0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Stop by stop he told them where to go,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23what to see and where to stay.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25And now, 170 years later,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures across the United Kingdom
0:00:30 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I'm continuing my journey from the Hampshire coast to the West Midlands
0:00:58 > 0:01:00using mainly branch lines,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03but thanks to the railways, the towns along my route
0:01:03 > 0:01:07could play their part at the heart of the British Empire.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11There's a distinctly military feel to this part of my beat.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20'On this stretch I encounter the Duke of Wellington's impressive funeral car.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:25It is the most colossal thing, isn't it? Absolutely enormous
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'I get my marching orders from the army.'
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Get those knees up, Portillo, get those knees up nice and high!
0:01:33 > 0:01:38'And I learn of the surprisingly enlightened 19th-century attitude
0:01:38 > 0:01:40'towards the criminally insane.'
0:01:40 > 0:01:43What the Victorian did was they established that people
0:01:43 > 0:01:45with mental illness who committed crime needed health care.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48They needed a hospital, not a prison.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55My journey started on the south coast,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57heads through Hampshire,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59north west to Newbury,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02takes in an engineering triumph in Bristol
0:02:02 > 0:02:04and ends in the West Midlands.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Today's leg begins at Winchfield in Hampshire,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12takes a short hop to Farnborough,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and crosses into Berkshire to finish at Crowthorne.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22My first stop will be Winchfield.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Bradshaw's tells me that the line passes beneath Odiham Bridge,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30which leads to the seat of the late and present Duke of Wellington -
0:02:30 > 0:02:35Stratfield Saye, situated about six miles off to the right.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40The victor of Waterloo and an estate owner to boot.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The station at Winchfield opened in 1838.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Firmly established on London's commuter belt,
0:02:51 > 0:02:56in Bradshaw's day it was renowned for its proximity to Stratfield Saye,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00home to perhaps the 19th century's most famous British soldier -
0:03:00 > 0:03:01the Duke of Wellington.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This beautiful estate at Stratfield Saye was gifted
0:03:06 > 0:03:08to the Duke of Wellington by a grateful nation
0:03:08 > 0:03:11after his victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16The only precedent was the land that was given to the Duke of Marlborough
0:03:16 > 0:03:18after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22but whereas Marlborough built an enormous Blenheim Palace
0:03:22 > 0:03:26on his estate, Stratfield Saye remains
0:03:26 > 0:03:29a delightfully understated country house.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Although avoiding ostentation,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Wellington did like his modern conveniences at Stratfield Saye,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42where flushing lavatories and central heating
0:03:42 > 0:03:45were installed in the house, which dates from 1630.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51To learn more, I'm meeting Lord Douro - the current occupant
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and eldest son of the present Duke.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The Duke of Wellington was fortunate to live 37 years
0:03:57 > 0:04:00after the Battle of Waterloo. Did he enjoy Stratfield Saye?
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I think very much, but I think also
0:04:03 > 0:04:07his wife and children very much enjoyed living here,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09so he was very, very content
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and all his life considered this as his home.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15He was unlucky enough in a way to become Prime Minister.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Did that interrupt his enjoyment of Stratfield Saye?
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I think it must have to a certain extent. I mean you can't not
0:04:21 > 0:04:25become Prime Minister and find yourself extremely occupied.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28So he would have had less time to come here.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35'Born Arthur Wellesley in Dublin to Anglo-Irish aristocrats in 1769,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39'the future Duke rose quickly through the officer ranks,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44'led British forces to victory in India at Assaye in 1803
0:04:44 > 0:04:47'and then, as shown in this filmed re-enactment,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50'defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54'The Duke's popularity rivalled Queen Victoria's
0:04:54 > 0:04:56'and I wonder how they got on.'
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Tell me about his relationship with the young Queen Victoria.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02He was godfather to one of her children,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05she was godmother to one of his granddaughters.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09So I think it was a very close relationship
0:05:09 > 0:05:11and when she came to stay here,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15she writes charmingly about the experience of staying with the Duke.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Although Winchfield had its own station,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Wellington wasn't a fan of the railways and rarely took the train.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Maybe part of his doubts about railways
0:05:27 > 0:05:34were the result of a tragic, tragic incident in 1830
0:05:34 > 0:05:38when he was Prime Minister when he was asked to open the new railway
0:05:38 > 0:05:40from Liverpool to Manchester.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45And halfway along the journey, the train stopped and Mr Huskison,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47who had been a cabinet minister,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51got out of his carriage to walk along the track
0:05:51 > 0:05:57to say hello to the Duke and was killed by Stephenson's Rocket
0:05:57 > 0:06:00which was coming along in the other direction.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01And, I think, ever since then
0:06:01 > 0:06:04the Duke had a very sceptical approach to railways.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Well, I think we can forgive the Iron Duke
0:06:07 > 0:06:09his views of the railways, given that he was
0:06:09 > 0:06:11a great national hero.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16On the 18th of June 1815,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19the Commander in Chief's faithful companion at Waterloo
0:06:19 > 0:06:21was his chestnut stallion, Copenhagen.
0:06:24 > 0:06:2621 years after the battle, the horse died
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and the Duke buried him at Stratfield Saye
0:06:29 > 0:06:31with full military honours.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The first Duke must have felt very strongly about his horse
0:06:35 > 0:06:38to bury it in this way - why, do you think?
0:06:38 > 0:06:41The Duke was tremendously dependent on a reliable horse.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43He rode this horse all day,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46from early in the morning to late that evening
0:06:46 > 0:06:49so Copenhagen played a very important part
0:06:49 > 0:06:51in the success of the battle.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56- Copenhagen deserved to be buried with such honours.- Certainly.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04In November 1852, two months after Wellington's death, aged 83,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07he was laid to rest in a lavish state funeral.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Prince Albert helped to design the 27-foot-long car
0:07:14 > 0:07:17that carried the Duke's coffin to his final resting place,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22next to Lord Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The car dominates the house museum.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30So through here you're going to see suddenly...
0:07:30 > 0:07:32the funeral car.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37It is the most colossal thing, isn't it? Absolutely enormous.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39What on earth does it weigh?
0:07:39 > 0:07:41I believe it weighs 18 tonnes,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46- but more remarkable is that it was made in 18 days.- From what?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Partly from canons captured at Waterloo.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And it's quite a complicated mechanism, because
0:07:53 > 0:07:57the whole of the top part has to be able to swivel,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02so as to take the coffin off and up the steps of St Pauls.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Spectacular.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09'Although in Pall Mall, 30 soldiers had to free the car
0:08:09 > 0:08:12'after the sheer weight of it caused the roadbed to give way.'
0:08:13 > 0:08:15'More than a million people, hats in hand,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'lined the route from Westminster Hall to St Paul's
0:08:18 > 0:08:22'and Queen Victoria was one of them.'
0:08:22 > 0:08:23She didn't go to the ceremony,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26because in those days it would not have been appropriate,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29but she watched the procession pass Buckingham Palace
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and then went to St James's Palace
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and watched it again coming down St James's.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37She was extremely sad.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41She had great love and affection for him
0:08:41 > 0:08:45and she wrote a wonderful letter to the then Lady Douro.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50"It is impossible to think of this country without the Duke -
0:08:50 > 0:08:52"her pride, her hero.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57"It is a terrible loss, and to us, dear Bessie, a very severe one."
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Having seen how the Commander in Chief spent his retirement,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10at my next stop, I hope to discover what life was like
0:09:10 > 0:09:13for rank and file Victorian soldiers.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I shall be alighting at Farnborough, which my Bradshaw's tells me
0:09:20 > 0:09:23is the nearest station to the Army camp at Aldershot.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I once had the honour of inspecting the Paras there
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and I shall be interested to find out how such brave men
0:09:30 > 0:09:32are made fit for battle.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Amid concern that the Army was unfit for purpose,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Prince Albert urged commanders to modernise training methods.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Close enough to the south coast to repel potential French invaders,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Aldershot Heath was chosen.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I'm meeting military historian Paul Vickers at the camp museum.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Bradshaw's Guide tells me that the nearest railway station
0:09:59 > 0:10:02to the camp at Aldershot is Farnborough,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04but surely it is actually Aldershot?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Well, at the time of your Bradshaw's Guide, it wasn't,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09because the railway itself didn't come to Aldershot
0:10:09 > 0:10:14until 1870, after the town grew up around the camp.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16And what was it like in those early days?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19You would just see line upon line of wooden huts,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21because that's what was built initially for the Army.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Prior to that time Aldershot had just been a very small village,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29about a mile further to the east, of 875 people.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Suddenly within five years, there were 15,000 soldiers.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39In 1890, the wooden huts, which had stood for 30 years,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42were replaced with brick barracks
0:10:42 > 0:10:46I'm keen to find out about the living conditions of an infantryman.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51There'd be a company of soldiers, so there'd be 40 men living in here.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54We can see that he has a simple bed,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58a rack on which he can keep his uniforms and equipment.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59What was the bed like?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Not the most comfortable.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05The conditions were fairly spartan in the barrack blocks.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Quite narrow too, isn't it?
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Yes, well, they were packed in here but also people at that time
0:11:10 > 0:11:13were much smaller than they are now.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15So here's my Victorian soldier -
0:11:15 > 0:11:16fairly cramped conditions,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18lots of heavy equipment,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20heavy rifle musket,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25but nonetheless, a good deal better than many people in civilian life
0:11:25 > 0:11:28and a great deal better than living in a tent or a wooden hut.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33'Aldershot got its civilian station in 1870
0:11:33 > 0:11:35'and it's still here today.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38'Now Paul wants to show me a Victorian railway
0:11:38 > 0:11:40'that hasn't stood the test of time.'
0:11:41 > 0:11:45So why have you brought me to these sidings off the main line here?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48This is quite possibly one of the most expensive pieces
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- of railway in the country. - Well, it certainly doesn't look it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54First of all, where does it go?
0:11:54 > 0:11:58In the 1890s, the first soldiers to go out to the Boer War
0:11:58 > 0:12:01came down these sidings on to the main line
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- to go out to the campaign. - So why so expensive?
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Because in 1885 they'd launched a new campaign in the Sudan
0:12:09 > 0:12:12for which they wanted a railway to transport their goods and materials.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16So 38 ships full of railway equipment were sent out,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19but no sooner had the campaign started
0:12:19 > 0:12:23that Prime Minister Gladstone pulled the plug on the campaign.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27So the ships were sent back to Britain with all this material,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29then used for railway lines such as this one.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30What did that cost?
0:12:30 > 0:12:35It was calculated that the cost at the time was £865,000
0:12:35 > 0:12:39which in present day values is around £73 million.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Extraordinary!
0:12:46 > 0:12:50As a former Defence Secretary, I know what emphasis the Army places
0:12:50 > 0:12:54on physical fitness, but I wonder whether that was always the case.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59I confess that the gymnasium is not exactly my natural habitat
0:12:59 > 0:13:03but this is a glorious building!
0:13:03 > 0:13:05This building is from 1894,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09but it replaced the original gymnasium
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and this was put up in 1860.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16It was the first gymnasium in the British Army anywhere.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18During the Crimean War,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22the fitness of the soldier was not as good as it should be
0:13:22 > 0:13:27and the Army Physical Training Corps was founded here in 1860,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29bringing in a much more scientific approach
0:13:29 > 0:13:32to physical fitness at this time.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35How did they set about being scientific about physical education?
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Well, they nominated an officer, Major Frederick Hammersley,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and 12 non-commissioned officers
0:13:42 > 0:13:44and they were sent to a college in Oxford to learn
0:13:44 > 0:13:47the science of gymnastics, as it was at the time.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49They then came back to Aldershot
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and set up what was then known as the Army Gymnastic Service,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58and from that grew the Army Physical Training Corps as we know it today.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Do you think for the individual it can make the difference
0:14:01 > 0:14:03between life and death, and for the army
0:14:03 > 0:14:05can it make the difference between defeat and victory?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Oh, very much so, yes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Without the necessary fitness in the field.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13a soldier cannot fight to the full capacity.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Portillo versus the British Army.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22They don't stand a chance.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Get those knees up, Portillo, get those knees up nice and high.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32And now slightly leaning back again and flicking the toes up
0:14:32 > 0:14:33and carry on normal jogging.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Listen to voice command. When I say direction change,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39pick up the leading foot and turn and run in the opposite direction...
0:14:39 > 0:14:41When does this finish?
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Change!
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Well done.- That was a surprise.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48And bouncing off the toes.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51HE BREATHES HEAVILY
0:14:51 > 0:14:52Five press-ups, off you go.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Well, I survived about five minutes.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59I imagine these guys will be going on for, I don't know,
0:14:59 > 0:15:0230, 45 minutes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04You've got to admire them...
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Well done, guys, carry on.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Keep it going, guys!
0:15:13 > 0:15:16To reach my next destination I'm using North Camp,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19a station opened to troops in 1858.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24From there, I'm heading one stop to Farnborough North.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Having reminded myself how the military
0:15:28 > 0:15:32dedicates its lives to the service of Her Majesty the Queen,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35I'm now interested to see how another group,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38established in the community since late Victorian times
0:15:38 > 0:15:42dedicates its lives to the service of God.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45Put through my paces by the Army,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49I'm seeking a tranquil spot to reflect on my journey so far.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52What better place to rest my weary limbs
0:15:52 > 0:15:56than the invitingly named Monastery of St Michael?
0:15:57 > 0:15:58- Hello.- Hello.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03I'm looking for the Benedictine monastery of St Michael's.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Yes, it's across the road there and it'll be up to your right-hand side.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08Oh, great!
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Have you any idea why there is a monastery here?
0:16:10 > 0:16:14The only thing I know about it is Princess Eugenie is buried there.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Beyond that I don't know.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Thank you very much for the directions,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- I'll make my way. Thank you. - Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25This Eugenie was actually a French empress,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29and I'm intrigued to know why such a personage is buried
0:16:29 > 0:16:34in a suburban town just a stone's throw from a commuter line.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39This is the most extraordinary sight,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42about as far from my concept of Farnborough as it's possible to get.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46It appears to be a medieval French castle,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49next to a Victorian house,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53with a Renaissance chapel beyond,
0:16:53 > 0:16:59and, I must say, the most delightful feeling of tranquillity.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08I'm meeting Abbot Cuthbert Brogan by the monastery's chapel
0:17:08 > 0:17:11to find out more about this surprising Hampshire retreat.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15How did it come to be that a Benedictine monastery
0:17:15 > 0:17:17was built in this place?
0:17:17 > 0:17:20The origin of the monastery is the Empress Eugenie.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25The Empress was the widow, by the time she came to Farnborough,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27of the emperor Napoleon III.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Napoleon III is the nephew of the one we all know about.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And she moved to Farnborough in the September of 1880
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and built the monastery and the church
0:17:37 > 0:17:39and gave it to us.
0:17:39 > 0:17:4418 years into his reign, French Emperor Napoleon III
0:17:44 > 0:17:47lost the Franco Prussian war, in 1870,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50was captured and exiled to England,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53where he lived in Chislehurst, Kent,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55with his wife Eugenie and their son Louis.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02Napoleon died in 1873 and Louis perished in the British Army,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06fighting Zulus, leaving Empress Eugenie heartbroken
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and alone in Chislehurst.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12The move to Farnborough was all about leaving behind
0:18:12 > 0:18:14the bitter memories of Chislehurst,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16and her sufferings in that house,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and creating something worthy, a permanent mausoleum
0:18:19 > 0:18:24which, inevitably, would now have to be in England rather than in Paris.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Was Eugenie responsible for the architecture?
0:18:27 > 0:18:28I thought at first it was Renaissance.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32Now I think it's Gothic and Baroque - what is it?
0:18:32 > 0:18:33It's a great mishmash, really.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Favourite churches, mostly along the Loire valley,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39all put together - details of this one,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42a dome from that one, a pinnacle from that one,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and there it is.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47And was there already a community of Benedictine monks
0:18:47 > 0:18:49for whom she was building this monastery?
0:18:50 > 0:18:51No!
0:18:51 > 0:18:55She built the monastery and then started scurrying around France
0:18:55 > 0:18:57looking for some monks to live in it!
0:18:57 > 0:18:59And that's easier said than done.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03So it wasn't until 1895 that she brought
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Benedictines from the Abbey at Solesmes in the north of France.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11And in 1940 there was a new experiment,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13a daring new adventure began in our house.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17We began to speak English on Mondays and Tuesdays.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20A devout Catholic,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Eugenie's motivation here at St Michael's was spiritual.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27She spent her time and money establishing a Benedictine community
0:19:27 > 0:19:31to pray for the family's souls during eternity
0:19:31 > 0:19:34in the crypt that she spent years building.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36Here they are.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38The Emperor Napoleon III
0:19:38 > 0:19:41and then on the left, Louis,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43the Prince Imperial, his son,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and above the altar in the prime position,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48the Empress Eugenie.
0:19:48 > 0:19:54She died in 1920, so 50 years in exile and 40 of them in Farnborough.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58And long enough to complete this extraordinary mausoleum
0:19:58 > 0:20:00to the three of them.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And the monks of course,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04repeating what often happened in the Middle Ages
0:20:04 > 0:20:06with Royal or Imperial families,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08the monks were brought to pray for their souls.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Thank you so much.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14MONKS CHANT
0:20:20 > 0:20:25At the heart of the Abbey's life is the daily round of offices
0:20:25 > 0:20:28sung in Latin to Gregorian Chant.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I doubt there could be anything more beautiful and calming
0:20:38 > 0:20:42before resting for the night as a guest of the monks.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56Having enjoyed the hospitality of the monks at the monastery,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59I've woken to this beautiful view of the chapel.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I've spent the night in this very comfortable room,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04known as the bishop's room,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and now it's time for me to resume my travels.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11But not wanting to leave on an empty stomach,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15I'm breaking bread with Brother Anselm Carpenter
0:21:15 > 0:21:18to find out why he, like his three fellow monks,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20chose to commit his life to prayer.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27I joined the monastery at 21,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29straight from university
0:21:29 > 0:21:31and I'm 28 this year,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34although ravaged by virtue.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- Is it a hard life? - It brings its challenges.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I've always been astounded that
0:21:40 > 0:21:43the things I thought would be difficult when I was 21
0:21:43 > 0:21:45are actually very easy
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and the things which were to be very easy,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50doing what you're told and being obedient,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53are more difficult, more trying.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56How does the calling express itself?
0:21:56 > 0:21:58God wore me down.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02The desire to try the life became more intense,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05to the extent that I realised that I had to just give it a go,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09because the monastic life is something that you try to live,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and it's something that tries you,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16and it's through this almost dialogue of trying and being tried
0:22:16 > 0:22:19that one hopefully realises that you're in the right place.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32Spiritually refreshed, I've left the monastic life behind.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35I'm going to study yet another Victorian institution.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39This one made great progress in the field of mental health.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45I'm heading north west, on the Ash to Wokingham branch line,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47to my final stop, Crowthorne.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Crowthorne is home to Wellington College,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54where the sons of British officers were educated.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Then in 1863, the year that my Bradshaw's was published,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01a notorious new institution opened here -
0:23:01 > 0:23:05England's first asylum for the criminally insane.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09These forbidding walls mark the perimeter of a place
0:23:09 > 0:23:13whose name sends a chill through the body, Broadmoor.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18But such a place demands an open minded approach,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20both to the work done here by the Victorians
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and the work done here today.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Broadmoor is now one of Britain's
0:23:27 > 0:23:30three high security psychiatric hospitals.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35The Criminal Lunatic Asylum Act of 1860 gave the Home Office
0:23:35 > 0:23:38responsibility for caring for mentally ill people
0:23:38 > 0:23:40who'd committed crimes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Broadmoor's Victorian buildings
0:23:42 > 0:23:45were the first specifically built for the purpose.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Author Mark Stevens knows more.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54This must have been the old Victorian entrance, must it?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Yes, this is the iconic image of Broadmoor.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00If you're a male patient arriving at the Victorian hospital,
0:24:00 > 0:24:01this is your first sight.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Why did the Victorians choose to build Broadmoor here?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07They wanted something that wasn't too far away London
0:24:07 > 0:24:12and was on Government land and there was a bit of a deal clincher here -
0:24:12 > 0:24:14there was a railway station being built nearby.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Most asylums were built, if not directly close to a railway station,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21within a carriage ride away and Broadmoor's no exception.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23'Since the 14th century
0:24:23 > 0:24:26and throughout the Georgian 18th century,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30'the straitjackets, public humiliations and horrific conditions
0:24:30 > 0:24:33'of London's Saint Mary of Bethlehem Asylum
0:24:33 > 0:24:35'better known as Bedlam,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38'were the norm in the incarceration of the mentally ill.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:41'I wonder whether the Victorians
0:24:41 > 0:24:43'were more enlightened in their attitudes?'
0:24:44 > 0:24:46When a Victorian patient arrived here,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48what were the aspirations that they had for him?
0:24:48 > 0:24:53They gave people regular occupation, a diet of decent food,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55plenty of fresh air and also the notion of routine
0:24:55 > 0:24:59so the idea of Victorian healthcare is you'll nurse somebody better
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- using those things.- Quite progressive, really, the Victorians.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Set in farmland, and with workshops for shoemakers, upholsterers,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17tinsmiths, carpenters and more,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19at the time my guide was published,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Broadmoor's therapeutic regime consisted of work, exercise
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and rest with newspapers, games
0:25:26 > 0:25:28and a library available to all.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Do you think any of the Victorian principles survive today in Broadmoor?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Yes, I think what the Victorians did was they established
0:25:35 > 0:25:39that people with mental illness who committed crime needed healthcare.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41They needed a hospital, not a prison.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42By and large, it worked.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45You had a few convicts from the Victorian prison system
0:25:45 > 0:25:48who thought that maybe feigning insanity would be a better idea
0:25:48 > 0:25:51than being in prison and they soon found that actually,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54being surrounded by people who were behaving irrationally
0:25:54 > 0:25:56was not at all a preferable option to being surrounded by
0:25:56 > 0:25:59the certainties of your fellow convicts.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03'Nowadays, Broadmoor treats men only,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07'but it first opened with 95 female patients.'
0:26:08 > 0:26:11'One of the best known was Christiana Edmunds,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14'who was sentenced as result of evidence found on board
0:26:14 > 0:26:16'a London to Brighton train.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:19'Dubbed the Chocolate Cream Poisoner,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22'she laced sweets with strychnine
0:26:22 > 0:26:25'to see off the wife of the married man that she desired.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28'Victorians were fascinated by true crime stories
0:26:28 > 0:26:31'and Edmunds became something of a celebrity,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34'like many other early Broadmoor patients.'
0:26:35 > 0:26:38These are works by Richard Dadd
0:26:38 > 0:26:41who's one of the more celebrated Victorian patients.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Dadd was a well-known artist
0:26:43 > 0:26:46before he became consumed by the idea that
0:26:46 > 0:26:48he was obliged to battle the devil.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Unfortunately for him, the devil took the form of his father
0:26:51 > 0:26:53and he actually stabbed his father to death.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Dadd spent the rest of his life in asylums including Broadmoor.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58The other very well-known Victorian example
0:26:58 > 0:27:00is a chap called William Chester Minor.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03He was a surgeon in the American Civil War,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06came over to England and shot and killed a man in Lambeth,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09but when he entered Broadmoor he brought his library with him
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and he used this to contribute examples of word use
0:27:11 > 0:27:13to the first Oxford English Dictionary.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19One can only imagine how dedicated the current staff
0:27:19 > 0:27:21at this imposing place must be.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22And I'm heartened to hear that,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25even when my Bradshaw's guide was published,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29conditions here may, at the very least, have been tolerable.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36The Duke of Wellington is one of this country's most celebrated heroes
0:27:36 > 0:27:38but as my visit to Aldershot reminded me,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41not all military heroes are generals,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44nor do all heroes wear military uniform.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Some give service as part of their monastic life and,
0:27:48 > 0:27:53here at Broadmoor, some Victorians toiled with scant recognition
0:27:53 > 0:27:56to bring compassion to the treatment of the mentally ill.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05'On the next leg of my journey, I make headlines in Reading...'
0:28:05 > 0:28:07So you now beat the back of your flom.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- No, with the hairy side. - Oh, with the hairy side.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'..discover a Tudor entrepreneur in Newbury...'
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Victorian historians used to label this
0:28:18 > 0:28:21as England's first factory.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25'..and test a bicycle with Victorian origins.'
0:28:25 > 0:28:27A lovely smooth ride over the cobbles.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd