0:00:02 > 0:00:04Want to know about British history? You'd better get your hands dirty.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08Don't bury your head in a guidebook - ask 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,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20so I'm going to apprentice myself to the oldest masonry company
0:00:20 > 0:00:21in the country.
0:00:21 > 0:00:27Mastering their crafts and scraping away the secrets of Blighty's poshest piles.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31From castles to cathedrals,
0:00:31 > 0:00:32music halls to mansions,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35palaces to public schools.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37These aren't just buildings,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39they're keys to opening up our past
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and bringing it back to life.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Today, I'm in Manchester,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10helping to restore one of its oldest buildings,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13the magnificent cathedral.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I'll be finding out the origins of a very famous secret agent.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23It was a nought, another nought - "for your eyes only" -
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and the old long division sign for the seven.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29So he was 007!
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Trying to bribe the builders...
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Look, I'll swap you my mother's Yorkshire pudding recipe for that.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36It's worth it.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And finding out how to start a revolution in a library.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46So, this is the very table that Marx and Engels sat.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Manchester - it's named after the Roman fort Mamucium,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57which means breast-shaped hill.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00In fact, its history is just as titillating.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It was the world's first industrial city.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04In fact, Manchester has more firsts
0:02:04 > 0:02:07than you can shake your fist at.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11It really is a revolutionary city
0:02:11 > 0:02:16that can lay claim to being the first at a whole host of inventions and ideas.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20They include the first fully artificial canals,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22the first steam railways...
0:02:24 > 0:02:26..global movements, like women's suffrage,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28and trade unions started here.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33But it was during the 1800s
0:02:33 > 0:02:35that Manchester truly started to flourish,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39when its cotton industry really took off.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42In the 19th century, its population exploded.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45So much so that the city had to transform its medieval church
0:02:45 > 0:02:48into this stonking great cathedral.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I'm here to help restore it and to explore some of its mysteries.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Dating back to the Middle Ages,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58the cathedral is one of Manchester's oldest buildings.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Originally a church, it was transformed into a cathedral in 1847.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Further innovations were needed after a Second World War bomb
0:03:10 > 0:03:15destroyed the north-east corner and blew out all the windows in 1940.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22This old girl needs constant attention and as it approaches its 600th anniversary,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26the cathedral's undergoing a 280-grand restoration.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Construction firm Williams Anelay are doing the works
0:03:33 > 0:03:36and I'm here to see Marcus Walker, the contracts manager.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40- Hello, Marcus.- How are you, Dave? Nice to meet you.- Yeah, you too.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42What's going on here? It's amazing.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- We've erected scaffolding inside now.- Well, I can see that!
0:03:46 > 0:03:49We're taking all the roof covering off outside,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52taking the lead off and then, once the roof repairs have been carried
0:03:52 > 0:03:54out and the lead work's going back on,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57we'll start the repairs internally to the decorative ceiling.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01The renovation project is scheduled to take five months in total.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05They are repairing stone ornaments,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08restoring the wooden ceiling and replacing the lead roof.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12The team will be using 14 tonnes of lead,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15the equivalent weight of around 80 motorbikes.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21But, before I head up on the roof to see first-hand what the builders are doing,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25I've come into the spectacular carved choir area
0:04:25 > 0:04:26in the middle of the cathedral
0:04:26 > 0:04:31to find out exactly what makes this place so special and worth preserving,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34from cathedral expert Dympna Gould.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39- Hello, Dympna. - Dave, lovely to see you.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Lovely to meet you, too. I mean, this is amazing.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44It's so full of surprises, the cathedral.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Well, this is one of the great treasures of Manchester Cathedral.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49I mean, just look around you.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54This is one of the finest preserved medieval choirs in Europe.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57If you look over on the south side here,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01all of this was completed at the end of the 1400s,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04the gift of a famous family called the Stanleys,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and on this side, this was completed by the early 1500s.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12This is amazing to think it was done in the 1500s.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16The quality of the carving is just unbelievable.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20That's the Archdeacon of Rochdale sits there.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21The Bishop of Bolton there.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25It's a fabulous location to come and pray.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32But, hundreds of years ago, prayers could go on for hours and hours.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Back then, the clergy were obliged to stand at all times.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40So, a devious device was invented to help them cheat.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41These are misericords.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45If you go up and perch your derriere, your petit derriere,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47on that ledge there.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52- It seems wrong.- They invented a pop-up seat so that you could...
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- Ah!- Oops!
0:05:54 > 0:05:57..not wreck our 600-year-old choir stalls,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00but so you could sit down when you needed a rest, but when you didn't,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03you could just perch elegantly and look
0:06:03 > 0:06:06as though you're saying your prayers standing up.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10So, a great invention, but the most exciting thing is,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13if you look underneath that seat that you're standing under there...
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- Oh, yes.- Can you see there are some figures carved?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I love it. A game of backgammon,
0:06:18 > 0:06:19a barrel of beer, a jug of ale
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and all the time you're underneath the bishop's bottom!
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Anything carved above eye level had to be connected to God...
0:06:28 > 0:06:32..but below, the carvers had a free rein to put in anything they fancied.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37So, there's almost a cartoon and satirical quality to them.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So, they're telling a fable, so I think the priests of the day
0:06:40 > 0:06:44might have been a bit worried about this new game of backgammon
0:06:44 > 0:06:48taking people away from their church attendances, and so they could
0:06:48 > 0:06:53poke fun a little bit at society and, again, it was their calling card, if you want,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56for their next big job at the next big church.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00So, very much leaving their mark in a rather wonderful way.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06But it's not just the carvers who have left a lasting impression.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12One of the cathedral's claims to fame is that in 1595,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15John Dee became its churchwarden.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18A respected scientist,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21in latter years, many people suspected him
0:07:21 > 0:07:23of being a practitioner of black magic
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and he certainly cast a spell on Queen Elizabeth I,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29becoming her eyes and ears in court.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33John Dee worked as a spy,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and so that Elizabeth knew that any letters he sent back were not
0:07:36 > 0:07:39forgeries - she was very protective of this -
0:07:39 > 0:07:42he used to have a symbol that he put on his letters,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44and it was a nought,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46another nought - "for your eyes only" -
0:07:46 > 0:07:49and the old long division sign for the seven.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51007.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53So, he was 007!
0:07:53 > 0:07:55So, did Ian Fleming get his inspiration from that?
0:07:55 > 0:07:56That's exactly right.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00So, we've got a little bit of James Bond here in Manchester Cathedral,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02but all thanks to Dr Dee.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06But it's not all spies and hidden gems,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09the cathedral also houses priceless historical papers,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13including the very document responsible for its existence.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19I've brought you up our windy staircase into the munitions room
0:08:19 > 0:08:24and this is where - having a little bit of a sort out, despite its appearance -
0:08:24 > 0:08:27where we keep some of our most valued treasures.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31What you're looking at now is Royal Charter.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- Yes.- It's Henry V.- Henry V!
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Henry V, Battle of Agincourt and all that.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37Yes.
0:08:37 > 0:08:411421, Henry V granted a charter
0:08:41 > 0:08:44for a collegiate church to be built on this site.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49The idea that, you know, that writing and that document is here,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52beautifully preserved in Manchester, is one of our real treasures.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Gosh.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Dave, I've got something else to show you.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57If you look on these shelves,
0:08:57 > 0:09:02you'll see them lined with book after book on marriages, births...
0:09:02 > 0:09:05We have the records going back to the late 1500s.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Good grief!
0:09:06 > 0:09:11But, do you notice anything a bit peculiar about the marriages round this section?
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Anything jump out?
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Well, they seem to get a lot fatter and a lot bigger by about 1834.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Well, do you want to just pull that record book out?
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- Is that all right? - Oh, yes. We'll be gentle.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24If you'd like to open up the record book for us,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26that would be wonderful.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30During the time of the Industrial Revolution,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35the church was the only licensed venue for weddings and baptisms.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38What was happening in Manchester, from the late 1700s
0:09:38 > 0:09:41through the 1800s, was cotton was king. Cottonopolis.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42Yes.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Explosion in the population.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Not many churches around and the demands on marriages on this church were huge.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53So, we conducted mass weddings.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58And we would have lined people up, couples up, maybe 15 at a time,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and they would have been married en masse.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It was a wedding factory in those days.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05As much as the Industrial Revolution was happening...
0:10:05 > 0:10:08I've not heard it described like that, but that is brilliant!
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- It's a marriage revolution. - It is, you're right.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12A marriage revolution under this roof.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17The Grade I-listed building is getting essential
0:10:17 > 0:10:20repair and maintenance works done.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25You've got quite a history with this building yourself, haven't you, Marcus?
0:10:25 > 0:10:30I have. I've worked on the cathedral since I was 16. I started my apprenticeship on here.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Today, the team are up on top of the cathedral,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35replacing the worn-out lead roof.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41They are using the same original methods and materials
0:10:41 > 0:10:42as their ancestors.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Having stripped away all the worn-out lead,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49new sheets are moulded to fit each individual wooden bay.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54So, what are you lads doing?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57We're pre-forming the panels ready to be installed.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00So, you make the panels and then pass them over to the other lads for fitting?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Yeah. We'll boss the corners up,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- we'll chalk slurry the back of them...- Right.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08..let them dry, and then install the panels.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12The chalk emulsion helps to protect the lead and prevent corrosion
0:11:12 > 0:11:15caused by moisture in the rafters of the roof.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20So, what's going on over here, Marcus?
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- We're now starting to form the sides.- Right.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Once these sides are square and parallel, he'll start bossing the corners,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- ready for fitting it into position...- Yeah.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33..and that's when he starts dressing it over the lead rolls,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36the timber rolls, to form all these nice, neat parallel lines.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It's almost like when my wife does needlework,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42she cuts the material and then works it to the pattern.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Similar work but this is a bit heavier, bit harder to move.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48If you see this lead, it takes a lot of power to move it to and fro.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- I mean, this bay here is 78kg.- Yeah.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55It's took four of us to get a roll of lead onto this sheet of ply here.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- Can I have a go?- Yeah, of course. I'll show you the way.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03The idea what we're doing at the moment is we're trying to set a line here.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05So, basically you want a 90-degree corner.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Yeah. I mean, by all means, have a try.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10- Is it all right this way? - That's right, yeah.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Once you set that line in, the lead will fold to the line you've put in it.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15It sort of folds to the crease line.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Is there a name for this job? Knocker-inner?
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Setting in, we call it.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Does a lead roof like this, does it expand in the heat?
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Or do you have any movement on it?
0:12:23 > 0:12:24We do have a pattern.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27What we do is, we're now only the first third of a lead bay
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and then the other two thirds
0:12:29 > 0:12:31can move and expand and contract
0:12:31 > 0:12:33with the sun and the cold.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Contrary to popular opinion, the sun will sometimes shine in Manchester.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40You never know! We're still waiting. There's been plenty of rain.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44You'll do me out of a job.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46These tools almost look medieval.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I know, like, the material's different,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- but I bet the method hasn't changed, has it?- No, that's right.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54It's probably one of the only trades where it's using the tools.
0:12:54 > 0:12:55I mean, you'll find other roofing
0:12:55 > 0:12:58where you're getting a hard metal and putting it through a machine.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00- Yes.- This is as old school as you get.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01How did you learn to do this?
0:13:01 > 0:13:02It's a lot of years on roofs
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and the more you do it, the better you get.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07It's like Rolls-Royce of roofs though, isn't it?
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Once the panels are in the correct shape,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13they are carefully put into place and pulled over the beams.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17It's a laborious job and on a good day, they can do around five bays.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24So, now we've got to change the tools, cos this one's now too sharp.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- Right.- What we're doing is knocking out these corners.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30We're changing the shape of the lead, knocking out the corners.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32- We need a tool to go round the back of the lead...- Right.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33..and one to go over the top,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and you're basically tapping it until you get the nice shape.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39So, you're moving the lead, you're not stretching it, you don't want to split it.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42This will end up being stronger by doing it the way we're doing it,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- cos you're moving lead into the corner. Very strong. - What we call patinated?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- Bossing the lead, we call it. - Bossing the lead.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50It's moving the lead and it stays nice and strong, basically.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53So, once I've knocked up the two corners here,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56I would then drop the bay down like this and then slide it across
0:13:56 > 0:14:00into the gap right next to us and then we go back to the setting-in stick again
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and we want to set it into the wood roll, leaving a nice sharp finish.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05These are the original wood rolls, aren't they?
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Yeah, the original wood rolls of the job. They try and keep everything as original as they can.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13The next job we want to do is try and fold it over the wood rolls, so we're going to neatly...
0:14:17 > 0:14:21What an honour it is to do a bit on Manchester Cathedral roof.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24It is just like icing a cake really, but heavy.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30The craftsmen aren't the only inhabitants on the roof
0:14:30 > 0:14:31at the moment.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37In 2012, four beehives were placed up here
0:14:37 > 0:14:40as part of a national campaign to save the honey bee.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42They are maintained by volunteers,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44but have been causing headaches for the builders.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48What's with the beehives over there?
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The beehives have caused a few problems while we've been here.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54So, were the beehives here before you started work on this roof?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Yes, the beehives were here
0:14:56 > 0:14:59while the scaffolders were here and then once we've started our works,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02obviously we've had some sunny weather and the bees decided
0:15:02 > 0:15:04to get angry and stung Ian, the site manager.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09One thing I'm impressed with, with your job, is it's always
0:15:09 > 0:15:12different problems, be it bats, bees, birds.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15There is always something, isn't there, to work round?
0:15:15 > 0:15:18There is. There's nothing straightforward in restoration.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Every job's a totally different job.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22- Did you get any honey off them as compensation?- Not yet!
0:15:24 > 0:15:26While the bees are busy on the roof,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29down below the stunning interior
0:15:29 > 0:15:32took at least four generations of carvers to shape.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37It's rammed to the rafters with unique carvings and stunning statues.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Cathedral statues normally showcased the great and the good.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49Bishops, mayors and poets. But standing proud at the head of the north aisle
0:15:49 > 0:15:51is this bloke, Humphrey Chetham,
0:15:51 > 0:15:52whose only claim to fame was cotton.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54He's a bit of a loose thread.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Old Humph was born in 1580
0:15:59 > 0:16:02and he devoted his life to getting rich,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05making a packet out of cotton factories.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Nothing too holy about that,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11but it's what he did for the city with his money which has afforded him
0:16:11 > 0:16:14prime position in the cathedral.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18He dictated that his fortune be used to build a school for poor boys,
0:16:18 > 0:16:23now the Chetham Music School, and a library that was free for all.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25It's the oldest public library in the UK.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29It's still open by appointment and luckily I've booked one.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34It is set on the top two floors of a medieval building
0:16:34 > 0:16:36and was founded in 1653.
0:16:38 > 0:16:39(This is incredible!)
0:16:41 > 0:16:46The library houses over 100,000 books with at least half of them published
0:16:46 > 0:16:48before 1851.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Michael Powell is the head librarian.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- (Hello, Michael.)- Hello.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00It's OK, you don't need to whisper.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03I feel I should do with the reverence of this building.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06What type of people would have used this library?
0:17:06 > 0:17:11It would have been scholars, it would been gentlemen really who had the leisure to come in and read.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Clergymen, lawyers, doctors, that sort of professional classes of people.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17How far back does the library go?
0:17:17 > 0:17:18What are its earliest pieces?
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The earlier substantial books go back to about the 13th century.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25This has to be one of the best collections in the world.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29I don't know about the world, but certainly in the UK, I would think. Yeah.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32OK, this...
0:17:34 > 0:17:36..is one of the older books.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39This is a 13th century manuscript
0:17:39 > 0:17:43written by a chap called Matthew Paris.
0:17:43 > 0:17:44Known as the Flowers Of History.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48A series of pictures of English coronations.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50This one, the coronation of Edward the Confessor.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54How precious is this?
0:17:54 > 0:17:56This is handwritten, it's not printed.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59That's right, it's written in a variety of hands.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Matthew Paris wrote a bit of it in his own hand,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03but lots of scribes wrote it.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09The manuscript is one of a number of original documents that the library
0:18:09 > 0:18:10contains.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17In the 1820s, a liberal movement was spreading across the city,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and a newspaper was created to reflect these views.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24This is breathtaking.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Yeah, this is the main reading room, most people get to work in here.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31If we look at this, this is the Guardian.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37Published on 5th May, 1821, and this is number one.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Number one, the first ever issue of the Guardian newspaper.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45Like all newspapers from that time, it begins with the advertisements,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and here, the first one.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Oh, right. The very first words in the Guardian newspaper.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53"Taken up - a black Newfoundland bitch."
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Somebody's lost their dog.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58That set the tone for the next 200 years!
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Chetham Library is not just the oldest public library in the UK,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04it is also one of the most radical.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08In the middle of the 19th century,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels came together and researched for a
0:19:12 > 0:19:14political pamphlet that would change the world.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The Communist Manifesto.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21It was a rousing call to arms, which advocated for a classless society,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23where there is no private ownership,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and everything belongs to the community.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Published in 1848, its ideology inspired the Russian Revolution,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and its influence is still felt today.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38So, this is the very table where Marx and Engels sat.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Yeah. They came in the summer of 1845.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45It's funny, isn't it? It does seem a rather grand environment for the
0:19:45 > 0:19:47fathers of communism.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It is, in a way, but I suppose the other thing is that apart from the
0:19:50 > 0:19:53British Museum, where Marx would work later on,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57this is the only library at the time where he could come in,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00where he could read economic books, you know, free.
0:20:00 > 0:20:01That's the main point.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Right.- You're not a member, you just use it as of right.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Engels, he was from quite a wealthy background, wasn't he?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Yeah, Engels was a... His father is an industrialist
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and they had a mill in Salford,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15and Engels managed that on his behalf, so Engels was, you know,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18a very cultured middle-class man. He went on the hunt.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21So how did he meet Marx, how did they get together, as it were?
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Originally, they didn't get on at all,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26they were just hostile to one another, and then famously,
0:20:26 > 0:20:27over a lot of boozing...
0:20:27 > 0:20:29They got drunk for about ten days.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- Yes.- And after that they were just like a partnership.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37I was like that with Si, really, and 23 years on, we're still mates!
0:20:37 > 0:20:40And these are the very books that they would have read.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Some of them, like this one, one of the early histories of Manchester,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Aikin's History Of Manchester,
0:20:46 > 0:20:52which is the first attempt to describe Manchester in terms of economics.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56What creates modern Manchester? Coal, cotton, canals.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Marx and Engels saw first-hand the results the Industrial Revolution had
0:21:02 > 0:21:03on the city of Manchester.
0:21:05 > 0:21:11Rapid, unplanned urbanisation led to slum housing and extreme areas of poverty.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15But, you know, it's funny, holding this book,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18when you think, with Marx and Engels, the...
0:21:18 > 0:21:20the history that changed the world.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23You know, from, I suppose, the Russian Revolution,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27going through to the rise of communism in China.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32It's just extraordinary that the seeds of this were sown around this desk.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Yes, Marx and Engels are writers, essentially,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38and that's what they produce, and it does change world history.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- The pen was mightier than the sword there.- Yeah, it really is.- Gosh!
0:21:44 > 0:21:45Back at the cathedral,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48I've come under the eaves to get a close-up view of the ceiling,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and unearth some trade secrets.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- How do, Martin? - Hiya.- You all right? Dave.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57Smells nice up here.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59It's very strong, isn't it?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Er, no, in a nice sort of way.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03So that'll be the mythical archdeacon?
0:22:03 > 0:22:04- It is, yeah.- The mystery mix.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10'Archdeacon is a formula used to clean and restore wooden ceilings.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14'Passed down by the restoration industry,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19'it gets its name from the deacons who invented it over 100 years ago.'
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- I wonder if you want to rag it off. - Oh, right, so you paint it on...
0:22:22 > 0:22:27We paint it on, first coat, to get all the muck and dirt out of it.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- Yeah.- So, then, eventually, we'll get a nice finish,
0:22:30 > 0:22:31and there'll be no dirt left.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Tell you what, this really brings it back to life.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38But it's so funny to think I am right up in the cathedral roof,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40and I'm cleaning the ceiling...
0:22:42 > 0:22:43..with magical things.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- So this is the mythical archdeacon. - It is, yeah.- The mystery mix.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52The mystery mix, we're not allowed to give it away.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55What's in the solution is a closely guarded secret,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58but that's not going to stop me from trying to figure it out.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01- There's a bit of shellac.- No.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Bit of vinegar.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Some vinegar, yes.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Linseed oil? Camphor oil!
0:23:10 > 0:23:12You're not far wrong, yeah.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Erm... Are you going to tell us?
0:23:14 > 0:23:15No.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Look, I'll swap you me mother's Yorkshire-pudding recipe.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22For that. It's worth it!
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Let's go and have a look what Matt's doing.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Oh, crumbs!
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You know what? When you look at it up there, it doesn't look that big.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- But that's a big lump of wood! - It's a fair section.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Aye. Is this just decorative, Matt?
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It is, it's a boss, just to cover up the joints,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41where the...where the roof is joined to the truss.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- Yeah.- Just covers up the joint. And it gives that...- Fits perfect.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It gives it that ornate look.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Right. Have you had to repair this?
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Not this one, no. There has been just a few little ones that we've had to
0:23:52 > 0:23:54just glue back together again and piece up.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Yeah? So have you been round every boss on this, checking?
0:23:57 > 0:23:58- I have, yes.- Gosh!
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And it's only...
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Most of them, it's just a matter of tightening them back up again.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Yeah. And how old do you reckon the ceiling is?
0:24:05 > 0:24:06It's probably...
0:24:06 > 0:24:08'50s or pre-'50s.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- Yes.- Obviously, it's not... not an original one.- Right.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Hasn't lasted that long, has it, really, in the scheme of things?
0:24:14 > 0:24:16We want more than 60 years out of this one.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Yeah, yeah. I mean, with this one, it's only shrinkage...
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- Uh-huh.- ..that's caused it.- Do you want to put the screws in,
0:24:22 > 0:24:23cos my arms are knackered!
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Manchester's connection to revolutionary thinking of the 18th century
0:24:30 > 0:24:32didn't stop with Marx and Engels.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37Directly opposite the cathedral there is the Cowherd Cathy food van,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41which has an intriguing connection to another of the area's radical ideas.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47We named it after Reverend Cowherd, who in the early 18th century,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50he had his whole congregation in Salford
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and they were completely vegetarian.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It was something that was quite radical and out there,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57but he really believed in refraining from meat,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00and actually thought that it caused aggression.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04At the time, he got a lot of local ministers that mocked him for what he
0:25:04 > 0:25:07was doing, cos it was seen quite way out there,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09so they nicknamed his church the Beefsteak Chapel.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14A lot of people don't realise that that actually happened in Salford in
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Greater Manchester, that was the start of the vegetarian movement,
0:25:17 > 0:25:18and where it all began.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And even in those times,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23there was actually more vegetarian restaurants in the Manchester area than
0:25:23 > 0:25:25there are now.
0:25:25 > 0:25:32Cowherd and his followers inspired the foundation of the Vegetarian Society.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37With a membership of 150 people, it was established in Manchester in 1847,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39and is still going strong today.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Up on the cathedral roof,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47it's the turn of the ornamental stonework to have a makeover.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50The pinnacles have suffered
0:25:50 > 0:25:53after being battered by years of wind and rain.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57The top parts are called finials, and these are being removed
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and taken off-site so exact copies can be reproduced.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Today, we're doing repair works to the pinnacles.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And first, we've taken off the finial, off the top,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10and we've got an indent to the upper part of the pinnacle.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12So, we're taking this away now,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and we're going to replicate that... that exact same one.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Each one of them will have been done by different masons,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21so each one needs taking away.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23You don't just take one away and replicate one,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27because there'll be slight design...erm...
0:26:27 > 0:26:28variations in it.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Overall, they'll all look quite similar, but as a mason,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34you can see their different variations in certain aspects of it.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Each finial is unique, and will take six days to carve.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44I've worked under some fantastic masons, on lots of different contracts,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48but basically, from where we're from, Manchester Cathedral's the one.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51So, working on here, it's a proud moment for me,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53and every single one of us puts a lot of pride into what we're doing.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Every lad on here's got a smile on his face, because we're proud.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59CHORAL SINGING
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Cathedrals aren't meant to be solemn places,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and Manchester Cathedral has held raves and pop concerts.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Everyone from the Fun Lovin' Criminals to Alicia Keys.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Now it's their neighbours,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19the Chetham's School of Music's turn to serenade us in style.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29# My soul doth magnify the Lord... #
0:27:29 > 0:27:32The school wouldn't be here without the generosity of Humphrey Chetham,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and I'm sure he'd be proud of his legacy.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Manchester Cathedral's as tough as old boots,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and it's a symbol of this great city.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51You know, it survived the Blitz of World War II, and the IRA bomb of '96,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55but once this renovation's complete it's going to go on serving this great
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Northern city in style.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58Me? Mad for it!
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Next time, I'm in The Potteries in Staffordshire.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I'll be turning Hairy Potter,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08to discover the magic of Britain's ceramics central.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10This is really fiddly, you know.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12It's like trying to shave an oyster.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I'll reveal how the wizard of clay, Josiah Wedgwood, cast his spell.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19This is brilliant, it's like having a cultural lift,
0:28:19 > 0:28:20do you know what I mean?
0:28:20 > 0:28:22And investigate spooky goings-on that sent
0:28:22 > 0:28:25shivers down our builders' spines.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Would you like to come forward and speak to us, Edward?