Wedgwood Institute The Hairy Builder


Wedgwood Institute

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Want to know about British history? You better get your hands dirty.

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Don't bury your head in a guidebook.

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Ask a brickie,

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a chippie

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or a roofer.

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Ever since I were a boy, I've had a passion for our past so I'm going

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to apprentice myself to the oldest masonry company in the country.

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Mastering their crafts and scraping away the secrets of

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Blighty's poshest piles.

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From castles to cathedrals, music halls to mansions,

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palaces to public schools.

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These aren't just buildings.

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They're keys to opening up our past and bringing it back to life.

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Today I'm in an area known as The Potteries in Staffordshire.

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It's the world capital of ceramics and I'm here to help restore this

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iconic building - the Wedgwood Institute.

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I turn Hairy Potter to discover the magic of Britain's

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ceramic central.

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This is really fiddly, you know.

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It's like trying to shave an oyster.

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I reveal how the wizard of clay, Josiah Wedgwood, cast his spell.

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This is brilliant, it's like having a cultural lift, do you know what I mean?

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And investigate spooky goings-on that have sent shivers down

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our builders' spines.

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Would you like to come forward and speak to us, Edward?

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Today's historic building, the Wedgwood Institute,

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was built in 1865 in honour of the famous potter Josiah Wedgwood.

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Its purpose was to educate the local working men and it ran

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courses in science, business and the arts.

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The Institute sits in the heart of the famous Potteries,

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a group of six towns which today forms the city of Stoke-on-Trent.

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In the 17th and 18th century, the area was booming and ceramic

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companies like Royal Doulton, Spode and Wedgwood all flourished here.

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It was a powerhouse of industry with over 200 factories.

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But in the 20th century everything changed.

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The pottery industry declined, dealing a death blow to the area

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and much of the town's architectural treasures fell into rack and ruin.

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Luckily, this one, the Wedgwood Institute, was saved in the nick of time.

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I'm here to help restore it and uncover the secrets that it holds.

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This Grade II-listed Institute has been derelict for nearly

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a decade and is on the English Heritage Buildings At Risk Register.

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Seven months ago, it started the first phase of its restoration, costing around

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£850,000 but it's not just the interior that needs a bit of TLC.

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-Hello, Kate.

-Hello.

-Hello, Danny.

-Hello.

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-Should I hop on?

-Yeah, hop on. Oh, brill.

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Before meeting the builders, Gaye Blake-Roberts,

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curator of the nearby Wedgwood Museum,

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is going to give me an insight into the great man Josiah Wedgwood

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who this building is named after.

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Do you know? I love a cherry picker.

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It's the chance to get up close and personal to some of the

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nation's national treasures.

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This is incredible.

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-Have you been in one of these before, Kate?

-No, I haven't. It's a first experience for me.

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-We'll go and have a look at Josiah.

-If only he could talk.

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Hello, sir. Very pleased to meet you.

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Now I feel as though I'm being more polite.

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Tell me about Josiah Wedgwood.

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Oh, he was an amazing man.

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He was a potter.

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-He actually trained and did his apprenticeship as a potter.

-Right.

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He was a pioneer, philanthropist.

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He was very much in ahead of his time.

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And apart from being a brilliant scientist, he actually created

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-the one thing that revolutionised the ceramic industry.

-Right.

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Not only in Britain but throughout Europe.

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It's a pyrometer.

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-A pyrometer?

-Well, a thermometer for measuring high temperatures.

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Gosh.

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This thermometer was used to measure exactly when the clay was

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ready to be taken out of the kiln.

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Up until Wedgwood's invention, the industry

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has used guesswork and luck to know when the clay was ready.

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It fundamentally changed the way the industry worked.

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What a great man and far more than somebody who had a pottery factory.

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-Yes, he was.

-Mr Wedgwood, it's been a pleasure.

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You don't have to go inside to appreciate this spectacular building

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as its beauty lies in its elaborate brickwork for all the world to see.

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Along the facade are a series of terracotta panels illustrating various themes.

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To actually get up close to these fantastic sculptures is breathtaking.

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-What is it made from?

-They're made from terracotta.

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-Right.

-Terracotta is a clay which seems very appropriate for this building.

-Yes.

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Which is very high fired.

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It's impervious to liquid.

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And of course is ideal as a building material.

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So what do we have here? It's like a calendar.

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We've got the months of the year here, which is June, we're looking at May

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-to the other side so obviously May's got lots of spring flowers.

-Yes.

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June is showing the shearing of sheep because that happens in June

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and if you look above, you can see the tiny tesserae...

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You take us up, Danny? This is brilliant.

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It's like having a cultural lift, do you know what I mean?

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It's incredible, isn't it? I've never seen one this close.

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-And the Victorians loved embellishment, didn't they?

-They had to embellish it.

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And put their own stamp on it.

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Fashion, taste and style changes every so often.

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What are those mosaics there?

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-Those are the signs of the Zodiac.

-Gosh.

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Which are done in tiny bits of ceramic and glass.

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Well, like an exterior on a building, they really are very, very fine mosaic, aren't they?

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They are very, very beautiful.

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What's the frieze down there? Come on, Danny, first floor.

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The frieze that runs across the facade of this building shows

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the stages of ceramic production and it's really interesting

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because it shows the traditional things like throwing and

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turning but it makes you realise how busy the industry was.

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Ah, this is fantastic.

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Well, you realise what a lot of work the builders have got on

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but it's going to be worth it when it's done.

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-Ah, it's going to be breathtaking when it's finished.

-We'll have to come back for a look.

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-You're on.

-Yeah? We'll have to book Danny.

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The Institute's first phase of renovation is nearly finished

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with a second phase starting in 2017.

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Just under £7,000,000 is needed to be spent to bring it back to

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its former glory.

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Construction firm William Anelay and their team of skilled workmen

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have had their work cut out with the first phase of this project,

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which involved making sure the structure was safe with

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contracts manager Bob Martindale at the helm.

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It looks like you caught this just in the nick of time, Bob.

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I mean, what a mess. Such a lot to do.

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Well, it's a lot tidier now than when we first came.

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-Really?

-Just those holes were open, pigeons were flying around in

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-here...

-I can see.

-..causing a real mess.

-It's like the facade on the outside.

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It kind of looks OK at first glance.

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You get close up.

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There is such a lot of fine work to be done but then you get

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inside and the building needs to be functioning as

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a 21st-century building to make more use of it. Where do you start?

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What you've got to do is look at the walls and you've got to get

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-right back to the brick...

-Yes.

-..to the basic structural strength of the building.

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And with any timber that's damaged like this what we see,

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-you rip it out and start again if it were too far gone.

-Yes.

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This timber looks all right underneath the bird droppings.

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You'd have to sort of investigate a bit further I think before we

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decide what we're going to do with that.

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Do you learn that when you're building that you kind of just hold

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your horses till you have a good look?

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-You look at the options, don't you?

-Yeah.

-And what you can afford to do.

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But then, what would a new build cost this size in a city centre?

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-Probably 20 million, something like that.

-Yeah, and it wouldn't have half the charisma

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of the Wedgwood Institute.

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-No. You cannot replace this type of building, can you?

-No.

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You can only bring it back to life.

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Shall we move on to the next room?

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This renovation project requires just under 2,000 litres of paint,

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72 panes of glass for the roof lights, weighing up to 57kg each,

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and six weeks of pointing.

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So far, they've installed new roof installation and lighting and

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made the ground floor accessible.

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The plan is to restore the whole building

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so it can be used by small businesses.

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But when they started work, there were one or two headaches for Bob.

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-Good grief!

-Once again, the pigeons.

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It's like a pigeon apocalypse, isn't it? There's dead pigeons, there's live pigeons.

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This is a sign of pigeon as vermin, isn't it?

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-Yeah, you get nasty diseases in the atmosphere from when they're flying about.

-Yes, yes.

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And this is an area where we've not worked in, therefore they're getting

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-through every little crevice in the roof that we've not repaired.

-Right.

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The builders certainly have their work cut out with a facade

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outside measuring 340 square metres - there's a lot to be done.

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Olly, so how do you go about cleaning the facade of

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a building like this?

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Basically you start with the mildest method first which is

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basically just to use water and a brush. De-ionised water...

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-Purer than rainwater, even.

-Pure water, very pure.

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Just soaking it in a poultice form and scrubbing and see if that

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takes some of the dirt away.

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-It's not doing much.

-It's not, no.

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At least we can see that it's not doing much and we can

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discount it and move on to the next stage.

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-We'll move onto a non-ionic detergent.

-Right.

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We'll use that on the affected area and basically have

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a good scrub again and see if that lifts it any more.

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You can give it a little dampen with some water.

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This is the non-ionic detergent.

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-OK? A little bit of that on there.

-Get a lather up?

-Yeah.

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Give it a good scrub.

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A good scrub, come on.

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It's having some effect, isn't it?

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It will take off some of the grime, yeah, it will. It certainly will.

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This is the first time this building has been touched with

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a scrubbing brush for decades.

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-Aye.

-Now just give it a good rinse off with the water.

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And you will see there will be patches where it has taken it off.

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And once that's dried you will be able to see the full effect

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of that clean.

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While it's wet it gives you a bit of a false representation.

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It's an awfully dreary colour.

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The next stage we would use after that would be the mild acid.

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-Should we try stage three?

-Let's try stage three, yeah.

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You can't make a mistake with that. Mild acid, vinegar.

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Cleary labelled. There we go, just give it a good soak.

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Now give it a good scrub.

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Now we're talking.

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Josiah Wedgwood, I bet he's turning in his grave now.

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He'll be going potty!

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We just need to rinse it down with some water now, Dave.

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We'll see how that looks.

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-That's coming up, isn't it?

-It is.

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Each stage will generally tend to lift another layer of grime off.

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Olly, you've worked on these buildings for

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a while now but what do you think of this one?

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Fantastic. It's a perfect example of its style of building.

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Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

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There's such a lot of work that's worth preserving.

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-That's coming up there, it's a lot lighter.

-It is.

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I'd love to have a look at stage four to see what that does.

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Let's see stage four, then, yeah?

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-Is that Sam?

-That's Sam.

-Sam is stage four.

-Sam is stage four.

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Come on, then.

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Builder Sam is using a tougher technique on another section

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of the building's facade.

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-So, what's Sam doing, Olly?

-This is stage four.

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If the other stages haven't been successful we move on to

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a high-pressure wash heated to 180 degrees

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which will lift all the dirt and grime off the building.

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Is there a chance that could lift some of the masonry away?

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There is a chance but in that process it's better that

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that masonry comes away now so we can deal with it so that it

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doesn't come away in the future and maybe fall on people's heads.

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So someone makes a note of it,

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what's happened, and go back and rectify it.

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We'd repair it accordingly, yeah.

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-That's bound to work, really.

-Yeah, it does a lot of the time, yeah.

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There are basically five different stages to cleaning the

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exterior of a building like this,

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with the builders working their way through the phases until it

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is successful.

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With a final stage being to apply chemicals to clean the

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building's facade.

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It's a truly stunning building -

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one which I'm sure Josiah Wedgwood would have been proud of.

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Born into a family of potters in 1730, he followed in the

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family footsteps.

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This famous potter's wares are known worldwide for their

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distinctive pale blue colouring.

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That's become known as the Wedgewood Blue.

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He got the royal seal of approval in 1766 when Queen Charlotte

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agreed to call him Potter to Her Majesty.

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And when Wedgwood went to the great pottery in the skies his reputation

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was global and his fortune was worth £500 million in today's money.

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But roll forward to today and this famous pottery is

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no longer produced in Stoke but in Asia as the business was

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bought by a foreign company in 2009.

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I'd love to know what the potteries were like back in their

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heyday so I've popped down the road to Middleport to meet an ex-potter.

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David Copeland worked at a local pottery as

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a designer for over 18 years.

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Back when you were here, David,

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the whole area must have been alive and buzzing.

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Yes, it was. In the '50s it was a smog-ridden place.

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-It had been like that for 200 years and beyond.

-Absolutely.

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Did you have any involvement with the Wedgwood Institute?

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Yes, I suppose I did.

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I didn't work there, but I used the Institute's library.

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And it was the first and probably the finest community centre.

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You would go in through the central entrance and the entrance was

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magnificent inside with wonderful Minton Hollins tiles

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and a good central staircase.

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The library was on the left-hand side for the adults and on

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the right-hand side for the children.

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How depressing was it for you to see the dereliction in the

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-Wedgwood Institute?

-Terrible.

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To see that wonderful facade with plants growing out of it is

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very sad indeed.

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This impressive-looking building is Middleport Pottery and

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has been around since the 1880s.

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It's very similar to how the Wedgwood factory would have been.

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The pottery still uses traditional skilled methods and their

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magnificent bottle kiln is one of the few remaining still in

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use in Stoke.

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Back in 2011 it was just hours away from being demolished as it

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wasn't deemed a safe building.

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But thankfully the Prince's Regeneration Trust came to its aid

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and has helped restore it back to its former working glory.

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-Hello, Teressa.

-Hi.

-Hi, Dave.

-Pleased to meet you.

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This studio we're in now,

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is this is where you make one-offs prior to the factory?

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No, this is where it all starts.

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This is the beginning of the whole process.

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So the first stage is making a mould.

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You can't make anything until you've made a mould.

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These are beautiful, aren't they?

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-They're like sculptures in themselves.

-They are.

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-And we've got an archive of over 19,000.

-How far back do they go?

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Beyond the beginning of our company, but we've got moulds from

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older factories that have closed down so it's really

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a record of social history from the last 200 years.

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Gosh!

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-Tragic if we'd have lost that.

-Definitely.

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-Oh, wow!

-All the moulds! It is beautiful.

-This is the casting shop.

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Where we cast handles and cream-ware items.

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-All your little slop trays for your teabags.

-Yes.

-Teapot trays.

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-Beautiful.

-They're very popular at the moment.

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I thought you were going to say they're very fragile.

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-They are very fragile.

-I won't touch.

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Every stage of the process is done on site.

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Including a transferring shop where designs and patterns are

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added to the pottery.

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-Crumbs, it's like walking into a laundry.

-Yep.

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-This is the transferring shop.

-Wow!

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It's wonderful.

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Certainly is. There's a chance this could have been lost.

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-We're so pleased to have it here today.

-Yes.

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There's every chance this technique would have been lost and it is

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unique within the industry nowadays.

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And it's such skilled work.

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With the pottery being rescued, the skills were saved and it can

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take seven years to learn these traditional pottery-making

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techniques. Great atmosphere in here as well.

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How often can you use the transfers?

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Presumably these are the transfers that are hanging on the

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-washing line.

-They're printed as a one-off,

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they're printed fresh and then they come out on the wires to the

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ladies who cut out the sections they need and apply it to the work,

0:17:370:17:40

which makes it sound easy but, of course, it isn't.

0:17:400:17:43

It sounds a bit of a tricky job, as well, as Zoe is just about to

0:17:430:17:46

show me.

0:17:460:17:48

I think the important thing to remember here, Dave,

0:17:480:17:51

is we can't make any more mistakes.

0:17:510:17:53

As soon as it sticks it's adhered.

0:17:530:17:56

-Can I have a go, Zoe?

-Yeah.

-Wish me luck.

0:17:560:17:59

Right.

0:18:000:18:01

Right, so I've got me transfer.

0:18:030:18:05

-So now, do I need to cut this straight?

-No, that's fine.

-Yep.

0:18:060:18:10

Up to the handle and then round the belly of the mug.

0:18:100:18:14

This is really fiddly, you know? It's like trying to shave an oyster.

0:18:150:18:18

I have to say, Dave, you're not the quickest so far.

0:18:180:18:21

It's not speed, it's quality.

0:18:210:18:23

-Exactly.

-I can't remember what I do here. Then you just slice it.

0:18:230:18:26

Away from yourself.

0:18:260:18:29

-It doesn't work.

-It's not as easy as it looks.

-No.

-45-degree angle.

0:18:290:18:32

For a first attempt I don't think it was too bad.

0:18:370:18:40

But the ladies seem to disagree. Oh, well.

0:18:400:18:44

But once the stencil's on,

0:18:450:18:47

the pottery goes to the next stage and the real reason I wanted

0:18:470:18:50

to see Middleport Pottery -

0:18:500:18:52

the firing process which can take up to three days.

0:18:520:18:55

-This is it.

-The bottle oven. This is what I would know as the kiln.

0:18:590:19:03

Absolutely, bottle kiln, bottle oven - we call them both things but it's

0:19:030:19:06

-something quite fantastic.

-What sort of temperature would it be in here?

0:19:060:19:11

Well over 1,000 degrees.

0:19:110:19:13

Back in the day, how many bottle kilns

0:19:130:19:15

would there have been in Stoke?

0:19:150:19:17

Well over 2,000.

0:19:170:19:18

-And how many survive today?

-About 47.

0:19:180:19:21

A lot of them got demolished, sadly.

0:19:210:19:22

So was it quite a smoky, kind of dirty place, Stoke,

0:19:220:19:25

when it was all fired up?

0:19:250:19:27

Absolutely horrendous. When the kilns were still firing,

0:19:270:19:29

they'd tell stories of not being able to find your way to school

0:19:290:19:32

without holding on to buildings to be able to find your way around,

0:19:320:19:35

it was that smoky, that bad.

0:19:350:19:36

Do you know, it's been amazing to look around.

0:19:360:19:39

I'm so pleased the factory's been saved,

0:19:390:19:41

and the factory's saved as it was.

0:19:410:19:43

Here's hoping Middleport Pottery continues to thrive

0:19:430:19:47

for the next 135 years.

0:19:470:19:49

Back at the Wedgwood Institute,

0:19:510:19:53

the builders have got some spooky tales to tell -

0:19:530:19:56

by all accounts, it feels they are not alone on site.

0:19:560:20:00

I was working away in one of the rooms

0:20:020:20:03

and, basically, I'd just come down,

0:20:030:20:05

popped out, gone back straight upstairs

0:20:050:20:08

and then come back up

0:20:080:20:10

and the door had locked on me.

0:20:100:20:12

One of the other joiners heard, like, footsteps behind him,

0:20:120:20:14

and he turned round and nobody were there.

0:20:140:20:16

If it was haunted, it's probably Mr Wedgwood himself, really.

0:20:160:20:20

It's no surprise to hear of ghostly goings-on,

0:20:230:20:26

especially as this area has a long tradition of occult practices

0:20:260:20:30

and a reputation for paranormal activities.

0:20:300:20:34

One of the UK's most haunted pubs, The Leopard,

0:20:350:20:39

dates back to the 18th century

0:20:390:20:40

and lies just behind the Wedgwood Institute.

0:20:400:20:44

And it is a frequent meeting place

0:20:450:20:47

for a local group of witches.

0:20:470:20:48

Did you ever get stories when you were a kid?

0:20:490:20:52

Cos I used to get loads of them about Molly Leigh,

0:20:520:20:54

the famous witch from Burslem.

0:20:540:20:56

This pub has an ancient history and, of course, because of its age,

0:20:570:21:01

this pub's history has seen it have many, many events

0:21:010:21:05

that we would perhaps call ghost events or paranormal events.

0:21:050:21:09

When I did work here, you used to have glasses flying off the bar.

0:21:090:21:12

We've had bar trays being flicked off

0:21:120:21:15

just when you've just cleaned them.

0:21:150:21:17

There is a lot going on.

0:21:170:21:19

Especially doing seances down in the cellars,

0:21:190:21:21

just to the corner of the little bar.

0:21:210:21:24

You can stand there, and all of a sudden you'll feel drunk -

0:21:240:21:26

and her name's Mary and she likes the gin.

0:21:260:21:29

Wedgwood Institute, we've had orbs coming past the windows,

0:21:310:21:34

you've seen things being thrown past the windows,

0:21:340:21:37

you've seen images at the windows,

0:21:370:21:39

but it's one of them things you've got to experience for yourself.

0:21:390:21:43

With talk of ghosts and ghouls on the Institute's doorstep,

0:21:450:21:48

there's only one thing called for -

0:21:480:21:51

a team of paranormal investigators who aren't easily spooked.

0:21:510:21:54

Got to be honest...

0:22:000:22:02

it feels like a man present.

0:22:020:22:05

-Yes, a man.

-A man.

-It feels like a man.

0:22:050:22:07

-Got a name then.

-What's the name?

-Edward.

0:22:090:22:12

So is your name Edward?

0:22:140:22:16

Would you like to come forward and speak to us, Edward?

0:22:160:22:19

We mean you no harm.

0:22:190:22:20

These ghost-busters have just the right bit of kit,

0:22:220:22:25

which picks up any electromagnetic energy in the area,

0:22:250:22:28

and all manner of things that go bump in the night.

0:22:280:22:32

If there's any spirits with us in this room,

0:22:320:22:34

could you come forward?

0:22:340:22:37

We've got equipment set up, we can hear your voice.

0:22:370:22:40

I think Edward's gone a bit shy.

0:22:410:22:44

That vending machine there, it's like a drinks machine,

0:22:440:22:47

it was wide open and then it just slammed itself

0:22:470:22:50

while we were in here.

0:22:500:22:52

-That's quite physical, then.

-FAINT KNOCKING

0:22:520:22:54

Did you hear that?

0:22:540:22:56

There's definitely a man... Definitely a man up there.

0:22:560:23:00

He's actually watching us.

0:23:010:23:02

I was going to say, it makes me feel like I want to go to him.

0:23:020:23:06

-It doesn't me!

-CHRIS LAUGHS

0:23:060:23:09

But it's that kind of feeling that...

0:23:090:23:11

You know when someone's drawing you up, to go further?

0:23:110:23:15

-That's what I mean.

-Further up the stairs.

0:23:150:23:17

I really didn't want to come in here.

0:23:220:23:25

-ELECTRONIC WHIRRING

-Did you hear something?

0:23:250:23:27

Yeah, twice.

0:23:270:23:28

Whether you believe it or not, they think they've heard something.

0:23:280:23:32

I'm not sure if our builder's convinced.

0:23:320:23:34

So, has this ghost-busting extravaganza been a success?

0:23:350:23:40

We've picked up a few names that will hopefully be verified,

0:23:400:23:43

heard footsteps earlier.

0:23:430:23:45

I think it would be great to come back of a night.

0:23:450:23:48

I'm not sure if I'm convinced.

0:23:480:23:50

I think there might be something there,

0:23:500:23:52

but you wouldn't really... know. So...

0:23:520:23:56

No sign of Mr Wedgwood there, then!

0:23:560:23:58

And not being one to be distracted,

0:24:020:24:05

time to get a bird's-eye view with terracotta expert Gary Shea.

0:24:050:24:09

Gary, what are the challenges in restoring a facade like this?

0:24:100:24:13

Cos there's so many different materials and techniques.

0:24:130:24:16

You've got so many different materials -

0:24:170:24:20

as in, a lot of the string courses are stone,

0:24:200:24:22

you've got, you can see, a lot of the decorative work

0:24:220:24:25

is what we call true terracotta,

0:24:250:24:28

but then you've got some of the ornate work on the top here

0:24:280:24:30

is actually more like stonework.

0:24:300:24:33

-Yes.

-So it's about finding someone

0:24:330:24:36

who can actually make these pieces for us,

0:24:360:24:39

which is very few and far between now.

0:24:390:24:42

Although we're in Stoke,

0:24:420:24:43

where this was probably just made down the road,

0:24:430:24:46

a lot of the companies don't exist any more, unfortunately.

0:24:460:24:50

Cor, Gary, we're 40 metres up - best part of 150 foot up.

0:24:510:24:54

Now you can really see Stoke.

0:24:540:24:56

There's a bottle kiln there.

0:24:560:24:59

There's kilns down there.

0:24:590:25:01

It really was built on ceramics.

0:25:010:25:05

It's really funny, the head-for-height thing.

0:25:050:25:08

It's a leg-wobbler, isn't it?

0:25:080:25:10

But it is the best view in the house.

0:25:100:25:12

But back to the job in hand.

0:25:140:25:16

What we've found here is a classic example,

0:25:160:25:19

on this coping here, of...

0:25:190:25:21

-The mortar's worn out, hasn't it? Washed out.

-It's just gone.

0:25:210:25:24

Cos the mortar, being the glue that holds your bricks together,

0:25:240:25:27

it also makes it watertight.

0:25:270:25:29

That's it - spot-on.

0:25:290:25:30

Which is why, if your pointing's gone on your house,

0:25:300:25:34

you're going to get damp.

0:25:340:25:35

So you need to do your pointing.

0:25:350:25:37

-It's true - innit?

-It's absolutely spot-on.

0:25:390:25:41

A pot of mortar can save you thousands in the long run.

0:25:410:25:44

Back in the day, when me father taught me how to point,

0:25:440:25:47

it was three parts sand, one of cement -

0:25:470:25:49

knock your muck up, and a squirt of washing-up liquid to make it spread.

0:25:490:25:52

Has it changed, Gary?

0:25:520:25:54

No, that's pretty much as we do it today -

0:25:540:25:56

except we're using lime, whereas they would've used lime putty.

0:25:560:26:01

Oh, that's a very dainty pointing doodah.

0:26:010:26:03

-Pointing trowel.

-Trowel's the word I was looking for.

0:26:030:26:06

Or pointing iron. Because what we want to try and do -

0:26:060:26:09

we're trying to get as much into the joint as we can.

0:26:090:26:12

What I love about all you guys

0:26:120:26:13

is that sense of pride you have in these old buildings.

0:26:130:26:16

You know, there's no short cuts.

0:26:160:26:19

Well, we can't do.

0:26:190:26:20

It's a passion that you have if you like old buildings -

0:26:200:26:23

that's why we're doing what we're doing.

0:26:230:26:25

We love the old buildings.

0:26:250:26:27

'Right, I think I've watched for long enough.

0:26:270:26:30

'Time to see if I can remember what my dad taught me.'

0:26:300:26:33

Thank you.

0:26:330:26:34

So it's...

0:26:390:26:40

Oh, I like it, Dave -

0:26:420:26:43

you've obviously done that before.

0:26:430:26:45

Do you know, it's perfectly true, this -

0:26:460:26:48

when I was a kid, about me 11th birthday,

0:26:480:26:51

me dad came up to me with a fine chisel, a trowel and a mallet

0:26:510:26:54

for me birthday present,

0:26:540:26:56

because he was too mean to pay somebody

0:26:560:26:59

to point the backyard wall.

0:26:590:27:01

If I was giving you marks out of ten for that, Dave,

0:27:010:27:04

I'd have to give you a good eight.

0:27:040:27:05

You've obviously done really well with that - you've done it before.

0:27:050:27:09

I tell you what, Gary - I never got an eight on Strictly!

0:27:090:27:12

THEY LAUGH

0:27:120:27:14

Gary's handiwork will keep the Institute watertight

0:27:150:27:18

for years to come.

0:27:180:27:20

But there's still a lot of work to be done.

0:27:200:27:22

It's fantastic on the inside,

0:27:220:27:24

fantastic on the outside.

0:27:240:27:26

Just going to be brilliant.

0:27:260:27:27

Do you know what I love about the restoration work?

0:27:270:27:30

It's restoring the buildings so they're actually fit for purpose.

0:27:300:27:33

If these things are not looked after and brought back to life,

0:27:330:27:36

they'll just collapse,

0:27:360:27:37

so we're just giving something back to the local area.

0:27:370:27:40

This has been really worthwhile, doing this project.

0:27:400:27:42

You've got a long way to go.

0:27:420:27:44

'And, come autumn 2019,

0:27:450:27:47

'when phase two of the Institute's restoration is finished,

0:27:470:27:51

'there'll be merriment all round.

0:27:510:27:54

'Coming up next time, I'll be in West Yorkshire,

0:27:540:27:56

'helping to safeguard Pontefract Castle

0:27:560:27:59

'for future generations.

0:27:590:28:01

'I'll be doing some long-overdue gardening...'

0:28:010:28:03

This place hasn't been weeded since the Civil War.

0:28:030:28:07

'Finding out the answers to some difficult questions.'

0:28:070:28:10

I mean, what was the point of things like, you know,

0:28:100:28:12

being hung, drawn and quartered?

0:28:120:28:14

'And going into battle with the Roundheads and Cavaliers.'

0:28:140:28:17

Draw!

0:28:170:28:19

You scoundrel!

0:28:190:28:20

A pox on your King!

0:28:200:28:22

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