0:00:05 > 0:00:08In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:08 > 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 > 0:00:24what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02I'm now completing my journey from north Norfolk to the heart of London.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08My Bradshaw's enthuses that "the sight of our gigantic metropolis is
0:01:08 > 0:01:13"the very best that could have been selected for commercial purposes, as it enabled us,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18"by means of the Thames, to carry on a water communication with every part of the globe,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22"and not even the development of the railway system in England
0:01:22 > 0:01:24"has lessened this advantage."
0:01:24 > 0:01:26And it might have added
0:01:26 > 0:01:31that we also created the greatest financial centre that the world had ever seen.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35On my final leg of this journey,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I'll be taking a ride on a secret miniature railway.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Wow.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I'll never complain about The Tube again, this is quite small, isn't it?
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Tolling alongside the good burghers of Bow.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Try not to look up, you will get dust in your eyes.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55And confusing hapless commuters at Fenchurch Street.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Westcliffe.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59'Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness.'
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Oh, I left out the time at the beginning, didn't I? I left out the time.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Starting on the east coast,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10this journey has taken me through Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex
0:02:10 > 0:02:11on the Great Eastern Railway
0:02:11 > 0:02:13which, in Bradshaw's day, opened up
0:02:13 > 0:02:16difficult terrain and allowed trade to flourish.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Now, I am headed to the very centre of money itself, the City of London.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26My last stretch begins in the east of the city, at Fenchurch Street,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and takes me along the north bank of the Thames,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31ending on The Embankment.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39The development of our railway system required not only engineers,
0:02:39 > 0:02:44but also entrepreneurs, men willing to invest their own money
0:02:44 > 0:02:50and, more importantly, to persuade others also to risk their shirts.
0:02:52 > 0:02:58I'm arriving at Fenchurch Street, the smallest of the great London city terminals.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04Initially constructed in 1841, to bring city workers to the financial heart of London,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08it was the first station built inside the City of London.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11As the numbers commuting into the city increased vastly in Victorian times,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15it was also used by the Great Eastern Railway
0:03:15 > 0:03:19as an overflow terminus for Liverpool Street.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23From here, I am taking the District line underground, one stop to Monument,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26to the heart of the financial district.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It is difficult to believe that
0:03:28 > 0:03:31when the District line was first built, it used steam locomotives.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Imagine them belching smoke underground.
0:03:34 > 0:03:42Ever since it was built, in 1868, it's been distributing commuters to the counting houses of the city.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Now, the District line carries 700,000 passengers a day.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I've often used the District line to travel from the political centre in the west
0:03:56 > 0:04:00to the financial centre in the east, but whether there's more power in Westminster
0:04:00 > 0:04:07or in the city, I leave it to you to judge.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09'The next station is Monument.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:16In the 1800s, the financial heartland of the city witnessed a dramatic boom and bust.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20In the huge surge in railway construction, some made fortunes,
0:04:20 > 0:04:26but others lost all they had in a flurry of speculation dubbed "railway mania."
0:04:26 > 0:04:29My destination is the Royal Exchange,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33founded back in 1565 as a centre of commerce for the city,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37where I hope to discover more from Professor David Kynaston.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40The magnificent Royal Exchange building which, apparently,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42in Bradshaw's time, had been newly rebuilt.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Yes, that's right.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47The old Royal Exchange was burned down in 1838
0:04:47 > 0:04:49and this went up six years later.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51A very striking, handsome building
0:04:51 > 0:04:53in the city that was still relatively small-scale,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55no high rise, this was a major building.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Give me an impression of the mid-19th-century city.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01A fantastically bustling place, vigorous place,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03fortunes being made, fortunes being lost.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And of global importance?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Absolutely, poised by the mid-19th century, to become, arguably,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12the world's most important financial and commercial centre
0:05:12 > 0:05:14the world perhaps has ever seen.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18While the Royal Exchange concentrated on trading goods,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23the temple to speculation, the Stock Exchange, dealt in financial stocks and shares,
0:05:23 > 0:05:28providing oxygen and fire for the railways' boom.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30And on the Stock Exchange in the mid-19th century,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33the most important share issues are railways.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Absolutely, it was astonishing, the railway mania of the 1840s.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Up to that point, the stock market had really grown out of British government securities.
