0:00:04 > 0:00:09For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13At a time when railways were new, Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
0:00:13 > 0:00:15to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide to understand
0:00:18 > 0:00:21how trains transformed Britain -
0:00:21 > 0:00:26its landscape, its industries, society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me
0:00:31 > 0:00:33to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00I'm now halfway through a journey that spans Wales and England.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04The fabulous wealth of Victorian Britain was founded on steam,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06and that meant coal.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Today, I'd like to study the conditions of those
0:01:09 > 0:01:11who hewed it from the earth in darkness
0:01:11 > 0:01:15and of those whose life was lit by chandeliers.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I'm travelling from pit to palace.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29This journey takes me across Britain from west to east.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33From the industrial powerhouse of South Wales to the Welsh Borders
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and the fertile lowlands of Herefordshire,
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I'm seeing how the railways left no aspect of the country unchanged.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I'll finish in the historic university city of Cambridge.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50This leg will take me below ground at Abergavenny,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52east to Moreton-in-Marsh
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and on to rebellious turf in Ascott-under-Wychwood,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59ending in the Oxfordshire village of Hanborough.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04'Today, my heart is in my mouth as I go down a mine...'
0:02:04 > 0:02:07We're 300 feet below the surface and it's a strange feeling, isn't it?
0:02:07 > 0:02:08It is. Yep.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'..I'm taught the art of ploughing in Oxfordshire.'
0:02:11 > 0:02:13- Are you happy with that? Are a relaxed man?- Yes.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- Good. I'm very relaxed about this. - Keep...
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- Don't pull it quite so tight. Perfect.- Very nice.- Perfect!
0:02:18 > 0:02:22'And at Blenheim Palace, I'm offered a glimpse of some very racy art.'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Ooh la la! There's a lot of flesh on display.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They were perhaps a little too risque for the ladies to see.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39My first stop today will be Abergavenny which,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43according to Bradshaw's, "Stands amongst the Monmouthshire hills.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47"Its present prosperity derives from valuable coal,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49"likely to be much increased
0:02:49 > 0:02:52"by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford railway
0:02:52 > 0:02:54"on which I am now travelling."
0:02:54 > 0:02:58It's time to descend to the bowels of the earth.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06In the shadow of the Black Mountains
0:03:06 > 0:03:10sits the historic town of Abergavenny, Gateway to Wales.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19At the time of my guidebook, it was known for its 11th-century castle
0:03:19 > 0:03:22and also for its psychiatric hospital.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26The phrase "gone to Abergavenny"
0:03:26 > 0:03:29was used locally as a metaphor for going insane.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36But the focus of my visit today is the Blaenavon Big Pit Mine,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41where Victorian men and children once toiled night and day
0:03:41 > 0:03:43to power the Industrial Revolution.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49Opened in 1860, it was connected to the railways six years later.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Today, it's a national museum set in a World Heritage Site.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57I'll descend into the black world of Victorian coal mining.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01You press this button on the right, turns the light on, OK?
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Thankfully, experienced miner Paul Green is to accompany me.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08- Morning and thank you. Thank you. - Morning. Watch your step.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Do you remember your first time in the cage?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Yeah, I was a young 15-year-old.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I left school at 15, started at NCB in those days.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22And when you did your training,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25they took you to different mines to have a look at it.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I jumped in the cage and it wasn't lovely and quiet
0:04:28 > 0:04:31like we've just been taken away, it was a sudden jolt.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32- Were you afraid?- Not afraid,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35apprehensive, for want of a better word.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38And as this instructor took us around the roadways of this particular mine,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41there was a guy coming out pulling a horse along behind him!
0:04:41 > 0:04:42He had a horse! And I thought,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44"I've only ever seen one of them in a field!"
0:04:44 > 0:04:46MICHAEL LAUGHS Couldn't believe it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48You must be older than I think!
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Nah, a little bit younger than yourself.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55We're 300 feet below the surface and it's a strange feeling, isn't it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57It is, yeah.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00- Morning.- Good to you.- Morning, Pete.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08- Just watch under feet, Michael.- Yeah.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11- Feet and head.- Feet and head, you got it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Close the door behind you, Michael.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- Close this door behind me?- Yeah.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19So these doors are pretty important?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Yes, Michael. They're ventilation doors and what they do,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24they direct the air round the roadways of the mine
0:05:24 > 0:05:25where we want it to go.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27We've got a series of doors here.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30If we left these doors open, the air will short circuit.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Come down the shaft that we came down, straight through this roadway
0:05:34 > 0:05:38up the upcast shaft and starve other areas of the mine of air.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And in Victorian times, children as young as six worked on these doors.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43They'd sit by the door and when they heard the horse
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and the haulier coming along, they'd get up, open the door,
0:05:46 > 0:05:47close the door behind them.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50In those days, they didn't have lights like we have today,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52so the child would have a candle.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54What do you think's going to happen with that candle
0:05:54 > 0:05:56- because of the air movement? - It's going to blow out.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59It's going to blow out, so the child is going to be in the dark
0:05:59 > 0:06:02until the next haulier comes along with his horse and dram of coal
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and lights the child's candle, and that's how it used to work.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Watch your head as we come through.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11In 1838, an accident at a colliery near Barnsley in Yorkshire
0:06:11 > 0:06:14brought the plight of children working in the mines
0:06:14 > 0:06:15to public attention.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20The disaster led to public outcry and a Royal Commission was ordered.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The outcome was an Act of Parliament in 1842
0:06:25 > 0:06:30that banned women and children under ten from working underground.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Right, Michael, this is where we enter the stables here at Big Pit.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36These are the names of the ponies, are they?
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Yeah, names of the ponies, that actually worked here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Now, the ponies were well looked-after, mind.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43They'd come underground aged four,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46they'd have a guy in charge of them called a haulier or a hostler
0:06:46 > 0:06:47and his duty was to work that horse.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Now, if this horse got injured for any reason,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52this mine owner would want to know why.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55If it was found it was the haulier's fault,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58he would have the sack, family kicked out of the cottage.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03Always get another haulier, he had to buy another pony.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Ponies were the more valuable.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Ponies were more valuable in those days. Yeah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Paul is taking me deeper into the mine
0:07:14 > 0:07:16to see what life was like at the coal face.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- What is this chamber? - This is what we call a stall.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Now, you'd have man and boy working together, father and son.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27So they'd pick the coal off using your mandrels and your tools.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31And then it would be the boy's job to fill the dram of coal.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34The miner would only get paid for the amount of drams he filled,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36but only coal.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39When they were putting the supports in there and building the cogs up,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41as we call them, and putting the timber supports up,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44they didn't get paid for - only for the drams that were going out.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46So, yes, hard times.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48You've been telling me about the appalling conditions,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and of course, it got better during the Victorian period
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and much better during the 20th century,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55but even so, mining always continued to be potentially dangerous
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and very bad for health.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00So why was there such a feeling of community,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03such a sense of loyalty around coal mining?
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Mining brought the community together.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09You knew everyone in the village, the man worked in the pit with you.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12In my day, and the Victorian day, it was a way of life.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Every village had a coal mine.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24The history of coal mining is the Victorian age in a nutshell.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Brilliant engineering to win the coal,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30the exploitation of labour by the coal mine owners,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33then waves of legislation and reform
0:08:33 > 0:08:37as Victorians developed a social conscience.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42In the 20th century, the coal miners became the aristocracy of labour,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45with an enormous sense of pride and solidarity,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48as I well remember from my political career.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Before I leave Wales, there's one last highlight to explore
0:08:55 > 0:08:58before I seek the shelter of a railway carriage.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Here the picturesque River Usk winds through verdant countryside
0:09:05 > 0:09:07towards the Bristol Channel.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14"The scenery of the River Usk," says Bradshaw's,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17"from Abergavenny to Brecon is very romantic
0:09:17 > 0:09:19"as it winds around the Black Mountains.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21"Excellent trout fishing."
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I'm in a cast of mind to find out more.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Fly fishing for trout can be traced back to the Romans,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34but advances made by the Victorians
0:09:34 > 0:09:36shaped the sport that we enjoy today.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Keen fisherman Simon Evans has offered to show me why.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Good to see you.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Was trout fishing quite popular with the Victorians?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Very. There was whole culture that built up
0:09:50 > 0:09:54with hotels scattered up and down the length of the river,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57they would catch the railway, there were stop-offs at regular intervals.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58There used to be a fishing hotel
0:09:58 > 0:10:00that was associated with most of the stations.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03That hotel then had a little bit of fishing on the Usk.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06And it's always been very popular for that.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Even up to this day, it's still very popular for that type of thing.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Trout thrive in clear spring-fed rivers
0:10:14 > 0:10:16where there is plenty of flies.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The fish reputedly have a brain the size of a pea,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23so the fisherman can't feel too happy when outwitted.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I'm trying to here use some fairly authentic tackle
0:10:26 > 0:10:28of that sort of age.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It's interesting compared to the carbon fibre rods that we use now.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32So that's made of what?
0:10:32 > 0:10:35That's made out of cane. But in the times of the Victorian,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38most of the people were using things made out of bamboo and greenheart.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- And did the Victorians have reels? - They did.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43In the Victorian times, most of the reels were made out of wood.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46This is a Hardy reel from about 1920, 1930.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49But it would have been similar to a Victorian one?
0:10:49 > 0:10:50It would have been almost identical.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52And what did they use for lines?
0:10:52 > 0:10:56They had silk lines. Now we use nylon lines.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00But they used to have silk thread, plaited and tapered.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Probably the biggest change has been in
0:11:02 > 0:11:05what we use to connect the line to the fly.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07In those days, it was just horses' hair from the tail of a horse.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I suppose it was effective. They caught fish, didn't they?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12They caught plenty of fish.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15How did techniques develop during the Victorian age?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17To begin with, it was just dapping.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20So you had a pole and a line and a fly on the end
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and you dapped it on the surface till the trout said hello.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Then casting came in with the revolutions in rods that happened.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And then that gave you the option of either fishing a wet fly,
0:11:30 > 0:11:31which is you're fishing below the surface
0:11:31 > 0:11:34trying to imitate a small fish or something of that ilk,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37or a dry fly, which is imitating an emerging insect.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Fully briefed on Victorian technique and strategy,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I'm ready to cast my first line.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45The rod is effectively like a spring,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47- so hold the line in your left hand.- Yeah.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50And then pick the rod up and try and cast the line behind you.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53And then put it back out again. Without catching the vegetation.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56So as it comes up, you're stopping it on the top of your shoulder,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58then letting the line extend backwards,
0:11:58 > 0:11:59then it goes back out again.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Try one more time?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I'm not immediately getting the hang of this.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But what is the great attraction to you of angling?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15It's just you and the fish, there's nothing else.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17It doesn't matter what else is going on in the world,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20whether it's raining, you've got problems at home, whatever,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23it's just you and the fish for that magic moment.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26And that's a precious thing in this day and age.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34I must return to the line of duty and resume my journey.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I'll leave Simon to concentrate on his a catch.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39WOMAN ANNOUNCES STOPS OVER TANNOY
0:12:42 > 0:12:45From Abergavenny, I'm crossing the border into England
0:12:45 > 0:12:49to the city of Hereford, where I'll change trains to travel east
0:12:49 > 0:12:51to my overnight stop in the Cotswolds.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59My next stop will be what Bradshaw's describes as,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01"A small town on the old Fosse Way.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04"It must have some claim to be at the heart of England
0:13:04 > 0:13:08"since, apparently close by, there's a four-mile stone
0:13:08 > 0:13:13"where Oxfordshire, Gloucester, Worcester and Warwickshire unite."
0:13:13 > 0:13:18I can think of no better place to end this rain-sodden, soggy day
0:13:18 > 0:13:20than Moreton-in-Marsh.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33My Bradshaw's recommends this converted 17th-century coaching inn,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35ideal for the weary traveller.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Before I turn in for the night, local historian Michael Rees
0:13:39 > 0:13:40is joining me for a drink.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45I think you might be interested in the Curfew Tower,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- which is opposite this hotel. - Curious name.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Yes, it was called the Curfew Tower
0:13:49 > 0:13:54because a curfew was rung at night and morning here until the 1860s.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Apparently, the bell in the tower was rung every night
0:13:59 > 0:14:02to remind the townsfolk of the risk of fire in their homes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03But it also had other uses.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06The story is,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Sir Robert Fry was travelling from London to Moreton-in-Marsh
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and he got lost in the fog on Moreton Common.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17But he heard the bell and it guided him to his destination here.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- He arrived safely? - He arrived safely.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And he was so grateful that he made an endowment of 20 shillings
0:14:23 > 0:14:25for the upkeep of the clock
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and ten shillings for the ringing of the bell.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Well, I think you and I have time before the curfew
0:14:30 > 0:14:32- to have a little drink. - Thank you, Michael.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48Another day and I'm ready to move on east, deep into rural Oxfordshire.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56"Wychwood Forest," says my Bradshaw's,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00"is a fine wooded track of silven beauty."
0:15:00 > 0:15:03And I shall be leaving this train at Ascott-under-Wychwood.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Of the Oxfordshire countryside, it says,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09"Much butter and cheese are made
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"and calves are reared and fed for London markets."
0:15:12 > 0:15:16But amidst the placidity of the cows and sheep,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19trouble was brewing in the countryside.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25During the 1870s,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28an agricultural depression greatly unsettled
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Ascott-under-Wychwood's rural community
0:15:31 > 0:15:34and gave rise to a group known as the Ascott Martyrs.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Historian Nicola Verdon can explain why.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49So these benches commemorate the Ascott Martyrs. Who were they?
0:15:49 > 0:15:53The Ascott Martyrs were 16 women who were arrested,
0:15:53 > 0:15:59basically for picketing, in May of 1873 at Crown Farm.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02They were mostly the wives and daughters of labourers
0:16:02 > 0:16:05in the village and at Crown Farm.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10And their local union had gone on strike for better wages.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16The farmer, Mr Hambridge, had sacked his labourers who joined the union
0:16:16 > 0:16:19and brought in blackleg workers.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24So the women were trying to persuade and disrupt the blackleg workers
0:16:24 > 0:16:26from going to work on that farm.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28What happened to the women?
0:16:28 > 0:16:3016 of the women were arrested.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33They were taken to Chipping Norton police station
0:16:33 > 0:16:34where they were sentenced.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40The women were sentenced to between seven and ten days hard labour,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44but once the townsfolk got to hear about that, trouble erupted.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Basically what happened is
0:16:46 > 0:16:51a crowd forms outside of the police house
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and starts rioting against the sentence,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58trying to get into the police station to free the women.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02They were planning to take the women to Oxford prison by train,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05but that was considered too public and too risky.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10So they whisked them out the back in dark at night
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and took them by horse and wagon.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15What happened to the women, ultimately?
0:17:15 > 0:17:17The women were eventually pardoned.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19They received a pardon from the Queen
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and they were also given a five-pound token by the union,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27although they were expressly told not to spend it on alcohol.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31During the late 19th century, rural poverty
0:17:31 > 0:17:32and the rise of the trade unions
0:17:32 > 0:17:36sparked agrarian revolts across southern Britain.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43The workers struck their early blow for labourers' rights at Crown Farm.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48The job of working these 460 acres has changed considerably
0:17:48 > 0:17:49since Bradshaw's time.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54To find out more, I'm meeting owner Chris Badger.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Hello!- Hello. - Excuse me stopping you.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01This is Crown Farm where the Ascott Martyrs were 150 years ago.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02That's right, yeah.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05I assume the labour situation's changed enormously.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08They would've had to employ many more people in those days.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- Oh, yeah. They had horses and not tractors.- Yeah.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Yeah, they didn't do so much as we do.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17If I didn't have the diversification on here,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19I'd probably do the whole lot on my own.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20- Really?- Yeah.- You could do that?
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- Oh, yeah. I might bring in one for harvest.- Yes.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26But the rest of the year, you wouldn't have anybody here at all.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29And if you were just on your own, I suppose you wouldn't have
0:18:29 > 0:18:31too many labour difficulties, would you?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Only me and the wife!
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- You might still have your difficulties.- That's right!
0:18:37 > 0:18:38Have a go.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42'Although I'm here to learn about Victorian farming,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'I can't resist trying out some modern day machinery.'
0:18:45 > 0:18:47So how do I drive this thing?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49- OK, foot on the clutch.- Yes, sir.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50Turn the key.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53ENGINE STARTS UP
0:18:54 > 0:18:55- Foot off clutch? - Foot off the clutch.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- Away you go.- Foot on the accelerator?
0:18:58 > 0:19:03- And I'm trying to keep the wheel following this furrow?- That's right.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05- Hold tight there, Chris. - That's all right.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- You happy there? Are you a relaxed man?- Yeah.- Good. I'm very relaxed.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Just don't pull it quite so tight on the furrow. That's it. Perfect.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- Very nice.- Perfect!
0:19:21 > 0:19:25So how are the wage levels of agricultural workers?
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Can farm labourers make a decent wage?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Oh, yeah. They're earning quite good money these days, I think.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Lots of overtime, double time at weekends, that sort of thing.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36They're earning £15-20 an hour.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I think I've ploughed my furrow
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and I think I've furrowed your brow as well!
0:19:42 > 0:19:43CHRIS CHUCKLES
0:19:43 > 0:19:45In the days of the Ascott Martyrs,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48it would have taken a man and a horse a day
0:19:48 > 0:19:50to plough an acre of land,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53whereas today it can be done in 15 minutes.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55- Thank you, Chris. Pleasure. - I hope you enjoyed it.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Only a handful of trains stop at Ascott-under-Wychwood each day.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08I'm interested to see that a vintage signal box survives here.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14It's quite an unusual box. It's...
0:20:14 > 0:20:16BELL CHIMES FOUR TIMES
0:20:16 > 0:20:20..between here and Oxford and it's basically a fringe box.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22BELL CHIMES
0:20:22 > 0:20:24What's all this business?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26We communicate by bells.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29It's an unambiguous way of talking to each other.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31What you do, you actually repeat everything back.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34That way, it can be deemed as not being wrong.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38So nothing is accepted until it's repeated back.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40I love it. It seems so wonderfully old-fashioned.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- There's about 52 different bell codes.- No!- Yeah.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49'The railway block code, rather like Morse, is used between
0:20:49 > 0:20:53'signal boxes to ensure the line is clear and that trains can proceed.'
0:20:53 > 0:20:56How long has this signal box been here?
0:20:56 > 0:20:57It's well over 100 years.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00It's a lovely place to work.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- Good place to learn your bell codes. - It is. It's wonderful.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14My final destination beckons and I'm ready to board my last train
0:21:14 > 0:21:16to the village of Hanborough.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22The 12-mile journey takes me through glorious Oxfordshire countryside.
0:21:24 > 0:21:30Blenheim is the only house not built for royalty or for a bishop
0:21:30 > 0:21:33to bear the title "palace".
0:21:33 > 0:21:34Bradshaw's tells me that,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39"It contains a library of more than 17,000 volumes.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42"It did contain a most costly collection of paintings
0:21:42 > 0:21:45"until recently, the most valuable portion of them
0:21:45 > 0:21:49"having been accidentally destroyed in a fire.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53"It is a calamity that the nation will deeply deplore."
0:21:53 > 0:21:57I'd like to know which works of art were forever lost
0:21:57 > 0:22:02and also what volumes graced the bookshelves of the house
0:22:02 > 0:22:07where a decade after my Bradshaw's Guide, Winston Churchill was born.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I'm alighting at Hanborough, the nearest station to Blenheim.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24The Palace was built in the early 18th century
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and was a gift from Queen Anne to the first Duke of Marlborough,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31who had defeated the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The outstanding Baroque edifice is set in over 2,000 acres
0:22:45 > 0:22:47of parkland and gardens.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56My main interest here is the great fire, as mentioned in Bradshaw's,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00and I am meeting archivist John Forster to find out more.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06A magnificent space, John. What is this room called?
0:23:06 > 0:23:08This is the Orangery at Blenheim Palace.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11In 1861, there was a huge fire here which destroyed
0:23:11 > 0:23:13a valuable collection of paintings.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15When you say here, in the Orangery?
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Yes, actually in this room where we are.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Very early in the career of the first Duke of Marlborough,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22he'd been given a set of paintings by the Duke of Savoy,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24a set of Titians, as they were then thought.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26The 4th Duke of Marlborough,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28about 50 years after the acquisition of the paintings,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32decided they were perhaps a little too risque for the ladies to see
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and so, he had them put here in a separate gallery,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38I have to say, for gentlemen's eyes only.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Would we ourselves judge them as particularly salacious?
0:23:41 > 0:23:43We do have copies of them here.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48I think that, by modern standards, they are fairly innocuous.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Ooh la la! There's a lot of flesh on display.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57A lot of flesh, but restrictive by modern standards, I think.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- But in their day, they were thought unsuitable.- Yes, indeed.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01Not for the ladies.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08John wants to tell me about some of the later Dukes of Marlborough
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and is taking me first to Blenheim's Great Hall...
0:24:14 > 0:24:18..a spectacular room with arched portals, columns, sculpture
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and an exquisitely-decorated ceiling.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And who is this?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27So here we've got the 8th Duke of Marlborough.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28What sort of man was he, John?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32He was very much a scientist, a mathematician, a technocrat, really.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34And so, he installed electricity,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37he installed his own design telephone system
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and he was responsible for bringing the railway
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- to Woodstock and Blenheim.- Blenheim had its own railway station?
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Indeed it did, called Blenheim.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Which it no longer has, unfortunately.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48No, unfortunately, it closed many years ago.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51How did the Duke pay for these improvements?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54One of basic things he did was sell the picture collection.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Really all the great pictures apart from the portraits he sold in 1886.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- That's extraordinary. Some paintings destroyed in the 1860s...- Yes.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- ..others sold in the 1880s.- Yes.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06- Devastating.- Absolutely devastating.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13'We're on our way to the Palace's library, that retains catalogues
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'and documents recording the pictures that were sold.'
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Good heavens, John, this is one of the most glorious rooms
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- I've ever set foot in, I think. - Isn't it magnificent?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24- Those pictures that were sold.- Yes.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Here's the original catalogue.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30"Catalogue of the collection of pictures from Blenheim Palace,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32"which by order of His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37"will be sold by auction on Saturday, July 24th, 1886."
0:25:37 > 0:25:42If you turn a few pages, you can begin to see the real meat of them.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Rubens, Rubens...
0:25:43 > 0:25:49And so you see the prices paid then for a Rubens, only £483.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52This one a little more - £1,575.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Imagine now, you're talking of millions.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59So this is the money that was used for the electrification
0:25:59 > 0:26:01for telephone system and the railway station?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Yes, and all his other things too that he did at Blenheim, yes.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Bradshaw's tells me that this wonderful library
0:26:07 > 0:26:10contains 17,000 volumes. Is that accurate?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Yes, in Bradshaw's day it did.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15But again, it was sold by the 7th Duke
0:26:15 > 0:26:19to fund the expenses of part of his political life
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and so, he sold the library in 1881.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Does anything survive from the original collection?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28We're so lucky because some things were held back.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32And so, we have this magnificent remains of that original library.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36And, Michael, it's actually in Spanish.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38"Comienza el segundo libro de
0:26:38 > 0:26:42"la General y Natural Historia de las Indias."
0:26:42 > 0:26:44"Here begins the second book of
0:26:44 > 0:26:48"General and Natural History of the Indies."
0:26:48 > 0:26:51If you look at the date, 1535,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and when you think Columbus only discovered it in 1492,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56isn't that amazing?
0:26:56 > 0:26:58This is absolutely superb.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02So this is right at the beginning of printed word as well, is it?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04I'm impressed, you see. It's still totally legible.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06You read it without any difficulty at all.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08500 years it was printed.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09That is superb.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13And this magnificent piece survived the depredations of the 7th Duke.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- Yes, indeed.- John, thank you so much. - My pleasure.- Bye-bye.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28Much of our island's story is the history of great men -
0:27:28 > 0:27:31the Duke of Marlborough who won the Battle of Blenheim
0:27:31 > 0:27:33and built this palace,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35and Sir Winston Churchill, born here,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38who led us to victory in World War II.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43But in Bradshaw's time, economic forces were our masters.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47And the main actors were not dukes but entrepreneurs,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49coal owners and the like,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and the men and women and girls and boys
0:27:52 > 0:27:57who toiled underground to build Victorian prosperity.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07'Next time, I discover a miniature edition by my favourite publisher...
0:28:07 > 0:28:11And this is actually the first edition of Bradshaw's.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Ah! That is exciting.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'..marvel at the ambition of a new railway...'
0:28:15 > 0:28:19You're going to raise this up, bring the rail across by this weekend?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- Yes.- There's a man speaking with confidence.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24'..and learn what a hat can do.'
0:28:24 > 0:28:26It's amazing. In a moment, you've converted me
0:28:26 > 0:28:29from an investment banker into a rake!