0:00:02 > 0:00:04The British Isles are a treasure trove of incredible buildings,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06amazing objects and extraordinary characters
0:00:06 > 0:00:08who've all helped to make up our rich history.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11We've been travelling the length and breadth of the country,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13visiting some of our much-loved country houses,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16finding out more about our industrial heritage
0:00:16 > 0:00:18and unearthing stories from the past.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24'And today, I'm in Gloucestershire at a medieval castle,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27'where a trawl through the archives has recently unearthed
0:00:27 > 0:00:30'a lost musical masterpiece.'
0:00:30 > 0:00:33This is incredible. Real history in the making here.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36And it looks so boring from the outside!
0:00:36 > 0:00:39'Also on today's show, Clare Balding
0:00:39 > 0:00:42'will be in the southeast of England, finding out how we know
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'how country houses were decorated in days gone by.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:49It is exactly the same. Everything put in the same position.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It's incredible.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54'Charlie Luxton will be paying a behind-the-scenes visit
0:00:54 > 0:00:58'to an architectural icon of the 1960s.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I am now 180 metres
0:01:01 > 0:01:04above the whole of central London.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08'And in Dorset, special guest reporter Dame Kelly Holmes
0:01:08 > 0:01:11'will be honouring an underrated wartime vehicle
0:01:11 > 0:01:14'that for a brief moment in history, dominated the battlefield.'
0:01:14 > 0:01:16We never hear about the brave men
0:01:16 > 0:01:18that fought in the British tank battalions.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Today, there's one machine that I want to look at,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and that changed the course of the war.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26'These are the stories of Britain's Hidden Heritage.'
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'Being a feudal baron during the Middle Ages
0:01:53 > 0:01:55'could be a risky business.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57'Upset the king and you just might lose your title or your land.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00'Or if you're really unlucky you could end up losing your head.'
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Over the centuries, almost all of these medieval lords,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06barons and baronets have fallen by the wayside.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09But one particular family steered a very clever path,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11and for over 850 years, they've just about managed
0:02:11 > 0:02:15to hang on to everything they own. They're the Berkeley family,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and this is their home and they're still here today.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Welcome to Berkeley Castle.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32'This impressive Norman fortress on the western edge of Gloucestershire
0:02:32 > 0:02:36'has dominated the vale of the River Severn for nine centuries.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'Its strategic importance may have faded away many years ago,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'but its rugged presence still impresses to this day.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50'Built to hold the western defences of the Norman kingdom,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53'the stone keep was begun around 1150
0:02:53 > 0:02:57'by the first feudal lord of Berkeley, Robert Fitzharding.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59'The castle was a reward from Henry II
0:02:59 > 0:03:01'for assisting him in battle.'
0:03:04 > 0:03:08From the very beginning, the lords of Berkeley wielded great power.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11They were all military men, warriors who fought in all the major battles
0:03:11 > 0:03:14throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17And they fought with bravery at Bannockburn, Crecy,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Poitiers, Culloden, and the list goes on.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23They were also great statesmen, successful farmers
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and shrewd businessmen, always eager to lend money
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and military might to a succession of kings.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40The story of the Berkeley family's incredible.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42How did they manage to hang onto the castle?
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Basically, by staying on the right side of whichever monarch
0:03:45 > 0:03:47happened to be on the throne at the time.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- It was as simple as that? Who you rub shoulders with?- Absolutely.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54The Berkeley family were quite astute political movers,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and they managed to keep in with the right crowd.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Has much been done to the castle over the years?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I mean, condition-wise, it looks absolutely fabulous.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Surprisingly little.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Most of the family were very satisfied with the castle
0:04:05 > 0:04:08the way they discovered it. But in the 20th century,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11the last earl did make a number of substantial alterations.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14And that's when, obviously, electricity went in and mod cons.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15Absolutely.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21'The Berkeley family have been living here for 27 generations.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24'Nowadays, in order to help pay for the upkeep of the place,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'parts of the castle are open to the public,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29'and one of the most impressive attractions
0:04:29 > 0:04:31'has to be the medieval Great Hall.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Now this is a very impressive room. Is this the original Great Hall?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Probably not. There would have undoubtedly been
0:04:37 > 0:04:38a wooden one here first,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42but this is the most recent and this was finished in the mid-14th century,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45about 1355, when the ceiling was put on
0:04:45 > 0:04:47with these wonderful carved oak timbers,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49probably all cut on the Berkeley estate.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52And behind you is one of the most important
0:04:52 > 0:04:54and unique features of Berkeley.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56This archway over the door is a Berkeley arch.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I've never seen that before. I was expecting a Gothic arch,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01like the one we've just walked through.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- That's slightly more Arabesque, isn't it?- It's really unusual.- Yeah.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07You only find this in two places. You find it here
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and you find it in the Bishop's Palace at St David's in Wales.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13And there's a whole series of them which run along there?
0:05:13 > 0:05:14They frame all the windows.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- Are the stained glass windows a lot later, obviously?- Yes.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20They were part of the improvements put in by the last earl
0:05:20 > 0:05:24in the 1920s, 1930s, but nonetheless very relevant to the castle.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Because there are various shields of members of the family,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29of monarchs such as Henry VIII.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Shield of King John, who laid siege to the castle
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and captured it and took it away from the family for a brief period.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So very relevant to the castle's history.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Presumably, this room would have witnessed so much
0:05:40 > 0:05:42- throughout the centuries. - Absolutely.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45One of the most important episodes that happened in this Great Hall
0:05:45 > 0:05:48was that the barons from this part of the west of England met here
0:05:48 > 0:05:52before joining the other barons to force King John to sign Magna Carta.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55So you could actually say that part of the history of England
0:05:55 > 0:05:57was written in this very room.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03'From the early Middle Ages through to the Tudors and beyond,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06'the Berkeley lords were never far from the throne,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08'and scattered around the castle
0:06:08 > 0:06:13'are mementoes from many significant events that forged Britain's past.'
0:06:15 > 0:06:19The whole place just oozes history, it really does. It's exceptional.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Just look at the wall coverings here.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Look at this finely woven cloth
0:06:24 > 0:06:26with this wonderful gold decoration throughout,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30reputedly from the Field of Cloth of Gold,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34where Henry VIII met Francis I of France in 1520,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37just outside of Calais, to cement a real friendship
0:06:37 > 0:06:39after the peace treaty was signed.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Now both these men were very arrogant and show-offs,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and it really was an opulent display of wealth.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49These were tent hangings and the Berkeleys were there.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55'And the Berkeley presence at important historical events
0:06:55 > 0:06:58'doesn't just stop with Britain's military heritage.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01'They were also great patrons of the arts.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'It's said Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'was premiered at a Berkeley family wedding.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10'And there's one room in the castle which shows they were not frightened
0:07:10 > 0:07:12'to confront religious doctrine.'
0:07:16 > 0:07:19This is the room I want to show you, it's called the Morning Room,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and like all the other rooms here in the castle,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24it has a fascinating story to tell.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27It was previously the castle's chapel and you can tell that
0:07:27 > 0:07:30by just looking at the design and the decoration of the ceiling.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33This dates back to the early 1300s,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37but if you look closely, there's something very special up there.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Up there, written all the way along there, are verses of the Bible.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Now, you're probably thinking, "What's so special about that?"
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Well, if you look closely you can see they're all written in French,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51which had been the spoken language of the Berkeleys at the time.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It marks the beginnings of the Bible being translated
0:07:54 > 0:07:57into a spoken common language,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00which, at this particular time in history,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03would have been strictly forbidden by the Pope.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06So this is one of the very earliest attempts of doing that.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11It was translated by a Cornishman, John Trevisa, who was born in 1342.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And he ended up being the castle chaplain here.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19All of this predates the Protestant Church by a good 200 years.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21So no wonder it's been painted over and hidden
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and then scraped back to be revealed.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29What you see here and in the rest of the castle
0:08:29 > 0:08:33are significant points in British history.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Very powerful stuff.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'So significant a historic site is Berkeley,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43'that for the last six years,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47'it's been the location of an important archaeological dig.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51'And later, I'll be joining in to see what finds have been unearthed.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54'But before that, our reporter, Clare Balding,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57'is in London to check out an incredible archive
0:08:57 > 0:09:01'that has helped to save some of our most beautiful historic houses.'
0:09:07 > 0:09:10'When English Heritage set about restoring
0:09:10 > 0:09:13'the interiors of Eltham Palace in South London, taking them back
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'to their 1930s heyday, where did the research begin?
0:09:17 > 0:09:21'Family archive? Old paintings, perhaps?
0:09:21 > 0:09:22'No.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24'The Heritage detectives' first port of call
0:09:24 > 0:09:26'is not where you might think.'
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Well, I have to say, this is pretty blissful.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Lovely spring day, cup of tea and a copy of Country Life.
0:09:38 > 0:09:39Published once a week every week
0:09:39 > 0:09:42since Queen Victoria was on the throne, this magazine has been
0:09:42 > 0:09:47relentlessly documenting British architecture, interiors
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and gardens. Its photographic archive has become a national treasure.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54'Long before many of our fine historic houses
0:09:54 > 0:09:58'were open to the public, the photos in Country Life
0:09:58 > 0:10:02'were the only way to see inside the homes of high society.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'Nowadays, organisations like English Heritage and the National Trust
0:10:06 > 0:10:10'are using these photographic records as an invaluable aid
0:10:10 > 0:10:13'to many restoration projects.'
0:10:13 > 0:10:17So today, I'm not in the country. Quite the opposite, in fact.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I'm in London, on the South Bank, at Country Life headquarters
0:10:20 > 0:10:24to find out more about this unique archive collection.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'John, I think of Country Life
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'as a sort of airbrushed view of the world,'
0:10:32 > 0:10:34You know, every garden is perfect,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38every painting is straight, every...everyone looks lovely.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42How can it possibly be a realistic historical document?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Well, it's Britain in its Sunday best, should we say?
0:10:44 > 0:10:46There's no doubt about that.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51It's very much trying to celebrate the architecture and the buildings and show them at their best.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54The quality of the photographs in here is just so high.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57I mean, these are fabulous.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Well, when it was first published in 1897, it was actually called Country Life Illustrated,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04because the publisher was fascinated by a brand-new technology,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07which is halftone block printing, which allowed you to reproduce
0:11:07 > 0:11:11really high-quality photographs in press for the first time.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Do we know anything about the photographers themselves?
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Well, not as much as we would like.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19But we do have a particularly good insight into the life and works
0:11:19 > 0:11:22of one of them, a man called Alfred Henson,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24who worked for the magazine from 1916.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27He would install himself, set up his dark room
0:11:27 > 0:11:28and work his way around the house,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31reorganising interiors to make them look picture perfect.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35This is, in fact, a photograph of Henson at Old Rufford Hall
0:11:35 > 0:11:40nailing dust sheets to the windows so there was an even exposure of the interior.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44So this man is turning the place on its head in order to photograph.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48One chatelaine of the house said it was worse than burglars having him along.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53But there's one particular Alfred Henson assignment
0:11:53 > 0:11:57that really shows how important the Country Life archive has now become.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02It was a photo shoot that 75 years later proved invaluable
0:12:02 > 0:12:07in saving perhaps the most outstanding 1930s interior in Britain.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13'To find out more, I'm venturing underground
0:12:13 > 0:12:14'to the Country Life archive
0:12:14 > 0:12:18'in search of an article about Eltham Palace.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:22Oh, this is it! I've found you!
0:12:22 > 0:12:24- Hi, Justin.- Nice to meet you.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- God, it's cold in here. - It keeps everything nice and cool,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28looks after all the copies we've got here.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32We've got a complete run of Country Life dating back from 1897,
0:12:32 > 0:12:33when the magazine was first published.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36It's an amazing collection, fantastic to work with.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- Now, I've got a request. - OK.- Like a really annoying person.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41I want something quite specific,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45because I know that English Heritage did a lot of work on Eltham Palace
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and the research that they did relied on photographs
0:12:48 > 0:12:52- that were in Country Life from an edition in 1937.- OK, fine.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00Just wander down here. 1930, 1932...
0:13:00 > 0:13:03And...here we go - 1937.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- This is it, is it?- This is it. So let's have a look.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10- Now, I think the article that I'm after was in May...- Right.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- May, the 29th.- OK.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18- Wow!- Oh, that's it!- Fantastic!
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Brilliant! Can I borrow this book?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- Absolutely.- I promise that, heavy as it is,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26I will guard it with my life.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29'When it comes to interior design,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34'Eltham Palace in South East London is a rare gem.'
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And one that could easily have been lost for ever.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40In 1937, it was hardly surprising
0:13:40 > 0:13:44that the Country Life photographer Alfred Henson
0:13:44 > 0:13:46should want to pay a visit.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The glistening state-of-the-art mansion had just been completed,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54courtesy of Stephen and Virginia Courtauld.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58And it boasted THE most extraordinary interiors in the country.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01The Courtaulds were fascinating characters,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04fabulously wealthy thanks to the family textile business.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07And utterly submerged in the London art scene.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11And coming here is like stepping into their world.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15It's 1937, an era of Hollywood glamour,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19high society and the world of Art Deco.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Wow, this is absolutely stunning.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's like walking into a film set.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Eltham's entrance hall has been returned to 1937.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45In fact, to the very moment when Alfred Henson pressed the shutter on his camera.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47And it's just as well he did,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50because within eight years of taking these photos,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54the Courtaulds had fled their home overlooking war-torn London
0:14:54 > 0:14:59and, for the next 50 years, this building was taken over by the Army.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Eltham Palace and its fabulous interiors parted company.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09But, in 1995, English Heritage assumed responsibility
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and, with the Country Life photographic record to guide them,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16set about recreating the world of the Courtaulds.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19We could actually be on Alfred Henson's shoulder.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21I mean, it is exactly the same.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Everything put in the same position, it's incredible.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29We wanted to put it back as people saw it in 1937 in this article.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34So these photos were absolutely crucial in helping us to do that.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36What he's managed to do is create
0:15:36 > 0:15:40this amazingly luxurious ocean-liner feel to this room
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and put it in print.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46All over the house it was a similar story.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48In Virginia Courtauld's bedroom,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52one photo revealed her choice of armchair fabric.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54This design was recreated
0:15:54 > 0:15:58with new chairs upholstered using 1930s techniques.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03In the dining room, the bird's-eye maple veneer table and chairs
0:16:03 > 0:16:06were recreated by furniture makers in Rugby.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11And, finally, the famous Marion Dorn carpet at the entrance hall,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15made once again by hand in Donegal, Ireland.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18And lined up just as it was in 1937.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24What we need to be careful of with Country Life photos
0:16:24 > 0:16:26and with using them as historic documents to recreate,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29we have to do it with the knowledge that they were staged.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33So we're also lucky enough to have an inventory of the house
0:16:33 > 0:16:36from slightly later, from 1939,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40which lists lots of things in this room that we are sitting in
0:16:40 > 0:16:42that don't appear in the photograph.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47But it's interesting because it actually increases the influence of Henson
0:16:47 > 0:16:52on the heritage picture we have now that he is as much a part of this
0:16:52 > 0:16:57- and of how we view it historically as anyone else.- Yeah.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Today's Eltham Palace is like a stage set,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05still touched by the hand of Alfred Henson.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08But his meticulous and comprehensive coverage
0:17:08 > 0:17:11has enabled a dedicated team of conservators
0:17:11 > 0:17:15to recapture a most unusual heritage treasure.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17So often, we can only get a taste
0:17:17 > 0:17:20of what periods in history must have been like.
0:17:20 > 0:17:26But here, the full Art Deco glory of the 1930s is back.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31All too often, we think of heritage as being about buildings and objects,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33but what I've seen today,
0:17:33 > 0:17:38an almost secret stash of photographs buried in a Thames-side basement,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40holds an intrinsic value of its own.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Because those photographs are the key not just to recreating the accuracy of the contents here,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47but also in bringing to life again
0:17:47 > 0:17:51the spirit of a place like Eltham Palace.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Later, on Britain's Hidden Heritage,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Charlie Luxton will be climbing to the top
0:18:04 > 0:18:07of one of the country's first and favourite modernist buildings.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10The whole of central London spread right before you
0:18:10 > 0:18:12out to the countryside.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17And Dame Kelly Holmes champions a forgotten World War II vehicle
0:18:17 > 0:18:19that was once the Queen of the Desert.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22It's filthy, it's small, it's claustrophobic.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24But it's done us proud.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31But first, my tour of Berkeley Castle continues.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36When the Normans invaded England in 1066,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39they quickly spread across the country,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41taking over Saxon communities
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and building defensive castles as they went.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Berkeley was strategically placed to guard against attacks from the Welsh
0:18:48 > 0:18:50from across the River Severn.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55And it's easy to see why the Normans chose this place as a location.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Here we are. I'm on the roof right now,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01level, as you can see, with the treetops.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The general public are not allowed up here, so I'm quite lucky.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07But we should get the most marvellous bird's-eye view
0:19:07 > 0:19:10of the whole footprint of the castle.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11And we do, look at that.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15A castle keep, an inner bailey and a curtain wall.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20It's the most marvellous example of Norman fortified architecture.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25But what a view! You can literally see for miles around here.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Over there, it's the River Severn. Beyond, the Welsh Marches.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30But you can see right across the vale.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Stick a sentry up here on guard duty,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36and he could see anybody approaching for miles.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39And, likewise, the castle itself can be seen from miles away,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43standing as a reminder to any would-be Welsh invader
0:19:43 > 0:19:46thinking of attacking Norman England.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51And there is evidence that the castle was originally rendered with a lime render.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52And it's there, look,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54it's that creamy render just around the window.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58So, from a distance, this whole castle would have looked brilliant white
0:19:58 > 0:20:00against this lush vegetation of the landscape.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Standing out as a beacon, a symbol of power and strength.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Little is known of the community that existed here
0:20:11 > 0:20:12before the Normans took over.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15However, it's thought this may have been a religious site,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18dating as far back as the Romans.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19In the grounds of the castle,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Bristol University's Archaeological Department
0:20:22 > 0:20:25have been trying to find out exactly what went on here
0:20:25 > 0:20:29and they've come up with some quite surprising results.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Paul, nice to meet you. How are you?
0:20:31 > 0:20:33- That's a big hole.- It is, it is.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34We've been digging here
0:20:34 > 0:20:36for about six years, on and off.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And we've got some amazing archaeology in this trench.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42I know you're here to see the castle and, in fact, just here...
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- There's a wall there. - There is a wall and, in fact,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- you are looking, believe it or not, at a Norman house.- Gosh!
0:20:47 > 0:20:51This house is contemporary with the stone construction of the castle,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53so this is 1150, 12th century.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56What were you initially looking for? Why did you start to dig here?
0:20:56 > 0:20:59We were interested in the Norman landscape
0:20:59 > 0:21:01and, actually, the earlier Saxon landscape.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05And what I'm trying to work out is what happens when the Normans arrive.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07The castle is in a really strange place at Berkeley,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09right up in the back corner.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11We think there's a big Anglo-Saxon minster,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13- a big religious site here.- Right.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- And the castle is tucked just outside it. You'd normally expect to find it in the middle.- Yeah.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19So there's a big ecclesiastical power
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and the Normans have to take the only bit of land that's available to them.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25And so, I'm keen to find out really what happens with the Saxon landscape
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and how the Normans imposed their kind of feudal landscape over the top of it.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30And what happened.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31And we're trying to find out
0:21:31 > 0:21:34what life was like for people that lived in these plots,
0:21:34 > 0:21:35what their day-to-day life was like,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37what kind of crafts they carried out,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39what sort of pottery they used.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43And, really, what it was like to be under the yoke of Norman lordship.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46So far, the dig has come up with plenty of broken pottery
0:21:46 > 0:21:50to prove there was once a thriving community here.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53These bits of ceramic have been a key way of dating the site,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57and medieval pottery expert Jim Newboult is here to show me
0:21:57 > 0:22:00how the pots that have been found at Berkeley were made
0:22:00 > 0:22:04and what they originally looked like.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06How long has it taken you to make these?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08This one here, that took ten minutes.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10And this technique is called pinch,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12as opposed to thrown, where it's on a wheel.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14It's just literally pummelled into shape.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Even when we get the...
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Even when we do get the wheel coming in,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21in, say, the seventh century,
0:22:21 > 0:22:26there's no saying that this technique wasn't just speeded up
0:22:26 > 0:22:30by putting that on the wheel and going back to the pinching.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33We start by making the actual rim of the pot
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and then bring the belly and the bottom of the pot out afterwards,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42depending on what you want the clay to do.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44So if I take it to that stage,
0:22:44 > 0:22:50that's my basic top part of the vessel that you see there.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- Right, I see.- That's then ready to put to one side.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54That's a bit soft there...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56This one here, turn over and then,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58here's where we put the paddle and anvil.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Here's my soft leather anvil
0:23:02 > 0:23:04and then we take the rib
0:23:04 > 0:23:10and that will create that large, rounded cooking pot.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15I mean, this is the sound that you would probably have heard
0:23:15 > 0:23:17in those Saxon houses.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19- There we go.- That's looking good.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22That's that...
0:23:22 > 0:23:23That real Norman cooking pot.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25By the time we get to the 13th and 14th century,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28you still see this same shape in use,
0:23:28 > 0:23:29because it's a very practical...
0:23:29 > 0:23:32The rounded bottom means the heat moves around the outside.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- You can imagine a rolling boil in the...- Yes, I can.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38You could fry sausages in that in the fireplace.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And yet, now we say you can't put pots in the fire.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42The Saxons could.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I'll be returning to the archaeology site at the end of the programme
0:23:47 > 0:23:50to see if they've uncovered any exciting finds.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53In the meantime, our industrial heritage reporter Charlie Luxton
0:23:53 > 0:23:56brings things a little more up-to-date
0:23:56 > 0:23:59as he travels to London and a 1960s landmark.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05It's not very often in this country
0:24:05 > 0:24:08that we sing the praises of '60s architecture.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Brutalist, concrete buildings
0:24:13 > 0:24:17so loved by modernist architects and designers like me.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Yet, so loathed by the general public.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25There was, and still is, an exception.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28And, because of that, it's become an important part of our heritage.
0:24:28 > 0:24:34The concrete and glass structure has been defining London's skyline for 50 years.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Right from the very beginning, it captured the public imagination.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And, over time, has won over its affection.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45I'm talking about, of course, the BT Tower.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51'In 1965, the tower opened to great acclaim.'
0:24:51 > 0:24:53It marked a time of profound change
0:24:53 > 0:24:56when Britain, for the first time in decades,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59was looking forward to an exciting future.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'As the rubble of the Second World War was cleared away,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'new and taller buildings began to rise.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09'In a few years, the look of London changed entirely.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11'And nothing changed it more than the building
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'that was eventually to dominate the skyline.'
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Now, you could say that the tower isn't really hidden heritage at all,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22given the fact you can see it from pretty much everywhere in London.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25But, actually, it was closed to the public in the 1980s,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30so very few people actually get a chance to see it up close.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35So, today, I'm really rather privileged,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38as I'm going to be allowed to explore the whole structure,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42including the famous revolving restaurant and even the roof itself.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45But, first of all,
0:25:45 > 0:25:51I want to find out how 13,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete is held up.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53So I'm heading somewhere truly hidden.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58An area that hasn't seen the light of day since the early '60s.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04This incredible space is the base of the tower, it's the foundation.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10It's an incredible, enormous concrete pyramid that holds it up.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Now, the way this foundation works is that
0:26:12 > 0:26:15the tower sits in the top of the middle of the pyramid there.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17And this great big construction here
0:26:17 > 0:26:19is actually just to spread that weight out,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22to give it a wider base and make it a bit more stable.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25But this is not the bottom of the foundation even here.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29There's another 50 metres of concrete
0:26:29 > 0:26:31going right down through the London clay.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Because of the sensitivity of those microwave transmitters,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37the tower couldn't rock.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Now, normally, a tall building
0:26:38 > 0:26:41will actually sway quite a lot in the wind.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45But this one couldn't, so it had to be super stiff.
0:26:47 > 0:26:5180 feet up, that stiffness was reinforced by a collar
0:26:51 > 0:26:55clasping the core shaft of the building tightly,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00holding all the tower's vital equipment firmly in place.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05Technology and communication were the buzz words of the '60s,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and they were the very reason the tower was constructed.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13It became the country's biggest telephone exchange and microwave transmitter,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17beaming out communication signals across the UK.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20'Putting it simply,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24'microwaves carry radio signals of very, very short wavelength.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27'Like light, they travel in straight lines.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30'And like light, they are lost of view or use, as it were,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32'by the curvature of the Earth's surface.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:37But beyond the technology, the Post Office Tower, as it was first called,
0:27:37 > 0:27:42was a global symbol of Britain in the throes of modernisation.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Built with public money and with viewing platforms open to visitors,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49in the swinging '60s, the tower was an instant hit.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54The 34th floor restaurant was quite literally revolutionary.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01To the restaurant level and...
0:28:01 > 0:28:06'And the man who opened the tower to those first public visitors is with me today.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'The then Postmaster General, Tony Benn.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:13So was this one of the hottest tables in town when it was open?
0:28:13 > 0:28:15Well, it was certainly very popular
0:28:15 > 0:28:18because it gave you such a fantastic view of London.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21So you could book a table here...
0:28:21 > 0:28:24And see the whole of London while you had your main course.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Yes, you could, yes.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Why do you think this building is held in such affection by so many people?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Because it's an intensely modern building. But people really love it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Well, I have a special feeling for it,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38having been here when it was opened and so on.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43But it was seen as a symbol of the age into which we were moving.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48And then, we had the opening when Billy Butlin ran this restaurant.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52And the Queen came and it was a great event.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Now, I understand that it actually still turns.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Well, I hope it does. It'd be very nice if it did.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00- Shall we go and see if we can get it working?- Yes.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01Who knows where the button is?
0:29:01 > 0:29:03THEY CHUCKLE
0:29:03 > 0:29:07With the restaurant and the tower long since closed to the public,
0:29:07 > 0:29:09something of an urban myth seems to have developed
0:29:09 > 0:29:12that the 34th floor no longer rotates.
0:29:12 > 0:29:19But, as you can see, when VIPs ask nicely, it clearly does.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Furthermore, the engineering is unchanged since the 1960s.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27Well, I've always thought what a wonderful place to have a state banquet.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30So you'd have the Queen or the Prime Minister here
0:29:30 > 0:29:32and the guests would go by.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35So when you had that awkward silence, you'd just sort of drift gracefully off.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37Yes, you'd drift off, that's right.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40And then come back again and you'd have forgotten what it was about.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43HE LAUGHS
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Whilst state dinners never quite made it here,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50the 34th floor was certainly an exclusive spot.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53The capital's first high-level vantage point.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56But it's not quite the best view of all.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Today, I'm being allowed to venture even higher.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Right,
0:30:04 > 0:30:09I am now 180m above the streets of London
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and I've got a 360-degree view.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14It's stunning!
0:30:14 > 0:30:17There's Wembley over there, you can just see the arch,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21and then just the whole of central London spread right before you
0:30:21 > 0:30:24out to the countryside, to the Olympic Park...
0:30:26 > 0:30:27Absolutely fantastic.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Throughout the late '60s and '70s,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37the tower was the tallest building in London.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39Incredibly, it stole the title from a building that had held
0:30:39 > 0:30:44it for 250 years - St Paul's Cathedral.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49In the past, we built tall to reach toward heaven.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52But the construction of this tower changed all that.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It wasn't built to reach towards God,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58it was built to point towards the telephones and TV sets.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02But technology has come a long way since 1965
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and Londoners may have noticed that the famous horns
0:31:05 > 0:31:11and dishes that the tower was built to support have recently disappeared.
0:31:11 > 0:31:18Getting a closer look involves a very scary step off the side of the tower.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Hope you like heights, Charlie.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24In 2011, Bob Semon was part of the team
0:31:24 > 0:31:27responsible for dismantling an era of communication technology.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30There's nothing on the outside here
0:31:30 > 0:31:33that's transmitting or receiving information?
0:31:33 > 0:31:37The core stuff which used to carry all the radio and TV,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40nothing like that whatsoever.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44- How big were the horns? - The horns were around 9m in height.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46So you lifted them from up there then dropped them
0:31:46 > 0:31:48down onto one of these decks?
0:31:48 > 0:31:51- Correct. - And then just cut them up?- Yeah.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55- How did you get them down from there? - We had to cut them up into small enough pieces to get into the lift.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57- Cos they were massive!- Huge.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00You can imagine the size of pieces we had to cut them
0:32:00 > 0:32:01into to get them down.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06The BT Tower is still very much in use
0:32:06 > 0:32:11but the important stuff no longer happens up there at the top on display,
0:32:11 > 0:32:12it happens down here at the base.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16This is the international media centre
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and the vast majority of mainstream TV is managed through here.
0:32:19 > 0:32:25In fact, you're probably watching me on technology controlled just there.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28But that information is no longer sent through the air,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31it goes underground on fibre optic cables and those cables go
0:32:31 > 0:32:36under the Channel, to the Atlantic, to America and beyond.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41This building is hard-wired into a massive spider's web that
0:32:41 > 0:32:43circumnavigates the globe.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51So here we have a very rare thing indeed - a working '60s building,
0:32:51 > 0:32:57made of concrete, but one that undoubtedly holds our affections.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00But there's much more to the BT Tower than just a gleaming,
0:33:00 > 0:33:05modernist structure born in the optimism of the 1960s.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10It stands, I think, as a triumph of its function - communication.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14The technology might have moved on but its place in our heritage
0:33:14 > 0:33:21is assured because it stands as the original hub of modern Britain.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Still to come, Dame Kelly Holmes is off to Dorset to champion
0:33:33 > 0:33:37an unsung mechanical hero of WWII.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Here's where the shell would have been put in for the gun.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44The rebound off the gun would have been immense.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52But first we're back at Berkeley where my tour continues.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Now, one could hardly come to this castle without acknowledging
0:33:55 > 0:33:57one of the most notorious and darkest tales in Britain's
0:33:57 > 0:34:03history which supposedly took place here in 1327.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06But is it true, or is it just a story?
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Now, Winston Churchill is supposed to have said history is
0:34:13 > 0:34:14written by the victors,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17and if there's one episode that proves this true, it's the event
0:34:17 > 0:34:21that overshadows all the other incredible history here at Berkeley.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25And that's the imprisonment and brutal murder of King Edward II.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29According to history, he was considered an incompetent king.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33He was lavish with his money, he put too much trust in his advisors
0:34:33 > 0:34:35and was a complete failure in battle.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38He was hated by the people, hated by the barons, but even more
0:34:38 > 0:34:43so hated by his wife Isabella, who, with her lover Roger Mortimer,
0:34:43 > 0:34:48raised an army against him, had him deposed and flung into prison here.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53After several unsuccessful attempts to poison him by his captors,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57he was finally brutally murdered on the orders of his wife.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Politeness forbids me from telling you exactly how legend says
0:35:00 > 0:35:04he was murdered, but let's just say it was with a red-hot poker
0:35:04 > 0:35:06and a considerable amount of pain.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11Now, is this true or did the victors rewrite history to suit themselves?
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Where are you taking me, what's this room?
0:35:16 > 0:35:18This is actually the guard room,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22although it's known amongst castle staff as the prison cell
0:35:22 > 0:35:24and this is said to be where King Edward was murdered.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26The first theory which is the one that you
0:35:26 > 0:35:29and probably most of the schoolboys in the audience like is that he
0:35:29 > 0:35:32was killed with a red-hot poker somewhere rather painful
0:35:32 > 0:35:35which would mean he wouldn't want to sit down for a long time.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40The second theory is that he was strangled or suffocated
0:35:40 > 0:35:43and that was the story that was current at the time.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47So, it's likely that he was murdered on this site,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50we all agree on that, how did the Berkeleys get away with that?
0:35:50 > 0:35:54It just shows how shrewd they were and how they knew the right
0:35:54 > 0:35:57people because they were accused of being complicit
0:35:57 > 0:36:00in King Edward's murder, but, by having friends at court
0:36:00 > 0:36:02and by having the right arguments,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04the right paperwork and the right friends,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06they managed to avoid it.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09They claimed they were at their manor house at Wootton
0:36:09 > 0:36:11whereas the household accounts show they were here,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14so a very clever piece of political manoeuvring.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20The real facts of that grizzly murder will be for ever
0:36:20 > 0:36:25lost in the mists of time but what an intriguing story.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28And one that makes Berkeley Castle such a fascinating place.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32In fact, with its seemingly endless connections to the past,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35its glorious displays of antique furniture
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and the work of master craftsmen in every nook and cranny,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42this private house is of real national importance.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50As we've mentioned, the Berkeley family have pretty much owned
0:36:50 > 0:36:54and lived in the castle for nine centuries which gives this
0:36:54 > 0:36:58magnificent building an almost unique and unrivalled continuity.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01It just doesn't pertain to the fabric of the building,
0:37:01 > 0:37:02but also its contents.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Everything here has been passionately collected by each
0:37:05 > 0:37:08generation over the centuries.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10As you walk from room to room, you'll notice
0:37:10 > 0:37:14a series of family portraits and they're all of exceptional quality.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17If you look at the signatures they read like a veritable
0:37:17 > 0:37:21who's who of every great British portrait painter worth his salt.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26There are three marvellous family portraits in here - John,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30the third Lord Berkeley of Stratton here, and his wife Lady Jane.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33They make a handsome couple and they were painted circa 1670
0:37:33 > 0:37:39by Sir Peter Lely who followed in the footsteps of Van Dyck.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43Lely was a Dutchman who settled in London as a young man
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and later in life became a naturalised Englishman.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50But his talents earned him the right to be court painter to Charles I.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51His skills got him
0:37:51 > 0:37:54through that unfortunate incident of Charles losing his head.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57He ended up painting for Charles II, became a court painter
0:37:57 > 0:38:01as well, and in 1680, at the age of 62 he was knighted - Sir Peter Lely.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05These paintings are so special
0:38:05 > 0:38:09because this is the birth of what's known today as the English
0:38:09 > 0:38:13portrait style and throughout this period of history it was
0:38:13 > 0:38:16the vogue, it was the fashion to have your portrait painted
0:38:16 > 0:38:18like we like our photographs taken.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22To maximise his earnings, Lely employed a studio full of assistants
0:38:22 > 0:38:27who would paint in the foreground, background and a lot of the body.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Lely would come in and just paint the important bits - the face,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34maybe, and the hands and a little bit of detail. Rather clever.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37So, that's why there's an awful great body of Lely's
0:38:37 > 0:38:39work around, because he was so prolific.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45There is one other painting I want to show you, it's George I,
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Earle of Berkeley and it sits unassumingly above the doorway just up there.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55That was painted in the mid 1680s by a female artist, Mary Beale.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58It was exceptionally rare to have a professional female
0:38:58 > 0:39:02artist as the profession was considered a male occupation.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06She really flourished in the last quarter of the 17th century,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10right up until her death in 1699.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13There you are, a very rare example
0:39:13 > 0:39:16of a professional female artist's work.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22For the Berkeley family to have held their collection of artworks
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and antiques together,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28and in the same place for such a long time, is an extraordinary feat.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31I met up with Charles Berkeley who, along with his father,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34has the mighty task of keeping their ancestral home going.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Thank you, Charles. Wonderful textures in this room, very rich.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42A lot of people must think you're very privileged to
0:39:42 > 0:39:45own your own family castle.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47I know and you do get a lot of comments, "Oh,
0:39:47 > 0:39:51"how lucky you are to have grown up in such a magical, wonderful place."
0:39:51 > 0:39:53- But it does have its... - Headaches.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Headaches, yeah. A lot of hard work.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58We've just rewired and put new heating in the whole of the castle,
0:39:58 > 0:40:03we've done a whole lot of repair work to the roof and various other places.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06It is a constant challenge to be able to put money back in.
0:40:06 > 0:40:07What was it like growing up here as a kid?
0:40:07 > 0:40:10I mean, great fun playing hide and seek, I would imagine,
0:40:10 > 0:40:11and trying on the armour.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13It was fantastic.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16We were up to all kinds of mischief.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18It was lovely to be able to enjoy such a place like this
0:40:18 > 0:40:20and the visitors always loved it too.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24They saw these two boys racing around coming out from behind sofas.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Yeah, it was magical.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Where are we going, Charles?
0:40:28 > 0:40:31We are going up to the Great State Room, Paul,
0:40:31 > 0:40:35one of the main bedrooms in the castle which has got a lot of history
0:40:35 > 0:40:37and a very fine bed.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40Fabulous bedroom.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43The centrepiece is that lovely bed.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47- Oh, what's its history?- Wonderful carvings. Well, it's fascinating.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51We believe it's a 16th century oak tester bed,
0:40:51 > 0:40:52and these wonderful carvings
0:40:52 > 0:40:55supposedly of Lord and Lady Berkeley at the time.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59This is an exquisite bed. Who has slept in this?
0:40:59 > 0:41:01We believe Henry VIII stayed here with Anne Boleyn.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04On one of her travels, Elizabeth I did a pilgrimage
0:41:04 > 0:41:06and certainly stayed for two nights here.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09In those days there would have been about three mattresses
0:41:09 > 0:41:10stuffed with horse hair.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13It would have come up to about here. Thankfully, you've changed it now.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15We got a new mattress put in.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17With Berkeley Castle being
0:41:17 > 0:41:21such an important part of Britain's heritage, what a huge responsibility
0:41:21 > 0:41:24it must be for Charles and his family to maintain the place
0:41:24 > 0:41:27for future generations.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Especially with 850 year's worth of his ancestors watching over him.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35Now, each week on Hidden Heritage, we send out a guest reporter
0:41:35 > 0:41:38to champion their own heritage passion.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Today, Dame Kelly Holmes is in Dorset
0:41:41 > 0:41:43to celebrate an unsung wartime vehicle
0:41:43 > 0:41:46that was once the Queen of the Desert.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Now, lots of you will know me from my exploits on the athletics track,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59but when I left school, one of my first jobs was in the British Army,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02behind the wheel of an HGV truck.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06Quietly, though, I've always had the passion for something a bit bigger.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10I love vehicles and what I've always wanted to do is have a go
0:42:10 > 0:42:15in one of these, a tank, the beast of the battlefield, and today I'm in it.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Whoo!
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Here at Bovington in Dorset,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30it's not modern tanks like this that I've come to see.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Instead, I want to wind the clock back a little over 70 years.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36When it comes to World War II,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I think the history of the tank has been so overlooked.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41We always hear about Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45We never hear about the brave men that fought in the British tank battalions.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Today, there's one machine that I want to look at
0:42:48 > 0:42:50and that changed the course of the war.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53I want to celebrate the Matilda,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56because for one vital World War II campaign in North Africa,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59the Matilda tank helped give our forces the upper hand
0:42:59 > 0:43:04and virtually ended the Italian ambitions in that region.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08It was a time when tank warfare was still in its infancy
0:43:08 > 0:43:11and yet, today, the Matilda is virtually forgotten
0:43:11 > 0:43:15except by tank enthusiasts and the heroes who fought in them.
0:43:16 > 0:43:24When I was conscripted, I asked if I could join the Royal Air Force,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27but they wouldn't play ball on that one.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31I didn't know a thing about tanks.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Most of the training was done in trucks
0:43:33 > 0:43:39and you went out on training exercises in trucks, not in tanks.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Before World War II, the whole concept of how a tank should operate
0:43:44 > 0:43:48on the battlefield was still far from clear.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53Matilda Mark I had been designed in 1935 purely to assist foot soldiers.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56More like a moving barricade,
0:43:56 > 0:43:59it was designed to offer great protection
0:43:59 > 0:44:01and clear the path at the front line.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06But with just one machine gun, its firepower was very limited.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11However, by the start of the war, a new tank was in production
0:44:11 > 0:44:15and this time it would be a fully-fledged attacking machine.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20This is Matilda II, much bigger, 27 tonnes
0:44:20 > 0:44:25and, as you can see, thicker armour and a very serious weapon.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Matilda II was an innovation that, in 1939,
0:44:28 > 0:44:32kept Britain at the top table of tank power.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35This is just one of a few Matildas left in working order
0:44:35 > 0:44:39exactly as it would have looked when a 22-year-old Maurice Bourne
0:44:39 > 0:44:43arrived in North Africa with the Royal Armoured Corps.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47By that time, I'd been put into a tank as a driver
0:44:47 > 0:44:49and I'd hardly driven one at all,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52but they were a fairly simple thing to drive.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Its first real big test came
0:44:57 > 0:45:02in the Western Desert at the very end of 1940 during Operation Compass,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06a two-month offensive against the occupying Italian force.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10The opposition was armed with 600 tanks.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13More than twice as many as the British.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17But the small Fiat-built machines were no match for the Matildas.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20The Italian anti-tank guns were unable to penetrate
0:45:20 > 0:45:23the eight centimetres of British steel.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26The Matildas' two-pounder shells however,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30could deliver a fatal blow to the smaller Italian machines.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34In a matter of weeks, the British were able to push the Italian forces
0:45:34 > 0:45:38far west out of Egypt and across the Libyan desert.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44When it came to action, of course, you were closed down
0:45:44 > 0:45:47and the driver could see very little.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51He just had to go where the tank commander told him
0:45:51 > 0:45:53over the intercom.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58It may not be 40 degrees here in Dorset,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01but today I get a bit of a taste of what driver Maurice
0:46:01 > 0:46:03and his three crew mates must have experienced.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11On the arm rest, which is here, he's got to look through just here
0:46:11 > 0:46:13so he can see where they're going.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17You can only just see. This is where they put the shells.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19They would have inserted the shells in here.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22The rebound would have been just amazing.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It would have been hot, sweaty, smelly,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28but I could not imagine what it would be like.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31It's filthy, it's small, it's claustrophobic,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33but they've done us proud.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39With Matildas being the key attack weapon,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Operation Compass was a complete success,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44earning the tank the nickname, Queen of the Desert.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52But the Matilda's time at the top was not to last.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Even by 1941,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58bigger and better machines were being rolled out on all sides.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Not least by the Germans.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05The problem is, with tanks and warfare, whatever you've got,
0:47:05 > 0:47:08I've got to get something better quickly, so development speeds up.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13What happens with the Matilda, the armour's very, very thick
0:47:13 > 0:47:17and Hitler himself sees a report of German rounds
0:47:17 > 0:47:20hitting the armour of the Matilda and bouncing off.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22So he starts a programme
0:47:22 > 0:47:25for the German army of building massive tanks.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27He starts a thing called the Tiger Programme
0:47:27 > 0:47:31and that eventually leads to whopping great things like this.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32This is a King Tiger here.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35This? So they went from Matilda, the tiny little thing, to that?
0:47:35 > 0:47:38This is about three years later.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43This is the type of round that the Matilda II fired.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47- OK, it's quite heavy, though. - Quite small, quite heavy.- Yeah.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51But by the end of the war you've got rounds as big as this.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55This is a round that's been fired by the King Tiger we looked at earlier.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59- They've gone from this to that. - Within four years of the war.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Amazing.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06The Matilda II eventually became a victim of its own success.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Ultimately, being outclassed by the bigger
0:48:08 > 0:48:12and more destructive tanks it had inspired.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15The days when 300 British Matildas could defeat a force
0:48:15 > 0:48:19twice their size were rapidly consigned to the past.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22The war continued on European soil,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25and whilst fighting in Sicily, Maurice Bourne was now
0:48:25 > 0:48:32up against the new German 88mm guns, the nemesis of all Allied tanks.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36We were overseeing an infantry attack on a wood.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39The gun opened up.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41I saw a flash.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46It came through the hull of the tank.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48The shell went past my ankle and bruised it
0:48:48 > 0:48:51and into the engines and set it on fire.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Unfortunately, the co-driver in the front
0:48:54 > 0:49:00was killed instantly by the shell going through him.
0:49:00 > 0:49:01Poor fella.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Before I leave Bovington, there's one important meeting left for me.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13But for 92-year-old Maurice Bourne, it's a very special reunion.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19- How old were you when you drove one of these?- 21.- 21.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Very comfortable.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Never worried about things.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26- So you're 92?- Yes.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28You still have all those memories over 70 years ago.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30- Well, you can't forget.- No.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33Especially the salient features, you know,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36when you get a shell coming through the tank,
0:49:36 > 0:49:41sparks flying over your head and leaping out a bit quickly.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43- You're never going to forget that, are you?- No.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46Do you feel lucky, though,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49because there were a lot of people who wasn't?
0:49:49 > 0:49:53I feel luck or something was on my side. All the way through.
0:49:53 > 0:49:58I can't explain it but here I am to tell the story.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06I do honestly believe that there is something looking after one.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10With heroes like Maurice at the helm,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14Matilda made a key difference at a specific point in the war.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18Amongst the further horrors and the ultimate victory which followed,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20this desert story can easily be forgotten.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23But it's a story that I believe deserves to be heard.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Within months, Matilda's moments had passed
0:50:30 > 0:50:34but it was long enough to stop North Africa getting into enemy hands.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37It was a result that changed the course of the war.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Earlier on, back at Berkeley Castle,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56I met the team of archaeologists from Bristol University
0:50:56 > 0:50:59who were investigating the site's early days.
0:50:59 > 0:51:00So, before we leave,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04it's time to look at some of the treasures they've unearthed.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09- Hello.- Hi, everyone.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12- Good to see you again.- And you.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14What have you found for me?
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Well, this is the key find that I really want to show you, Paul.
0:51:17 > 0:51:18This is what this site's all about, is it?
0:51:18 > 0:51:20This is what this site's all about.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Basically, we're inside an Anglo-Saxon minster.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28What we're looking for is evidence that we've got monks and nuns
0:51:28 > 0:51:31and one of the things we know about minsters is they're literate.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34This is a period where most people are illiterate.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37For instance, if the King wants a document drawn up,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39he'll go to the minster to get that document written
0:51:39 > 0:51:42so we're looking for evidence that we've got monks and nuns.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46This is a thing which is absolutely unique actually in this country.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50It's called an astle and, basically, you would have a long bone pointer
0:51:50 > 0:51:55from the bottom and you use it to follow the illuminated manuscript
0:51:55 > 0:51:57as you read aloud, for instance, in church.
0:51:57 > 0:51:58How wonderful.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02And when you get to the end of the page, you use it to turn the page.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06- This end would turn the page, so you don't touch it.- Absolutely right.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10This is a unique find in this country. So it's 8th to 9th century.
0:52:10 > 0:52:15- Oh great.- What it tells us is we've got Anglo-Saxon literacy.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17- You can see it's ecclesiastical. - You can.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19There's no doubt it's an ecclesiastical piece.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23But that's absolutely the star find from our site so far
0:52:23 > 0:52:25and it's a wonderful piece of archaeology.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31The archaeological dig outside the castle is not the only place
0:52:31 > 0:52:34that has been a source of hidden heritage.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Locked in the vaults way under Berkeley are the family archives.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42The home of some rare and remarkable documents.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Gosh, what a lot of books.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53David Smith has been the archivist at the castle for over 30 years,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57in charge of cataloguing thousands of documents and artefacts.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01So what we've got here is basically the residue
0:53:01 > 0:53:05of a country gentleman's library in the 18th century with additions
0:53:05 > 0:53:07because it's a living library.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12Things still come in here if they are relevant to the castle,
0:53:12 > 0:53:13the family or the archives.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18'In 2001, David came across a seemingly insignificant book
0:53:18 > 0:53:21'that turned out to be anything but.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23'It was nothing less than a lost manuscript
0:53:23 > 0:53:28'by the great Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31'This was a discovery of worldwide importance.'
0:53:31 > 0:53:36Can you remember the moment you discovered this Vivaldi manuscript?
0:53:36 > 0:53:40I can remember the moment when I was told what it was.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42Was it a Eureka moment?
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Well, not for me because I don't understand music.
0:53:46 > 0:53:51It was someone who I managed to find as a consultant to look at it.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54This is Professor Michael Talbot of Liverpool.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56He's a man of few words
0:53:56 > 0:53:59and I don't think he would mind even his friends saying
0:53:59 > 0:54:01that he hasn't got a great deal of expression.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03So he came in here.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07I put the book out for him and he got his head down and he looked at it
0:54:07 > 0:54:10and he worked on it solidly without saying a word for about two hours.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14He was measuring the distance between the staves because that's how
0:54:14 > 0:54:18you find out which music shop it was copied in and all that sort of thing.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21And then he looked up and me and he said,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23"Go into any antiquarian music shop in Europe
0:54:23 > 0:54:28"and you'd find a book that, on the outside, looks like this.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30"But you'd never find one with the contents
0:54:30 > 0:54:32"when you open it that this one has."
0:54:32 > 0:54:35- Gosh.- And that was the moment when I realised what we'd got.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38So it wasn't signed "Vivaldi" anywhere at all?
0:54:38 > 0:54:42Well, the word "Vivaldi" is written on the top of some
0:54:42 > 0:54:46of his compositions, but what you have here is
0:54:46 > 0:54:50a compilation of something like 50 tunes
0:54:50 > 0:54:52and, of those 50...
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and they're not all by Vivaldi by any means, I think about a dozen are.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Of those 50, 17 are not known in any other place.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03They are absolutely unique to this manuscript
0:55:03 > 0:55:06and six are new Vivaldi music.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10In other words, it was known that he composed the arias,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12but the music had not survived.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16- And they do survive in here.- This is incredible. Absolutely incredible.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18This is real history in the making here.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20And it looks so boring from the outside.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26In his lifetime, Vivaldi wrote over 500 instrumental
0:55:26 > 0:55:29and choral works, including an opera by the name
0:55:29 > 0:55:33of The Triumphant Constancy Of Love And Hate,
0:55:33 > 0:55:37and it's from this that the missing arias came, written around 1716.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40They were lost for nearly 300 years.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43And just in case you wondered what they sound like, well,
0:55:43 > 0:55:47we couldn't let this occasion pass without getting in a few musicians
0:55:47 > 0:55:51to bring this particular bit of hidden heritage to life.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:56:44 > 0:56:45That was brilliant.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Thank you so much for bringing that piece of music alive
0:56:48 > 0:56:49and I know we put you on the spot.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53You only had about ten minutes to practise that wonderful singing.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55- Beautiful voice.- Thank you.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58That's got the body of a lute. What instrument is that?
0:56:58 > 0:57:00It's an instrument called Chittarone or Tiorba.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03It's a 17th century Italian type of lute
0:57:03 > 0:57:06that was used in Vivaldi's time.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08Wow, well, it certainly sent me back in time, put it that way.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10That's lovely. Thank you so much.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12What's it like playing in a room like this?
0:57:12 > 0:57:15This music was discovered here so it's a real privilege
0:57:15 > 0:57:18to be performing something so rare in such beautiful surroundings.
0:57:18 > 0:57:19It's really wonderful.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22QUARTET PLAYS
0:57:34 > 0:57:37SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:57:54 > 0:57:57What a glorious way of ending my tour of Berkeley Castle,
0:57:57 > 0:58:01with the strains of one of the lost Vivaldi arias ringing out
0:58:01 > 0:58:07in the Great Hall as they might well have done some 300 years ago.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14I wonder what other discoveries might be found here in the future?
0:58:16 > 0:58:19This magnificent castle connects the present Berkeley family
0:58:19 > 0:58:20with their ancestors.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23It's their family history but it's our heritage
0:58:23 > 0:58:26because Berkeley Castle, its contents and the events that
0:58:26 > 0:58:30took place here, really have shaped Britain's history.
0:58:30 > 0:58:33What an incredible place. See you next time.
0:58:33 > 0:58:37If you'd like more information, check our website:
0:58:54 > 0:58:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd