0:00:02 > 0:00:05In the Victorian era, Britain changed as never before.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07It was the time of great inventors, great engineers,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11but above all, great businessmen, entrepreneurs.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16And one of the best examples was the pioneer photographer Francis Frith.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It was in the 1860s that Francis Frith embarked
0:00:19 > 0:00:21upon a monumental mission
0:00:21 > 0:00:25using the newly invented photographic camera.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29He wanted to document every city, every town
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and every village in the land.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I'm tracing the footsteps of this remarkable man
0:00:34 > 0:00:36and his team of photographers.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Using their pictures as my guide,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'll be travelling the length and breadth of the country,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45finding out what has altered and what has stayed the same,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and along the way, I'll be taking my own photos
0:00:48 > 0:00:52to try and capture the mood of the place as it is now.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54That's great.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Welcome to Britain's First Photo Album.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19In 1860, Francis Frith founded
0:01:19 > 0:01:23the first specialist photographic printing business.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27The idea was to sell photographic prints to the public,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30when it was very unusual for someone to have the money
0:01:30 > 0:01:33to pay for those expensive early cameras.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Using the Frith photos as a guide,
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I'm travelling today to Reigate, in Surrey.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Then I'll be going south to the medieval town of Rye,
0:01:44 > 0:01:49before heading further east to Hythe on the South Kent coast.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52En route, I'll be visiting a very unusual church,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56finding out where a notorious gang of smugglers hid their contraband,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00and I'm shooting a musket, as they did at the Battle of Waterloo.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Cor!
0:02:05 > 0:02:07That's something, isn't it?
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'My first port of call is to an area Frith would have known well,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15'the South Downs outside Reigate.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Frith lived in the town for most of his life.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19The photo that's brought me here
0:02:19 > 0:02:21is of the Reigate Heath windmill,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23and it was taken in 1894.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28The windmill is still one of the most famous landmarks in the area today,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and when the Frith team took this photograph,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35it had embarked upon a new chapter in its history.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I'm meeting the Reverend David Bull to find out more.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42For 100 years, it operated as a normal mill,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and all the workings are still up there now,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47but then, 100 years after it was built, its purpose changed.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Oh, right. OK.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59This is tremendous, isn't it? Oh, gosh!
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- Now, this is a chapel?- It is.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It's the only windmill church in the country.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And why was it stopped from being a windmill?
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Well, by about 1870, there was no need for the mill any more.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14It had ceased being used as a mill,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and the local landowner had a close relative who was in the ministry,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20who was working for the church, and so he decided to turn it
0:03:20 > 0:03:24into a chapel for his relative to come and exercise his ministry here.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27And it still goes on, you still hold services.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30It does. We have services here monthly, yes.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32And you can still see the old mechanism.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34What are these beams doing?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36These are all the original beams,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38and these anchor the mill to the ground.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41The upper section above where we are here would have rotated
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- so that the sails of the windmill could be turned to the wind.- Right.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And this big post you can see here takes the whole weight
0:03:48 > 0:03:50of the upper section of the mill.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53But, of course, it makes it hard sometimes for your congregation.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It does. We sometimes wonder if we should hand out helmets!
0:03:56 > 0:03:58"Beware of low beams". You've got that!
0:03:58 > 0:04:02At the start of every hymn I warn people not to hit their heads as they stand to sing.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Now, when was it consecrated?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Well, it was on September 14, 1880.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12We still have here the original sermon that was preached on that first day.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- Is it a good sermon?- Well, better than most of mine, I think!
0:04:15 > 0:04:19But there's one bit that sounds quite contemporary, I think. I'll read you a bit.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22"Our whole life seems to be spent in a hurry.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26"Men are hurrying after business, pleasure, riches, fame,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28"and they seek shortcuts for everything,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30"and this loss of calmness is,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32"in some sense, bad for the spiritual life."
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Oh, yes, well, that's good, sound stuff.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39My father was a vicar, so I can imagine him agreeing with that.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43So, Frith would have known when this opened, the chapel,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45that that was of great interest,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and he might sell a lot of photographs as a result.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53'I want to take my own modern-day photograph of this fascinating building,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55'and I'm going to be getting some expert advice
0:04:55 > 0:04:59'from John Gall of the Reigate Photographic Society.'
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Tell me how to take an interesting photograph.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03OK, well, what you're looking for
0:05:03 > 0:05:06is something that would tell a story, something of interest.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09From here, you can either get a silhouette
0:05:09 > 0:05:12of the windmill against the sky, or, round the other side,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14there's the evening light coming onto the windmill,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17which would make it more interesting, perhaps.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- OK, so lighting's incredibly important.- Very much.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23What about the, I don't know, we've got to have people, haven't we?
0:05:23 > 0:05:25People give interest to a photograph,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27but they're not essential.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29You need a point of interest,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and a person does give a human dimension to a photograph.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So, what can we see from the photo about the skill of the photographer?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Well, what they're doing here,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40the photographer is leading you through
0:05:40 > 0:05:42from left to right as we read,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44taking you quickly through the photograph
0:05:44 > 0:05:47to key points of interest -
0:05:47 > 0:05:52if you divide the photograph into thirds, horizontally and vertically,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55a composition technique is to place key elements
0:05:55 > 0:05:58on those third intersections.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The house and the girl. The photographer's telling a story,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04so you've got to get into the mind of the photographer.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07What was he actually trying to tell in taking that photograph?
0:06:07 > 0:06:12'So taking a good photo can be a way of telling a good story,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14'something that Frith and his team often set out to do -
0:06:14 > 0:06:17'and that's what I want to do today.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21'David has agreed to provide the vital human interest.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23'The windmill church with its curate.'
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Right, are we ready? You don't have to smile too much.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Right, that's great. That's wonderful.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35'And here's my photo.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39'David standing proudly in front of what is a unique place of worship.'
0:06:41 > 0:06:44What I've tried to do is to draw the viewer in,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47so that's the point where you're meant to start,
0:06:47 > 0:06:48and you're meant to think,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51"Oh, that's interesting. A clergyman and a windmill."
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Then you're meant to be drawn up the stairs, thinking,
0:06:54 > 0:06:55"What's in the windmill?"
0:06:55 > 0:06:58So there's a sense of mystery, I hope, in this picture.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02It's meant to be... Well, I might get better!
0:07:09 > 0:07:13For my next Frith photo, I'm going into Reigate.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18It's a town where Frith and his team took hundreds of pictures.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Some of the scenes they captured remain to the present day,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23but much has gone for ever.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28The photo that's caught my attention is very personal to Frith himself,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30because the great man's in it.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33This photograph was taken around 1885,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and shows Frith relaxing at Brightlands,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38his home here in Reigate.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Francis Frith was a local celebrity in the 19th century,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44but what sort of man was he?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46What drove him?
0:07:46 > 0:07:50To find out, I'm meeting an expert on Francis Frith -
0:07:50 > 0:07:53local historian Sean Hawkins.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54He was a very interesting man.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57He was a Quaker businessman, a very, very individual,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02very strong man, who had been very successful in business.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05By the time he was 33 he'd made a lot of money,
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and he then became interested in a career, I think,
0:08:10 > 0:08:16connected with a very, very strong passion, a hobby - photography.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20And he explored the possibility of going abroad
0:08:20 > 0:08:25and taking photographs in the Holy Land and in Egypt.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27So, his first commercial photographs,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30because they did become commercial, were done abroad.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Yes, they were.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35The pictures Frith took in Egypt and the Middle East
0:08:35 > 0:08:38quickly established his reputation as a pioneer photographer,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43but after his marriage, Frith decided to stop going abroad
0:08:43 > 0:08:47and start on an epic photographic record of Britain.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51I think, probably, his major sales were souvenir pictures
0:08:51 > 0:08:55which people could buy and paste in their albums,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00or, later on in the century, they could buy something like this,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04which was on sale in all stationers and souvenir shops,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and these were very, very popular indeed.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Initially, Frith took all his photographs himself,
0:09:11 > 0:09:16but as success came, he began to hire local photographers across the country.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18He set about establishing what quickly became
0:09:18 > 0:09:22one of the largest photographic publishers in the world,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26with over 2,000 shops in Britain selling his photos and albums.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Now, this, we think, is Frith himself,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34and we think this is him in Reigate, here in Reigate.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Well, the house isn't there now,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39but we have got something that we can show you
0:09:39 > 0:09:42that still is evidence of the house.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Oh, right, OK. So, is it going to be difficult to find?
0:09:45 > 0:09:47No, I hope not.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51So, Frith's house as it appears in our photo is no more.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53What's here instead?
0:09:57 > 0:10:01So, this is the site where the house was that Frith lived with his family.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Yes, this is the site.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07- But not the house. - But not the very house.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- No, because this is, what, how new is this?- Built about 1970.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Right, but we do know, definitely, that he was here.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18We know, definitely, this is the site of the house.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'A modern family house is now on the spot where Brightlands stood.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Oh, this is nice. A touch of California!
0:10:27 > 0:10:30'The current owner, Caroline Paterson,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32'shows me the remains of Frith's home.'
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- Lovely garden.- Yes, absolutely.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Did you know that the famous Victorian photographer
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Francis Frith lived in a house on this site?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I was aware of it,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46because I knew there was a large house on this site.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Sadly, there isn't much left other than the pool,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53which was built in the foundations of the cellar of the house,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57and, in fact, the bay windows form the side of this pool.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- Oh, right.- We wondered why it was a bit unusually shaped!
0:11:01 > 0:11:05So we know that Frith will have walked into the swimming pool!
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Frith once said that his life only really began after his wedding day.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12And although he travelled a lot,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16his home at Brightlands always had a very special place in his heart.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19The great man and his house have gone for ever,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22but, with the help of Caroline,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26I can try to take a photograph in the spirit of Frith.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28'A person and a house.'
0:11:28 > 0:11:30- You just have to look wonderful, there.- Thank you.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- That looks good. All right, big smile. That's good.- OK.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39'And here's my photo. Blue and bright and modern.'
0:11:42 > 0:11:46My picture has got the new owner, Caroline,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50and jolly nice she is, kind of demonstrating, I suppose,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53what's changed, how much has changed
0:11:53 > 0:11:56from the Victorian idea of the formal garden,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58to this touch of California.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I'm tracing the footsteps of pioneer photographer
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Francis Frith and his team, using the photographs they took
0:12:11 > 0:12:15in order to find out exactly how our country has changed.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20My next port of call takes me to East Sussex.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23My road trip is now really getting underway.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25The Frith photos always tell a story.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30It's just a matter of working out what that story is.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Well, I'm off to Rye now, in Sussex,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36to see another great example of their work,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40and I must say I'm really enjoying the ride.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The picturesque town of Rye
0:12:46 > 0:12:49now lies about two miles inland from the English Channel,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51but in medieval times,
0:12:51 > 0:12:56this part of the Sussex coast looked quite different.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Rye was almost entirely surrounded by water.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Frith and his team took a number of photos in Rye,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06but the one I'm going to look at is this one,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09of a two-masted trading ship sitting in Rye Harbour.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13I think it's a perfect testament
0:13:13 > 0:13:16to this little town's colourful history,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19both as a major trading port,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and, in the 18th and 19th centuries, as a renowned haven for smuggling.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25'To find out more,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29'I'm meeting local historian and guide Jane Fraser Hay.'
0:13:30 > 0:13:34On the Frith photograph, what we did see was its importance as a port,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36but when people talk about Rye now,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40they don't say, "Oh, that's the famous port of Rye", do they?
0:13:40 > 0:13:43What you see in the Frith photograph is the last days, really,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45of Rye as an important port.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And what went wrong?
0:13:47 > 0:13:51Well, the sea giveth, and it taketh away, I'm afraid.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57It receded, and left us with very, well, limited facilities here
0:13:57 > 0:13:59as a port, eventually.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- So, the story of Rye is a story of a disappearing sea.- I'm afraid it is.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08'It had always been difficult to get to Rye by land over the marshes,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10'and from the 17th century onwards,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14'as the harbour started disappearing under layers of silt
0:14:14 > 0:14:18'from the river Rother, the town became increasingly isolated.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The sea now is, what, two or three miles away?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24It's about two and a half miles from where we're standing, yes.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29This is also an area where there was a lot of smuggling.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Oh, yes. You bet there was.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35I should say towards the end of the 1700s, lots of valuable goods
0:14:35 > 0:14:40coming, particularly from Java, the spices and that sort of thing,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44the tea from the Far East - not India, that was much later -
0:14:44 > 0:14:46but coming vast distances.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52So, dear old gentle, genteel Rye was in fact a hotbed of smugglers?
0:14:52 > 0:14:54It was a rootin' tootin' fort!
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Smuggling along England's coastline
0:14:58 > 0:15:01reached astonishing levels in the 18th century.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Owlers, as the nocturnal smugglers were known,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08tried to avoid tax on imported goods and wool exports.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Rye's economy was soon taken over by the illegal trade.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Small smugglers' vessels would travel up the river
0:15:18 > 0:15:19and unload their contraband
0:15:19 > 0:15:22virtually on the doorsteps of the local inns.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27How many of the people in the town were involved in this trade?
0:15:29 > 0:15:30We don't have exact numbers,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- obviously, because it was a hugely secret trade.- Yes.- But I imagine
0:15:34 > 0:15:37quite a number wouldn't have any conscience about being involved.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41And when they got the smuggled goods here, what did they do with them?
0:15:41 > 0:15:42They would hide them -
0:15:42 > 0:15:47probably, for instance, up in these houses, in the attics.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48All the doors were unlocked,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and they would make a run for people trying to escape from the revenue.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- Right.- It would go, sometimes, halfway round the town
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and come down the stairs in a completely different area.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Right. Just to escape the revenue.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04They would be after them all the time, but the poor revenue men,
0:16:04 > 0:16:09there were very small numbers of them, and huge numbers of smugglers.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And it wasn't only in the attics the smugglers stored their contraband.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Hidden tunnels and secret cellars were not uncommon,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and one of them survives to this day under the White Vine Hotel.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Javed Khan is the present owner.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Under here, John, is a cellar
0:16:29 > 0:16:32which actually dates from approximately 1340.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34- And can we look in here? - We can indeed.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38- If I can just get you to give me a hand with the rug.- Yeah.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41- Right.- Just roll it back.- Right.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44This looks good! Shall I help?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- Please. It's a heavy trapdoor.- OK.
0:16:47 > 0:16:48Right.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Yeah.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- Oh, right. Aladdin's Cave. - Ideal for storage, or hiding.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57Or hiding, right.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01So, we could be talking about smugglers using this cellar?
0:17:01 > 0:17:06- We don't know for sure, but it is well hidden.- Right. You go first.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08You notice I say you go first. OK.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12And mind your head, cos they were a lot shorter in those days.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14And down into the medieval cellar.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21We've got the genuine smell of the cellar, haven't we?
0:17:21 > 0:17:24We have, absolutely, indeed.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Yeah. Cobwebs. You pay extra for those!
0:17:28 > 0:17:31It's big, isn't it? It's actually big.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- It's enormous.- Yeah. - It's a lot bigger than it looks.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37And how many cellars are there like this in Rye?
0:17:37 > 0:17:41- We think probably about 12 or 13. - Yes.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46- This is probably one of the better ones, given its age...- Yeah.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48..In terms of its condition.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51You just wonder what happened here, though.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53It's got all the atmosphere, hasn't it?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56You could almost imagine smugglers making their plans
0:17:56 > 0:17:57and counting their loot.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- The cellar actually continues through here.- Yeah.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06This is now a bricked-up chute.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10One would imagine that barrels, goods, contraband, maybe,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13would have been just slid down and taken through
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- to the back of the cellar. - Well, that's fascinating.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23'Just imagine all the booty stashed away in these dark cellars.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27'Having been below ground, I'm off to get a bird's eye view.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32'At the Heritage Centre, Peter Cosstick has an impressive exhibit.'
0:18:32 > 0:18:34What a marvellous model.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36It's something we're incredibly proud of.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38This shows you Rye,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42how it looked in Victorian times, and it's not changed much today.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47- We're always being told about smuggling in Rye.- Yeah.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Was it all over the place? Was it riddling the whole town?
0:18:50 > 0:18:51It was indeed.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55There was a notorious smuggling gang called the Hawkhurst Gang,
0:18:55 > 0:19:00and when they were in town, their headquarters were The Mermaid Inn.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01Right.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05They were ruthless, and there was very little law and order,
0:19:05 > 0:19:06and they ruled the roost.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10And it was only much later, when we hit Victorian times,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12that smuggling really died out.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Because of the Victorian values, smuggling was frowned on.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19- But also, they chopped off the taxes, didn't they?- They did indeed.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23- So it wasn't so expensive to import wine and brandy.- Yes.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- So they were done out of business, weren't they?- Yes.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31What's striking now is just how many of these buildings still exist,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and how attractive they are, aren't they?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Yeah. They're very, very well... - It was a very prosperous place.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40And of course, there's so little change from the time
0:19:40 > 0:19:42of our Frith photograph.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And I think we should be able to line it up.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- What's that?- That's a hotel now.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50That's the Hope Anchor, which is just there.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Right, so that's there, and the boat, well,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56it would have been here, wouldn't it?
0:19:56 > 0:19:57That's about right, John, yeah.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01It's rather sad, because you feel that is the end of an era there, isn't it?
0:20:01 > 0:20:06That's when the whole shipping trade round here...it's just slightly sad.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08It is.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I'm off to Rye Harbour, to the spot that Peter's helped me pinpoint,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and maybe to take my photo.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21This is the Frith photo, and these two buildings are still there,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24you can see them. There's the Hope Anchor hotel
0:20:24 > 0:20:29and the other building on the other side, but there's no boat here,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33so I think my picture should be just a bit further down.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38All I need to do is to find a view with a boat
0:20:38 > 0:20:41that somehow inspires me.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43This is going to be my shot.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49I like it because there are still ships, still sailing ships, in Rye.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53All right, they're pleasure boats, but they're jolly nice.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56And here it is.
0:20:56 > 0:20:57A boat bathed in colour
0:20:57 > 0:21:00as the sun sets over Rye.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05It makes a sort of contrast with the Frith picture,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07but both are at low tide,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10and both really tell the same story about Rye,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13which is that this is a tidal river,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16and it's now a long way from the sea.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19So there's a slightly sad air.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Not just the end of an era here,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23but there's also a sense of...
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Well, this is just a pleasure boat,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29it's not the same.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38And now I'm travelling further east along the coast, and into Kent.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41I'm heading for Hythe, and the photo taking me there
0:21:41 > 0:21:43is this one from 1890,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45of the Hythe Musketry School.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Now, I'm told it's in this area, and I've got to park here.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58I have to say, it doesn't look at all promising.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03But there's absolutely no sign of the long row
0:22:03 > 0:22:05of old buildings in the photo.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09This is just an ordinary supermarket car park.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Oh, well, I'm sure it'll work itself out.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16I'm sure we will resolve it, we will settle the mystery.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I've been instructed to head for the military canal,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23where I'm meeting local historian Michael George to find out
0:22:23 > 0:22:26what's happened to this curious building.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29You're going to help me solve the mystery, aren't you?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- I am, I hope, yes.- Thanks very much. Now, that's our picture.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Well, these buildings no longer exist,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and instead, you've got the supermarket.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42- They were military barracks.- Yes. Military barracks?- Yes, they were.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46They were originally built 200 years ago,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50at the time of the threatened invasion, by Napoleon, of England.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Hythe Bay provides a natural anchorage.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59It was a perfect landing place for anybody who had hankerings
0:22:59 > 0:23:00to invade England.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04- Right, so the French are across the Channel.- They are.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07They are genuinely threatening invasion, aren't they?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10There were 200,000 French troops camped over there,
0:23:10 > 0:23:15waiting just for the right weather conditions to arrive en masse
0:23:15 > 0:23:17on the beaches of Hythe.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21It's daring to think of our brave boys standing up
0:23:21 > 0:23:24against the imperial might of Napoleon's France.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27But the invasion never came.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31Napoleon turned his attention to campaigns in Egypt and Austria.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36At the end of the Napoleonic wars, the barracks fell into disuse.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40They were surplus to requirements, until 1853.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43The rifle has been introduced,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and the rifle is a much more accurate weapon,
0:23:47 > 0:23:52and you now need to train your soldiers in how to use it,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and Lord Hardinge decided that we needed a school
0:23:56 > 0:23:57to train soldiers
0:23:57 > 0:24:00who would then go back to their regiments,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and they would train the men in their regiments.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07That was the beginning of the residence in Hythe
0:24:07 > 0:24:09of the School of Musketry.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13In the 20th century,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16the school served as a training base through both world wars,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20but in the 1960s, it was moved from Hythe to Warminster,
0:24:20 > 0:24:21where the present-day school
0:24:21 > 0:24:24still trains the soldiers of the British Army.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30And all that remains of the Hythe School of Musketry
0:24:30 > 0:24:33is this plaque in the wall of the supermarket,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and it says that "88,000 men
0:24:36 > 0:24:39"were trained here in the history of the school,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43"which was from 1853 until 1968".
0:24:44 > 0:24:48It's surprising to find that the site of a top military academy
0:24:48 > 0:24:49is now a car park,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53but at least one part of the old musketry school survives.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56The firing ranges nearby are more than 200 years old,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59but they're still run by the Ministry of Defence.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02'A fine ex-soldier, Ian Bull, known as Bully,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'gave me a taste of the target practice which, for years,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07'sustained the British Army.'
0:25:09 > 0:25:12This, for you, it's a kind of family business, isn't it?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Yeah, shooting or soldiering, yeah, yeah, a bit of both.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17How long does it go back in your family?
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Five generations. Back before the Boer War.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- One killed in the Boer War, which is unfortunate.- Five generations?
0:25:22 > 0:25:25My son's in the Army now, I was in the Army,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27my father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'Well, now, a blast from the past.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34'Bully is going to show me how to fire a genuine 200-year-old
0:25:34 > 0:25:36'Brown Bess musket.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40'These guns were notoriously inaccurate,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43'so rather than picking out specific targets,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46'a large number of artillerymen would all fire at once,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49'delivering a hail of musket balls into the enemy lines.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52'Some were bound to hit home.'
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Cor, that's something, isn't it?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57I think I got him!
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Oh, yes. These Frenchies, you know! We can take them on!
0:26:02 > 0:26:05'Now I'm going upmarket and super modern.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10'This is a version of the latest sniper rifle used by today's army.'
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Squeeze the trigger very gently.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Gosh!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18That's a big one, isn't it?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I think I've got it!
0:26:27 > 0:26:31'Right, the moment of truth. Did I even hit the target?'
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Right. Well, this is my target.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- How have I done? That's good! - This is the old Brown Bess.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42You get your finger right in it, so you've hit the target.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- That's pretty good! - That's very good.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47This is all that sniper rifle.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- That's very, very good.- Is it? - Very good.- Is it really?
0:26:50 > 0:26:54For the first time ever to shoot with a scope, with that rifle...
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Oh, please, don't go on, Bully. You're embarrassing me, now!
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Give me a fiver!
0:27:01 > 0:27:02That's very good.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05'I'm rather pleased with that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07'That's not half bad!
0:27:07 > 0:27:11'And I can't resist a photo souvenir.'
0:27:11 > 0:27:16It is, it's my target shot, but I'm very, very proud of it,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and I want everybody to appreciate it.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Right, here we go.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29Never mind Frith, this is me, on the range, on target, on song.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And the bit I like is that one up there,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38because that was fired by a gun which could have fired
0:27:38 > 0:27:41at the Battle of Waterloo.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44And of course, if it had been down there, who knows?
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Might have got Napoleon.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Next time on Britain's First Photo Album,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51I shall be on the Isle of Wight,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53hunting for a missing coastline.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58I'll be using a Frith photo to prove
0:27:58 > 0:28:02that Stonehenge has not been as we know it for as long as we think.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05And I'll be toasting the breweries of Hampshire.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Would you like another?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I'll have another three, I think!
0:28:08 > 0:28:10THEY LAUGH
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd