0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and his Railway Guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:22what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length
0:00:30 > 0:00:34and breadth of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02My journey using my Bradshaw's guide continues through Suffolk and Essex.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Before the Industrial Revolution,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07parts of these counties were pretty much isolated.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11But the coming of the railway opened them up, not only to trade,
0:01:11 > 0:01:16but also to that sort of Victorian tourist who was educated
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and interested in discovering more of English history.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24On today's step of the journey,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28I'll be coming face-to-face with a medieval politician.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Oh, my goodness. That is grotesque.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36Sharing the Victorians' fascination with the freakishly stout.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37Bags you're on our team.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40How many have we got?
0:01:40 > 0:01:44And journeying overseas on one of the world's first electric railways.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47This is a great thrill for me, cos I used to come here as a child.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48I've never been in the cab before.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54I began this trip on the East Coast
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and now, I'm travelling south
0:01:56 > 0:01:59through the counties of Suffolk and Essex.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01In Bradshaw's day, this area was, for the first time,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04being carved open by the railways,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07allowing tourists and speculators to flood in.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Today's section begins in Sudbury and takes me south
0:02:12 > 0:02:15through Witham and Chelmsford.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19And then branches back to the coast at Southend-on-Sea.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23With the arrival of the railway from the 1840s onwards,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Victorians with an interest in history could swarm on Sudbury.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31My Bradshaw's guide says of Sudbury that it was,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36"formerly a place of far greater importance than at present."
0:02:36 > 0:02:40It also says, "St Gregory's Church was built by Simon de Sudbury,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43"who was murdered here by Wat Tyler's mob
0:02:43 > 0:02:47"and buried near a college, the gate of which still remains."
0:02:48 > 0:02:55Now, that murder by Wat Tyler's mob interests me, personally, very much.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58TANNOY: Can I have your attention, please?
0:02:58 > 0:03:02We will shortly be arriving on time to Sudbury, where this train terminates.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12The reason for the murder was politics.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15And, in particular, the imposition of a tax
0:03:15 > 0:03:19whose name may yet be inscribed on my tombstone.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24In Bradshaw's time, awaydays on the train
0:03:24 > 0:03:29to investigate rip-roaring yarns were extremely popular
0:03:29 > 0:03:31and big business for the railways.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I'm meeting Canon Gregory John Webb at the church of St Gregory's
0:03:34 > 0:03:39to hear the grisly truth of Simon de Sudbury's demise.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43- Hello, Greg, how lovely to see you. - Good to meet you. Very warm welcome.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Why was Simon de Sudbury murdered by Wat Tyler's mob?
0:03:47 > 0:03:48Well, at the time,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, but also the Lord Chancellor.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And it was not a good time to be Lord Chancellor
0:03:54 > 0:03:56because they needed to raise some money,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and somebody came up with the wonderful idea of a poll tax.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01This is not Margaret Thatcher's poll tax?
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Definitely not Margaret Thatcher's poll tax.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05She probably didn't learn from history.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10- But Simon, he, sort of, introduced the poll tax.- In what year, then?
0:04:10 > 0:04:12That would be 1381.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15OK. And, from what I remember of poll taxes,
0:04:15 > 0:04:16people don't like them too much.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19No, it was particularly unpopular with the poor.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22And so, a chap called Wat Tyler led what we now know as
0:04:22 > 0:04:26the Peasants' Revolt in protest against the poll tax.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Now, according to Bradshaw then, um,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Simon de Sudbury was murdered here by Wat Tyler's mob.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34Not quite right. No.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37He was actually murdered in the Tower of London, in the White Tower,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41where he was beheaded by the mob breaking into the Tower.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45His body is buried in Canterbury, in the cathedral in Canterbury.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47He is, of course, the Archbishop of Canterbury
0:04:47 > 0:04:48and that's very appropriate.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But I have got something very interesting to show you here,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- in the church, if you'd like to come this way, Michael.- Hmm.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02So, this is the vestry.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07And this is what I want to show you.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Oh, my goodness. That is grotesque.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16You're going to tell me that is Simon de Sudbury, are you?
0:05:16 > 0:05:18That is Simon de Sudbury's head.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24This gruesome relic drew Victorian railway tourists in droves.
0:05:25 > 0:05:31And that head was placed on a spike on London Bridge back in 1381
0:05:31 > 0:05:33and the folk of Sudbury rescued it...
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- Ah.- ..and brought it back to Sudbury.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39The grateful, fond folk of Sudbury brought it back.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43'This is a rather unsettling confrontation.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'In the 1990s, I too was responsible for implementing a piece
0:05:47 > 0:05:50'of misconceived poll tax legislation
0:05:50 > 0:05:53'which brought a government to the brink of catastrophe.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'I feel sympathetic shiver down my spine as my eyes engage
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'with poor Simon de Sudbury's empty sockets.'
0:06:00 > 0:06:04What do we know about the circumstances of his decapitation?
0:06:04 > 0:06:06By all accounts, it was particularly brutal.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08And the story is that it may well have been seven blows
0:06:08 > 0:06:09to decapitate him.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And, I understand, if you actually looked at the back of the skull,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15you can still see some of the marks in the vertebrae that remain.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Which would seem to confirm that that was, indeed, the case.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- Extraordinary that it's survived so long.- It really is.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Another fascinating thing you might have noticed about the head, Michael,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- is that there are no teeth.- Hmm.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30And, now, the story is that a verger, a couple of hundred years ago or so,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34decided that it would be a good idea to sell the teeth.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38And the story goes on that he sold hundreds of them.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40So, poor Simon introduced the poll tax and lost his head.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I must say, as Minister of the poll tax, I very nearly lost mine.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- There's a lesson here.- There is.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49- And we hope that politicians in the future will definitely learn it.- Hmm.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The Victorians loved this gory story
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and came in their battalions to see Simon de Sudbury's head.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Before television deadened our sensibilities,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04this site must have set the imagination racing.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10Another popular haunt for the Victorians with Bradshaw's in hand
0:07:10 > 0:07:14is my next destination, the town of Maldon in Essex.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35This is Marks Tey, where I have to change trains.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39The railways allowed Victorians to breathe fresh air,
0:07:39 > 0:07:44glimpse the sea, study their past and improve their education.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Trains also allowed Victorians to be thrilled and titillated,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55brightening up lives that, otherwise,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57offered too few opportunities for merriment.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I'm on my way to Witham station to go to Maldon,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18which my Bradshaw's tells me,
0:08:18 > 0:08:23"carried on a great coasting and considerable trade."
0:08:23 > 0:08:25But that wasn't the main attraction
0:08:25 > 0:08:29for Victorian sensation-seeking sightseers.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37TANNOY: This is Witham.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41As Bradshaw puts it,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45"Here, Mr Bright, the fat man of Maldon, lived and died.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50"Aged only 28 years, but weighing 44 stone.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54"And it is stated that seven men could be buttoned
0:08:54 > 0:08:55"into his waistcoat."
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Now, that does make Maldon worth a visit.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06I'm meeting local historian Stephen Nunn outside Mr Bright's house.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- Stephen, hello.- Hello, Michael, nice to meet you.- And to meet you.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14My Bradshaw's guide tells me about the fat man of Maldon, a Mr Bright.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16- Who was he?- He was a local lad, Edward Bright.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19He was born here in Maldon in 1721
0:09:19 > 0:09:21and it was obvious, from an early age,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23that he was going to be a big, big lad.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24That's interesting.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27He was the previous century to my Bradshaw's guide.
0:09:27 > 0:09:28He was, actually, yes.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32So, the Victorian railway tourist following his Bradshaw's guide,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35comes here to find out about a man who died 100 years before,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Edward Bright. Extraordinary.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39But he was famous. There were engravings of him.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44He was a well-known character. They came here on the railway.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46They came to look at his house.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48They had a look at his tomb in All Saints' Church.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51And he died in his bed in 1750.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54The trouble is they had a problem trying to get him down
0:09:54 > 0:09:58from his bedroom to take him to be buried.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02So, they had to demolish parts of the staircase and parts of a wall
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and then use a block and tackle and put him on a cart
0:10:05 > 0:10:06and take him up to All Saints' Church.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10There's one more twist in Edward Bright's tale.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Barely a month after his death,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15a wager was laid in a local pub that so big was he,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19seven men could squeeze themselves inside one of his waistcoats.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Hence, folklore and my Bradshaw's has it,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26that seven fine fellows successfully accommodated themselves
0:10:26 > 0:10:29within Edward Bright's ample garment.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Victorian tourists could still view the waistcoat on their tour.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Sadly, it's disappeared.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38But I can still test the plausibility of the tale.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43- This is an exact replica of Edward Bright's waistcoat.- Good Lord.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Shall we put this to the test? You want to get in there?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Anyone like to come in here?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52We've got to try to get seven people in this waistcoat. Yeah, come on.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53See if we can get seven inside. In you pop.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57- There we go.- All right. - Bags you're on our team.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01How many have we got?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- Seven.- Seven.- We've got seven. Right, let's try and close it up.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- Aaah.- Gosh.- Oooh.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- What do you think, Stephen? - I think we're just about there.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Just about there. Just about there.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Before I leave Maldon,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20there's a piece of railway architecture
0:11:20 > 0:11:22I've been told I mustn't miss.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25This is Maldon East station, where I could have arrived
0:11:25 > 0:11:29had it not been axed in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Rather like my beheaded friend Simon de Sudbury,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35the station has a cautionary political tale to tell.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39This magnificent station owes a lot to a would-be politician
0:11:39 > 0:11:42called David Waddington, who, anxious to get elected
0:11:42 > 0:11:44to Parliament, built the station.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47And, of course, the workmen were very likely to vote for him.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51It's a great result and it must have cost a fortune.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I wonder whether it was worth it in the long term?
0:11:54 > 0:11:55David, did no-one ever tell you?
0:11:55 > 0:11:59All political careers end in tears.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05It's a shame I can't hop on the train at Maldon East,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09but I leave this sadly abandoned station to return to Witham,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12to catch the train a few miles to Kelvedon,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14where I'm spending the night.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37For my night's rest, I have turned, as ever, to Bradshaw's.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41"In the vicinity is Layer Marney, with the old brick gate.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44"Property of Quintin Dick Esquire."
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I'll stay overnight at this sumptuous Tudor tower
0:12:56 > 0:12:57and manor house.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Built in 1520, during the reign of Henry VIII,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03by Henry 1st Lord Marney.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- The owner is now Nick Charrington. - Good to see you.- Great to see you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- Fantastic.- I'm amazed by the house.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I mean, it's like a Tudor skyscraper, isn't it?
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And I think it is the tallest of all the Tudor Gatehouses,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and it's a sort of statement building.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22Henry Marney letting everybody know that he's rich, he's powerful
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and this is, you know, his, it reflects him, as it were.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- Come and have a look.- Thank you.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32To help with the upkeep of the house,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Nick hosts all manner of events.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Including weddings, one of which is in full swing.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- Congratulations.- Thank you very much.- My name's Michael Portillo.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- Hello.- Well done. What a wonderful place to get married.- It's lovely.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- Yeah.- And what a day you've chosen! - We've had a wonderful day.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- It's been absolutely beautiful.- It's about to go wild with the dancing.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52- Yes.- Yes.- Yes.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55I believe that a Victorian owner of Layer Marney
0:13:55 > 0:14:00was involved in an MP's expenses scandal, which has a modern ring.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04My Bradshaw's tells me that Quintin Dick lived here. Who was he?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Well, he was the MP for Maldon, but his chief claim to fame, really,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11is the sheer amount of money he spent buying his seat.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13But he was one of the more crooked MPs.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I think he makes today's trouble look pretty minor.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18In the first election which, actually, he lost,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21he and his, well, the person he was standing against,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- between them spent over £30,000... - Amazing.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28..on food, drink and a bit of travel to get everybody in.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31And he then won two subsequent elections.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Again, 30,000 bought those two for him.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35You haven't told me what party he was,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- but I fear I may be able to guess. - Conservative.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44So, another salutary tale of a political miscreant
0:14:44 > 0:14:47brings me to the end of a wonderful day.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Victorian railway travellers might have had cause
0:14:50 > 0:14:52to shake their heads and tut.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55But I feel the force of these stories more personally.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59I retire amused, but also chastened by what I've learnt today.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09On a new day, I'm still thinking
0:15:09 > 0:15:14how much pleasure Victorian tourists gained when, for the first time,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18they could travel the length and breadth of the country just for fun.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25But a still bigger impact of a comprehensive railway
0:15:25 > 0:15:27was the growth of industry and of towns.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30As the concentrations of population increased,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32so too did the demand for food production.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39I'm now on my way to Chelmsford, which my Bradshaw's tells me
0:15:39 > 0:15:43has a population of 5,513, very precisely.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47"The town contains a Shire Hall and County Room
0:15:47 > 0:15:49"with basement for Corn Exchange,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"in which it carries on a large trade."
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Now, I've often heard of Corn Exchanges, but never thought much
0:15:55 > 0:15:59about why they were buying and selling the cereals.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16So, to find out more, what better to do than to visit a flour mill?
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Chelmsford's surviving flour mill was established in 1824,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30when windmills and watermills used the force of nature
0:16:30 > 0:16:32to grind the grain.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35But the Industrial Revolution harnessed steam power
0:16:35 > 0:16:38to drive the milling stones. And, no longer dependent on
0:16:38 > 0:16:42the whims of wind or water, flour production increased greatly.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Chelmer Mill flourished and is still producing today.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Hannah Marriage is the latest generation of the family
0:16:50 > 0:16:51to join the company.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I love your Victorian building and I noticed, as I came in,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58that it says you've been in business since 1824.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Yes, that's right.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- We've only actually been on this site since 1899.- Only.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Only. Yes. Well, it was founded by my great-great-great grandfather
0:17:07 > 0:17:09- and his twin brother.- And why did you come here in 1899?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12The land that we purchased was close to the railway line
0:17:12 > 0:17:14so that we could have our own railway siding.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16And the railway sidings then were, obviously,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18to take your product away, I suppose?
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Yeah, mainly in terms of bringing coal in,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23because it was a steam-powered mill.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26So, the coal could be transported far more effectively by rail
0:17:26 > 0:17:28rather than by water.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31But we also had flour going up to London by train.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Now, my Bradshaw's mentions the Corn Exchange in Chelmsford,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- did your family make use of that? - Yeah, they did.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39My grandfather and his generation used to go down there
0:17:39 > 0:17:40on a weekly basis.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It was the place where the farmers and millers
0:17:43 > 0:17:46and merchants would all meet to buy and sell cereals.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49I think it was quite a good place for them to go and have a catch up
0:17:49 > 0:17:51and a chat and chew things over as well.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Now, although this is a very historic site,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55I gather you're also, sort of, bang up-to-date.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Our mill's quite unique, actually,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59we've got a real mix of the old-fashioned, like, we've got
0:17:59 > 0:18:02100-year-old French burrstones to make the stoneground wholemeal flour.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Then we've got some really high-tech things.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08We've got a computer system running the mill.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11And we've got really whizzy machinery sorting the wheat by colour
0:18:11 > 0:18:13and all sorts of other things.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14So, it's quite an interesting mix.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- You're whetting my appetite. May we take a look?- Of course.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- Thank you.- Come this way.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Hannah's taking me into the workings of the mill, where I'm going to
0:18:22 > 0:18:27attempt to make flour as Victorians did and then bake myself a loaf.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32- What are these wooden cases? - These house our French burrstones.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37- We've got a set of five of these in this room.- Burrstones?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Burrstone, yes, it's from a region in northern France.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41The stones are what we use to mill
0:18:41 > 0:18:44traditional stoneground wholemeal flour.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46So, this is just like in the Bible?
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- Two great big stones grinding. - Grinding together, yeah.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53And you can see, behind you, Simon's actually dressing the stones.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56When the business was founded,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59all the grinding was done on stones such as these.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Just as in the 19th century, every couple of months,
0:19:02 > 0:19:08the worn-down grooves have to be re-cut by an experienced miller.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11With the ancient burrstones now powered by electricity, rather than
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Victorian steam, I'm going to help Hannah to produce wholemeal flour.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19So, the grain is going in the top, there,
0:19:19 > 0:19:20going down through the stones.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Yeah.- And where does it come out? - If you come round here.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- It's warm.- Yeah, freshly milled. - Lovely, though.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- Now, this is used for bread-making and so on?- Yeah, exactly.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37The next stage is we take it to our baker for him to test it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40- Excellent. Take me to your bread baker.- Follow me.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Although the mills had become mechanised in Bradshaw's day,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48bakeries still languished in the dark ages.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Awful places to work, with long hours and back-breaking toil.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Bread was still kneaded in huge troughs with hands and feet.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And workers suffered innumerable lung problems
0:19:59 > 0:20:02from inhaling flour particles.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Thankfully, those days are gone and baker Kelvin Ellam is going to give
0:20:06 > 0:20:10me a crash course in bread-making in a clean and safe environment.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13So, Kelvin, rather ominously, you've put two bowls out here.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15This looks like I'm going to have to do something.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- What's the technique, then?- Now for the messy part, unfortunately.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- OK, so, just run your fingers around.- Hmm-mm.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- So, this is called, what, kneading, is it?- Kneading, yes.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28- So, the strong-arm stuff comes later, does it?- It does, yes.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Well, actually, it's going to come now. So...
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Hmm, quite pleased with that. A clean bowl.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36What you're doing is you're really working it now
0:20:36 > 0:20:38so that you're developing all the glutens.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42- Just like that?- Just like that. - Right, just like that.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45And you should put quite a lot of effort into this, shouldn't you?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Give it quite a lot of power. How do you know when you've done enough?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It takes about ten minutes. You would really want to work it for
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- eight to ten minutes.- Ten minutes?! - Yes.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- I'm enjoying this. - I thought you might.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Hmm, doesn't quite look as smooth as yours.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Just stick those bits in there, no-one will notice.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06Finally, it's time to taste some handmade bread at its finest.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Don't they look magnificent?
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- Mmm, that's delicious. It's so homely, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17I really KNEADED that.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23I thoroughly enjoyed this slice of Victorian life.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25But as I leave the mill, the heavens open.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30Just as I'm about to embark on my last leg of today's journey
0:21:30 > 0:21:31to the seaside.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34The English summer.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55So, I'm on my way to Southend-on-Sea, which,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59according to my Bradshaw's, "has a pier a mile and a quarter long,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02"which has been laid for the accommodation of passengers
0:22:02 > 0:22:04"arriving by steamer."
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Well, I remember this pier from my childhood holidays.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11And what Bradshaw's doesn't mention is that it has a train!
0:22:19 > 0:22:22The growth of the seaside resort began in the Railway Age,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25as it made access cheaper and quicker.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30This initially benefited only the middle classes.
0:22:30 > 0:22:31But, by the late 19th century,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34the bigger Victorian resorts, like Southend,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39catered for the rapidly expanding working class holiday market.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50The name of the station is Southend Victoria.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55Which, of course, underlines how popular this was in Victorian times.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- Water coming through the roof a bit today, is it?- Absolutely.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Welcome to sunny Southend-on-Sea.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- It's a lovely station, congratulations.- It's beautiful.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08There's a lot of really old Victorian structure here that's really nice.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13- Do you ever have time to stand and admire it?- Nightshift, mostly.- Yeah?
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Time to walk around when it's nice and quiet,
0:23:15 > 0:23:16and feel all the ghosts, you know?
0:23:27 > 0:23:31Southend has been a holiday destination since the 18th century
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and no self-respecting resort could grow up without a pier.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Amazingly, at nearly one-and-a-half miles in length,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Southend has the longest pleasure pier in the world.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Complete with its own railway.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Now, this is a very special moment for me, because I remember
0:23:56 > 0:24:01the excitement I felt travelling on this train when I was a child.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03The rolling stock was different then.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I remember that it was green and cream.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And, for some reason, I remember the noise.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13It used to go da-dum da-dum da-dum.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18And the excitement of travelling on the world's longest pier.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20My driver today is Ian Peel.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24- Hello.- Hello, Michael. - I've come to join you.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26TRAIN HOOTS
0:24:31 > 0:24:34This is a great thrill for me, cos I used to come here as a child.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I've never been in the cab before.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38But it just is a very special pier and a very special railway,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- isn't it? - It certainly is, yes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Lots of people come here to walk along the pier
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and to ride along the pier.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49There's an obvious reason why Southend has such a long pier.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53At low tide, the deep sea is over a mile from the beach.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Large boats couldn't disgorge their hordes of Victorian tourists.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02And Margate, across the estuary, was pulling in the visitors.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Local dignitaries took action and, by 1848, a wooden structure
0:25:06 > 0:25:10of 7,000 feet was already the longest pier in Europe.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15By the end of the 19th century, a new cast-iron pier,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18essentially the one we see today, had been constructed,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and one of the world's first electric railways opened in 1890.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27This noise, I kind of remember. The da-duh, da-duh.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Why does it make that noise?
0:25:28 > 0:25:34It's because we're going over rails that are joined with fishplates
0:25:34 > 0:25:36- and there's a gap between each one. - Ah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39On modern trains, the railways, you'll find, they're all welded
0:25:39 > 0:25:41and that's why you don't get that noise.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45But, uniquely, on here, we get that da-duh, da-duh, da-duh all the time.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47How long does it take us to do the trip normally?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Normally about eight to ten minutes.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51We're coming up, as you can see,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54to what we call the loop, which is the passing place.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Southend Pier has, against the odds, survived arson,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05electrical fires and even boats ramming its structure.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09So many seaside towns have lost their piers, it's such a shame.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12They've been burnt down or they've been abandoned.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15But this one, I mean, the big daddy of them all, it goes on, doesn't it?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It certainly does. People love it. People love to walk up and down here.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22And the Victorians, of course, were going to the end of the pier
0:26:22 > 0:26:26to get their steamers to go on their pleasure cruises.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28And, even those who couldn't afford the steamers,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30they would have been walking out here.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32They would have had the sensation of being at sea,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36- even if they couldn't afford to go to sea.- That's exactly it, yes.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38We used to come as day trippers as kids.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42And, of course, if you got the tide wrong, you had to walk just,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45well, you know, getting on for a mile just to get a bathe in the sea.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Yup, yeah.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50I mean, today, we've had two boats in that have taken day trippers off.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- Have you?- Yes, yes.- Oh, I didn't know you still have boats.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54That's great.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04This pier is charming, even in the rain.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07I mean, look at the lovely reflections and look at the light.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08I'm going to take a wander.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The Victorians loved to promenade on piers.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19And, you can imagine, even on a damp day like today,
0:27:19 > 0:27:24people parading, wanting to see and to be seen dressed in their finest.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29In a fairground setting of Punch and Judy shows, whelk stands
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and ice-cream carts jostling for trade,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35it must have been a glorious sight.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Coming to Southend has made me nostalgic,
0:27:38 > 0:27:43not only for my own childhood, but also for Bradshaw's times.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Because the Victorians invented the seaside holiday
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and bequeathed it to us.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51And another part of their legacy is this magnificent pier.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58When I continue my journey, I'll be finding out
0:27:58 > 0:28:03how dairy herds travelled the length and breadth of Britain first class.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06The cow also decided to urinate on me, but that's all right.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Discovering the secret location that armed Britain's empire-building.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14- That is the sound of black powder in the 19th century.- Brilliant noise.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16From the Crimea to the Indian Mutiny.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19And hearing of a heinous crime
0:28:19 > 0:28:23that shook Victorian's faith in railway travel.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26What they discovered on Hackney Station was
0:28:26 > 0:28:30an empty, first-class carriage absolutely besmeared with blood.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:40 > 0:28:43E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk