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 > 0:00:20It was in the 1860s that Francis Frith embarked upon a monumental mission
0:00:20 > 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 > 0:00:48Along the way, I will 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.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17The subject matter of Frith's photos were the British Isles,
0:01:17 > 0:01:22the towns, the resorts, the industrial landscape and,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25of course, the people.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Frith realised there was a big demand for pictures of places
0:01:28 > 0:01:30that people were visiting,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32perhaps for the first time.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34These early tourists wanted mementos
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and he was happy to oblige.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Inspired by Frith, I'm travelling around the country.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Today, I'm continuing along the south coast, from Lyme Regis
0:01:45 > 0:01:50heading up through the West Country to Exeter and Barnstaple.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53I'll be trying my hand at a spot of heavy horse farming.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55I am a natural.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Visiting the mysterious dungeons of Exeter's Guildhall.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01What a grim place.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And, of course, in true Frith style,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06making my own record of life in the UK.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10I think a smile, a smile of satisfaction.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14We begin in the beautiful county of Dorset.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Frith and his team extensively photographed the towns and villages,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22producing a vivid snapshot of Victorian life.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Our first photo was taken in Lyme Regis,
0:02:26 > 0:02:32an ancient seaport whose origins can be traced back hundreds of years.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40Ah, Lyme Regis, one of the prettiest towns in Britain.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44It's the capital of what's called the Jurassic Coast
0:02:44 > 0:02:48and there's The Cobb, that's the breakwater,
0:02:48 > 0:02:54with its heavy stones, which enabled the town to become a great port.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Now, it attracts visitors from all over the world.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01What makes this area so special
0:03:01 > 0:03:04are the millions of fossils preserved in the layers of limestone
0:03:04 > 0:03:08that make up this extraordinary coastline.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Frith took lots of pictures of Lyme Regis,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18but they were particularly concerned about capturing
0:03:18 > 0:03:22the most exciting thing about Lyme Regis, for the Victorians,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26which was the fact that this is where the fossils came from.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28So these amateur palaeontologists
0:03:28 > 0:03:30came from all over the country,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33desperate have a look at these fossils,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37and they hoped to discover a new dinosaur.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41So the picture we've chosen is of the Fossil Depot
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and here we see the proprietor,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45we see lots of bric-a-brac in the windows,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47we don't know what that is.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50This Fossil Depot wasn't just any old depot, oh, no,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53it had a royal patron,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55HRH Prince Alfred,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57the son of Queen Victoria.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Well, my first job is to find out exactly where the picture was taken
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and that's not easy.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Oh, this looks promising.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- Hello.- Hello, there.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- I wonder if you could help me? - Maybe.- Where is that?
0:04:20 > 0:04:23That, unfortunately, is no longer there.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25That was out of the door and turn right,
0:04:25 > 0:04:26just on the end where the Rock Point pub used to be.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Blast, wrong fossil shop! There are so many round here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36But it seems the one in our photo disappeared in 1913,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39as part of a road-widening scheme.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43This is where the old fossil depot was,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47but it was demolished, and what we've now got is a pub.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53I can't find the building, but what I can do is to do what lots of people do
0:04:53 > 0:04:56who come to Lyme Regis, I can go and look for a fossil.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Fossil hunting has been popular in Lyme Regis
0:05:01 > 0:05:03since the early 19th century.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Chris Andrew is an expert on finding fossils
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and he shows others how to do it.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Right, tell me what I'm looking for.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Basically, all the sort of grey coloured rocks you can see,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17they are all parts of the Blue Lias,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20the same rocks you can see in the cliffs over there.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22The most common fossil we see is ammonites,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25you can find loose belemnites in amongst the rocks.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27You will find all kinds of things as we go along.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28OK, what about this?
0:05:28 > 0:05:29What we've got here,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31we've got a small ammonite.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32I've found a fossil.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- Oh, yeah.- What about anywhere else?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- Oh, look, one over there, yes?- Yeah.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40People always want to know if you can find fossils at Lyme.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44You can always find fossils, there's always things to be found here.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46This is the ammonite graveyard, or the ammonite pavement,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49a sort of famous tourist attraction around Lyme, and you can see
0:05:49 > 0:05:53the whole surface of the limestone absolutely covered in ammonites.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- There's a lovely ammonite. - How old is that?
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- About 200 million years old.- Right.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03- Geologically not that old, but it's still fairly impressive.- Right.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05You've brought something to show.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I've brought a few bits and pieces to show you, yeah.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09If we go back to the ammonites...
0:06:09 > 0:06:13I said to you originally, ammonite people always see the coily shells
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and they always think they're some sort of snail.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18They are not snails, much more interesting than snails,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21they're related squids and octopuses and,
0:06:21 > 0:06:22if you know about it, the modern-day nautilus.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25On the front of the animal - tentacles, for catching its prey,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and we think ammonites had well-developed eyes.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Their body was only in about the outer half coil,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and all the middle part of the shell
0:06:34 > 0:06:37was divided up into little gas-filled chambers.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The animal controls the amount of gas and water in each chamber
0:06:40 > 0:06:42and he can move up and down in the sea.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45But it means when he dies, sinks to the seafloor,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47all his soft parts rot away,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50mud washes into the outer part of the shell,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54but all these chamber walls stop it going into the middle.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56So the outer part fills with mud and is well preserved,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00as more mud piles up, the centre collapses.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03What we end up with is what we have here,
0:07:03 > 0:07:08a semicircle full of mud and very little in the middle.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Now, what else have you got?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12That's part of an ichthyosaur jawbone and what you've got here,
0:07:12 > 0:07:13that's the nostril,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16the bones of the skull, the jaw coming along here,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19lower jaw here, teeth all the way along.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Wait a minute, it's sort of like that.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Like that, and that's your nostril here,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25the eye would've been much bigger on this side.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Particularly good specimen, isn't it?
0:07:27 > 0:07:29- A nice specimen, a lovely piece. - It's heavy.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Yeah, that's the fool's gold in it.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34The nice thing about it is that it hasn't been cleaned,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36that's how it was picked up on the beach.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I'm really chuffed to have found those fossils,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43but there's still one mystery from the Frith picture
0:07:43 > 0:07:44that I've not solved.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Is this strange object proudly displayed
0:07:48 > 0:07:50in front of the Fossil Depot.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Up at the museum, I'm hoping local historian Ken
0:07:53 > 0:07:54will be able to shed some light.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00This museum has been here for nearly 100 years.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01And is it all about fossils?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03No, we're very strong on fossils,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06but we've got quite a lot of other history in Lyme Regis as well.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10You're going to tell me, I hope, about this particular photograph,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and what's this thing in front of the shop?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15That's the shoulder bone of a whale.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18If you look down there, we've still got it.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Hey, presto, there we are, revealed!
0:08:20 > 0:08:24It was found amongst the rocks by one of the Curtis family,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26who were fishermen.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29One of the Curtis family had that shop
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and he displayed the whalebone outside of it.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35When the shop was pulled down in 1913,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38they kept the whalebone in the family.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44It was inherited by a distant relative of mine about 12 to 14 years ago
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and he has actually loaned it to the museum.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- You must be proud of this.- Oh, yes. - Family heirloom.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55So that's the final piece of the jigsaw.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Frith and his team were anxious to capture
0:08:57 > 0:08:59some of the mystery and magic of Lyme Regis.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03I'm now going back to the beach to do the same in our modern times.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08OK, when I say go, you remove yourself.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- I will very gently move back, yeah. - I hope that stays there.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13I hope that stays there as well, or my colleague will kill me.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15OK, an expensive fossil ruined.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- Yeah.- OK, take your hand off.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20There we go.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Here is my picture of the ichthyosaurus fossil,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30perched precariously on top of some stones.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34It is extraordinary to think that 200 million years ago,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37this little dinosaur would've been happily
0:09:37 > 0:09:38swimming around, right here.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44The Frith picture I'm interested in next
0:09:44 > 0:09:46is also taken in Lyme Regis,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49on the banks of the River Lym.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54This is the industrial part of Lyme.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01When this was taken, there were about 13 mills in this area.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06So you can see the interest of this picture is that the River Lym,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09which Lyme Regis gets its name from, is going down here,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14but this is the water that comes down here
0:10:14 > 0:10:17to turn the mill wheel.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21So it is a very interesting old picture of how,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26for hundreds of years, Lyme was a centre for milling.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Local historian Martin Roundell Greene
0:10:29 > 0:10:32will show me where the picture was taken.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Well, I think that building there,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38on the left, with three windows,
0:10:38 > 0:10:39is that building there.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Next building is the same, and then at the end is a thatched building
0:10:43 > 0:10:44which was the Angel Inn.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46That red-tiled building is the Angel,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48well, it was the Angel pub
0:10:48 > 0:10:50until it closed a few months ago.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And the building on the right, you can see there.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57So, actually, an enormous amount of this is still here,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59although it looks completely different, doesn't it?
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- Yes.- Now, what went wrong, why did the whole industry collapse?
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It was about the end of the 19th century,
0:11:06 > 0:11:11grain came in from Canada, there were roller mills built at the ports,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and little town mills were struggling by that time.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But there is one mill left, the Town Mill,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21which is the only working
0:11:21 > 0:11:23watermill in Lyme.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27It ground to a halt in 1927, but...
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Only in 1927?
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Yes.- So not that long ago, there was a mill here.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The Town Mill dates back to 1340.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Recently, it was saved and restored by local volunteers.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It was, and still is, a flour mill.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Steve White, one of the current millers,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50is going to teach me the ancient art of producing stone-ground flour.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55OK, John, what we're now going to do is take some wheat
0:11:55 > 0:11:58and put it into this wooden hopper, this wooden box here.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- Right, OK. It's heavy, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03OK, that goes in there.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10The mill is still powered in exactly the same way as it always was,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14by a big waterwheel, turned by the mill stream.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17As you can see, there's lots of water in the wheel, but it isn't turning.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20What we need to do is walk the wheel.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Put your foot in there for me, please, onto the stone.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- Put my foot in it. OK.- Yeah.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29And push your foot forward, time and time again.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32OK, it's going.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36And that will be starting to turn the waterwheel.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41- OK, I think that's enough now.- Oh, right. Oh, it's starting, isn't it?
0:12:41 > 0:12:42- Yeah.- OK.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48What's happening now is, the wheat is being knocked into the middle of the stone.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52The stones are milling it finer and finer,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and eventually, the flour will be coming out around the edge.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Those two stones in there don't actually touch one another.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03The entire weight of the top stone is supported on a shaft and a bearing
0:13:03 > 0:13:06that goes down to the floor below.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08There's an adjustment, which gives you your quality of flour.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- How fine the flour is?- Absolutely.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14If you adjust it so that the quality is too fine
0:13:14 > 0:13:17and the two stones touch together,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20they bind together and you grind to a halt.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21That's where the phrase comes from?
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Yes, it's an old milling term we all use.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So there's my flour coming down the spout.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33All I've got to do now is to weigh it and bag it.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Wait a minute, that's right, isn't it? There is...
0:13:39 > 0:13:45One bag of stone-ground, wholemeal, organic, brown, plain,
0:13:45 > 0:13:46traditionally-ground flour.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- Which I have ground. - Indeed, you did.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It's time for my photo.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54I want to concentrate on the man behind the mill.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Steve White keeps the wheels turning and he's my hero.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01I think a smile, a smile of satisfaction.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04OK. Are you ready? Great.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12Pride in the past, that's what really matters at the new
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and old mill here in Lyme Regis.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21This is the Frith picture of the old industrial part of Lyme Regis,
0:14:21 > 0:14:23which the tourists wouldn't normally have seen,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25and this is my picture
0:14:25 > 0:14:28of what the tourists now do see in Lyme,
0:14:28 > 0:14:30which is, of course, the old mill
0:14:30 > 0:14:32and the miller Steve.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34It's interesting, when he started his career,
0:14:34 > 0:14:40it was as an engineer and he just likes being near old machines.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49I'm travelling across the country to tell the story
0:14:49 > 0:14:53of Britain's First Photo Album, tracing the footsteps of pioneer photographer
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Francis Frith and his team.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I'm moving on to Exeter,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59the county town of Devon.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02The picture which interests me
0:15:02 > 0:15:04is of Exeter High Street,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06taken in 1896.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09What makes the photo more poignant is that this city was
0:15:09 > 0:15:13badly damaged by German air raids in the Second World War.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18A quarter of Exeter was destroyed by the bombing,
0:15:18 > 0:15:24but some very good buildings still remain in Exeter, and particularly
0:15:24 > 0:15:27the one that I'm interested in, which is the Guildhall
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and that's where I'm going.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Even 120 years ago, when this photo was taken,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36the Guildhall stood out as a reminder of an earlier age.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41Historian Todd Gray gives me a glimpse of its fascinating history.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- Hello.- Very nice to meet you.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Tell me about this wonderful building.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Well, it's the oldest serving Guildhall in the country.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52It's an extraordinarily rich building
0:15:52 > 0:15:55and it is one which the city loves.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58So how old is the building that we can see in front of us?
0:15:58 > 0:15:59Well, the front bit is 1590s.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03There's been a little bit of repair, but not much,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06because Exeter didn't have much money in the 19th century.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09So we kept, basically, what we had and this is why it's so important.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11We can see what it's always been like.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- It is how it's been for hundreds of years.- Yes.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- It's always looked like this. - It looks very grand at the moment.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22A Guildhall was the meeting place of the trade associations known as guilds.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25The Exeter Guildhall has been a town hall, a police station
0:16:25 > 0:16:29and a prison, but perhaps its most interesting role
0:16:29 > 0:16:35was that of a court, where harsh punishments were meted out in the 17th century.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39One of the judges became a byword for cruelty.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45Well, Judge Jeffreys comes down to, basically, stop a great insurrection.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50- So he's the notorious horrible judge?- He's still a hate figure.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54He's the worst, most frightening judge that's ever worked in Britain.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Well, supposedly, he had medical issues which made him
0:16:57 > 0:16:59a bit grumpier than normal.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02But he'd be up here, and this would be the court.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05It was the court, the prisoners come in from behind us,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07they're arraigned on the left.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11The judge sits down and then he pronounces
0:17:11 > 0:17:17some sort of awful punishment for crime.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22So he would say, "You will be hanged by the neck until you're dead."
0:17:22 > 0:17:23Grim.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27What would be the most trivial offence that you might be hung for?
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Stealing a sheep would instantly be a death sentence,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32unless they were transported.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34What were the public thinking at the time,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36what were the town leaders thinking?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39You have to remember, there's very loose political control,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42there's hardly any police anywhere.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48So the state is very supportive of a structure which intimidates people into behaving.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53Exeter Guildhall has a comprehensive archive dating back 800 years.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57It contains some fascinating descriptions of cases tried here.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01This particular one, I think, you're going to love.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05"This year, the Mayor was much troubled after the punishment
0:18:05 > 0:18:07"of one Joan Luter,"
0:18:07 > 0:18:09who we go on to read is "a very strumpet and harlot."
0:18:09 > 0:18:15- And what year is this?- This is 1524. - Right, now, what happens to her?
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Her followers do not agree that she should go to jail,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21so they attack the Mayor.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25- And why don't they think she should go to jail?- She's too beautiful.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Perfectly good reason. And where do they take her?
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Well, at this time, there's one place,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35which was then called The Pit, and we would say it's a dungeon.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36Prisoners such as Joan Luter
0:18:36 > 0:18:39would have had a hard time at the Guildhall.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43The dreadful dungeon, or pit as it was known,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46was used to incarcerate the prisoners.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49I'm only visiting, but you can quickly get the idea.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- Charming, isn't it? - What a grim place.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55It hasn't been used for some time.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59It hasn't been used for a few hundred years for this purpose.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- Hardly anyone goes down here, you can see why.- Yeah.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06But at the time, we know people were down here for, well,
0:19:06 > 0:19:0840 days, 40 nights.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10These would be cells, would they?
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Well, if you were a violent prisoner, you were manacled down here
0:19:14 > 0:19:17and if you weren't, you were just allowed to, well,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20walk around as much as you can.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21It's just so powerful, isn't it?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24You come here and you think, "I can imagine it."
0:19:24 > 0:19:26I can't believe I would do very well in these conditions.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29And this would be another cell.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It's the mustiness, the damp that's so grim, isn't it?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Well, if you can imagine the sewage from the streets,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41just sort of seeping down in and coming up from the earthen floor as well.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42And a lot of the time,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46the prisoners here would be in complete darkness, wouldn't they?
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Yes, there's a tiny little grate above,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51to let in a bit of light, but that's it.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54So let's switch off our torches.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- You get some feeling for it here, don't you?- Nightmarish.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00This is nightmarish.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Oh, horrible, isn't it?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Just the idea that you'd be stuck here for so long.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11- And you think, night after night after night... Terrifying. - A nightmare.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Well, I think I've seen enough.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19I want to escape, I want to go, back to the light.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Well, that's a relief to be out of there
0:20:21 > 0:20:25and taking my picture of Exeter High Street.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31I'm trying to do something along the lines of the Frith photograph
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and that's the theory of photography, really.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36You draw the eye in along the road,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39you start on this building, which is interesting,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and where does it go to?
0:20:41 > 0:20:44So there's a bit of moving from left to right.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Anyway, that's my excuse.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47This is the moment.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52And there it is.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56The old Guildhall, still standing, moody and magnificent.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Exeter's modern prosperity is based on the coming of the railways.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06When the railway came, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09an MP stood up in the House of Commons and said,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13"This morning, I was in Exeter."
0:21:13 > 0:21:16And a thrill went through the chamber,
0:21:16 > 0:21:22to think that someone could travel so quickly between Exeter and London.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24So what's my take on Exeter?
0:21:24 > 0:21:25We've got the Frith photograph,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28which we've talked about.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29Very nice photograph.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30I'm trying to better it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Mine isn't, I don't think, as good,
0:21:33 > 0:21:34but you can see all the detail,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38and what is astonishing, once again in one of these photographs,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40really how much remains.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The key point - the Guildhall, the lovely Guildhall is there,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45given lots of prominence by me.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49And as in the Frith picture, we're talking about a real scene.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51These people are walking about, doing their business,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53as they were in the old photograph.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57But it's a rather handsome picture, why?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Because it's got a very handsome building in the middle of it.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09I'm now leaving the busy streets of Exeter
0:22:09 > 0:22:11and heading just a few miles away
0:22:11 > 0:22:13into the Devon countryside.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18My final Frith photo was taken
0:22:18 > 0:22:21in the farmland just outside Barnstaple.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28This is a very typical Devon road, with the sunken roads
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and great big bushes on both sides.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34My mother used to live near here for about 20 years.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37I was brought up in the countryside, so it always gives me
0:22:37 > 0:22:41just a bit of a thrill to say we're going to the real country
0:22:41 > 0:22:43and we're going to a real farm.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Jonathan Waterer runs a heritage farm
0:22:48 > 0:22:52that uses heavy horses and traditional machines to work the land,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56just as they did in Victorian times.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- This is a photograph by the Victorian photographer Frith.- Yes.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05- Now, this is agricultural life in the late-19th century.- Sure.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- Now, a lot of this, you're familiar with, aren't you?- Yes.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Until two or three years ago, we used hay tethers just a little bit more modern than that,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16but exactly the same idea,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20exactly the same machine, and we used them for years and years.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22What do you think about the horse though?
0:23:22 > 0:23:26To be honest, he's nothing like as healthy as yours to look at.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Well, what we've got to remember is years ago,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31when people were really working horses, they were a machine to them.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Times were hard, they had to make money
0:23:34 > 0:23:37and horses probably didn't get quite the feed,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40or if they did, they certainly worked very hard.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42But you get the impression from this photograph
0:23:42 > 0:23:46that the person taking the photograph wants to say, "Isn't the country wonderful?"
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Now, there's an element of that, isn't there?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51- When we're here, thick townies, like I am now...- Sure.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54..we sort if think, "Oh, isn't it wonderful?"
0:23:54 > 0:23:58When I'm on my own and it's pouring with rain and I've got to get dung out,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00or whatever, there's quite an element of worry...
0:24:00 > 0:24:04- So it's tough in paradise?- It is.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- Look, we've got to get on with muck spreading.- That's it. - Right, OK.- Right.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10That's pretty tough. It's not exactly romantic, is it?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Well, I suppose it isn't, really.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- No. It's just got to be done, hasn't it?- Well, let's get on.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17- I've got a very antique tractor here.- Right.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20You'll have to excuse the look of it, but it does operate.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- OK.- We'll load this up.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Jonathan isn't averse to using some more modern equipment
0:24:26 > 0:24:28to help him manage his 90-acre farm.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33By the end of the 18th century,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36the agricultural revolution in Britain was well under way.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It was spurred on by the increase in the population,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43by mechanisation and by crop rotation.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The sun shone and the farmers made hay.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Whoa...
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Right, well done.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01In the photograph, the Frith photograph,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03what are they doing there?
0:25:03 > 0:25:04What time of year is it?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07OK, it's probably June and they would be haymaking.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10All right, now, what are we going to do this afternoon?
0:25:10 > 0:25:14OK, well, we're going to spread some manure dung
0:25:14 > 0:25:17onto the field here to help make the grass grow.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19OK. But in Victorian times, as it were,
0:25:19 > 0:25:24some months after that photograph, they would've been doing the same thing?
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- That's right.- This is exactly the same process...
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- There is nothing different at all. - ..as they would've done? - Absolutely the same.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31We might have all big tractors and so on today,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33but it's all the same process, just in a modern way.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36And this is an in-between modern way.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Bob, Sam, go on, get on.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Good boys, go on.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46By the time of the Frith photograph, Victorian manufacturers
0:25:46 > 0:25:52had designed an enormous range of horse-drawn agricultural machinery,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55from ploughs and cultivators to rakes and manure spreaders.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57All these were used
0:25:57 > 0:26:01until tractors largely replaced horses in the 1930s.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Now, all that would be understandable for a Victorian farmer,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09but what would he find surprising?
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Well, of course, if he came back today, the countryside is empty, isn't it?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15There are so few people working in the countryside on farms.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This farm is what, 90 acres,
0:26:17 > 0:26:22there would probably have been three or four people working on this farm in Victorian times.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- People have gone to the towns. - They have.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- The country is sort of empty, in a way.- It is. It is, sadly.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32- Yeah, sadly.- 'Well, I think it's time for me to take the reins.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35'After all, I was brought up in the country.'
0:26:35 > 0:26:37I think I'm a natural.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Come on, boys.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- How do we stop them? - Do you want to stop yet?
0:26:41 > 0:26:45No, no, you carry on, but when we have to stop them, how are we going to stop them?
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- I'll tell them to whoa, eventually. - Tell them to whoa. 0K.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52'There is something very special about life on a farm
0:26:52 > 0:26:57'and I can see exactly what drew the Frith photographer
0:26:57 > 0:27:01'to take his picture of a similar scene all those years ago.'
0:27:01 > 0:27:05The happy farmer. That's very good, with some lovely, happy horses.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12My picture is, in a way, like the old Frith picture.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It's a townie's version of life in the country.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20In the Victorian picture, you can see that most people here
0:27:20 > 0:27:24are in the town, but there are still the people in the countryside,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and it's bathed in sunlight.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30But we know that life was hard on the farm
0:27:30 > 0:27:33and I'm trying to get across the same idea in my picture.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Yes, we've got some lovely sunshine here,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40we could have taken it right there in the sunshine, but I didn't.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I wanted to show there was a darker side to life in the country,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45that it can also be very hard.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47So that's my picture.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Good old Jonathan, lovely horses,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54but it's not a simple view of paradise.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04For more details on Britain's First Photo Album
0:28:04 > 0:28:07and to find out about exciting events related to the series
0:28:07 > 0:28:10that are happening at museums near you this weekend, visit...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Next time, my journey continues into Wales and canal country.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24I venture deep underneath the Forest of Dean.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27This is something, isn't it? This is a magnificent cave.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30And I find out how Sunday school began
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and what the kids of Gloucester think about it today.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- Would you like to go to Sunday school?- No, not really.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd