0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:17His name was George Bradshaw and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:24Stop by stop he told them where to travel, what to see, and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length
0:00:28 > 0:00:34and breadth of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:51 > 0:00:58In recent days I've been using some of the earliest railway lines built in Britain or the world.
0:01:00 > 0:01:07I'm continuing my journey around Northern England using a railway guide book published in the 1860s.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12And I've found it gives me such insights into Britain's history and Britain today that you can
0:01:12 > 0:01:17keep your Fodor's and your Michelin's and your Lonely Planet guide,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20as long as you leave me my Bradshaw's.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25It's full of tips for the Victorian traveller, from opening times for
0:01:25 > 0:01:29banks and libraries to facts and figures about local industries.
0:01:31 > 0:01:38On this leg of the journey, I'll be hearing how textile recycling started in 19th century Yorkshire.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42When the rags came here, thousands of tonnes from all over the world,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46they were auctioned on a regular basis here at the station.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Seeing how the Victorians made rhubarb grow in the dark.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Are there any secrets left in your process?
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I can't tell you unless we'll have to bury you under the rhubarb roots.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01And uncovering railway treasures with a descendant of George Bradshaw himself.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Oh my goodness.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06That is so beautiful.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I started this trip in North East England,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20and on my journey south travelled on lines laid down by railway pioneers.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23I'm now in Yorkshire's industrial heart, and will
0:02:23 > 0:02:29cross into rural Leicestershire, to end my journey in Melton Mowbray.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35On today's stretch I start in Batley, and will pass through Woodlesford
0:02:35 > 0:02:38on my way to Sheffield, the city of steel.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I'm now on way to town Batley.
0:02:51 > 0:02:57Not a town name that springs to everyone's lips but in the 19th century, it was responsible for
0:02:57 > 0:03:04the invention of an industry that I've always regarded as much more recent, more modern - recycling.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21Today Batley strikes me as a quiet place, but in Bradshaw's time things were very different.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31My 19th century guidebook tells me that Batley has "Extensive woollen and carpet manufactures".
0:03:31 > 0:03:38It might also have mentioned that those industries were based on the concept of re-using waste material.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Malcolm Haigh has been researching the story.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- Hello.- Are you Malcolm? - I am, good to see you.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I'm Michael. Very good to see you indeed.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51Now I understand Batley has some claim to have invented recycling?
0:03:51 > 0:03:56- What's that based on? - Well, yes, that is a system whereby a guy from Batley, called him
0:03:56 > 0:04:03Benjamin Law wanted to find a new means of earning money, expand his work as clothier here.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08The story goes that Benjamin Law began to tear up rags and waste from Yorkshire's
0:04:08 > 0:04:12extensive woollen industry attempting to make new cloth.
0:04:12 > 0:04:19He mixed these torn up woolen rags with virgin wool and then was able
0:04:19 > 0:04:24- after number of years of trying to create cloth, fresh cloth. - What did he call it?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Well, eventually it became known as shoddy.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Which sounds a very awful thing to do, shoddy cloth, I mean everybody
0:04:31 > 0:04:37thinks it's awful but in fact it comes from Arabic word,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39very similarly sounding for re-use.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44Recycled shoddy cloth was such a success that by the 1850s, thousands
0:04:44 > 0:04:48of tonnes of rags were arriving in Batley station each week.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52I suppose this must have been quite a station in its day too.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55This was central to Batley's prosperity.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57The railway companies who came here didn't
0:04:57 > 0:05:01really bother about passengers, it was bringing the goods in.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06In those days there were no less than seven platforms
0:05:06 > 0:05:11and a huge area given over to warehousing and auctions.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Because when the rags came here, thousands of tonnes from all over
0:05:14 > 0:05:18the world, they were auctioned on a regular basis here at the station.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Did Batley make a fortune on the back of this?
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Some people did,
0:05:22 > 0:05:27some people made an awful lot of money but best of all was that
0:05:27 > 0:05:33from this system lots and lots of manufactures, mills were created here
0:05:33 > 0:05:39which meant over years thousands of people have had jobs in this valley
0:05:39 > 0:05:44and creating things like woollen cloth, uniform cloth in particular,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49which is why this whole area is known as a heavy woollen district.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52What would Batley have looked like heyday?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55If we were standing here, what might we have seen across the valley there?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Well something like, in the valley, 60 mill chimneys,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02all of them, that's if you could see them, because they used to throw out
0:06:02 > 0:06:08the dirt every hour on the hour, so sometimes couldn't see from one side the valley to the other.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15Shoddy was a massive recycling industry right into the 20th century,
0:06:15 > 0:06:21but from the 1960s, the growth of synthetic fabrics forced it into decline.
0:06:21 > 0:06:27Most of the mills have closed now, but Batley has become an important centre for a new kind of recycling.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34I'm meeting Joanne Illingworth to see how it works in the 21st century.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36What are you actually doing?
0:06:36 > 0:06:41We're textile recyclers. We process second-hand clothing, we sort it,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46we hand sort it and then we export the final product, most goes abroad.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51A lot of it goes to eastern Europe, but the main bulk of the clothing goes to Africa,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and some goes to Pakistan as well.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55A small percentage does stay in this country.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57And where do you get it?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The main source is charity shops, off the rails, what they can't sell.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05- Is there a benefit to the environment from what you are doing? - Of course. Anybody that wants
0:07:05 > 0:07:10to throw their old clothing away, if they just throw it in the bin, it's going to go to landfill,
0:07:10 > 0:07:16whereas if it comes here it's all processed and sorted and all goes for re-use again.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19And what do you do with the stuff that isn't fit for human wear?
0:07:19 > 0:07:25That will be gone for shoddy and then there is a very small percentage that will go to landfill.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30- Shoddy is still used is it, for re-cycling material? - It is, yes.
0:07:30 > 0:07:37We sell to other companies who will process it into shoddy, so they do still use that word, yes.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Although recycling has moved on, seeing clothes being sorted
0:07:41 > 0:07:46by hand makes me sense a connection with work in Bradshaw's day.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49So what judgement are you making, what are you deciding?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I know that's heavy so I know that goes straight into there.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55So is that. I can judge straight away. Light, summery, it goes there.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- Summery there. - It goes to ladies on mill there.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01OK, I guess that's acrylic again, don't you?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Feel! I go by feel a lot.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05How long have you been doing this?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07- About 25 years.- Have you really?
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Yeah.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I wonder how many bits of clothing you've sorted in that time?
0:08:12 > 0:08:14I don't know.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16This is heavy enough for Pakistan?
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- Pakistan, yeah. - Oh, I'm getting the hang of this.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28As I move on to catch my next train, I am impressed to think that here in
0:08:28 > 0:08:34Yorkshire, recycling is an industry with 150 years of history.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39When I've taken stuff into a charity shop, I've sometimes wondered whether I'd be embarrassed
0:08:39 > 0:08:42if I bumped into someone locally wearing my clothes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48It never occurred to me they might end up in West Africa or Pakistan
0:08:48 > 0:08:50having travelled via Yorkshire.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Does the word shoddy mean anything to you?
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Shoddy? Yes.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05- What does it mean? - Poor?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Poor workmanship?
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- Old?- Do you know what the origin of it is?
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- No. - Are you from Yorkshire?- Yes.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Well, apparently it's to do with taking the old cloth and they would rework it into a new cloth.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22They'd mix it with wool and make a new cloth and that was called shoddy.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Really! That's brilliant.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29Do you think it's a Yorkshire thing to do? Do save on stuff and make do?
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- Yes. - Is that very Yorkshire?
0:09:31 > 0:09:38- Knowing my dad. - He's a typical Yorkshireman, short arms, long pockets.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I'm now travelling through what in Bradshaw's day was Yorkshire's West Riding.
0:09:48 > 0:09:56My guidebook enthuses about the area's industries, describing, "Their manifest utility in furnishing
0:09:56 > 0:10:04"employment for a great part of our population and supplying the comforts and conveniences of life".
0:10:07 > 0:10:13At my next stop, I want to find out about a delicious foodstuff produced grown here in the 19th century.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23This is Woodlesford Station and it dates back to 1840.
0:10:23 > 0:10:29It was one of the original stations on George Stephenson's Derby to Leeds line.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34But I'm not so interested in the station, I'm looking for what's in the fields out there.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45In Bradshaw's day, this whole area was famous for a single crop, rhubarb.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51In the 19th century, it was grown in this region by around 200 farmers.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Janet Oldroyd's family has been cultivating it for four generations.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Lovely to see you. I've never seen so much rhubarb in my life.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05She's an expert on why it flourished here in Victorian times.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I'm guessing there's a connection with railways there nearly always is?
0:11:09 > 0:11:14There is a great connection. How else did the growers get their produce to market very quickly?
0:11:14 > 0:11:21It was collected all the local stations, taken down, particularly to old Covent Garden market.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25From mostly Covent Garden it was sent on into Europe as well.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- And we're talking about big quantities of rhubarb travelling by train?- Huge amounts.
0:11:29 > 0:11:36Those trains carried nothing but rhubarb and became nicknamed the Rhubarb Express trains.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41The railways also brought cheap coal to Yorkshire's farmers.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47It enabled them to grow rhubarb in special heated sheds, a new process called forcing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50- What is forcing? - It's making it grow in the dark
0:11:50 > 0:11:54using it's energy from the roots, which is done in winter.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58So they were able to produce rhubarb in winter, indoors?
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Yes, giving the nation
0:12:01 > 0:12:08a vegetable that they ate as a fruit, which was full of nutrients.
0:12:10 > 0:12:16At one time, Yorkshire's heated sheds produced 90% of the world's forced rhubarb.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Until the 1940s, it was a staple in the British diet.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24Then rising fuel costs and changing tastes took their toll.
0:12:24 > 0:12:30There was a major downturn in popularity, linked with...
0:12:30 > 0:12:33during the second world war.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38This nation loved rhubarb and they loved sugar and they liked their rhubarb sweet,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41so with rationing they couldn't get rhubarb to their taste.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44So eating it very tart,
0:12:44 > 0:12:50giving it to a child, turned the next generation away from rhubarb.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52The growers were massively over-producing,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57so many went bankrupt and many got out of the industry before they did.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Now there are just 11 producers left here.
0:13:01 > 0:13:09Janet's farm was one of the few to survive and she grows forced rhubarb in the original Victorian sheds.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10We had a crop in here.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15The roots now have given all the energy into production and they're starting to die.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19When the crop was growing in here, describe what it looked like.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Well, pitch black.
0:13:22 > 0:13:29Totally like a mine in here and so what's happening is the root is tricked into growth by heat.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33And it grows up looking for light which it can never find.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39By candlelight, we harvest the crop, because we don't want to damage the process.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Recently, as consumers have become interested in traditional British produce,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47forced rhubarb has again become fashionable.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Tell me what it tastes like?
0:13:50 > 0:13:57It's less acidic, so it appears sweeter and it doesn't need as much sugar as the outdoor grown variety.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01So very, very popular when chefs today
0:14:01 > 0:14:05want the tart balance that you would get
0:14:05 > 0:14:07with savoury products particularly.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10You're pretty proud of your product, aren't you?
0:14:10 > 0:14:16Very proud of my product and Yorkshire's links to it.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20It's part of the heritage, not just of Yorkshire but of this country.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Are there any secrets left in your process?
0:14:23 > 0:14:30There are a great deal of secrets, that can't tell you unless we have to bury you under the rhubarb roots.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36Basically, it isn't called the secret world of the rhubarb triangle for nothing.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41It's time to make my escape before I end up in the rhubarb sheds.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44And I'm now headed for my hotel for the night.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50I'm lucky to stay in this beautifully restored Georgian House,
0:14:50 > 0:14:56and the reason I've picked it is an intriguing reference in my Bradshaw's guide.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02This gorgeous pile is, according to Bradshaw's, Waterton Hall, near Wakefield, and was the seat
0:15:02 > 0:15:06of Charles Waterton, the great naturalist and South American traveller.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Few people today have heard of Waterton, but he was famous in
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Bradshaw's era and Charles Darwin once came to visit him here.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Like Darwin, he travelled the world,
0:15:19 > 0:15:24studying and collecting exotic animals, and writing books.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29On this estate, he created a safe haven for wildlife,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33making him one of the world's first environmentalists.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39Michael Portillo, checking in, please. It's a lovely hotel.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- I gather Charles Waterton was quite a character.- He was indeed.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46This was the first nature reserve in the world,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50he designed that, he put the brick wall around the whole area.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- It started from there. - What sort of animals did he have?
0:15:53 > 0:15:57He was a specialist in birds, like ducks, everything.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01- The whole hotel, you can see there's baby geese out there.- Fantastic.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- Room seven, the first floor and just in front of you.- Do I get a view?
0:16:05 > 0:16:10- It's of the front of the island, and you get lake views. - Thank you very much.- Enjoy your stay.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I've been looking forward to staying here because
0:16:15 > 0:16:23Waterton, apart from being a naturalist was also a great eccentric and he liked to impersonate animals.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27For instance, he would put on wings and try to fly like a bird.
0:16:29 > 0:16:35Or he'd pretend to be a dog and bark and go under the dining room table
0:16:35 > 0:16:38and even bite the legs of guests.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Those are two things I think I shouldn't attempt tonight.
0:16:45 > 0:16:52Having woken to a beautiful day, I have to tear myself away from this delightful estate.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59Though my journey continues south to a place that's highly commended in my guide.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Now which city do you think Bradshaw's is describing here?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16"Its suburbs spreading mile after mile in every direction,
0:17:16 > 0:17:21hill and dale, and every accessible point on the slopes between,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25"be occupied by houses and villas in endless variety,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29"offer to the stranger new objects of pleasure at each turn,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33"and to residents, prospects of great extent and beauty."
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Well, I'm sure you guessed it, Sheffield.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Now that's never been my view of Sheffield.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I remember the slopes being disfigured by enormous blocks of flats,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46but I'm willing to give Sheffield another go and look at it afresh
0:17:46 > 0:17:49through Bradshaw's eyes.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57My recollections are of a city rebuilt after terrible bombing during World War II
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and suffering from industrial decline.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Although I've passed through it many times,
0:18:02 > 0:18:09I've not had the chance to explore since its face-changing regeneration programme that started in 2001.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17From the moment you step off the train, there are signs of new life.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Sheffield has had a station since 1845 and this one dates from 1870.
0:18:26 > 0:18:33It's recently been given a complete makeover, and the blend of the old and the new is very successful.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I absolutely love it.
0:18:35 > 0:18:43And this sculpture reminds us, as Bradshaw did, that Sheffield is the city of steel.
0:18:43 > 0:18:50The 'Cutting Edge' sculpture, as it's known, is 90 metres long, and weighs 60 tons.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56It's just one of many new structures that in recent years have come to grace the city.
0:18:56 > 0:19:02It seems 21st century Sheffield is once again becoming a beautiful city as Bradshaw described.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09- Hello.- Hello, Michael. Nice to meet you.- Very nice to see you.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11- Welcome to Sheffield.- Thank you. You're from Sheffield?
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- I am. - I haven't been here for a while,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15I didn't know about all these new buildings.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Yeah, it's really changed in the area here.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21I mean, you've still got the old town hall here,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25but you've got the new buildings like the new hotel there and the cafes.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It's come back into 21st century, I think.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36In Bradshaw's day, Sheffield became famous for steel.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42In the 1850s, Henry Bessemer invented a cheaper and simpler process for mass production
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and established one of his first factories in Sheffield.
