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 > 0:00:15and his railway guides inspired the Victorians
0:00:15 > 0:00:17to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Stop by stop, he told them where to go,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23what to see and where to stay.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And now, 170 years later,
0:00:26 > 0:00:31I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures across the United Kingdom
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54I'm continuing my journey on the first Intercity line
0:00:54 > 0:00:58built out of the nation's capital by Robert Stephenson
0:00:58 > 0:01:00between London and Birmingham.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02I'm now in North Buckinghamshire,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06transformed since Bradshaw's day by the construction of Milton Keynes.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08But I should be focusing on towns
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and villages mentioned in my 19th-century guide book.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I began on the commuter lines of London.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I'm heading north on the London Midland line
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and on to the manufacturing heartlands
0:01:27 > 0:01:29of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32After making stops in the East Midlands,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34my journey will conclude in Yorkshire.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Starting in Buckinghamshire, at Bletchley,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40I cross to Fenny Stratford on the branch line,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44before heading north to the Victorian new town of Wolverton.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47This leg ends in Newport Pagnell.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Today, I meet one of the Second World War's most secret agents.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It was all a bit, a bit crafty, really.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57So you took a message which had a meaning
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and you put it into other words,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02- but, of course, the meaning had to be exactly the same.- That's right.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06I'll be testing my knowledge of 18th-century hymns.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09- Do you recognise that one? - You're teasing me. What is it?
0:02:09 > 0:02:10LAUGHTER
0:02:10 > 0:02:14And getting to grips with the ancient craft of vellum making.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16You do this all day?
0:02:16 > 0:02:17This is my afternoon work.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19THEY LAUGH
0:02:26 > 0:02:29My first stop today is Bletchley station.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Bradshaw's tells me of its pivotal position on the rail network.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37"From Bletchley, branch rails turn off left to Winslow,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41"Oxford, and Banbury, and on the right to Bedford."
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Before the Beeching axe fell in the 1960s,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Bletchley formed a junction between the Varsity Line,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51which connected the intellectual powerhouses of Oxford and Cambridge,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54with the London to Birmingham route.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57And during World War Two and our struggle against Nazi Germany,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01the junction assumed a more enigmatic role.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05As Hitler's Luftwaffe bombed Britain, for a time,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09a successful German invasion looked frighteningly possible.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12But Britain was able to fight back more effectively
0:03:12 > 0:03:15thanks to top-secret work undertaken here.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Nowadays, most of us have heard of Bletchley Park
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and its secret code breakers,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24but I hadn't appreciated that it owed its location
0:03:24 > 0:03:26to the busy railway junction nearby.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29The Secret Intelligence Service wanted easy access
0:03:29 > 0:03:32for Britain's top brains and with Bletchley Park
0:03:32 > 0:03:34halfway between Oxford and Cambridge,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37this stretch became known as the Varsity Line.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41But not everyone stationed here was a professor.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44I have a very special appointment with a Bletchley veteran -
0:03:44 > 0:03:4690-year-old Betty Webb.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Great pleasure to be able to join you for some tea.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52This is very nice, isn't it?
0:03:52 > 0:03:56- Had you any idea of what you were coming for?- Absolutely no idea.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Never heard of Bletchley
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and certainly had not heard of the operation
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I was about to be involved in,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06so it was all a complete shock.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10When I came here after signing the Official Secrets Act,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15I was interviewed by Major Testor and joined his group,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20which had offices above the ballroom here.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Although only 18,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Betty was useful to Bletchley's intelligence unit
0:04:24 > 0:04:27because she'd been brought up by a German nanny
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and spoke the language fluently.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32But having signed the Official Secrets Act,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35any loose talk could have invoked terrible penalties.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39The most serious one for talking about secret matters
0:04:39 > 0:04:42which we saw here would have been death.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47So, obviously, one had to immediately put one's mindset
0:04:47 > 0:04:50into such a position that you wouldn't talk about anything,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53anything you heard, saw or read.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57And keeping stumm also meant that Betty was never able
0:04:57 > 0:05:00to tell her parents where she was or what she was doing.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01They never knew,
0:05:01 > 0:05:07because they both died before the veil of secrecy was lifted in 1975.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12So you said nothing, not only during the war, but nothing until 1975?
0:05:12 > 0:05:13That's right.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17And when 1975 came, we felt we didn't want to speak about anything.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19It was very strange,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23you'd been so used to keeping everything to yourself.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27But the sudden release was, well, a bit traumatic, really.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- Are you allowed to tell me now what sort of work you were doing? - Yes, I am.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32What were you doing?
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Well, to begin with, I was registering the messages
0:05:35 > 0:05:39which had come in from our signal stations all over the world.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43They all had to be recorded very accurately.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45They were put onto little cards,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48in very strict order - date and so on,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51so that the code breakers could call on them
0:05:51 > 0:05:53at any time that they needed them.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- Did you need any mathematics in what you were doing?- No.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02What did you need?
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Common sense, really.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Betty went on to handle decoded
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and translated Japanese messages for Churchill.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13But they had to be disguised so that if the enemy picked them up,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16they wouldn't realise that their codes had been broken.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18It was all a bit, a bit crafty, really.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22So you took a message which had a meaning
0:06:22 > 0:06:25and you put it into other words, but, of course,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- the meaning had to be exactly the same.- That's right, absolutely.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30And that was your skill?
0:06:30 > 0:06:32That proved to be my skill, yes.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36How do you feel about the importance of the work?
0:06:36 > 0:06:41Well, now, in very recent years, I've realised just how important it was
0:06:41 > 0:06:46and is to the nation as a whole, and to the world, in fact.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Because without it, we might not be here.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Or we might be here in rather difficult circumstances.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56So I feel very proud of the fact
0:06:56 > 0:07:00that I was part of this operation.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I feel very honoured that Betty has been able to share
0:07:07 > 0:07:10her secret wartime experiences with me.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14But it also makes me wonder whether in today's age of disclosure
0:07:14 > 0:07:18we would have the same sense of discipline and control.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Would WE be able to keep a secret?
0:07:29 > 0:07:32My journey is taking me onto the branch line from Bletchley,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34as there's a village mentioned in my Bradshaw's
0:07:34 > 0:07:36that merits a detour east.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I've taken the Bedford branch to Fenny Stratford
0:07:41 > 0:07:46in order to visit neighbouring Olney, which Bradshaw's tells me is,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48"A town of lace makers,"
0:07:48 > 0:07:52with the house in which the poet William Cowper lived until 1786.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And there follows a bit of Cowper's verse -
0:07:55 > 0:07:59"Yon cottager that weaves at her own door
0:07:59 > 0:08:02"Pillow and bobbins all her little store
0:08:02 > 0:08:04"Content though mean."
0:08:04 > 0:08:08There's more than one reference to Cowper in Bradshaw's,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11suggesting that many years after the poet's death,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15his praises were still being sung.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20CHOIR: # Glorious things of thee are spoken... #
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Cowper was one of England's most respected poets
0:08:23 > 0:08:26in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31In Olney, he found a soulmate in the parish priest, John Newton,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and they formed a working partnership writing hymns.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40St Peter And St Paul would have been Cowper's parish church
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and I'm hoping that Choirmaster John Witchell can unravel
0:08:43 > 0:08:46the mystery of the Olney Hymns.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50# ..Smile at all thy foes. #
0:08:52 > 0:08:57- Hello, John.- Hello, nice to meet you.- Very good to see you.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Thank you very much, everybody. Was that an Olney hymn?
0:09:00 > 0:09:01That was an Olney hymn.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04That, I think, was Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken, wasn't it?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It was indeed. It's one of the most well-known hymns,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09because it's sung so frequently.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Do you regard this as a kind of high point of hymn writing?
0:09:12 > 0:09:18I think so, and I think there was a certain feeling at Olney at the time,
0:09:18 > 0:09:19with these two people,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23they shared the same sort of approach to their spiritual life,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and they spent a lot of time together.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28And out of that came the Olney Hymns
0:09:28 > 0:09:33as a means of teaching the congregation, teaching the people.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37In the 18th century, a new fervour coursed through the Anglican church.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Evangelicals were committed to converting those outside the faith
0:09:41 > 0:09:45and a good hymn melody could sweep along the doubters.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I think what they used to do was to think,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50"Well, what's the theme of the sermon this week?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52"We'd better write a hymn about it,"
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and that's how they compiled the hymn book.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58And the fact that my Bradshaw's is referring to these hymns
0:09:58 > 0:10:00almost a century after they've been written,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03does that mean they had a particular resonance for the Victorians,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- do you think?- I think so.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09I think the feeling, the mood of the words,
0:10:09 > 0:10:15the emphasis on grace and redemption and atonement of sins,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19all those things that were prevalent at the time of Newton and Cowper
0:10:19 > 0:10:20when they were at Olney,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23that continued into the Victorian age as well.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Any idea how many Olney hymns were written?
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Well, we're talking about 280 odd hymns by Newton
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and then Cowper, another 67.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35And are there any others that I might know?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I think you might know quite a few, actually, yes.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Listen to this and see if you recognise it.
0:10:42 > 0:10:49# The Lord has promised good to me
0:10:49 > 0:10:55# His word my hope secures
0:10:55 > 0:11:01# He will my shield and portion be
0:11:01 > 0:11:07# He will my shield and portion be
0:11:07 > 0:11:10# As long as life endures
0:11:10 > 0:11:14# As long as life endures
0:11:14 > 0:11:21# As long, as long as life endures. #
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Do you recognise that one? - You are teasing me. What is it?
0:11:26 > 0:11:27LAUGHTER
0:11:27 > 0:11:28I don't know that.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Well, it's commonly known as Amazing Grace.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34But that goes...
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- HE SINGS:- # Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound... #
0:11:37 > 0:11:40It does, and it just demonstrates how you can sing a tune
0:11:40 > 0:11:43of the same metre to the hymn.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47So Amazing Grace is the one that you know,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- "Amazing Grace...", as you sang. But...- Well, sort of, I'd say.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Sort of, well, I wasn't much better.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54LAUGHTER
0:11:54 > 0:11:57But Hephzibah, which is this tune,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02was the first tune that was sung in the Victorian ages, as far as I know.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03So when Bradshaw was around,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06no doubt this was the tune that was being sung
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and not the one that we sing.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11So were you singing one of the later verses?
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Why didn't I hear the words I know?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Well, because we wanted to catch you out.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16THEY LAUGH
0:12:16 > 0:12:17Well, you did.
0:12:17 > 0:12:26# Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
0:12:26 > 0:12:34# That saved a wretch like me
0:12:34 > 0:12:43# I once was lost but now am found
0:12:43 > 0:12:52# Was blind, but now I see. #
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Listening to the hymns makes me wonder
0:12:59 > 0:13:03whether perhaps we've lost something that needs rediscovering.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07It makes me even more curious about Cowper and Newton's partnership.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12I've been invited by Cowper Museum Trustee Elizabeth Knight
0:13:12 > 0:13:13to find out more.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- Hello, Elizabeth.- Hello, Michael.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22I've come to find out about William Cowper.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Well, I can tell you a lot about him.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26First, I'm going to take you in through his back door.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28That's the way all his visitors had to go,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30because he wouldn't open his front door
0:13:30 > 0:13:33because he had three pet hares who lived in the house.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Come with me.- Thank you.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37What is it about all the English gentlemen
0:13:37 > 0:13:39encountered on this journey so far?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Eccentricity seems to be a theme!
0:13:42 > 0:13:46So John Newton is curate. Was he living close by Cowper's house?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Yes, fairly close, within a stone's throw, almost -
0:13:49 > 0:13:51the two gardens virtually adjoined.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55There was just an orchard in between that belonged to a Mrs Asperey.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57And she allowed the two gentlemen
0:13:57 > 0:13:59to visit one another through her orchard,
0:13:59 > 0:14:04but she charged them a guinea a year for the right of doing this.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Quite a stiff sum of money in those days.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Yes, one pound and one shilling, wasn't it?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12So what brought about the partnership
0:14:12 > 0:14:14of the two men writing hymns?
0:14:14 > 0:14:19I think through the pastoral work, Cowper helped Newton in the town.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22The town was, of course, mostly poor lace makers.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28And we think he heard the lace makers reciting their tells,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32which is a form of counting that helped them with their work,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35and he thought, "If they can learn by rote,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38"perhaps I could teach them the Bible that way."
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And therefore, he used the hymn writing
0:14:41 > 0:14:47either to illustrate a text, a biblical text, a biblical story,
0:14:47 > 0:14:53or anything else that would...sort of, you know, make them learn
0:14:53 > 0:14:57something about Christ and his life.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00In fact, in the 18th century,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Olney had a large population of around 2,000 people,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06and most of them were desperately poor.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09In one of his letters, Cowper wrote,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"I am an eyewitness of their poverty and do know that
0:15:12 > 0:15:16"hundreds of this little town are upon the point of starving
0:15:16 > 0:15:20"and that the most unremitting industry is but barely sufficient
0:15:20 > 0:15:21"to keep them from it.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25"There are nearly 1,200 lace makers in this beggarly town."
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Now, over 200 years later, starvation doesn't stalk Olney.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36But in those desperate days, the hymns of Cowper and Newton
0:15:36 > 0:15:38brought the hope of salvation.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53After my enlightening visit to Olney,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I'm heading west from Fenny Stratford,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59where I plan to rejoin the main line north.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02And after a day of spies and spires,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I aspire to find a bed for the night.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06I'm alighting at Wolverton
0:16:06 > 0:16:10and Bradshaw's has another recommendation for me,
0:16:10 > 0:16:11close by in Stony Stratford.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19The high street in Stony Stratford is straight as an arrow,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22it's the old Roman road from north to south, Watling Street,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26and as such, it has a good collection of old coaching inns.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30In the early 1700s, these inns were a bit like our motels.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The Bull and The Cock, both heard their share of travellers' tales,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38which grew ever taller as the guests moved between the two inns
0:16:38 > 0:16:39and the drink flowed.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Hence the expression "cock and bull",
0:16:42 > 0:16:45describing their increasingly exaggerated stories.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47The Bull back there looked pretty good,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50but Bradshaw's recommends The Cock.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Sounds like the perfect place for me to stay the night.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I'm up early to visit Wolverton,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10a town that owes its origins directly to the railway.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Bradshaw's tells me that "Wolverton has an increasing population
0:17:19 > 0:17:22"of 2,730, chiefly dependent
0:17:22 > 0:17:25"on the London and North Western Railway Company,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28"who have a depot and extensive factories here."
0:17:28 > 0:17:30And then, Bradshaw's becomes quite whimsical.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"While Crewe is the nursery,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36"Wolverton is the hospital for locomotives."
0:17:36 > 0:17:37Aw(!)
0:17:39 > 0:17:43In the 1830s, the London to Birmingham railway
0:17:43 > 0:17:46needed locomotives and somewhere to repair them.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53Wolverton became the Victorians' first purpose-built railway town.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58I'm here to meet local historian Bill Griffiths
0:17:58 > 0:18:01to find out more about this unique railway centre.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Bill, this is a vast Victorian vista of industrialisation, isn't it?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11How quickly was Wolverton developed?
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Well, if you go back to the 1830s, this was all farmland,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16so we'd be standing on a greenfield site,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19just like Milton Keynes was built on a greenfield site.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22All of a sudden, from 1837, 1838 onwards,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26it became a small town and then grew very rapidly.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Within a very short time, there were 1,000 people working here.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Why was Wolverton chosen for the engineering works?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34There was a huge engine shed here.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I think it'd accommodate 36 locomotives.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40A lot of those were kept unseen. So these locomotives arrive from London,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42because the early locomotives
0:18:42 > 0:18:46just couldn't do the 112 miles. They had to stop and be reserviced.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48At that time, there was a thinking
0:18:48 > 0:18:51that all locomotives should be serviced after about 50 miles.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52And I think it was even contemplated
0:18:52 > 0:18:55to have an Act of Parliament to make that happen.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58It must have been amazing in its day. Mind you,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01it's still doing important work by the look of it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02What's going on here?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05They are refurbishing one of the most modern trains,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07one of the pride of the fleet, I suppose,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10one of the trains that runs to Heathrow.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Well, it looks as if it's pretty well ready,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14but I'm quite interested in seeing
0:19:14 > 0:19:15not just the works, but also the town.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18- Shall we take a stroll? - Let's have a look.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I'm beginning to spot that the houses and the streets
0:19:29 > 0:19:33have been laid out and planned specifically for railway workers.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Is the town important in railway history?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Incredibly important. I think it's as important as the works.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49It was the first town in the world built for the railway.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51And it also was built on a grid system,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54very much like Milton Keynes is built on a grid system,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56and the layout was such that,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58in the rows of houses, you had the cottages in the middle
0:19:58 > 0:20:02and then at the end, you had a slightly better-quality building
0:20:02 > 0:20:03that was for the foreman.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07That social structure was reflected in their daily life as well,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12because at work, the foreman would wear bowler hats
0:20:12 > 0:20:14and would wear a three-piece suit,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16whereas the men would wear their appropriate clothing,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20depending really very much upon what they were doing.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Do you think there was something particular about the nature of work
0:20:23 > 0:20:26for the railways that made the company behave in this way
0:20:26 > 0:20:27towards its workers?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Yes, I think there was. I think the railway was the new industry,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32so it's very much perhaps like IT today,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35or perhaps the Rolls-Royce that we know of.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39It was a company that wanted to encourage a skilled workforce,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43a respectable workforce, a workforce that would be contributing
0:20:43 > 0:20:46to the locomotive building of the time.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48A model town built by a model employer.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54A forward-thinking, yet paternalistic Victorian society
0:20:54 > 0:20:56made all this happen.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01But sadly, over 150 years later, while the houses are still here,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05the line linking Wolverton to Newport Pagnell has been axed.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Now the line's become a cycle track,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12but it remains my best way to my next destination.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Up until the 1960s, the engines that ran on the line
0:21:25 > 0:21:28were affectionately known as Newport Nobby.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32The line was built to carry workers to the Wolverton railway works
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and at peak times, the workmen's trains could have
0:21:35 > 0:21:37as many as six coaches.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40But while the line has faded into history,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45the town is still the home of an ancient craft - vellum making.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47And as a former Member of Parliament,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50I'm very familiar with the great acts of law,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54written so beautifully on this very specially crafted skin.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57And I welcome the opportunity to see how it's made.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Master Craftsman Paul Wright has been making vellum for five years.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09The smell, first of all, the smell is overpowering.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11I'm almost gagging.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14And now, I find what - pits of animal remains?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17I mean, the whole thing is smelling of farmyard and cow.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21What we do here is, we pretty much recreate what has been done
0:22:21 > 0:22:24for 4,000 to 5,000 years.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The reason it looks medieval - because it almost IS medieval.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31And...what's going on with it here?
0:22:31 > 0:22:33In the vats that you see around you,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37there are certain chemicals and the chemicals will effectively,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42they will loosen the hair and they will start to decay the flesh,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43from the flesh side.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46I can tell you that it smells rotten.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51'All the skins that Paul uses are a waste product from farming.'
0:22:51 > 0:22:53What is vellum, what is parchment
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and what skins can you make them out of?
0:22:55 > 0:23:02A vellum is the whole skin, typically for us, of a goat or a calf.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06A parchment typically is from a sheep, but we've split the skin.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10So the parchment is the finer material?
0:23:10 > 0:23:13It is the finer material. If you imagine a book, the vellum would be
0:23:13 > 0:23:17the bindings of the book and the parchment would be the pages.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21If you were very, very wealthy, even the pages would be of vellum
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and they are absolutely stunning.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28A little tale for you -
0:23:28 > 0:23:32so prized was the finest manuscript
0:23:32 > 0:23:36that the master vellum makers would be kidnapped
0:23:36 > 0:23:38and that's the last he'd see of his family.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41So determined were they...to have just...
0:23:41 > 0:23:44that only his products went to them.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47I hope things are a bit less onerous now.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Now, I'm not sure I really want to get TOO good at this,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54but I suppose I've got to start somewhere.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Now, you want to sort of lean against this...
0:23:56 > 0:23:58'The big knife is called a scudder.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02'I've got to take all the hair off keeping this razor sharp blade
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'as flat as possible, because the skin is the writing surface.'
0:24:07 > 0:24:13This is like shaving with one of those open razors, isn't it?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I dare say somebody else would go a bit faster than I'm going.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22Well, you should really do probably 15 whole vellums a day
0:24:22 > 0:24:24to earn your bag of corn.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28I suggest, at this rate, you're going to go...somewhat hungry.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29THEY LAUGH
0:24:29 > 0:24:33'Once the hair's been removed and there are no ugly marks left,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37'the skin's tied onto a frame to be worked more finely.'
0:24:37 > 0:24:40This is Lee. Lee is a master vellum maker.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43What he's doing there is cleaning
0:24:43 > 0:24:46the flesh from the back of the skin.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49'This looks more physical and more skilled,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51'so there's more room to make mistakes.'
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- Hello, Lee.- Hello.- Hello. - Nice to meet you.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- So you're a master vellum maker. - I am.- How many are you in Britain?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00I'm the only one and I have one apprentice.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02MICHAEL GIGGLES
0:25:02 > 0:25:05So have you any tips, Master Vellum Maker?
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Keeping hands like this, and it's punching into the skin.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So you...see this flesh here...
0:25:12 > 0:25:14You punch...you want to get a roll started
0:25:14 > 0:25:16and then, you get underneath the flesh.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- It's a punching action.- And I can be fairly vigorous, can I?
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- You can go as hard as you like. - Really?- Yes.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32I don't seem to be getting that much off compared to you.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34What am I doing wrong here?
0:25:34 > 0:25:36- Oh, there's a bit. - There you go, yeah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38You want to try to get a roll started,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40- so you're digging into the flesh. - Yeah.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42You do this all day?
0:25:42 > 0:25:43This is my afternoon work.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45THEY LAUGH
0:25:47 > 0:25:50After the process of shaving and scraping,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52there's still much work to be done,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55but I'm beginning to see how strong vellum is.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Considering documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00or illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03I can understand why they have survived -
0:26:03 > 0:26:06because vellum doesn't tear or rot.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09So when you shave and you scrape, and you shave and you scrape,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11this is what you end up with.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15It's absolutely marvellous, it is silky, silky smooth.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17What would that be used for, Paul?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20This one here may well become an Act of Parliament.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Ah, yes. Well, actually, your room here reminds me
0:26:23 > 0:26:27of the room in Parliament where the Acts of Parliament are stored.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Because all the old Acts of Parliament are vellum
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and are wound up into a scroll,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and there are, I suppose, hundreds of thousands of them.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Each one is identified by a little label.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38And I've seen them rolled out in front of me
0:26:38 > 0:26:40and I've seen Henry VIII's signature.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It lasts for so long. Long after everyone else is gone.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45This is the stuff.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48As a little memento of your day's visit here...
0:26:48 > 0:26:51On your programme, you constantly have your book in your hand,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54so we've created this little bookmark
0:26:54 > 0:26:57with an image of a train on there
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and it says - "Awarded to Mr Michael Portillo in recognition
0:27:00 > 0:27:03"of his appointment as an honorary vellum and parchment maker."
0:27:03 > 0:27:05What you have done today,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09less than half a dozen people have done in the world.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11That is most handsome, isn't it? Look at that -
0:27:11 > 0:27:15a beautiful locomotive and a lovely piece of vellum.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20And absolutely the perfect gift for a man who lives by his Bradshaw's.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27This section of my journey has focused on two generations
0:27:27 > 0:27:30whose achievements should be recorded on vellum.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The early Victorians who, with brains and brawn,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36built the railway works at Wolverton,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and those who joined the Second World War
0:27:39 > 0:27:43and, with intellect and discretion, broke Hitler's codes.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47The first generation bequeathed to us the benefits of industry
0:27:47 > 0:27:52and the second secured our freedom so that we may enjoy them.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57On the next leg of my journey,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I discover a tradition unaltered since Victorian times.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04It's like most things in life - you can learn it in two weeks,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06but it takes you a lifetime to be any good at it.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I hear about the man who changed education around the world.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12These were people capable of running the British Empire?
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Very much so, and that was part of Arnold's great reform.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20And I see how a city rode out economic cycles.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23This is the forerunner of all modern bicycles
0:28:23 > 0:28:24and known as the safety bicycle.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28- For the good reason that everything that came before was not.- Exactly!