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 > 0:00:16And his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Stop by stop, he told them where to go, what to see and where to stay.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28And now, 170 years later, I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures,
0:00:28 > 0:00:34across the United Kingdom, to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57I'm now halfway through a journey that began in Norwich
0:00:57 > 0:00:59and will end in Chichester.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Today, I'll be running along the Essex bank of the Thames
0:01:03 > 0:01:08before crossing the river into the so-called Garden of England, Kent.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16My journey began in a cathedral city in Norfolk.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21I travelled south, through East Anglia, to Ipswich and Chelmsford.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Now I'll cross the Thames at Tilbury and continue through Kent to Dover.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29After heading inland to Tonbridge, I'll return to the coast
0:01:29 > 0:01:34at Brighton before ending my journey in another cathedral city,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36this time in West Sussex.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38On this leg, I'll start in Ilford
0:01:38 > 0:01:42in Essex before travelling to Tilbury on the Thames.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46After crossing by ferry to Gravesend, I'll continue into Kent
0:01:46 > 0:01:48and end in historic Rochester.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Today, I'll try my hand at lowering a massive container
0:01:54 > 0:01:56onto a freight train.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00That bell means Michael Portillo is at the controls, stand aside.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05I'll discover the work of a renowned Victorian philanthropist.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Each of the images has a before and after photograph.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11And I'll ask myself, "Who the Dickens are these characters?"
0:02:11 > 0:02:13No doubt about who you are
0:02:13 > 0:02:14cos you've got the iron around your leg
0:02:14 > 0:02:16and you've got the rag around your head.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20You're the convict, Magwitch, from Great Expectations, aren't you?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25My first stop will be Ilford.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Bradshaw's tells me about Sir Charles Montague,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30a 17th-century Member of Parliament,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32who's buried in St Margaret's Church.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35But had the book been published any later, it would
0:02:35 > 0:02:38surely have mentioned another eminent citizen,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Dr Thomas John Barnardo.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44By the late 19th century,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47the Industrial Revolution had made Britain wealthy.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49But there was a gulf between rich and poor,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53which troubled the conscience of some Victorians.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56A significant number of those who'd made fortunes
0:02:56 > 0:02:59became philanthropists.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03One of the most celebrated left his mark here in Barkingside just
0:03:03 > 0:03:07outside Ilford and I'm meeting Diana Tickell from Barnardo's
0:03:07 > 0:03:11amongst this unusual group of cottages.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Welcome to Barnardo's Barkingside.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Thank you very much indeed. So, who was Dr Barnardo?
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Well, Thomas Barnardo came over from Dublin in 1866.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24He was actually a very Christian man, was on a missionary expedition
0:03:24 > 0:03:27to plan to go to the Far East, but in fact when he arrived in London
0:03:27 > 0:03:30he visited the East End and was so appalled by the conditions
0:03:30 > 0:03:32that he found, particularly for the children,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35that it changed his whole life course and
0:03:35 > 0:03:39he decided to stay and create what is now Barnardo's the organisation.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43The London that Thomas Barnardo encountered in 1866,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47particularly in the East End, presented harrowing sights.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Overcrowded slums, unemployment, and disease were rife.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56Gangs of destitute children roamed the streets, scrabbling to survive.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59What's Barnardo's attitude to the poor?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Well, he's a very philanthropic man and believes that the
0:04:02 > 0:04:05children that he finds really should have a better chance.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07He believes that they are not waifs
0:04:07 > 0:04:09and strays that should just be left to die.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13He wants to transform their lives and give them a future.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17In 1867, just a year after arriving in London, Thomas Barnardo
0:04:17 > 0:04:19set up a ragged school in the East End,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23where destitute boys could get a basic education.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25And what's the connection between Barnardo
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and this rather idyllic housing development?
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Well, this lovely site here is the actual homes for girls.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Victorian morals decreed that it wasn't "proper" for Barnardo,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39as a bachelor, to open a home for girls.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43But in 1876, three years after he married, he converted a lodge,
0:04:43 > 0:04:48received as a wedding present, into this charming group of 12 cottages.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52His aim was to provide "family homes" for penniless girls,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56who were particularly vulnerable on the streets of the East End.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I mean, it seems beautiful even now.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00It must have been revolutionary in its day.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Well, absolutely. To create an environment like this so far
0:05:03 > 0:05:07away from the Victorian East End slums was really quite different.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09How did he get the money that he required?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Well, he wasn't a rich man so he had to set about fund raising.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16He made everybody understand that they were
0:05:16 > 0:05:19responsible, as well, for the plight of children in Victorian Britain.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21And he was very successful.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24By 1905, Barnardo's charity was looking
0:05:24 > 0:05:28after 8,500 children in 96 homes.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34He raised the money using some rather modern marketing techniques.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So, Michael, what we have here is one of the first
0:05:37 > 0:05:41volumes ever of the register for boys from Dr Barnardo's homes.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Just after my Bradshaw's.
0:05:43 > 0:05:44Yes, so, right on time.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So, here we have some lovely images of some of the children.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Each of the images has a before and after photograph where you
0:05:52 > 0:05:55record how the boy arrived and how they developed once
0:05:55 > 0:05:58they had grown and been supported by Barnardo.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01We have a story of the child and the reason for their admission.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03We also often have the child's own statement,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05which is quite unique for the time.
0:06:05 > 0:06:06What were these photos for?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Well, these photographs originated for fundraising purposes.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12He absolutely took the photos for the records but also
0:06:12 > 0:06:16so that he could fundraise and in particular was able to show
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Victorian Britain the difference that he could make.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Barnardo understood the power of these pictures.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Using them to advertise and
0:06:23 > 0:06:26to raise funds put him ahead of his time.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Over the decades, some people who were children in Barnardo's homes
0:06:29 > 0:06:31said that they weren't very well treated.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33What led to that, do you think?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Well, I think often in those days children were seen and not heard.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I think we now know that some children didn't have the best of
0:06:40 > 0:06:43upbringings and we regret that when that's happened but actually what's
0:06:43 > 0:06:46happened today is off the back of some of those stories, that
0:06:46 > 0:06:49children's lives are now supported in a much more different way
0:06:49 > 0:06:51and children's voices are really, really heard
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and I think the majority of children had
0:06:53 > 0:06:57a very good upbringing and have gone on to have very successful lives.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Barnardo's devotion to the wellbeing of children can be
0:07:00 > 0:07:04seen in this unusual church at Barkingside.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07This is the first church ever built for children
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and we think it's the only one in the country still.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14For example, we have the low level bell pulls here for children!
0:07:15 > 0:07:17BELLS RING
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I am a child at heart!
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Absolutely.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Religion was very important to Dr Barnardo.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The organisation, clearly, has Christian roots and today we embrace
0:07:31 > 0:07:34those roots and they are enhanced by those of many other faiths.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36When did Dr Barnardo die?
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Well, Dr Barnardo died in 1905.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41He had become a very popular man,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43particularly amongst the people of the East End,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46for all the effort he had made for the children, in particular,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and when he had his funeral procession,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50which went from Stepney to Liverpool Street,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54the streets were thronged with people wanting to well wish him on his way.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57His coffin then went from Liverpool Street
0:07:57 > 0:08:00to Barkingside station on the railway.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06So, like Queen Victoria, just before him, his last journey was by train.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Absolutely!
0:08:07 > 0:08:10This site is still part of the Barnardo's estate
0:08:10 > 0:08:15and his organisation has survived to become one of the biggest
0:08:15 > 0:08:17children's charities in the country.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26I'm continuing my journey from nearby Upminster station.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31I'll now be travelling on the London, Tilbury and Southend line.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34It wasn't built by Brunel or by George Stephenson
0:08:34 > 0:08:37or by Robert Stephenson, but by Thomas Brassey,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40the least well remembered of Britain's railway engineers.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44But by 1847 he was responsible for one in three miles
0:08:44 > 0:08:47of the British railway system and by the time of his death
0:08:47 > 0:08:51in 1870, for one mile in 20 of the world's railways!
0:09:04 > 0:09:06My next stop will be Tilbury.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Bradshaw's reminds us that it was there,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12when Britain was threatened by the Spanish Armada, that Queen Elizabeth
0:09:12 > 0:09:17"by a spirited harangue inspired her army with dauntless courage."
0:09:17 > 0:09:20That's when she said, "I know I have the body of a weak
0:09:20 > 0:09:24"and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27"and a king of England, too!"
0:09:31 > 0:09:36Even in Bradshaw's time, a sturdy fort discouraged potential invaders
0:09:36 > 0:09:40from venturing further up the River Thames towards the capital.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45In 1854, the railway arrived with enormous consequences for the town.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway opened
0:09:50 > 0:09:52a station at Tilbury Riverside,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55to profit from the passenger steamer services
0:09:55 > 0:09:58across the Thames from Kent and beyond.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Today, the station is closed,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03but Jonathan Catton has kindly agreed to explain how it
0:10:03 > 0:10:07transformed Tilbury into one of the country's most important ports.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Hello, Jonathan.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Hello, Michael. Welcome to Riverside station.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13This would be the one mentioned in Bradshaw's, I suppose,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15cos it says, "Steamers ply between the station and the pier
0:10:15 > 0:10:18"at Gravesend, at the departure and arrival of every train."
0:10:18 > 0:10:19So, that was happening from here?
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Well, we're standing on top of it,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25but it was superseded in the 1930s with the new railway terminus.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26And lots of railway heritage.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29We've got the booking office here, evidently.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Over four million tickets sold in 1947.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34How on earth could it have been so many?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Well, because there were so many stevedores and dockers
0:10:37 > 0:10:39and, of course, all the people arriving on boats
0:10:39 > 0:10:42were all coming in and out, so it was very vibrant.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46With the Empire at its peak and manufacturing booming,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50by the 1880s the London docks were becoming increasingly overcrowded,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53so Tilbury provided an alternative.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Now, Bradshaw's mentions the fort, all right,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58but it doesn't really mention the port.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00How was it that the port came to exist?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It was only in 1882 that the East and West India Dock Company
0:11:03 > 0:11:05decided to build a new downstream dock.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07And they were looking and, obviously,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10saw that there was already a fantastic railway line here
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and so, on the back of that, the docks were built here in 1886.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15So, the railways made it all happen.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Yeah, the railways were the catalyst for the whole development.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19And how's the port doing now?
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Oh, doing very well and a very vast, diverse set of services
0:11:24 > 0:11:27which we ought to go and have a look at.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Today Tilbury Docks
0:11:29 > 0:11:32is the United Kingdom's third-largest container port.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36About 3,000 cargo ships a year use the port,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39handling over 12.5 million tonnes of cargo.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42It's an amazingly busy port today.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45What were they doing here in Victorian times?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Well, when the dock first opened, of course, it was a bit sluggish,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51but there were general cargos coming in.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57For instance, strangely, sausage skins was one,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01but jute and timber products were also coming in.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03One of the oddities was the arrival of zoos.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Whole zoos were being packed up and -
0:12:06 > 0:12:09well, London Zoo, indeed - and being brought here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11So, there were strange pictures I've seen
0:12:11 > 0:12:13of elephants coming off on cranes
0:12:13 > 0:12:17and also quite wild animals like leopards and lions.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19How is it that Tilbury has done so well?
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Well, it has maintained the railway and the road link
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and therefore it is pretty efficient.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And by comparison with the port of London?
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Doesn't exist...does it?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31With all these containers, are they using trains today?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Absolutely, you can see all around us,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35there's something like 50 miles of rail within the docks
0:12:35 > 0:12:39originally and freight liner services are still taking
0:12:39 > 0:12:42out 80% of containers around Great Britain
0:12:42 > 0:12:43and it's absolutely amazing!
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Well, that I have to look at.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51These immensely powerful cranes whisk the containers along as
0:12:51 > 0:12:52though they were weightless.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Looks like there's nothing to it. I'll give it a try!
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- Hello, Ron! - Hello, Michael! Come on up, sir.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08We're going to pick that container up there
0:13:08 > 0:13:10and we're going to put it in what we call a pocket wagon.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- Oh, yes, look at that lovely hole waiting for our container!- OK.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18That bell means Michael Portillo is at the controls, stand aside.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21That's it, forwards, down you go.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Right, one notch and it is beginning to lower.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32That's about right.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Now we're well over the target.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47We're going to drop it into that hole.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- Job done. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59- No problem.- One container down.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02I think I'll leave the rest to Ron!
0:14:02 > 0:14:04- Are you driving the train? - I am indeed.- Where's it headed for?
0:14:04 > 0:14:06This one's going out to Leeds.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Oh, well, a tip for you, I loaded that first wagon there.- Oh, OK.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11So careful on the bends!
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- OK, I'll keep my eye on that one then.- Thank you.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It's time for me to continue my journey.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I'm heading now to Kent, so I need to cross the Thames.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Bradshaw's tells me that, "Steamers ply between this station and the
0:14:30 > 0:14:35"pier at Gravesend at the departure and arrival of every train".
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Sadly, there are no more trains, but the ferry still runs.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45The ferry is still used by dock workers
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and provides the most easterly crossing of the River Thames.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Gravesend, says my guide, is,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01"A capital starting point for a series of excursions throughout
0:15:01 > 0:15:03"the finest parts of Kent.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07"None should neglect Cobham, where, in the old
0:15:07 > 0:15:11"wood and hall, a day's enjoyment can be most fully insured."
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Well, it should therefore be good enough
0:15:13 > 0:15:15for what remains of the evening.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Cobham Hall was the seat of an old Kentish aristocratic family,
0:15:21 > 0:15:22The Darnleys.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Bradshaw's mentions a family mausoleum, grandly situated
0:15:25 > 0:15:28on William's Hill in the grounds of the estate.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32David Standen is going to show me around.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Bradshaw's says that this was "a spacious mausoleum
0:15:35 > 0:15:39"erected in 1783 by Lord Darnley,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42"but never was consecrated."
0:15:42 > 0:15:44What's the story there?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48There are a number of stories as to why it wasn't consecrated,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51ranging from the Bishop running into a storm crossing the Channel
0:15:51 > 0:15:54the day before he was due to consecrate it,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56but the most likely reason,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58the reason that it is sitting here empty today,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02is probably a dispute, an argument between the Earl and the archbishop
0:16:02 > 0:16:05about funding, particularly the amount of money
0:16:05 > 0:16:07that the Darnley family put into the church.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The Third Earl of Darnley ordered the mausoleum to be built
0:16:10 > 0:16:13after his family ran out of burial space in Westminster Abbey.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Completed in 1786, the design was inspired by the classical
0:16:18 > 0:16:21architecture that the Earl had admired
0:16:21 > 0:16:24on his Grand Tour of Italy as a young man.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28It must have been considered extraordinary, architecturally speaking.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Bradshaw's devotes a lot of space to it.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34He tells me that it's built of Portland stone,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38in an octagonal form, and that it cost £9,000!
0:16:38 > 0:16:41It was an incredible piece of architecture of the time.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Well, we're very lucky then that it's survived to the present day.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Quite a miracle that it's survived to the current day.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49It has gone through some very turbulent times,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51particularly in the '70s and '80s.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55The crypt itself was filled with car tyres on Bonfire Night,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57petrol poured on it and set light to,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00which caused the collapse of the roof that's above us now.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05And so how is it that it's been restored to its present very good condition?
0:17:05 > 0:17:10The catalyst was the impact of the high-speed rail link on the edge of the historic park.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14The rail company agreed to put forward £750,000 in compensation
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and that acted as a seed funding for the restoration of the park.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19There's no limit to what the railways can achieve!
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Absolutely.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31It's the end of the day and I'm fortunate to be staying the night at Cobham Hall.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Today, I'm back in Gravesend, pursuing a recommendation
0:17:46 > 0:17:47from my trusty Bradshaw's.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51The guidebook tells me that, "The terraced gardens
0:17:51 > 0:17:54"on each side of the entrance to Gravesend pier
0:17:54 > 0:17:59"are really very creditably and tastefully laid out."
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Unfortunately, they haven't survived,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03but thanks to a military hero
0:18:03 > 0:18:07who lived in Gravesend, there's another delightful open space.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- How are you? - Very well indeed, thank you.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- Good. Can I join you for a moment? - You can.- Who's this?
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- Lily.- Hello, Lily.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Lily, do you walk sometimes in the Gordon Gardens?
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Oh, yes. Every morning, we're down here.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31- I wanted to ask you whether you knew who General Gordon was.- Yes.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36He was the chap that led the British Army at Khartoum.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40The natives took a little bit of a dislike to him
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and pulled him out and - bomp - that was it.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47General Gordon was one of Queen Victoria's favourite army officers.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Born in Woolwich, the son of an artillery officer,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52he distinguished himself in the Crimea
0:18:52 > 0:18:57and in 1860 was posted to China to fight in the so-called Opium Wars.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Upon his return to Britain, he had become a popular figure,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and was posted here to Gravesend.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07I'm meeting Tony Larkin in the gardens named after Gordon
0:19:07 > 0:19:09to find out more.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Now, Gordon of Khartoum, I think of. He died in the Sudan.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13What's he got to do with Gravesend?
0:19:13 > 0:19:15He was in Gravesend for six years.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18It was the longest posting he ever had in one place.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- What was he doing here? - Redevelopment of the forts.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24They were falling to pieces.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26- Was he already quite well known? - Probably not in Gravesend,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29but around the nation as Chinese Gordon, yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Why was he called Chinese Gordon?
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Because of the squashing of the Taiping rebellion.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39In May 1862, Gordon's corps of engineers had been assigned
0:19:39 > 0:19:42to strengthen the defence of Shanghai.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45This free port, so valuable to British trade,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48was threatened by an uprising, the Taiping Rebellion,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50which had raged for 12 years.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54During 18 months, troops under Gordon's command
0:19:54 > 0:19:56helped to suppress the insurrection,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59and to keep the port open.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03This man was so used to warfare, to action and then he's sent to,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07forgive me, Gravesend. Doesn't he get a bit bored here?
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Yes, cos at the end of the day, when you've been
0:20:10 > 0:20:13in action for something like seven years from one place to another,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15fighting and fighting and fighting,
0:20:15 > 0:20:17and suddenly come to a place like Gravesend...
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- Did he warm to Gravesend eventually? - Oh, yes.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I think he really genuinely loved the place.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Probably not the town itself, but its people.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29And it seems that the feeling was mutual.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Tony has led me to an impressive statue
0:20:31 > 0:20:34commemorating General Gordon.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Why were the people of Gravesend so keen to remember Gordon?
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- What had he done for them? - It's the good works, really.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Gordon spent six years here
0:20:41 > 0:20:45looking after the poor and needy of the parish, really.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49General Gordon became the chairman of the local ragged school,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52where he insisted on a far-sighted new code of practice.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55He made laws that any child that came to this school,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58whatever their religion or creed, they were fed with food.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Because there were still these demarcation lines about faiths.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05But Gordon said, you will feed any child or any person
0:21:05 > 0:21:08that comes to this place and you will give them soup and bread
0:21:08 > 0:21:10and that became known as the Gordon law.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16It's been estimated that he gave away 90% of his army pay of £3,000 a year
0:21:16 > 0:21:17to the poor of Gravesend,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21and kept up his generosity in the years after he left.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24In 1884, Gordon was sent to the Sudan
0:21:24 > 0:21:27to help the Egyptians deal with a rebellion.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30He died at the siege of Khartoum.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- What led to Gordon's death? - Well, basically, he was trapped.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35On a personal level, he could have got out, I believe,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37but he would not betray his people.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40He was their father, their guv'nor. He was their boss,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and basically, he decided he would stay with them
0:21:44 > 0:21:47because it would look morally bad for him to run away.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Gordon was a national hero,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and news of his death led to an outpouring of grief...
0:21:55 > 0:21:56..nowhere more than at Gravesend.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06From here I'm embarking on a railway journey across Kent,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08and it sounds as if I'm in for a treat.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23My guidebook enthuses about Kent. "From the diversity
0:22:23 > 0:22:27"of its surface, the noble rivers by which it is watered, the richness
0:22:27 > 0:22:30"and variety of its inland scenery,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33"and the more sublime beauties of its sea coast,
0:22:33 > 0:22:39"this county ranks among the most interesting portions of our island."
0:22:39 > 0:22:41According to Bradshaw's,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45this is not so much the Garden of England as the Garden of Eden!
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I'll be getting out at Rochester, which, Bradshaw's reminds me, was
0:22:57 > 0:23:01"a British town before the Roman invasion.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06"An amphitheatre of hills encircles the beautiful landscape.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09"The Medway serpentines round the castle and cathedral,
0:23:09 > 0:23:14"to render a complete picturesque panorama".
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I have great expectations.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26'I'm told there's a tale or two of this city.'
0:23:26 > 0:23:28You can barely turn or twist
0:23:28 > 0:23:32without spotting a reference to a truly great author.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35This bleak place, overgrown with nettles...
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Charles Dickens.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39..and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and also Georgina, wife of the above, were dead and buried.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47- Well read!- Thank you!
0:23:47 > 0:23:52You must be very keen Dickensians to get dressed up like this.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53There's no doubt who you are.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56You've got the iron around your leg and the rag around your head.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- And I've got my pork pie. - You've got a pork pie so you're the convict,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Magwitch, from Great Expectations, aren't you?
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Why is Dickens so great, in your view?
0:24:05 > 0:24:07I think it was just the characters he had.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Such marvellous characters.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12This is why I like doing Magwitch, but also you have Fagin
0:24:12 > 0:24:15and Miss Havisham. Just so many characters.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16He was an artist!
0:24:16 > 0:24:21He painted these stories so well for us
0:24:21 > 0:24:24and gave us such great descriptive language
0:24:24 > 0:24:27and you're drawn into it straightaway.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Charles Dickens grew up near Rochester,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33falling in love with the house at Gads Hill Place
0:24:33 > 0:24:35when he was a boy.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39He never forgot it and came back to live there in his mid-forties.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41With his photographic memory,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45he could pepper his works with descriptions of people and places,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48drawn from the Rochester of his childhood.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Steve Martin is giving me a tour of this Dickensian city.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Does Rochester make its way into the novels?
0:24:55 > 0:24:57All the way through his major works,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00he uses the buildings that he knew from his youth.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Behind us you've got the lovely clock,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05which, when he was a small boy, he was frightened of.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09In later life he wrote that why on earth was he frightened of such a thing as that?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Another major feature of the High Street here is Rochester Cathedral
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and the castle.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And the town of Rochester in Edwin Drood was called Cloisterham.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20And the centre of the story is based on Rochester Cathedral.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22How did he feel about railways?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Wherever he went, he went by railway,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26even when he was in America.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28But that all changed
0:25:28 > 0:25:31when he was involved in the Staplehurst rail crash.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34The Folkestone to London boat train
0:25:34 > 0:25:40derailed on a viaduct in Staplehurst in Kent in June 1865.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Dickens was in a first-class compartment
0:25:42 > 0:25:45and narrowly escaped with his life.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Charles Dickens was seen to wander around the scene
0:25:48 > 0:25:51giving people brandy and water from his top hat.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54So did he not use the railways again?
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Reluctantly, he did use the railways
0:25:56 > 0:26:01but it did change his opinions of it and he was very reluctant to use them.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Tucked away off the High Street is another gem
0:26:03 > 0:26:05of Rochester's Dickensian heritage
0:26:05 > 0:26:09which was moved here from its original site in Gads Hill.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12And this, of course, is Charles Dickens' writing chalet.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Christmas Eve in 1864, Charles Fector,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18the actor friend of Charles Dickens,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21said he had a Christmas present waiting for him at Higham station
0:26:21 > 0:26:24but he'd have to collect it because it was heavy.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27When they eventually went down there, there were 56 packing cases
0:26:27 > 0:26:29containing 94 pieces.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32The early flat pack and it was the Swiss chalet.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35The story goes he used all his guests and his staff
0:26:35 > 0:26:37to go down and collect it
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and spent the Christmas festivities trying to put it together.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43What use did Charles Dickens make of his Swiss chalet?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45He furnished the upper floor as a study
0:26:45 > 0:26:49and did some of his most famous and most serious work in there.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53What do you think was Dickens' contribution to Victorian society?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Charles Dickens was one of the most...or the best social reformers of his time.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00He was asked to stand for Parliament a couple of times
0:27:00 > 0:27:04but he turned it down, saying to the effect of he could do more by writing one book
0:27:04 > 0:27:07than he could for a lifetime in Parliament.
0:27:07 > 0:27:15Charles Dickens was laid to rest in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey after his death in June 1870.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19His wish to be buried in a simple grave at Rochester Cathedral was ignored.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30General Gordon of Khartoum fought a battle against poverty in Gravesend.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Dr Barnardo, with evangelical zeal,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38created a national institution for the relief of destitute children.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43Charles Dickens was perhaps the greatest Victorian social reformer of all.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48His novels revealed the horrors of the slums and the workhouses
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and he spread the word on speaking tours,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53making use of the new railways.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03'Next time, I'll deliver beer with old-fashioned directness...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Anyone in need of a drink?
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'..learn about some old balls...'
0:28:09 > 0:28:12That is the oldest cricket ball known to exist anywhere in the world.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15It was used in a match at Lords in 1820.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'..and ruffle some feathers in Dorking.'
0:28:19 > 0:28:23I quite like a wash and blow-dry myself, so we're birds of a feather.