0:00:04 > 0:00:08I've seen towns explode into cities,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11I've seen towns with their hearts ripped out.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Every town has its own tales of triumph
0:00:14 > 0:00:18and catastrophe - all of them face challenges.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Smaller than a city, more intimate, much greener,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27towns are where we first learn to be urban.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32Harbour towns, market towns, island towns, industrial towns,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36collectively, they bind our land together.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41As a geographer, I believe towns are communities of the future.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44This time I'm in Huddersfield,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48a Yorkshire mill town with a history of rugby, rebellion,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and high-quality cloth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55The town even invented a dog breed. The first Yorkshire terrier
0:00:55 > 0:00:58was a champion ratter named Huddersfield Ben.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Hey! Uh-huh.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Here, I'll be discovering how an out-of-the-way village
0:01:03 > 0:01:07transformed itself into a manufacturing metropolis.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11We're the only town in the world that can add value to fabric by having
0:01:11 > 0:01:15its name on the edge of the cloth. I'm very proud of that.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I'll see what brings one of Huddersfield's most famous sons back home every year...
0:01:19 > 0:01:22What brought me back to Huddersfield was what brought me back to England.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26..and why this town might revolutionise the textile industry again.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29- I feel as if I'm watching a Star Wars movie.- It's not far off, actually.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31- Unbelievable.- But in Huddersfield!
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Join me on a journey to discover the turbulent past,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39the startling present, and the dynamic future of towns.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I'm in Yorkshire, God's own country.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Behind these hills hides a young town, a town that only
0:02:08 > 0:02:13found its feet in the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16A town known for its high quality textiles.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20A town built with the profits of cloth.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23And a town that nobody seems to want to leave.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28- Huddersfield is home.- I love Huddersfield.- I couldn't see myself living anywhere else.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Very friendly. They actually make you welcome.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- Always been here. I always plan to stay here as well.- Home's home. - Nice Place.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Huddersfield was in the front line of the Industrial Revolution.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Right here on the eastern side of England's mountain spine,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52industrial towns sprang up with the mechanisation of textile production.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03The Industrial Revolution triggered an urban boom
0:03:03 > 0:03:07in this part of Yorkshire, the West Riding.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12There was plenty of coal and water to power steam engines and mills.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Scores of workers created canals and railways.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Country villages exploded into bustling hubs of industry.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24All this in the space of a century.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Huddersfield was one of the great new towns of England's
0:03:27 > 0:03:29lucrative industrial north.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36This town is big. Industrial-sized.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39There's even an urban myth in these parts that Huddersfield
0:03:39 > 0:03:43is the biggest town in Britain, or the largest in Europe.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46In actual fact, it's the 11th biggest town in the UK
0:03:46 > 0:03:49after giants like Swindon and Reading.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Now here's the really odd thing -
0:03:52 > 0:03:54with a population of 146,000,
0:03:54 > 0:03:59Huddersfield is larger than more than half the cities in Britain
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and yet it's never applied for city status.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04It must be happy the way it is.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Huddersfield isn't a town that was built by the Romans, Saxons or Normans -
0:04:15 > 0:04:20it's a town that's a product of the last couple of centuries.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It's full of Victorian architecture, 19th-century mills,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and 1960s tower blocks.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29This town was built by an army of modern brickies,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32not ancient craftsmen.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38Huddersfield was a new town - it was part of a new industrial world.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41But today, there are no working mines in the district,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and most of the mills have shut down.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Huddersfield sits in one of the most important areas for manufacturing
0:04:48 > 0:04:53in Britain but unemployment is above the national average.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57I want to find out how Huddersfield has coped with the massive changes
0:04:57 > 0:05:02it's had to face. What has kept this town going through thick and thin?
0:05:02 > 0:05:05What's the true spirit of this place?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11In the spring of 1793, a public meeting was held in Huddersfield
0:05:11 > 0:05:16to discuss the building of a canal and a canal tunnel.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20This was a project designed to put Huddersfield on the map, to
0:05:20 > 0:05:23connect it to the rest of Britain's industrial network, and help
0:05:23 > 0:05:29this town export its cloth to the booming markets of the wider world.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33The Huddersfield Narrow Canal would pit man against mountain.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Blasting solid rock, engineers and navvies would cut a navigable
0:05:37 > 0:05:41waterway through England's mountain backbone - the Pennines.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02It was an incredibly ambitious project - a 20-mile canal
0:06:02 > 0:06:07with no less than 74 locks and the longest canal tunnel
0:06:07 > 0:06:10that anyone had ever attempted to build in the UK.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20The Standedge Tunnel is three miles long and burrows deep underground.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23It's more than three times deeper than the deepest line
0:06:23 > 0:06:29on the London Underground - the moorland is 600 feet above my head.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And because the horses that pulled the canal boats couldn't fit
0:06:32 > 0:06:36through the tunnel, the boats had to be legged through like this.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41It's a gritty job, too. Every time you put a foot on the tunnel roof
0:06:41 > 0:06:45a rain of dirt falls on your face and creeps up your trouser legs.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Most uncomfortable.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52The canal took 17 years to build.
0:06:52 > 0:06:5550 men were killed during its construction.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59But the mill owners of Huddersfield wanted to get their textiles
0:06:59 > 0:07:03to market quicker and that's what they achieved.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06This town didn't let anything - not even a mountain range -
0:07:06 > 0:07:08stand in its way.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Huddersfield may be a town born of the Industrial Revolution,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28but it's also an archetypal Pennine town.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33It grew up with its back to the hills, facing the rising sun.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Built with golden Yorkstone from local quarries, the town has
0:07:37 > 0:07:39a handsome face.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43It's warm, welcoming, hewn from the hills.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Walk the backstreets
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and you feel this town is trying to tell you something.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Because the land is so steep,
0:07:54 > 0:08:00the form of Huddersfield is forced to take its cue from the gradients.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02So most of the larger buildings are way down there
0:08:02 > 0:08:05in the valley bottom where there's a bit of flat land,
0:08:05 > 0:08:10while houses cling onto man-made terraces built on the valley sides
0:08:10 > 0:08:14and many of the houses have three floors on their lower side,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16two floors on their upper side.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Roads, pedestrian short cuts like this, are built like Alpine mountain passes.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24The message is - if geography won't work for you,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27work with geography. Adapt.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40From the air, Huddersfield looks like the hub
0:08:40 > 0:08:45and spokes of a spinning wheel, the town radiating out into every neighbouring dale or valley.
0:08:45 > 0:08:51Everywhere is connected, woven into the fabric of the place, included.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54But where did it all start?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57What set this town on the road to greatness?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Who were the first investors in the Huddersfield brand?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08To answer that, we have to go back to the 16th century,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11when Huddersfield was a rural hamlet,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14a backwater, off the beaten track.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18But in 1599, a local family named Ramsden
0:09:18 > 0:09:21bought the manor of Huddersfield from Elizabeth I.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29The Ramsdens were typical Yorkshire folk - shrewd investors,
0:09:29 > 0:09:34hugely ambitious, with a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And they lived here - at Longley Old Hall in Huddersfield.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46The Ramsdens were smart operators.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50They'd made their money in the wool trade, through property dealing,
0:09:50 > 0:09:56enclosing common land and by marrying some of the wealthiest women in the county.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They were adept social climbers.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02By the end of the 17th century, they were baronets.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08After the Ramsdens bought Huddersfield,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11things started to change around here.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16They wanted to turn the village into a full blown town.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The Ramsdens knew that a town without a market
0:10:20 > 0:10:25was like a cart without a wheel - it just wasn't going anywhere.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29So in 1671 they applied to the Crown for the right to hold
0:10:29 > 0:10:33a weekly market here in Huddersfield.
0:10:33 > 0:10:39And this magnificent document - a letters patent - is what they were after.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Up here you've got a portrait of King Charles II
0:10:42 > 0:10:47and here's the family name of Ramsden in the document.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Armed with one of these,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53you could promote a humdrum village into a thriving town.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56If you were a townmaker, it was a game changer.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01The Ramsdens made Huddersfield the main market hub for miles around.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The Ramsdens saw potential in Huddersfield,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11this out-of-the-way village.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16They liked a project and they liked making money,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20so they made Huddersfield their focus for the next 250 years.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25With its own market, Huddersfield flourished
0:11:25 > 0:11:29and successive generations of Ramsdens kept building.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34They constructed waterworks, built even more markets,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37paid for the Huddersfield Broad Canal.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40They came up with the grid streetplan for the town
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and funded the building of St George's Square.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47They were instrumental in bringing the railway to Huddersfield.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50You could almost mistake the station for a stately home.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55While the Ramsdens had been building up Huddersfield,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59something else had been happening - the population had been booming.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04From a village of 650 inhabitants in the 1670s,
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Huddersfield had swelled to 7,000 by 1801.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13By 1870, that figure had reached 46,000.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18And the reason for the population boom? Cloth and coal.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25From having been a remote village,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29not on a particularly big river, and not on a major thoroughfare,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34Huddersfield struck gold when it came to the Industrial Revolution.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37It was on the edge of the Yorkshire coalfield
0:12:37 > 0:12:42and it had soft Yorkshire water, perfect for washing wool.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46This town became the land of dark satanic mills.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48And some of them are still here.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56WT Johnson is one of only four cloth finishers left in Britain.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59They're a Huddersfield institution and have been on this site
0:12:59 > 0:13:04for a hundred years, finishing cloth to the highest standard.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Paul Johnson's great-grandfather started the business
0:13:08 > 0:13:13and four generations on, the family are still running it today.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15What exactly does finishing mean?
0:13:15 > 0:13:20Finishing is the processing between weaving and garment making.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24When a cloth has been woven, it's not in a condition that you and I
0:13:24 > 0:13:27would recognise as being able to be made into a suit.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31And where does water come into the whole process?
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Fabric's got to be cleaned, it's got all these impurities from
0:13:36 > 0:13:39previous manufacturing processes and they need to be removed.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42But as well as the washing side to get clean,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46water and the scouring process which is what we call the cleaning,
0:13:46 > 0:13:52actually develops the handle of fabric and helps the drape and the softness to the touch.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56And do you make anything of the fact that this finishing process
0:13:56 > 0:13:58is done here in Huddersfield?
0:13:58 > 0:13:59Yeah, absolutely.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Textiles have been manufactured in Huddersfield for a long time
0:14:03 > 0:14:09and quite some time ago, Huddersfield took the decision to go up the value chain.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14So now, they've become very well known for the finest fabrics
0:14:14 > 0:14:18which go into luxury items and in actual fact we're the only
0:14:18 > 0:14:22town in the world that can add value to fabric by having its name
0:14:22 > 0:14:24on the edge of the cloth and we're very proud of that.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29So do tell me, what's the secret of surviving as an industry
0:14:29 > 0:14:33in what many people think is a kind of post-industrial Britain?
0:14:33 > 0:14:37You know, we've got a couple of golden rules that we live by.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41We understand that we're trying to add value to people's fabric
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and we're trying to make it special, and as long as we keep training
0:14:44 > 0:14:47our people, we keep investing in the most modern machinery.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50And I think also the fact that we're a family business,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52and we've been able to take the long view
0:14:52 > 0:14:55so we don't have to look at short-term returns all the time.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57When times are tough we can rein it in a little bit,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and we invest when times are better.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Forgive me for asking, but is there some process here that I can just have a go at?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Yeah, I've got just the thing. Come with me.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13This is the scouring area where all that cleaning process happens.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It smells like a hothouse down here.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Sure is, so this is James.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19- Hi, James.- Nice to meet you.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21He's going to show you how to go on.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23In at the deep end! What do I do, James?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- You might need to roll your sleeves up first.- OK.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27What's this machine been doing?
0:15:27 > 0:15:31This has just scoured, got these cleaned. Been developing.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- A bit of softener in there to make the fabric feel a bit soft.- Give us a quick demo.- Right.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Obviously, control buttons. Squeeze it. Ready to go.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41And that's all we're doing. Take it off nice and steady away.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Nice long loops. Just straightforward. It's pretty simple.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48OK. I'm really... Whenever someone says it's really straightforward,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51it's terribly simple, I know that I'm going to mess it up!
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Off we go.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57This fabric has been carefully washed in Yorkshire water.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59I'd better not drop in on the floor.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06I can't...I can't get that kind of effortless flip that you manage.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I feel like I'm trying to lob cricket balls, rather than...argh!
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Something's going badly wrong.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14Keep going.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Seeing a successful British textile manufacturer like Johnson's
0:16:20 > 0:16:23makes me feel incredibly proud.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28But there's a more complex history behind the great mills of Huddersfield.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33There was once a time when these machines were seen as new and dangerous,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and Huddersfield became a hotbed of revolution.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Until the early 19th century, cloth finishing had been a manual trade,
0:16:44 > 0:16:49carried out by highly skilled craftsmen called croppers.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54But the cloth-finishing machines of the Industrial Revolution -
0:16:54 > 0:16:59machines known as shearing frames - were taking their jobs and their livelihoods.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The cloth finishers took up arms against the machines,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06attacking the mills and smashing the frames with hammers.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09They were known as the Luddites.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Nowhere was more famous for Luddite rebellion
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and rebellious spirit than Huddersfield.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19It was also the town where the Luddite rebellion was finally crushed.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23I've come to meet ex-miner and Luddite historian Alan Brooke.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Today, Alan belongs to a group of radical historians
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and activists who publish an anarchist paper.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34He keeps the tradition of radicalism alive in Huddersfield
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and the Luddites have been his greatest inspiration.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Why did radicalism flare up in Huddersfield?
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Well in 1812, it was a combination of numerous factors.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Of course, there'd been the war going on against France for a long
0:17:46 > 0:17:50period of time and as a result there was rising unemployment,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54increasing prices, there was a growing national debt and general
0:17:54 > 0:17:57dissatisfaction with the government. But also, there was the decline
0:17:57 > 0:18:02of the domestic industry where small workshops like this were run
0:18:02 > 0:18:06by small manufacturers and craftsmen. They were increasingly
0:18:06 > 0:18:11being threatened by the growth of what became known as the factory system.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13What did the Luddites do about it?
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Well, initially they tried the legal method.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19They lobbied parliament but they found the appeals rejected.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22So as a result of that some of the small manufacturers
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and small craftsmen, particularly the cloth finishers, they thought
0:18:26 > 0:18:30they'd no recourse now but to use direct action to stop the machinery.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32CROWD NOISE
0:18:33 > 0:18:36They actually functioned as a guerrilla army
0:18:36 > 0:18:40and they went at night, with masks or their faces blacked,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44armed with firearms and with big hammers.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47They actually went to the workshops and smashed up the machinery,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49which they saw as a threat to their livelihood.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- So quite destructive? - It was destructive.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54But you've got to see it in the context of the times,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57that the people saw that their way of life was under threat.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And what tipped them over the brink from reasoned argument to violence?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04They thought that jobs were going to be lost,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07but more importantly, it was skilled jobs that were going to be lost.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11And again it was a way of life that had existed for hundreds of years.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15And they saw that now being eroded by this new monstrosity,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17the factory system.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Do you think they had a point?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Well, I think they certainly did. They called into question
0:19:21 > 0:19:25the role of technology. Which comes first - human beings or machines?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And they called into question the whole idea of progress.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31If you get a bigger and bigger factory,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34better and better machines, I mean does that make life any the better?
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The Luddite attacks started in Nottingham in 1811
0:19:40 > 0:19:42but they quickly spread to Yorkshire.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46The attacks were particularly violent around Huddersfield
0:19:46 > 0:19:51where the cloth finishers were highly organised and had the complete support of their community.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The government sent troops to quell the uprising.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58It's said that in 1812 there were more troops in Yorkshire
0:19:58 > 0:20:01than Wellington had in Spain.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07Sending soldiers into mill towns was like dowsing fire with petrol.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11The Luddites carried on smashing frames and evading capture.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Then they started raiding the armouries.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Desperate, the government brought in the death penalty for anyone
0:20:17 > 0:20:20found guilty of frame-breaking.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24The owners of the larger mills, never keen on the Luddite cause,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27were forced to protect their factories with troops.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33There were clashes. Luddites were killed.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37One local mill owner, William Horsfall, bragged that he would
0:20:37 > 0:20:44"ride up to his saddle girth in Luddite blood rather than capitulate to their demands".
0:20:48 > 0:20:51On the 28th of April 1812,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Horsfall was making his way home from Huddersfield cloth market.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59His route took him up this long, steep hill to Crossland Moor up here.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02It was a bleak place - a few low walls,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07a plantation of trees - it was a perfect place for an ambush.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Waiting for him were four croppers -
0:21:10 > 0:21:15George Mellor, William Thorpe, Thomas Smith and Benjamin Walker.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17They were armed with pistols.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Horsfall was hit in the thigh and the stomach.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24The mill owner who'd sworn to ride his horse through
0:21:24 > 0:21:30lakes of Luddite blood died the following day of his injuries.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35In the months that followed, Huddersfield became an armed camp.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Anyone suspected of being a Luddite was arrested
0:21:38 > 0:21:41and interrogated here at Milnsbridge House.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46In October 1812, the four men who had ambushed and killed Horsfall
0:21:46 > 0:21:51were taken into custody and questioned behind these walls.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53One of the men, Benjamin Walker,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57was persuaded to give evidence against his fellow assailants.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01They were tried in York in January 1813,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05where they were found guilty of wilful and deliberate murder.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07All of them, apart from Walker,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11were condemned to death by public execution.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15On the 8th of January, the three condemned men were taken out
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and hanged and their bodies sent away for dissection.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23Eight days later, another 14 Huddersfield Luddites were
0:22:23 > 0:22:28also executed for their part in attacking a Huddersfield mill.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30The Luddite uprising was over.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40The York executions marked the end of the Luddites but a legacy
0:22:40 > 0:22:45of rebellion and radicalism had taken root in this town.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Huddersfield's independent spirit grew.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51It became known as the Metropolis Of Discontent.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Looking back at the Luddite struggle,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59it might seem to have all the anguish, all the futility,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01of a lost cause -
0:23:01 > 0:23:06a lone wail drowned by the relentless thunder of mechanisation
0:23:06 > 0:23:11that grew into globalisation with its multinational companies,
0:23:11 > 0:23:16its cheap mass-produced goods, its trains, planes and automobiles,
0:23:16 > 0:23:22hypermobility, trashed environments and teetering economies.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25But we shouldn't forget the Luddites, though,
0:23:25 > 0:23:30for their cause embraced ideals that for many have renewed meaning today -
0:23:30 > 0:23:34dignity in the workplace, brotherhood of man,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37small is beautiful, rather than big is better.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45In Huddersfield, once the spirit of rebellion had been ignited,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47it continued to spread.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51The townspeople went on to campaign for parliamentary reform,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54votes for Catholics and votes for women.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56They opposed the Poor Laws
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and got Factory Acts pushed through parliament.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03One of Britain's most famous Labour prime ministers, Harold Wilson,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06came from this town.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09The spirit of self-belief burns bright in Huddersfield.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17And it wasn't just in the mills and in politics where Huddersfield
0:24:17 > 0:24:22showed its rebellious streak - it was also on the sports field.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31One of the greatest rebellions in sporting history -
0:24:31 > 0:24:35the birth of Rugby League - started here in Huddersfield, too.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40Today, more than 700,000 people play Rugby League worldwide.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Top professional players can earn around £200,000 a year,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49and there are more than five million supporters worldwide.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52It's been a huge legacy from Huddersfield to the world.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55But I wonder if the Huddersfield Rugby League team,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59the Huddersfield Giants, still feels like a local team.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Where are you all from?- I'm from Huddersfield.- Castleford, myself.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- How far's Castleford from here? - About 20 miles.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I'm from Huddersfield as well.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09I'm from Dewsbury, about eight miles away.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- So all pretty local. - Yeah, pretty much local.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15What's the support like from Huddersfield town, from the local population for the Giants?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- They get behind us.- There's a great football side here as well.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22So we're drawing quite a lot of numbers throughout both of the teams
0:25:22 > 0:25:24but we'd obviously like to improve on that as well.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28We've got a beautiful stadium, a great team, and we're always trying to attract new fans.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34Today, the Huddersfield Giants play in the multi-million pound European Super League.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38But the entire sport began with one moment of rebellion
0:25:38 > 0:25:44at the George Hotel in Huddersfield in 1895, when 21 Northern clubs met
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and decided to break away from Rugby Union.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Huddersfield sports fan and historian Rob Light
0:25:52 > 0:25:54knows exactly how it happened.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57There was a culture of reward for success in sport.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Professionals were paid to play cricket in the 18th century,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03football went professional in the 1880s.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06So, that tradition of payment for success was something that
0:26:06 > 0:26:08was very strong in the urban industrial areas
0:26:08 > 0:26:11like Huddersfield and in the regions of Yorkshire
0:26:11 > 0:26:16and Lancashire where most of the clubs that broke away came from.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21So by the 1880s, 1890s, teams are looking to recruit
0:26:21 > 0:26:24the best players from the area and starting to pay them,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28the Rugby Football Union start to react against that,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31new laws are drawn up, players are suspended for receiving
0:26:31 > 0:26:36payments, and also whole teams start to be suspended for paying.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Today, the players may be well-paid, but they still know their history.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44And what's the difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union as a player?
0:26:44 > 0:26:47The rules were exactly the same until 1906,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and there were two major differences brought into the game.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54In Rugby League we brought in the play-the-ball instead of the ruck,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58and basically that was just for the spectators just so they can
0:26:58 > 0:27:02see exactly what was happening, see the game a bit more clearly.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05And then the other one was change it from a 15-man game to 13
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and that's just to open the pitch up and encourage more tries.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Did the Rugby League players who were splitting think, "OK,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17"this is a last desperate measure to make the sport work," or were they
0:27:17 > 0:27:21thinking positively, rebelliously, that, "Yeah we've got a great idea,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"we're going our own way and this is going to be even better than Rugby Union"?
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I think it's a mixture of the two, in a way.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32I think initially there's a determination from the Northern
0:27:32 > 0:27:37clubs to try and form a compromise with the Rugby Football Union.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41And the Northern clubs go to the Rugby Union with this offer that they
0:27:41 > 0:27:45will only pay players for time spent away from work. Because a compromise couldn't be reached,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49the Northern clubs got together in 1895 here in the George Hotel,
0:27:49 > 0:27:55formed the Northern Rugby Football Union, and Rugby League developed from that.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- You ready, guys?- Yeah.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58Because of play-the-ball,
0:27:58 > 0:28:03has a particular kind of tackle developed for Rugby League?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Yeah, I think the mentality is to slow it down as much as possible
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and that involves putting a bit of wrestle technique in there.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11So you normally get a couple of guys going up top,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14just to make sure they wrap up the ball so they don't offload
0:28:14 > 0:28:16and then a third man will come in and just put their legs together.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Can you show me in slow motion how one of these kind of smother tackles works?
0:28:20 > 0:28:22- Yeah.- All right.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25So I'm going to run at Earl. He doesn't know what's about to hit him!
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- Shall I look after them?- I left a will in the back seat of the car!
0:28:32 > 0:28:33Oooh!
0:28:33 > 0:28:34HE LAUGHS
0:28:39 > 0:28:40Bloody hell!
0:28:43 > 0:28:44LAUGHTER
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Where's the nearest hospital?
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Rugby League took off so quickly in the north of England
0:28:50 > 0:28:57that matches were regularly attracting crowds of more than 40,000 spectators.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02And the game spread to France, Australia and New Zealand, too.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07It's still the most-watched sport in Australia today.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Rugby League is a game of hard knocks, no question -
0:29:11 > 0:29:14you've got to be able to pick yourself up and press on.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18It's also a lot more confrontational than I'd expected but maybe
0:29:18 > 0:29:23that's appropriate, because this game was born out of a confrontation,
0:29:23 > 0:29:30a rebellion by Northern working-class players against rules
0:29:30 > 0:29:34that were probably better suited to Southern middle-class players.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37The game they devised here in Huddersfield was fast,
0:29:37 > 0:29:43it was exciting - it demanded absolute fearlessness, too.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45It was a new game for a new town,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49a town that wasn't afraid of writing its own rules.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58In 1920, just a few decades after Huddersfield had rebelled in rugby,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00the town achieved another great coup.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05The Ramsden family who had owned Huddersfield
0:30:05 > 0:30:10since the 16th century decided to sell up.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13And the highest bidder was Huddersfield Corporation,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16which went on to become Huddersfield Council.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20So Huddersfield became the town that bought itself -
0:30:20 > 0:30:22truly independent.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28The first seeds of this town's growth came from a market.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32That's what set Huddersfield on the path of expansion
0:30:32 > 0:30:35from tiny village to bustling town.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37And Huddersfield has remained a town of commerce.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40From one market, many grew.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Today, a surprising number of markets survive in the town
0:30:44 > 0:30:47and still seem to be thriving.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52This is Queensgate Market and it's rather wonderful.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56First thing you notice when you walk in here is the grid of neat
0:30:56 > 0:30:59and colourful stalls selling absolutely everything under the sun
0:30:59 > 0:31:02rather like a traditional open market.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Second thing is this incredible roof.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08technically it's an asymmetric, hyperbolic, paraboloidal roof
0:31:08 > 0:31:11and it's the only one like it in the world.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15There are 21 concrete mushrooms or umbrellas.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19The concrete's raw so it looks a bit like stretched fabric.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Then between these umbrella shapes,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25you've got vertical glazing which lets natural light spill into the
0:31:25 > 0:31:29market, rather like the gaps between the awnings on market stalls.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33It's an intimate space on a huge scale.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38In this market I want to conduct my own market research.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42I want to find out if markets are still the hub of Huddersfield.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45- Hello.- Hi.- have you got a couple of minutes for a chat?
0:31:45 > 0:31:47I have, yes. I've got all day.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49How long have you had a stall here?
0:31:49 > 0:31:51My wife's been here 36 years.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56- What!- 36 years. And I've been here about 25.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59I've worked here about seven years.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02And the stall? How long's the stall been here? Fruit and veg?
0:32:02 > 0:32:05My dad worked here when he was a young boy, about 14, 15.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07And he's 53 now.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09- We opened on the 28th of April, so... - Recently?
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Yeah, really recently, yeah.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- It's a new venture.- How's it going? - It's going OK, yeah.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18It's, um...it's growing month on month now. It's sort of getting people to know about the shop.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22If you could, would you rather have a shop or a market stall?
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Market stall. It's friendly.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29In a shop, people only come for special...for certain things, I would say.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32In the market, some people might be from another town, just walking,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35see something, they just buy on the spur of the moment.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38But a shop is a particular thing where you go in to buy stuff.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41So market's better.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43What are the best-selling sweets?
0:32:43 > 0:32:46We sell a lot of voice tablets cos those have been going donkey's years.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48The names are amazing, aren't they?
0:32:48 > 0:32:52Some of them read as if they've come out of a Harry Potter film.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55I think I might buy some raspberry fizz balls.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Why did you decide to give the market a go rather than a shop?
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Because it's a risk, like any business.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04They have a limited...like a six-month lease term that
0:33:04 > 0:33:08I could take up, so it was a sort of, "Hope it works, I want to be here for ever!"
0:33:08 > 0:33:13But if it goes wrong, six months is not as long as three years to be tied in to something.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18What d'you think of the building with this funny roof?
0:33:18 > 0:33:20I don't like it, personally but...no.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It's the only one like it in the world.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I can imagine!
0:33:24 > 0:33:27THEY LAUGH
0:33:27 > 0:33:30They won't make two of these, will they?
0:33:39 > 0:33:42This is an awful lot more than a market.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45People come in here to shop, but also to have a chat,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48see their friends, maybe have a cup of tea as well.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54It's also a great place to get on the first rung of the business ladder.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58A lease on a unit in here is far less expensive than a lease on a shop.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Huddersfield was founded with a market,
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and markets are still the beating heart of the town.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14I can't help noticing in Huddersfield that everything
0:34:14 > 0:34:19seems to be here for the locals. It's a town's town.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I've yet to find a tourist information office
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and there isn't an open-top bus tour in sight.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I wonder - has Huddersfield been missed off the tourist map?
0:34:29 > 0:34:33This battered guide lives on my bookshelves at home.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35As you can see, it's fairly well-travelled.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38But look in the index under H, and Huddersfield,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42one of England's largest towns, just doesn't exist.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Here's another guidebook from home.
0:34:44 > 0:34:50Again, Huddersfield has been cold-shouldered by tourism.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53There's not a single English Heritage or National Trust
0:34:53 > 0:34:58property in town. If it wasn't for the AA road atlas or the football
0:34:58 > 0:35:02results, most of us wouldn't know that Huddersfield existed.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13But there's a harmony in this town which I'm impressed by.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16This is an incredibly interesting town.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20I don't really understand why it's been left off the tourist map.
0:35:20 > 0:35:26I'm beginning to think Huddersfield may be one of Yorkshire's best-kept secrets.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31And this gruff Northern town has another secret side to its character.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Huddersfield may be married to manufacturing
0:35:34 > 0:35:38but it's had a long-running love affair with music.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41Huddersfield Choral Society is one of the most famous choirs in Britain.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44The town has its own orchestra,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48hosts Britain's largest contemporary music festival,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51and every bandstand seems to be occupied.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56I'm hoping Huddersfield musicologist Lisa Colton can tell me why.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Huddersfield has always been very musical
0:35:58 > 0:36:01and particularly in the 19th century with the growth of industry,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05there were factories and mills around here that encouraged
0:36:05 > 0:36:10music-making and then also the Methodist Church encouraged
0:36:10 > 0:36:13music-making as a way to get people to come to services -
0:36:13 > 0:36:16rather than preaching, they got them in with music.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25So why were the factory
0:36:25 > 0:36:28and mill owners behind music? What was in it for them?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Well, it was a great form of advertising.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33You can imagine that if you've got a number of mills
0:36:33 > 0:36:37in a particular village, it's really important to have the BEST band,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39and for your band to be the most prominent, to have
0:36:39 > 0:36:44the shiniest uniforms and buttons and to play the best competitions.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47And bands didn't just stay in their local area, they also travelled to contests.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51You know, the northern bands would go to London and people in London
0:36:51 > 0:36:56would remark upon the quality of the Yorkshire bands and the way that they looked, but of course
0:36:56 > 0:37:00they were also wearing clogs because they were mill workers as well.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03And it helped show what an excellent workforce you had, it helped to show
0:37:03 > 0:37:08what a benevolent philanthropist you might be, as well as a mill owner.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11So it was a really sort of win-win situation for the mill owners.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Was there a social agenda behind all this music making?
0:37:18 > 0:37:22I think there was. You can imagine within Victorian society,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26the idea of trying to come up with forms of recreational
0:37:26 > 0:37:30activity that were in some way improving was a big thing.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32So they called it rational recreation.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35And the idea was, if you gave something moralising
0:37:35 > 0:37:38and good for them to do, it would keep them out of trouble.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41And if they're doing those sort of activities,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44they're not in the pub drinking and they're not out gambling
0:37:44 > 0:37:48or womanising, then they're in somewhere where they can
0:37:48 > 0:37:52have their activities sort of monitored, and show some discipline.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Are you talking about a social glue in an otherwise disparate community?
0:37:56 > 0:37:58That was the idea.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01I mean the realistic side of the situation was somewhat different.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06You can imagine a lot of bands played in big social occasions,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09events and festivals where alcohol WAS involved,
0:38:09 > 0:38:15and a lot of reports of particular band members often being fined for
0:38:15 > 0:38:19drunken behaviour or, you know, playing under the influence or whatever.
0:38:19 > 0:38:26So the history of brassbanding and alcohol is quite a rich one.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Drunk in charge of a tuba, that could be quite an offence.
0:38:29 > 0:38:30You could do some damage!
0:38:33 > 0:38:38Music and manufacturing have been a great source of pride for this town.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42And if we're talking about what else you need to make a town proud,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46any town worth its salt needs a football team.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Huddersfield Town Football Club have faced unending adversity for most of
0:38:50 > 0:38:55the 20th century, but somehow their supporters have stuck with them.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58# Thousands loudly cheer them on their way
0:38:58 > 0:39:03# Often you can hear them say
0:39:03 > 0:39:06# Who can beat the Town today? #
0:39:06 > 0:39:09What's so special about Huddersfield Town?
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Huddersfield Town? We've not had a lot of success, not in our lifetimes.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15I mean, they're more renowned for their success in the 1920s.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18We won the league three times on the trot. That's never been beaten.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22And ultimately, I don't know, we just feel, it's almost like it's a mission.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25So what's the ultimate goal? To go the whole way to the Premier League?
0:39:25 > 0:39:28I've always said, give me one season in the Premiership,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30that's all I want, one season.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Why only one season? Cos in my lifetime I want to go to
0:39:34 > 0:39:38the Emirates and Old Trafford and Anfield to watch my team and if I only get one season,
0:39:38 > 0:39:43then fine, I'll worry about everything else afterwards.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46And why don't you just go down the road and support Leeds instead?
0:39:46 > 0:39:49- THEY BOO - Excuse me!
0:39:49 > 0:39:51Nick, if you weren't already aware, Leeds are our main rivals.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55We call 'em noisy neighbours from t'other end o' t'M62.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58OK, so Leeds are not very popular in Huddersfield.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00I won't talk any more about Leeds, then.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05It's the same fans that's followed Huddersfield for years.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08When we go to football matches, you know
0:40:08 > 0:40:09who you're going to see.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11You know who're going to be there.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16You know. And you can say "Are y'all right, Scoffer? Are y'all right, Totty?"
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Everybody knows each other.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22What is it about Huddersfield that makes you all so loyal?
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Lost cause!
0:40:24 > 0:40:28There's a photo somewhere where we're all anywhere between 13
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and 17, in the old cowshed, as it were then.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34You were surviving on paper round money. Do you know what I mean?
0:40:34 > 0:40:38You used every penny that you had to get to these destinations.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42I know one guy that cycled to Port Vale to go to see a game.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45You know, these people...and I think it were...I'm not saying it were a select bunch
0:40:45 > 0:40:48cos there's thousands upon thousands of Town fans out there
0:40:48 > 0:40:51but there were a hard core. There were a hard core of people,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54some of whom now who we still see, who are very successful
0:40:54 > 0:40:57businessmen, doing very well yet you still see 'em.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Having a beer, having a laugh with t'lads.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02And that's what it is.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06I think somebody once said, you know you can change your house,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08you can change your car, you can change your religion,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12but you can't change your football team. Don't matter where you live, that's your team,
0:41:12 > 0:41:14you're stuck with it, good or bad.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19And that is why these guys and many other thousands besides 'em follow a local club.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21Yeah, true.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23- Or change your wife. - Yeah. Two or three times!
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Huddersfield Town sunk as low as the fourth division in the 1970s.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33But last season they won promotion to the Championship -
0:41:33 > 0:41:35one division beneath the Premier League.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Dave's dream might just come true.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43And just as Dave and his mates have stuck with their team, nobody has given up on this town.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45People want to be part of Huddersfield.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48It feels like a town you'd be proud to call home.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51Somewhere that would always draw you back.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00One lifelong Huddersfield Town fan who has been drawn back
0:42:00 > 0:42:02is Sir Patrick Stewart.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Renowned Shakespearean actor, Hollywood movie star
0:42:05 > 0:42:07and Star Trek captain,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11he's also been Chancellor of Huddersfield University since 2004.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15And this week he's in town for the graduation ceremonies.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21What was it like growing up in this part of the world?
0:42:21 > 0:42:27It was perfect in many respects because we had
0:42:27 > 0:42:30the industry and of course in those days the industry was thriving.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32But it wasn't all industrial.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36It wasn't as though you were stuck in a huge conurbation
0:42:36 > 0:42:38where you never saw any green fields or trees.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Once you left the bottom of the valley and went up the sides,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45it was semi-rural environment.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47How did you get into acting?
0:42:47 > 0:42:50I went to a secondary modern school.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52I was not academic at all.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54And as there is always,
0:42:54 > 0:42:58invariably lurking in the background of an actor like me who spent
0:42:58 > 0:43:00a lot of time doing classical theatre - an English teacher.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03"Who first gave you Shakespeare?" "An English teacher."
0:43:03 > 0:43:06And it was the same with me. Cecil Dormand, my English master,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09I got him in my second year at the modern school.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12And in that second year, I was 12 years old, he put
0:43:12 > 0:43:14a copy of Shakespeare into my hands and he pushed the desks against
0:43:14 > 0:43:18the wall and instead of just sitting reading we performed the scenes.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23What is it about Huddersfield? I mean there's something going on here. What keeps bringing you back?
0:43:23 > 0:43:27What brought me back to Huddersfield is what brought me back to England.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32I lived for 17 years in California, Los Angeles, Hollywood.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36I went out there to shoot Star Trek The Next Generation
0:43:36 > 0:43:40and seven years later, my life focused entirely around Hollywood.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44But increasingly I was less happy, variety of reasons,
0:43:44 > 0:43:49but basically I wanted to be right back where I'd been in 1965,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52which was I wanted to go back to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And then I got a letter from the university and the then
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Vice Chancellor, John Tarrant, asking,
0:43:57 > 0:44:02"If you were approached, would you consider becoming Chancellor of the university?"
0:44:02 > 0:44:05I remember that weekend thinking there is
0:44:05 > 0:44:10a significance in this, it's like being called.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13They want me to be Chancellor of Huddersfield University,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16when I left a secondary modern school in Mirfield at 15?
0:44:16 > 0:44:18They're telling me something.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21So I accepted and it was the springboard that brought me back to the UK.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26How do you think young people find the university as a place to study?
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Well, now I'm going to put on my Chancellor's hat
0:44:29 > 0:44:35and boast a little bit, because Huddersfield is ranked along
0:44:35 > 0:44:40with the very highest and classiest universities in a variety of areas.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43But the one that I think the Vice Chancellor
0:44:43 > 0:44:47and the staff are so proud of is in student satisfaction.
0:44:47 > 0:44:53And here, there is a passionate belief in the availability of higher education
0:44:53 > 0:44:59to everyone, so we attract a lot of local young people,
0:44:59 > 0:45:06and a lot of the courses are very much geared to local industry and so forth.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Work experience and job placement is very
0:45:09 > 0:45:11high on the list of the university's ambitions.
0:45:11 > 0:45:19And it is reconnecting me with my roots and my background.
0:45:19 > 0:45:26I think reconnecting with the stone and mortar of this town
0:45:26 > 0:45:33and with the people, and once more sharing their perspective on life.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36Can you still rustle up a Huddersfield dialect?
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Huddersfield has got a very particular sound to it.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Every Christmas, my mother's sister, my Auntie Annie,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45used to recite a poem.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47"I were sitting by t'ashes last evening
0:45:47 > 0:45:49"My mother and father were off
0:45:49 > 0:45:52"Cos they'd heard that my old aunt Susannah were laid up in bed with a cough
0:45:52 > 0:45:56"She has some brass has my old Aunt Susannah That's reason she's looked after so
0:45:56 > 0:45:59"If they've nowt, well, they're nowt but a bother
0:45:59 > 0:46:01"There's a sample - me old uncle Joe."
0:46:01 > 0:46:04- So that's pretty much how I talked. - Didn't understand a single word!
0:46:04 > 0:46:07That's how I talked. Not just accent but dialect.
0:46:07 > 0:46:13Somebody said to me not long ago actually, it was at the Huddersfield Town ground,
0:46:13 > 0:46:20I'd said to him, "What did you think of the game?" and he said, "Eee, it were like suppin' hot lead".
0:46:24 > 0:46:26- Lovely turn of phrase! - It's poetry!
0:46:33 > 0:46:38Just as a local English teacher saw the potential in a young Patrick Stewart,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41this town likes to seek out opportunities for its youth.
0:46:41 > 0:46:47Huddersfield is a young town, and it needs prospects for young people.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49In the middle of town
0:46:49 > 0:46:53is an engineering firm that's decided to reinvest in youngsters.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58They're a famous name, David Brown - world leaders in building gears
0:46:58 > 0:47:01for everything from tanks to wind turbines.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05The firm started in Huddersfield 152 years ago
0:47:05 > 0:47:07and they're still here today.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09I've come to meet production leader and
0:47:09 > 0:47:16apprentice mentor Tony Allison and some of the 32 apprentices on site.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18How long have you been at David Brown's?
0:47:18 > 0:47:22I started in 1980 so it will be 32 years in September.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26And did you join as a graduate, or how did you get here?
0:47:26 > 0:47:28I came straight from school when I was an apprentice.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30I was trained as an apprentice turner.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33And it was a four-year apprenticeship.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38What triggered David Brown to take up the apprentice programme again?
0:47:38 > 0:47:40About five years ago, we did a study,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and looked at the age profile of the workforce.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46We had 43 people with in excess of 40 years' service.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48So that's quite a sizeable chunk.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50So you decided you needed some younger people coming in?
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Yeah. For this business to carry on and keep going forward,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56we have to make sure that those people
0:47:56 > 0:47:59that have got 40 years' experience can pass that on to the younger people.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02So we're using their experience to train the young people up.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Next week there'll be 38 apprentices on site.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07The scheme just keeps on growing.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Hi, you look a happy bunch.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Course! Always happy.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14So what's it like being an engineering apprentice?
0:48:14 > 0:48:18I think it's excellent. Any young person should do it.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21This route is a lot more fulfilling, you know, in terms
0:48:21 > 0:48:23of the skills that you learn, not only in fitting or machining
0:48:23 > 0:48:26but you also get your confidence from talking to people.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Vicky, what's the best thing about being an apprentice in an engineering works?
0:48:29 > 0:48:32What I enjoy most is the people I work with.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36I couldn't probably do this job without them. They have inspired me.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40They've been here, most of them, 30-40 years, so it inspires me
0:48:40 > 0:48:42to stay here, to progress and do well.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46And when you're walking the streets of Huddersfield, what does it feel like to be an apprentice
0:48:46 > 0:48:50when instead you could have perhaps have been a student?
0:48:50 > 0:48:52I think it's better, definitely better,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55because people that know you say, "Oh, you work at David Brown's,"
0:48:55 > 0:48:58and they know that it's a reputable company, so people knowing
0:48:58 > 0:49:01that you work at David Brown's know that you're onto a good career,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04not just a job which other people find when they leave school.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07You're in a career that's going to take you further in the future.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10- Would you describe yourselves as ambitious?- Definitely, without a doubt.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12I think at Brown's I'm going all the way.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15I'm not going to stop till I'm managing director.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18What an inspiring bunch!
0:49:18 > 0:49:21They'd all taken different routes to that engineering works
0:49:21 > 0:49:24but once they were in there among the gigantic gears,
0:49:24 > 0:49:28something happened, it's as if the cogs began to turn.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Apprenticeship isn't just about spanners and micrometers
0:49:31 > 0:49:35and milling machines, about learning practical skills.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38It's about something far bigger. It's about learning to be confident,
0:49:38 > 0:49:43learning to be positive, about an attitude to your fellow workers,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46about acquiring knowledge from the older generation
0:49:46 > 0:49:50and passing your enthusiasm on to the younger generation.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51It's about self-belief.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55And I have a feeling that's what built Huddersfield.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05This town has always had the knack of making its own future
0:50:05 > 0:50:08through innovation and manufacturing.
0:50:08 > 0:50:15Technical ability seems to be part of the Huddersfield psyche.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18The town has a Textile Centre Of Excellence hidden
0:50:18 > 0:50:20away on an industrial estate
0:50:20 > 0:50:23where I'm told they've invented a revolutionary new method
0:50:23 > 0:50:27of treating fabric with gas plasma and laser light to make
0:50:27 > 0:50:32it fire resistant, water resistant or antimicrobial and easier to dye.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35And all without the use of water or hazardous chemicals.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40- Hi, Graham.- Hi, Nick.- Nice to meet you. This place feels a bit like a James Bond set.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44It's huge. We've got all sorts of things. We've got the technology over here.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48Graham Downhill, one of the inventors of this top secret process
0:50:48 > 0:50:50has agreed to show me how it works.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52Well what this is,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55it's the only one in the world, it's a state-of-the-art process
0:50:55 > 0:50:58and what it's designed for is the treatment of fabrics.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01So whereas at the moment, certain things like waterproofing
0:51:01 > 0:51:04and fire retardancy are achieved through conventional processes,
0:51:04 > 0:51:08which are very wet, use a lot of heat, are very costly processes -
0:51:08 > 0:51:12what we're doing here is using laser and plasma and new technology
0:51:12 > 0:51:15to bring those processes about and realise those processes at a
0:51:15 > 0:51:18fraction of the cost and a fraction of the environmental impact.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20It all looks incredibly hi tech.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Shall we fire it up and see what it looks like see how it works?
0:51:27 > 0:51:32If you look at the screen at the moment, the textile's running through and you can see a plasma.
0:51:32 > 0:51:33It looks like a flame.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37It is like a flame. It's like having a very low-power welding beam but it's across its full length.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41So what that's actually doing now is affecting the fabric.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44If we bring the laser in now, at a low pulse rate
0:51:44 > 0:51:48so as you can see, what's actually happening there is that the laser now
0:51:48 > 0:51:50is pulsing within the environment.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52As we increase the pulsing,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56there you can see now that the laser now has totally taken over
0:51:56 > 0:51:59the process, so it's now working in conjunction with the plasma.
0:51:59 > 0:52:04The gas plasma and laser light alter the surface chemistry of the material.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08This could be the greatest leap forward in textile manufacturing
0:52:08 > 0:52:12since the Industrial Revolution. It is absolutely mind-boggling.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16When you think of traditional textile finishing done with wooden rolls
0:52:16 > 0:52:18and splosh, splosh, splosh all over the place,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22and here you've got flashing light, plasma, it's just incredible.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26- It is very, very exciting. - Feels as if I'm watching a Star Wars movie.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30- It's not far off, actually. - Unbelievable.- But in Huddersfield!
0:52:30 > 0:52:32But does it actually work?
0:52:32 > 0:52:36- If you drop a drop of water on that one, it soaks straight in.- Yes.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38- You saw that?- Totally absorbent.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Totally absorbent, and if I drop it on there, it just sits on the surface.
0:52:41 > 0:52:42And now this is pure wool.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46- Really?- Yeah, this is pure wool, so that normally...- Wow! That's amazing!
0:52:46 > 0:52:50- So this is waterproof wool?- Yes. - It's just sitting on the surface? - Yes.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53But this is going to have so many applications. It's incredible.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56So the wool itself hasn't been changed at all in terms...
0:52:56 > 0:53:01No. If you feel...I mean, the feel of the wool is identical.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04That is remarkable. That is really remarkable.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06What's it going to mean for Huddersfield as a town?
0:53:06 > 0:53:11Well, I think it just again shows that Huddersfield has got this
0:53:11 > 0:53:15innovative streak and that they see an idea and they want to embrace it.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18The whole Industrial Revolution started around textiles,
0:53:18 > 0:53:23and to actually be in a position that Huddersfield is saying "Here's a technology we believe in",
0:53:23 > 0:53:26let's take this to the next level and see what we can achieve.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29And where this will end up, we don't know yet.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32It's new, it's innovative, state- of-the-art, it's the first one...the only one you'll see
0:53:32 > 0:53:35until we start building a few more.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37It's there and it's putting us back,
0:53:37 > 0:53:41it's putting Huddersfield back where I think it belongs.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46Another revolution in the textile world taking shape in Huddersfield.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50This town reinvents the future once again.
0:53:50 > 0:53:55Made in Huddersfield, dreamt up in unit nine of an industrial estate.
0:54:03 > 0:54:04It's my last weekend in Huddersfield
0:54:04 > 0:54:08and tonight the biggest festival of the year begins.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14It's the embodiment of creative competition in this town - the Huddersfield Carnival.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17# Don't stop the music. #
0:54:17 > 0:54:19How did the festival get started, Carlyn?
0:54:19 > 0:54:24Huddersfield Carnival started 30 years ago in the Mayor's Parade.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27It was one float in the Mayor's Parade, which celebrated
0:54:27 > 0:54:30the entire Huddersfield and that's how we got started.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32And what's going to happen this evening?
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Tonight is the beginning of our festival weekend -
0:54:35 > 0:54:39Freedom, Friendship And Love - which is the Carnival Royale Show.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42And at this show, we've got all the kings, the queens,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45the prince and princesses from all the other bands
0:54:45 > 0:54:48and they are performing as a competition to win.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50Whoever wins tonight will lead the parade off tomorrow.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53And how many people are going to show up tomorrow?
0:54:53 > 0:54:55In the region of 30,000.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57And we've also got our masqueraders and people on floats.
0:54:57 > 0:54:58- That's fantastic.- Yeah.
0:55:03 > 0:55:08Like most industrial towns, Huddersfield is very multicultural.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10And it's a harmonious mix.
0:55:10 > 0:55:16In the 19th century, Irish immigrants came to work on the roads, canals and railways.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20After World War II, Polish workers were recruited and Huddersfield
0:55:20 > 0:55:24aimed to attract immigrants from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29A spirit of creative competition is clearly celebrated in this town.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33Huddersfield doesn't do anything by halves - it's big,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36it's multicultural, it's a town full of surprises.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Next morning, in the spirit of getting involved,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53I'm heading to Carnival HQ.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56And Carlyn tells me that she has a surprise for me.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00- So, I've got a costume for you!- Have you? What am I going to be dressed up as?
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Right. We are doing the Diamond Jubilee
0:56:02 > 0:56:04so you're Emperor of the Diamond Jubilee.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08I'm Emperor of the Diamond Jubilee? So is that for the head?
0:56:08 > 0:56:12You need to get ready because the procession is soon going to start,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15so you need to get ready and get in the van and then off we go.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41As a rule, I don't do dressing up or dancing but how can you say no?
0:56:41 > 0:56:44This place just carries you along.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48This is the last thing I expected to be doing in Huddersfield.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52Before I came here I was thinking, mill chimneys, the industrial
0:56:52 > 0:56:57north, maybe some real ale and a flat cap - not a massive carnival!
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Huddersfield is a revelation.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04Looking back over Huddersfield's history and all that I've seen here,
0:57:04 > 0:57:10it's the people of this town that have made it great.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12From the Ramsdens who took Huddersfield from a village
0:57:12 > 0:57:17to a town, to the Luddites who campaigned for workers' rights,
0:57:17 > 0:57:22to the Johnsons who keep their cloth finishing works running today.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27The old, the young, every colour and creed come together here.
0:57:27 > 0:57:32Huddersfield is perfectly woven, as high quality as its cloth,
0:57:32 > 0:57:36it's a beautiful piece of modern Britain.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51This town grew from a village to a manufacturing metropolis
0:57:51 > 0:57:53in two short centuries.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57But it's no post-industrial ghost town.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01It's a young town, with the energy, the ideas to adapt.
0:58:01 > 0:58:06The vigour, the innovation that put Huddersfield in the vanguard of the
0:58:06 > 0:58:11Industrial Revolution are propelling it forward into a new age.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Huddersfield is used to making things
0:58:14 > 0:58:18and right now it's making its own future.
0:58:18 > 0:58:22"Made in Huddersfield" is a brand to watch.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26Next time, I'll be in Enniskillen where I'll be discovering how
0:58:26 > 0:58:29a castle stronghold remains a traditional town,
0:58:29 > 0:58:32what tricks Enniskillen has in store for jockeys,
0:58:32 > 0:58:37and why this town in post-troubles Northern Ireland is fighting a new threat.
0:59:00 > 0:59:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd