Redditch to Gloucester Great British Railway Journeys

'For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.

'At a time when railways were new,

'Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.'

I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains

transformed Britain, its landscape,

its industry, society and leisure time.

As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me

to discover the Britain of today.

My journey, that began amongst the metal-bashers of Birmingham,

continues southwest towards the desolate moorlands of Devon.

'On the way, I'll be discovering the industries

'and traditions that made this part of the country

'the engine room of Britain as it emerged into the modern age.'

My journey continues south through the Midlands,

following the path of the River Severn,

past great cathedral cities

to the ancient spas and ports of the South West,

to end up in one of Britain's most glorious national parks.

Today's leg begins in mediaeval Redditch in Worcestershire.

I then move on to the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire

before arriving in the county's capital, Gloucester.

'On this journey, I come eye to eye with a needle...'

That one has got four punches in. Two big ones, two small ones.

They're the eyes of the needle.

'..get to grips with some of Gloucester's finest...'

That's a lovely feel, isn't it, being in contact with that gorgeous cheese.

Glorious Gloucester!

'..and raise the roof in tribute to one of Britain's great composers.'

# And did those feet in ancient time

# Walk upon England's mountains green? #

Today, my first stop is Redditch, which Bradshaw's tells me

is a place, "remarkable for its extensive needle manufactories."

I'm headed towards the sharp end of the Industrial Revolution.

'In the northeast of Worcestershire, Redditch supposedly

'derives its name from the red clay of the nearby River Arrow.

'It first appears in the records in 1348

'and went on to flourish in the Victorian era

'before being designated a new town in 1964

'to house the overspilling population of Birmingham.

'But it's Redditch's own boom in the 19th century that interests me.

'And that was all down to one industry,

'not to put too fine a point on it.

'I've come to the headquarters of the English Needle and Tackle Company

'to meet David Gibbs, the man in charge of production.'

Hello, David. Good morning. How are you? Nice to see you again.

David, tell me how Redditch would've been

at the very height of needle manufacture.

At the very height of needle manufacture we would've been

producing 25-30 million needles per week,

which was approximately 9% of the world's productivity at the time.

Now, was it an industry that was

conducted traditionally in big factories?

People moved into the area, the needle-makers, around 300 years ago.

And they created what we call a cottage-style industry.

And each family either concentrated on hardening or pointing.

And over the years, they joined forces, amalgamated with others,

and then the big houses bought them up.

And where we are in the 20th century,

you have two or three big houses controlling the needle trade.

The development of steam power and advances in machinery

in the mid-19th century allowed the complete needle-production process

to come under one roof.

This was keenly observed by no lesser figure than the great

Victorian novelist and social commentator Charles Dickens,

who visited a needle factory in Redditch

and marvelled at the miracle of dexterity displayed by the workers.

How does a needle begin? It always begins with the raw material.

We purchase wire in various sizes to suit the needle.

It's carbon steel, so we can heat, treat it and work with it.

Carbon steel, yet it appears to be copper-coloured.

There's a very, very small copper coating on the outside of the wire.

That helps prevent corrosion

and also helps with the production processes.

It acts as a slight lubricant as it works through

the stamping device on the combines.

'The method of production and much of the machinery in use today

'has changed very little since the time of my guidebook.

'My tour starts at the beginning as the points are fashioned

'out of the steel wire.'

This is Vicky. Hello, Vicky.

What Vicky's doing is feeding the wires through the machine.

There's a rubber feed wheel and a rubber saddle

and we've got a grinding stone there.

So as the needles are pushed around by the feed wheel,

they're rolling against the stone to put the desired point on.

These needles now have points at both ends. Yep.

And that's because they're actually two needles.

There's two needles made together.

I notice you don't wear gloves. Do you never prick your fingers? No.

Because they're quite long, they're fine to handle.

What about at the beginning, when you first started here.

Didn't you prick your fingers? No, not really.

I have a feeling I'm going to do so today.

THEY LAUGH

'Points made, the next job is to fashion the eyes.'

This is Steve. Steve, hello. Michael. This is a combine.

This machine is probably 100 years old. Is that so?

How long have you been operating it, Steve? Three years. Not 100, then?

No. And what are you doing here?

Right.

That one is stamping the shape of the eyes at the top of the needle.

Right.

That one has got four punches in. Two big ones, two small ones.

They're the eyes of the needle.

And, of course, at that point, you've still got two needles. Yeah.

All that does is put a little crimp in there so that...

You can just set them. Bash them off. So they're two separate needles.

Have you got a lot of needles coming through?

About 2,000 an hour. 2,000 an hour?

Yep. On a 100-year-old machine? Yep.

That is extraordinary.

Thank you very much. That's all right. Good luck.

Any rough edges must now be smoothed off,

so it's all hands to the grindstone.

The thing is to use the shadow on the stone.

And I'm going to press down gently with this hand? Yeah. Here goes.

Oh, that's lovely!

Portillo visits Redditch and sparks fly!

'Needle-making put 19th-century Redditch firmly on the map

'and made it a byword for quality in the furthest

'reaches of the British empire.

'It's reported that in the Sudan in 1850,

'a packet of Redditch-manufactured needles

'were so highly prized that it could buy you a wife.

'The fact that they got to Africa in the first place is largely thanks

'to the great innovation of the age of the railways.

'And my next stop is Cheltenham.

'You used to be able to travel all the way there on the Midland Line.'

Thank you very much for the ride. That's all right.

'But that possibility is long gone.

'And so I've taken a cab to Ashchurch

'to pick up the Great Western service heading south.'

I shall be alighting at Cheltenham, which apparently is

"elegant and fashionable.

"Most of it is modern and well built".

And I shall want to examine carefully its masonry.

TANNOY: Your next station stop is Cheltenham Spa.

Cheltenham Spa is your next stop.

'There are two reasons why Cheltenham became one of the premier

'health and holiday resorts of the 18th century.

'Its mineral water springs

'and its position in the lee of the Cotswolds,

'affording a delightfully mild climate in winter and summer.

'Bradshaw describes the currents of air which contribute to

'the purity and salubrity of the town.

'By the early 19th century,

'the resident population had grown from 3,000 to 35,000

'and there was a building boom to accommodate them

'and the hordes of visitors who came to indulge in leisure and pleasure.

'But amongst the stucco-fronted terraces and crescents,

'one building stands out for its rough-hewn exterior.'

Michael, welcome to Cheltenham Masonic Hall. Do come in. Thank you.

'The Freemasons' journey from brotherhood of skilled stoneworkers

'to a controversial secret society

'took place over several hundred years.

'And during the Victorian era,

'Freemasonry gained powerful adherence.'

Very impressive.

'Freemasons organise themselves into groups known as lodges.

'And in 1823, Cheltenham became the first town outside London

'to have its own dedicated hall.'

Tim, you've welcomed me to a beautiful building.

Tell me about it.

Well, Cheltenham was a very important spa town in Regency times

and lodges did move into Cheltenham.

In those days, they generally met in hotels.

One lodge decided they wanted to build their own lodge building

and they deputed one of their number, George Underwood, to design it,

and this was built and completed in 1823.

And how old is Masonry, then?

Well, it springs from the mediaeval guilds

to the actual operative masons,

the masons who built cathedrals and castles.

But then, like so many other guilds,

it was taken over as more of a social and self-help organisation.

Why, then, are Freemasons different, say,

from arrow makers or wheelwrights, or any of the other guilds?

Where Masonry is different is that some of the rituals

that all the guilds used to practise,

plays and things like that,

they took them in-house

and used them for rituals for self-improvement.

Today, mysterious initiation rituals

and secret memberships can attract suspicion and conspiracy theories.

But in the Victorian era, there were no such qualms.

Famous masons of the time included

Lord Kitchener, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Daniel Gooch,

Chief Engineer and Chairman of the Great Western Railway,

who was an active proponent of masonry.

Do you think that the railways made a difference to Freemasonry?

Oh, very much so. The essence of Freemasonry is visiting.

With the introduction of the railways,

it became easier to visit other lodges.

We have an instance in my own province

about the old Severn Railway Bridge.

Brethren used to go from one side to the other and visit one another.

The story is that they always asked the station master on each side

to join the lodge so they never missed the last train home.

Every aspect of this building is weighted with symbolism.

The ancient tools of the stonemasons' craft,

the square and compasses, mallets and trowels.

And my first glimpse of the inner sanctum

is an almost theatrical experience.

Well, Tim, it's a very impressive room.

Sometimes referred to as a temple?

They were, yes. We tend to call them meeting rooms now

because of the confusion with religion.

And Freemasonry is not a religion.

Now, you say that Freemasonry is much like guilds,

but you have paraphernalia which they don't have.

You wear aprons, there are so many symbols, stars and suns.

A chequerboard floor.

So there are extra elements to Freemasonry, aren't there?

There are. It is an organisation that is primarily, as I said,

a fellowship organisation made up of men who want to improve themselves.

And everything else flows from that.

And the instruction for a new Mason

is through a series of small lectures or rituals.

And, yes, we do lean heavily on symbolism.

You referred to the chequered pavement.

That's just the dark and light,

the joys and sorrows of our existence on this earth.

Which does sound quite religious. No, it's life.

THEY LAUGH

So, if I came to your most solemn event in this meeting room,

in this temple, what might I see performed here?

Firstly, there's always minutes and there may be accounts,

reports from the secretary and the like, and then,

if there is a candidate for Freemasonry,

we'll undertake one of the rituals that I referred to.

So a meeting may take up to two hours,

but a meeting essentially is followed by dinner.

MICHAEL CHUCKLES Which can easily take another two hours.

I'm wondering whether George Bradshaw,

who I know was a Quaker, was also a Freemason?

Well, there's no reason why he shouldn't have been a Mason

because he was a Quaker, but in anticipation of your visit,

I asked our library at head office to check whether he was.

And after a rigorous search, I'm afraid we cannot claim him

as one of our own. Much as we'd wish to.

Tim, I've thoroughly enjoyed the visit. Thank you so much.

'With some of the mysteries of the ancient brotherhood explained,

'but still none the wiser about the secret handshake,

'I head off in search of a place to spend the night.

'My Bradshaw's mentions one particularly fine building,

'a sprawling Tudor manor that overlooks the town

'and the fabled Cheltenham racecourse.'

Bradshaw's tells me that this splendid pile is called Southam,

the seat of Lord Ellenborough.

It's now a hotel. And I shall be staying here tonight.

I'm feeling rather grand because it's said that Anne Parr,

the sister-in-law of King Henry VIII, once laid her head here.

It was still on her shoulders.

Not that I'm claiming parity with a Parr.

'The next day sees the beginning

'of the final leg of this part of my journey.

'It's time to bid farewell to Cheltenham

'and take the train west to neighbouring Gloucester.'

Bradshaw's tells me that

"pleasant hills overlook the Vale of Gloucester.

"A rich, loamy tract of 60,000 acres.

"Corn, fruit, beans, turnips, hay, butter

"and Double Gloucester cheese, for which the county is noted".

It seems that, like Little Miss Muffet,

I'm going to be dealing with curds and whey.

'It's only a short hop, so it's soon time to quit my tuffet

'and alight at the station.

'Gloucester lies on the River Severn,

'35 miles from the mouth of the Bristol Channel.

'At the time of my guidebook, it was a thriving port,

'the most inland in the country,

'situated on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which opened in 1827

'as the widest and deepest in England.

'It was big enough for seagoing ships

'to transfer from the river to the canal.

'When the railways arrived in the 1840s,

'they added to Gloucester's importance

'and helped to distribute the town's home-grown products.

'Bradshaw's talks about Double Gloucester cheese,

'but there's another lesser-known variety called Single Gloucester,

'which has also been made for over 300 years.

'To get a taste of what sets them apart,

'I've come to a dairy farm outside the city to meet Rod Smart.'

Hello, Rod. Hello, Michael.

Nice to meet you. Very good to see you.

And I find you at your cheese making.

Can I give you a hand with that, by the way? Of course.

What we are doing, we are trying to keep the curd moving.

Was this this morning's milk?

Well, we started at six o'clock this morning with milk which was

milked from our cows last night

because I don't fancy getting up before that to milk the cows.

What is the difference between Single and Double Gloucester, Rod?

Single Gloucester cheese was usually a cheese which was

made on the farm for the locality.

It was for the workers and for the local people.

It's a younger, smoother cheese

and nowadays it has a PDO on it.

It is protected because there's only a few people in Gloucestershire

who make it.

Double Gloucester was the cheese that we sold off the farm.

Traditionally, it would have been sent to the cities.

It was a good, strong, robust cheese.

By train, I hope, Rod.

Oh, undoubtedly.

These 800 litres of milk will eventually become

about 80kg of cheese.

Rod uses the old methods handed down through

the generations of Gloucester cheese makers.

The separated curds are gathered into moulds,

which are then put into a cheese press to extract moisture.

So, here are some cheeses that were made on Tuesday.

These are Victorian presses. Really?

Do you have any idea what sort of weight

they might have put on the cheese?

40lbs.

They were designed to put on up to 20 hundredweight onto the cheese.

Now, if you unscrew that.

It's most definitely handcrafted cheese, isn't it?

The next stage is to unwrap

and turn Rod's latest batch of Single Gloucesters before they are

returned to the press to smooth any wrinkles left by the cloth.

Ooh, do you know, that's awfully satisfying? Yes.

That's a lovely feel, isn't it?

Being in contact with that gorgeous cheese.

Glorious Gloucester!

You wind it down until this lever goes up to just above horizontal.

The cheeses are then taken into the cold storage,

where they are left to grow a rind while the flavour matures.

Double Gloucester for around four months and the Single for two.

The moment of truth. Yes, indeed.

The pale one is the Single Gloucester cheese

so that's the best one to start with.

Mm.

Lovely and mild and soft and creamy.

And I think, at the end of it, you should get little bit of a zing.

Pow! I just got it.

Really good.

What makes Double Gloucester that colour?

We use annatto.

What's that? Annatto.

It's a colouring, comes from a South American bean or seed.

It was originally the dye that the South American Indians used,

the red body paints.

They were brought back. Probably came into Bristol.

It was used in cheeses and other foodstuffs

to make it look more appealing.

I'm trying to forget Native American body paint.

That's quite a bit stronger, isn't it?

I'm getting it in the roof of the mouth

and it's getting under the tongue.

Great cheese. And quite different.

Widely apart but very traditional cheese.

Well, with a tradition like that, no wonder the Gloucester cheeses

score a mention in my Bradshaw's guide.

Yep. Good.

Tearing myself away from this bucolic scene,

I return to Gloucester to pay my respects

at the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity.

This Norman masterpiece,

with its 225-foot-high tower,

dominates its surroundings.

King Edward II is buried here.

The architectural marvels don't stop at the city gates.

Close by is the elegant country house of two eminent Victorians,

a father and son whose combined artistic talents

left a lasting impression on the landscape

and Britain's national identity.

Bradshaw's tells me that in the environs of Gloucester

is Highnam Court,

seat of Thomas Gambier-Parry Esq

and he built this, the parish church at Highnam.

He also had a son, Hubert,

a most brilliant musician

and for those two legacies, may Thomas's name be hymned.

Thomas's son, Hubert, was a hugely influential composer

whose large body of work includes the anthem I Was Glad and Jerusalem.

Waiting inside the church to tell me

more about both Parrys is author Anthony Bowden.

Anthony, hello. Michael. Hello.

I'm dying to talk to you about Hubert Parry, the composer,

but just before that, Thomas Parry, his father.

Why did he create this church?

Well, this was built because he and his wife had five children,

three of whom had died in childbirth,

so they planned to have a church on this site.

He and Isabella determined to call this church the Holy Innocents

and then when Hubert was born in 1848,

his wife was in the last throes of tuberculosis.

She had her baby, Hubert, and 12 days later she died.

So it was a broken-hearted Thomas

who determined that he would now build this church.

It took Thomas three years to build what the poet, John Betjeman,

described as the most complete Victorian Gothic church in England.

A bust of Isabella was placed in it by her widower

on the night before it was consecrated in 1851.

What was Parry's personal contribution

to the decoration of the church?

Well, the most obvious one is here, over the chancel arch.

He also painted this frieze along the side of the church.

And the characters shown processing are real people from the village

and around and about.

And he would ask people to come in and just sit for him and he would

sketch them and then they got worked into that rather delightful frieze.

In the end, the son outshone the father.

Hubert Parry's music provides the soundtrack to many British

state occasions, from coronations to weddings.

Where does Hubert Parry's greatness lie, in your view?

Probably in passing on his precepts and his knowledge

and his style to a generation of composers

that he taught at the Royal College of Music.

Edward Elgar, who was a young man

and totally unknown in the country as a composer,

took himself down from Worcestershire

to attend a concert of Parry's.

Elgar was completely blown away by what he had heard in Parry.

So Parry was the pathfinder and Elgar followed.

Elgar made great use of trains. Did Parry, too? Yes, he did.

Speed, in all its forms, he loved.

Motoring, yachting and express trains.

So much so that he found

it stimulated his creativity in a very real way.

So he'd write music whilst on the express train.

It's easy to imagine Hubert Parry

steaming through the English landscape,

reading William Blake's great poem

and being inspired to write his masterpiece.

And I'm delighted to say that Jonathan Hope

and the Gloucester Choral Society

are going to treat us to a rendition of Jerusalem

with the addition of one rather rusty baritone.

Why is it endured so much?

I think of the Women's Institute singing about their arrows of desire.

I just think it's the perfect, um...

amalgamation of words and music.

It's an amazing tune that he wrote.

He had a gift for writing stunning, stunning tunes to sing.

And coupled with words of probably one of our greatest poets,

I think it's just stood the test of time.

And does the choir enjoy singing it? CHOIR: Yes!

Why don't we give it a go?

Well, let's. Where do you want to go? Ooh.

Well... Nowhere is the real answer. THEY LAUGH

But I won't get away with that. I'll go in the middle there.

Go in the middle, yeah. Has anyone got the words? No! No.

ORGAN STRIKES UP

# And did those feet in ancient time

# Walk upon England's mountains green?

# And was the holy Lamb of God

# On England's pleasant pastures seen? #

Hubert was approached to write Jerusalem in 1916,

during the darkest hours of WWI,

when news of heavy British casualties was reported.

His hymn became a rallying cry to the whole nation.

# And was Jerusalem builded here

# Among those dark satanic mills? #

As the last notes of Hubert Parry's great tune

rise up to his father's rafters,

I can't help reflecting on the richness of the age

that produced them both.

Some traditions, such as Freemasonry, have mediaeval origins,

but were boosted by the new mobility supplied to men

intent on self-improvement by the railways.

The manufacture of needles has scarcely changed since Bradshaw's day

and Gloucester cheese is still made using Victorian presses.

William Blake and Hubert Parry implied why this vale is so fertile.

The countenance divine shone upon England's pastures green.

'On the next part of my journey,

'I take pot luck with an early snooker cue...'

Oh, no. A bit askew.

'..hitch a ride with a farmer of the future...'

Just being out in the field getting wet and muddy is absolutely wrong.

It's highly technical these days.

'..and hone my conversational skills at a Victorian tea party.'

The cucumber this season is extremely crisp.