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 business men, entrepreneurs.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16One of the best examples was the pioneer photographer, Francis Frith.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18It was in the 1860s that
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Francis Frith embarked upon 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 > 0:00:49And along the way, I'll be taking my own photos to try and capture
0:00:49 > 0:00:52the mood of the place as it is now.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Welcome to Britain's First Photo Album.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Tourism in Victorian times boomed with the railways.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24People would go to places which before, they'd just heard of.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28And Frith was quick to make sure that his photographers
0:01:28 > 0:01:33went right across the country, to all the popular resorts.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37So, the Frith archive really is a treasure trove.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42And today, I'll be picking out some of the highlights of Frith's work.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46I'm starting at the most southerly pointed my travels,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48on the coast of the Isle of Wight.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Then it's back to the mainland, to the Hampshire town of Romsey,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57before I take in the mystical Wiltshire landmark of Stonehenge.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00And using my camera,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02I'll be trying to update Frith.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Cars, the moment you to start taking a photograph, cars.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10I'll be organising something in a brewery.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15And I'll be enjoying an ancient, pagan ritual.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18Well done.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23The Isle of Wight exploded into life as a tourist destination
0:02:23 > 0:02:25during the 19th century.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32Frith came in 1883, by which time a trendsetting Queen Victoria
0:02:32 > 0:02:35had established a holiday home here.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37The coming of the railways meant
0:02:37 > 0:02:40the public could travel here easily from London.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43They came for the sunshine, fresh air, sea views,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47and for the first time, attractions,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50designed especially for tourists.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54My first Frith photograph today is unusual,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58because on the face of it, it doesn't look very interesting.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00It's a group of buildings by the seashore,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02not clear what they're doing,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04where this path is going to.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08But it was a major Victorian tourist attraction, and it
0:03:08 > 0:03:13still is a tourist attraction, owned by the same family.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16It's got a splendid name, Blackgang Chine.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19The name originally referred to
0:03:19 > 0:03:22a nearby gorge that led to the seashore,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25this was known locally as a chine.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Blackgang was the name of the dark path, or gangway,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32the twisted its way down the gorge's length.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Today, Blackgang Chine is one of the Isle of Wight's
0:03:36 > 0:03:38biggest and oldest attractions.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41The owners delight in the name,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45which conjures up images of smugglers and pirates,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48it's something they've been trading on for 160 years.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Well, my ancestors started the business in 1843
0:03:52 > 0:03:56as a theme park, a very early theme park.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57That's what it is today.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00My great-great grandfather was a shopkeeper by trade,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04and he said, "I'm going to make most money here by opening a shop.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07"The fact that I'm in a scenic location is good idea".
0:04:07 > 0:04:09But he also then said, "I need a museum",
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and just by luck, in 1844, the year after he opened his shop,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15and entrance to the chine,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18a whale was found floating in the Solent -
0:04:18 > 0:04:21the piece of water between the Isle of Wight and the mainland.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And this was towed ashore, and the Admiralty were going to blow it up,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and he stepped in, and said, "Could I buy it from you?"
0:04:27 > 0:04:29And he sold the blubber at auction,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32had the bones bleached, had them carted by horse and cart
0:04:32 > 0:04:34over to this location,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and then had them re-erected as a full skeleton on show.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42The Blackgang whale has been a feature here from beginning.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Originally, it was housed in a tin shed,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47highlighted here in the Frith picture.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52The shed has long since gone, but the whale survives,
0:04:52 > 0:04:58or at least, 13 tonnes of its bleached bones.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02So, for the Victorians, they just wanted to get really close
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- to the whale, didn't they? - They did indeed, in fact,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08in the Victorian times there was an actual wishing chair,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12you could actually make a wish inside the belly of the whale.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13So, very Victorian.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15And of course, they had a shop here,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and served tea actually with the bones of the whales around you.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20So, you couldn't get closer?
0:05:20 > 0:05:22No, you couldn't closer, absolutely.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25And you also had, you had Royal visitors here, didn't you?
0:05:25 > 0:05:28We did, Royalty came, Queen Victoria visited the park,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31also, Queen Mary, with her husband sailing round the island.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33She would very often come wandering
0:05:33 > 0:05:36through the Chine building to look at the view.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40On one occasion, her hat was knocked off by the bone from the whale,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and within a few minutes, we're told, the story is,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45a workman came rushing up and actually sawed
0:05:45 > 0:05:47the offending piece of bone off.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- So it wouldn't knock other hats off. - What would it have looked like?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53This bit here, you can see the bit that it missing,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56over this side, you can see the bit that's still in place.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Oh, so, right, so a great chunk?
0:05:59 > 0:06:00Yes, was just cut off, absolutely.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Apart from the shop, and of course the museum with the whale skeleton,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07it was actually the walks down
0:06:07 > 0:06:09through the gorge, looking at the sea,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11which is probably as important to the visitors.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13And why did they like it so much?
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Well, we've got to remember, in the Victorian age,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18the Isle of Wight, and lots of resorts across the country,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21are being discovered for the first time, and it's the sea.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23The fact they're so close to the sea
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and they've got wonderful sea vistas that are so important to them.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28They've come from cities,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30they're looking that openness, and that wide-open space,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32and sea vistas, that's what they want.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Now, given the chance and encouraged by Queen Victoria,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41the people of Britain fell in love with the seaside.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It was the place to go on holiday.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47They could lose a few inhibitions, enjoy the fresh air,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and escape the smoke-filled cities.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54The idea of the great outdoors became a 19th-century obsession.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Frith and his team were there,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59able, for the first time, to capture this new mood.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Although they might not have known it then,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07they were creating a stunning record of how life was changing.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Where are these buildings? Where would they be now?
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Well, we'll turn around right now, turn round here,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and if you look straight ahead of you here, they're in midair.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18They're in midair?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Yes, we've actually got a cliff edge here,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23which is falling away every year.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27And those buildings in that particular view
0:07:27 > 0:07:31were about 40 metres out into where you currently see the deep, blue sea.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Since the 1883 photo was taken,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Simon's family have lost a large amount of land.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It has simply fallen into the sea.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45In part, as a result of the strong winds along this coast.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49And sadly, it means that the very top of the gorge path
0:07:49 > 0:07:53is all that's left of the original Blackgang Chine.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56And then of course, when they got the top of the gorge,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59they were greeted with this stunning view down the coast.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02In those days the gorge was three quarters of a mile long,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and went much further out to sea.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07So, if you look at it from the point of view of the old photo,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09we would have been, somehow, out there?
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Probably about 30 metres out that way, on the edge of the gorge,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15looking back into the buildings there, yes.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18So, every year you've got to be conscious of the fact
0:08:18 > 0:08:20that your land is getting smaller?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- Yes.- So, how do you cope with that?
0:08:22 > 0:08:23It's a bit like a crab, we move
0:08:23 > 0:08:26sideways and backwards with our developments and ideas,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and, of course, take down attractions
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and move them as and when the cliff gets close.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34We call that managed retreat, it's a nice word, isn't it?
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Well, the retreat is the hardest manoeuvre.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- It is indeed, yes.- In the military, isn't it, an organised one.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42We've managed to be doing it for some years,
0:08:42 > 0:08:43so we know what we're doing, I think.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Each of the five generations of the Dabell family
0:08:47 > 0:08:50have had to deal with a different coastline.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54So, for my first photo of the day I want to do what Frith did,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and capture a particular moment in this ever-changing scene.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Simon's concern is for the children of today,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07I can't help but feel rather sad to think of the seaside days
0:09:07 > 0:09:09enjoyed by children here in the past.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14It's got a, kind of, Victorian feel to it, yes.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21I wonder how long it'll be before this is gone for ever.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27The Victorians loved a story, and they like a bit of melodrama,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and they like entitling their pictures,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32so, how about The Lost Childhood?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39I'm moving east,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43along the southern coast of the Isle of Wight towards Ventnor.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45The town that Charles Dickens described
0:09:45 > 0:09:48as the prettiest place he'd ever seen.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I'm here to investigate our second Frith photo today.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55It's all about health.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01This incredible building stretched along a hillside
0:10:01 > 0:10:03was Ventnor's Royal Hospital,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08an institute famous for its treatment of tuberculosis.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12It opened in the late 1860s, with Queen Victoria as its patron.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15And it became renowned across Europe.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19The building was knocked down 50 years ago,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22but the grounds which once grew medicinal plants
0:10:22 > 0:10:28are today the home of Ventnor's glorious botanical Gardens.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32I meeting historian and garden volunteer, Jonyth Hill.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I have a personal connection
0:10:34 > 0:10:36because my father convalesced in this hospital
0:10:36 > 0:10:38in the 1960s, when it was just convalescence
0:10:38 > 0:10:40and not tuberculosis and more.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42So, you got an affection for the old hospital?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Oh, yes, a deep affection.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46And this is why I'm delighted to work here now.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50What was the reaction when it was announced the hospital would close?
0:10:50 > 0:10:53That must have been a blow for lots of people.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57By that time, tuberculosis was, virtually, under treatment,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00and you need hospitals of this size to continue to treat it.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Therefore, the patients could be treated at home.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06So, although this would be a wonderful hospital,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- if it were still here... - Look what we have now.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12When this hospital closed in 1964,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16TB was still responsible for 2,000 deaths a year.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20But in Frith's day, the annual death rate was about 80,000.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The Royal Hospital was at the forefront of moves
0:11:23 > 0:11:25to combat the disease.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Each patient would have a separate room,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and they would all be facing south
0:11:30 > 0:11:33in this lovely temperature, and the climate here.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So, it was fresh air, just as they used to do with patients,
0:11:36 > 0:11:37sending them abroad.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38And did it work?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41On the whole, it did seem to work, I think,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44away from the grub and the dirt of the cities,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47to come down here and live with all this fresh air
0:11:47 > 0:11:49obviously benefited them greatly.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And only here for about three to six months,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and could go home and be completely cured.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Pity we can't see the building now, isn't it?
0:11:56 > 0:12:00It is indeed, but there is just one remnant,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02this, in fact, was used as a ward.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Because the thing with tuberculosis
0:12:04 > 0:12:07was that they should be out in the fresh air as much as possible,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10so they certainly came down here by day,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12and the ward would have been open,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and sometimes even by night they would be left,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17if the conditions were not too cold,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19which they hardly ever were down here.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- Now it's a potting shed? - Now it's a potting shed.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26But anyway, you can imagine, you can imagine the wards there, can't you?
0:12:26 > 0:12:27Yes, you can indeed.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32There is one part of the modern botanical gardens
0:12:32 > 0:12:35that's been preserved since the time of Frith's photo.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Chris Kidd is the head gardener.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41So, these palms were here when the hospital was here?
0:12:41 > 0:12:44They were donated to the island and given to Queen Victoria,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46who was a patron of the hospital.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48She visited the hospital several times
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and recommended this was where the plants should go.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- She may have been here for the planting, we don't know.- Could be.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- How old are they, then? - They were planted in the 1850s.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Right, so I'm actually pressing against a plant
0:13:03 > 0:13:08that was, well, certainly alive when Queen Victoria was alive?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- May even have been planted by her. - Maybe! Well, that's wonderful.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16It's time to start thinking about MY photo.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20So many flowers, so many colours, so many angles.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25But what about the spot where the Frith photo was taken?
0:13:25 > 0:13:29The picture, the Frith picture, was taken obviously from this hill.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32It's looking back on the hospital in the 1890s.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36You can see, well, you can see the wall, there,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39which is now this wall.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42And you can see the cricket pavilion, so that's there.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Although I was thinking of taking a picture here,
0:13:46 > 0:13:51I think it would be more interesting inside the garden.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55I can't follow Frith's lead, because the building's gone.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59I'm going to have to do something completely different.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And this could be it.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02So, here it is.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05My second photo for the album.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10The oldest, and the best, of the Ventnor botanical gardens.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14And reminder of the Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16And just think what Queen Victoria would think,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19there it is, she gives the seed,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21it's still going in the next century,
0:14:21 > 0:14:26and it's also still going in the century after.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29So, that is a link, a direct link, with Queen Victoria,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and that's why I like that picture.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I'm tracing the footsteps of pioneer photographer,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Francis Frith and his team.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Using the photographs they took
0:14:46 > 0:14:49in order to find out exactly how our country has changed.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Having toured the Isle of Wight,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55it's back to the mainland to look at two very different Frith photos.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Just north of Southampton on the bank of the River Test,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01is the small market town of Romsey.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06And it was here, in 1898 that the Frith photographic team
0:15:06 > 0:15:11captured this beautifully composed image of the marketplace.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Frith took several pictures of Romsey's town centre,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17but it's the Market Square I need to find.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Can you help me with this photograph?
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Where do you think that is?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24- Is this a trick question? - Ha-ha, no, it's not,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I'm trying to find out where it is.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- That's a beautiful picture.- Yeah. - Can I ask where you got it from?
0:15:30 > 0:15:35It's a Victorian picture, a very famous photographer, called Frith.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Right, OK.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42He took this and my job is to find out exactly where it was from.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Oh, that's easy, it's just round the corner there, my dear,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and you'll see the statue.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53The star of the show here is Lord Palmerston,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55who was Britain's Prime Minister
0:15:55 > 0:15:58not once, but twice, in the 1850s and '60s.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03He's very much the local lad made good.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06But, when you took the photo closely,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10it contains clues to one of Romsey's traditional industries.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13And that's something I want to discuss with local historian,
0:16:13 > 0:16:14'Phoebe Merrick.'
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Even today, looking around the modern town,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20there's no getting away from the fact that this town
0:16:20 > 0:16:22seems to enjoy its beer.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Two references to breweries here, here, with the off-licence,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29and here, with the old pub.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Romsey was famous for pubs, wasn't it?
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Oh, very much so, when we were looking to do
0:16:35 > 0:16:39the history of pubs in Romsey, we found 84 of them.
0:16:39 > 0:16:4184? It's a small town though, how many people here?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43About 5,000 people.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47So, a pub for every family, not quite, but it's amazing, isn't it?
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Yes, mind you, I think many of them were no more than beer houses
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and often, it was wrapped up in the front room,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59and the wife ran it as an additional source of income,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03not like now, when, if you run a pub, it's a full-time job.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06But why should Romsey need so many pubs?
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Because you're on a main road from Winchester to the West of England,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14you're on the road between Salisbury and Southampton,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16all those travellers need refreshment,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18as do their horses, of course.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21People sometimes, in those days,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25would think of Romsey as a place to get drunk, is that right?
0:17:25 > 0:17:30Oh, yes, the old saying was, "So drunk he must have been to Romsey."
0:17:30 > 0:17:31The alternative is,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35"It's a straight road to Romsey and a zigzag back from there".
0:17:35 > 0:17:38It's time to turn attention to Frith, though,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42and what he was trying to do with this particular photo of Romsey.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48Right, I suppose what surprising is that the Frith photograph
0:17:48 > 0:17:50does not show the abbey church.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53It's extraordinary, isn't it?
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Because that is so much the dominant feature of the whole of Romsey,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01almost everywhere you stand, you get a glimpse of that church.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Frith managed to find somewhere that didn't have it.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09He got a good photograph though, because the way it comes to a point
0:18:09 > 0:18:13with the Lord Palmerston's statue is the central focus.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17But nonetheless, to get a photograph from anywhere in Romsey
0:18:17 > 0:18:22without a glimpse of the abbey church is quite hard work.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27The 12th century abbey, once a house for Benedictine nuns,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29is the most famous sight in Romsey.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I want to give it a proper place in my photo.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Come on, cars, this way, sir.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Cars, the moment you start taking photographs, cars.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45Thank you very much.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47OK, now we can go.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Right, this is it, I don't want cars in the picture.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56So, there it is, different from the Frith photo.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Mine is of the best feature of Romsey,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01this splendid building was already
0:19:01 > 0:19:04600 years old when Lord Palmerston was around.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08And I think this is a worthy addition to our album.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Before I leave town, there's just time for a short, um, pitstop.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18I hope you understand, this is purely for research purposes.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21A taste of Romsey, now fully updated.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26In 2008 it looked like the local tradition of beer making
0:19:26 > 0:19:28might have disappeared.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33But 18 months ago, with the arrival of a brand-new brewery,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37the captivating smell of hops is back in the air.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38The owner, Nigel Welsh,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42is going to introduce me to the mysteries of the process.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45You're going to come out to the mash tun,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and hopefully regulate the flow of the sparge.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The mash tun and regulate the flow of the sparge?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54What it is he talking about?
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Still, it certainly smells interesting.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- So, this is the water, hot water? - Hot liquor.
0:20:00 > 0:20:01And what's liquor?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Liquor is water, we don't use the word water, it's dirty stuff.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06Going over, what's down there?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- That's the malted barley. - And what do I do?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Well, you're going to check this dial over here.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14- Right.- And make sure the regulated flow
0:20:14 > 0:20:17of 30 litres a minute is going through.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Well, that says 35.4.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Oh, if you want to just adjust this lever here,
0:20:23 > 0:20:24and close it down a bit.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Right, there we are.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28How does it compare with an old brewery,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31in Victorian times, what would that have been like?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35In Victorian times this would have been a traditional tower brewery,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38very few pumps involved, and a lot more manpower.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41The whole process, brewing the day, will take eight hours,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45and in seven days' time you'll have beer ready to drink.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49That's all very well, but I haven't got a week to wait for the good bit.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54Fortunately, though, Nigel has one he made earlier.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59It's not bad, it's rather good.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03And whilst I'm here, it would be foolish not to have a quick sip of
0:21:03 > 0:21:07the bottle conditioned house special. That's OK.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Oh, and there's the deceptively strong local porter.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Would you like another?
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- Have another three, I think. - THEY LAUGH
0:21:23 > 0:21:26After a good night's rest,
0:21:26 > 0:21:31it's a sunny drive 20 miles or so to my final, Frith photo.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34The location is world-famous.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39Surely, Stonehenge hasn't changed for thousands of years?
0:21:39 > 0:21:44Those magnificent stones wrapped in mystery seem almost eternal.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But it's not true, the stones have been moved,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53and the change over the past hundred years or so has been quite radical.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Our Frith photograph proves that point.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00The great value of Frith's photo,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02is that it has taken just before
0:22:02 > 0:22:05a period when a number of alterations were made.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And before anyone suspects that
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Britain's greatest prehistoric treasure
0:22:10 > 0:22:13may be something of a sham, let me assure you,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16that any changes have been part of some careful,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and expert, conservation.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24Dave Batchelor from English Heritage has agreed to meet me to reveal all.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Now, in Victorian times, when people start to travel around,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31this would already be a great attraction.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Yes, it was a place that scientists looked at,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38architects looked at right the way through the period.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It was first put into a guidebook, in some respects,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44when Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was working in the 12th century
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- did a collection of places to visit. - That's going back!
0:22:47 > 0:22:49In that sense, it's been known since that time.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Right, so when we get Frith and his photographers, this is obvious,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57go to Stonehenge and take a picture, because we can sell those pictures.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00So, here's our picture, and where do you think that's,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02where do think this is from?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04It's just about where were standing.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07It doesn't look at all like that, does it?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10No, it doesn't, this is taken at the very end of the 19th century.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14What were looking at is this trilathon here,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18it was collapsed, it fell down in 1797.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21This is the upright on its end, as its top surface was here.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25And we're also looking at the big, great trilathon, stone 56 here,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28which was leaning over at that angle.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- So, where's that? - That's now been straightened up.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But as with most things in life,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36prevention is usually better than cure.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And if you look closely, you can see
0:23:39 > 0:23:43where some of Dave's predecessors have taken radical action
0:23:43 > 0:23:46to halt any further collapses around the ancient monument.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Now, look, that, that's your concrete, isn't it?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51That is a piece of concrete.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53This is an ancient piece of concrete,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55all of, what, 50 years old?
0:23:55 > 0:23:56About 50 years old, yes.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00- So, we're not trying to make it fake in any way?- No.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03It's just quite obvious that's the modern bit,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05and here we are with these stones.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06That's right.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Stonehenge has changed a lot, and that's why, in photographic terms,
0:24:09 > 0:24:14you need a regular record of it, to take on board those changes.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19But, however much Stonehenge has been patched up, glued,
0:24:19 > 0:24:20and realigned,
0:24:20 > 0:24:25the mystical aura of the grand stones is still unchanged.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30And there's one group of people who are mightily relieved about that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34I'm meeting one of them, Frank, Frank the Druid.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Well, it is wonderful to be here.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Today, meeting you, and being in this sacred space,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42chosen as a special place by the ancestors.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46What goes through my mind is the peace, the sanctity,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49and the very special energy that Stonehenge has when you visit,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52and you're fortunate enough to come inside.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55It's a place blessed, it's very, very special.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56But, you don't have to be a druid
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- to appreciate that side of it? - Absolutely not.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02That's good, so, I can speak to you on the same level,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04even though I'm not much of a druid?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- Yes.- That's good.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11And, for you, are you worried about the fact that people
0:25:11 > 0:25:14think of you as, kind of, made up or lunatic?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Or new-age, or all those images of Druids, they're not exactly,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21"Oh, here's a sensible person, here's a druid".
0:25:21 > 0:25:25It's, "Here's a druid, bit of a laugh, you know, a nutter.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26What you think about that?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Well, Stonehenge has a attracted a lot of eccentrics,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32both in the field of science, and mysticism, and druidry.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33So, you don't mind that?
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Well, I do mind, because the Druid tradition is very ancient,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40it has a great deal to offer to the modern world,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44especially as we go into this transition of climate change.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47We as the people of earth have to find a new way forward,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and there's nothing new-age about that.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I'm not sure I've got the right clothes to be a Druid.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56No problem, we'll dress you in the robes of a bard.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58So, that would be, a bard would be a, sort of, poet?
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Essentially, the bard's manifested in society as poets and artists
0:26:02 > 0:26:05who would travel and share the news, early journalists, in fact,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Passing news between the tribes.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I'd have thought I'm a shoe in for that, aren't I?
0:26:20 > 0:26:21Come on, John.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24How do I look?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26You look good. Follow me.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Right, so, we're taking part in a ceremony, are we?
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Is that the idea?
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- Well, I'd like to walk you through what happens in a ceremony.- OK.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Firstly, we've entered a great place that belongs to the ancestors.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43Yes.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46So, a silent pause, hello, ancestors.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Hello, ancestors.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Do I have to say it or just think it?
0:26:49 > 0:26:51You can think it or say it out loud.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53- Can I bang the drum? - Absolutely, if you want to.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Right, give me a bit more of a sense that I'm taking part.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58We're loud and proud, and slightly crazy at Stonehenge.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02So we do it for real, but we don't do it with great reverence.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03We're loud and have fun.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Right, OK, you shout out welcome and I'll do the drum.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- OK.- Yeah, go on.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Welcome to Stonehenge, everybody.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13We are here this day to celebrate
0:27:13 > 0:27:16being in the presence of the ancestors.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Shortly after the turning of the year of autumn equinox.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25- Well done.- OK, is that all right? - Absolutely.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28And what do you do when you're not a druid?
0:27:28 > 0:27:32When I'm not a druid, I work full-time as an IT consultant.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Oh, right, so, behind every IT consultant is a possible Druid?
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Quite likely.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40That's great.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Oh, well, back to work.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Time for my photo.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Ordinary tourists, if I can say that,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49can't get as close to the stones as I can -
0:27:49 > 0:27:50special permission.
0:27:50 > 0:27:56So, I'm going to take advantage of that and take my iconic photo.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58And there it is,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02the great, immovable monument of Neolithic Britain,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05that's not quite as immovable as you might think.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Next time, my journey continues west along the coast,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13to Dorset and Devon.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17I'll be fossil hunting and milling my own flour in Lyme Regis,
0:28:17 > 0:28:23and trying my hand at a spot of heavy horse farming near Barnstaple.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I think I'm a natural.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd