0:00:06 > 0:00:11In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw,
0:00:12 > 0:00:18and his Railway Guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:24Stop by stop, he told them where to go, what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29And now, 170 years later, I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures
0:00:29 > 0:00:34across the United Kingdom, to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Today, I'm beginning a new journey,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03curving my way up the spine of England, using mainly branch lines.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06These tracks put local trades in touch with big markets
0:01:06 > 0:01:09in the city, led to the invention of the commuter
0:01:09 > 0:01:14and, most importantly, enabled the Victorian masses to explore
0:01:14 > 0:01:18their own country, an experience which I'm repeating today.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27On this stretch, I learn to set table aboard an ocean liner.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Thank you very much.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30You're faster than me!
0:01:30 > 0:01:32MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:01:32 > 0:01:35I visit a suspected Solent smugglers' hideaway.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Whoa! What a view!
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Isn't that magnificent?
0:01:41 > 0:01:43And I discover the tactics employed
0:01:43 > 0:01:46by the Victorian temperance movement.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50All of a sudden, a group of uniformed invaders come along, shouting,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53"Come out of the devil's house! You're going to hell!
0:01:53 > 0:01:56"You will not be saved if you carry on drinking this foul liquid!"
0:02:01 > 0:02:04My journey starts on the south coast,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06heads to Hampshire's garrison town,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09takes in the cloth makers of Newbury,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11an engineering triumph in Bristol,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and concludes in the West Midlands at Wolverhampton.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20This leg starts amidst the luxury cruise liners of Southampton docks,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22heads West to the town of Totton,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26south east to Netley and ends in riotous Basingstoke.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37My first stop today is Southampton.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Bradshaw's says that, "Owing to the advantageous effects
0:02:40 > 0:02:44"of the railways, it's become one of our leading commercial ports,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47"formed on a scale of great magnitude."
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I first visited the city when I was a schoolchild
0:02:50 > 0:02:52on a primary school outing
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and I remember being so impressed by the scale of everything.
0:02:56 > 0:02:57In particular, in those days,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00by the magnificent three-funnelled Queen Mary.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Set upon the River Itchen and adjacent to the Solent,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Saxon Southampton was such an important port that,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13in the 9th century, it even had its own Royal Mint.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Famous for its docks, and as the port from which
0:03:16 > 0:03:20the doomed ocean liner Titanic sailed in 1912,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Southampton received its railway in 1840.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26But in those Victorian times
0:03:26 > 0:03:29a train ride ended in a different location.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Bradshaw's refers to Southampton Terminus Station.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36This is Southampton Central, not, I think, the same place.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I'm going in search of the old station.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42A merchant city for hundreds of years,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Southampton prospered during the 19th century,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47importing the timber, coal and slate
0:03:47 > 0:03:50that would build the factories and urban housing
0:03:50 > 0:03:53of Southern England's Industrial Revolution.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56And many of those buildings still remain.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01This street, Oxford Street, has the feel and shape of a street
0:04:01 > 0:04:02that Bradshaw's might have known
0:04:02 > 0:04:07and unless I'm much mistaken, that elegant building ahead
0:04:07 > 0:04:10must be the old Terminus Station.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16When the new docks opened in 1842
0:04:16 > 0:04:19the London and South Western Railway was here to transport
0:04:19 > 0:04:23passengers and freight from Southampton Terminus Station.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Local historian, Dave Marden, knows more.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- Dave, hello.- Hello, Michael.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35I feel a tear in my eye because this was clearly once a railway station.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Yes, it was a really marvellous station at one time.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40It was the main station from Southampton.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42We're under the canopy here. Where were the platforms?
0:04:42 > 0:04:43The platforms were dead ahead.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It was built in 1839 and the railway through to London
0:04:47 > 0:04:50was opened completely in 1840.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56Southampton Terminus initially comprised just two platforms and an engine shed
0:04:56 > 0:05:01but by the late 1860s, the opulent Imperial Hotel had been added.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Known as "the Ritz of the South",
0:05:05 > 0:05:10this glamorous accommodation catered for a surprising clientele.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Not travellers making connections to far-off destinations
0:05:13 > 0:05:17but fun seekers who flocked to bathe in the waters of the Solent
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and to enjoy the pleasures of Southampton's Royal Pier,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24which they reached by train.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Here we are, Michael. This is what's left of the pier.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28What was it like in its heyday?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32It was generally referred to as "the fun centre of the south".
0:05:32 > 0:05:36In the Victorian period we had the pavilion with its ballroom,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38exhibitions, bandstand,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42paddle steamers taking people on trips up and down the coast.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46And the railway came first to the pier and then ran along the pier?
0:05:46 > 0:05:47That's right. Originally,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50they had just a bare wooden platform on the pier
0:05:50 > 0:05:53but when the pier was rebuilt in 1892 it was expanded into
0:05:53 > 0:05:58a double platform with canopies, a rather grand place for stopping off
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and seeing the delights of the pier.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03- Thanks so much, Dave. - You're welcome.- Bye-bye.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06As well as a holiday destination,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Southampton remained an important port.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13By 1830, 100,000 people were travelling by steamship
0:06:13 > 0:06:15from here each year.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17And in the early 20th century,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20the numbers taking their leave of Britain increased dramatically
0:06:20 > 0:06:25as first White Star and then Cunard made Southampton THE place
0:06:25 > 0:06:28from which to embark upon a transatlantic journey
0:06:28 > 0:06:30aboard an enormous cruise liner.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34And that tradition continues today.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Cunard's Queen Elizabeth has just docked.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- How are you? - Very well, Mr Portillo!
0:06:40 > 0:06:43- You've just come off the Queen Elizabeth?- Yes.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- How was it?- Very nice. Excellent.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- Where have you been? - The Canaries and Madeira.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- Now, are you habitual cruisers?- Yes!
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- So how long before your next cruise? - Three weeks!- Three weeks?!
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- Yeah, it's only a four-day one! - Are you just going on?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I am going on, I'm going to have a little look around.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- Thank you, bye-bye. - Thank you very much.- Bye-bye.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09When you're alongside the Queen Elizabeth,
0:07:09 > 0:07:15it really does inspire awe, towering above me, as elegant as a cathedral,
0:07:15 > 0:07:21as tall as an office block, as long as a train, and I get to go aboard.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28In 1839, Nova Scotian, Samuel Cunard,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30founded the British and North American
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
0:07:32 > 0:07:36to transport post between Britain and North America.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39As the revenue from passenger journeys gradually outstripped
0:07:39 > 0:07:42that gleaned from delivering the mail, Cunard's steamers
0:07:42 > 0:07:45became renowned as the fastest across the Atlantic
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and in order to remain so, in the early 20th century,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52the company built the super-liners Mauretania and Lusitania.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58The Queen Elizabeth entered Cunard's service in 2010,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02a tribute to her luxurious 1938 namesake.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09The first thing you come to on this ship is the grand lobby.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10It is spectacular.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Suspended balconies, suspended staircases, chandeliers,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18marble floor and this wonderful evocation
0:08:18 > 0:08:21of the old Queen Elizabeth, the one built in the 1930s.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24One of the ships I remember from my childhood.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Famous as brave Second World War troop carriers
0:08:30 > 0:08:33globetrotting ships have always been glamorous, too.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Cunard's current president is Peter Shanks.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- Peter, hello.- Welcome on board.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Thank you so much.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43You've had a lot of very famous people on board.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46All the way back into the 19th century and through the 20th.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Who might you pick out?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Well, in 1840, Charles Dickens himself sailed on the Britannia,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54our first ship. Now, we weren't particularly pleased
0:08:54 > 0:08:55with what he wrote about the experience.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And then there've been presidents, be it Roosevelt,
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Churchill was a regular traveller
0:08:59 > 0:09:02and then some of the famous Hollywood and British stars,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05be it Liz Taylor, Laurel and Hardy, Frank Sinatra, many, many people.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Walt Disney himself loved to travel on the Queen Elizabeth.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Each voyage of the Queen Elizabeth
0:09:11 > 0:09:15sees the consumption of almost 12,000 bottles of wine,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19nearly 5,000 toothpicks and more than 50,000 eggs.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Resupplying and making ready for each sailing is a mammoth task.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Now, as I came on the ship, people were leaving.
0:09:27 > 0:09:28They'd come off the cruise.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31How long is it until you'll get a new set of people
0:09:31 > 0:09:32and you'll be off again?
0:09:32 > 0:09:342,000 people have left by about ten o'clock
0:09:34 > 0:09:38and we'll sail at half past four, full with a new 2,000 people,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40and during that time we're working miracles
0:09:40 > 0:09:42with the team on board to get everything ready.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Well, that is astonishing. That's an amazing rate of turnaround.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46How on earth do you do it?
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Well, I thought we could have some fun by asking you to help do it,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Michael, and what better way than to ask our maitre d'
0:09:52 > 0:09:54to help you lay a table and see how we get on?
0:09:54 > 0:09:56- Welcome aboard, sir. - Thank you.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It's lovely to see you. What do I do, then?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Well, this is a set of our cutleries here. If you like to help me out,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03you start from the other side, I will take a set
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and I will start from this side for you, sir.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08OK, and I suppose speed is important here.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Speed is important, sir. Very good, sir.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12On the left...
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Spoon goes on the right. Oh, wait, soup spoon, right.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17We can put our dessert cutlery on top.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18About the side knives...
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Side knife. You haven't given me any side knives...
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Oh, yes, you have. There we are, thank you. Thank you very much.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Oh, you're faster than me!
0:10:25 > 0:10:26MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Bravo!
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Thank you very much.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Now. The table isn't complete, because we don't have any napkins.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36We'll be doing some napkins.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40So we're going to fold the napkin into half.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43You can use a chair, if you like, so it will be easy for you.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Now, all about is that you have to be synchronise yourself.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48One up, one down,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50one up, one down.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And the pleats should be nice, and the same of size.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Leave a little gap.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Mine's going a little bit wild.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Well, that's good.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Turn into half.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Very good. This little quarter of this left napkin, we're going to tuck it in.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Napkin is ready. Oh, yes!
0:11:14 > 0:11:16MICHAEL GUFFAWS
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Oh, dear. A little more practice, I think!
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Sanjay, that's absolutely brilliant. That looks beautiful.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31The opulence of the Queen Elizabeth is a reminder that, for those who
0:11:31 > 0:11:36could afford it, passage aboard a liner was a luxurious experience.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37But they were the lucky few,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41because in Bradshaw's day, most travelled steerage.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Your theatre is superb.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49But it makes me think, amidst all this elegance,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51of people who travelled in less fortunate times.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55They were emigrating away from starvation and famine in Europe.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Yes, many to North America.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01And we think that, over our history, over the last 170 years,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04around ten million people have emigrated to North America
0:12:04 > 0:12:05through Cunard Line.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Here we are on the bridge.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14It's an amazing space, isn't it?
0:12:14 > 0:12:18What a fantastic position from which to control this monster ship.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20This is our captain, Alistair Clarke.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21Alistair.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24I find it quite alarming to park a small BMW.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I mean, what does it feel like to bring one of these things alongside?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It's a very satisfying experience.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33And these really rather small levers,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- control the whole ship, do they? - These do.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38So although they're small, it's like power steering in your car.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40You don't need to move them far.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41- Just a little wiggle.- Just a little.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46If you've got a choppy sea, what do you do about maintaining stability?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Well, we have stabilisers which counteract any roll, but generally,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53this ship is an excellent sea ship and she rides very well.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59As the Queen Elizabeth sets off on another voyage,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01after a long day in this city,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04it's time for me to head to my next destination.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19As my evening train runs alongside Southampton's busy port,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24I thought I would find somewhere more rural to seek my rest
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and Bradshaw's tells me, "There are seats", meaning country houses,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29"and pretty spots in the neighbourhood
0:13:29 > 0:13:32"such as Eaglehurst, near Calshot Castle."
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Eaglehurst. That sounds like a pleasant estate
0:13:35 > 0:13:36and there I shall spend the night.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Travelling just three stops on the main line toward Poole,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43I've crossed the River Test
0:13:43 > 0:13:47and I'm alighting at Totton Station to make my way to Eaglehurst.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51But my overnight bolt hole is not the grand bungalow
0:13:51 > 0:13:54built here by the 7th Earl of Cavan.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57My bed for the night lies within a tower
0:13:57 > 0:14:02whose history is known to Caroline Stanford from the Landmark Trust.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05- Caroline, hello.- Hello.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Well, what is this? It looks to me like a folly.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Yes well, welcome to Luttrell's Tower.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14It is indeed a folly - castellated, 18th-century,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18rather picturesque tower, standing on the edge of the Solent.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19And named after?
0:14:19 > 0:14:21It's named after Temple Simon Luttrell,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23who was the gentleman who built it.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28He came from an Irish family of slightly disreputable figures.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31He was a very, very quarrelsome, cantankerous fellow
0:14:31 > 0:14:35so he challenged lots of people to duels, including his own son, even.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Temple Luttrell wasn't just a parliamentarian who liked a duel.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44He was also a suspected smuggler,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48whose folly comprises a tower reaching high into the sky
0:14:48 > 0:14:51for a bird's-eye of view of local shipping,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55and a tunnel leading suspiciously to the shore of the Solent.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Do come in.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Surprisingly tall tower when you're going up the steps.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I'm sure the view's going to make it absolutely worth while.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Yeah, it'll all be worthwhile when we get to the very top.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11And here we are.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Right on the top.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20Oh! It's smaller than I thought. Whoa! But what a view.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Isn't that magnificent?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Yes, it's rather wonderful, isn't it? You can see why he built it here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Yeah, as follies go, it's really worthwhile.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32Such a great place to watch the great liners and ships go by.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Yes, and there've been some very famous ships that have gone past the tower,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37including the Titanic.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Radio pioneer Marconi rented Eaglehurst for his radio
0:15:41 > 0:15:46experiments and his wife and his daughter stood where we're standing now,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50as the Titanic sailed from Southampton on her doomed maiden voyage
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and waved together a red silk scarf, with all the passengers
0:15:54 > 0:15:58on the ship waving back at them with handkerchiefs and scarves as well.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00That's a sad story.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02And did the Victorians like this tower?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Yes, even Queen Victoria liked this tower.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07As a young princess, she looked at it and seriously considered
0:16:07 > 0:16:11buying the estate before she found Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15I'm really delighted to have found such a beautiful place to spend the night.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Apart from the perfect porridge, this is perfection in every other way.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42The sun is streaming through the windows,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45the view of the Solent is beautiful and a few hardy souls
0:16:45 > 0:16:50are already out in their sailing boats just to decorate the view.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Fully fuelled and ready for the day ahead, I'm heading back to
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Southampton Central to catch a connection to my next destination,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08located about 20 minutes south east towards Portsmouth,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13a line my guide book recommends for its aesthetic charms.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Bradshaw has beautiful descriptions.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24"On each side breaks in a view of the Southampton sea, deep blue,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26"glistening with silver and vessels."
0:17:27 > 0:17:30I'm headed now to Netley. Bradshaw's tells me that,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35"Near the ruins of the old abbey, a noble military college has
0:17:35 > 0:17:40"recently been erected, and the drum leads me in that direction."
0:17:43 > 0:17:44GUARD: Tickets please.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47Thank you very much, sir.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- Going as far as Netley. - OK, nice day for it.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Do you remember a hospital there, do you have any memory of that?
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Yes, there was a wartime military hospital at Netley, the chapel is still left there.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- Interesting history, eh? - Indeed, certainly. Have a good day.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Thank you very much indeed.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04ANNOUNCEMENT: The next station is Netley. Please mind the gap.
0:18:10 > 0:18:17Upset by the poor standard of care she saw in Chatham on a visit to soldiers wounded in the Crimean War,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Queen Victoria spearheaded the development of an institution
0:18:21 > 0:18:24that would revolutionise the treatment of injured troops.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Commissioned in 1856 and set within 200 acres,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33the enormous Royal Victoria Hospital took seven years to build.
0:18:33 > 0:18:39Deemed too costly to run, in 1966 the hospital was demolished and only the chapel remains.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44But curator, Captain Pete Starling, knows what once stood here.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- Hello, Pete. - Good morning. Nice to meet you.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49And this was a military hospital here?
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It was, it was our first purpose-built military hospital.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- It was a quarter of a mile long... - Amazing.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59..138 wards and 1,000 beds.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01If we look down you can see this line of bricks here,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04well, this is the extremity of the hospital.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06So if we now look at the chapel and look that way,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10you'll see that is actually in the centre of where the hospital was.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14So you've got the same distance from here to the chapel, the other side
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- and that gives you some sense on the size of it.- Awe inspiring.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20It's in a somewhat remote spot. How did they bring the wounded men here?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Well, in its heyday they brought them here by train.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26At the time of the South African war, 1899 to 1902,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30they extended the railway line from Netley into the back of the hospital,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and they had this purpose-built covered platform and these
0:19:33 > 0:19:37ambulance wagons would be shunted up to the back of the hospital
0:19:37 > 0:19:41and all the patients would be off-loaded and wheeled in to the reception.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47At a time when many thought faith as powerful a healer as medicine,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51the chapel, big enough to house all 1,000 patients,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52was at the heart of the hospital.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Even the tower of the chapel is enormous
0:19:58 > 0:20:01and it gives you a spectacular view, doesn't it?
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Magnificent, isn't it? - Particularly over the Solent.- Yes.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07You have to admire the scale of what they attempted to do here,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and even if we can't see most of the hospital now,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14we could attempt to listen to at least one of its sounds.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18BELL TOLLS
0:20:21 > 0:20:23But not everyone was impressed.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Florence Nightingale voiced serious concern that Netley's cramped wards,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33long corridors and lack of ventilation were a perfect
0:20:33 > 0:20:35breeding ground for infection.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39But the Lady of the Lamp's warnings went unheeded,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44and Queen Victoria herself laid the institution's foundation stone.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48As she was about to lay the foundation stone,
0:20:48 > 0:20:54she placed beneath it a copper casket, and we've got the copper casket here,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57with one or two objects that were placed inside it.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58A sort of time capsule?
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Yes, because she put plans of the hospital inside it,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05she put coins of the realm, a Crimean war medal with
0:21:05 > 0:21:09the four bars commemorating the four great battles on land of the war.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12But more importantly, the Victoria Cross.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17The Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the armed forces.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Absolutely. So, this was one of the first Victoria Crosses ever made,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and she placed it in this copper box with that Crimean medal
0:21:24 > 0:21:26and it was put beneath the foundation stone,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- and the foundation stone was lowered onto the top of it.- Amazing.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34The wounded of two world wars passed through the wards of this hospital,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and it's become a place of homage.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41You've been showing a lot of interest in the chapel today.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Do you have a special reason for being here?
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Yes, I have memories of my grandfather.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49He was shell-shocked during the First World War
0:21:49 > 0:21:53and he was in Netley hospital for quite a long time.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58And because we're on holiday here, I wanted to see the Netley hospital.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Where had he been in combat?
0:22:01 > 0:22:09In France. I remember hearing him speaking about Mons and the Somme.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13And you're clutching some old-looking photographs there. What do they show?
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Yes, there is this photograph of my grandfather in hospital.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24This X is my grandfather. He was in the Black Watch.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26And here in Netley, this?
0:22:26 > 0:22:32- Yes, because on the back of the photograph, this writing is very old writing.- Yes.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34"Willy in Netley hospital."
0:22:34 > 0:22:36"Willy in Netley hospital." Absolutely clear.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40How does it feel today being, there's only the chapel left,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43but you are in the place where your grandfather was hospitalised. How does that feel?
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Well, I feel a bit emotional. I was only 15 when he died.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Ah, well, I've met you on a special day, thank you for talking.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- Thank you, it's a privilege, thank you.- Have a safe journey back to Aberdeen.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Bradshaw's is not entirely complimentary about my next stop.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14"Basingstoke is a straggling, ill-built town.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17"It is nevertheless a place of great antiquity
0:23:17 > 0:23:19"and appears in the Domesday Book.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24"The inhabitants now mainly depend on the corn and malt trades."
0:23:24 > 0:23:28And at this stage of the day, I fancy a cooling glass of beer.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36In the Middle Ages, the small market town of Basingstoke grew prosperous on wool and textiles.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38And by the 18th century,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41its location made it an important watering hole
0:23:41 > 0:23:45for the many stage coaches heading south and west from London.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Breweries sprang up to quench the thirst of travellers.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57Although the railway's arrival in 1839 saw the trade decline,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00in the 1880s there were still four breweries
0:24:00 > 0:24:05and almost 60 pubs in a town of less than 7,000 inhabitants.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11It was a boozy place, which soon attracted the attention of the growing temperance movement.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17I'm meeting Local historian, Bob Clark, to find out about an incident
0:24:17 > 0:24:21that placed Basingstoke firmly on the moral map of Bradshaw's Britain.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Well, Bob, you've chosen a lovely quiet spot for a glass of beer.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30But it wouldn't have been like this back in 1881.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35Can you imagine? We're just sitting here enjoying our beer quietly,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38all of a sudden a group of uniformed invaders come along,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42dressed in quasi Army uniforms banging a big bass drum,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46shouting, "Come out of the Devil's house! You'll go into Hell!
0:24:46 > 0:24:50"You will not be saved if you carry on drinking this foul liquid."
0:24:50 > 0:24:53You're referring to the Salvation Army, aren't you?
0:24:53 > 0:24:57I am indeed, but the Salvation Army is not as we now know it,
0:24:57 > 0:25:02a benign organisation that does a lot of useful social work.
0:25:02 > 0:25:08They wanted to ban all drink, and of course, because there were so many
0:25:08 > 0:25:13people who were dependent on drink for their livelihood in the town,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18they felt under threat, so there was a kind of war between the two sides.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24In 1878, William Booth's Christian Mission
0:25:24 > 0:25:29changed its name to the Salvation Army and declared war on sin.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35In 1880, Christian soldiers marched onward into Basingstoke,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39where local brewers had whipped up the so-called Massagainians,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44a mob to disrupt Booth's campaign against beer and drinking establishments.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50In March 1881, matters came to a head in an incident that
0:25:50 > 0:25:54became known nationally as The Battle of Church Square.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00In the morning the two armies clashed,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Charles Elms, described in court as a muscular Salvationist,
0:26:04 > 0:26:10managed to rest the Massagainians' Union Jack, their flag of honour, from them
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and that really started the fighting.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15There was fighting in the morning.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Charles Elms, for his pains, got his arm broken.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23People tumbling over, one poor soul went through a plate glass window of a shop.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The poor chap who had his arm broken in the morning had his head broken
0:26:26 > 0:26:31in the afternoon when somebody hit him over the head with a stick.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36Somebody else had his jaw broken. Apparently lots of people lost lots of teeth.
0:26:36 > 0:26:42This is the most extraordinary, and to me completely unknown story. What were its consequences?
0:26:42 > 0:26:47Well, its consequences were that Basingstoke, which nobody had heard of before,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49made headlines in the national press.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54One journalist described Basingstoke as a benighted little town that
0:26:54 > 0:26:59appears to be populated chiefly by a set of barbarians. Now that's fame!
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Thank goodness, Bob, you've shaken off that reputation since.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07And was this riot unique to Basingstoke?
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Oh, no, there were riots in 60 towns, but Basingstoke was the first.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Where Basingstoke leads, other towns follow.
0:27:21 > 0:27:28One of the great ocean liners sailing from Southampton bears the name of Queen Victoria.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34She made her home on the Isle of Wight, from which she could contemplate the Solent,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37sharing a view with those of her soldiers who'd
0:27:37 > 0:27:41been wounded fighting to defend her Empire.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47I thought I knew the names of the great battles of her reign - Balaclava, Khartoum and Mafeking.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53But now I can add another to the roll call...The Battle of Church Square, Basingstoke.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Next time, I encounter the Duke of Wellington's impressive funeral car.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05It is the most colossal thing, isn't it? Absolutely enormous.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08I get my marching orders from the Army.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Get those knees up, Portillo, get those knees up nice and high.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13Ahh!
0:28:13 > 0:28:20And I learn of the surprisingly enlightened 19th-century attitude towards the criminally insane.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24The Victorians established that people with mental illness who'd committed crime
0:28:24 > 0:28:28needed health care. They needed a hospital, not a prison.