Episode 11 Britain's Heritage Heroes

We're travelling across the UK on a mission.

All over the country, our heritage is at risk.

Ancient buildings and monuments are under threat of demolition.

Valuable arts and crafts are on the brink of extinction.

And our rich industrial heritage is disappearing fast.

We're scouring town and country in search of the nation's unsung heroes,

determined not to let our heritage become a thing of the past.

Today, we see how "money for old rope" is being well spent.

And meet the people working to keep carnival madness alive.

On this journey, we're uncovering the hidden treasures of our country,

treasures that are certainly worth fighting for.

And meeting heritage heroes saving Britain at risk.

It's the start of our journey through the south-west of England,

starting here, at the pier at Swanage,

and ending up at the pier in Newlyn in Cornwall.

On this journey, we explore the glorious south-west of England.

From Swanage, we make our way westward through Dorset, Somerset and Devon.

Our final destination is the western tip of England, Cornwall.

Today, we'll be taking in some of Dorset's stunning beauty spots

and winding up in sunny Somerset to experience the fruits of our heritage.

But first, the seaside.

A lot of our seaside towns have been having problems, haven't they?

Because over the years,

people have gone to Spain and places like that. Greece.

But when the weather's like this, John, they THRIVE.

And where would a seaside town be without its pier?

They do take looking after,

and there's been some real disasters in the last few years of piers burning down, haven't there?

And falling into decay. Not being loved any more.

But this one has a feature.

-Yeah, so we hear. Shall we go and have a look at it?

-Mmm.

Swanage Pier opened to the public in 1896.

Built to replace an earlier pier,

it became hugely popular with day-trippers

visiting the town on the great passenger steamers.

By 1966, the steamer service had stopped,

and over the next 30 years,

the pier fell in to a terrible state of disrepair.

Fortunately, in 1993, the Swanage Pier Trust took it over.

They began raising the £1 million needed

for long overdue restoration work.

This is obviously in far better state of repair, John,

than the old pier that's out there.

Oh, yeah. I wonder if they'll ever restore that one?

-It's more of a relic, isn't it?

-They've got a big job.

-Yeah.

Despite appearances, a massive £180,000 is needed each year

to continue essential restoration works.

One group putting a huge amount of pennies in the pot

is the local dive school, the oldest in the UK.

Owner Pete has been diving here for 28 years,

and is still as passionate as ever about the pier.

-Ahoy there! How are you?

-Good. You?

-Cheers.

-Climb aboard.

-Thank you.

Let's go and have another closer look at this pier.

Who wouldn't want to be on the water on a day like this, Pete?

It's fantastic. It's a bonus at this time of year.

When John and I were walking up to the pier,

I was amazed at just how many divers are flocking here.

It's a real Mecca on the South coast, isn't it?

If you know about diving, scuba diving,

Swanage is your first destination in sea water.

What do you find under here?

To anyone looking at it, you'd think, "Oh, it's just an old pier."

-Just a wooden structure.

-But for you, it's another world.

Early season, we'll see the spider crabs come in their thousands,

and they will come under the pier to breed.

We get cuttlefish,

down to different plants and species that are unique to these structures.

-Now, obviously, it's been under threat.

-Yeah.

A lot's being done to actually try and reverse that trend.

How far are we along the process?

What they've done is stabilised what we've got, which is fantastic.

We've had new piles driven in. It's like an ongoing thing.

For every ten piles they replace, there's another 20 to do.

But when you dive in and see how much is wearing away,

they've got a problem with the gribble worm,

and it's actually eating the pier alive.

Did you say "gribble worm"?

Yeah, it's a wood-boring worm

that is attacking that pier as we look at it now.

How important is the diving business to the economy of this pier,

to its viability, to keeping it going?

Without the divers, the dive shop bringing the people in,

the pier wouldn't survive.

It'd certainly take away the divers,

and I think you could kiss goodbye to the structure.

Another way the pier is raising funds

is through their personalised sponsored brass plaque scheme.

So far, it's raised an impressive £40,000 towards restoration work.

Pier master Russ has been encouraged

by the incredible support people have shown.

How many have you got already?

-8,200.

-8,200?!

-Let's look at some.

I didn't think it was that many!

"A little mischievous."

-How about that?

-That's right, yeah.

Tom and Vic got engaged here on 9th May 2003.

-There you go.

-The funny thing was, we did...

The Essex boys and girls, what do they love on this pier?

THEY LAUGH

-"Happy times, happy holiday".

-They are funny things.

One of the most poignant ones is this one here.

Oh, actually on the bench itself?

It's on one of the benches that the Infantry division from America

purchased this bench in memory

of the men who lost their lives on Omaha Beach.

It says, "To men of the 26th Infantry,

"US First Division here prior to landing

"on Omaha Beach D-Day 1944."

And can anybody have a plaque on the pier?

Anyone can purchase a plaque on the pier, yes.

It's just via donation,

which we can get a grant aid for, that sort of thing.

I think we could stretch to a plaque.

We like this pier, don't we?

-Right. Well, it's a lovely gesture, John.

-Isn't it?

And just think, Jules.

We're now on Swanage Pier for posterity.

-Part of its ongoing heritage.

-Yeah.

I mean, it's good to know, isn't it,

that this pier is not going to follow so many others

and just disappear because of neglect?

-But it does beg a question...

-Mm-hmm.

Who's going to come back and polish it?

There we are.

Brilliant. Come on.

HIGH-PITCHED: What do you think of Swanage, John?

-It's better than Marbella.

-You take me to all the best places.

Back on the road, we're heading north,

from Dorset's delightful coast to its charming countryside.

You know, over the years, Jules, we've both made films, haven't we?

All sorts of different films about rural skills.

Have you ever fancied having a go at one properly?

Greenwood, that's what I want to do.

You know, hurdle-making, fence-making, that sort of thing.

Coppicing. It's such an ancient art,

-and I love that you can produce things that you can use at home, effectively for nothing.

-Yeah.

Deep in the Dorset countryside near Farrington,

a centre for rural skills opened in 2003.

Its aim is to tackle the skill shortage in traditional building

and other rural craft.

Founder Rob Buckley got a grant to set up the centre

so he could pass on the skills that he's mastered

over the last 30 years.

We run courses in hurdle-making, blacksmithing, hedge-laying,

lime plastering.

All the rural skills that we could see

were dying out, because now we have generations of people

who are skilled with these crafts,

but they're not being passed on to younger people.

Do the twist.

Peter Moors has been a forester for 15 years.

He's skilled in the ancient craft of hurdle-making

and is keen to pass on his expertise.

Make sure it's right down and level.

Twisting motion.

That's brilliant.

Great stuff.

Hurdle-making, I know from history

that it's actually a 5,000 year old skill.

That's it.

I firmly believe that these skills should be passed on,

because as such an ancient craft,

and an ancient skill and form of management of our local woodlands,

to lose that would be an absolute tragedy.

The skills need to be passed on

so that younger people can manage the woods

and enjoy the woods as much as I do.

Getting there.

'It's been really enjoyable, you know, doing something completely different.

'I've been doing other courses,'

lime, cob building, straw bale building.

It's all really great, totally hands-on all the way.

I love learning in this kind of way.

That end is now locked in by those two.

And then as this one is woven along,

-it locks in the previous one.

-Yeah.

-Understand?

-Cool, yeah.

-It's neat, isn't it?

-Yeah.

'There's a lot of benefits

'to increasing the usage of the countryside.'

It's a place where people need to be able to work and earn a living

so that they can stay in the countryside

and keep the countryside alive.

It's really great to see the centre teaming up with young people,

keen to re-connect with crafts so essential to country life.

Next, we're headed an hour west through Dorset towards West Coker,

in stunning Somerset.

Well, here we are in Somerset on a fantastic day.

And what a view, John!

And if you look carefully down there, that, to me, looks like

-a ploughing competition. How about that?

-You're absolutely right!

It's not often that we get to wear our shades on the show, is it?

True enough.

# Bring me sunshine all the while

# Bring me laughter

# In your smile... #

Bring me Somerset!

Come on. Who's driving?

-You.

-Right.

Have you ever wondered where the phrase,

"money for old rope", comes from?

-Go on.

-I read about it the other day.

It comes from the days of the hangmen,

-when they used a new rope for each hanging...

-Ah!

..and then afterwards, they got rid of it.

In fact, they became kind of souvenirs, these ropes,

so they used to chop bits off and sell it.

-Curious people!

-Bit macabre, isn't it?

-Yes.

So that was "money for old rope".

Here in Somerset, West Coker was once famed for its twine and sail works.

The twine produced here stitched local sailcloth known as Coker canvas.

It played a key role in Britain's great naval success,

providing strong sails

to carry Britain's growing fleets around the world.

By 1890, the cottage industry

grew to be the biggest employer in the village,

with five twine works giving jobs to hundreds of people.

On the edge of West Coker lies Dawes Twine Works,

the last of its kind.

Production stopped here in 1968.

Abandoned and exposed, it soon began to crumble.

Keen not to see their proud heritage lost,

locals formed a trust to preserve the works

and create an interactive social history centre.

We've come to meet Ross, who's heading up the project.

Ah!

This must be the place.

A-ha! Oh, yeah!

-It does look, how do you say it? A little run-down.

-It does, doesn't it?

Ross! Welcome. How very nice to see you, sir.

-Nice to see you.

-Oh, Ross. Yes.

So, this is Dawes Twine Works.

-But it's obviously seen better days, Ross?

-Yeah, that's exactly right.

And there's a fantastic national organisation

called The Carpenter's Fellowship.

And they came here, and they straightened this building for us.

So, you may think it looks bad now, but...

you should have seen it then.

Well, obviously sailing ships and rope go together,

but why a rope works here, so far from the sea?

That's a really good question. The reason is the geology.

The middle Jurassic rocks that we have here

are fantastic for growing flax and hemp.

And that was the basic materials, of course,

for your sail cloth, and for your rope and twine.

And that's why the whole business came and built up here.

-Can we have a look around?

-Of course you can.

It would be an absolute pleasure.

Why is this building so long, Ross?

Because it's really important, when you're making twine,

that you don't want to have joins, cos joins are a point of weakness.

And so that's why this building is a hundred yards long,

because you don't want joins in the rope.

So if we come here,

back in the day when it was in full swing,

we'd have seen swathes of twine running up and down the length of this building,

a bit like a sort of cat's cradle, presumably.

Absolutely.

Your pillars don't look very safe, actually.

No, no, but I promise you the scaffolding is good.

You walk around an awful lot. There's a lot of gap between them and the floor.

What's this? Is this part of the process?

Absolutely. This is a vital part. This is the cable that's attached to drums down there,

but actually keeps the tension, because we had,

running through here, the twine was revolving on the drums.

-That was original, then?

-Yes, that's original.

And the twine was kept up on what... on these rakes.

And there's some of the original twine still here.

So you can actually see what was being made.

-It still doesn't break.

-And that's been made in the Sixties?

-Yes, that's made in the Sixties.

-Wow.

It was thirsty work.

They did quite a lot of drinking.

The average man would start about half past seven,

and come here and drink two pints of cider.

So they drank that before breakfast?!

Breakfast would be bread and cheese and two pints of cider.

They drank wine grade cider.

And they'd be drinking seven or eight pints of that a day.

A steady supply of cider back in those days

was undoubtedly the answer to,

and cause of, many of its employees' problems.

So much so that workers were paid 20% of their wages in tokens,

which could only be redeemed for food in local shops.

Neil Evans is a fifth generation twine worker.

His family took over the works before the demise of the industry.

With one of his family heirlooms,

Neil can show us how to ball a yard of twine.

What a wonderful-looking machine, Neil!

Good morning. Indeed, yes.

-What you doing?

-I'm balling a ball of twine.

It's come in from the factory,

and the final stage of manufacture is to prepare it for sale.

And this machine, is it original?

Yes. Probably 1860, 1870.

Been in our factory ever since then,

apart from the spells it's had in the cottages where the ladies would do this at home.

-Oh, this was a cottage industry, was it?

-Very much so.

-Making the twine balls?

-Yes.

And it looks to be in pretty good working order, still.

Yep. So far, so good.

And how important do you think it is

that an example of this kind of industry should be preserved?

I think there are so few factories left in England,

that to have the opportunity of a complete,

unrestored Victorian factory, to bring it back to, you know,

to its working unit, would be tremendous.

And to show people a vanished, or vanishing, skill?

Absolutely, yes. Would you like to have a go?

-Can I?

-Yeah, by all means.

Ha! What, doing a ball of twine?

-Yes.

-Right, well.

How do I start?

-Right, now. Put a bit of tension on there.

-Yeah.

Let it run through your fingers without burning.

-Put this foot...

-On the treadle.

-Yeah, on the worn bit there.

-Oh, the worn bit. Right.

And just turn that with your right hand.

-That way?

-Yep.

Operate the treadle.

-That's it.

-Oh, I see.

That has changed direction.

And back up again.

You're moving your foot gently all the time, up and down. OK?

To finish off the ball, keep the treadle pressed right down,

and spin it till you get a complete covering.

-Come back up. Lovely. Oh, what a star!

-Oh, no, no!

Looking a reasonable shape.

It is indeed, yes.

Right, that's fine.

-Right, wow!

-Well done.

-A ball of twine!

-Yes, indeed.

Done with my own foot and hand!

HE LAUGHS

Well, this is what it's all about, Jules.

The twine that held the nation together.

But just think about it, John. Rewind back to the late eighteenth century.

It's the time of Wellington and of Nelson,

when the foundations of Empire are being put down all over the world.

But, of course, we couldn't have done that without ships and canvas and twine.

And now they've got the funding to keep this place going,

and to restore it.

But how long do you think it's going to take?

-How long's a piece of string?

-About a hundred yards.

Now, what is Somerset famous for, amongst other things?

-SOMERSET ACCENT: The Worzels.

-The Worzels.

-Cider!

-Yes!

-SOMERSET ACCENT:

-Somerset cider.

And now, cider brandy.

There's Somerset cider brandy now.

There's been a bit of a fuss about it.

-Some EU members objected to the name, would you believe?

-No!

-Especially Spain!

-Really?

-Yeah.

Anyway, the EU have now ruled in favour

of Somerset cider brandy. It can be called cider brandy.

So, it's up there with Cornish pasties...

Yeah.

..Stilton cheese.

Maybe we'll have a little tipple.

As you're driving,

I'll try and bring you back a sample for later consumption.

-For later on.

-An analysis. All right?

For the past 20 years,

at his farm in Burrow Hill,

Julian Temperley has been working hard

to revive the ancient Somerset treasure of cider brandy.

He's got one of the biggest ancient orchards in the country,

with no less than 40 different varieties of vintage cider apple.

Each year, they harvest and press around 1,000 tonnes of apples.

Half is made into cider,

but the other half is matured in small barrels for up to 20 years

to become cider brandy.

After a four-year battle with the EU,

Julian can legally call his product Somerset Cider Brandy.

-Congratulations on your victory, Julian.

-Thank you.

Somerset Cider Brandy no longer at risk?

Yes. We are now, at long last, totally legal.

And how long have you been making it for?

We've been making cider for somewhere in excess of 40 years,

and distilling for the last 23 years.

But how long in the county has it been made for?

Cider distilling has always been part of the cider-making tradition.

And I have here a book from 1678,

and it has "The Making Of Brandy".

"And you may, after due fermentation, extract Spirits..."

-"Very vulgarly called Brandy"!

-"Very vulgarly called Brandy".

"..Be usual for cider, when old, to burn over the fire as Claret".

So that is your proof.

That's our proof that Somerset cider brandy has been made for centuries.

And it's very important for us that this isn't some new-fangled scheme that I got up to.

It is part of the tradition of orchards,

and the story of orchards,

and that is what we are essentially selling.

I'll buy a taster.

Well, we have two here.

We have 20 years old,

and we have a ten years old.

I suppose, a ten, don't you?

-Bet it costs an arm and a leg, does it?

-Well, it is expensive.

But it is something to savour after a nice meal.

What a wonderful smell, isn't it?

-Apples?

-The orchard hits you, doesn't it?

-Yes.

-Right up your nose. If I can say that.

That doesn't sound a very epicurean way of describing it, but it does.

Well, congratulations that for many, many years to come,

-we'll be able to drink Somerset cider brandy.

-Thank you.

-Hi, Jules.

-Well, this is the closest I've got to cider brandy, John.

I've been tasting the real thing, and I've brought you a little treat.

That is a little treat. We've come to cider brandy central,

-and all you've got is a bottle that big!

-Only joking! I've got this one.

-I knew you wouldn't let me down.

-We can share it.

-Well done.

Step on it, Jules, because I've got some fun lined up for you,

15 minutes south of here at Ilminster.

What's lovely about this part of the world is that

a lot of the heritage is rooted in its people.

In the south-west, one tradition they're clinging onto is carnival.

Have you ever been in a carnival, John?

-Yeah.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

-Were you the carnival queen?

-Leeds Children's Day Carnival.

-Were you...

-Every year, we used to...

-..in a tutu?

-..a float, yeah, yeah.

Every town and village used to have its own pageants.

But they seem to be on the decline now.

The one here at Ilminster, it could be the very last year it's held.

-Yeah, that's extraordinary, isn't it?

-Which would be tragic, wouldn't it?

Carnival season runs from September to November

across 30 towns in this part of the country.

The tradition first came about

to commemorate Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

Others were to welcome home war veterans,

and some were simply a way of raising funds for the community.

This was the case with the Ilminster Carnival,

which was first held in the early 1970s.

Since then, carnivals have become a focal point,

bringing people together. For those involved,

it means 12 months of fundraising and hard work,

creating elaborate floats for their chance to shine.

With increasing costs and regulations,

the future of Ilminster Carnival and others are certainly at risk.'

-Well, this is quite a float!

-Isn't it, John?

-Enormous!

-Amazing! Look at all the lights.

-The theme of a circus!

-Try that, mate.

-D'you think it works? It works!

And look, all these spare bulbs, just in case.

Let's go and find out who owns it.

So, this is the Madness Float. Sue and Gordon.

-Hello, Sue.

-Hello.

-Gordon.

-How are you?

-It's nice to see you.

Nice to see you. Hello, Gordon.

Just putting in the finishing touches?

Yes, we are. It's nine months building this.

-Gordon, how much does this cost?

-This float is around about 15,000,

but any float really is minimum 20,000 to about £30,000.

All that money is raised by club members throughout the year.

Where else would you find club members giving up

their annual holiday to actually fundraise?

They are at threat, a lot of these carnivals.

-Yes.

-Because they're so expensive to mount.

-This one in particular.

They had an SOS about two months ago,

because this carnival was in fear that it could be the last one.

The problem is the cost now of actually putting on a carnival,

because you have to have so many marshals,

so many barriers, licenses, health and safety regulations...

-No flaming torches.

-What's this going to be today? What's the theme?

It's called the House Of Fun, based on a piece of music by Madness.

So this is our idea of what different houses of fun might be.

You don't happen to have one person short in the float, do you?

-I knew something was coming!

-Jules, you're taking my place tonight.

-You are indeed!

-Taking your place?

-Yes.

-I'm not really dressed in the...

-Not necessary. I will give you this.

Do I get to wear make-up?

Oh, yes! Fishnets? We can supply fishnets.

Let's leave the fishnets out of it, OK...

'Getting new blood into the carnival is vital for its survival.

'A project has been set up to do just that.

'At its helm is lifelong carnival lover, Andrew Tallon.'

-Is this van in the carnival, Andy?

-Yes, John.

This is the Mobile Exhibition Unit

of the Carnivals in Somerset Promotion Project.

This image you see is the most iconic cart of all time.

We've used that as the image, the magical image...

-And what's inside?

-Inside, John, is the Mobile Exhibition Unit

which depicts the history and heritage

of the Somerset Luminated Carnivals,

their economic importance, historic significance

and also their importance for the future of this rural community.

So, who d'you take the van around to show?

We take it to various rural shows, Somerset and beyond,

in the carnivals themselves, but more importantly to schools

and youth clubs through the area, to try and attract more kids

to get involved in carnival, so that they're the new generation

of carnivalites taking the tradition into the future.

There's a real sense of excitement building amongst the performers,

and I'm feeling a little nervous.

Right, let's have a pout, then.

You've done that before, haven't you?

That'll do, I reckon.

-There we are.

-I think you're good.

-I'm ready to party.

Sundown, lights up!

It's carnival time!

It's what everyone involved has been working for all year,

hoping their floats and performances will catch the judges' eye.

What a tremendous atmosphere.

It seems that just about everybody in Ilminster is lining the route

in the high street.

That is, if they're not taking part in the procession,

carnivals are always very noisy things, but somehow,

the darkness and all the lights add a whole new perspective.

MUSIC BLARES

Fred, how on earth do you judge a carnival like this?

Very difficult indeed, very difficult. But you get used to it.

What are you looking for?

Looking for the dance, the choreography,

and also how they perform. I look for excitement.

I want to see them laughing, really enjoying it, especially the make-up.

I think Jules is in here somewhere, see if we can find him.

-How do you judge that performance?

-That's not bad at all.

If he can keep it up for an hour and a half, that'd be fabulous.

-Has he got the right spirit, d'you think?

-Absolutely.

# Welcome to the lion's den

# Welcome to the House of Fun

# Welcome to the lions' den

# Welcome to the House of Fun. #

MUSIC BLARES

-John!

-Do I know you?

I'm not sure I know myself any more!

You must be exhausted.

Absolutely worn out, but what fun! I did not expect that!

I didn't think that they'd be so imaginative, the floats.

It's a really interesting experience. What a shame it would be

-if this ended or changed.

-Wouldn't it.

Everybody is having a great time, not just the people on the floats,

-but the whole town.

-Yeah. Come on, let's get a pint.

What a fantastic start to our journey across the south-west.

I was really struck with Somerset, and the people whose commitment

to rather unusual areas of our heritage is inspiring.

And I was really taken with Swanage Pier, and the passion

of the people determined to keep it standing for another 100 years.

Next time, we get leathered in one of the last tanneries in England.

Push!

And meet the people who've launched themselves

into traditional boat-building.

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