0:00:04 > 0:00:09For 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 industry, 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.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56The southern shores of Britain inspired creative Victorians.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58On today's journey, I want to find out how,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03during a period of great social change, works of art, literature
0:01:03 > 0:01:09and design helped to transform, improve and even save lives.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15With my Bradshaw's Guide in hand,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I'm travelling the length of England's south coast.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I began in the east, taking in forts and resorts.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I'll pass through the literary landscape of the West Country
0:01:25 > 0:01:29before concluding at the most south-westerly tip of England.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Today, my journey begins by the sea in Lymington.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Travelling inland to the town of Dorchester, I pass through Axminster,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44before concluding my journey back on the coast in Exmouth.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50'Today, I investigate the ins and outs of carpets...'
0:01:50 > 0:01:52This is how you weave.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54MACHINERY GRINDS
0:01:58 > 0:02:02'..discover the little-known railway verse of Thomas Hardy...'
0:02:02 > 0:02:04"And the wheels moved on.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08"Oh could it but be that I had alighted there."
0:02:08 > 0:02:10- He missed his chance. - He did indeed.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13'..and brush up on a forgotten artist.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:15You're doing a grand job, Michael.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17I think, um, Danby would be proud of you.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20You old flatterer! LAUGHTER
0:02:26 > 0:02:28My first stop will be Lymington.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Bradshaw's tells me that it's a "prettily situated town, whose
0:02:32 > 0:02:37"maritime operations are chiefly confined to the Isle of Wight."
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Intriguingly, in 1901, there was a plan to build a train tunnel
0:02:42 > 0:02:45from Lymington to the island.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49For me, that is one of the great railway might-have-beens.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53As it is, tourists have been left to cross the brine,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56with all its charms and perils.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06With no tunnel, the pretty Georgian market town of Lymington has been
0:03:06 > 0:03:10connected to the Isle of Wight by ferry since the mid-19th century.
0:03:11 > 0:03:17Located at the western end of the Solent, sailing defines Lymington.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21There have been boatyards here since medieval times
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and it's famous for yacht building and racing.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28With such a watery heritage,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31it's appropriate that I'm arriving on a wet day.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Heading to the Berthon Boat Company,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41which builds lifeboats and began in Bradshaw's day.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43It's run by Brian May.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- Hello, Brian?- Good morning, Michael. - What have we here?
0:03:49 > 0:03:51We have a genuine original
0:03:51 > 0:03:5519th-century Berthon collapsible boat.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- And I'd like you to help me build it.- Let's go.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00What an intriguing object.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'The Berthon collapsible boat was invented by
0:04:05 > 0:04:07'the Reverend EL Berthon.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:13'He was Vicar of Romsey from 1860-1892
0:04:13 > 0:04:18'and displayed a keen interest in mechanical science.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Wow, this is quick to do, isn't it?
0:04:20 > 0:04:25It is. It was designed to be a very quick object to put together,
0:04:25 > 0:04:31so that the users could either use them for safety on board ships,
0:04:31 > 0:04:36or for deployment in exploratory expeditions.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40We've locked the seat in with that pin!
0:04:40 > 0:04:44'Even as a novice, I could assemble it in just two minutes.'
0:04:44 > 0:04:47And these could be used as a mast,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49so some of them would be used for sailing,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Otherwise you would get in and row the boat with your passengers.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59All set! Brian, come and join me.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03At the beginning of the 19th century,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07what was the legislation regarding lifeboats on ships?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09There was none, literally.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Um, the SS Orion in 1850 was what started it all.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17She was a packet boat that went between Liverpool and Glasgow
0:05:17 > 0:05:20and she foundered and the Reverend Clark,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24who was a friend of the Reverend Berthon, was on board
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and he was one of the very few to escape with his life.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And he then went to visit the Reverend Berthon and said,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34"You must, with your inventive mind, be able to do something about this,"
0:05:34 > 0:05:37so he set about inventing this boat.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Obviously, you could pack a lot of these onto a ship.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42How does it work? What are the sides made of?
0:05:42 > 0:05:47The sides are made of flax, a canvas, double skinned.
0:05:47 > 0:05:53And he came up with a turpentine, linseed and soap mixture
0:05:53 > 0:05:57to make it waterproof and, because the canvas was so well protected,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00it was sold as "for use in all weather",
0:06:00 > 0:06:04whether it was 40 or 50 degrees outside, or minus 40 or 50.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06'This ingenious craft was
0:06:06 > 0:06:11'demonstrated to Queen Victoria at the Great Exhibition of 1851.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:16However, before it was used as a lifeboat,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19other applications presented themselves.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24During the Crimean and Boer wars, the military appreciated a light,
0:06:24 > 0:06:29collapsible vessel, which could be hauled into remote environments.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34It took a catastrophe for its value as a lifeboat to become evident.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Now, one of the most infamous cases,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39where there were not enough lifeboats,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42was the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Were there Berthon boats on board?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47No, they did have a competitor's boats on,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51that took about 20-25 people, but the sad thing was,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55they could only cater for a third of the maximum capacity.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58On the first voyage, there was two thirds capacity,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01so they only had enough lifeboats for half the people,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03which is why so many people died.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06When the Titanic sister ship, the Olympic,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11came into port a week later, there was a furore, so 24 boats
0:07:11 > 0:07:15immediately were put on board - Berthon boats - for the hands,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19cos the deckhands wouldn't go to sea without sufficient boats.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21But shortly afterwards,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24another 300 were placed on board for the passengers.
0:07:24 > 0:07:31Essentially, it took 62 years to achieve its status as a lifeboat.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35In the meantime, it had been used for theatres of war and exploring.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41'Thousands were made for lifeboat use up to the 1930s.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43'As lighter materials were developed,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47'collapsible lifeboats of Berthon's ilk were superseded.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'Today, the company that bears the Reverend's name
0:07:50 > 0:07:55'still produces boats to save lives, but they're on a larger scale.'
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- Evidently, Brian, the business is still lifeboats today?- That's right.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05We've built 14 lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute
0:08:05 > 0:08:08in the last 2½, 3 years.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- Quite a complicated thing, a lifeboat, these days?- They are.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15They're £2.5 million each, for a 45-foot boat.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18These ones are designed very shallow, with jet engines,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21so that they can go up beaches and go very shallow.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Up beaches? They actually come up the beach?
0:08:23 > 0:08:26They get deployed off the beach and, when they come back,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30they whizz up the beach at 30 knots and the passengers,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32or the people being saved, can get off the boat.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37'The life-saving work, begun by the Reverend Berthon,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39'is continued in the modern era.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Leaving Lymington behind, I return to the rails
0:08:47 > 0:08:51to continue my journey, rejoining the main line at Brockenhurst.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00My next stop will be Dorchester. The guidebook says that it's
0:09:00 > 0:09:04"The capital of Dorsetshire in a pretty part of the South Downs,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08"at the termination of the South Western Railway."
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Strange to think that the line didn't yet go on as far as Weymouth.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16For Thomas Hardy fans, Dorsetshire will always be Wessex
0:09:16 > 0:09:20and Dorchester will always be Casterbridge.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26The arrival of the railways in rural areas like Dorset
0:09:26 > 0:09:30was met with a mixture of excitement and concern.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Many believed that rural life would change forever,
0:09:32 > 0:09:37and none more so than Thomas Hardy, writer and poet,
0:09:37 > 0:09:43who was born in the small Dorset hamlet of Higher Bockhampton in 1840.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46In his novels, the fictional county of Wessex
0:09:46 > 0:09:49was based on people and places around Dorchester
0:09:49 > 0:09:53and his writing heavily featured the coming of the railways.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57'A short walk from the town,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02'I'm meeting Thomas Hardy expert, Dr Jane Thomas, at Max Gate.'
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Jane?- Hello, Michael, welcome to Max Gate.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09'One of the Victorian era's most noted authors,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'creator of Tess of the d'Urbervilles
0:10:12 > 0:10:16'and the Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy wrote with earthy realism.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20'The working-class son of a servant and a stonemason,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23'he criticised the Victorian constraints, which made it hard
0:10:23 > 0:10:27'for people to rise through the social ranks, as he aimed to do.'
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- What impelled Hardy to better himself?- I think it was his mother.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35He had a very ambitious mother
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and she was very careful of his education,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41um, and so she was responsible for getting him
0:10:41 > 0:10:44apprenticed to an architect, so he'd become a professional
0:10:44 > 0:10:48middle-class man and not a builder, like his father and his brother,
0:10:48 > 0:10:49and, um, it's interesting,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53when he first went to London in the 1860s to seek his fortune,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58he tried very hard to lose his rural bearing and his rural accent.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01'As an architect in London,
0:11:01 > 0:11:06'he oversaw the excavation of the graveyard of St Pancras Old Church
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'during the construction of the new railway terminus.'
0:11:12 > 0:11:14But given that Max Gate became his house, evidently,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17he returned from London to Dorchester?
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Yes, he didn't get on very well in London.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21He found the pace of life there very stressful
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and he found the pollution very injurious to his health.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28And he also felt that he didn't write very well in London,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31that he was really inspired by the area that he grew up in
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and knew well in his childhood
0:11:33 > 0:11:36and so, he moved back to Dorchester fairly soon.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41'Continuing as an architect in Dorchester, he wrote on the side.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47'Far From The Madding Crowd was so successful that, at the age of 34,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50'he committed to writing full-time.'
0:11:50 > 0:11:53This house is obviously the house of a successful man.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Yes, he designed it himself and, in 1885, it really represented
0:11:58 > 0:12:01the height of middle-class convenience and comfort.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03He received some very important writers,
0:12:03 > 0:12:08such as JM Barrie, Rudyard Kipling, George Bernard Shaw and Edward VIII,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10the Prince of Wales then, also came here.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15'Hardy took his place in polite society,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'but the impediments to social mobility
0:12:18 > 0:12:21'were a continuing theme of the novels.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Jude the Obscure is the great novel of social climbing,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27where a young boy, a young orphaned boy,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29decides he wants to go to university
0:12:29 > 0:12:33and the whole of Jude the Obscure is really about his attempt
0:12:33 > 0:12:38to better himself, but of course, it doesn't work for him at all.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42'Hardy published 14 novels, 49 short stories
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'and nearly 1,000 poems,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47'much written in this study.'
0:12:48 > 0:12:51How does he make use of railways in his novels?
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Railways are an opportunity for dramatic speculation,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58because you've got lots of strangers meeting,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01transient populations, people who may or may never meet again,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04lots of brief encounters we might say, um,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08so they provide him with quite a lot of material for what-ifs.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I confess I only know Thomas Hardy as a novelist,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14but he was also a considerable poet, wasn't he?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Yes, he was, um, he claimed to have spent more time writing poems
0:13:17 > 0:13:21than writing novels and being a poet was his first calling
0:13:21 > 0:13:25and, perhaps as an example of how he sees the romantic possibilities
0:13:25 > 0:13:28in railways, you might want to read Faintheart In A Railway Station?
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Hmm, thank you.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33"At nine in the morning, there passed a church
0:13:33 > 0:13:35"At ten, there passed me by the sea
0:13:35 > 0:13:38"At 12, a town of smoke and smirch
0:13:38 > 0:13:40"At two, a forest of oak and birch
0:13:40 > 0:13:42"And then, on a platform, she
0:13:42 > 0:13:45"A radiant stranger, who saw not me
0:13:45 > 0:13:48"I said, 'Get out to her! Do I dare?'
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"But I kept my seat in my search for a plea
0:13:51 > 0:13:53"And the wheels moved on
0:13:53 > 0:13:57"Oh, could it but be That I had alighted there!"
0:13:57 > 0:13:59- He missed his chance.- He did indeed.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Thomas Hardy lived at Max Gate until his death in 1928.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11I'm making my way back into the town
0:14:11 > 0:14:15which was Hardy's inspiration for Casterbridge.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23I end my day at a hostelry, referenced in both Bradshaw's
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and Hardy's Mayor or Casterbridge - The Kings Arms.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's the morning of my second day.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Leaving Dorchester, I continue my travels westwards,
0:14:43 > 0:14:49rejoining the mainline at Yeovil in Somerset and continuing into Devon.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57My first stop of the new day will be Axminster,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59apparently situated on the River Axe.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03"Some of the best and finest description of carpets
0:15:03 > 0:15:08"are made here." As I weave my way towards Devon, carpet making looms.
0:15:13 > 0:15:19The route to Axminster skims along the river and past lush pasture.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25The landscape suited farming sheep for wool
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and the river drove the mills.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36I'm keen to discover how Axminster became synonymous with carpets.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40At the town's new heritage centre,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44I'll find out more from local historian Laurence Hitchcock.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Hello, Laurence. - Good morning, Michael.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Good morning, welcome to Thomas Whitty House.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Laurence, this is an extraordinary object. Tell me about this carpet.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02It is wonderful, it's recently come back to its home.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It was handmade in this location and we're very privileged to
0:16:06 > 0:16:09actually have it back here after 246 years.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So handmade by whom?
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Well, Thomas Whitty, who invented the Axminster weave construction,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17had a very large family.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22He had six daughters, three sons and they all worked in his manufactory.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24They had small fingers, nimble fingers,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and he was able to produce the carpets slightly cheaper than
0:16:28 > 0:16:30other manufacturers by having a vertical loom
0:16:30 > 0:16:34instead of a horizontal loom and so his business grew and grew
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and became really quite worldwide famous.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Apart from using his own family,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41- did he use child labour more generally?- Yes.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Generally speaking, it was children and women
0:16:44 > 0:16:46who did the weaving for him.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Shocking today, child labour was the norm in the 18th and 19th centuries.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56Only in 1833 did the Factory Act ban children from working
0:16:56 > 0:17:00in textile factories, but even so, only if under the age of nine.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05When Whitty founded the factory in the 1750s,
0:17:05 > 0:17:10a big workforce was required to meet the demands of the world of fashion.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15The greatest day of his life was when King George III visited
0:17:15 > 0:17:18this manufactory with Queen Charlotte and three princesses,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and it was a huge thing and she bought some carpet, the Queen,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and that promoted his business.
0:17:25 > 0:17:32'Thomas Whitty died in 1792 and, 43 years later, the business closed.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35'Some of his carpets survive, such as this one,
0:17:35 > 0:17:41'which adorned the dining room of Rockbeare Manor in Exeter from 1769.'
0:17:43 > 0:17:44I call them works of art.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47You go to these lovely old palaces and houses
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and everybody knows about the Renoirs and the Chippendale,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53but these are works of art as well and they're remarkable.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58'When the Whitty factory closed in 1835,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02'production of carpets switched from Axminster to Kidderminster.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07At the time of my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09when the Victorians were carpeting their homes,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11none was made in Axminster.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20'But the story didn't end there.'
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- Hello, Josh.- Hello, Michael, pleasure to meet you.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27'Josh Dutfield is the commercial director of today's factory.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:34How was it that your ancestors came to have the Axminster business?
0:18:34 > 0:18:37My family's been holidaying in Cornwall for some time
0:18:37 > 0:18:39and originated in Glasgow
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and moved into the carpeting industry in Kidderminster,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45so whilst on holiday, they decided to stop off at Axminster,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48went to see the local vicar, just for a tour around the town,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and the local vicar advised them that, actually, there hadn't been
0:18:51 > 0:18:54carpet production in the town for nearly a century at that time,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58so they took the decision - my great grandfather and my grandfather -
0:18:58 > 0:19:01to move their factory from Kidderminster to the location
0:19:01 > 0:19:04we have now, predominantly because the rail line
0:19:04 > 0:19:06actually backs onto the back of the factory,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08so that gave them a logistical advantage as well.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12And did they just kind of pick up the old Axminster method and design?
0:19:12 > 0:19:15What they use is the basis of the weave,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18but added what's called in our industry an eight pitch,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23which is the finest specification Axminster weave you can get.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26'The luxurious weave devised by Whitty endures,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30'but the scores of women and children operating looms
0:19:30 > 0:19:33'have been replaced by machines.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40'These durable products carpet hotels, shops and railway carriages.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44'The man responsible for these bespoke pieces is
0:19:44 > 0:19:47'Gary Bridge, head of design.'
0:19:47 > 0:19:49So this, I guess, would be
0:19:49 > 0:19:51the traditional way of designing a carpet, would it?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Yeah, this is a good example of how we used to do carpets originally,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57so we used to draw them by hand and then paint them on this graph paper,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59so this whole process could take about a month
0:19:59 > 0:20:01to mix the colours to paint it.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Now, this design on the floor, which is a lovely looking thing,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05what is that you're up to there?
0:20:05 > 0:20:09This is the carpet we're making for the saloon at Brighton Pavilion.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Originally done in 1830, it was an original Thomas Whitty carpet.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Because there isn't much of the carpet left, we've had to base this
0:20:15 > 0:20:19on paintings done from the 1840s, 1850s, of the original carpet.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Then, in total, this'll probably take about 15 months to design,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- cos of the intricacy and the size of the rug.- Extraordinary!
0:20:25 > 0:20:26That looks like a railway carpet.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- Yeah, one of the railway carpets we do.- And that's nicely resistant
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- to anybody who throws his tea or coffee over the carpet?- Yes.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35I mean, the beauty of what we do here is we do anything
0:20:35 > 0:20:37from quite a simple design, for this rail company here,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40to some historic works for beautiful locations
0:20:40 > 0:20:43to, obviously, the cream of the job, which is the Brighton Pavilion.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45I think I will go downstairs
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and see how the boys put your designs into action.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- OK, nice.- Thanks very much, Gary. - Thank you.- Bye-bye.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56'Operating one of the computerised looms is Steve.'
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I've been seeing some of the designs that Gary's got upstairs.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03How are they sent down to you to weave them?
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Well, from the design department,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Gary will send it down through the network,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12which comes in through the cables into our Jacquard computer here.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14The Jacquard will then turn that into motion movement,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16where it will lift the carriers to
0:21:16 > 0:21:20the required height at the required time for the required colour.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- It picks each thread as it's needed?- Yes.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- And all of that is seamlessly done by computer?- Yes.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29- Yeah.- Can we give it a whirl? - We certainly can.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31This is how you weave.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32MACHINERY GRINDS
0:21:38 > 0:21:41'This carpet is a special design.'
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Steve, that is beautiful!
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Great British Railway Journeys and a lovely picture of a locomotive.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00That carpet is in the best possible taste!
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Leaving Axminster behind, the final leg of my journey arrives
0:22:10 > 0:22:15at the coast alongside the River Exe on a beautiful section of track.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19My next stop will be Exmouth.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22"Situated on the eastern side of the Exe,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26"two projected sandbanks form a partial enclosure.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29"The river is about a mile and a half across.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32"The landscape has a rich softness."
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It makes you want to dip your toes in the sea
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and your paintbrush in the oils.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41'Until the 18th century,
0:22:41 > 0:22:46'Exmouth was a backwater fishing port compared to its neighbour Exeter.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47'But in the Victorian era,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51'it started to attract a fashionable summer crowd.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59'The railway arrived in 1861, helping Exmouth to become a scenic resort.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05'My guidebook notes that it's a popular place for artists.'
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Bradshaw's says, "Probably at no place in England
0:23:09 > 0:23:11"are the effects of sunrise and sunset
0:23:11 > 0:23:15"more surprising or beautiful than at Exmouth.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18"Here Danby, the celebrated landscape painter,
0:23:18 > 0:23:23"fixed his residence and produced most of his famous pictures."
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Danby? Danby?
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Who on earth can that man be?!
0:23:29 > 0:23:34- Excuse me, sir?- Yeah? - Have you ever heard of Francis Danby?
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Ladies, have you ever heard of Francis Danby?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40- No, afraid not.- OK.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42- No.- Francis Danby?
0:23:42 > 0:23:45- No, I'm not sure...- I can't say I have.- No, we can't say we have.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- Francis Danby?- No. - Never heard of Francis Danby?- No.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- I can't find anyone who's heard of him.- Aw.- Goodness.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53- That is such a shame, isn't it? - Such a shame.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Someone will know, someone will know him.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00'So how is it that a painter so well-known to Bradshaw
0:24:00 > 0:24:03'is virtually unknown today?
0:24:03 > 0:24:07'One man keen to revive Francis Danby's memory
0:24:07 > 0:24:08'is artist Ray Balkwill.'
0:24:11 > 0:24:15Ray, who then was Francis Danby and what's the connection with Exmouth?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Well, Francis Danby was one of the leading painters
0:24:18 > 0:24:21of the Romantic period in the 19th century and,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25in his heyday, he was more popular than Constable.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Um, his connection with Exmouth, he moved down here in 1846,
0:24:29 > 0:24:34really for the quality of light and the magnificent sunsets we get here.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- You've got a couple of examples of his work here. May I see those?- Yes.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44Well, this one was The Deluge, which was painted in 1839.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46As you can see, it's quite melodramatic
0:24:46 > 0:24:49and, to be honest, he was very, very popular for this type of work.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54- This was at the height of his fame, really.- This doesn't really appeal
0:24:54 > 0:24:57very much to the modern taste, except of course if you happen
0:24:57 > 0:25:01- to want 20 naked women in your painting, I suppose.- Absolutely.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05And when he came to Exmouth, his mood changed dramatically
0:25:05 > 0:25:08to one of tranquillity, peacefulness and calm
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and it was more naturalistic.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14These ships and masts remind me a bit of late 19th-century French painters
0:25:14 > 0:25:15and, the sky and the sea,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18these colours remind me rather of JMW Turner.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19They are very Turner-esque.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22But I think, if you see the sunsets in Exmouth,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25you realise actually these colours are very, very true.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27They look a little bit over the top,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31but we get the most fantastic sunsets down in Exmouth and I think
0:25:31 > 0:25:35this is one of the reasons that drew him here in the first place.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41'So popular was he that he exhibited at London's Royal Academy 48 times
0:25:41 > 0:25:44'and, reputedly, Queen Victoria bought a work of his
0:25:44 > 0:25:46'to hang in Osborne House.'
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Ray, why do you think that Francis Danby has been largely forgotten?
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Well, I think the main reason, Michael, is that his work
0:25:54 > 0:25:56more or less went out of fashion as soon as he died,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58but some of his best work was lost,
0:25:58 > 0:26:03so therefore, you know, I think he's forgotten for that reason.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07'Ray is taking me to one of Danby's favourite locations.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14'I'm intrigued to see what captivated him and attracts artists today.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:19So, Ray, you've got, er, your easel here and your artist friends.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21- Nice to meet you, Michael. - This is Mark and Marcia.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26- Hello, Marcia.- Hi.- Very good to see you.- Two very accomplished painters.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Ray, you're an artist yourself. How are you finding the light today?
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Oh, it's fantastic. The clarity of light is amazing!
0:26:32 > 0:26:36This is the Halden Hills across here and you can almost see every tree.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- But I thought you might like to have a go at putting the sky in?- Hmm.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Well, I'm no kind of artist at all.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Ray, here I am just sort of daubing a bit.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55But how...how would you describe what it is to paint a good sky?
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Well, I think you've got to have a love of the subject
0:26:57 > 0:27:02first of all, Michael, and, um, in a way, skies are so inspiring,
0:27:02 > 0:27:07which is why Danby was so good at them - he loved the subject.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09You're doing a grand job, Michael.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I think, um, Danby would be proud of you.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15You old flatterer. LAUGHTER
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Tomas Whitty made wonderful Axminster carpets,
0:27:26 > 0:27:31but his use of child labour would horrify us today.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Thomas Hardy wrote about the harsh living and working conditions of
0:27:35 > 0:27:41the rural poor and the injustices and the tragedies that they might suffer.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Edward Berthon was a religious man with a highly practical streak,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49as he demonstrated when he invented his collapsible lifeboat.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54He set out to improve the value the Victorians placed on human life.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03'Next time, I attempt to learn the difficult art of crimping...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:04- I don't think much of yours(!)- No.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08'..get to marvel at one of Brunel's finest feats...'
0:28:08 > 0:28:11It's lovely to see a structure that's still here
0:28:11 > 0:28:14so long after it was built still in use for its original purpose.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'..discover how a small bay in Cornwall
0:28:17 > 0:28:19'effectively controlled the British Empire...'
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Cornwall is still the hub of communication.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24They carried messages all over the world.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27'..and pick up the essentials of the Cornish language.'
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Yeghes da!