0:05:41 > 0:05:441840, for the railway mania, was something quite different
0:05:44 > 0:05:48and, of course, established a permanent railway market in the Stock Exchange.
0:05:48 > 0:05:54No fewer than 240 Parliamentary bills to set up new railway companies and routes
0:05:54 > 0:05:58were proposed in 1845 alone.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Railways were promoted as a foolproof way to make money
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and almost everyone who could rushed in.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09As shares in the pioneer companies soared, ever more speculators poured in their money.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Give me an idea of who got caught up in this...what you call mania.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16All sorts of people, people of eminent respectability,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19curates, widows, and so on.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Even the Bronte sisters got caught up a little bit in it.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Many railway lines were built and the public, for a time, did well out of it.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29But also, many fraudulent railway companies were launched on an unsuspecting public.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Just as with the dotcom boom of the 1990s, inevitably,
0:06:34 > 0:06:35there was a price to pay.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Many of the railways were never built,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41as the impracticality of proposed routes became clear
0:06:41 > 0:06:46and companies collapsed, taking many families' life savings with them.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50How bad was the crash, when it came?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53It was a pretty bad crash and it affected the big operators,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56the big players, as well as the small people.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59And there was a herd instinct at play, which is often so powerful in markets
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and, arguably, in society generally.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06And that, I think, is what happened. And left an amazing legacy.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I mean, money was lost, of course, through ill-advised speculation,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13but the permanent legacy was the Victorian railway infrastructure.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17The Victorian railway mania and subsequent boom and bust
0:07:17 > 0:07:19were clearly disastrous for some.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But had there not been such investment,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26we wouldn't have the astonishing railway system that exists today.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29And in the heart of the city, surrounded by the huge financial institutions of our age,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32the Stock Exchange, the Bank Of England,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36I've often wondered, what place morality?
0:07:36 > 0:07:40So, where better to go than to that beacon of spirituality,
0:07:40 > 0:07:45the most famous church serving the commercial district?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I am now headed for what my Bradshaw's describes as
0:07:48 > 0:07:51"one of the masterpieces of Sir Christopher Wren."
0:07:51 > 0:07:56St Mary-le-Bow church, which is esteemed to be situated in the heart of the City of London,
0:07:56 > 0:08:03and all persons born within the sound of its bells are vulgarly designated Cockneys.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Now, I was born about 15 miles away,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10too far to hear those bells.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Bradshaw seems rather shocked that anyone should have the misfortune to be termed a Cockney,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18but I wonder whether, in the 21st century,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21anyone knows what defines a Cockney.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- Are you a Cockney? - I'm not a Cockney, I'm sorry.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Do you know what the definition of a Cockney is?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30I believe born within a mile of the sound of Bow Bells.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- And do you know where Bow Bells are? - In the East End of London somewhere.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- Ha!- Really?- They are here.- OK.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I've just made a fool of myself in front of people with a camera.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- No, no, you didn't make a fool of yourself.- Excellent.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- Excuse me, sir, are you a Cockney? - Yes, Cockney, yes.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50You are, great. So, what is the definition of a Cockney?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Born within the Bow Bells.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Yeah, within the sound of Bow Bells.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- I was born just up the road, City Road.- Wow.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- So I was in the mile, yeah.- Are you proud to be a Cockney?- Oh, yeah.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Are you still a kind of fraternity of Cockneys,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06do you still kind of recognise each other?
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Yeah, there's still a few of us about.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12And what about the rhyming slang, as well, do you ever use that?
0:09:12 > 0:09:17Yeah, a monkey is 500 quid, a pony is 25 quid, a cock and hen is a tenner.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19And what about apple and stairs?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Apple and pears, up the stairs. Frog and toad, all sorts.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Is St Mary-le-Bow special for Cockneys?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- I don't think many people actually know where it is.- Yes.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Most people seem to think if you're born within the sound of Bow Bells,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33it's literally in East London.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36It's actually in Cheapside, so, a lot of people get a bit mixed up
0:09:36 > 0:09:39seeing the East Enders and Cockneys, but really, it's like North London.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Today, St Mary-le-Bow is the parish church of the city.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49People who work in the financial district come to worship in their lunch hour
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and services are held during the week, and not at weekends,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55to meet the demands of the business community.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The Rev George Bush is the rector. Father George.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Good to see you.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Good to be here at St Mary-le-Bow,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05I suppose one of London's most famous churches.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Indeed, yes, there's been a church on this site since 1080.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It was built at the command of the Conqueror's Archbishop to impress,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18probably on the Saxons who were living around,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21that not only the King was here to stay, but the Norman church was as well.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24And that was the church that was destroyed in the Great Fire Of London?
0:10:24 > 0:10:26That was the church destroyed then, yes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27According to my Bradshaw's,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30this church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35Yes, after the fire, the tower of St Mary-le-Bow was
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Christopher Wren's second most ambitious project,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43and second most expensive project after St Paul's Cathedral.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Bow Bells are probably the most famous in the world
0:10:46 > 0:10:51and, for hundreds of years, have been woven into the folklore of the City of London.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Legend has it that they called Dick Whittington back to London to become Lord Mayor.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59They were also rung from the 14th century onwards
0:10:59 > 0:11:01at nine each evening,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04marking the end of an apprentice's working day.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Because it was in the centre of the city, that sounding of the bell
0:11:08 > 0:11:11was then taken up at the gates and it became, as it were,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14a sort of curfew bell and the gates were closed.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Not to you and me coming and going, but to traffic coming through,
0:11:16 > 0:11:22providing a measure of quietude and a measure of peace at night.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24What happened to the church in World War II?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27The very last night of the Blitz,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30which was also the worst night of the Blitz for the City of London,
0:11:30 > 0:11:3210th May 1941,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36the church was almost completely destroyed by incendiary devices.
0:11:36 > 0:11:42There was nothing other than these four walls of this current building here.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47The tower became a furnace, and after the war, the church had to be taken down in stages
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and then it was rebuilt in concrete.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Although, of course, the exterior stonework of Wren was then replaced.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56So, you see it pretty much as Wren knew it
0:11:56 > 0:11:59but, in fact, it's built of something rather more modern.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Were the famous bells destroyed in World War II?
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Yes, they came crashing to the ground.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I think some of the bell metal may have been rescued
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and may be in some of the bells that are there now.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16A recording of the bells, made in 1926, was used throughout the Second World War
0:12:16 > 0:12:18on the BBC's World Service,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22a sound of liberty and hope for the people of Europe.
0:12:22 > 0:12:28After perishing in the Blitz, the 12 bells were recast at the Whitechapel Bell foundry
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and the full peal was rung for the first time in 1961.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35BELLS RING
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Today, the Bells of Bow are rung frequently
0:12:39 > 0:12:43by a group of bell ringers living in or near the city.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45The steeple keeper is Simon Meyer.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- Simon, great to see you.- And you.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13BELL TOLLS
0:13:13 > 0:13:14Is that the great bell of Bow?
0:13:14 > 0:13:18That was the great bell of Bow, yes, they didn't quite all stop at the end.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21So, I mean, these bells are relatively new, aren't they?
0:13:21 > 0:13:23- They are post-Second World War? - That's right.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Do they sound as good as the old ones?
0:13:25 > 0:13:31Well, the old ones were a very special ring, by Gilletts, and they were 1933.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35But they were lost in the war, and they were a very sad ring to lose in the war,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38because everyone felt that they were absolutely wonderful bells.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41These are very special as well, because they're a modern ring of bells,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45they've got the modern tuning and also the metals that we have in the bells.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49People understand much more about the right alloys to use.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50So, they have got a lovely resonance
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and they're a great voice of London.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Novices are rarely allowed to go near these national treasures,
0:13:57 > 0:14:03but Simon's very kindly allowed me to participate in a Bow Peal, under his firm guidance.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Pull it straight back down.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Doesn't actually take much pulling.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13So, no ritual humiliation.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Try not to look up, you'll get dust in your eyes. It doesn't help.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I feel, Simon, you are doing all the work.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Let me have a go on my own.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22OK.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30A bit slow that time.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33A little bit too slow, yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Would you like to have a go with a few people ringing round you?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Oh, what fun, yes.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44BELLS RING
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- Brilliant.- Congratulations. - Gosh, that was fun.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03This is not easy, I can tell you.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06That is one of those really traditional English sort of folk arts,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08but it does take time to get the skill.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10When I came up here, I thought, "Why do these people do it?"
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Then as soon as I joined in, I found out why you do it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- It's wonderful teamwork, isn't it? - It is wonderful.- Terrific.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18Thank you all very much indeed.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23I find it strangely comforting to know that despite everything,
0:15:23 > 0:15:28wars, railway mania and boom and bust, Bow Bells have consistently proclaimed
0:15:28 > 0:15:32the church's presence in the heart of the City of London.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Before I find my bed for the night, I'm popping back to Fenchurch Street
0:15:36 > 0:15:40to meet a very special person who has just come on shift.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47One of the nice things about Fenchurch Street Station is
0:15:47 > 0:15:51that the announcements are made by a human voice, not by an automated system.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55And I believe that the lady who does it recently won the MBE,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and I'd like to put the face to the voice.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04'Calling at Limehouse, West Ham, Barking, Upminster...'
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Thank you very much.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10I'm meeting Sue Gibbs, tucked away in her cubby hole just off the concourse.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14'..East Tilbury and Stanford-le-Hope.'
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Hello, it's Sue, isn't it?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Hello, it is.- I'm Michael, how lovely to see you.- And you.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Do you think that passengers appreciate having a human voice?
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I think they do, it's more personal, it's something they're used to every day.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Because the thing with the automated ones is that the tones are always wrong, aren't they?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33They are always sort of leaping up and down. "The train now on platform...four!"
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- Occasionally, yes. - But in Bradshaw's day,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39there was no Sue and her dulcet tones.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42No digital displays, just a simple board
0:16:42 > 0:16:47and a bell that was rung five minutes before a train was due to depart.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Quite often, novice travellers were thrown into utter confusion,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and chaos reigned as they ran hell for leather along the platform,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57tumbling over everything and everybody,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01in their eagerness to catch a train which they believed was about to leave without them.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Could I have a go? - Of course you could.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I'd find it really thrilling.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- I will have to put my specs on. - Of course.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13You have to keep your finger on the press-to-talk button after you've done that.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16There's a ding dong first.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20The next train from platform one...
0:17:20 > 0:17:22'is the semi-fast service to Shoeburyness,
0:17:22 > 0:17:28'calling at West Ham, Barking, Upminster, Laindon, Basildon,'
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell, Westcliff,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35'Southend East, Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness.'
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Ooh, I left out the time at the beginning, didn't I?
0:17:38 > 0:17:39- I left out the time. - No, that's fine.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I'm sure they'd give you a job, if you ever needed one.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Well, I might well, you know!
0:17:46 > 0:17:51Hopefully, my announcements haven't befuddled the commuters too much.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56And now, after a glorious day,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00it's time to head for my hotel right here in the city.
0:18:01 > 0:18:08Bradshaw's says that "the metropolis contains the largest mass of human life, arts, science, wealth,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13"power and architectural splendour that exists."
0:18:13 > 0:18:19Where better to find a hotel than in a wonderful former bank building in Threadneedle Street?
0:18:20 > 0:18:24I love the thought that today, I can still walk into the building
0:18:24 > 0:18:28that housed the London City and Midland Banks headquarters,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33just as the Victorian railway wheelers and dealers would have done in the 19th century.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Manager Julian Payne is waiting to greet me
0:18:36 > 0:18:39in this magnificent banking hall.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42This was clearly once a bank. When does it date back to?
0:18:42 > 0:18:48- It goes back to 1856. It used to be City Bank.- As in London City Bank?
0:18:48 > 0:18:50As in Bank of the City Of London.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54And that's replicated in the glass dome which we have up here. CB.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00And it is a 120 hand-painted glass panel dome.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02What a great survivor, isn't it?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It is, well, it survived two world wars. So, still here.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08That's amazing.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Any other signs around the hotel that it was a bank?
0:19:11 > 0:19:16- Yes, if you'd like to follow me in the bar, I can show you something else.- Thank you.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22This was the original banking counter, which is now the bar counter.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24This was in the main lobby. Beautiful.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26I can completely imagine that.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31A fine old carved bank counter. I love all the ironwork on your window. What's the story of that?
0:19:31 > 0:19:34That was an outstanding creditor to the bank.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36He went into administration
0:19:36 > 0:19:41and then, to pay off his debts, he donated the cast iron to the bank.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43So, we have prepared something very special for you.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46I hear you might be partial to a spot of whisky.
0:19:46 > 0:19:52So Brian, our head barman, has concocted the Bradshaw cocktail. Enjoy.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54- The Bradshaw?- The Bradshaw.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59A cocktail named after George. Cheers, Julian, thank you very much indeed.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Most welcome.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05- How is it?- Wow!
0:20:14 > 0:20:16What a fabulous view.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Christopher Wren's gracious masterpiece, St Paul's,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21and closer by, my own personal alarm clock.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24BELL RINGS
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Woken punctually, I'm catching the Central line to Liverpool Street Station,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45the magnificent Victorian terminus for the Great Eastern Railway.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Now, I am going to visit a London railway which, as a Londoner,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I've never travelled on.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00I've never even seen a photograph of it. It's that mysterious.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05In addition to the tube and subterranean mainline services,
0:21:05 > 0:21:10London is home to another railway whose existence few even know of.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Deep under the hustle and bustle of London's streets, a unique electric train system
0:21:14 > 0:21:19winds inbetween the underground network.
0:21:19 > 0:21:20The rail mail,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23a secret system of tunnels, railway lines and platforms,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26was built by the Post Office for one very special reason,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29to deliver the capital's post.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I've been granted access to this private world,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35deep in the bowels of the Earth.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37It's just like a miniature Tube line, isn't it?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Narrow gauge, but obviously electrified.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45It's always a very special moment for me, I must say, walking along an electric railway line.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50'Curator of the British Postal Museum and Archive, Chris Taft is my guide.'
0:21:50 > 0:21:53What's the history of underground railways and the Post Office?
0:21:53 > 0:21:56The origin of the underground railway and the Post Office connection
0:21:56 > 0:21:59goes back to the 1860s, to 1861, in fact.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02They trialled the idea of using airpower to push,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05like a giant peashooter, pushing these cars and rails through tunnels
0:22:05 > 0:22:07to move mail between stations.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10It did the job they wanted it to do,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12it was able to move the mail underground.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14It bewilders me that the Victorians devised
0:22:14 > 0:22:17such an advanced technology.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Literally to blow and suck trains of post and parcels
0:22:20 > 0:22:24through tunnels at a speed of 30 mph.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Despite that astonishing triumph of Victorian engineering,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32the Post Office was never enthusiastic and the scheme folded.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36But two events coincided which forced the Royal Mail to think again.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39The growth in Britain's postal traffic,
0:22:39 > 0:22:45a staggering 5.9 billion items annually by the eve of the First World War.
0:22:45 > 0:22:51And a need to avoid London's congested streets, where vehicles were moving at just 10mph.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53So, work started again,
0:22:53 > 0:22:58on a railway system 21 metres below the surface, which opened in 1928.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It ran from East London, from the Eastern District Office, through
0:23:03 > 0:23:06to an office and railway station at Paddington in West London.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09So 6.5 miles, and there's something like 22 miles of track.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12Presumably, it carried a lot of mail?
0:23:12 > 0:23:16It did, at its peak, it was operating 22 hours a day, operating every day.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It operated continually throughout the Second World War as well.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23So the volumes of mail were huge that were being transported by the network.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Amazingly, this system ran until 2003,
0:23:25 > 0:23:30carrying 30,000 mailbags per day at its peak.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34It took 26 minutes to travel seven miles under the streets of London,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37stopping for a minute at each station.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40OK, Michael, I'm going to introduce you to Ray,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42one of the engineers.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46- Hello.- Hello, Ray. At last, we come across a train.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47Yes, this is one of our 1930s trains.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50There are two trains coupled together here.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52These can hold four containers of mail,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and there are two DC motors on either end.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Where was the driver?
0:23:56 > 0:24:01There was no driver, it was fully automatic, controlled by relays in a room under the platform.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03That absolutely amazes me,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06that a system introduced in the 1920s had driverless trains.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Very advanced.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11It was, it was the first automatic mail railway.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- When did it close? - It closed in 2003.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Now, that's remarkable, isn't it?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I expect many people don't know this railway exists
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and certainly would be surprised to know it was operating until 2003.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24It's really quite a secret railway, isn't it?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Yes, it was sort of called, amongst our own people,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29one of the best kept secrets of the Royal Mail.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Indeed, I think London's best kept secret, probably.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Many people know about The Tube itself, the classic Tube,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and other railway lines, but not this one.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43The advent of the Internet and e-mail sounded the death knell for the mail rail,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47as far fewer items are now sent by traditional post.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Now all the mail in London is transported by road.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56The majority of the system no longer works, but I have the unique chance to experience,
0:24:56 > 0:25:01just for one moment, what it was like to be a parcel on the mail rail.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Wow! I'll never complain about The Tube again.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11This is quite small, isn't it?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30I keep thinking it's a waste not to use this line.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33That it ought to be brought back into service. But, let's face it,
0:25:33 > 0:25:38with these dimensions, it's not going to catch on with passengers, is it?
0:25:47 > 0:25:51I'm coming to the end of this journey on the Great Eastern Railway
0:25:51 > 0:25:54having passed through, and indeed under the City of London,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58my last destination is very significant to Bradshaw's,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01but not because of a reference in the guide book.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06The answer to that riddle lies underneath Cleopatra's Needle,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09on the north bank of the Thames.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13John Graves, of the Maritime Museum, will reveal all.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I suppose most Londoners don't give it a look,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19but it is actually extremely ancient, isn't it?
0:26:19 > 0:26:26It's very old, 2400 BC. And although it is called Cleopatra's Needle,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29it has nothing to do with Cleopatra at all.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34The Obelisk was already 1,000 years old by the time Cleopatra was Queen of Egypt.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I understand when they erected it, they put a time capsule in the base.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41I thought that was a 20th-century idea, I didn't realise they did it in the 19th century.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43What did they choose to put inside it?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Well, as you can see from that huge plinth up there,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49it's a big time capsule
0:26:49 > 0:26:55and it includes a set of 12 photographs of the most attractive ladies in England.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59There is also a photograph of Queen Victoria and,
0:26:59 > 0:27:04of course, there's a copy of Bradshaw's railway guide.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07And so nice for me to know that George Bradshaw resides,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10in eternity, with the 12 most beautiful women of the age.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20A 19th-century guide book has brought me through Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex
0:27:20 > 0:27:26to my home city of London and one of my favourite monuments, Cleopatra's Needle.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Here, I find, buried in the plinth,
0:27:28 > 0:27:34a copy of Bradshaw's railway guide, because the railways made 19th-century Britain
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and they were synonymous with a single name,
0:27:37 > 0:27:42the man who compiled the timetables, George Bradshaw.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48My next journey starts in Royal Windsor,
0:27:48 > 0:27:53then takes me south-west, exploring the beautiful rural counties of Hampshire and Dorset,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57on my way to the dramatic Jurassic Coast.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59What a view, what a day.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04Along the way, I'll be testing a Victorian invention that revolutionised the mail.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Learning why Victorian tourists loved the Isle of Wight.
0:28:10 > 0:28:16I have this amazing plunge down to the beach. Whoa!
0:28:16 > 0:28:18You have to have a head for heights here.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23And admiring a castle catapulted to fame by the railways.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Wow, that is fantastic.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30The most romantic ruin.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:47 > 0:28:49E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk