Episode 13 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 meet farmers turning back to more traditional methods,

using Shire horses to work the land.

And we visit an historic house being transformed into a community hub.

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.

We're heading to a village on the edge of Dartmoor,

not far away now, called Hatherley.

A friend of mine used to live in Hatherley, where we're heading,

and many years ago, the vicar there wrote Onward, Christian Soldiers.

BOTH: # Onward, Christian soldiers. #

Enough! Enough! Enough!

LAUGHTER

"The soundtrack for this show is available in all good record shops!"

We're travelling pier to pier across south-west England.

We started in Dorset

then headed inland to Somerset and now we're in Devon.

Our journey's end will take us to Cornwall.

John, you could be forgiven for not seeing much of Devon

when you drive around these lanes cos look at the hedgerows,

you can't see a thing!

They're very tall. A lot of them have secret walls

hidden in the middle of them,

so when you're trying to let somebody go by, on a lane like this,

you can find yourself crashing into a wall! There's one, there!

Devon is home to five areas of outstanding natural beauty

and two national parks.

It's also the only county in the UK with two separate coastlines,

boasting over 300 miles of cliffs, bays and beaches.

Our first stop is a farm reintroducing traditional methods.

It's the home of Larry and her partner Ben.

After studying landscape and agriculture,

Ben decided to work towards creating a sustainable living.

To help achieve it, they're using Shire horses to work the land.

Shires have been used in farming since the 18th century.

But the development of agricultural machinery

was bad news for the breed.

By the 1960s, numbers had fallen from over a million

to just a few thousand.

But Ben and Larry are supporting their revival.

Great stuff, Ben. I'm Jules. Nice to see you.

-Hello, Larry. Hello, who's this?

-BARKING

-Good to see you.

-That's enough. That's enough.

-What a place!

-Thank you very much.

-And look at these, John.

-Who've we got, there?

We've got Tom, who's my main horse.

I've had him since he was two.

We've got Pip, who's now 14 or 15 years old,

and then I've got a stallion here and he's called Red.

-I've had him for about four years.

-All Shires.

-All Shires, yes.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

You are living in another moment, aren't you?

It's a bit different. It's a bit like the 1940s, really.

It's a bit like the Darling Buds of May!

How practical is all this?

Well, it works for us.

It's a 45 acre farm.

We don't make our main money out of just using horses.

We do, we have, we do other things.

I do woodland crafts and such as well, but it's our passion

and everything on our farm is centred around the horses, really.

We think it's, we kind of think it's the future.

It's a strange way of looking at it but it's the best of the past

and the best of the future really.

We've lost a lot, I think.

Is the work harder than it would've been,

if you were up to date with farming methods?

Yes, I would say it is,

but then there's the pleasure aspect to it as well.

We don't have work and rest time, we just live our lives.

There's no division between when we are working

and when we're not working, because we enjoy what we do.

But there's obviously a lot more to the farm than just the horses.

We're interested in sustainability and the whole lifestyle.

-Would you like to come and have a look round?

-Yes, please.

We'll leave them to do the mucky job.

Muck spreading.

Achieving self sufficiency has not been easy,

but by growing their own veg,

rearing pigs and chickens, they produce enough to survive on.

They're now keen to pass their knowledge on to others.

-Lots of apples.

-Yes, yes. Another good year this year.

Ben's also keen to pass on what he's learnt about Shires

and today, we're muck spreading.

-Brilliant! So simple, isn't it?

-Yes.

Such a simple machine.

And of course,

the joy is you haven't got to buy fertiliser, have you?

No, no. It's all come from the farm.

It's come from the horses themselves and the cattle.

I mean, as somebody who's promoting sustainable farming,

we talk about it as if it's the new best thing,

-but the truth is, nothing's new.

-No.

It's all been there and it's just a matter of looking back

and seeing what they did before.

A few things would have to have been brought on the farm,

lime, that kind of thing, but apart from that, it was a closed system.

It all stayed on the farm and, erm, because it had to.

People just couldn't afford not to.

That was what's so wonderful about times like even in the '40s,

during the War, because people had to make the best of what they had.

So it was actually a really efficient time.

When you look at your spreader here,

a modern spreader that you'd pull behind a big tractor

will cost you tens of thousands of pounds. What did that cost?

-It cost me £300!

-LAUGHTER

I get the impression that you invite people onto the farm

to have a look around.

Yes, we do.

We're happy to show people around

and to share what we do and share ideas.

Ben runs courses here.

He does some rural skills,

hurdle making, rustic furniture making,

charcoal burning and he teaches with the horses, as well.

What about the future? What plans have you got?

We'd just like to continue as we are,

to be able to collect more equipment.

Perhaps...we are in the process of getting a mare,

so we can breed the Shire horses.

That's very important to us at the moment.

Steady, lads.

-Hello, sir.

-That's a fabulous sight, you coming in there.

It really is.

We've been revelling in muck.

-Steady, lads.

-Well done.

-How did it go then?

-Great fun.

Really interesting to see these horses work, John.

It's lovely to get the sense of what your working day is like.

No noisy diesel engines, just the clip clop of hooves

and the sound of the traces.

We've been picking apples, haven't we?

I've had some of Larry's apple cake. Delicious, but it's all gone now.

-Maybe a pint?

-Yes, shall we go for a quick pint somewhere?

Let's go down the local.

This is certainly a lovely way to go to the pub, John.

With any luck, the horses will know their own way home.

You'd have to hope so, wouldn't you?

It is a trip down memory lane.

It's a lifestyle choice that Larry and Ben have made,

but do you think it's sustainable as a farm?

No, no, it isn't.

Realistically, if every farm in the country was like theirs,

we'd never feed the nation, would we?

But what a fantastic trip down memory lane.

I know which lifestyle I'd choose if I were a farmer.

-I'll drink to that.

-I'll drink to that too.

-Here you are, a flower for you.

-Thank you. That's plastic.

-Keep it

-for ever. Everything here's organic, apart from that.

How dare you!

On our journey across Devon, we're in search of people working hard

to make the most of what our land has to offer.

It's funny, when we think about sheep and lamb,

we tend to equate the cost of them to the meat produced,

but back in the day, it was wool that was the cash crop.

That's right.

In the days when we were an agricultural nation,

wool was on everybody's back.

Recently, prices have really dropped.

It's been costing farmers to shear their sheep

but now, I gather it might be turning a corner.

Things are looking up a little bit now.

We might see many more wool products made in Britain in the shops.

As you say, loads of products.

Felt is apparently made from wool, but I've no idea how you make it.

Felt in have you had your collar felt?

The jokes, the jokes get worse, John!

Wool felt is one of the earliest forms of textiles.

Archaeologists have unearthed fragments

dating back to the Bronze Age.

Its strong, durable qualities make it a highly versatile material.

Weaver, Yuli Somme, is keen to sing the praises

of this natural product, available on our doorstep.

I think the public should really care

about this declining wool industry.

People are beginning to be really aware

of where their food comes from and being encouraged to buy locally.

Even the supermarkets are taking this on.

I think this should be followed with this idea

that we should do the same with our textiles.

Felt can be used to make rugs, bags, brooches and even slippers.

Yuli has started a Feet Felt project,

to encourage children to enjoy using the fabric.

The Feet Felt project comes from an ancient legend

that I really like the idea of.

It was that a traveller in ancient times, several thousand BC,

was walking and protected his or her feet with wool as they walked.

The friction and the moisture from sweating,

made the wool turn into felt.

I've replicated this idea.

I work with children and adults,

dressing their feet in raw wool which I have wetted first of all.

What does it feel like?

-Weird and squishy.

-Weird and squishy.

-Do you think it's a really strange thing to do, this?

-Yes.

I mould it into their feet, two or three layers

and then I put recycled plastic bags on their feet

and they put their feet in their boots and they go for a walk.

You've got to go and walk now. Go and walk to make all this happen.

It introduces this idea to them,

that wool transforms into felt

just through this very simple, primitive process.

Look at that!

I think that's a very good thing,

that we start to use this amazing resource

that we have grazing in the fields around us.

Look at that!

With such a valuable resource around in abundance,

how satisfying to see it's got such a creative future.

Right, so, where shall I point the nose next?

Cullompton, John.

-A lovely little town.

-Isn't it just?

Lovely. In the middle of it...

Why are we heading thither?

There's a lovely Grade 1 listed building in the middle of it,

which unusually, has been gifted to the community, not the nation,

which is what normally happens with National trust properties.

Are the community using it?

Yes, I think they're putting it to quite good use.

Walronds House, sits in the centre of Cullompton

and it's remained almost untouched since it was built in 1605.

It's seen as one of the most well-preserved examples

of a merchant's town-house in the South-West of England.

But it's not going to be renovated as a museum.

The last owner, June Severn,

gifted it to the community on condition that it was used.

Even while work is going on,

it's a thriving hub where locals get together.

Jane Campbell is one of the trustees,

keen to get this house into shape to meet the community's needs.

Jane, it's not everybody that has the chance

to look after a Grade 1 listed building.

What are you doing here?

I feel very privileged because as a person who was born in the town

and has lived here for all of my life,

I feel this is a major investment for the community,

which is exactly what the previous owner was hoping.

How much was this building at risk before you took it over?

It was severely at risk.

When we go inside, you'll be able to see the plasterwork.

The rendering was removed in the 1890s

and it seemed a good idea at the time.

Unfortunately, that meant that water could penetrate

and it has penetrated and damaged the amazing plasterwork

in a lot of places.

In fact, we've had to take down a chimney.

Well, you'll see.

From the plasterwork to the windows,

every inch of this house needs attention.

You come through into the main hall with, again...

-What a fireplace, isn't it?

-Isn't it?

-Goodness me!

-This is a real gem.

What a treat to see this. 1605.

That marks the end of the Restoration.

The previous house had been burnt down in 1600/1601,

together with all the run of houses, the neighbours.

Notwithstanding the fireplace itself,

the amount of restorative work that needs to be done,

you've clearly propped everything up to keep it where it should be.

It is a worry.

Father Christmas hasn't been able to use it for at least two years.

We've taken down the chimney because it was leaking so badly

through a hole at the back.

You can see the effect that the water ingress has had.

It is collapsing very severely.

Jules likes to get his hands dirty in places like this.

-Can't wait.

-A job for him, maybe?

I can find a job, but I'm afraid it's not all that dirty

but the ladies will be so glad

if you could make tea and coffee for the mums and toddlers.

This is your fault, Craven.

You don't have to make the cake,

but you might be asked to help with the biscuits.

I won't need this. Come on, let's go and make a cup of tea.

Now then. This is clearly where I've been sent to.

Hello, ladies, how are you? I'm Jules, nice to meet you.

'Even during the restoration work, the doors have never closed.'

I can make a decent cup of tea, so I'm going to start pouring this out.

Antique fairs and mums-and-tots groups regularly meet.

The whole ethos of this community house

is down to its last owner, June Severn,

who gifted it to the Trust.

Andrea Herriot, spent five years lodging with June

and has fond memories of her and the house.

This area was closed off when I moved in,

so this was my area down here.

My bathroom and my bedroom

and then the staircase went up to where my children stayed.

I came here for 12 months.

That was the intention, but because we loved the place so much,

we ended up staying five years.

This is totally different, up here, isn't it? The attic area.

This is the room where my daughters slept.

What a wonderful bedroom.

It is absolutely fantastic, isn't it?

Every summer, we had an architects' convention that came

just to look at the floor.

It was a bit of a nightmare

when you had to move things around to let them in.

Move the toys to let them examine the floorboards.

What kind of person was June, the owner?

She was a lovely person, a little bit eccentric.

When you saw her walking around the town,

you wouldn't have taken an awful lot of notice of her exactly.

She was always there for the community.

That was her centre of attention, if you like.

She loved the idea that at some point or another,

this house would be for the community

if anything happened to her.

-It came as no surprise to them?

-No.

I think she'd be absolutely thrilled

to think that people are going to all this effort

to get the place up and running for the community.

There we go. Right.

-What a lovely smile.

-Right then, who's for tea?

Thank you.

-I think I'll come and join you, John.

-Come down to our level.

Isn't it lovely to see this place so busy,

and with another generation of people who may enjoy this building

as you're doing now?

What's it like coming to a place like this with your toddler groups?

Lovely, very nice, very interesting building.

It's not your average community centre.

This is a place with some real heritage and history,

which hopefully will rub off on these little fellas.

What fascinates me is the way that great houses like this

change their character over the centuries.

For 500 years, this belonged to a privileged family

and now it looks as though the whole town is going to be able to use it.

When you think of your average Grade 1 listed building,

these are places that one visits,

but this is one that they're determined to actually use

and put back at the centre of this community.

I think that's a really bold and inventive way to keep this going.

-It's just what the last owner wanted, isn't it?

-Nice thought, isn't it?

June Severn has left an incredible legacy here in Cullompton.

Making her a real heritage heroine.

Devon - land of thatched cottages, isn't it?

They're lovely

and a lot of them are made from a curious material called cob.

-Cob?

-Yeah, have you ever heard of it, John?

I've heard of cob nuts, cob horses.

It's a curious little mixture of horsehair, mud,

dung, on occasion, straw.

It actually binds itself into a pretty versatile building material.

With their walls built from traditional cob,

these houses add real romance to these winding lanes.

Jill Smallcombe and Jackie Abey, teach the art of building with cob

and are finding new ways of using the material to create sculptures.

Cob has... Earth building is all over the world.

About a third of the world's population still live

in earth buildings.

It's a beautiful material which has lasting qualities about it.

The house that I live in here is 500 years old.

There's over 40,000 buildings still in use in the south-west.

They have staying power.

The brilliant thing is, the reason they were built out of earth

is they were using materials that were at foot.

This versatile material

has been made in the same way for over 500 years.

And yes, in the past, cow dung did get into the mix.

The reason it had cow dung in

was not because it was an essential ingredient,

but because they used to mix it with the cows.

These days, we mix it either by hand or drive over it with a tractor.

Historically, when Jackie's house was built,

they'd put the cows in overnight and the cows would trample it

and that's how the cow dung came to be in it.

From the first day we made a cob block for our first sculpture,

-you just can't...

-Also, it's a simple technique.

It's so simple.

You mix soil, straw and water together, jump up and down on it

and then you can just hit it to create your shapes.

It's very hands on, very satisfying.

It is a viable material for the future.

It's completely sustainable and when it does eventually fall down,

it just goes back onto the ground and disappears.

You can leave no trace.

The final stop on our journey across the South-West of England

is to the outskirts of the city of Exeter.

It's funny when you think of country houses.

The great preserve of the elites of days gone by and yet now,

we have a great affection for them.

A lot of them are crumbling.

Look at that old sleeping beauty over there. Poltimore House.

-Looks as though it's seen better days, doesn't it?

-I should say so.

They said it was undergoing a bit of work

but that's more than just a bit.

Clad in corrugated iron, by the look of it.

Poltimore House has always played a prominent role in Devon's history.

This country estate has had a colourful past.

Built as a Tudor mansion in the 1550s,

it's also seen life as a girl's school and even an NHS hospital.

It's been abandoned since the 1970s,

but just over 10 years ago, a trust was set up to preserve it.

Since then, £100,000 has been spent on the house,

but a further 10 million is needed to secure its future.

Clare Donavan, is one of the many trustees now dedicated

to Poltimore's survival.

-Claire.

-Hello.

-Hello, I'm Jules, nice to see you.

-Hello, Claire.

It really is a building site, isn't it?

So much has been taken away.

The banisters, the doors.

-Come on through here.

-Where are we now then?

-Oh my goodness!

-This is a courtyard.

-This is a courtyard.

-With a roof on top.

It's surreal, with this lighting. It's like being in a film set.

Especially that bit, it looks really Gothic, doesn't it?

-This must be the Tudor bit, presumably.

-That's right.

This is... It was a three gabled Tudor range up there.

John, I don't know about you,

I'm just struck by, where do you start?

I'm looking at any one of these mullion windows, thinking,

it's a stonemason's nightmare to recut and reshape these.

Yes, a stonemason's dream, actually.

If you get the right one.

Get the money, get the right stonemasons.

All of these need to be replaced. Every part of it.

We started in 2010.

We started a campaign to give us the slate.

£3.95 will get you a small piece of this big house.

If they manage to sell all 250,000 slates,

they'll get just short of a million.

I'll buy one. Put it on the slate.

He's been building up to that for ages, you know.

There's a huge amount of work to be done,

but Poltimore is well supported.

It has over 400 friends and volunteers.

Some are from the Shilhay Project,

a charity that improves the quality of life for the homeless

and vulnerable in the area.

Ah, so here's where all the noise and activity is. Hello, mate.

-This is Marc.

-Hello, Marc, Jules, nice to see you.

Marc Colson is the project manager overseeing the work.

Had it not been for starting out here,

we got some funding from Devon Community Foundation, a small bit,

for some construction training skills earlier in the year.

To date, five people have entered employment

from taking their CSCS cards getting the skills,

learning how to put mobile scaffold towers up,

manual handing, all of those skills we've been able to use on this site.

It's not just about building the building,

it's also rebuilding people's lives, which is fantastic.

I'm looking for a plasterer called Panda. That must be you, sir.

How are you? I'm Jules, nice to meet you.

How long have you been here for?

-Six months or more.

-You're a braver man than I am.

My plastering's hopeless but you've clearly mastered the art.

I wouldn't say mastered it, but I'm getting there.

What else have you learnt here

because it's a wonderful environment to learn a range of skills.

You go for the job and they want somebody with experience.

If you've just done a 13 week course, you haven't got experience.

Coming here, it gives you experience.

One of the few things left intact in the house

is a fine example of the decorative plasterwork, stucco.

Sculptor Geoffrey Preston

is replacing some of the missing pieces of this delightful artwork.

What kind of challenge have you got here?

This room actually represents the end of the rococo period,

the rococo style.

It dates from the late 1750s, this room.

The theme of the room is these glorious flowers.

The people that did this were really artists.

This would've been an important house

and they would've looked for the top-quality artist to do them.

They would've taken a couple of years to complete this room.

For you, this is a wonderful opportunity

because you don't often get a chance like this.

It is a fantastic opportunity.

It is one of the best rooms and when you look around it,

the quality of the work, it's fabulous.

It's been a privilege to be able to be here.

Well, Jules, if ever there was a building at risk, it was this one.

They've taken on a derelict edifice.

£10 million.

I don't know if they're going to get the money, but I hope they do.

I do too. I think they'll do it. Anyway, let's press on, shall we?

What a splendid time we've had through the county of Devon.

I loved seeing the historic house in Cullompton

being transformed from a decaying building

back to the heart of the community.

For me, seeing the Shire horses in action was a real treat.

Let's hope that with more farmers turning back to traditional methods,

they have a future.

Next time, I join a group in Torquay,

keen to discover what lies behind the walls of Torre Abbey.

And I meet the volunteers on patrol along the Devonshire coast,

keeping the area's military history alive.