0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in the British Isles.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:14and his railway guides inspired
0:00:14 > 0:00:16the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23what 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 > 0:00:37and breadth of these isles to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I'm at the mid point of my journey from Buckinghamshire to Aberystwyth,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and at this point I'm going to make a small diversion,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04dragged northwards from my direct route to Wales
0:01:04 > 0:01:07by that magnet for train enthusiasts,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09the railway works at Crewe.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12On today's journey, I'll explore one of the greatest
0:01:12 > 0:01:15locomotive factories in railway history.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18The records are sketchy but they talk about 20,000 people,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20so that the size of it was immense.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Discover the dark side of the Industrial Revolution.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25The place was very heavily spoilt by pollution,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and the stench of the sewage, it was like a large cess pit.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31And learn how in Victorian times the potteries
0:01:31 > 0:01:33brought their products to the masses.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37This is incredibly difficult. This is fiendish.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44So far my journey has brought me from the rural home counties
0:01:44 > 0:01:47into the heart of the industrial Midlands.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I'll soon be heading west, through the Severn Valley,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54along its heritage railway, before venturing into Wales,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and my final stop at Aberystwyth.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Today I'm making a detour to explore Stoke-on-Trent,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05en route to the fabled railway works of Crewe,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09finishing up in the Cheshire town of Winsford.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16My Bradshaw's contain a gripping description of my first destination,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Stoke-on-Trent, at the height of the Industrial Revolution.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23"There may be seen the surrounding hills,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27"crowned with towering columns and huge pyramids of chimneys,
0:02:27 > 0:02:32"and great rounded furnaces clustering together like hives."
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Yes I'm headed for the Potteries,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37sounds like my cup of tea.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43At their Victorian peak, the six pottery towns,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46strung along the North Staffordshire Railway,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49were home to 250,000 people,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51almost all employed in the manufacture.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Those communities have since merged into modern Stoke-on-Trent,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01but the story began in Burslem, the so-called "Mother Town".
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I'm exploring with local historian, Fred Hughes.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06This is the Wedgwood Institute.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10As you can see, it rather is a magnificent building.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It's a statement, it's a picture of what the Potteries were
0:03:13 > 0:03:16in Victorian times. This is the image
0:03:16 > 0:03:20that the people of Burslem wanted to portray to the rest of the world.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24We gave birth to pottery and Josiah Wedgwood,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26the great Josiah Wedgwood, was born here,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and this is a tribute to him.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Pottery began in this area as a cottage industry,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34using the abundant local coal and clay.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Then, in the mid-18th century, Josiah Wedgwood,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40inspired by the scientific advances of his day,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43applied industrial methods for the first time.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49Over the years, thousands of bottle kilns dotted the landscape.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Bradshaw's guide gives me a very powerful description
0:03:52 > 0:03:55of the Potteries towns in the middle 19th century.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Give me an idea of what they looked like, and felt like, and smelt like.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02It was satanic, it was dark, it was dingy, it was dirty,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04you couldn't see the sky.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Grit got in your eyes all the time, people were chocking, virtually
0:04:07 > 0:04:12to death, on the smoke and the pollution coming out of these places.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Out of this inferno came some of the finest porcelain ever made.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19By the turn of the 18th century,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22delicate bone china had been developed,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and local red clay was abandoned in favour of finer white clay,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28imported from southwest England.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33At first it was brought by sea and canal, but by the mid-19th century,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35the smoke of the bottle ovens mingled
0:04:35 > 0:04:37with smoke from railway locomotives.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39The railways sped everything up.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43First of all it could carry more ware, and more clay in.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It still had to come from Cornwall, round the coast to Liverpool.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51It sped up that transportation from Liverpool into the Potteries.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56The rails also exported the finished goods across the country and beyond,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00helping the industry flourish for over a century.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The region remains an important centre for British ceramics,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07though it's a far cry from its Victorian heyday.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Electrification certainly did away with coal and smoke,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and of course the Clean Air Act,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17but I think the most important thing was the big change
0:05:17 > 0:05:19in the way other nations had come in.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I mean, we'd had our Industrial Revolution,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24we started the whole thing.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27All of a sudden other nations wanted a piece of the action,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30so they followed on where we left off.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- We led it and we lost it. - That's absolutely right.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Luckily, not every trace of the Victorian trade has disappeared.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Close at hand, the Middleport Pottery has survived virtually
0:05:41 > 0:05:45unchanged since the 19th century.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49I'm taking a tour with company historian, Jemma Baskeyfield.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Was this state of the art when built at the end of the 19th century?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Yeah, people came to visit this factory
0:05:54 > 0:05:57because it was a very cutting edge factory.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The most cutting edge factory you could wish to visit.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Today we are possibly the most backwards factory you'll ever visit,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07but, yeah, that's part of the charm, certainly.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11A few years ago, the historic buildings here had fallen
0:06:11 > 0:06:15into such disrepair that the factory was at risk of closure.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19However in 2011, the Prince of Wales's Regeneration Trust
0:06:19 > 0:06:23stepped in with ambitious plans to redevelop the site
0:06:23 > 0:06:25on behalf of the whole community.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27So this remarkable snapshot
0:06:27 > 0:06:30of the Victorian pottery industry will survive.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36So, this is the largest collection of the blocks and cases,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40master copies of moulds, left in any factory anywhere.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44We've kept all of them, and there's 15,000 plus.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Piled up, well, as high as you can see and it goes on for ever.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Yeah, in all directions.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Once of the most extraordinary sights I've ever seen.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Mass production, using moulds like these,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59helped Victorian potters to meet unprecedented demand
0:06:59 > 0:07:02from the new aspirational middle class.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05And to supply decorated products on an industrial scale,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09they embraced the art of transfer printing.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It's a way you can affordably, to a high quality,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15decorate pottery over and over again.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18And that's replacing the hand painting process
0:07:18 > 0:07:20which is what went before.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23This is the only pottery still using the method.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The pattern is printed onto sheets of tissue paper,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29before transferring the colour onto the pottery.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31These ladies are incredibly skilled.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Traditionally it takes seven years to learn how to do this job.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38So they take this sticky paper, and they've got to apply it
0:07:38 > 0:07:41to the once-fired pottery, what we call biscuitware.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44They apply the print, but they can't peel it off and put it on again,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47because it sticks, so it's first time every time.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51The colour pigment is oil-based, so when you wash these items,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53the tissue paper washes away,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and you're just left with the print on the surface of the pottery.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- I'm amazed.- Yep, well, if you'd like to have a go...
0:08:00 > 0:08:01I'll be more amazed! Ha, ha, ha!
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The transferors work with amazing speed.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Time to see how I measure up.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Try to get your hand down to the bottom
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and swing it round this side, like a cone.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17- Like a cone. Oh! - The scissors are there.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19'The trick's to minimise the creases and joins,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21'so they won't be detectable.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25'But I begin to see why it takes you seven years to perfect the art.'
0:08:25 > 0:08:27This is incredibly difficult.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- We make it look easy. - This is fiendish.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36That's better, you've got the hang of it now. That's it.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42Covering the outside is one thing, but the inside is quite another.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- Now begins the really difficult bit. - That's it.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Seven years down the line, you might be on the production line.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Oh, dear, I've got a hole.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58You can repair it, and then cut it off when you've pressed it over.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- That's it. Perfect match. - Where's the reject bin?
0:09:05 > 0:09:06We don't reject anything.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I think I'd better stop distracting the skilled transferors,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and continue my tour of Victorian Staffordshire.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18The phenomenal success of the Potteries here
0:09:18 > 0:09:21had unforeseen consequences for some,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and before I leave Stoke-on-Trent, I'm visiting a place
0:09:24 > 0:09:27which reveals the drawbacks of rapid industrial growth.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33I've come to Trentham Park, which is described in my Bradshaw's,
0:09:33 > 0:09:38as, "The Duke of Sutherland's seat on the River Trent, of great extent.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41"The old seat has been rebuilt by Sir Charles Barry,
0:09:41 > 0:09:46"the Trent is made to spread into a fine lake planted
0:09:46 > 0:09:50"with ornamental timber, the work of Capability Brown,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52"the famous landscape artist."
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Here is the Trent, here is the lake all beautifully described,
0:09:56 > 0:09:57but where is the house?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02When my guidebook was published,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Trentham Park was one of the most fashionable houses in the land,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10having been remodelled in the 1830s by celebrity architect,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Sir Charles Barry, the man who built the Houses of Parliament.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16To learn what became of this magnificent pile,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I'm meeting estate manager, Michael Walker.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- Hello, Michael.- Hello, Michael, very nice to meet you.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26There are certain disadvantages to using a guide book 150 years old.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I'm looking for a house, and I rather fear it's not here.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- Is that right?- That's absolutely right, the majority of Trentham Hall
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- was demolished in 1911 by the Duke of Sutherland.- Why?
0:10:35 > 0:10:37What brought that about?
0:10:37 > 0:10:41The pottery industry was expanding all the time in the 1840s,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and so was local housing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46But there was no provision for proper sanitation.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And the sewage from the houses pretty much ran
0:10:49 > 0:10:52directly into the local brooks and rivers.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And at that time, the River Trent used to feed directly into
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Capability Brown's mile-long lake.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03So the place was very heavily spoilt by pollution, both in the air,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06sometimes it could be black, and the stench,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10the stench of the sewage, it was like a large cess pit.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11It's quite an interesting antidote,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14because I get very enthusiastic about the Victorian period
0:11:14 > 0:11:17from my Bradshaw's, but it's worth remembering
0:11:17 > 0:11:19that there was a pretty ghastly downside to it all.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23By the turn of the 20th century, the problem had become so bad
0:11:23 > 0:11:27that the Sutherlands chose to abandon the park.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28No buyer was found for the house,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32so it was demolished for its building materials.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34All that remained of Charles Barry's masterpiece
0:11:34 > 0:11:37was his remarkable formal garden.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40So what we're seeing here, this is Charles Barry, is it?
0:11:40 > 0:11:44This is Charles Barry, it's a very, very grand Italian garden,
0:11:44 > 0:11:45in the neo-classical style.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48And this formality suited the Victorians, did it?
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I think this was the must-have accessory
0:11:50 > 0:11:54for the aristocracy at the time. It was a new trend, a new fashion,
0:11:54 > 0:11:59and one which was really pioneered in this country at Trentham.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04Visiting the park today, it's possible, with a little imagination,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07to savour its Victorian zenith.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11The garden was of course designed to be viewed from upstairs
0:12:11 > 0:12:14within the grand bedrooms of the house, looking down,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and it's only really from above you get the detail, formality.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20It's really tremendous, isn't it?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23How was it that the garden was able to survive?
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Well, after the house was demolished,
0:12:25 > 0:12:31Trentham ran as a private business for the local people,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35as paid for public visitor attraction.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36For most of the 20th century,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39the gardens were the playground of the Potteries.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42There were dance halls and a bandstand, and a new branch line,
0:12:42 > 0:12:47opened in 1910, enabled visitors to flock here to enjoy the attractions.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Trentham Park took visitors within five minutes walk
0:12:51 > 0:12:54of the front gates of the estate, that was very important,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57during the holiday period that train service was
0:12:57 > 0:13:00very, very well used indeed.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Sadly, by the end of the 20th century,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05the gardens themselves had fallen into decline.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09But in 2004, a major renovation project began.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Barry's Italianate parterre was restored,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and new areas were landscaped by leading garden designers.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19So George Bradshaw might be pretty astonished that the house is gone,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23- but he probably would recognise the garden.- I hope he would.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30The manicured elegance of Trentham is stunning,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34but I'm now taking to the tracks in search of a wilder landscape.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45My last stop of the day was a favourite Victorian beauty spot.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51As evening approaches, I'm on the train to Kidsgrove.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56"Mow Cop," says Bradshaw's, "is a mountain in miniature.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59"From the summit of this hill, 1,091 feet high,
0:13:59 > 0:14:05"the finest views imaginable are attainable in every direction."
0:14:05 > 0:14:07I suppose that depends on the weather,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and I'm hoping my luck will hold.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Built by the North Staffordshire Railway,
0:14:13 > 0:14:19and originally called Harecastle, Kidsgrove Station opened in 1848.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Soon readers of Bradshaw's would alight here
0:14:21 > 0:14:23to admire the vista from a nearby park.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Guide, Des Ball, is showing me the way.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31You know, Des, my Bradshaw's
0:14:31 > 0:14:33has quite a long paragraph about Mow Cop.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I was thinking, "What is all the fuss about?"
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Because it's only 1,000 feet high, but now I get here, I see.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43I mean, you have got this 360 degree view,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45haven't you? Amazing.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Seven counties are visible from here,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and my guide book tells me that on a fine day
0:14:50 > 0:14:52you can see as far as Wales.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54First we have Shropshire over there.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Then we have Denbighshire, Welsh mountains there,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59go all way up to north Wales there.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04And over to this side, we have Derbyshire.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05My Bradshaw's also points out
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"an artificial ruin, which has a good appearance
0:15:08 > 0:15:10"in every point of view."
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Built as a folly in the 1750s,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15by the time my guidebook was published
0:15:15 > 0:15:19it was in use as a summer house, complete with windows and doors.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23These days, romantic as it is, it's rather windswept,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26so Des is leading me to a more hospitable venue.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Here is the pub, Michael, I mentioned, called the Cheshire View,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31but it used to be called The Railway Inn,
0:15:31 > 0:15:36and of course, in the hollow there is the railway and Mow Cop Station,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38that used to be. No longer here, I'm afraid.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41An ideal spot for a thirsty railway traveller
0:15:41 > 0:15:45to revel in the English landscape that unfolds below.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47It is an amazing view, isn't it?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Yes, wait until the sun sets in a moment.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51And to think that you and I can see it without
0:15:51 > 0:15:55- the smoke and pollution of the Victorian era. Cheers.- Cheers.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07My Midlands railway adventure continues,
0:16:07 > 0:16:12and my next stop is almost hallowed ground.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19"Crewe," says my Bradshaw's, "is a railway town,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23"and a first class depot. Nearly 2,000 men are employed.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28"Here are immense rolling mills for the rails and locomotive factories.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34"An engine with its tender is made up of 5,416 separate pieces,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37"and a new one is turned out every Monday morning.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42"Any self-respecting great British railway traveller must visit Crewe."
0:16:43 > 0:16:47The works at Crewe were once among the foremost in the world,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51and the town still has a place in every train buff's heart.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Morning.- Morning. Thank you very much.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56So I'm going to the very heart of the railways, Crewe.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- Crewe.- Can you imagine that in the 1860s
0:16:58 > 0:17:01apparently a locomotive and its tender was made up
0:17:01 > 0:17:04of 5,416 separate pieces?
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- That's amazing, isn't it?- Bet you didn't know that?- No, I didn't.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- I bet you didn't before you read that.- Certainly so!
0:17:11 > 0:17:13- Have a good day.- And you.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17The story of the immense works at Crewe
0:17:17 > 0:17:21began as a meeting point of major railways.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Even with its elegant 19th century architecture covered in scaffolding,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29the station remains a key hub, as it was in Victorian days.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Crewe started its railway history as a major junction,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35and in the next few minutes there will be
0:17:35 > 0:17:37trains leaving from here for Liverpool,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40for Manchester, for Edinburgh and for south Wales.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45In the early 1800s, there was a hamlet of just 360 souls,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49but the arrival of the railway in 1837 changed that.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54In 1877 the Borough of Crewe was established, and by 1881,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58its population exceeded 24,000, complete with rows
0:17:58 > 0:18:00of railway workers' cottages.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02At the heart was a vast factory,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05which I'm exploring with general manager, Tony Webb.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09- Hello, Tony.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Crewe.- Thank you.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12The first line to reach Crewe was the Grand Junction Railway,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14which linked Birmingham with the pioneering
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Liverpool to Manchester line.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20It was soon joined by other routes, and Crewe found itself
0:18:20 > 0:18:24at the junction of three of Britain's busiest main lines.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27It was the ideal spot for a railway works on an epic scale.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31My Bradshaw says 2,000 people were working at the site,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34but I think it got to be much more than that, didn't it?
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Yeah, the war years, the records are sketchy,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40but they talk about 20,000 people, so the size of it was immense.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41Is this the full extent of the works?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43You get some idea of the scale,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47there's a football ground here, which is kind of lost in space...
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It is huge, you're talking about erecting shops and buildings
0:18:50 > 0:18:52which were hundreds of metres long.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Obviously it created not only a works,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58but it created a town as well. How were the people housed?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00The railway was a very paternalistic organisation,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03There would have been railway schooling, railway homes,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06it had its own hospital on site.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08The accident book is very interesting reading,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11not uncommon for people to lose eyes, fingers and even limbs.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There are some old drawings that were created at the works
0:19:14 > 0:19:16of artificial limbs as well.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19More than 8,250 locomotives were built here,
0:19:19 > 0:19:24from Victorian steam engines to modern electric trains.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28These days, however, the works focus on renovating bogies,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31the wheel systems that sit beneath carriages.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34They start in a pretty filthy condition, don't they?
0:19:34 > 0:19:38You can imagine running round for half a million miles or more, yeah.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40At the end of the process you wouldn't recognise them,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and I'm offering a helping hand with the finishing touches.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47It all looks now so beautiful, so pristine.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It's ready for another half a million miles, yeah.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Just as it comes down now, Michael, you just steady it.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Beautiful, beautiful. Spot on.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00If you can just remove the stand and let it swing into position.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- Just take that away?- Yeah.- Whoa!
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- There we go.- Did I do that? - You did that, yeah.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10By building their tracks through Crewe,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Victorian railway engineers shaped the town's history.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Today, it remains an important junction,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and a magnet for some of Britain's most committed railway enthusiasts,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26like Tom and William Snook.
0:20:26 > 0:20:32- Tom and William, hello.- Good afternoon.- Nice to see you both.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- You're a father and son team, is that right?- We are indeed, yes.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Now I quite like trains, but I'm not a trainspotter,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41for those of us not in on this,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44can you explain the intrigue of photographing trains,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and taking down numbers, and so on.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Well for me, of course, it started in 1952.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53By the time of eight, I was travelling on my own to London,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55and seeing all sorts of things,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57which of course you can't do these days,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00and the camaraderie of all the youngsters together,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04and screaming and shouting when something really unusual came in.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07You know, it's the enthusiasm to try and see everything, for me,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11I want to see everything, my dad has nearly seen everything,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13and I'm not that far behind him.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- What's that you're clutching there? - Well, my son compiled this.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I've created this book over three years,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I finally finished it last year. So, it goes from locomotives,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25passenger trains, the testing trains
0:21:25 > 0:21:28that run around the country for Network Rail.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30So I thought I'd bring you up a copy,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32it's yours to keep and take away.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Oh, my goodness, I mean...
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I'm really flattered, but it's not easy reading, is it?
0:21:38 > 0:21:43How can I put this? You wouldn't go to sleep reading this.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Or, actually, maybe you would!
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's really a historical document, like Bradshaw's really,
0:21:48 > 0:21:54in as much as it tells you what is totally on the network,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57at that particular time in the summer of this year.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It's no replacement for my trusty Bradshaw's guide,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03but it's good to know that for some
0:22:03 > 0:22:05the romance of the railways lives on.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08It's a class 350!
0:22:11 > 0:22:13For me, the best thing about train travel
0:22:13 > 0:22:16is the chance to discover the remarkable range
0:22:16 > 0:22:19of Victorian industries that were served by the railways.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23I'm on my way to Winsford, which Bradshaw's tells me is situated
0:22:23 > 0:22:27in one of the most important salt districts in the country.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29"There are 28 salt works here,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32"some of them being like small towns in extent."
0:22:32 > 0:22:38Now, other towns around here are Middlewich, Northwich and Nantwich,
0:22:38 > 0:22:39which is very interesting,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42because I think "wich" is the Anglo-Saxon for salt.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Beneath Cheshire's "wich" towns lies an enormous salt deposit,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51formed from a sea bed 200 million years ago.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Ever since Roman times, the brine that bubbles up in local springs
0:22:55 > 0:22:57has been evaporated to make salt,
0:22:57 > 0:23:03and by the 1600s, rock salt was also being mined in the area.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04Then in Victorian times,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08a fresh rock salt deposit was discovered in nearby Winsford,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and a mine dug to extract it. It's still in operation today.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19I'm heading 180 metres below ground with mine manager, Gordon Dunn.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Now in Victorian times, I guess they didn't go down
0:23:23 > 0:23:26in beautiful lifts like this, how did they go down?
0:23:26 > 0:23:30They went down in the same buckets that was used to lift the salt.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32It wasn't really regarded as unsafe,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34it was just regarded as the only way to do it.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Prospectors looking for coal first discovered
0:23:39 > 0:23:42the extent of the salt seam.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Using explosives, picks and shovels, they began to carve out
0:23:46 > 0:23:49vast subterranean rooms, supported by pillars of salt.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53I was rather expecting I was going to be crawling on hands and knees,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56but this is like walking into an underground ballroom, isn't it?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58- It's huge.- Yes, it is. It is very large.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01As well as being needed for the Victorian table,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04the 19th century saw demand for salt rise
0:24:04 > 0:24:06thanks to the growing chemical industry,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10which used it for everything from caustic soda to chlorine.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Between 1844 and 1892, one million tonnes of salt
0:24:14 > 0:24:17were mined at Winsford - an extraordinary feat,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20given the basic equipment that the miners were using.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23You can see the black marks on the roof from the soot from the candles,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26cos that was the only way they were able to light the...
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- Seriously?- Yeah, seriously, it was all candlelit,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32and we've found evidence in the old workings of old tallow candles,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34and old small packets of cigarettes,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37cos they were allowed to smoke underground in those days.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40And where we are now is the old two-foot gauge railway line.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And once they'd taken the salt up to the surface,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45was it also transported by train?
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Yes it was, some of it was transported
0:24:47 > 0:24:49by train in special carriages
0:24:49 > 0:24:52that were timber lined to stop the salts reacting with the steel,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56and other salt was put into barges, sent to Liverpool
0:24:56 > 0:24:58and shipped round the world, and traded as Liverpool salt,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00although it was really from Cheshire.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Victorian mining was so efficient
0:25:02 > 0:25:05that by the late 1800s prices had plummeted,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07and Winsford was forced to close.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11But it reopened in the 1920s when a local competitor flooded,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14and since then has prospered.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Today, the salt mined in its 142 miles of underground tunnels
0:25:18 > 0:25:21is used mostly for gritting the roads.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24And you're still at it?
0:25:24 > 0:25:27We certainly are, we mine over a million tonnes a year,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30and we've got enough reserves for the next... For up to 100 years.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Despite the mine's resources, a decade ago,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36it began to diversify in a highly unexpected direction.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39The salt in the rock here helps to regulate
0:25:39 > 0:25:42the humidity in the disused tunnels, creating stable conditions
0:25:42 > 0:25:46which are excellent for storing historic documents.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'm hunting out archive manager, Stuart Selwood.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Stuart?
0:25:52 > 0:25:58This is bizarre, rows and rows of bookshelves, in a salt mine.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03- Hello.- Hello. Why are there all these records in a salt mine?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Well, this is the National Archives off-site storage facility.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And the repositories in Kew,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12where the National Archives is based, are filling up,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16and we needed a safe and secure environment to hold them in.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20The National Archives, formerly known as the Public Record Office,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22was established in the 19th century
0:26:22 > 0:26:25to impose Victorian order on Britain's official records.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Nowadays the collection holds material from the Middle Ages
0:26:28 > 0:26:31right up to the present day.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35This census was taken in this area at the time of my Bradshaw's guide.
0:26:35 > 0:26:42Inside, you've got the actual printed and then written record,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46from the night in 1861 when they took the census.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And indeed, the first person listed here is a salt maker,
0:26:49 > 0:26:54George Witton, then his wife, Martha Witton, gives her age,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57then their daughter, Maria Witton.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Quite a thought though, that those people there, those salt workers
0:27:01 > 0:27:04might actually have dug these tunnels,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and now their records are housed here in perpetuity.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Yes, indeed. I mean, we will be keeping them safe down here
0:27:10 > 0:27:14for the foreseeable future, and beyond, really.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Once again, my 19th century guidebook
0:27:16 > 0:27:21has led me to fresh insights into Britain's past and present.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23From the hidden underground archives
0:27:23 > 0:27:26to potteries untouched by the passage of time,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28this country is full of surprises.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Minerals have dominated this leg of my journey,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35the salt and coal and clays buried in the ground
0:27:35 > 0:27:38had been known about throughout history,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42but they were exploited by the Victorians on an industrial scale,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46shaping the destinies of Staffordshire and Cheshire.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49In the mines, the collieries and the kilns,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53workers toiled to make Britain prosperous.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55They were the salt of the earth.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01On the next leg of my journey,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06I learn how Victorian blacksmithing was not for the faint-hearted.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10It's very hard, physical work, there's no doubt about that.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14I'll ride one of Britain's most modern trains.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16And there we go, a surge of power.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20And traverse the remarkable Victoria Bridge.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22In its day it was the longest clear span in the world,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and it is, of course, majestic.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28TRAIN WHISTLE HOOTS
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd