles produced by its mills and factories | 0:31:03 | 0:31:07 | |
were housed in hundreds of giant warehouses. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
Thousands of warehousemen | 0:31:10 | 0:31:11 | |
were employed across the city to move stock in and out. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:16 | |
And warehouse clerks like Robert Lowes | 0:31:16 | 0:31:19 | |
kept records of business. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
With no trade unions, a working day in the warehouse could last up to | 0:31:21 | 0:31:25 | |
15 hours, 6 days a week. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:28 | |
This is from the Manchester Courier, | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
from the start of September 1843. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
"A public meeting of salesmen, clerks..." Which Robert was. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:41 | |
"..warehousemen and others at which upwards of 1,000 persons attended. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:47 | |
"Mr RJ Lowes." | 0:31:47 | 0:31:49 | |
Robert. "..honorary secretary, | 0:31:49 | 0:31:53 | |
"having read an address to the employers | 0:31:53 | 0:31:55 | |
"praying their consent to the closing of warehouses | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
"on Friday afternoons." | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
-So what is this about? -It's about a half holiday. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:05 | |
-They want a half holiday. -Yes. One half day a week. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:08 | |
The suggestion here I think is that it should be Friday. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:11 | |
What Robert is trying to do is to persuade 300 or 400 | 0:32:11 | 0:32:16 | |
of the leading merchant princes of Manchester to allow the clerks | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
and warehouseman to have a half holiday | 0:32:19 | 0:32:22 | |
without any reduction in pay. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
The kind of thing that no other workers at this time would have had. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:27 | |
So this is something quite new, really, quite radical. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
Did this sort of pressure... | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
yield fruit? | 0:32:34 | 0:32:35 | |
Recreation is a really controversial question in this period. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:39 | |
This kind of activity could very easily be associated with some of | 0:32:39 | 0:32:43 | |
the more dangerous radical movements, | 0:32:43 | 0:32:46 | |
which could backfire on him personally. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
-Absolutely. -It's going to take a slick operator to pull this off. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
By 1843, driven in part by the city's appalling working conditions, | 0:32:53 | 0:32:58 | |
Manchester had become a hotbed of political radicalism. | 0:32:58 | 0:33:03 | |
And those pressing for social reform were often viewed with suspicion by | 0:33:03 | 0:33:07 | |
the authorities. | 0:33:07 | 0:33:09 | |
But Robert Lowes and his committee of clerks and warehouseman | 0:33:09 | 0:33:13 | |
pressed ahead with their campaign to persuade their employers | 0:33:13 | 0:33:17 | |
to grant them half a day off every week, | 0:33:17 | 0:33:20 | |
changing their initial request from a Friday | 0:33:20 | 0:33:22 | |
to a Saturday half day holiday. | 0:33:22 | 0:33:25 | |
Professor Hewitt has brought Ian to the chief librarian's office | 0:33:28 | 0:33:32 | |
at Manchester Central Library. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:34 | |
-Ian, come in. -Lovely. -Come in. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:39 | |
-Thank you. -I've brought you here because I got a document here | 0:33:39 | 0:33:43 | |
that I think you are going to be very interested in. | 0:33:43 | 0:33:45 | |
Take this out. | 0:33:45 | 0:33:47 | |
It's a little bit fragile. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:49 | |
-Oh, I see. -You unroll it and I will weigh it down. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
It's, as you can see, a scroll. | 0:33:53 | 0:33:55 | |
And you can begin to see... | 0:33:57 | 0:33:59 | |
"Names of the committee, | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
"for obtaining the half holiday. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
"Robert J Lowes." | 0:34:06 | 0:34:09 | |
-What does that say? -It says honorary secretary. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
-Secretary. -And here are the bosses. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:16 | |
"We the undersigned bankers, merchants, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:19 | |
"manufacturers and calico printers of Manchester at the respectful | 0:34:19 | 0:34:24 | |
"solicitation of those in our employment agreed to close | 0:34:24 | 0:34:28 | |
"our places of business at one o'clock every Saturday afternoon | 0:34:28 | 0:34:33 | |
"and to allow our servants to leave for the day." | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
-Wow. -These are the Merchant Princes of Manchester. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:42 | |
Between 300 and 400, all individually signed. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:46 | |
These are the people they are petitioning. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
These are all the people who have agreed... | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
..to grant the half holiday that Robert Lowes asked for. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:57 | |
So the first Saturday half holiday | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
anywhere in Britain to which these 400 merchants agreed to grant, | 0:35:00 | 0:35:05 | |
was given the 10th of November 1843. | 0:35:05 | 0:35:10 | |
Good Lord. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:12 | |
Well, I can't... | 0:35:12 | 0:35:13 | |
I mean... | 0:35:13 | 0:35:15 | |
-Astonishing. -And it is achieved by Robert Lowe. | 0:35:15 | 0:35:18 | |
My great-great-grandfather. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:21 | |
-Absolutely. -Wonderful. | 0:35:21 | 0:35:24 | |
Wonderful. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:26 | |
I'm very, very impressed with what Robert did. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:32 | |
This guy is in public life. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:35 | |
He talks in public. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:37 | |
The world changes because somebody has an argument with somebody, | 0:35:37 | 0:35:41 | |
and a discussion, and then an agreement, | 0:35:41 | 0:35:43 | |
and you get people on your side. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:45 | |
And I know that from being involved in my activism. | 0:35:47 | 0:35:50 | |
One initiative like this doesn't change the world, | 0:35:50 | 0:35:54 | |
but it certainly helps. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:55 | |
Robert Lowes and his committee's success in cutting the working week | 0:35:57 | 0:36:01 | |
for Manchester's clerks and warehouseman | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
from 6 to 5½ days | 0:36:04 | 0:36:06 | |
was a significant breakthrough. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:09 | |
But they were only a small percentage | 0:36:09 | 0:36:11 | |
of Manchester's vast industrial workforce, who were otherwise | 0:36:11 | 0:36:15 | |
still excluded from the new half-holiday agreement. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:19 | |
To find out what happened next to his great-great-grandfather, | 0:36:23 | 0:36:27 | |
Robert Lowes, Ian has come to meet social historian | 0:36:27 | 0:36:30 | |
Dr Amanda Wilkinson. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:31 | |
-Hello. -Hello, Ian. Amanda. -Nice to see you. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
Welcome to Manchester's famous 19th-century retail area. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:37 | |
-Yep. -Shall we go and get a cup of tea? -Yep. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
So after the success of Robert's half-holiday campaign, what next? | 0:36:46 | 0:36:51 | |
Can you fill in the blanks? | 0:36:51 | 0:36:53 | |
In 1845, Robert gives up his job as a clerk and he sets himself up | 0:36:53 | 0:36:59 | |
as a publisher and a printer. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
He runs it as a business but he also begins to print this - | 0:37:01 | 0:37:06 | |
the Lancashire Witches Holiday Herald. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:09 | |
This is his means to expand campaigning for the half holiday | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
-through this... -Magazine. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
Yes. It's a collection of stories, political articles, poems, | 0:37:15 | 0:37:20 | |
campaigning for the half holiday to be extended to the needlewomen. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:24 | |
OK. So these women are... | 0:37:24 | 0:37:26 | |
Needlewomen in the 1840s | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
are amongst the most exploited and put-upon workers in Britain. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:35 | |
These girls worked in the most horrific conditions in rooms | 0:37:35 | 0:37:39 | |
often in the back of shops, poorly lit, very little ventilation. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:43 | |
They're preparing all these beautiful, beautiful gowns. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
These amazing hats, for the shops at the front, | 0:37:46 | 0:37:48 | |
for the rich women to buy. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:49 | |
And they're working up to 19 hours a day. | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
-Even really quite young children. -19 hours. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:55 | |
There are reports of them working up to 19 hours a day with nothing | 0:37:55 | 0:37:59 | |
but a bucket in the corner for their toilet. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
They work every day. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:03 | |
And they get paid a pittance. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:05 | |
These are the women that Robert is now campaigning for | 0:38:05 | 0:38:08 | |
to try and get them some holidays, to try get them a break, | 0:38:08 | 0:38:11 | |
to get them out in the fresh air, | 0:38:11 | 0:38:12 | |
to give them a chance to better themselves. | 0:38:12 | 0:38:15 | |
Tell me that Robert Lowes made a difference. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:18 | |
This is the Manchester Times in 1845, | 0:38:18 | 0:38:23 | |
and here is a speech by Robert Lowes. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:28 | |
Ah. "To the principals in the retail millinery, | 0:38:28 | 0:38:33 | |
"dress and straw bonnet-making establishments of Manchester. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
"Ladies and gentlemen, | 0:38:36 | 0:38:38 | |
"we call upon the whole body of employers to listen to the painful | 0:38:38 | 0:38:41 | |
"outcry of human suffering, to respect the sympathy of the public | 0:38:41 | 0:38:45 | |
"and to agree upon such steps as would check the growth of these | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
"destructive evils and yield to those who suffer by them | 0:38:48 | 0:38:52 | |
"a brief period of healthful breathing time and rest." | 0:38:52 | 0:38:58 | |
Oh, I can hear him saying this. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
"No! Justice to our own consciences, | 0:39:01 | 0:39:05 | |
"to the laws of God and to the established uses of society, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
"demand its discontinuance!" | 0:39:09 | 0:39:13 | |
And it is signed by RJ Lowe, chairman. | 0:39:13 | 0:39:16 | |
Now, he was secretary of the previous initiative. | 0:39:16 | 0:39:20 | |
-Now he is chairman. -Running this outfit. | 0:39:20 | 0:39:22 | |
He is, at 29. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
So what success did he have with speeches like this? | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
Well, a month after the speech was given there was a response here | 0:39:27 | 0:39:30 | |
in the Manchester Courier. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:32 | |
"The result has been that 160 establishments signed an agreement | 0:39:32 | 0:39:37 | |
"to close on the Saturday afternoon. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:40 | |
"This noble example has been followed | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
"by the wine and spirit merchants, | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
"saddlers, the Crown plate-glass company, | 0:39:45 | 0:39:47 | |
"the ironmongers have nearly agreed | 0:39:47 | 0:39:50 | |
"and the tailors have already gained their holiday." | 0:39:50 | 0:39:53 | |
Oof! | 0:39:53 | 0:39:55 | |
This is a staggering result. | 0:39:55 | 0:39:57 | |
The news of the half holiday spreads like wildfire across the country. | 0:39:57 | 0:40:01 | |
We have cities like Bradford and Norwich | 0:40:01 | 0:40:04 | |
very rapidly commencing their own half holidays | 0:40:04 | 0:40:08 | |
based on the principles of Robert Lowes and his committee. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
By the 1870s, the needlewomen in London have their half holiday. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:15 | |
And we start to see the evolution of the weekend as we understand it now. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:20 | |
So we can say that not only is Robert Lowes your great-great-grandfather, | 0:40:20 | 0:40:25 | |
but he can also be viewed as the grandfather of the modern weekend. | 0:40:25 | 0:40:29 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:40:29 | 0:40:31 | |
Well, the negative side of that is that actors | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
have to work at the weekend, because everybody else is not. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
Thank you, Robert. But anyway, look, that's wonderful news. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:44 | |
-Does that mean it's the end of the campaigning? -No. | 0:40:45 | 0:40:48 | |
Robert and his committee carried on campaigning | 0:40:48 | 0:40:51 | |
right the way through the 1850s, 1860s. | 0:40:51 | 0:40:55 | |
The original campaign fund that was set up for the warehousemen and clerks keeps going. | 0:40:55 | 0:41:00 | |
But Robert and his committee are making charitable donations | 0:41:00 | 0:41:04 | |
to all sorts of other worthy causes. | 0:41:04 | 0:41:07 | |
I see. | 0:41:07 | 0:41:08 | |
And they make their final donation in the year of 1868. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:14 | |
"..£4,000, which has been raised in aid of the building fund of the | 0:41:14 | 0:41:19 | |
"Manchester District Warehousemen And Clerks' Orphans' School | 0:41:19 | 0:41:25 | |
"at Cheadle Hulme." | 0:41:25 | 0:41:27 | |
Amanda, I know that school! | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
Because my grandfather, | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
William H McKellen, went to this school. | 0:41:34 | 0:41:38 | |
I'd always known that my grandfather, WH McKellen, | 0:41:45 | 0:41:48 | |
had been to a school for orphans in Cheadle Hulme, | 0:41:48 | 0:41:52 | |
and now I discover that this school was founded through the efforts of | 0:41:52 | 0:41:58 | |
Robert, the grandfather of the woman he was going to marry, Mother Mac. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:04 | |
Ian is the first person in his family | 0:42:06 | 0:42:08 | |
to discover this extraordinary coincidence - | 0:42:08 | 0:42:11 | |
that in 1868, | 0:42:11 | 0:42:13 | |
Robert Lowes and his committee | 0:42:13 | 0:42:15 | |
helped to fund the building of the school that Ian's grandfather, | 0:42:15 | 0:42:19 | |
William McKellen, later attended as a pupil. | 0:42:19 | 0:42:21 | |
William never knew Robert, | 0:42:23 | 0:42:25 | |
but later met and married Robert's granddaughter, Alice. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:29 | |
Joining the Lowes and McKellen families. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:32 | |
148 years later, Cheadle Hulme School, as it's now known, | 0:42:37 | 0:42:42 | |
is still going strong. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:43 | |
Last year, Ian was invited to speak to students here on behalf of Stonewall - | 0:42:45 | 0:42:50 | |
the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights pressure group | 0:42:50 | 0:42:55 | |
which he helped to set up in 1989. | 0:42:55 | 0:42:59 | |
-Well, I didn't think I'd be back so soon. -Welcome back. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
School librarian Kay Smith has been looking into the school's link | 0:43:02 | 0:43:05 | |
with Ian's great-great-grandfather, Robert Lowes. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:09 | |
As you now know, Robert Lowes contributed £4,000 | 0:43:11 | 0:43:15 | |
to the school's building fund. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:18 | |
And just to put that in some sort of context, | 0:43:18 | 0:43:21 | |
the original estimate for this building was £7,603, | 0:43:21 | 0:43:25 | |
16 shillings and tuppence. | 0:43:25 | 0:43:27 | |
It made it possible for the school to go on and prosper. | 0:43:27 | 0:43:30 | |
Did you have to be an orphan to come here? | 0:43:30 | 0:43:33 | |
Orphan in our sense meant the loss of one parent. | 0:43:33 | 0:43:35 | |
-I see. -And to come here on a free place as an orphan | 0:43:35 | 0:43:39 | |
you would have to have had somebody in the family paying a subscription to the school. | 0:43:39 | 0:43:43 | |
I've got the annual reports for 1869 and in it, | 0:43:43 | 0:43:48 | |
there is a list of all the people who were actually subscribing | 0:43:48 | 0:43:52 | |
to the school at that time. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:53 | |
-Robert Lowes, that's him. -Yeah. That's him. | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
And he's contributed a guinea. | 0:43:57 | 0:43:59 | |
And that was the standard subscription at the time, | 0:43:59 | 0:44:02 | |
which would enable his children - should he or his wife die | 0:44:02 | 0:44:06 | |
or become incapacitated - to have a guaranteed place at the school. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:09 | |
There may well be a very specific reason why Robert decided | 0:44:09 | 0:44:13 | |
to subscribe to the school in the first place. | 0:44:13 | 0:44:16 | |
Well, this is a death certificate. | 0:44:16 | 0:44:19 | |
1868... | 0:44:19 | 0:44:20 | |
..in January. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:23 | |
So that's around the time of the donation. | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
Jane Lowes... | 0:44:26 | 0:44:27 | |
..aged 48, wife of Robert Lowes. | 0:44:29 | 0:44:32 | |
Robert was now a widower, | 0:44:32 | 0:44:33 | |
and he would have been left with seven children to look after. | 0:44:33 | 0:44:36 | |
Seven children, wow. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:38 | |
So possibly this event concentrated Robert's mind that he might | 0:44:38 | 0:44:43 | |
need to make provision for his younger children, | 0:44:43 | 0:44:45 | |
should anything happen to him. | 0:44:45 | 0:44:46 | |
Yes, yes. So do we know if any of his children came here as students? | 0:44:46 | 0:44:51 | |
They didn't, actually. | 0:44:51 | 0:44:53 | |
He only subscribed until the following year, 1870. | 0:44:53 | 0:44:57 | |
And then suddenly stopped. | 0:44:57 | 0:44:59 | |
There could been a number of reasons for this. | 0:44:59 | 0:45:02 | |
Possibly financial hardship. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:04 | |
-Seven children. -Yes. | 0:45:04 | 0:45:06 | |
He may not have been well himself. | 0:45:06 | 0:45:08 | |
Oh, tell me more. | 0:45:09 | 0:45:11 | |
If you would like to perhaps take a look at that document. | 0:45:11 | 0:45:16 | |
-Oh. Well, this is his death certificate. -Yeah. | 0:45:16 | 0:45:19 | |
Robert Jack Lowes, | 0:45:19 | 0:45:23 | |
aged 56. | 0:45:23 | 0:45:25 | |
Cause of death, emphysema. | 0:45:25 | 0:45:28 | |
I see. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:31 | |
You might find a little bit more about Robert's death here. | 0:45:33 | 0:45:36 | |
That's his obituary. | 0:45:36 | 0:45:38 | |
"Manchester City News lately recorded the death of Mr RJ Lowes" - | 0:45:38 | 0:45:42 | |
that's our man - "of Hulme, age 56." | 0:45:42 | 0:45:45 | |
"He was a native of Carlisle," up north, | 0:45:45 | 0:45:48 | |
"and a son of Mr James Lowes, the engraver of Hutchinson's History Of Cumberland. | 0:45:48 | 0:45:55 | |
"Mr Lowes' eventful and active life closed on the 17th of last month. | 0:45:55 | 0:46:01 | |
"It is gratifying to add that his last moments were observed | 0:46:01 | 0:46:05 | |
"by the kind benevolence of many old friends." | 0:46:05 | 0:46:10 | |
Robert obviously died in strident circumstances, | 0:46:10 | 0:46:13 | |
but what he did achieve throughout his life, | 0:46:13 | 0:46:15 | |
and through the half holiday committee, | 0:46:15 | 0:46:17 | |
had made an immense difference. | 0:46:17 | 0:46:18 | |
And, in fact, just five years after Robert died, | 0:46:18 | 0:46:22 | |
your own grandfather was elected to the school as a pupil. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
-Just five years later? -Five years later. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:28 | |
See how these things all fit together. | 0:46:29 | 0:46:32 | |
Yeah. Amazing coincidence. | 0:46:32 | 0:46:34 | |
You have to admire Robert's achievements. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:40 | |
If this school hadn't been endowed by my great-great-grandfather, | 0:46:40 | 0:46:45 | |
my grandfather, WH McKellen, wouldn't have had an education. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:49 | |
Probably at all. | 0:46:49 | 0:46:51 | |
What I'd always hoped was true about | 0:46:53 | 0:46:57 | |
the McKellens, and people they married, | 0:46:57 | 0:47:01 | |
was an attitude to life. | 0:47:01 | 0:47:03 | |
Doing good and helping other people. | 0:47:03 | 0:47:06 | |
And this bright, radical-thinking clerk | 0:47:07 | 0:47:13 | |
stood up and changed the world. | 0:47:13 | 0:47:16 | |
I am... That is the word, proud. | 0:47:16 | 0:47:19 | |
Ian has decided to explore one last story in his family tree. | 0:47:27 | 0:47:32 | |
He now knows from Robert Lowes' obituary that Robert's father | 0:47:32 | 0:47:36 | |
was an engraver called James Lowes, | 0:47:36 | 0:47:39 | |
and that during the late 18th-century, | 0:47:39 | 0:47:41 | |
the Lowes family were based in Carlisle | 0:47:41 | 0:47:44 | |
in the County of Cumberland, now called Cumbria. | 0:47:44 | 0:47:47 | |
Ian's travelling north to Cumbria to find out more about James, | 0:47:49 | 0:47:53 | |
his great-great-great-grandfather. | 0:47:53 | 0:47:57 | |
It's an area that he knows well from his childhood. | 0:47:57 | 0:48:01 | |
I came to the Lake District before I can remember. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:04 | |
My family was typical of many Lancastrian families. | 0:48:04 | 0:48:08 | |
We went to it often. | 0:48:08 | 0:48:10 | |
Walking. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:12 | |
My dad was a climber with ropes and special boots, | 0:48:12 | 0:48:15 | |
going up the mountains that way. | 0:48:15 | 0:48:17 | |
I've only ever scrambled up them, sometimes on all fours. | 0:48:17 | 0:48:20 | |
There is a close relationship for Lancastrians | 0:48:22 | 0:48:26 | |
between the dark Satanic mills | 0:48:26 | 0:48:29 | |
and the utter beauty of the hills and the fells of the Lake District. | 0:48:29 | 0:48:32 | |
Ian's come to Carlisle, where James Lowes lived and worked in the 1790s. | 0:48:35 | 0:48:40 | |
He's arranged to meet curator Melanie Gardner | 0:48:43 | 0:48:46 | |
at the city's Tullie House Museum, | 0:48:46 | 0:48:49 | |
to find out more about James. | 0:48:49 | 0:48:52 | |
-Morning. -Morning. | 0:48:52 | 0:48:53 | |
-Pleased to meet you, Ian. -Very nice to see you. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:56 | |
Lovely to welcome you to Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery. | 0:48:56 | 0:48:58 | |
-Thank you very much indeed. All right. What a day! -It's fantastic. | 0:48:58 | 0:49:02 | |
-Is it always like this in Carlisle? -It is. | 0:49:02 | 0:49:03 | |
Tullie House holds an original copy of Hutchinson's History Of Cumberland, | 0:49:03 | 0:49:08 | |
which James Lowes helped to illustrate. | 0:49:08 | 0:49:11 | |
This is the History Of Cumberland. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:14 | |
It's in two volumes. | 0:49:14 | 0:49:16 | |
And if we open up... the frontispiece. | 0:49:16 | 0:49:20 | |
"The History of the County of Cumberland, and some places adjacent." | 0:49:21 | 0:49:26 | |
The book was published here in Carlisle in 1794. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:30 | |
-It's the standard history of the county. -I see. | 0:49:30 | 0:49:32 | |
It's a very important book. | 0:49:32 | 0:49:34 | |
And James Lowes produced many of the engravings in this book, | 0:49:34 | 0:49:38 | |
and they really are the crowning achievement. | 0:49:38 | 0:49:41 | |
Oh, I say, look at that. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:43 | |
Carlisle Castle. | 0:49:43 | 0:49:44 | |
Beautiful. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:48 | |
And I love the details of the weather, the clouds. | 0:49:48 | 0:49:51 | |
These images were important, of course. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:53 | |
If you think, it's the late 18th century, | 0:49:53 | 0:49:56 | |
the Lake District had been discovered, tourists were visiting, | 0:49:56 | 0:49:59 | |
looking at the picturesque scenery. | 0:49:59 | 0:50:01 | |
And this book was so important that it was distributed in London, | 0:50:01 | 0:50:05 | |
so that it was widely available to the middle classes | 0:50:05 | 0:50:08 | |
as a very attractive book to purchase. | 0:50:08 | 0:50:10 | |
It would almost be like a coffee-table book. | 0:50:10 | 0:50:13 | |
And here is the illustration of Bassenthwaite. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:16 | |
Oh, but hang on! It says, | 0:50:16 | 0:50:19 | |
"J Lowes sculpt." | 0:50:19 | 0:50:23 | |
-Sculped it, or...? -Yes, he engraved it. -Engraved it. | 0:50:23 | 0:50:27 | |
He was a young man at this time, | 0:50:27 | 0:50:29 | |
developing his skills as an engraver. | 0:50:29 | 0:50:32 | |
-Beautiful, aren't they? -Yes. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:34 | |
-Oh, look. Druid Monument. -Yes! | 0:50:36 | 0:50:39 | |
So do you think he would necessarily have to have actually been | 0:50:39 | 0:50:42 | |
to a scene like that before he engraved it? | 0:50:42 | 0:50:45 | |
Not necessarily. | 0:50:45 | 0:50:46 | |
Because he could've been copying another artist's work. | 0:50:46 | 0:50:49 | |
But if we look at this one... | 0:50:49 | 0:50:51 | |
Oh, I say. How beautiful. | 0:50:52 | 0:50:53 | |
"The west view of Lanercost Priory." | 0:50:55 | 0:50:59 | |
"J Lowes." | 0:50:59 | 0:51:01 | |
And what does it say after that? "DD"? | 0:51:01 | 0:51:03 | |
-D-E-L. Del. -Delineated, maybe. -Yes. -OK. | 0:51:03 | 0:51:07 | |
And over here it says "and sculpted". | 0:51:07 | 0:51:11 | |
Yes, he not only engraved this west view of Lanercost Priory, | 0:51:11 | 0:51:16 | |
but he drew it. | 0:51:16 | 0:51:17 | |
So he was there. He was on the spot. | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
At that time, sort of late 18th century, | 0:51:20 | 0:51:23 | |
artists are exploring the landscape for the first time, | 0:51:23 | 0:51:27 | |
and Cumbria was in a very important place for that | 0:51:27 | 0:51:30 | |
because of the beauty of the Lake District. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:32 | |
Ian has decided to head into the Lake District to Bassenthwaite Lake, | 0:51:34 | 0:51:39 | |
which his great-great-great-grandfather - | 0:51:39 | 0:51:42 | |
the artist James Lowes - | 0:51:42 | 0:51:44 | |
depicted in the 1790s. | 0:51:44 | 0:51:46 | |
He is meeting up with Professor Keith Hanley, | 0:51:47 | 0:51:50 | |
an expert on the history of the Lake District. | 0:51:50 | 0:51:52 | |
Keith, you look like the hermit of Bassenthwaite. | 0:51:54 | 0:51:57 | |
I am! | 0:51:57 | 0:51:59 | |
-Hello, nice to meet you. -Are you well? | 0:51:59 | 0:52:01 | |
-Welcome to Bassenthwaite Lake. -I've never been. | 0:52:01 | 0:52:03 | |
Well, here you are in the footsteps | 0:52:03 | 0:52:05 | |
of your great-great-great-grandfather, | 0:52:05 | 0:52:07 | |
James Lowes, who stood in 1794 on this spot | 0:52:07 | 0:52:13 | |
when he drew the lake. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:16 | |
-And it's not changed, has it? -Hardly at all. | 0:52:16 | 0:52:19 | |
-Look at his engraving of it. -Yes. | 0:52:19 | 0:52:21 | |
You can see all the main features exactly as they were. | 0:52:21 | 0:52:24 | |
He slightly exaggerated the reality, | 0:52:24 | 0:52:27 | |
because this rather exciting mountain is there a rather domestic hill. | 0:52:27 | 0:52:32 | |
But this...feels... | 0:52:32 | 0:52:35 | |
-..what it feels like to be here. -Right. | 0:52:37 | 0:52:40 | |
So what he's got is the feeling. | 0:52:40 | 0:52:42 | |
-And that's being an artist, isn't it? -It is an artist, that's right. | 0:52:42 | 0:52:46 | |
Your great-great-great-grandfather, | 0:52:46 | 0:52:49 | |
he had a modest role in a major drama, | 0:52:49 | 0:52:51 | |
whereby this whole region was developed from being | 0:52:51 | 0:52:55 | |
a relatively neglected provincial backwater, | 0:52:55 | 0:52:59 | |
to becoming what it is today, | 0:52:59 | 0:53:02 | |
which is really one of the leading cultural landscapes in the world. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:05 | |
Wordsworth, of course, who was born at Cockermouth just five miles from | 0:53:05 | 0:53:10 | |
here, wrote about it being for everyone | 0:53:10 | 0:53:13 | |
with an eye to see and a heart to feel. | 0:53:13 | 0:53:16 | |
And he didn't much approve the railways coming here? | 0:53:16 | 0:53:18 | |
He didn't. Very much later he was very much against it. | 0:53:18 | 0:53:21 | |
They should get out of their carriages and bloody well walk! | 0:53:21 | 0:53:23 | |
That's right. | 0:53:23 | 0:53:24 | |
When we come to the romantics, of course, and especially Wordsworth, | 0:53:24 | 0:53:28 | |
they are much more interested in real experience, | 0:53:28 | 0:53:31 | |
the real encounter with nature. | 0:53:31 | 0:53:33 | |
Would James Lowes have been aware of Wordsworth's views | 0:53:33 | 0:53:36 | |
and perhaps shared them? | 0:53:36 | 0:53:38 | |
We actually know he did, | 0:53:38 | 0:53:39 | |
because he took out an advert in the Carlisle Journal in 1802 | 0:53:39 | 0:53:44 | |
explaining his principles. | 0:53:44 | 0:53:46 | |
How old would he be now? | 0:53:46 | 0:53:48 | |
-About... -28. -28? -Yeah. | 0:53:48 | 0:53:50 | |
"September 25, drawing school at Mr Jollie's. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:53 | |
"J Lowes, teacher of drawing." | 0:53:53 | 0:53:58 | |
-By this date, he's been engraving for nine years... -Yeah. | 0:53:58 | 0:54:01 | |
..and he's now advertised his services as a drawing master. | 0:54:01 | 0:54:05 | |
"To delineate faithfully | 0:54:06 | 0:54:10 | |
"and elegantly the tints and proportions of nature, | 0:54:10 | 0:54:15 | |
"to catch her veiled forms as they are found to strike the eye | 0:54:15 | 0:54:20 | |
"is the object of landscape. | 0:54:20 | 0:54:23 | |
"But how is this to be done? | 0:54:23 | 0:54:25 | |
"Not surely by shutting ourselves up and copying after a copy | 0:54:25 | 0:54:30 | |
"but by observing nature's self and seeing her living features. | 0:54:30 | 0:54:37 | |
Get out the house, put your boots on, | 0:54:37 | 0:54:40 | |
take your brushes or your pencil. | 0:54:40 | 0:54:43 | |
-Exactly, yeah. -And be inside nature. | 0:54:43 | 0:54:46 | |
-Yeah. -That's wonderful. | 0:54:46 | 0:54:48 | |
But, you know, there's another side to the romantic north. | 0:54:48 | 0:54:51 | |
This is only part of the story, the picturesque landscape, and so on. | 0:54:51 | 0:54:56 | |
There's also the dark north, | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
there are a lot of Druid circles, | 0:54:59 | 0:55:01 | |
and particularly the one that he depicted here, | 0:55:01 | 0:55:04 | |
which is the Druid's Monument at Keswick. | 0:55:04 | 0:55:07 | |
It's wizard country, this. | 0:55:07 | 0:55:09 | |
It's something that should really interest you. | 0:55:09 | 0:55:11 | |
Yes. Well, I'm going to romance. | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
This man - he's got a hat on, and a pair of britches, | 0:55:14 | 0:55:17 | |
-and he's got a staff. -He has. | 0:55:17 | 0:55:20 | |
I think it's a little self-portrait that James has popped in. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:24 | |
That could be. Yes, that could be James. | 0:55:24 | 0:55:26 | |
-Yes, why not. -But it could be you, too. | 0:55:26 | 0:55:28 | |
IAN LAUGHS | 0:55:28 | 0:55:30 | |
To end his journey, | 0:55:32 | 0:55:34 | |
Ian has decided to retrace his great-great-great-grandfather's footsteps, | 0:55:34 | 0:55:39 | |
to the ancient stone circle near Keswick, | 0:55:39 | 0:55:42 | |
which James Lowes engraved 220 years ago. | 0:55:42 | 0:55:46 | |
"October 5, walked up the Penrith Road two miles or more | 0:55:48 | 0:55:53 | |
"and, turning into a cornfield to the right, called Castlerigg, | 0:55:53 | 0:55:58 | |
"saw a large Druid circle of stones." | 0:55:58 | 0:56:01 | |
"They are 50 in number. | 0:56:02 | 0:56:04 | |
"Most of them stood erect. | 0:56:04 | 0:56:07 | |
"The biggest not eight feet high. | 0:56:07 | 0:56:09 | |
"It is not improbable that the head Druid, with his colleagues, | 0:56:09 | 0:56:14 | |
"did inform their rites, their divinations, in these places." | 0:56:14 | 0:56:18 | |
"Know that thou standst on consecrated ground." | 0:56:19 | 0:56:23 | |
"The mighty pile of magic planted rock. | 0:56:24 | 0:56:28 | |
"Thus ringed in mystic order, | 0:56:28 | 0:56:30 | |
"marks the place where but at times of holiest festival, | 0:56:30 | 0:56:35 | |
"the Druid leads this trail." | 0:56:35 | 0:56:38 | |
Sort of inevitable, isn't it, | 0:56:46 | 0:56:48 | |
that James should have loved places like this and recorded them, | 0:56:48 | 0:56:53 | |
and encouraged other people to come. | 0:56:53 | 0:56:55 | |
I wonder if James' son, the radical Robert, came up here. | 0:56:55 | 0:57:00 | |
And I do feel that I can almost touch these people. | 0:57:01 | 0:57:06 | |
I feel happy in their company. | 0:57:06 | 0:57:08 | |
They've done remarkable things, and they're talented. | 0:57:08 | 0:57:12 | |
HE SIGHS | 0:57:14 | 0:57:16 | |
And part of the world, not... | 0:57:16 | 0:57:20 | |
Not loners. | 0:57:20 | 0:57:21 | |
It doesn't matter, really, to me, that I'm the last of the McKellens. | 0:57:23 | 0:57:28 | |
That's all right. | 0:57:28 | 0:57:30 | |
But I do feel just a little bit more secure as a person. | 0:57:32 | 0:57:36 | |
Yes, I think, probably I'll never be quite the same. | 0:57:41 | 0:57:45 | |
But in a good way! | 0:57:45 | 0:57:46 |