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 > 0:00:14and his railway guides inspired the Victorians
0:00:14 > 0:00:16to take to the tracks.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Stop by stop he told them where to go,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22what to see and where to stay.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25And now, 170 years later,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30across the United Kingdom,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I'm now completing my journey
0:00:56 > 0:00:59from England's South Coast to the West Midlands.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02This last leg will take me from Cheltenham Spa,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05where refined people took the waters for their health,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08to Wolverhampton, where, amidst the coal and smoke,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12craftsmen developed techniques of the greatest finesse.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19'On this leg, I drive a car powered by the technology of the Victorians...'
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Whoa! This is real motoring.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24This is the way it was.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27'..I visit the castle of the King of Salt...'
0:01:27 > 0:01:30It's as though a French chateau had landed
0:01:30 > 0:01:33in the Worcestershire countryside.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35You've got to take it with a pinch of salt!
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'..and I fight a losing battle in the Wars of the Roses.'
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I'm ready for the slaughter.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Harder, come on!
0:01:45 > 0:01:48I could get a taste for blood!
0:01:54 > 0:01:58My journey began in Southampton, took in Hampshire and Berkshire,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01went west to Bristol,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03crossed the River Severn,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05moved on to Gloucestershire,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and ends today in the West Midlands.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12This leg begins in Cheltenham,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14takes in a Tewkesbury condiment,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16learns of another in Droitwich
0:02:16 > 0:02:18and ends in Wolverhampton.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27I'm heading north on the old Great Western Railway
0:02:27 > 0:02:31which, in Bradshaw's day, offered an escape from smoggy,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34industrial cities to the country's most famous spa towns,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38like my first destination, Cheltenham.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Legend has it that, in 1716, a flock of pigeons discovered
0:02:47 > 0:02:52the town's first spring, and local entrepreneurs, noticing
0:02:52 > 0:02:56how the birds thrived, realised that there was money to be made.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59My Bradshaw's suggests that they were right.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03"Cheltenham," says Bradshaw's, "is celebrated for its medicinal waters.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06"It's been for the last 60 years one of the most elegant
0:03:06 > 0:03:10"and fashionable watering places in England.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13"The promenade leads to the Montpellier Spa
0:03:13 > 0:03:16"and the Rotunda Pump Room."
0:03:16 > 0:03:20The trouble is, you can never bank on things remaining the same.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25King George III took the waters here in 1788
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and the town's popularity grew.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32New spas and, from the 1840s, up to six railway stations were built.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39A bank since 1882, the Montpellier Spa building opened in 1817
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and nine years later architect JB Papworth added
0:03:43 > 0:03:46the Rotunda Pump Room mentioned in my Bradshaw's.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Well, it's evident why this lovely pump room was called the Rotunda,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54with its classical dome.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58In fact, it reminds me of the Pantheon in Rome.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01How wonderfully suited to Cheltenham,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03a place of the utmost fashion.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08- Excuse me, you're doing a guided tour.- Yes.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12This lovely pump room, was it inspired by the Pantheon in Rome?
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Much of Cheltenham is inspired by classical architecture.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19And what would have been going on here in the days of the spa?
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Well, the ladies and gentlemen would have come in here and there
0:04:22 > 0:04:26would have been a large Grecian urn where the pump was installed
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and they would have taken the waters, listened to music,
0:04:29 > 0:04:30done a little dancing.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It was a social as well as a health-giving experience.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It was a place of sophistication and elegance?
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Yes, Cheltenham was known for leisure and pleasure.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I can see from the group that you've brought today that elegance
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and sophistication remain the key words today.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Well, since you came in, of course!
0:04:46 > 0:04:47Thank you so much.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53I'm intrigued by how people got here before the railways arrived in 1840
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and Bradshaw's may have the answer.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00My guide describes how Mr Gurney's locomotive carriages
0:05:00 > 0:05:03took 55 minutes to get from Cheltenham to Gloucester,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06not along tracks, but by road.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10I had never heard of locomotive road carriages.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12I've travelled to Elmstone Hardwicke,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14five miles northwest of Cheltenham,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19to meet director of the National Steam Car Association, Stuart Gray.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20Stuart.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Hello, Michael.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23What a lovely sight.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28By the vapour rising all around us I take it this is a steam car?
0:05:28 > 0:05:31It is, yeah, a Stanley 1910, Stanley Steamer.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I never thought about steam cars - were they common?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Certainly in the United States they were common,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40because the United States had gone down the route of developing steam cars
0:05:40 > 0:05:44as their pioneering car before Henry Ford came along about 1910.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Now Mr Gurney, apparently, was running a steam carriage in 1831.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53I mean, that is just... Well, you know, decades and decades
0:05:53 > 0:05:54before the petrol car.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58He was very much a pioneer. He was a Cornish scientist.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01He was also a chemist and an inventor.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05He invented the Gurney stove, an early type of boiler,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09and the Bude Light, which was bright enough to light London's streets,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and many other steam-based innovations.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Goldsworthy Gurney was appointed
0:06:14 > 0:06:17the Superintendent of Heating, Lighting and Ventilation
0:06:17 > 0:06:20in the Houses of Parliament in 1854
0:06:20 > 0:06:25and knighted by Queen Victoria in recognition of his inventions.
0:06:25 > 0:06:31Back in 1831 he had found himself running steam-powered carriages in Gloucestershire.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35You know, 55 minutes from Cheltenham to Gloucester is not bad, is it?
0:06:35 > 0:06:37- He was going some! - He was going some.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39He had a successful boiler.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43He had found out how he could maximise heat transfer.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Reaching speeds of up to 15mph, Gurney's steam carriages
0:06:49 > 0:06:52first ran in London, then from the capital to Bath.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56But the Turnpike Trustees on the Cheltenham to Gloucester route,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00favouring the stagecoach, imposed prohibitive tolls
0:07:00 > 0:07:03on mechanically propelled carriages.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06These protectionist measures quickly halted Goldsworthy's
0:07:06 > 0:07:08transport business.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12So, Stuart, give me a guided tour of a steam car. I've no idea what we're going to find.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15So, first of all, underneath the hood is the boiler
0:07:15 > 0:07:19and the boiler is a fire tube boiler, it has 527 tubes.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- Just like a locomotive on a railway. - Just like a locomotive.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The engine is at the back of the car,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27very good acceleration.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- Stanleys were the first cars to exceed 100 miles an hour.- No!
0:07:30 > 0:07:31Yes.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Well, I don't think we should do 100 today but can we take a ride?
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Absolutely.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Would you mind holding my Bradshaw's?- Indeed.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- Brake off.- Brake off. - And we are moving.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44Whoa!
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I have driven steam engines before but, of course,
0:07:47 > 0:07:48they were on rails and you didn't have to
0:07:48 > 0:07:51think about steering at the same time. I'm enjoying this.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53HE CHUCKLES
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Well, there is plenty of stored power there, nearly 500lbs of steam pressure.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59How good are the brakes on this thing?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01They're reasonable.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02Stuart, this is real motoring.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05This is the way it was!
0:08:05 > 0:08:08You could imagine being on the top of Gurney's carriage.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10I'd love it. I had never heard of Gurney.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Yet another great discovery in Bradshaw's.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Back to Cheltenham Spa Station to continue towards
0:08:22 > 0:08:24my next destination - Tewkesbury.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Bradshaw's tells me that at Tewkesbury cloth and mustard
0:08:35 > 0:08:38were made in Shakespeare's time, hence the proverb,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42"As thick as Tewkesbury mustard."
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Not one that I know.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Tewkesbury now has no railway stations, it used to have two,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50but I shall be getting off at Ashchurch
0:08:50 > 0:08:53and looking for traces of old railway lines.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59ANNOUNCER: 'Ladies and gentlemen, we're now arriving at Ashchurch.'
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Tewkesbury Station fell victim to the railway cuts and closed in 1961
0:09:10 > 0:09:14but a remnant of the line is still causing controversy.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Flanked by two rivers, low-lying Tewkesbury sits on one
0:09:18 > 0:09:20of Britain's most risky flood plains
0:09:20 > 0:09:24and the track embankment in this field is thought to have
0:09:24 > 0:09:26hindered drainage during the floods of 2007,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29the worst in living memory.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Removing the embankment is the job of Flood Risk Manager Anthony Perry.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36What's the lie of the land?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Well, we've got the Warwickshire Avon behind us
0:09:39 > 0:09:41that flows from Coventry, down through Stratford
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and then it meets the River Severn there just over
0:09:44 > 0:09:46to our right here in Tewkesbury.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50So, am I right in thinking that it's the very convergence,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53confluence of two rivers here that gives you the big problems?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Yes, there's a lot of run-off,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58a lot of water has to flow through Tewkesbury.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00The Victorians were excellent engineers -
0:10:00 > 0:10:03are you saying they didn't understand the flood plain issue
0:10:03 > 0:10:05when they put the embankment here?
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Well, they did put some culverts through the embankment
0:10:07 > 0:10:10but, at those times, people lived with the flooding.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14When a flood occurred they would brush out the flagstones
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and they would be back in their homes very quickly.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Now, when flooding occurs, people can be out for 12 months.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23'Despite its propensity to flood,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27'Tewkesbury is one of England's best preserved medieval towns.'
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Excuse me, just before you go.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33I've been looking at some of the lovely buildings in Tewkesbury
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and your office is one of the finest - when does it date back to?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Well, actually, it dates back to 1431.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I was looking at these things. What on earth is all this iron structure?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I've never seen that before.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Well, it was a fish shop and a game shop so they used to hang
0:10:47 > 0:10:49hare and pheasant and things from here.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52So, before all the health and safety legislation you could hang
0:10:52 > 0:10:57your hare outside and it didn't matter if it gathered a few flies?
0:10:58 > 0:11:03In Shakespeare's play Henry IV, that master of insults Falstaff
0:11:03 > 0:11:07says of an adversary that his wit's as thick as Tewksbury mustard!
0:11:07 > 0:11:09I'm told its flavour and consistency
0:11:09 > 0:11:12come from pungent local horseradish.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Supposedly, Tewkesbury mustard balls covered in gold leaf
0:11:16 > 0:11:19were presented to Henry VIII in 1535
0:11:19 > 0:11:23and I wonder whether this condiment is still fit for a king.
0:11:23 > 0:11:29- Hello.- Hello, I was looking for some Tewkesbury mustard, please.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Yes, of course.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Have you heard an expression or a proverb that is
0:11:33 > 0:11:37mentioned in Bradshaw's guide, "As thick as Tewkesbury mustard"?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- Have you heard that?- Do you know, I have, actually, yes.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's not something that I tend to use, personally.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I think people might be a bit offended if I said that.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45There's various varieties, then?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48There are, yes, you've got lots of different strengths,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- different names and all sorts. Do you want to...? - Yeah, let me have a look, please.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Well, at the moment we've got in the Catherine Parr's Tewkesbury mustard
0:11:55 > 0:11:58and we've also got in the Queen Margaret's.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Well, it's got to be the Queen Margaret
0:12:01 > 0:12:04because she was the queen of Henry VI
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- and she came a cropper here at Tewkesbury.- Yes.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Mmmm. Pungent...
0:12:12 > 0:12:14English...
0:12:14 > 0:12:16thick...
0:12:19 > 0:12:20SHE GIGGLES
0:12:20 > 0:12:21..and strong!
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Mmm.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Wow! Queen Margaret must have been a strong lady
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and I've met some of those in my time.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29I'm sure you have!
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Following my guidebook, I'm heading a mile south of the town,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37toward Tewkesbury's most grisly spot.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Bradshaw's has brought me to The Bloody Meadow,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44which the book tells me, "is famous for the great
0:12:44 > 0:12:47"defeat by Edward IV of the Lancastrians
0:12:47 > 0:12:50"under Queen Margaret in 1417."
0:12:52 > 0:12:56But clearly Bradshaw's has the date wrong - typographical error - 1471.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02From the mid-15th century, the House of York, led by Edward IV,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06and the House of Lancaster, led by King Henry VI,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09fought a series of civil wars over 30 years
0:13:09 > 0:13:12known as the Wars of the Roses.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Each was directly descended from Edward III
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and they were fighting for the English crown.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23Their final brutal battle took place here at Tewkesbury's Bloody Meadow.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Armour maker Bernie Willoughby knows more.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Tell me what happened on the day of the Battle of Tewkesbury?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32The Lancastrians had been effectively run to ground.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Their lines broke, they started to run
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and this is where the Yorkists caught up with them. This is where they were cut to pieces.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Now, Bradshaw's says that the heroic Queen Margaret
0:13:43 > 0:13:46was taken prisoner by the Yorkists and her son was killed -
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- is that accurate?- That's true, yes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51They took her back to London in a cage.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53She was exhibited through the streets.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56A very humiliating end for poor Queen Margaret.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01A few members of the Plantagenet Medieval Society
0:14:01 > 0:14:05are training today and I'm hoping they've not sharpened their swords.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Ready for the slaughter.- Oh, yes.
0:14:08 > 0:14:09Hello, gentlemen.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Good afternoon, Michael.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Good afternoon, so let me just get my helmet on ready for action.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Thank you.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- So, you guys re-enact the battles?- We do.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24And you actually fight, full contact?
0:14:24 > 0:14:25How many injuries do you have?
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Fingers - most of the fingers on my hand are broken -
0:14:29 > 0:14:32- but that's about it.- Just show me some basics, will you?- OK.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36What I'm going to do, Michael, I'm going to try and hit you four times.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38I'm going to be going for your shoulders and then your legs.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- All right.- So I'm coming for your shoulder now.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43And again.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44And again.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- Now, I want you to do the same to me.- OK.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50- Come to me. Go on, then. - Your shoulder.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Harder, come on!
0:14:54 > 0:14:56And then the head.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57Go for my head.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02I'm getting a taste for blood.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05How many people do you get out for one of your re-enactments?
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Usually about 3,000 re-enactors for a whole weekend
0:15:09 > 0:15:11and then probably 10,000 people watching,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13maybe 15,000 on a good year.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17On the day of a re-enactment you've got hundreds of people. What's it like?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Exhilarating, fearful,
0:15:19 > 0:15:20your blood lust's up.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25My ancestors fought in many battles over the centuries
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and being able to take on that mantle, put the armour on,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32dressed as one of my ancestors, is very, very exciting.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Can I see the professionals in action?- Very good.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Thank you.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Unwilling to put my helmet to the test,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I'm beating a hasty retreat to Ashchurch Station,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07from where I'll travel to Worcester Shrub Hill
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and change onto a northbound London Midland service.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Having changed trains in beautiful Worcester,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16I'm now headed for Droitwich.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Bradshaw's tells me "the principal manufacture is fine salt,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22"obtained by evaporating the water of brine springs
0:16:22 > 0:16:26"more than 100 feet below the surface of the earth."
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Tonight I shall stay in what was once the house
0:16:29 > 0:16:31of one who produced the finest quality,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34known locally as the King of Salt.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Droitwich sits on beds of rock salt
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and the brine springs emanating from them have made it synonymous
0:16:51 > 0:16:54with the condiment since the Iron Age.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00In the 19th century, John Corbett, the son of a lowly boatman,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02made his fortune from the mineral.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The King of Salt's castle, Chateau Impney,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08is my hotel for the night.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13What a beautiful place to end my day and spend the night.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15It's as though a French chateau
0:17:15 > 0:17:18had landed in the Worcestershire countryside.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21You've got to take it with a pinch of salt.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Rejuvenated, I'm breakfasting
0:17:37 > 0:17:39with local historian Barbara Middlemass
0:17:39 > 0:17:41to find out more about John Corbett.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Explain to me how, in Victorian times,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47you could make a fortune out of salt.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52Well, salt was a commodity that everybody wanted.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54You needed salt for flavouring.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56You flavoured your egg with salt this morning.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59The housewife needed it for preservation.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01They didn't have deep freezes, Michael.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Salt was needed by everybody.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08The Romans made salt in Droitwich 2,000 years ago
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and they used it, at times, for wages.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16At the age of 29, John raised the finance to buy
0:18:16 > 0:18:20a contaminated brine well at nearby Bromsgrove.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Using engineering knowledge gleaned from his apprenticeship,
0:18:23 > 0:18:28he fixed it, sank new deep wells and created the biggest salt factory
0:18:28 > 0:18:32in Europe, producing 120,000 tonnes per year.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35The salt was delivered by canal barge
0:18:35 > 0:18:39and filled a staggering 1,000 railway freight wagons daily.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44I'm bowled over by the house
0:18:44 > 0:18:46but why did he decide to do it in a French style?
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Because of his wife's connections with Paris.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54She'd been born in Paris, so it reminded her of home.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- And what is the style exactly? - Louis XIII.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Apart from this magnificent house, did he leave his mark elsewhere on Droitwich?
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Very much so. In 1899, he provided the money and the land
0:19:06 > 0:19:10to build a railway station to bring people into Droitwich.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14He was trying to promote the town as a spa resort.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16He's a real Victorian figure, isn't he?
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Self-made man, engineer, philanthropist.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Yes, very much so.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29The Salt King opened St Andrew's Brine Baths in 1887,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33making Droitwich the only salt-spa town in Britain.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The baths closed recently and I wonder if the locals remember them.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40- Hi.- Hi there.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Have you had any experience of brine yourself in Droitwich?
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Oh, yeah, I used to come up a lot and go to the brine baths up here.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Was it pleasant? Was it not kind of oily?
0:19:49 > 0:19:52No, no, but you had to be very careful not to get it in your eyes
0:19:52 > 0:19:55and you'd come out... After two or three days
0:19:55 > 0:19:59you'd still be finding bits of salt in your ears and in your hair
0:19:59 > 0:20:01but it was very relaxing, anyway.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I'm leaving Droitwich and heading northwest
0:20:07 > 0:20:08to Smethwick Galton Bridge
0:20:08 > 0:20:12to change onto the final train of my current journey.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18My very last stop will be Wolverhampton.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Bradshaw's has some good news and some bad.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24"Wolverhampton has never suffered from the plague
0:20:24 > 0:20:28"but it did not escape the cholera in 1849.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33"The houses are of brick and there are not any remarkable edifices."
0:20:33 > 0:20:39Nonetheless, using Bradshaw's I will discover remarkable things about Wolverhampton.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Few places better represent the Industrial Revolution
0:20:55 > 0:20:56than Wolverhampton.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58In the 17th century,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00the town made shoe buckles.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04By the 19th it was at the heart of British manufacturing.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And the Great Western Railway was here too,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12running locomotives to and from this station, now disused.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Bradshaw's reminds us that there used to be two ways
0:21:17 > 0:21:19from London to Wolverhampton.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22126 miles on the narrow gauge,
0:21:22 > 0:21:27or 142 miles on the broad gauge via Oxford and Worcester.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31This was the most northerly outpost of the Great Western Railway
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and although it's many years since this station was used,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38luckily it's quite well preserved.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44The GWR opened Wolverhampton Low Level Station in 1854
0:21:44 > 0:21:47and in November 1866,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50an eagerly awaited train arrived.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Its feted passenger alighted and took an open carriage
0:21:54 > 0:21:56to the town square, renamed in her honour.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Here in Queen's Square in Wolverhampton there stands
0:22:01 > 0:22:04a fine equestrian statue of Prince Albert,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06the husband of Queen Victoria.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It looks as though they're just finishing
0:22:09 > 0:22:11the restoration of the statue
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and I've arranged to take a closer look.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Victoria had withdrawn from public life for five years
0:22:18 > 0:22:20to mourn Albert
0:22:20 > 0:22:23but ended her exile that day in Wolverhampton.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28I'm keen to know how the town prepared for such a momentous visit.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Museum curator Helen Steatham should know more.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34It's a lovely statue.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Where was Queen Victoria at that moment of the unveiling?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41A great pavilion had been built that was festooned with flowers
0:22:41 > 0:22:46and ribbons and drapes and she was sitting in the pavilion.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49It was actually Mr Thornycroft who created the statue
0:22:49 > 0:22:53who unveiled it and then the Queen stood up and acknowledged
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and it was said she had a tear in her eye.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It's thought that the reason she decided to come to Wolverhampton,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01having turned down lots of other invitations,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04was because she'd received letters from some widows from Wolverhampton
0:23:04 > 0:23:08offering condolences and she'd remembered this.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11People came from all over the Midlands on the train.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13It was a real grand occasion.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18With only nine days' notice, the town went into full speed ahead
0:23:18 > 0:23:22and created marvellous arches
0:23:22 > 0:23:25to illustrate the crafts of the town,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and they included coal and all the metal and ironworks
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and one full of shopkeepers' goods
0:23:30 > 0:23:34topped off with japanned ware, which must have looked amazing.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38I couldn't tell you what japanning is
0:23:38 > 0:23:41so I'm heading to Bantock House Museum,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43southwest of the city centre.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Since the town showed off its japanning skills to Her Majesty,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I want to discover just what it was and what, if anything,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53links Wolverhampton to Japan.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56My guide is former curator Yvonne Jones.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Hello, Yvonne.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00What exactly is japanning?
0:24:00 > 0:24:05It's a means of decorating a variety of materials with a varnish
0:24:05 > 0:24:08which came to be known as Japan Varnish.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It took its name from that country simply because it was imitating
0:24:12 > 0:24:14the oriental lacquers
0:24:14 > 0:24:17that were imported into this country from Japan, China
0:24:17 > 0:24:19and India, some centuries earlier.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Give me an idea of how popular japanned items
0:24:22 > 0:24:24became in Victorian Britain?
0:24:24 > 0:24:29A lady writing in the 1850s described japanned goods
0:24:29 > 0:24:33as being so popular that there wasn't a home in the country
0:24:33 > 0:24:35that could be found without an example.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38There were japanned papier mache hats,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42japanned coffins - they weren't very common, though.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Perhaps most interesting of all were railway carriage doors,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49many of which were shipped to Italy.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Ah, yes, they would have very elegant carriage doors in Italy.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Sadly, japanning has virtually died out
0:24:57 > 0:25:01but in the museum workshop metal smith John Grayson
0:25:01 > 0:25:05is placing images on metal using 19th century enamelling techniques.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- Hello, John.- Hi, Michael.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I understand that you've been doing work that's reminiscent
0:25:11 > 0:25:13of what was being done in Wolverhampton 100 years ago?
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Yeah, I'm interested in keeping alive some of that history
0:25:17 > 0:25:19and some of that tradition.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21How do you set about enamelling?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Well, pop on an apron and we'll give it a go.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28So what we are going to do is put some enamel on to
0:25:28 > 0:25:30a plain piece of copper
0:25:30 > 0:25:32and then fire it in a kiln -
0:25:32 > 0:25:36- so fusing glass, basically, to the copper surface.- Right.- OK.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38We're going to dip the copper into the enamel
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and just let the enamel drain off a little bit,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43put it onto the trivet
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and then it'll be ready to go into the kiln.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- Right in the middle. - Right in the middle.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Whoa! The heat coming out of there is amazing.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Obviously this is a little kiln.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56In the Victorian era when they'd have been enamelling big railway
0:25:56 > 0:26:01signs, they'd have had massive kilns to do eight-foot square panels.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Those beautiful station names - they were often enamelled?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Yeah, because it's a very durable surface.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Ideally, these should have a number of coats, a bit like japanning,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13building up the layers to make the colours nice and bright.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The next thing we're going to do is put an image onto the surface.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Is that again something the Victorians would have done?
0:26:19 > 0:26:23- Yes, we're going to use a transfer. - Familiar building!
0:26:23 > 0:26:26I think so. A few years spent there, I should imagine.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29First of all, we need to cut it roughly to size.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33What I'd do is use the enamel as a template.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- Parliament faces cuts?- Yeah!
0:26:36 > 0:26:39We've got a tray of water, so the transfer just needs to
0:26:39 > 0:26:44go in there and then we slide it onto the surface of the enamel.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Now you've got to stretch all of the air bubbles out of it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- How's that looking? - Yep, that's perfect.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53- One Houses of Parliament.- Mmm.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56- So, that has to be fired again, does it?- Yeah.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I commit Parliament to the fire.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01So, now that it's cooled down
0:27:01 > 0:27:03that beautiful yellow colour has re-emerged.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Yeah, it's nice and bright again and really glossy.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09That's virtually finished - just needs to be put into its mount.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11There you go.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Ah, I can wear Parliament close to my heart.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Just as I do my Bradshaw's.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22The names of great Victorians like Brunel
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and Prince Albert are familiar to us all.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28What I enjoy about my journeys is uncovering the lives
0:27:28 > 0:27:32of other admirable figures previously unknown to me.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Goldsworthy, Gurney and John Corbett were both brilliant engineers
0:27:36 > 0:27:39who deserve to be commemorated.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Thanks to my travels with my Bradshaw's,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I've remembered them today.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53'On my next adventure, I'll hang out with a notorious Victorian criminal...'
0:27:53 > 0:27:56This is a replica of James Rush's death mask.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00It does show very clearly where the rope has cut into his neck.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Isn't that grim?!
0:28:02 > 0:28:05'..meet a polecat, who's just a nipper...'
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Oh!
0:28:06 > 0:28:08THEY LAUGH
0:28:08 > 0:28:12You've got a claim to fame - you bit a politician!
0:28:14 > 0:28:16'..and chip away at an age-old craft.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- Could you make a flint out of that? - Yeah, perfect.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22THEY CHUCKLE