0:00:05 > 0:00:10'In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12'His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:16'and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'Stop by stop, he told them where to go,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'what to see and where to stay.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25'And now, 170 years later,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29'I'm aboard for a series of rail adventures
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'across the United Kingdom
0:00:31 > 0:00:34'to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:55During the course of my journeys, I've often been struck
0:00:55 > 0:00:58by how the Victorians pushed out the boundaries of human knowledge.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Today, I want to see how subsequent generations inherited
0:01:02 > 0:01:07their spirit with new things being discovered and indeed unearthed.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17All this week, I've been travelling away from the capital
0:01:17 > 0:01:19and its toiling masses,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23heading north on Stephenson's London to Birmingham line.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24I've yet to explore
0:01:24 > 0:01:26the Victorian manufacturing hub of the East Midlands
0:01:26 > 0:01:30before ending my journey in the Yorkshire city of Leeds.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36On today's journey, I travel on the first Victorian main line,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38through Leicestershire to Rothley,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41to meet up with the last main line to be built,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and then it's a short hop to Loughborough.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47'On this leg of my journey, I swap hats
0:01:47 > 0:01:50'and view life from the other side of the tracks.'
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Rothley! This is Rothley!
0:01:53 > 0:01:55All aboard!
0:01:55 > 0:01:57'I discover an astronomical invention
0:01:57 > 0:01:59'that gave Hollywood a face-lift.'
0:01:59 > 0:02:01- Am I on the dot? - Yes, you are indeed.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Wahey! I never expected to get that right.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08'And my mettle is tested at the world's largest bell foundry.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:10To say I'm out of my comfort zone is to put it mildly.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14There is molten metal leaping around in the room.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22As we approach Leicester, my Bradshaw's reminds me
0:02:22 > 0:02:26that, "the famous crook-backed King Richard III,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29"was brought here after the battle of Bosworth Field,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31"and buried in the Grey Priory."
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Nowadays we can find out whether Bradshaw's was right.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37My guidebook, also quotes Shakespeare,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41whose view of Richard was that he was a vile swine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Both the Victorians and, indeed, I have been greatly
0:02:43 > 0:02:46influenced in our view of Richard by the Bard.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51'The Bard and Bradshaw would be amazed that, centuries later,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'the body of Richard would be discovered in a car park.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:56TANNOY: 'Leicester Station.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00'Leicester Station is going to be our final destination.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'Richard of York, later Richard III,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07'was named protector of two princes - his nephews.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09'To secure his succession to the throne,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13'it's rumoured that he had them murdered in the Tower of London.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16'I'm interested to know whether Shakespeare's view of Richard
0:03:16 > 0:03:18'is supported by historical fact.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21'I'm meeting Professor Gail Marshall from Leicester University
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'in the historic New Walk area of the city.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Bradshaw's quotes Shakespeare's view of Richard III as a vile swine.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33A pretty negative view. Was that the settled view of the time?
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Well, it was the view that he attributes to the Earl of Richmond,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39who would later become Henry VII, so it's very much the Tudor view.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41But what Shakespeare does,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43which is quite interesting, is add to that considerably.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45He makes Richard a much more interesting villain.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48He gives him the most tremendous linguistic resources.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51He gives him a limp as well, but the linguistic resources, I think, are
0:03:51 > 0:03:54the things that have captured the Elizabethans' imagination
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and still capture our imagination
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and obviously captured Bradshaw's imagination too.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Do we know yet whether Richard III was a villain?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05I don't think we can possibly know that
0:04:05 > 0:04:07cos the sources are so contradictory.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10What we do know is that Shakespeare's version of Richard
0:04:10 > 0:04:13as a great villain, though an interesting villain,
0:04:13 > 0:04:14is one that's persisted.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18But I think what we can also think about now, uniquely,
0:04:18 > 0:04:19is the new source that we've got,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22which is the very source of Richard's own body,
0:04:22 > 0:04:23which has just been discovered.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28And I think that that visual image we have of the skeleton
0:04:28 > 0:04:31is possibly something that might begin to dispel our sense of Richard
0:04:31 > 0:04:35as a rather... You know, as a simply villainous character.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43'It's truly remarkable that, 528 years later,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45'we have this new evidence.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'There were indications that Richard's body had been buried
0:04:48 > 0:04:51'in Leicester, in Grey Friar's Friary.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54'Today there's nothing left of the Friary, so looking
0:04:54 > 0:04:58'for his body was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01'But under this white marquee in a council car park
0:05:01 > 0:05:04'turned out to be the spot.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'Very kindly, the Leicester University archaeologists
0:05:07 > 0:05:09'Richard Buckley and Matthew Morris
0:05:09 > 0:05:13'have agreed to meet me at the site of their great discovery.'
0:05:14 > 0:05:15So who actually found him?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17That'll be me.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Were you looking for him?
0:05:19 > 0:05:20Well, yes and no.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I mean, the project was looking with the hope of finding him
0:05:23 > 0:05:24but it was always going to be a long shot.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27When we put the first trench in, there was no way we knew we were
0:05:27 > 0:05:30going to find him within the first couple of hours of the excavation.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34It wasn't until we'd literally found the vertebrae that we actually
0:05:34 > 0:05:36suddenly saw with dawning realisation
0:05:36 > 0:05:39that actually this could be who we're looking for all along.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40Because it had this kind of S curvature?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Yeah, and it was really obvious S curvature in the ground.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48You couldn't mistake it for anything other than scoliosis.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50And had it been assumed that Shakespeare was right that
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Richard had had this disability?
0:05:53 > 0:05:54Well, we came with very open minds.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I think we thought we might excavate up to six sets of remains
0:05:57 > 0:06:00of individuals, who were males, of course,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02and we might be lucky to find
0:06:02 > 0:06:04some evidence that one of them had died in battle.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We didn't think for a minute that we'd find an individual who had such
0:06:07 > 0:06:10obvious characteristics like the scoliosis.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13'The other obvious indicators were the injuries that Richard
0:06:13 > 0:06:17'sustained at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20'Fighting his Lancastrian rival, Henry Tudor,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23'some of his army defected, leaving Richard vulnerable.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26'He suffered numerous blows to the head.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29'His naked body was then paraded through Leicester.'
0:06:29 > 0:06:34How lucky was it that you discovered that bone?
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Incredibly lucky. I mean,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39we always planned on putting a trench broadly here,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43but the minutiae of the placement, you know, 50cm here, 50cm there...
0:06:43 > 0:06:47And you can see, that was the edge of our original trench there.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49If I'd moved it slightly further that way, we'd have missed him
0:06:49 > 0:06:53entirely and not known he was there. All of this is a modern cellar
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and it came to within that far above his legs.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58If they'd dug it any deeper than they actually had,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01we wouldn't have had him from the waist down at the very least.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04If they'd made it slightly wider, we might not have had him at all.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Extraordinary.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12'Remarkably, it was world-renowned work on DNA done over many years
0:07:12 > 0:07:17'that enabled scientists to provide comprehensive proof
0:07:17 > 0:07:19'that this was the lost King of England
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'and that he'd died a bloody death aged 32.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25'I'm meeting Professor Schurer
0:07:25 > 0:07:27'at Leicester University's genetics department
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'where Richard's body was sent for DNA profiling.'
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Now, I believe that DNA was discovered
0:07:36 > 0:07:39about half a century ago, wasn't it?
0:07:39 > 0:07:40But a great breakthrough
0:07:40 > 0:07:43was made at the University of Leicester wasn't it?
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Absolutely. In fact, at five past nine on September the tenth, 1984,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53now Sir Alec Jeffries had an absolute breakthrough when he realised
0:07:53 > 0:07:57that DNA could be fingerprinted in such a way
0:07:57 > 0:08:00that meant that everybody had an individual marker.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04'I can see why they'd bring the bones here for DNA testing, but what
0:08:04 > 0:08:09'I don't understand is how they'd identify the DNA as Richard's.'
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It's important to realise that there are two fundamental parts
0:08:12 > 0:08:15of our DNA. They are inherited from our father,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17which is the Y chromosome -
0:08:17 > 0:08:20that passes from father to son, father to son, father to son.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23And, from our mother, we inherit DNA,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27both sons and daughters inherit mitochondrial DNA.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29But only women can pass it on.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33So what we were able to do was to trace living modern day
0:08:33 > 0:08:37descendants through Anne of York, his elder sister.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41So was this another fantastic chance that there was
0:08:41 > 0:08:44a daughter, followed by a daughter, followed by a daughter?
0:08:44 > 0:08:47It's so much of a chance, had we discovered the skeleton maybe in
0:08:47 > 0:08:5130 or 40 years' time, that line would have died out.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55All of the living day descendants of Anne of York
0:08:55 > 0:08:58are the last of their line. They will not be passing on
0:08:58 > 0:09:01mitochondrial DNA to a next generation.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04This is the stuff of fiction, isn't it? Absolutely extraordinary.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07'Anne died giving birth to her only daughter from her second
0:09:07 > 0:09:09'marriage, Anne St Leger.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'But in each successive generation after, there was
0:09:12 > 0:09:15'a daughter followed by a daughter.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'In fact, Professor Schurer already knew about Canadian furniture maker
0:09:19 > 0:09:23'Michael Ibsen, descended through 17 generations.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27'But he was also able to trace another living descendant of Anne,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'who remains anonymous.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'Testing both their DNAs gave Schurer proof positive.'
0:09:33 > 0:09:36When we first of all realised that, A, those two people matched,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40who'd never met in their lives, had no idea of their existence.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43And then, of course, the whole thing triangulated
0:09:43 > 0:09:47with the mitochondrial DNA extracted from the skeleton.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48And that was another Eureka moment.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53So, you had two people whose DNA matched,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and then you bring the sample from bone and it matches too.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Indeed.
0:09:58 > 0:09:59Closely?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Very, very closely. Yes.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06No doubt about it, the fellow in the car park is Richard III.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08The fellow in the car park is Richard III.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17'I find the fortuitous discovery of Richard and the happy coincidences
0:10:17 > 0:10:19'that allowed the university
0:10:19 > 0:10:22'to offer proof of his identity really exciting.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'A modern Bradshaw would surely recommend a visit to Leicester
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'to understand how science can make history live
0:10:28 > 0:10:32'and solve the puzzles that have perplexed us for centuries.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35'Much as I'd like to discover more, I must travel on,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37'just seven minutes down the line.'
0:10:43 > 0:10:45My next stop will be Syston,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48known to Bradshaw's as Syston Junction, where I intend to
0:10:48 > 0:10:53focus on a Victorian invention which has since stolen the limelight.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'Syston was noteworthy enough to get a mention in the Domesday book
0:11:00 > 0:11:04'and the town is now known for the part it played in photography.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11'In the 1800s, the Victorians rapidly developed photography
0:11:11 > 0:11:15'and Cooke Optics became renowned for creating the triplet lens
0:11:15 > 0:11:17'that eliminated fuzzy photos.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20'From its historic Stoughton Street factory,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23'its lenses were exported all around the world.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'Today, it is still one of the top lens suppliers to Hollywood
0:11:28 > 0:11:31'and I'm meeting its Chief Operating Officer Alan Merrells.'
0:11:34 > 0:11:37How did you first get involved with Hollywood, then?
0:11:37 > 0:11:42The defining point, really, was when films became talkies
0:11:42 > 0:11:43and were no longer silent.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48The silent movies were lit by arc lights, which were extremely noisy.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51And so you had to invent the silent light.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Well, we didn't invent the silent light, but we actually had a lens
0:11:54 > 0:11:57that allowed a lot more light through and it enabled
0:11:57 > 0:12:01cinematographers to use a lower level of light to shoot the movies.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- And what's going on here?- Basically, this is traditional polishing.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It's been done like this for hundreds of years, really.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It's quite an old machine, but we're using traditional techniques.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17Using... We've got multiple lenses in a block here,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19being actually polished with a pitch polisher.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22This goes back hundreds of years, basically, how we polish this.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It's basically jeweller's rouge.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27And I suppose we're talking minute degrees of accuracy.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30That's correct, yeah. Approximately a millionth of an inch.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Fantastic. Thank you very much indeed.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37'What makes the Triplet special is it's made up of three
0:12:37 > 0:12:40'precision lenses and, as you focus the camera,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43'the three work together to bring the picture into focus.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'It became the lens of choice for professional photographers
0:12:48 > 0:12:52'like Frank Hurley, who in 1914 followed Ernest Shackleton
0:12:52 > 0:12:56'on his expedition to the South Pole.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59'Today, the skills of these Leicestershire craftsmen are still
0:12:59 > 0:13:02'highly prized, creating the Cooke Look
0:13:02 > 0:13:05'with their finest prime lenses.'
0:13:05 > 0:13:08So what exactly are you up to here?
0:13:08 > 0:13:13What I'm doing at the moment is calibrating a focus lens.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Each focus lens has been calibrated
0:13:15 > 0:13:19so what you do is ten foot reads ten foot.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21- Are you doing that by eye? - We are indeed.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- How long have you been doing this? - I've been doing it for 15 years.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- Can I do it for 15 seconds? - Of course you can.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I'll move it.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33So what do I have to do?
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Just focus a seaman's star. If I... Can you see an image there?
0:13:37 > 0:13:41I can see, yeah, a kind of fan shape.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- OK. If I move it, it'll disappear. - Yeah, yeah.- Right?
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Now you try and focus it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I can see a star. And I've got to bring that into focus.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- That's what you're looking for - a sharp image.- OK.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55So, I'll over-correct so I go beyond it.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56That's gone beyond it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Until you get a sharp image.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02How's that?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04You look yourself.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Crack onto it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Am I on the dot?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- Yes, you are indeed.- Wahey!
0:14:11 > 0:14:15I never expected to get that right. Wow.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18'I'm beginning to feel a whole new career coming on.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21'This time, on the other side of the camera.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24'I can also see why the lenses have such an impressive filmography -
0:14:24 > 0:14:29'everything from James Bond to Harry Potter.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33'And in recognition of their 120 years of service to Hollywood,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35'they have just been awarded an Oscar'
0:14:35 > 0:14:38'For the team here in Leicester, many of whom are second
0:14:38 > 0:14:43'and third generation Cooke employees, it's a huge honour.'
0:14:50 > 0:14:54As the day draws to the end, I'm going to alight at Sileby station.
0:14:54 > 0:15:00Bradshaw's tells me in the vicinity is Mount Sorrel - a lovely spot.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04And draws attention to Rothley Temple, belonging to J Parker Esq.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06A good place to spend the night.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I'll be interested to know how Rothley found its way,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12not only in to Bradshaw's, but also into the history books.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23'From 1231, Rothley was home to the Knights Templar,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'who were rectors of the magnificent Catholic church.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29'After their demise, the Babington family
0:15:29 > 0:15:34'began their eight generations of residence, until 1845.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39'Then the Manor was sold off to J Parker, an eminent local QC.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41'Today, Rothley Manor is a hotel
0:15:41 > 0:15:44'and the perfect place to break my journey.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:50I've found my spot in Leicestershire to take my rest.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Richard III lay undisturbed for 528 years.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I hope to wake in the morning.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06'I'm up early because I have a special date
0:16:06 > 0:16:08'at a very special station.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12'You won't find Rothley on the map, or in Bradshaw's.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15'This line, which was originally part of the Great Central Railway,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19'was built by railway entrepreneur Sir Edward Watkin to provide a more
0:16:19 > 0:16:23'direct line from London-Marylebone to Sheffield and Manchester'
0:16:23 > 0:16:27'He also had ambitions that his line would connect to France.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30'While it didn't survive long enough to make it across the Channel,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34'it owes its life today to a group of enthusiasts who saved it.'
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Hello, Richard.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- Good morning, Michael.- Good to see you.- And yourself. Sit down.
0:16:40 > 0:16:46Now, this railway station, Rothley, is not in my Bradshaw's guide.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Presumably, then, because this line was built later than the 1860s?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54A lot later. It only opened in about 1900
0:16:54 > 0:16:59and it survived for barely 60 years before British Railways closed it.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01How does it come to be reopened again?
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Round about 1969, a preservation scheme was developed
0:17:05 > 0:17:09by a small group of enthusiasts and, 44 years later,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13here we are today with eight miles of double track railway.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14Trains can pass each other
0:17:14 > 0:17:18rather than having to wait in passing loops in stations.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21And you're capable of pretty high speeds as well.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Yes, at times we do testing of steam locos up to 60mph.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28That must be very good fun. You must love doing that.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29Absolutely.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34'Today, thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of Richard
0:17:34 > 0:17:36'and the Great Central Railway Heritage Trust,
0:17:36 > 0:17:41'there are six working steam locomotives and 17 carriages.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43'I've offered to work my passage to Loughborough
0:17:43 > 0:17:45'behind the King Edward II.'
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Rothley! This is Rothley!
0:17:49 > 0:17:54All aboard for Quorn and Woodhouse and Loughborough Central!
0:17:54 > 0:17:57'I knew those years of shouting in Parliament would come in handy.'
0:17:57 > 0:17:59WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:02 > 0:18:03WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:06 > 0:18:10'This majestic King Class locomotive was built in Swindon in 1930 for
0:18:10 > 0:18:12'the Great Western Railway
0:18:12 > 0:18:16'and was only withdrawn from service only in 1962.'
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Tickets, please. Tickets, please.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- Good morning to you, sir. - I hope you are enjoying your ride.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- We are indeed.- We have. We've had a lovely breakfast
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and now we get to relax for the rest of the day.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33- Just check you're...- It is today's. - Check you're legitimate.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- And I am a member.- I think we'll put a hole in there anyway.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Yes, you can do that. I'll keep that one.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42There we go. I don't think I can put a hole in that one.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43THEY LAUGH
0:18:43 > 0:18:45'In steam's heyday, a key part of the service
0:18:45 > 0:18:49'was providing passengers with hot cooked food.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'Keeping up with tradition, today's menus sound very tempting.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'Sweet capsicum terrine with basil vinaigrette
0:18:56 > 0:18:59'followed by pan-fried sea trout, and gateau.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03'I have a reservation with resident chef Liam Tinsley.'
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- This is a vintage kitchen, isn't it?- Yes.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08What's the most you can produce out of this kitchen?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10A seven-course meal on Saturday nights.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14- A seven-course meal?- Yeah. - For how many people?- 80.
0:19:14 > 0:19:1680 people. That's absolutely fantastic.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18So how long have you been on the trains? You're a young man.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I've been coming down since I was eight.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I've been cooking since I was 16.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23And I've gone through an apprenticeship
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and I'm now an NVQ Level II qualified chef.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- And you're enjoying it, evidently. - Oh, yeah.- Fantastic.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33- I wish I had time to stay. - That's OK. It's nice meeting you.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35I wish I could have a seven-course meal!
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- Bye-bye, Liam.- Bye. Thank you.- Thank you.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43'Thanks to people power, this line has been saved
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'and transformed into something special.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49'In the future, the trust hopes to turn the southern terminus
0:19:49 > 0:19:52'into a branch of the National Railway Museum.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55'And the northern terminus is my next destination - Loughborough.'
0:19:59 > 0:20:01TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:20:03 > 0:20:07There was another sound as evocative of the 19th century
0:20:07 > 0:20:09as the locomotive whistle.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13From factories and churches, village halls and schools,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15you could hear the sound of the bell.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19And here at Loughborough is the place where the story can be told.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28'It was a Loughborough parish church
0:20:28 > 0:20:30'which invited the world's largest bell foundry
0:20:30 > 0:20:32'to set up business in the town.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37'In 1839, they commissioned John Taylor and Company to cast
0:20:37 > 0:20:41'their bells, with one condition - that they make them in Loughborough.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45'The company moved and has been here since, sending bells
0:20:45 > 0:20:49'all over the country, thanks to the closeness of the railway line.'
0:20:49 > 0:20:52'I'm meeting one of the directors, Andrew Higson.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:00What an amazing sight.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03I feel as if I've walked into a painting, into another century.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05An industrial cathedral.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08That's very well put. But what goes on here?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11These things with holes in them cannot be bells.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14No, they're not bells. These are the cases in which we mould the bells.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19They've got holes in them so that the loam, which is the moulding material, binds to it.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24And each size of bell that we make, we've got a different-sized case for.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28This is the moulding process actually in action.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34You can see that Bill is slapping some what looks like mud on the inside of this case.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Hello, Bill. What is this gooey substance made of?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Three kinds of sand, goat hair and horse manure.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- What?- Horse manure.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- Horse manure?- Yeah.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Goat hair.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- These are the vital ingredients, are they?- They are.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- Stood the test of time? - There's nothing better.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Why would a mixture of sand and horse manure be the right lining,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03if you are putting in hot, molten metal?
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Clay in the sand, and the horse manure has uric acid in it,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and that acts as a plasticiser.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14And the horses chew the straw into really short pieces
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and they lattice across and it forms a really good bond.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20When it's dry, it's as hard as anything you like.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24It's like a semi-ceramic.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27'Getting the loam's consistency and thickness just right
0:22:27 > 0:22:33'takes all of Bill's 27 years' experience of making bells of every size and type.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37'Now it's my turn to get my hands dirty.'
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I love the smell of uric acid in the morning!
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Apply it there, and work it towards me.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45So slap it down hard.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48'The bell I'm helping to make is for ringing in peal
0:22:48 > 0:22:50'and, at over three feet wide,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52'it's about average for this foundry.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55'When it's rung, it sounds the note of A flat.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59'At just under half a tonne, this mighty ringer is destined
0:22:59 > 0:23:01'for a church in Guildford.'
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Now we turn the strickle.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09- Your what?- Strickle. This is what this implement's called.- Right.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Oh, yes. Look at that lovely shape of bell you're creating with your strickle,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16these beautiful lines,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and that's all going to be reflected in the bell you are going to cast.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22'Once made, the mould is left for a week,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'then fired for another week in a gas drying stove.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27'Then it's ready for the cast.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'Copper and tin are used to smelt the bell in a process
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'that hasn't changed in centuries.'
0:23:33 > 0:23:37This is obviously the most fantastic temperature. Whoa! Look at that!
0:23:39 > 0:23:42To say I'm out of my comfort zone is to put it mildly.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47There is molten metal leaping around in the room.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49What does this weigh, Roger?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Around 50 kilos there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53OK. Is there a technique to lifting it?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Just keep it level. OK.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58'I'm definitely on the fast track for apprentices.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02'Was pouring 50 kilos of molten metal in my contract?'
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Superb.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Wow, look at that.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I never thought I'd stand this close to molten metal. OK.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14The heat coming off it is absolutely fantastic.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18I can feel it through my visor. I can feel it under my visor.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Take it easy, Roger. Thank you. Are you ready now? OK. There it is.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Bubbling down into the moulds.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31- Back in the ring? - Take them down.- Down?
0:24:31 > 0:24:34- That's fine.- Oh, my God.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38When you take the visor off, you really do feel the heat.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Now coming from all these moulds as well as from the crucible, the heating pot.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44What's actually in there, Roger?
0:24:44 > 0:24:45It's all hand bells.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47- Well, ding-a-ling-a-ling. - ROGER LAUGHS
0:24:49 > 0:24:51It's uplifting to view a craft
0:24:51 > 0:24:54that has passed down the generations.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57But the foundry also has a sad tale to tell.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59During the First World War,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03three of John William Taylor's sons were killed in action.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04In celebration of their lives
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and those of other young men who died in the Great War,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Taylor and local townspeople created a memorial.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14BELLS RING TUNEFULLY
0:25:16 > 0:25:19This memorial bell tower in Loughborough's Queens' Park
0:25:19 > 0:25:23houses a musical instrument called a carillon.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26It's like an organ, with bells instead of pipes.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30I'm going right to the top to meet Caroline Sharpe, the carillonneur.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34BELLS RING OUT A TUNE
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Hello. Come and join me.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Amazing instrument. What were you playing, by the way?
0:25:57 > 0:26:01I was playing a piece by Sir Edward Elgar called Memorial Chimes.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It's a piece of music that was written
0:26:03 > 0:26:05specifically for this carillon
0:26:05 > 0:26:09to be played in the opening ceremony when it opened in 1923.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10Are there many in Britain?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13There's 15 carillons in the UK.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16This one's particularly unique, because it is the only one
0:26:16 > 0:26:19that was built specifically to house the bells and house the carillon
0:26:19 > 0:26:22so you could say the whole building is the instrument.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Bells are rung by forcing a clapper down on to the bell
0:26:26 > 0:26:28from levers at a keyboard, or clavier,
0:26:28 > 0:26:33and I couldn't leave Loughborough or indeed Taylor's without trying the bells,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35even if it's only a nursery rhyme.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39One, two, three, four.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45THEY PLAY "LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN"
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- Brilliant.- What fun! You can make such a lot of noise!
0:27:03 > 0:27:05You can. You feel very powerful up here.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Very powerful. I'm going to go and listen to it from outside.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Thank you so much, Caroline.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18BELLS RING TUNEFULLY
0:27:20 > 0:27:22In Hollywood,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26the craftsmen of a small Leicester company are winning Oscars.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32I was moved to stand by the car park grave of King Richard III
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and to view his life through a Victorian lens.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39One thing's for certain - if the Great Central Railway could be
0:27:39 > 0:27:44disinterred, all over England, it would set the bells ringing.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56On the next leg of my journey, I sees the grand designs of a Victorian Duke.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Derek, this building is huge.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01When it was built, it was the largest in Europe,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05with the exception of the manege next to the Kremlin in Moscow.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I discover a treasure trove of locomotive history.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12This I do not believe.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17Every square inch of wall is filled with railway memorabilia.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And I break a leg on the stage in Leeds.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Welcome to this Valhalla
0:28:24 > 0:28:28- of Victorian Variety.- Bravo.