0:00:02 > 0:00:05Want to know about British history? You'd better get your hands dirty.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Don't bury your head in a guidebook.
0:00:07 > 0:00:08Ask a brickie,
0:00:08 > 0:00:10a chippy,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12or a roofer.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Ever since I were a boy, I've had a passion for our past so...
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I'm going to apprentice myself to the oldest masonry
0:00:19 > 0:00:21company in the country,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23mastering their crafts
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and scraping away the secrets of Blighty's poshest piles.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30From castles to cathedrals,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32music halls to mansions,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34palaces to public schools.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37These aren't just buildings,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40they're keys to opening up our past and bringing it back to life.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Today, I'm at Lambeth Palace, South London,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08the Archbishop's HQ in the nation's capital.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13'I'll be discovering the human side of our greatest kings and queens.'
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Richard III's put his own birthday.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Who hasn't done that on a calendar at home,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20just to remind the others when's his birthday?
0:01:20 > 0:01:22'Indulging in some Thameside time travel,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24'courtesy of the local mudlarkers.'
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I always quite liked this little item.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28This is like the top of a sceptre, but this was found near to here.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31- It's got some age to it, hasn't it?- Yeah.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'And preparing for a very special topping out ceremony.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:36It's going to look brilliant, isn't it?
0:01:36 > 0:01:39- It really is the icing on the cake. - Yeah, the crowning glory, yeah.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Lambeth is a bustling borough of South Central London,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50packed with over a quarter of a million people.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54But back in the 13th century, when today's building was constructed,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56this whole area would have been marshland
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and it's even got its own theme tune.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01If you're doing the Lambeth walk,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05you might as well be doing it with a lamb.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Hey-hey! Ain't no point in being sheepish.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12This famous South London borough is named after this
0:02:12 > 0:02:13woolly fellow's ancestors.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16They were brought here from local farms.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19These days, Lambeth's a bit light on livestock.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21You're more likely to find commuters, tourists,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and maybe the odd archbishop.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Baa!
0:02:27 > 0:02:29By the end of the 12th century,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Westminster had become England's seat of government,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34so the Archbishop of Canterbury,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37the Pope's representative in Blighty, decided to build a
0:02:37 > 0:02:39residence a bit closer to the action,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41on the other side of the Thames.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43And so, Lambeth Palace was born.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48A Great Hall was built alongside the Palace to entertain
0:02:48 > 0:02:51the great and the good, and it's this building that's just reached
0:02:51 > 0:02:54the end of a long-overdue makeover.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Most builders have to deal with subsidence and rising damp,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02but with Lambeth Palace, it's a bit more of a challenge.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06The Palace's Great Hall has been through the wars, literally.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09It was completely destroyed during the English Civil War
0:03:09 > 0:03:13of the 1640s and rebuilt, as you see it today, in the 1660s.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Hitler also had a good go at flattening it in World War II.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21For the last year, the guys at restoration company William Anelay
0:03:21 > 0:03:26have been working on returning the Great Hall to its former glory.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- Hello, Chris. - How are you doing, Dave?
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Do you know that this room, this building, it is breathtaking.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Yeah, absolutely beautiful.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37It's awesome in the proper sense of the word.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39I mean, the history that's occurred in this hall,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42every British monarch will have been in here.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44The history it's witnessed.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46As a builder, how does that make you feel?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Henry VIII has dined in here.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And I'm working here now.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53It's like, it humbles you almost.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It's a buzz, isn't it? It's a buzz.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58And have you been getting to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- on a daily basis?- Yeah, you see him every now and then.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05He's a really down-to-earth, friendly kind of guy, really.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07How much have you had to do here? Because it looks perfect,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10but it looks as though there's nothing been done.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- Oh, yeah, that's the secret, really.- Aye.- If you're careful,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14nobody can tell you've done anything,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16then you've done a good job.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17I think, well, basically,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20the bookcases have been extended by a couple of inches.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25It was painstaking. They've had these extension pieces fitted in.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29It's to help with the ventilation for the books, do you know,
0:04:29 > 0:04:30- so they don't go mouldy.- Yes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- So you've got like a backdraught, literally.- Yeah, yeah.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36The attention to detail's phenomenal.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- What else have you done here, Chris? - We ripped the floor up.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- It had a cork-lined floor.- No! - Yeah, two layers of it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- I had a flat like that once.- Yeah. Yeah, it's like the '70s touch.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Yes. But this is the most perfect floor.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54- And this is how it would have been. - Yes, yeah.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58After a two-month process, using marble imported from Italy,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01the floor of the Great Hall is ready to be walked all over
0:05:01 > 0:05:05by kings, queens and popes once again.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06Work on the Great Hall has
0:05:06 > 0:05:09taken 15 highly skilled craftsmen
0:05:09 > 0:05:1348 weeks and cost £1.2 million,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and it's no mean feat.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17650 tiles had to be used,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19but if you're going to do a job,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21you're best to do it properly.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25I wonder how long it is
0:05:25 > 0:05:28since anybody can remember this floor being like this.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- I don't think they'll be alive. - No. It is the most incredible job.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35So you're not free to do my kitchen, are you?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37No, I wouldn't have thought so. I don't think you could afford us.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40No, I think you're probably right, actually.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It's even got underfloor heating.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It'll create an even temperature for the books
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- because some of the books are really ancient.- Isn't that fantastic?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Not only have we got the floor back to how it would have been,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54how it was intended, it's actually fit for purpose in the 21st century.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56And will help to preserve the books.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I love that level of restoration where you can't tell anything's
0:05:59 > 0:06:02been done and especially as, you know, it got flattened
0:06:02 > 0:06:06in the English Civil War and then it got bombed in the Second World War.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08- Yeah, straight through there. - Really?- That panel.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12- An incendiary bomb. - HE EXHALES LOUDLY
0:06:12 > 0:06:13And was there a lot of damage?
0:06:13 > 0:06:15There was a fair bit of damage, yeah.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19- You can imagine, flames and books and wooden bookcases.- Yeah.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- Did you do much to the ceiling? - Just a clean, really.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25We cleaned off 300 years' worth of dust.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28When I went up there, you could still see the char marks
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- on the back of the timbers from the fire.- The incendiaries.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Yes, and then a final, just a construction clean at the end.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- So we didn't leave our mucky paw prints.- It's wonderful.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The Great Hall is just one of the buildings in
0:06:44 > 0:06:46the Lambeth Palace complex.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50The oldest part is this 12th-century crypt chapel which was also
0:06:50 > 0:06:53used as a bomb shelter for the locals in World War II.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58This guardroom was added in the 14th century.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02The impressive Morton's Tower gatehouse was added by the Tudors,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04and this block, containing the
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Archbishop's official living quarters,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09was built in Gothic style in the 1820s.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15This is where many of the impressive staterooms
0:07:15 > 0:07:16can still be seen to this day.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20The Palace has played a crucial role in English and world history.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Every British monarch has visited the place
0:07:22 > 0:07:25and Queen Victoria loved it here.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Here's her favourite crockery.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30These plush boudoirs still entertain the heads of state
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and religion from all over the world.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The inside of the palace is pretty spectacular, and do you know what?
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The outside ain't bad either. Alan Titchmarsh, eat your heart out.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Hello, Declan.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43Lovely to meet you, Dave.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Welcome to the Archbishop's back garden.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51It's a really wonderful calm oasis in this busy city.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It's actually the second biggest private garden in London
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- after Buckingham Palace.- Good grief.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Do you know, the amount of times I've ridden my motorbike
0:07:59 > 0:08:01down that road, I didn't dream this garden was here.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It's been very closed-in and secret but it's getting less so.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06We're opening it up. We are hoping, really, it's going
0:08:06 > 0:08:08to be much less of a secret than in the past.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Well, I bet there's a lot of secrets in those four walls.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Well, there are. I think if you come round to the library and archive,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- we'll have a look at them. - Thank you.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19The library was established in 1610.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22When Peter the Great visited a few decades later,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26he couldn't believe there were so many books in the whole world.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28The library has thousands of private letters,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32manuscripts and over a quarter of a million printed books,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36many from the private collections of archbishops, kings, queens,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38scholars and statesmen.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I've got some things out from the collection to show you,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- if you're interested.- Oh, gosh, yes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And I thought we'd run through the centuries quickly.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- And we start with this, which is the prayer book of Richard III.- No!
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So, when Richard was at the Battle of Bosworth in the 1480s,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53it's reputed that he had his prayer book with him.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55So, regardless of what people think of Richard III,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59clearly a devout man, and this is his own personal prayer book.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01And in the front is a calendar
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and handwritten by Richard III,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06is, he's put his own birthday on the calendar.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Richard III has put his own birthday.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Who hasn't done that on a calendar at home?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Just to remind the others when's my birthday.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14But it is mind-blowing.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16And we move on now to the 1500s.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19And Henry VIII is trying to divorce his first wife,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine of Aragon's chaplain,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Thomas Abel, writes a book arguing that the king can't divorce.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28This is Henry VIII's copy.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30He's clearly read it and studied it
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and the annotation there in the margins you can see is
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Henry VIII's handwritten annotation where he's disagreeing because he is
0:09:37 > 0:09:39so closely related, it makes the marriage null.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41He's almost arguing that he's married to his sister,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43although it was his sister-in-law,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45because he married the widow of his brother.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47And, of course, because he wanted the marriage to
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- Catherine of Aragon to end so he could marry Anne Boleyn.- Absolutely.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53This is the most incredible archive and collection!
0:09:53 > 0:09:55What else do you have in here, Declan?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57As you go on through the centuries, we start to get more
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and more of the archbishops' own papers and archives,
0:10:00 > 0:10:01sometimes very personal items
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- and that's the last thing I've got out for you.- Gosh.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06I must say, the first time I ever read this,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09this brought tears to my eyes. This is from the 1920s.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12It's a letter from Prince Albert Duke of York,
0:10:12 > 0:10:13who later became George VI.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15He's just married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and here's this marvellous letter he writes from his honeymoon
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- in Polesden Lacey in Dorking. - Oh, good grief.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24This is George VI, the husband of the Queen Mother, on his honeymoon,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- writing this to the archbishop who's just married them.- Yeah.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30"My dear Archbishop, I should have written to you before this to
0:10:30 > 0:10:33"thank you for my wife and myself, for your great
0:10:33 > 0:10:38"kindness in performing the ceremony of our wedding last Thursday.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41"I hope you did not think that we were too nervous,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44"but we were soon reassured by your kindly words
0:10:44 > 0:10:47"which gave us much confidence.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49"Again, thanking you, I remain,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51"Yours very sincerely, Albert."
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- What a wonderful letter.- It's marvellous.- It is lovely, isn't it?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- Very human and heart-warming.- Yeah.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01These are such personal links with the building, with the past.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02History comes alive here, doesn't it?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Aye, it's fantastic, Declan, thank you so much.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10It's incredible to be able to see such a priceless collection
0:11:10 > 0:11:13of artefacts from our kings and queens first-hand.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15And just a few metres away from the archive,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19a team of highly-skilled craftsmen have been working on the exterior
0:11:19 > 0:11:24of the Great Hall, getting rid of 350 years of grime and grease.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26As you can see round here,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28you had like a carbon build-up,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32- this is from the traffic. - What, that?- Yeah.- Like crust?
0:11:32 > 0:11:33It's a crust, yeah.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37It's basically exhaust fumes and the Industrial Revolution,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39it caked everything.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44So this, which is beautiful, and kind of stone-coloured,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- was that the same colour as that? - Yes, black bright.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- If you step back, you can see where the carvings are.- Yes.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And that's all been cleaned, to brand-new.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Scaffolding was erected 30 metres to the top of the building,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03and craftsmen painstakingly sandblasted the stone work clean,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06restored these ornamental drain covers...
0:12:09 > 0:12:12..and gave the place the best clean it's had in centuries.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14It's beautiful and white.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Do you know, it's hard to envisage what it was like
0:12:17 > 0:12:19when it was completely black like that.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I bet the Archbishop didn't know what his house looked like.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It does look absolutely beautiful now.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27It really sets the building off now, gleaming white in the sunshine.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31You can see it from over the river and it really stands out.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32Was all the detail lost
0:12:32 > 0:12:34in the sculptures?
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Well, a lot of it, yeah, was masked because it was such
0:12:36 > 0:12:38a build-up on round the faces
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- and it was just sort of... - Muck.- ..muck, yeah.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Aye. Look at that. It's so pertinent. 1663.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Just three years before The Great Fire of London.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And still surviving.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Aye, well, can you imagine building this in 1663,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57then the whole lot gets burnt down. You'd be sick as a parrot.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- I know, yeah.- That's proper history. It's lovely.- Hm, yeah.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04To see how to spring-clean some stone first-hand,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I went up to Yorkshire to the Anelay's masonry workshop.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11This is more for someone's back garden,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15rather than the Archbishop, but you get the idea.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- How do, Chris?- All right? - Yeah, not bad. Not bad.- All right.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Do you know, it's interesting, just down at Lambeth, you know,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26they've been getting like 350 years of smog, muck and grime off,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28but it's like so precious.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31How do you set about cleaning stonework without wrecking it?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34You just clean it up using these carbide stones.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37They come in a lot harder grades. I mean, that's even harder.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Yeah, that's rougher, yeah, yeah.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41So you've really got to give it some as well sometimes,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- but try and be as careful as you can.- Can I have a go?
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- Yeah, if you like, yeah. - Which one there?
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Start off with that one, it's rougher,
0:13:48 > 0:13:49try and get some of this muck off.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Carbide blocks are a mixture of sand and carbon and are perfect
0:13:56 > 0:14:00for polishing the delicate masonry like statues and historic stonework.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04You can't just turn on the jet wash, or you'll do some serious damage.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's amazing how tough the dirt is,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08you know, like washing it in soapy water
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- is not going to do it, is it? - No, no, that doesn't normally help.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13You've really got to give it a bit of elbow grease.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14I suppose, you know, it's a
0:14:14 > 0:14:18fine line between kind of making something look as good as new
0:14:18 > 0:14:21or overdoing it, and destroying what could be a very valuable statue.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Yeah, that's why we've got to be so careful with it
0:14:23 > 0:14:25and that's why we have the smaller tools.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I mean, I've got an old toothbrush just to get in the little nooks
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and crannies and we've just really got to be as careful as we can.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35It is amazing, with all the technology we've got today,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38we end up using a sponge, a toothbrush and an old rubbing stone.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Yeah, stick to what we know best.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42The bare bones of it all, we still work how they did
0:14:42 > 0:14:43all them years ago.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45That's what we try to do.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Well, let's see what that looks like now.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- See how you are starting to get rid of it all now?- Yeah.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Compared to how down there, how dirty it is there.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Black, isn't it? It's incredible when you
0:15:00 > 0:15:04think of the stonework at Lambeth, the extent of it, the work involved!
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- It's quite nice, isn't it? - Oh, it's beautiful now.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09It certainly is.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12The guys' hard work, along with plenty of sandblasting,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15has made the outside of the Great Hall come up a treat.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18Inside the Great Hall,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21the restoration experts worked long and hard,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24fixing up the skirting boards of the historic bookcases,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28but doing it so you can't tell the old from the new
0:15:28 > 0:15:29was no mean feat.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32So it's back to basics with a hammer and chisel.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35You just take little bits off at a time.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I think the key is not to take too much off at once.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40For me, it's not just a job.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I actually enjoy doing it
0:15:42 > 0:15:43and getting to work
0:15:43 > 0:15:45in places such as Lambeth Palace.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49You look at the bookshelves and the roof in here,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and you think of the men that worked on these jobs originally
0:15:52 > 0:15:55and you think, "Well, I've got to match their standard."
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Do you know what I mean?
0:15:56 > 0:16:02Otherwise, you're sort of depriving the next generation of its history.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I do like a man who takes pride in his work.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09You can roughly see now it's roughly taking shape, isn't it?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11I'll carry on at that.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17It's great to think that I'm just a humble chippy from Yorkshire
0:16:17 > 0:16:21and I've ended up working in the same place
0:16:21 > 0:16:26that kings and queens have walked through.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Beats being on a normal housing site.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32And you get to do beauty stuff like this in a beauty environment.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Aye, it's sort of taking shape now.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39You can see it's roughly getting there.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Time to put this master craftsman to the test.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Yeah, here's one we've made earlier.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49That's one that, these had a door and a frame in originally.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51But as that's come out, we've had to try
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and replicate all this pattern, and hopefully,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57when I've done, this is what this will look like.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00So that's the finished product. And that's where I am now.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Seven years of bad luck. Good job I'm not superstitious.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10If these walls could talk,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13they would tell the story of the past eight centuries,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16but the murky waters of the Thames,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19they've also got a lot of secrets to spill.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Without the river, there'd be no London.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And for centuries, there was just one bridge spanning the Thames.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31I'm off to meet London historian Loona Hazarika
0:17:31 > 0:17:32to find out more.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34So, Loona, when did we get bridges over the Thames?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36The first bridge dates from Roman times.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39They would have built it in the city of London,
0:17:39 > 0:17:40further downstream over there.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It took 1,700 years for us to get our next bridge
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- and it was that one over there, it was Westminster Bridge.- Right!
0:17:46 > 0:17:47And then during Victorian times,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50there was a huge spurt in bridge building.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Today, we have 33 bridges in London.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53So, when there was only two,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55that must have been a field day for the boatmen.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57They absolutely loved it.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00They, in fact, vetoed much of the bridge building in the 1600s
0:18:00 > 0:18:02because they made a lot of money
0:18:02 > 0:18:04from actually ferrying people to and fro.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06They were hugely influential, these people.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- They had a bit of swagger and bravado about them.- Right.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Notoriously foul-mouthed as well. They were full of expletives.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It was called water language. They were a law unto themselves.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18On land, if you spoke badly about the king,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20you would probably get charged with treason.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- But they could do that and just get away with it.- Wow.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26George I, on his royal processional barge,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28had Handel's Water Music being played,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31and people say it was played extra loud just to stop the profanities.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- Oh, no!- They were all shouting and swearing at him and they're saying
0:18:34 > 0:18:35"Play it louder, play it louder."
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- "He can hear them, he can hear them!"- Yeah.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40So this really is an incredibly important stretch of river.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Absolutely. If you just take a look out here,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45what is connecting to what, by this stretch of the river.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48You've got the Palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury
0:18:48 > 0:18:51over there. Opposite, you can see Westminster Abbey,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54the Palace of Westminster, the Houses of Parliament,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and then if you look further down there, it would
0:18:56 > 0:18:58have been the Palace of Whitehall.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It burned down in the 1600s, unfortunately.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03But those palaces would have all
0:19:03 > 0:19:05been connected by this stretch of water.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08You can imagine in that time, all the great movers and shakers
0:19:08 > 0:19:11of the age would have been coming to and fro across this river.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Queen Elizabeth, Henry VIII, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16you can imagine all the stuff they dropped in.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19You know, there's bound to be some of them are clumsy.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22This stretch of the Thames
0:19:22 > 0:19:25is a veritable treasure trove of things thrown overboard,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29and the perfect stomping ground for mudlarkers.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Mudlarking began as a profession in the late 18th century,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36and was the name given to people, mainly women and children,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38who would earn a few pennies scavenging
0:19:38 > 0:19:40for things on the river bank to sell.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43'Professional mudlarker Steve Brooker
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'knows all the secrets of the deep.'
0:19:45 > 0:19:47How do, Steve.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- So where do we start, Steve? - I was just looking for that erosion
0:19:50 > 0:19:52that's just happened on the last tide,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54which is a tiny piece of mud
0:19:54 > 0:19:55has just been washed off,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and you can see something.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01I'm liking this due to the fact that, very clean...
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Yeah, shows erosion.- Yeah, look at the amount of pipes that are here.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- Yeah, pipe stems.- Look! There is a clear pipe stem.- Well done.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08You've got another one there.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10There's loads of clay pipes around, Steve.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13If you look at the size of that one there, that's 1800s,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15when, all of a sudden, tobacco is really cheap.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Kids are smoking, older women are smoking, everybody is smoking.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- And hence all these pipes around.- Yeah.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Let's have a quick look and see what else we can see.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26'And in case you're wondering,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29'you need a special licence to mudlark these days.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32'After all, there's plenty of stuff of historic importance.'
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Even modern history as well. Do you remember those as a kid?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Oh, gosh, yes. But I don't think I'm that old.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42There's still something in there.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- I think that's Thames cola. - That is Thames cola.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47I don't think that's the real thing.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49THEY LAUGH Hey! Love it!
0:20:50 > 0:20:52- Are we taking this? - Yeah, go on. Bung it in.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Steve has been mudlarking for 26 years
0:20:56 > 0:20:58and in that time has found all manner of treasures
0:20:58 > 0:21:01which have been perfectly preserved in the anaerobic mud,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03basically, mud that doesn't let the air in.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06So, what's some of the best things that you've found, Steve?
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Because we're near Lambeth Palace over here,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I always quite like this little item.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12This is like the top of a sceptre, but this was found near to here.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- It's got some age to it, hasn't it?- Yeah.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17That would be fantastic to know the story behind it,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18but we're never ever going to know.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21This is some of my favourite bits and pieces.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- So this is a 14th-century merchant's ring.- 14th century?
0:21:24 > 0:21:28- Can you imagine somebody wearing that? 800 years ago.- Hm.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- That is an amazing thing. - Yeah, it's a good little find.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- And these things, I always like. We have quite a few of these.- Wow.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38So, can you have a guess what it is?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- It's the bottom of your scabbard for your sword.- Course it is, yeah.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43If I was sticking a sharp sword in all the time, into leather,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45it's going to poke through the bottom.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47The condition of it's perfect, isn't it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Yeah, because it's that anaerobic mud again.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- Remember, if it stays in the mud, it looks pristine.- How old is this?
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- That's about 1480.- No! - That mud protects it.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59The history of the Thames, the history of Lambeth Palace,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01it's all here, isn't it? It's just lying here on the foreshore.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04- Yeah, and it's just having a keen eye to finding it.- Yeah.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06But I do love it when we have somebody new down here and
0:22:06 > 0:22:08they too pick up bits and pieces and,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10you know, it does, it just changes history.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20And one place that presided over one of the biggest changes
0:22:20 > 0:22:21in English history,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24the establishment of an independent Church of England,
0:22:24 > 0:22:25was Lambeth Palace.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29When Henry VIII demanded a divorce from the Pope but was refused,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31it led to what is known as the Reformation,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34when the Church of England split from Rome,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and Lambeth was Catholic no more.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Lambeth didn't just revolutionise religious history.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43It's been at the hub of social change, and the evidence is
0:22:43 > 0:22:45painted on the bricks of buildings across the borough.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49It's renowned for its radical history and was vilified as London's
0:22:49 > 0:22:52loony left central, back in the '70s and '80s.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55It's also one of the most multicultural places in Britain,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59something celebrated in murals and artwork across the borough.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03This mural is known as Children At Play,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05or for many people, it's the one on the Brixton Academy, and it was
0:23:05 > 0:23:10created in 1982 by an artist called Stephen Pusey.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12A lot of the funding for community murals
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and community arts were focused on deprived areas, places where
0:23:15 > 0:23:19they felt that bringing the community together was important.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24It was painted just after the riots that happened in Brixton in 1981.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27And there was a suggestion that maybe
0:23:27 > 0:23:30he should paint something related to the riots,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32but Stephen didn't feel this was the right thing
0:23:32 > 0:23:34for local people to have to look at.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37So, instead, he did a wonderful scene of children playing together
0:23:37 > 0:23:40which is something he saw in the local schools.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42This particular mural sort of celebrates
0:23:42 > 0:23:43the diversity in Lambeth,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and Lambeth is still a very diverse area.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51One of Lambeth's best-known murals
0:23:51 > 0:23:55is an explosive plea to ban the bomb.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59In 1980, when I was painting the mural, there was
0:23:59 > 0:24:03a great feeling that nuclear war might happen.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The Russians and the Americans had, you know,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09equal number of weapons and the Tories decided that they
0:24:09 > 0:24:15would help America, and put cruise missiles on Greenham Common.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So that made Great Britain a target.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22That's why I developed a giant skeleton
0:24:22 > 0:24:24marching across London
0:24:24 > 0:24:26with nuclear bombs going off.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I had Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34the police superintendent of Brixton all cowering in a bunker
0:24:34 > 0:24:37underneath the Houses of Parliament.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39It's gone now, it's got graffiti over it,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42but I hope to paint it back some time soon.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Lambeth's residents are rightly proud of their artistic
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and radical heritage and especially of the borough's very own palace,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56which has finally been restored to look better than ever.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Foreman Chris is preparing for a very special topping out ceremony.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03The 17th-century weather vane is
0:25:03 > 0:25:07going back in pride of place on top of the Great Hall.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Wow! You see them on the top of the building
0:25:11 > 0:25:15- and it's a speck in the distance. - Yeah.- It's massive.- Yeah.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- Is that gold?- Yeah, it's about 32 pounds of 24-carat gold leaf.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Blooming heck. And of course, the gold leaf,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23that's going to last better than paint, isn't it?
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- Yeah, definitely, yeah.- Wow. - Years and years and years.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31- It is about 350 years old.- So is that the original weather vane?
0:25:31 > 0:25:36Yeah, it got damaged in the war, so it's had some repairs in the '50s
0:25:36 > 0:25:42to keep it all together, but the actual main body of it is original.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44- This is fantastic, isn't it?- Uh-huh.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- And is it to sit on top of the lantern?- Yeah.
0:25:47 > 0:25:48The spike right at the top,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51obviously that drops on and it caps off with this mitre...
0:25:51 > 0:25:55- Oh, it's a bishop's hat, isn't it? - Yeah.- It's only just twigged.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56So why do we have two?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Well, this is a brand-new one because this one,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04this original, 350 years old, but as you can see,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06it's deteriorated quite badly inside.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- Aye, I mean, this one has seen better days, hasn't it?- Hm.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13So this is a brand-new one. It's exactly the same size.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Yeah, a replica.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Hopefully, this one will last another 350 years, though.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Is this made from copper as well?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Yeah, copper, and then, obviously,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24gold leafed over the top for added protection.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26It's going to look brilliant, isn't it?
0:26:26 > 0:26:30- It really is the icing on the cake. - Yeah, the crowning glory, yeah.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34So, after almost a year of painstaking work,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36the Great Hall has been restored to look better than ever.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40I think this calls for a bit of pomp and pageantry.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46TRUMPET FANFARE
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Lambeth Palace is a truly magnificent medieval building
0:27:04 > 0:27:07which played a crucial role in British history.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11But it is only by getting to grips with the nitty-gritty details
0:27:11 > 0:27:14that you can bring the building back to life.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18And the best way to do that is by getting to know your builders.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22MUSIC: Zadok The Priest by George Frideric Handel
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Lambeth Palace, it's such a familiar landmark in London,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37but beyond those gates, there lies a secret garden,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and in those rooms there's lots of secrets.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43It really is a hugely important piece of British history.
0:27:43 > 0:27:49I mean, Henry VIII's books, Richard III's books, it's incredible.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53It's a wonderful building. And now it's looking fantastic.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00'Next time, I'm in Manchester,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'helping to restore the magnificent cathedral...'
0:28:05 > 0:28:07You're doing me out of a job.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11'Finding out the origins of a very famous secret agent...'
0:28:11 > 0:28:15A note, another note, for your eyes only,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and the old long division sign for the seven.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19So he was 007.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22'And trying to bribe the builders.'
0:28:22 > 0:28:26I'll swap you my mother's Yorkshire pudding recipe for that.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27It's worth it.