0:00:04 > 0:00:08For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11At a time when railways were new,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide
0:00:17 > 0:00:21to understand how trains transformed Britain -
0:00:21 > 0:00:26its landscape, its industries, society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I crisscross the country, 150 years later,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it helps me to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I'm undertaking a series of journeys in and around London,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00which, at the time of my railway handbook,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02was the epicentre of the biggest empire
0:01:02 > 0:01:04that the world had ever known.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08In the century before my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11the foundations of Britain's wealth were laid
0:01:11 > 0:01:15by scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18London's riches depended upon the River Thames -
0:01:18 > 0:01:21narrow enough to provide a highway for the capital,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25deep enough to dispatch ocean-going ships to carry trade
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and project military might around the globe.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'Today, I start in the east of the capital,
0:01:38 > 0:01:43'where the city's port launched many an imperial adventure.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46'Starting in Deptford, I'll explore Maritime Greenwich
0:01:46 > 0:01:50'before uncovering Britain's military might at Woolwich Arsenal.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54'Finally, I'll delve beneath the Thames, surfacing in the Docklands,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59'which were dramatically expanded around the time of my guide.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01'Along the way, I'll visit the celebrated ship
0:02:01 > 0:02:05'that supplied Victorian Britain with its national drink...'
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Every journey back from China, she was bringing 600 tonnes of tea.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11That was enough tea to make over 200 million cups.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14'..taste a by-product of 19th-century global trade...'
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Mmm!
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Deliciously warm,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22as though it has just come off a hot sticky toffee pudding.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26'..and learn about the nation's top award for gallantry.'
0:02:26 > 0:02:28And this one...
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- is made from the barrel you're leaning on.- Really?!
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Curiously, the first railway in London was built
0:02:39 > 0:02:42a decade after the first steam-hauled trains
0:02:42 > 0:02:45had run between Stockton and Darlington.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48The pioneering line that brought rail travel to the capital
0:02:48 > 0:02:50was the London And Greenwich Railway,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and the first stretch to open, in 1836,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55linked Bermondsey with Deptford.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'We will shortly be arriving at Deptford.'
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Bradshaw's tells me that "the principal object of attraction
0:03:01 > 0:03:06"at Deptford is the Dockyard, which has three building slips
0:03:06 > 0:03:09"and is chiefly used as a victualling yard,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11"the river being crowded with transports."
0:03:11 > 0:03:14This would be the place, then, to meet every class of society,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18from the poorest beggar to the richest ship-owner.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Built on a remarkable viaduct comprising 60 million bricks,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27the railway transformed the Deptford landscape.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Meanwhile, beneath its arches, the advent of the Age Of Steam
0:03:30 > 0:03:33heralded extraordinary social upheaval.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Driven by the Victorian spirit of inquiry,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42one man revealed the starkly contrasting fortunes
0:03:42 > 0:03:45of Deptford's population.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Historical tour guide Sean Patterson knows his story.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Sean, I'm here in Deptford to talk about Charles Booth.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Who was he?
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Charles Booth was a Victorian businessman and philanthropist.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02He heard that, in the Whitechapel area,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05around a quarter of the families were living below the poverty line.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09He thought that was nonsense and he decided to conduct a survey
0:04:09 > 0:04:12to see for himself just how bad it was.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Suspecting that poverty in Whitechapel had been exaggerated,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Booth was shocked to discover
0:04:18 > 0:04:21that a third of households lived in penury.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He determined to map the rest of the capital.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27How did he conduct this survey? What was the method?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Well, the method was to walk the streets of London -
0:04:30 > 0:04:34ultimately the whole of what we would call zones one and two
0:04:34 > 0:04:37on the travel map now, so a huge area -
0:04:37 > 0:04:39and to make notes as he went
0:04:39 > 0:04:42about the conditions that people were living in.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47In 1899, Booth and his researchers came to Deptford,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50where they discovered an extraordinary range
0:04:50 > 0:04:53of social classes living almost cheek-by-jowl.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55What we've got here is the seven categories.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57As you can see there, the yellow
0:04:57 > 0:05:00and then going down to semi-criminal at the bottom.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03But, interestingly, here you see this line of red.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05That's the High Street which we're on at the moment.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Well, that's pretty good - that's just one down from the top.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10But, look, we just go off the side
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and you go straight down into dark blue
0:05:13 > 0:05:15with a line of black along it,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18which is almost... Well, it is the opposite end of the scale.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23So Booth produces, really, this very eloquent rainbow of poverty.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24- Shall we move on?- Certainly.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'Deptford had long owed its livelihood to the dockyard
0:05:29 > 0:05:31'described in my Bradshaw's.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33'It dated back to Henry VIII's reign
0:05:33 > 0:05:36'and had been the source of great wealth over the years.'
0:05:36 > 0:05:39A very attractive terrace of houses. From what period?
0:05:39 > 0:05:43These houses are from the early-to-mid 18th century.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46From the Georgian heyday of Deptford, if you like.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49These were built for sea captains.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52But by the time of Booth's survey in the 1890s,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54the river had silted up,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58making it difficult for Deptford to compete with newer docks
0:05:58 > 0:06:01more suited to modern steam vessels.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Dockers struggling to find work were soon also suffering
0:06:04 > 0:06:08the consequences of railway expansion.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Where are we now on your map?
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Well, we're in this area here which, as you can see, is dark blue,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16with even some black lines along it.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Very close to the High Street, where we were earlier,
0:06:19 > 0:06:20just a few yards away.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But, gosh, it's an awful lot worse just here.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25The policeman that Booth is with
0:06:25 > 0:06:28describes this as the worst part of Deptford.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Where this 1930s estate is
0:06:30 > 0:06:33used to be a street called Addey Street
0:06:33 > 0:06:35and the policeman notes that that morning, at 5am,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37he went into a house to arrest a man
0:06:37 > 0:06:41and found father, mother and five children living in one room.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45And this is what was happening in this area that's been squeezed by...
0:06:45 > 0:06:50what we're standing under, which is Britain's largest listed structure,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53the 800 or so railway arches from London Bridge to Greenwich.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58By Booth's time, the London to Greenwich railway
0:06:58 > 0:07:02had been joined by others crisscrossing Deptford.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Seeking land for their lines,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07the railway companies had gobbled up cheap housing,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11adding to the overcrowding depicted so vividly by Booth.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13As well as producing his maps,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16which helped to change the way Victorians thought about poverty,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Booth campaigned for an old age pension,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23which was eventually introduced in 1909.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27This is really a very Victorian story, isn't it?
0:07:27 > 0:07:30It is the scientific approach.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The collection of evidence, the presentation of a case,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37the drawing of conclusions and the call for action.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Absolutely, and it's Booth's skill
0:07:41 > 0:07:44that allows him to take that meticulous, forensic approach.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I'm now continuing my journey on the driverless Docklands Light Railway
0:07:51 > 0:07:56from Deptford Bridge into the heart of Maritime Greenwich,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01which Bradshaw's tells me "presents a striking appearance from the River."
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Soon after the London And Greenwich Railway was built,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07day trippers from the city were coming here
0:08:07 > 0:08:09to admire the glorious historic architecture.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Greenwich has long been associated with the Royal Navy.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Bradshaw's mentions the Royal Observatory.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Warships would anchor within sight
0:08:21 > 0:08:25to set their chronometers to Greenwich Mean Time
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and their sailors might retire to the Royal Naval Hospital
0:08:28 > 0:08:31designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35But I'm drawn today to the town by a merchant vessel,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38a tall ship whose motto characterised the spirit
0:08:38 > 0:08:41of the British Empire at its peak -
0:08:41 > 0:08:44"Where there's a will, there's a way."
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Morning. Um, which way to the Cutty Sark, please?
0:08:59 > 0:09:00Come with me, please.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04If you will keep straight, and then left,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06you will see the boat on your right-hand side.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08It's quite big, isn't it? I can't miss it!
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- Yeah, it is quite big. Have a nice day, take care.- Thank you.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Greenwich remains a popular tourist destination -
0:09:19 > 0:09:23the sights pull in 2.5 million visitors per year.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26And Victorian Britain's most familiar trading ship
0:09:26 > 0:09:30is an essential stop on their itineraries.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Curator Jessica Lewis is showing me the ropes.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It's a fantastic view from here, isn't it?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Looking up at the mast and the spars - is that right?
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Yes, yes. That's right.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46The ship had 11 miles of rigging and 3,000 square metres of canvas.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Launched in 1869, Cutty Sark was built for speed,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54to a bold design that combined a sleek, streamlined hull
0:09:54 > 0:09:58with one of the biggest sail areas of any ship of her day.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03The ship's crew spent half its time maintaining her, even in high seas,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06but Jessica is letting me off with some light duties!
0:10:08 > 0:10:10So what exactly am I doing with this?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13So it's just a little bit of modern marine oil.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15And you just need to work it into the block.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17So a little bit... That's it. And it goes quite far.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19And this is to moisten the wood,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22to keep it flexible so it can carry on doing its job.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Because, what, the sun is blasting away at this...?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Yes, particularly over here on the port side.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30What kind of puzzles me is why, in 1869,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33you would build a sailing ship,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35which is way into the Age Of Steam, isn't it?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Well, Cutty Sark's owner, John Willis, was thinking,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41"Why would I pay for coal when I can get wind power for free?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44"Why would I want to give up some of that valuable cargo space
0:10:44 > 0:10:46"with engines and the storage of fuel
0:10:46 > 0:10:48"when I could just do it all by the power of the wind?"
0:10:48 > 0:10:53Known as clippers, super-fast sailing ships like Cutty Sark
0:10:53 > 0:10:57carried one of Victorian Britain's most prized commodities.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02Cutty Sark's cargo of tea was worth over £272,000 then
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and that's about £18.5 million in today's money.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08So, every journey back from China, she was bringing 600 tonnes of tea.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12That was enough tea to make over 200 million cups.
0:11:12 > 0:11:151869, the year of Cutty Sark's launch,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19was also the year that the Suez Canal was opened.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22It provided steamships with a short cut to Asia -
0:11:22 > 0:11:25but it was impossible to sail through the canal,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30so clippers like Cutty Sark had to slog around Africa.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Steamships are coming back from China in 60 days
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and Cutty Sark is only coming back in about 100 days, 109 days.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Cutty Sark's maiden voyage, in 1870,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43there were 59 sailing ships loading tea in China that year.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Her last voyage, in 1877, there were just nine.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51With Cutty Sark's tea trade with China scuppered,
0:11:51 > 0:11:56in the 1880s, her owner diverted her to the Australian wool trade.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Her daring captain made the gruelling long-distance voyage
0:12:01 > 0:12:04work in her favour, charting a course around Cape Horn,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07where Cutty Sark harnessed the strongest -
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and most dangerous - winds in the world.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Her fastest passage was 73 days from Sydney to London
0:12:14 > 0:12:16but she was regularly making the fastest passage of the season
0:12:16 > 0:12:18by about three or four weeks.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And she became known as the fastest ship of her day.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26Well, I declare this vessel shipshape. Let's go below.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31In 1922, her days as a trading vessel were over
0:12:31 > 0:12:36and Cutty Sark was eventually put to rest here in Greenwich in 1954.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But that wasn't the end of her troubles.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44In November 2007, an electrical fire broke out
0:12:44 > 0:12:48at the start of a six-year project to conserve her.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Luckily, a lot of original structure -
0:12:51 > 0:12:53half of the hull planks, all of the masts, the deck houses -
0:12:53 > 0:12:56had already been removed to storage at the time of the fire.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57And so they were saved?
0:12:57 > 0:12:58Absolutely, and we were very lucky
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and the quality of the original construction
0:13:00 > 0:13:03withstood the heat of the blaze.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06'Today, this glorious blade of a clipper that once cut through
0:13:06 > 0:13:10'the world's oceans with its zinc-and-copper-bottomed hull
0:13:10 > 0:13:12'is on view for us all to enjoy.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:16And so, in the 21st century, we're still able to appreciate
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- this extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering.- Absolutely.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23This project was about ensuring Cutty Sark had a future,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27a sustainable future, so that future generations can enjoy the ship.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39From a restored relic of the Victorian docks,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42I'm moving on to a more modern vessel - the Thames Clipper,
0:13:42 > 0:13:47part of Transport For London's network along the River Thames.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Following a special London edition of Bradshaw's, I'm heading east,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53towards an institution that provided firepower
0:13:53 > 0:13:56for the mighty British Empire.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00According to Bradshaw's London guide,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02"the government establishments of Woolwich
0:14:02 > 0:14:05"are acknowledged to be the finest in the world.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08"At the Royal Arsenal, the manufacture of implements of warfare
0:14:08 > 0:14:11"is carried on upon the most extensive scale,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14"casting the largest pieces of ordnance,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18"for which steam power has lately been applied.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23"The Arsenal contains no less than 24,000 pieces of ordnance
0:14:23 > 0:14:28"and three million cannon balls piled up in huge pyramids."
0:14:28 > 0:14:31During the largely peaceful 19th century,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35the Victorian attitude to war was summed up in an 1878 song -
0:14:35 > 0:14:37We don't want to fight
0:14:37 > 0:14:39But, by jingo, if we do
0:14:39 > 0:14:41We've got the ships, the men
0:14:41 > 0:14:43And the money, too!
0:15:02 > 0:15:06In Bradshaw's day, this important military installation
0:15:06 > 0:15:09was situated just a few steps from the jetty.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Today it's the home of the Royal Artillery Museum
0:15:12 > 0:15:14and Paul Evans is my guide.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Paul, why did the government establish its arsenal at Woolwich?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24It's established here because of an accident.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28An accident took place in 1716 in a gun foundry over in London.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Gun founding is a really impressive thing, molten metal,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33pouring over, it looks fantastic, but it's got to be done right.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35They went down one day,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40took a party of MPs with them to show it off and their sand was damp.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43And there was an explosion. It killed 17 of them.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45And the powers that be said,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47"You can't do this in the centre of London.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49"This is the centre of the world.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"You need to go somewhere where you've got space to do this.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55"We want you close enough to London to come and talk to us
0:15:55 > 0:15:56"but far enough away to be safe."
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Woolwich.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00By the time of my guidebook,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04this was the primary site for ordnance manufacture in the country.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Railways were at its heart.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08We are walking down the trackway
0:16:08 > 0:16:10where the Royal Arsenal had its own railway.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14It was attached to the main line and it's making thousands and thousands
0:16:14 > 0:16:18of tonnes of material, so it needs that railway to be able to move it.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22To our left here we've got Crimean War vintage storerooms
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and work sheds that were state of the art in the Crimean War,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28built specifically so you can work in them 24 hours a day.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31To the right we've got the brass foundry building.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34So all of these buildings are making parts of the whole
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and you put them on the railways, move it to the dockyard,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39drop them onto the ships, down the Thames and off to war.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The Crimean conflict of 1854 changed
0:16:45 > 0:16:47public perceptions of the military in Britain.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Thanks in part to the new system of telegraph wires that had
0:16:51 > 0:16:55grown up alongside the railways, this was the first ever media war.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59The disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade shocked the nation.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Equipment and clothing shortages and outbreaks of cholera
0:17:02 > 0:17:08and typhoid fever contributed to the deaths of 20,000 men.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10The officer class was vilified in the press,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13while the ordinary soldier became a national hero,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15but at this time
0:17:15 > 0:17:19only high-ranking officers could be awarded medals for gallantry.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Queen Victoria herself agreed that this had to change.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27One of the consequences of the Crimean War was people
0:17:27 > 0:17:30started asking the question, what is there
0:17:30 > 0:17:34that we give our soldiers as the ultimate prize for gallantry?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36And you get the Victoria Cross.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39The Victoria Cross. And what actually is that made of, that medal?
0:17:39 > 0:17:41The Victoria Cross is made of gunmetal.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45And this one...is made from the barrel you're leaning on.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- Really?!- Absolutely.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51And then it was awarded to men from the Crimean War, was it?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Yes. Originally you had to have survived the action
0:17:54 > 0:17:56for which you were put in for it.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59If you died, a little line went in under your mention in dispatches
0:17:59 > 0:18:02saying "would have been awarded the Victoria Cross had he lived".
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And then Queen Victoria lined up her heroes, did she,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and actually presented these VCs?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Absolutely, and she did more than that, she designed
0:18:10 > 0:18:12the majority of the medal as well.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14It's very much her personal medal.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26I'm continuing my journey from Woolwich station, which was
0:18:26 > 0:18:31first linked to the metropolis by rail as far back as 1849.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Today this south-eastern corner of London is also
0:18:34 > 0:18:38connected to the capital's heart via the Docklands Light Railway.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43And soon there'll be a third, much faster way to get into town.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Travelling with my Bradshaw's I've often been nostalgic
0:18:47 > 0:18:50for the Victorian railway age, wondering why
0:18:50 > 0:18:53we can't do things on the same scale and with that imagination.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Well, now I've been partly answered, because they're building Crossrail,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59an immense railway undertaking beginning at Heathrow
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and in Berkshire in the west, passing under the West End, the City
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and Canary Wharf and popping out into Essex and Kent in the east.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It is the largest construction project in Europe.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The recently completed tunnel from Woolwich
0:19:20 > 0:19:24under the river to North Woolwich isn't yet open to the public.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27But there's one locomotive already running here.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I'm joining construction manager Barrymore Nicholls on board.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Ah! First class!
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Barrymore, I'm guessing this is not the final design
0:19:43 > 0:19:45for the new Crossrail trains.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48No. This is the railway we use to help construct the tunnel.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54You make pretty good use of tracks in the construction process.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55Very much so.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59It's a logistics exercise to keep the tunnel boring machine going.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02'For a year, this locomotive has been hauling tonnes
0:20:02 > 0:20:06'of reinforced concrete, used to build the tunnel walls.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10'But first the gigantic boring machine, quaintly dubbed Mary,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'has to do her bit.'
0:20:12 > 0:20:15This is us approaching the back of Mary,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19the tunnelling machine that's come all the way from Plumstead
0:20:19 > 0:20:21through the Woolwich box and under the Thames.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It's a little strange to me because we've had a year of
0:20:24 > 0:20:27frenetic activity and now it's being carved up to be pulled out.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Oh, you sound quite emotional about that.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It is weird.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37'Mary's cutter head is seven metres in diameter,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42'while the whole machine is an impressive 110 metres long.'
0:20:42 > 0:20:44And here we are at the build area,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48it's just behind the cutter head, so the backup starts behind.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Everything in front is about digging
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and everything behind is about logistics to keep the digging going.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57The way this works is we build a ring, the rings are 1.6 metres long.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00There's eight pieces go together to make a ring.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04They fit together, they've got bolts and dowels that fit between them.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And what happens is we pick them up from the erector,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11there's a vacuum pad on the bottom that can spin through 360 degrees,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13place them anywhere in the circle.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15We finish the ring, all eight pieces,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18and then it's self-supporting, it's like the arch of a bridge.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20And how often have you done that here?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22We've done that 3,409 times now.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28I'm now surfacing on the north side of the Thames
0:21:28 > 0:21:30to see how Mary has fared.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36So here we see the teeth of the cutter head
0:21:36 > 0:21:39that's brought you to the other side of the Thames.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Yeah, a bit rusty and battered. Mary did very well.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46When Isambard Kingdom Brunel was working on his father's tunnel
0:21:46 > 0:21:49under the Thames he was swept away by a torrent of water
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and nearly lost his life, but you have come safely under the river.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Until Crossrail is complete,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01I have to continue my journey on the Docklands Light Railway.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04I'm travelling west along the north bank of the Thames,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07where vast new docks had been constructed in the mid-19th century.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16London was at the heart of a global empire and lived by trade.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18The pride that Victorians felt
0:22:18 > 0:22:21is evident in an 1870s version of Bradshaw's.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24"Docks in the East End of London cannot be omitted
0:22:24 > 0:22:27"in a summary of the characteristics of the metropolis.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32"They are the storehouses of widest commerce in the world,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35"and their extent and skilful and economical arrangement
0:22:35 > 0:22:38"will serve as a suggestive index
0:22:38 > 0:22:42"of the merchandise brought from all parts of the world."
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And from the sticky climes of the Caribbean
0:22:45 > 0:22:47came a delicious sticky substance.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49One of the joys of my childhood.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Imperial expansion changed British eating habits,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and the Victorians developed
0:22:57 > 0:23:00a seemingly insatiable appetite for hot, sweet tea,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04which saw their consumption of both tea and sugar quadruple
0:23:04 > 0:23:07during the course of Victoria's reign.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10As the sugar industry boomed in the late 19th century
0:23:10 > 0:23:15two rival sugar tycoons, Henry Tate and Abram Lyle,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18set up processing plants here in the Docklands.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21It's said that the two competitors never actually met
0:23:21 > 0:23:26but in 1921, more than two decades after both their deaths,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29their companies merged.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I'm visiting a legacy of the Victorian sugar industry
0:23:32 > 0:23:34with Gerald Mason.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35Ah!
0:23:35 > 0:23:40An extraordinary sight with all the tins tumbling down here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44What is the origin of this plant on the River Thames?
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Well, Abram Lyle was a partner in a sugar refinery in Scotland
0:23:48 > 0:23:50but he wanted his own refinery.
0:23:50 > 0:23:58So in 1880 he sent his two sons to London with a bank loan of £150,000
0:23:58 > 0:24:00to find land and build the refinery.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03The factory remains on the site that they chose,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05ideally situated for the docks.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And soon this refinery was producing more than just
0:24:08 > 0:24:10sugar for the tea table.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13The Lyles were fantastic sugar refiners
0:24:13 > 0:24:15and what they soon realised was there was sugar
0:24:15 > 0:24:18being lost in the process which was costing them money.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23'These canny Victorian businessmen turned what had been a waste product
0:24:23 > 0:24:26'into a cheap sugar substitute dubbed golden syrup.'
0:24:27 > 0:24:30So very, very quickly the product grew from
0:24:30 > 0:24:32a local following around London
0:24:32 > 0:24:35to being a product that's sold all across the UK.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37A golden legacy!
0:24:38 > 0:24:41The secret recipe of the syrup remains the same,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44as does its iconic trademark.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The famous lion that I remember from my childhood.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50It's been one of the most enduring
0:24:50 > 0:24:52logos and trademarks of all time, hasn't it?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Yeah, it's actually the oldest
0:24:54 > 0:24:57unchanged brand packaging in the world.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59To ensure that this product tastes
0:24:59 > 0:25:01just the same as it did in Bradshaw's day,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03the secret recipe is carefully monitored.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- This is Chris, one of our long-serving employees.- Hello, Chris!
0:25:08 > 0:25:11- Hello. - Long-serving? How long?- 31 years.
0:25:11 > 0:25:1531 years. And are you in the business of sampling the product?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Yeah, I'm just doing a brick sample,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and that measures the amount of sugar syrup
0:25:21 > 0:25:23in the solution as a percentage.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Do you ever just stick your finger in there and...
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Erm...not often, no. Not any more. A while ago maybe.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36The employees here might not be tempted, but before I leave
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I can't resist a taste hot off the production line.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45There you go, Michael.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46Whoa! The tin is warm.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Mmm!
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Deliciously warm, as though it had just come off
0:25:53 > 0:25:56a hot sticky toffee pudding.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01This factory is one of the docklands' few
0:26:01 > 0:26:04remaining links with its trading and industrial past.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07The area suffered badly during the Blitz,
0:26:07 > 0:26:12and the post-war years ushered in a long period of decline.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15More recently, it's been a target for regeneration,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18and one of the latest additions to the landscape
0:26:18 > 0:26:20is the striking Emirates Air Line,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25a bird's-eye link between the Royal Victoria Docks and North Greenwich,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28opened in 2012 for the London Olympics.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35In my time, I have crossed the River Thames by boat,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38by bridge, by tunnel, by foot,
0:26:38 > 0:26:43by car, by bus, by train, by Underground,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47by Docklands Light Railway, but today for me I'm attempting a first.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52I'm crossing the river by air line, a bold piece of engineering
0:26:52 > 0:26:59that takes my cabin soaring to 295 feet above Old Father Thames.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04As it grew into the world's first truly global city,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Victorian London underwent an extraordinary metamorphosis.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12What I love about my home town is that it never stops changing -
0:27:12 > 0:27:17from the waxing and waning fortunes of areas like Deptford
0:27:17 > 0:27:21to the new transport projects that will keep Londoners moving.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26A century ago this was the West India Dock,
0:27:26 > 0:27:31covering more than 50 acres with berths for 600 ships.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Today it is home to more than 14 million square feet
0:27:34 > 0:27:37of commercial floor space.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39We may lament the passing into history
0:27:39 > 0:27:42of so much of our shipping and manufacturing
0:27:42 > 0:27:46but if we feel sentimental about the Victorian age we should recall
0:27:46 > 0:27:51that it was also an epoch of poverty, squalor and disease.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55George Bradshaw could never have dreamt of Britain's
0:27:55 > 0:27:5721st-century wealth.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Next time, I'll experience the Olympic legacy hands on.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10My knowledge will be tested by a cabbie.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13How can you get from Bishopsgate to the Old Bailey without
0:28:13 > 0:28:15crossing a road?
0:28:15 > 0:28:19By hiring a cab with a knowledgeable driver!
0:28:19 > 0:28:22And I'll see how London's Victorian infrastructure
0:28:22 > 0:28:25is getting a remarkable 21st-century upgrade.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29I had no idea that this great big box was here.