0:00:05 > 0:00:09In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13His name was George Bradshaw and his railway guides
0:00:13 > 0:00:16inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Stop by stop he told them where to go, what to see
0:00:20 > 0:00:22and where to stay.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures
0:00:28 > 0:00:33across the United Kingdom to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57I'm at the halfway point of my journey around north west England
0:00:57 > 0:01:00that began with the historic grime of Manchester's mills
0:01:00 > 0:01:05and will end with the natural beauty of Derbyshire's peaks.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Today, 19th century tracks will take me to an ancient tradition,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12a medieval tower and Victorian tourism.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20On this leg, I hear about unscrupulous Victorian grocers.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23There was a lot of food adulteration that went on.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Oatmeal was often mixed with gravel or sand.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30This appears to be about 90% gravel!
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I have to hail a train at a request stop.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37Success!
0:01:37 > 0:01:42And I learn of King James's beefiest knighting.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46He took his sword and dubbed this loin of beef,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49"Arise, Sir Loin."
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And everybody went "Whoa!"
0:01:56 > 0:02:01My journey began in Manchester, headed west to sunlit Merseyside,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04took the sea air in Southport
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and will now traverse Lancashire toward Bradford,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11and turn south to steely South Yorkshire, ending in Derbyshire,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14where the father of the railway, George Stevenson,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16has his eternal rest.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Today's leg starts in Preston, goes east to Pleasington,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25takes in Church and Oswaldtwistle,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Hebden Bridge and Rochdale.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38My first stop is Preston,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42whose pageantry scores a mention in Bradshaw's.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45"One of its most peculiar institutions is its ancient guild
0:02:45 > 0:02:49"held every 20 years, at which the aristocracy of the country
0:02:49 > 0:02:54"have been wont to assemble as participants in the festivities."
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Toffs and tradition - you can't beat it.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Striding the River Ribble, Preston's Victorian port, the Albert Edward Dock,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05shipped Lancashire coal
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and the textiles produced by the town's 40 cotton mills.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14I'm heading to the market square to find out how the town's guilds,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17the associations of merchants, artisans and tradesmen,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21have come together for centuries to celebrate trade in Preston.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Emma Heslewood is curator at the Harris Museum.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- Hello.- Lovely to meet you.- And you.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Bradshaw's tells me that a guild was held every 20 years.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36What is a guild?
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Preston is the last surviving guild celebration and it dates back
0:03:39 > 0:03:44to 1179, when Preston got its first Royal Charter from Henry II.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48The guild was actually an organisation of merchants
0:03:48 > 0:03:52who were parts of guild companies, like tanners and butchers,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56and they formed an organisation called a guild which was a right
0:03:56 > 0:03:58that was given in the charter to have a guild.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It was a list of anyone who could live, work and trade
0:04:01 > 0:04:04in a town, a market town, like Preston.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Bradshaw's mentions festivities. What were they?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Processions. All the guild members would come to Preston
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and they would process in their finery to the Guild Court.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17The guild membership also included the local landowners
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and aristocracy who owned property in Preston.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25There are some great descriptions of guilds in 1762 and '82,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27of all the diamonds and bling.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31What would the guild have been like at the time of my Bradshaw's guide, the 1862 Guild?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The 1862 Guild was an interesting one
0:04:34 > 0:04:37because it was the first time after the real introduction of railways,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40so the railway companies started to do deals.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44This meant that people came to Preston, and Preston became extremely overcrowded.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47You actually had 100,000 visitors in 1862.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54'The Harris Museum is hosted within an impressive 19th century
0:04:54 > 0:04:56'neoclassical building.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'It holds the largest collection of Preston Guild memorabilia.'
0:05:00 > 0:05:03One of the things that is really special about the Preston Guild
0:05:03 > 0:05:06is that we have a full set of these guild books,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08which are the lists of all the guild members.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12The first one that survives is from 1397.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17But we actually have guild books from 1542, every 20 years.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21We actually have the guild book from 1862
0:05:21 > 0:05:25which records all the people who attended the Guild Court that year.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Isn't that the most beautiful presentation. Lovely page.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Yes, every single guild book follows the same sort of format
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and has this decorative page which says,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39"The Guild Merchant of the borough of Preston in the county of Lancaster,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42"holden here on Monday the first day of September,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46"being the Monday after the feast of the Decollation of St John the Baptist,"
0:05:46 > 0:05:49which is the traditional point when the guild is held.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54So here, the first one is Peter Abbot of Preston,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58son of William of Waltney Dale, formerly a Preston weaver, deceased
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and all of his children.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04You have a really interesting document because it gives you an insight
0:06:04 > 0:06:07into the jobs and occupations of people in the 19th century.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10And there's something even more interesting that I want to show you over here.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13We have this amazing advert which was for the highlight
0:06:13 > 0:06:19of Preston Guild of 1862, which was the appearance of the great Blondin.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Blondin was the tightrope walker.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26"Blondin, the hero of Niagara, the wonder of his age
0:06:26 > 0:06:28"has the honour to announce that he will appear in Preston
0:06:28 > 0:06:30"on Monday evening of Guild Week
0:06:30 > 0:06:35"and will make his wonderful night ascent on a high rope
0:06:35 > 0:06:39"amidst the most gorgeous and magnificent display of fireworks."
0:06:39 > 0:06:43So this was the spectacle that hundreds of thousands of people
0:06:43 > 0:06:46came to Preston to see on the evening of the first of September.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Tightropes and fireworks. Wonderful.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Conjuring such images of high wire acts,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57fireworks and aristocrats, it might be easy to forget that
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Preston Guild Week is primarily about merchants and tradespeople.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06To refocus, I'm on my way to Preston's marina
0:07:06 > 0:07:08to meet businessman Chris Miller.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Chris, yours is a family business, is it? What do you do?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16We are into moving awkward loads.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Transporting them and lifting them, that's what we do.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And how far back does the family business go,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- moving these awkward loads? - Well, we say 1837.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29My great-great grandfather came down from Nether Kellet in 1837
0:07:29 > 0:07:31with a horse and cart, and he made a start.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Then my great-grandfather carried on through the late 1800s.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Then my grandfather carried on and then my father,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and I'm still moving awkward loads.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45And what sort of loads were they moving in the old days?
0:07:45 > 0:07:49Cotton weaving looms were very, very big in Lancashire
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and we moved hundreds, thousands of those.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56My own career started with moving looms out of Lancashire
0:07:56 > 0:08:00to India and Pakistan, from where we now import all the textiles
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and the Lancashire cotton industry is no more.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07You or your family involved in the guild every 20 years?
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Yes. The first mention of our family being connected with the guild
0:08:12 > 0:08:17was in 1882, when my grandfather on my mother's side was in attendance.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Have you been involved in the guild?
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Well, I've been involved in the last, personally,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26in the last three guilds, which is not a good thing to say
0:08:26 > 0:08:28because they only happen every 20 years.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31I have a feeling you got a bit of an honour, didn't you?
0:08:31 > 0:08:35I was fortunate enough to be nominated for a Guild Burgess
0:08:35 > 0:08:36and I accepted.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41It's not the honour you might imagine that it is.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Once upon a time you could drive your sheep up Fisher Gate
0:08:44 > 0:08:47but I haven't any sheep and we don't do that anymore.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49So why have we met in the marina?
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Because I thought it was an opportunity
0:08:51 > 0:08:53to show you what we still do.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57This is what we've been doing for 175 years and we are still doing it.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01We're moving awkward loads and what could be more awkward,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04some would say, than a boat? OK, Jack, take it away.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Making light work of that.
0:09:15 > 0:09:16Round she comes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21You can see they've got a lot of experience of doing this.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It's all done by hand signals. Nothing left to chance.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Touching the water. Hasn't even created a ripple.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31We don't like to make a splash.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's not good news when we make a splash.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Chris, beautiful work.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I think you've earned your place in the next guild.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42The next guild - 2032!
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- See you there. - We'll see how we go on!
0:09:49 > 0:09:52'Although I'm tempted to continue my journey by boat,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54'I've backtracked to Preston Station
0:09:54 > 0:09:57'from where I'll head east on Northern Rail toward Blackburn.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:10I shall be getting off at Pleasington.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13There's a rather puzzling entry in my Bradshaw's.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17"Close at hand is Hoghton Tower, the old seat of the Hoghtons.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21"Here, James I knighted the sirloin of beef."
0:10:22 > 0:10:25A meaty story to crown this part of my journey.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- Hello, there.- Excuse me, I'm getting off at Pleasington,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42- which, I think, is a request stop. - It is, yes.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47- Could we stop at Pleasington please? - I'll make the arrangements for you. - Thank you, very much indeed.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02According to Bradshaw's, Hoghton has a daily arrival and departure
0:11:02 > 0:11:05to and from London, but since those glory days,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09Hoghton Station has closed and so Pleasington it must be.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Hoghton Tower is the ancestral home of the de Hoghton family
0:11:15 > 0:11:18descended directly from Harvey de Walter,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21a companion to William the Conqueror.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23What a magnificent pile.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28A great looming castle, leering over the plain beneath.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33The manor, which was originally 12th century,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37was rebuilt and redesigned in the 1500s.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40I'm hoping the current occupant, the 14th baronet,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Sir Bernard de Hoghton, will know why.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48- Bernard.- Michael, good to see you.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50What a wonderful house.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53What happened to the old fortification?
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Well, in 1560, Thomas de Hoghton decided that he really didn't want
0:11:58 > 0:12:01to go on living in a cold, damp castle.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03He was a figure of the Renaissance
0:12:03 > 0:12:08and wanted that style of life which really changed from the Middle Ages.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11During the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14the de Hoghtons were busy in Parliament
0:12:14 > 0:12:18as prominent members of the Whig Party and decamped from the house.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23Eventually they would return, perhaps after some prompting by a popular author.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27We think that the ninth baronet, Sir Henry de Hoghton,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31might have read Charles Dickens' novel, George Silverman's Explanation,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34which was based upon his visit to this house,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38describing how tragic this wonderful house had become.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Dickens came here? - Dickens came here, yes.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43And in fact William Shakespeare,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47it's considered, between 1579 and 1581,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51also became part of the retinue of Alexander de Hoghton
0:12:51 > 0:12:56and probably learned quite a lot of his stage craft here
0:12:56 > 0:13:00from Faulke Gyllom, who was the Master of The Revels.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04So, as I tread these stones, I'm walking in the footsteps
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- of Shakespeare and Dickens. - Yes, you are.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14It's said that the fear of what it would cost to host the king,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17his entourage and standing army on his journey back to London
0:13:17 > 0:13:19from Scotland in 1611,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24led one Lancashire household to take the roof off its home
0:13:24 > 0:13:28whilst another burnt down its house to avoid any royal visit.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34But the recently created Baronet Richard de Hoghton
0:13:34 > 0:13:37welcomed King James I and committed to provide him
0:13:37 > 0:13:40with lavish hospitality and the finest food.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45We actually have the original menu
0:13:45 > 0:13:49of what the king was offered with his court.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It's the most wonderful menu, isn't it?
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Haunch of venison, gibbets of mutton, plovers, turkeys.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57How did the sirloin story come about?
0:13:57 > 0:14:03The king noticed this wonderful loin of beef on this table
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and said to his host, "Bring it to me."
0:14:07 > 0:14:10The two pages immediately on their knees.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14He took his sword and drew it
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and dubbed this loin of beef,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22"Arise Sir Loin," and everybody went "Whoa!"
0:14:23 > 0:14:27And that has remained in the English language ever since.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You're seriously telling me that is the origin of sirloin?
0:14:30 > 0:14:35Absolutely. Dated August 1617 in the very room we're both standing in.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40'In more modern times, unlike so many of the landed aristocracy,
0:14:40 > 0:14:46'the de Hoghtons had no beef with the railways traversing their land.'
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Presumably your family must have granted the land?
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Yes, they did, in about 1840.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53They allowed it to move from Blackburn to Preston.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56There was a railway station at the bottom
0:14:56 > 0:15:01but the thing that is really lovely around here is the Houghton viaduct,
0:15:01 > 0:15:06about 110 foot tall and with about three arches, 65 feet wide.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It's a very splendid building.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12This is the most perfect place to do train spotting, isn't it?
0:15:12 > 0:15:14That reminds me, I'm afraid that I have a train to catch.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18- Thank you so much for your hospitality.- Michael, not at all. Nice to meet you. Bye-bye.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25'Back to Pleasington to continue my journey.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27'I'm used to flagging down a bus
0:15:27 > 0:15:30'but is the etiquette with trains different?'
0:15:32 > 0:15:35So, how do you flag the train?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Wave your arm if you see the train coming down the track.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Just wave your arm, then step back away from the edge.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- And that will do it, will it? - Should do, yes. I hope so!
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- Thanks. Have a good journey. - Thank you. You too.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Success!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00'Safely on board, I'm off to spend the night
0:16:00 > 0:16:04'in a worryingly infamous hotel across the Hoghton viaduct.'
0:16:10 > 0:16:14As evening draws in, I'm going to alight at the delightfully named
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Church and Oswaldtwistle.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Bradshaw's mentions Dunkenhalgh Park.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24There's rumours of a ghost there and the spirit moves me to visit.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43'The Dunkenhalgh phantom is Lucette, a French woman
0:16:43 > 0:16:47'who took her own life here in the 18th century.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'The ghost is reputed to take its seat on the end of a guest's bed
0:16:51 > 0:16:54'but I hope it won't be tempted to read me a bedtime story.'
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Incredibly, the pale figure of a woman
0:17:04 > 0:17:08came gliding down my corridor and tapped softly at my door.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Yes, it was the hotel's complimentary bed turn-down service.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'Not a ghost train for me this morning.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21'I'm travelling from Accrington station, heading east.'
0:17:26 > 0:17:28TANNOY: Hebden Bridge, next stop.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40The beautiful station of Hebden Bridge.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43I'm hoping to be here later but for the moment I'm changing line,
0:17:43 > 0:17:48heading down to Rochdale, another boom town of the Industrial Revolution.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Rochdale. Bradshaw's comments that it's a modern borough,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00returning one Member of Parliament.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Most industrial towns and cities gained representation in Parliament
0:18:04 > 0:18:08only in the 19th century, and even so, most working men were excluded
0:18:08 > 0:18:11from politics because they didn't have the vote.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13They sought other ways of coming together
0:18:13 > 0:18:16to improve the condition of their lives.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36A textile town with mills powered by the waters of the River Roch,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Rochdale was linked first by canal in 1804
0:18:40 > 0:18:45and then by railway in 1838 to Manchester, hub of the north west.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Rochdale's town hall, a fine piece of Victorian gothic,
0:18:50 > 0:18:55opened in 1871 and is testament to the town's prosperity.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58But not everyone was thriving.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Overseeing Rochdale's historic collections is Gillian Lonergan.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- Gillian, hello.- Welcome. - What a wonderful building.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It reminds me of Parliament. It must be the same vintage.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Yes, they were completed at about the same time.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Why would Rochdale want such a grand town hall?
0:19:16 > 0:19:19There was a lot of competition between local authorities
0:19:19 > 0:19:23in building their town halls to make them that little bit more flamboyant.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- And plenty of wealth. - Yes, plenty of wealth to run it.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30'But in the hands of the enterprising few,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34'Rochdale's wealth largely failed to trickle down to the men and women
0:19:34 > 0:19:38'from whose toil the town had made its fortune.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41'In the years before what came to be known as the Hungry '40s,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45'north west MPs John Bright and Richard Cobden
0:19:45 > 0:19:47'formed the Anti-Corn Law League.'
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Now, the Corn Laws restricted imports of cheap wheat, didn't they,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and so drove up the price of bread, drove up the price of food?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59How much did that affect the working man and woman in Rochdale?
0:19:59 > 0:20:02A lot of them were starving, they couldn't afford to eat.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Eventually, these two and others were successful in getting the Corn Laws
0:20:06 > 0:20:10repealed in 1846, but before that there had been a lot of suffering.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Yes. Rochdale had a really hard time with it.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18So what did working men and women attempt to do about their plight?
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The Chartists were trying to campaign for working people
0:20:21 > 0:20:25to get the vote but there were other organisations that were set up,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27like co-operative societies.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Working people getting together to work together.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It was no good waiting for the great and the good to come in
0:20:33 > 0:20:35and improve things.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41Over the next 170 years or so, the Co-operative movement has spread
0:20:41 > 0:20:45so successfully, that the United Nations designated 2012
0:20:45 > 0:20:48The International Year of the Co-operative.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50The movement has come a long way since
0:20:50 > 0:20:54The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society was formed in 1844.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Now a common sight on many a British high street,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03the first ever Co-op shop opened here, at 31 Toad Lane.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- So who were these Rochdale Pioneers? - They were ordinary working people.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11About half of them were involved in the textile industries.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14They would be working 14 hours a day in the mill
0:21:14 > 0:21:17and they would get together in the evenings for meetings.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20They actually said that if they could change all of production,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24distribution, education and government to co-operation,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27that the world would be a better place.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Well, let's start small with the shop.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39They had saved up £28, a pound per member.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41It doesn't sound like a lot now
0:21:41 > 0:21:43but then it would take a skilled craftsman
0:21:43 > 0:21:46a week-and-a half to two weeks to earn a pound.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48So it was a huge investment that they were making.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50And what were they trading in?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Butter, sugar, flour and oatmeal.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Those were the basic staples of life.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Was the point for setting up a shop really about prices?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03It was partly prices, they wanted honest pricing,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07but also there was a lot of food adulteration that went on.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11For example, flour. When you bought flour, you were likely to find
0:22:11 > 0:22:13it was half chalk, half flour.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16And oatmeal, another one of the staples,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19was often mixed with gravel or sand.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21This appears to be about 90% gravel!
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Food really wasn't very healthy at the time.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Not only did they adulterate food but they also weighted the scales
0:22:30 > 0:22:33so that you weren't buying as much as you thought you were.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36So the pioneers had their scales on open show.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Everybody knew it was honest business.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44What state had the co-operative societies reached by the 1860s?
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Co-operation was spreading across the country.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51In 1863, the co-operative societies in the north of England
0:22:51 > 0:22:55actually got together to form the North Of England Co-operative Wholesale Society,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58which is now known as the Co-operative Group.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00We have their original visitors book.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05In 1863, they had visitors from St Petersburg, Paris, Germany,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Belfast, as well as across the whole of the UK,
0:23:09 > 0:23:14coming here to see how they could operate their own co-op societies.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18There's a lovely article in The Co-operator for 1860,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21slightly before the Bradshaw's date.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25But it talks about them coming on a third class covered carriage,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29very comfortably, and singing all the way.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37'In tune with my timetable, I'm heading to my final destination,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40'a place renowned for its natural beauty.'
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Bradshaw's gives me much to look forward to at my next stop.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57"In the bottom of a deep dale is seen the little village of Hebden Bridge,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00"surrounded by lofty ridges of moorland heights,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02"partly clothed with woods
0:24:02 > 0:24:07"and partly spotted with groups of cottages and farmhouses."
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Absolutely enticing.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Nowhere better represents the impact of the railways
0:24:14 > 0:24:17on Victorian leisure than Hebden Bridge.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19It had been no more than a few mills and some houses
0:24:19 > 0:24:21dotted along the river.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25But in 1840 the railways brought swathes of working people
0:24:25 > 0:24:28on day trips from industrial towns,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31keen to view the loveliness of the Calder Valley.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36'Diana Monahan is a local historian.'
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- Diana.- How do you do, Michael? - Good to see you.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42What a beautiful station with its local stone, I suppose,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and the columns and the old signage.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Is this what would have been here in Bradshaw's time?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50No, this was actually built in about 1892 to replace the station
0:24:50 > 0:24:53that was built in 1840 when the line opened.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56The problem was that the waiting rooms were far too small
0:24:56 > 0:24:59and in those days the ladies had crinoline dresses
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and you wouldn't get many crinoline-dressed ladies in one waiting room.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05We are in the most beautiful countryside.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07These people, even from 1840,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11- were beginning to come for tourism, were they?- Yes, they were.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It was very popular, particularly on Whitsuntide,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18to go into Hardcastle Crags and the countryside around Colden Clough,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21all the lovely valleys that we had coming down to the Calder.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24I can't help noticing you have got a lovely picnic basket.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28- May I carry that for you, perhaps? - It's a bit heavy, I'm afraid. - Let's set off.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Is this beautiful bridge the one from which the town takes its name?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39It is indeed, Michael. It's over 500 years old
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and it had its birthday party in 2010.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44And what about the impact of the railways?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It must have been exponential on the number of visitors?
0:25:47 > 0:25:52At the time of Bradshaw's in 1866, they had over 2,000 in one weekend.
0:25:52 > 0:25:58And then in the 1890s, over 12,000 came in one weekend.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00So, yes, it did have an effect.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16I can see the water down there
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and there's quite a nice quote here in Bradshaw.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24"Through the dark recesses is heard the roar of the Calder
0:26:24 > 0:26:27"and its various tributaries rushing,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30"occasionally in sheets of spray over the precipitous heights."
0:26:30 > 0:26:32That's rather nice.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35This is one of the tributaries of the Calder, Hebden Water.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39People would have come here for the wonderful nature and scenery
0:26:39 > 0:26:42and they might have to come to listen to the birds
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and watch the animals, the otters. It's just lovely.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Forward.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57All right, Michael, I've brought some Whitsuntide buns for our picnic.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- Did you bake those?- I did.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03Delicious.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Hebden Bridge is still very important for tourists today, isn't it, Diana?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10It is, yes. It's one of the main industries really.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15Whilst the smoke has disappeared from the chimneys of the mills,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18the natural beauty is the same as in Victorian times.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Yes, and you can still go for the most beautiful walks
0:27:21 > 0:27:24from Hebden Bridge up on the tops and look down on the town.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Despite the jolly pageantry of the Preston Guild,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40life for Victorian workers in northern mill towns was pretty grim.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It was during the so-called Hungry 1840s,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47that Rochdale men found founded the Co-operative Society.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51But standing here, it's a relief to recall that once the railways were built,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55mill operatives could occasionally escape the grime and smoke
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and fill their lungs with fresh air.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09On the next leg, I learn how Victorians marketed confectionery.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12"On Saturday last, you were eating Mackintosh's toffee at our expense!
0:28:12 > 0:28:16"Next Saturday pay us another visit and eat it at your own expense."
0:28:16 > 0:28:19- That's brilliant, brilliant!- Which was an unusual way of advertising.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21I get a tailor-made fitting.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Most people have got one shoulder lower than the other, and you have.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- Where I've been writing over the years, yes.- All them cheques.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32And I help to revive a cinematic railway legend.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Oakworth! Oakworth Station!
0:28:36 > 0:28:38CHEERING
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Oakworth!