0:19:46 > 0:19:52As steel replaced iron in everything from railways to buildings and bridges,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Sheffield's industry went into overdrive.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Bessemer became a millionaire.
0:19:56 > 0:20:03But alongside that heavy industry, many smaller businesses added to the prestige of Sheffield steel.
0:20:03 > 0:20:09Bradshaw's mentions Sheffield's fame for "Knives, forks, razors, saws, scissors, printing type,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13"optical instruments, Britannia metal, Sheffield plate, scythes, garden implements,
0:20:13 > 0:20:18"files, screws, other tools, stoves, fenders, as well as engines, railway springs and buffers".
0:20:18 > 0:20:23And in those days, much of the work was done by craftsmen working in small groups
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and I'm here to see what survives of that tradition.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32Specialist items, like knives, were too intricate to be produced in bulk.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37They were made by highly skilled metalworkers called "little mesters", meaning masters.
0:20:37 > 0:20:44These men were often self-employed, and worked long hours to make ends meet.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54Today, Trevor Ablett and Reg Cooper are among the last of the little mesters still toiling in that way.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Morning, Michael. - Hello. Very nice to see you. - And you.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- How old were you when you started in the business?- 14.- 14.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Trevor, you're new to the business, aren't you?
0:21:04 > 0:21:07- Yeah, I were 15. - You were 15 when you started!
0:21:07 > 0:21:13He's ten years in front of me, he's been in't trade 60-odd years and I've been in 50-odd years.
0:21:13 > 0:21:161957, I started.
0:21:16 > 0:21:22You're both fantastic examples of the healths of your trade, you look fantastic for your ages.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- You, of course, are retired. - Yeah.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27So tell me how many days you're working.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I work five days a week now.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32I come in the morning at seven, I'm here at seven,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and then I work till about three or half past three.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Trevor, what's your routine?
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Seven while seven in't week, and
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Saturday seven while four... er, seven while six.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49I did cut it down to four but I've got that much work now, we're back to six o'clock.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Sundays I knock off at dinner time now.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58What would I do if I were at home? I'd watch telly and fall to sleep. So I'm doing something I enjoy.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04It takes Reg two to three days to make one of the hunting knives that are his speciality.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08So these are the things that you produce, beautiful, beautiful blades.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12You make that into that.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Yep, as you can see it's marked out there
0:22:15 > 0:22:23and then it has to be on a bandsaw, we take the shape out of there and shape it up.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Very pretty, and again all this beautiful work you've done along here.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33In the early 19th century demand for hunting knives boomed.
0:22:33 > 0:22:41American settlers in particular went mad for Bowie knives like these, and the best ones came from Sheffield.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Trevor, your speciality is...
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- Pocket knives. - Pocket knives.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49That's rosewood.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52These are very, very fine indeed.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57These days, enthusiasts buy the knives crafted by Trevor and Reg,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59and even their machine tools are collectors' items.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- This is 1800 and something. - What do you call that machine?
0:23:03 > 0:23:07- Gold blocker. - You've never thought of buying a new one?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10No, everybody wants this.
0:23:10 > 0:23:16There's a friend of ours, he's always after it but while it's working, it's like us two.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19If it works, let it carry on!
0:23:19 > 0:23:24What it is, you put the letters the wrong way round so that when you turn it that way...
0:23:30 > 0:23:33And what you do, make sure all't letters are in.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Isn't that beautiful? Why indeed would you want a new machine?
0:23:38 > 0:23:39You couldn't do it more beautifully than that.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41- Yeah.- Isn't that a beautiful piece of work?
0:23:41 > 0:23:47Before I leave Sheffield, I've set up a special meeting.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50As I've travelled around Britain using my Victorian guidebook,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54I've become increasingly keen to learn about George Bradshaw and his work.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58And to my delight, one of his direct descendants has come to light.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Mary John will see me in the City Hall.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Do I have the honour of addressing the great great granddaughter of George Bradshaw?
0:24:06 > 0:24:10- Yes, yes, thank you. - This is a very proud moment for me. Very proud indeed.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17George Bradshaw started out mapping canals, before turning his attention to the railways in the 1830s.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23With each different train company printing its own timetable, planning a journey wasn't easy.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26In 1840, Bradshaw brought all that information together
0:24:26 > 0:24:32in a single guidebook, called The Railway Companion, transforming train travel.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39I found this letter, which is an original letter from George.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- And you can read it.- It's fantastic.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Yeah. Postmark on the outside and everything, don't know if you want to read it.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Manchester, 27 Brown Street, 11...
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Month seven, 1843.
0:24:55 > 0:25:02It says, "Dear friend, I should be glad if thou wilt be on the lookout for any new railway works
0:25:02 > 0:25:05"which may be making their appearance about this time.
0:25:05 > 0:25:13"I should very much like to know if there is likely to be a railway almanac for 1844.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16"Perhaps thou wilt make a little enquiry."
0:25:16 > 0:25:21I mean, this is amazing because I suppose he's seeing whether there's any competition
0:25:21 > 0:25:23to the books that he's producing.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29Maybe, there was competition when he first started out and then he wrote this really comprehensive guide
0:25:29 > 0:25:31that then people bought instead, yeah.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I think that's an amazing discovery, Mary.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37You know, museums and archivists will be so excited by this letter.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Bradshaw's railway guides became so successful that he published
0:25:41 > 0:25:44monthly updates and later, an international version.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46He's such a big influence, George Bradshaw.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50At one time, Bradshaw was just a household word.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54I know, yeah, but you don't appreciate it if it's always there,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57you don't appreciate it, do you really?
0:25:57 > 0:26:03Bradshaw became a noun meaning railway timetable in the way that
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Biro means ballpoint pen, Hoover means vacuum cleaner.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It was just one of those words. "Go and get the Bradshaw."
0:26:09 > 0:26:17This is actually the first edition, we think, of a map from...1839.
0:26:17 > 0:26:201839? That is early.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22But it unfolds, it's really, really big.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I don't know if you want to open it and have a look.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31"Tables of the gradients to Bradshaw's map of the railways of Great Britain."
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And this whole thing is a map?
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Yeah.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Oh, my goodness!
0:26:39 > 0:26:42That is so beautiful!
0:26:44 > 0:26:48- And again, it's in perfect condition.- Yeah.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54This rare early map by Bradshaw reminds me how the major lines grew stage by stage.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58This is Brunel's Great Western Railway running through here.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03But it goes as far as Exeter and no further.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08And here's the Southampton railway, and again there's nothing
0:27:08 > 0:27:12beyond Southampton. This is treasure,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14this is gold.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Meeting Bradshaw's great great granddaughter with her cache of personal effects
0:27:18 > 0:27:21has brought the man to life for me.
0:27:26 > 0:27:33As I head back to the station, I wonder whether the railway revolution that he witnessed in a few years
0:27:33 > 0:27:36has been matched by anything in the many decades since.
0:27:36 > 0:27:43On this journey, I've found out what shoddy means and I've discovered the beauties of modern Sheffield.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47And I've been thrilled to meet a real life descendent of George Bradshaw.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53He understood that railways would change society absolutely.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Yet those tracks, stations and trains are recognisable today.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04I wonder whether that will be true of the technologies that are currently revolutionising our lives.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09On the next leg of my journey,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I'll be learning the secrets of one of the Victorians' favourite cheeses, Stilton.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18You turn that very well. I can't turn an omelette, let alone that!
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Finding out how the railways transformed a traditional British sport.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Special carriages were built to take these hunters
0:28:27 > 0:28:31from the middle of London right up to the shires of Leicestershire.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35And attempting to mould an authentic Melton Mowbray pork pie.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Oh, dear. Mine doesn't look like yours but never mind.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43- Oh, my goodness.- It's a good job it's a three-year apprenticeship!
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