21/10/2016 Inside Out East


21/10/2016

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The commuter who has made a business out of other people's rail lisery.

:00:00.:00:11.

We get in excess of a thous`nd claims a day from our user base

:00:12.:00:15.

In the last month, just over ?600,000 worth of compensathon

:00:16.:00:18.

As the country celebrates otr sports stars' success in Rio,

:00:19.:00:25.

we get to know national treasure Ellie Robinson.

:00:26.:00:31.

950 years after the Norman invasion of Britain,

:00:32.:00:39.

archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals what the East might have bedn

:00:40.:00:41.

Revealing the stories that matter close to home,

:00:42.:00:47.

Hello, welcome to Castle Rising in West Norfolk.

:00:48.:01:03.

Train delays - it's something you ask us to look into

:01:04.:01:06.

And if you use them all the time, it can be so frustrating

:01:07.:01:11.

Well, the Government says it's going to change the rules over

:01:12.:01:16.

compensation, but I've been to meet the commuters who say they `re

:01:17.:01:19.

fed up with late trains and the changes can't come soon enough.

:01:20.:01:27.

It's a typical weekday mornhng and Steve Coleman and daughter

:01:28.:01:29.

The pair, who live in Chelmsford, are off to catch the train

:01:30.:01:35.

from the town to Central London where they both work.

:01:36.:01:37.

Steve has been doing the journey for 20 years.

:01:38.:01:40.

I drive straight to the station and park there, and I probably get

:01:41.:01:43.

into Liverpool Street about 7:20, 7:30.

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I leave early in the morning, I leave the house probably

:01:46.:01:50.

about 5:55, with the aim of catching the 6:15 train.

:01:51.:01:58.

If all runs smoothly, Steve and his daughter can get

:01:59.:02:00.

But they both say that doesn't happen as often as they would like,

:02:01.:02:05.

Last year, I was on the trahn for two hours, in the heat,

:02:06.:02:10.

there was no water, no-one going around,

:02:11.:02:12.

And everyone was getting really agitated.

:02:13.:02:17.

Although such long delays are unusual, Melissa

:02:18.:02:20.

and her dad are so frustratdd, they've recorded some of thdir

:02:21.:02:23.

The train, there is an emergency at Shenfield, so I had to gdt

:02:24.:02:32.

a train from Liverpool Stredt to Stansted Airport,

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The trains were all cancelldd, and God knows what time I got home.

:02:36.:02:57.

Both Melissa and Steve say long hold-ups on their journeys

:02:58.:03:00.

are frequent, and even when things run smoothly,

:03:01.:03:03.

I mean, up to about five minutes at least, every day.

:03:04.:03:12.

It's not a lot, but when yot got somewhere to be, buses to c`tch

:03:13.:03:15.

people picking you up, appointments, it can really set it

:03:16.:03:18.

Obviously, it doesn't reallx wind me up and it gets to a point where

:03:19.:03:24.

when I've got some days off, I can't wait to have that break

:03:25.:03:28.

And even if the train app s`ys the trains are running on thme,

:03:29.:03:37.

we get to the station somethmes and there's delays.

:03:38.:03:39.

You can't get on the train sometimes, and it just stops outside

:03:40.:03:43.

Liverpool Street for no app`rent reason and just adds 10,

:03:44.:03:46.

How frustrating is it for you, as regular commuters who pax

:03:47.:03:50.

Season tickets are quite expensive now, they've gone up a huge amount

:03:51.:03:54.

of money in the last five, six years.

:03:55.:03:56.

Almost 25% more, I think, over the last five years.

:03:57.:03:59.

So, to not get a seat and then have constant delays on the train,

:04:00.:04:02.

The pair pay just over ?3,700 each in season tickets.

:04:03.:04:08.

Not surprisingly, they question whether they are getting

:04:09.:04:10.

In certain cases, train companies offer compensation

:04:11.:04:16.

Most use something called the delay repay scheme.

:04:17.:04:22.

Basically, it is an insurance scheme set up by the Government to cover

:04:23.:04:25.

the cost of compensation pahd to passengers when trains are late.

:04:26.:04:31.

Well, trains companies who sign up to the scheme pay compensathon out

:04:32.:04:36.

to passengers, regardless of the reason for the delay.

:04:37.:04:39.

Companies who aren't part of the scheme generally won't pay

:04:40.:04:41.

out if it's deemed the delax is out of their control.

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Currently, most train companies offer compensation for delaxs

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But just last week, the Govdrnment announced compensation will be

:04:50.:04:55.

introduced for passengers ddlayed for just 15 minutes

:04:56.:04:59.

and that the scheme will st`rt within a few months.

:05:00.:05:03.

But not all areas of the cotntry will be covered at first

:05:04.:05:06.

and there is no indication of when it will take

:05:07.:05:09.

Our commuters, Steve and Melissa, use the services of Greater Anglia.

:05:10.:05:18.

Latest government figures show that nearly 90% of their trains run

:05:19.:05:22.

on time and only 3% are either cancelled or are significantly late.

:05:23.:05:28.

But that still means there are delays on thousands

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Now, we wanted to speak to Abellio Greater Anglia

:05:31.:05:36.

on camera, but they gave us a statement instead.

:05:37.:05:38.

They said they've improved the reliability of their exhsting

:05:39.:05:40.

trains and under the new fr`nchise, they'll replace every singld

:05:41.:05:42.

train, which will further improve reliability.

:05:43.:05:47.

They also said that 70% of the disruption is caused

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by things out of their control, things like overhead power cable

:05:50.:05:53.

problems or track problems, which is the responsibility

:05:54.:05:55.

of Network Rail, and broken down trains run by other operators.

:05:56.:06:02.

But what do our two commuters think the rail operators need to do

:06:03.:06:05.

Organised, responsible, look at their timetables.

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Try and spread the trains out a bit more.

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So that the line doesn't get jammed up.

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Think about the peak times and when they can run more trains,

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If you run less trains sometimes, it frees the line up,

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Currently, passengers can only claim compensation if a train is 30

:06:30.:06:33.

minutes late, but the rail companies get compensation from Network Rail

:06:34.:06:38.

if the train is just five minutes late.

:06:39.:06:43.

So, the train companies pocket the money and do not have to pass

:06:44.:06:47.

But some people have just h`d enough of delayed or cancelled trahns.

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One former passenger thinks the system is so unfair,

:06:54.:06:56.

she has set up a business specifically to help

:06:57.:06:59.

So, what was your commute lhke and why did you start your company?

:07:00.:07:07.

My commute was from Chelmsford into Liverpool Street.

:07:08.:07:14.

Getting on a very early trahn in the morning,

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about seven o'clock in the lorning, then coming home, with everxbody

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else, about six o'clock in the evening.

:07:20.:07:21.

And when it went wrong, it went really, really horribly wrong.

:07:22.:07:23.

So, you could be delayed for 40 50, 60 minutes.

:07:24.:07:26.

I've gone halfway into London and then come back to Chelmsford.

:07:27.:07:29.

I've got all the way in and got kicked off at Brentwood.

:07:30.:07:32.

I've done many different jotrneys are but also, always,

:07:33.:07:35.

when it goes wrong, it is horribly wrong.

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Sarah runs her company from her home in Chelmsford.

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In return for a monthly fee, the company helps you process

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The idea is that it makes claiming for rail delays much simpler.

:07:45.:07:51.

She claims to have more than 30 000 customers across the UK.

:07:52.:07:56.

And how much money do you think you are getting back for thdse

:07:57.:07:59.

At the moment, I think the latest figures were showing in the last

:08:00.:08:05.

month, just over ?600,000 worth of sensation returned

:08:06.:08:07.

That is an incredible figurd, an astonishing amount of money that

:08:08.:08:17.

you're getting back from rahl companies for customers.

:08:18.:08:19.

So, it just goes to show how many times that people are actually

:08:20.:08:22.

We get in excess of 1000 cl`ims a day from our user base.

:08:23.:08:30.

Now, you are not doing this out of the goodness of your heart,

:08:31.:08:34.

Oh, yes, absolutely, it is a business.

:08:35.:08:37.

We set up, formally registered in 2013 and through word of mouth

:08:38.:08:39.

and really good customer service, we have just grown

:08:40.:08:42.

Rail companies have their own online compensation sites and they say

:08:43.:08:45.

it is easy to claim back money if you are delayed.

:08:46.:08:50.

But with the new plans to allow passengers to clail

:08:51.:08:52.

for just a 15 minute delay, what does Sarah think

:08:53.:08:55.

I think claims will go through the roof.

:08:56.:09:01.

Up to 600% increase on the Greater Anglia franchise

:09:02.:09:05.

600% additional claims that could be valid if you were impacted

:09:06.:09:12.

Compensation for short delaxs is good news for passengers,

:09:13.:09:19.

but even so, it is still little comfort to those whose journeys

:09:20.:09:23.

How does it leave you feeling by the time

:09:24.:09:29.

I can't cope with it, it's just so exhausting.

:09:30.:09:32.

Over time, you do get used to the delays, and it's acttally

:09:33.:09:41.

a pleasure when they do run on time, and you're not rammed in,

:09:42.:09:44.

So, for you, it has become a way of life?

:09:45.:09:51.

It has become a way of life, absolutely.

:09:52.:09:55.

And if you want us to look into something

:09:56.:09:57.

here on the programme, send me a tweet, or e-mail.

:09:58.:10:04.

This is Inside Out for the Dast of England here on BBC One.

:10:05.:10:08.

Coming up, Ben Robinson shows us exactly what the Normans did for us

:10:09.:10:11.

At the start of this week, our Olympic and Paralympic teams

:10:12.:10:22.

showed off their medals at the national parade,

:10:23.:10:25.

and in fact, that's why Inside Out is on now,

:10:26.:10:27.

Among the heroes, gold medallist swimmer Ellie Robinson.

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She lives, swims and goes to school in Northamptonshire.

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Well, Ellie is now back in training, but she made time for Insidd Out.

:10:37.:10:40.

COMMENTATOR: Here she comes, Ellie Robinson!

:10:41.:10:48.

Kind of, everything you've done in training is practice,

:10:49.:10:56.

and just get everything right and just going through that race,

:10:57.:10:59.

and try and win, try and be`t the person next to you.

:11:00.:11:02.

Surely on her way to Paralympic gold here!

:11:03.:11:04.

Ellie Robinson is coming into the final stages,

:11:05.:11:07.

Fantastic, she is the Paralympic champion.

:11:08.:11:13.

15 years old and a Paralymphc champion with her own distinctive

:11:14.:11:17.

A gold and a bronze in Rio, swimming has a new star,

:11:18.:11:26.

and it has been one long party back home in Northampton.

:11:27.:11:30.

It's lovely, just to come and celebrate Ellie's achievements

:11:31.:11:33.

with the swimming club that have helped her to get there

:11:34.:11:35.

There's just that extra 5% that you've got to have to be able

:11:36.:11:41.

to achieve at the highest ldvel and she's certainly got that.

:11:42.:11:46.

As soon as she walks out for any final,

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Ellie was not supposed to have been in Brazil -

:11:50.:11:56.

Tokyo was the target in four years' time, when she will be 19.

:11:57.:11:59.

But what happened in Rio surprised her coaches,

:12:00.:12:01.

For any 15-year-old to win a Paralympic gold medal,

:12:02.:12:07.

But then, you consider that Ellie only had her first swimming

:12:08.:12:13.

She has certainly come a long way in a short space of time.

:12:14.:12:21.

I remember when I went to mx very first competition, I think H won

:12:22.:12:24.

two bronzes and a silver, something like that.

:12:25.:12:26.

I remember that little girl who was like, yeah,

:12:27.:12:30.

And eventually, the competitions just got bigger, and it camd as such

:12:31.:12:34.

a shock when I qualified for Rio, and then when I went to Maddira

:12:35.:12:38.

for the European Championshhps, I raced my rival, and it was great,

:12:39.:12:42.

because I just progressed so quickly, and it was

:12:43.:12:45.

Make sure you're working strong break-out.

:12:46.:12:49.

Breathe every two down the length of the pool, OK?

:12:50.:12:53.

Ellie is Northampton Swimming Club's very first Paralympic champhon.

:12:54.:12:57.

She loves training, which is just as well,

:12:58.:12:59.

as this is where you will fhnd her 15 hours every week,

:13:00.:13:02.

She's got that sort of compdtitive edge that you need to be

:13:03.:13:08.

Yeah, to reach the highest level in any sport, and particularly

:13:09.:13:12.

at international level, you've got to have that edgd.

:13:13.:13:16.

When those eight swimmers in the Paralympic final for the 50

:13:17.:13:18.

butterfly were still on the blocks, they've all done the same alount

:13:19.:13:21.

of training, they have all got excellent nutritional advicd,

:13:22.:13:24.

they are wearing the best stits they have done the work

:13:25.:13:27.

and at the end of the day, it just comes down to who w`nts that

:13:28.:13:30.

And it is Ellie Robinson coming through!

:13:31.:13:33.

Ellie was inspired to get into swimming by the gold mddal

:13:34.:13:35.

She was the London Paralymphcs four years ago, and after her Rio

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display, Ellie Junior has joined her at the top of thd sport.

:13:42.:13:46.

-- she was the big star at the London Paralympics.

:13:47.:13:49.

When I started swimming, it was always what I wanted to do.

:13:50.:13:52.

I always wanted to inspire people, like Ellie Simmonds did.

:13:53.:13:55.

And it's so strange to think that I'm actually doing that and people

:13:56.:13:58.

Well, metaphorically, but, yeah, it's great.

:13:59.:14:01.

The hope is that the current Paralympians will inspire the next

:14:02.:14:04.

generation of disabled people to take up sport.

:14:05.:14:08.

I think Eleanor would be thd first to say she hasn't got

:14:09.:14:11.

So, from Eleanor's point of view, yeah, she hasn't got a disability.

:14:12.:14:17.

And in fact, if she encourages other children, other adults,

:14:18.:14:20.

anybody with a disability, to get into sport and to find

:14:21.:14:24.

something they are good at `nd gives them friendships, then

:14:25.:14:27.

But it is not just about crdating more champions, it is about getting

:14:28.:14:35.

Even with the recent success of our Paralympians in the last few

:14:36.:14:40.

Games, it appears it is a problem getting disabled people

:14:41.:14:43.

Figures from Sport England show you are twice as likely

:14:44.:14:48.

to participate in sport if you are able bodied,

:14:49.:14:51.

This is Pemberton Sports Centre in Rushden.

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Every week, it holds regular sports activities for local

:15:00.:15:01.

Just introducing skills that, they are part of a sport,

:15:02.:15:06.

but that in itself is an achievement for those people

:15:07.:15:08.

Graeme Wilson is disability officer for a body called

:15:09.:15:11.

Northamptonshire Sport, which is a partnership of both local

:15:12.:15:14.

The aim is to try and make sport accessible for everyone

:15:15.:15:19.

in the country, both able-bodied and disabled.

:15:20.:15:22.

I like doing my archery, because it's one of

:15:23.:15:25.

And even though I only do it, like, once every two weeks,

:15:26.:15:30.

You're very good at it, too.

:15:31.:15:34.

What are the particular challenges with doing your job?

:15:35.:15:39.

I mean, the traditional ones, the sociological side of thhngs

:15:40.:15:44.

really, the transport barriers, the financial

:15:45.:15:46.

But often, it's more the psychological side of things of,

:15:47.:15:50.

Because very often, they might not have had the same positive

:15:51.:15:54.

experience growing up in sport, so more of us have to convince them

:15:55.:15:58.

What particularly are you doing here in Northamptonshire to try

:15:59.:16:02.

We've got so much on offer in Northamptonshire

:16:03.:16:05.

It's now getting them to access it, and the Paralympics are so good

:16:06.:16:10.

to promote what people can do at a global level and we want to use

:16:11.:16:14.

role models like Ellie Robinson obviously, in the county now, but,

:16:15.:16:18.

yes, that's the top level, but why don't you just try ht

:16:19.:16:21.

You're not all going to be Paralympians, but just try ht,

:16:22.:16:24.

enjoy it and benefit from it to whatever extent you want to.

:16:25.:16:28.

Despite the best efforts of Graham and others

:16:29.:16:30.

at Northamptonshire Sport, there is a particular probldm

:16:31.:16:32.

with getting disabled people involved in sport.

:16:33.:16:36.

But when you look at Alex hdre, who is enjoying a spot

:16:37.:16:39.

of trampolining, just getting here, just enjoying yourself,

:16:40.:16:41.

you can see what a difference it does make to their lives.

:16:42.:16:45.

Alex has been coming here for six years.

:16:46.:16:47.

His brother, Martin, is a regular, too.

:16:48.:16:49.

Without these weekly sessions, they would be lost.

:16:50.:16:53.

Without a club like this, and all the boys would do throughout

:16:54.:16:56.

the day, they would probablx sit in their bedrooms,

:16:57.:16:59.

on their computers, watching videos, or just generally

:17:00.:17:04.

So, without this club, they would have nothing.

:17:05.:17:12.

You come here every week, do you, Martin?

:17:13.:17:14.

And the best bit about here, is it the archery?

:17:15.:17:24.

The Paralympics has produced big stars, but the most disabled people,

:17:25.:17:30.

just coming along and taking part can be just as rewarding

:17:31.:17:32.

For Ellie, it has been a whirlwind few months.

:17:33.:17:40.

It is thanks to her club's policy of training disabled and able-bodied

:17:41.:17:43.

swimmers together that has dnabled Ellie to realise her full potential.

:17:44.:17:47.

We try to integrate them by keeping everything as normal as we can,

:17:48.:17:50.

including them in everything that we do, and we take thel

:17:51.:17:53.

to all the meets that we go to, they have their own para medts,

:17:54.:17:56.

but they also come to other meets with all the able-bodied swhmmers.

:17:57.:17:59.

We are just one big, happy team, really.

:18:00.:18:03.

Ellie is now the one to beat, and someone keen to follow

:18:04.:18:09.

in her wake is 14-year-old Laisie, who is also a member

:18:10.:18:12.

of Northampton Swimming Club and is already, like Ellie, tipped

:18:13.:18:15.

As we're both training for Tokyo, what advice would you give

:18:16.:18:26.

to someone like me, and othdr people who are aiming for Tokyo?

:18:27.:18:28.

If you get selected and if you go, just enjoy it.

:18:29.:18:31.

Don't try and count the days down or wish it all away,

:18:32.:18:34.

because it is just something that you're never going

:18:35.:18:36.

The main thing, your first one, enjoy it because there

:18:37.:18:40.

It's nice, you can just use it to meet lots of different pdople.

:18:41.:18:44.

It is easy to forget, with all the success Ellie has had,

:18:45.:18:47.

she is still only a 15-year,old schoolgirl, with an important final

:18:48.:18:50.

Geography, history and Germ`n alongside thousands and thotsands

:18:51.:18:56.

I'm going to take every year as it is.

:18:57.:19:02.

I want to go to Tokyo, because it was always

:19:03.:19:04.

going to be my main aim, and Rio was the one that cale early,

:19:05.:19:08.

I'll think about the worlds next year and just...

:19:09.:19:12.

Whatever happens, happens, because so much can happen

:19:13.:19:14.

This month marks the 950th anniversary of the Norman invasion

:19:15.:19:21.

Harold was slain by an arrow, William the Conqueror becamd King

:19:22.:19:28.

and the Normans changed the face of Britain.

:19:29.:19:31.

So, here in the East, without the Normans,

:19:32.:19:34.

Well, best to ask a man who knows, archaeologist Ben Robinson.

:19:35.:19:40.

From building boom, to our obsession with the class system,

:19:41.:19:45.

from international trade to exotic foreign food and shopping,

:19:46.:19:50.

our whole way of life has its roots in Norman Britain

:19:51.:19:56.

When William the Conqueror invaded our shores, a key prize

:19:57.:19:59.

Increasingly prosperous, well-managed and with trading links

:20:00.:20:05.

to the near continent, it was well worth taking ovdr.

:20:06.:20:09.

To really stamp their authority the Normans started building,

:20:10.:20:12.

Initially, this came from France, but pretty quickly they started

:20:13.:20:20.

I'm at Barnack quarry in Cambridgeshire,

:20:21.:20:26.

These hills and hollows werd once mined for stone, first

:20:27.:20:33.

by the Romans, but then in earnest by the Normans.

:20:34.:20:36.

This is Barnack Rag, it's a limestone.

:20:37.:20:39.

And it is brilliant for building with, it is so durable and xet

:20:40.:20:42.

This was highly prized in Norman times.

:20:43.:20:47.

The stone was transported via the Fenland waterways and rivers

:20:48.:20:51.

to Saxon towns such as Peterborough and Bury St Edmunds,

:20:52.:20:56.

to build not just parish churches, but uniquely

:20:57.:20:58.

And there is nowhere better to see the fruits of that building boom

:20:59.:21:09.

To assert their divine right to power, the Normans built

:21:10.:21:12.

great temples to God, cathedrals, the scale

:21:13.:21:14.

and like of which had never been seen before.

:21:15.:21:16.

In Norwich, they've got one of the finest examples.

:21:17.:21:23.

Elsewhere in the East, the Ship of the Fens,

:21:24.:21:25.

the Cathedral at Ely, and Peterborough Cathedral,

:21:26.:21:29.

owe their size and appearance to the Normans.

:21:30.:21:32.

But even more than cathedrals, they built castles,

:21:33.:21:34.

Castles did not exist in thhs country before the Norman conquest.

:21:35.:21:42.

They served as military basds and home to the Lord,

:21:43.:21:45.

Norwich Castle is one of the earliest to be built.

:21:46.:21:51.

It was a classic Norman deshgn, a motte and bailey.

:21:52.:21:54.

We are looking at the motte, which is just a great

:21:55.:21:57.

The sides of the mound were so steep, it would be

:21:58.:22:01.

impossible to run up and launch an attack.

:22:02.:22:04.

Originally, there would havd been a wooden tower up there.

:22:05.:22:06.

Some castles served as Royal palaces.

:22:07.:22:16.

At Norwich, the ornate keep built by William's son, King Henrx I,

:22:17.:22:19.

was refaced in the 1830s, btt it faithfully kept its Norman design.

:22:20.:22:25.

Dr John Davies is the chief curator of Norwich Castle.

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So, what are the features that scream out royal castle, rather

:22:30.:22:32.

Well, when Henry I became Khng, he really wanted to outdo

:22:33.:22:40.

And you can actually see at that point, 1100, it suddenly

:22:41.:22:43.

blossoms into something very, very special here.

:22:44.:22:45.

And the point about this was, it was deliberately planted

:22:46.:22:48.

It was the second city of the country at that time.

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It was hugely important to the whole expansion

:22:57.:22:58.

Along with Norwich, the Norlans built castles in Huntingdon,

:22:59.:23:04.

This was state power on a grand scale.

:23:05.:23:11.

But aside from building castles in existing towns, they set

:23:12.:23:13.

about building new towns centred around new castles.

:23:14.:23:20.

I've come to Castle Rising in Norfolk.

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This is one of the finest Norman castles in the country,

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surrounded by these great earthworks, huge ditch,

:23:27.:23:30.

huge bank defining the baildy, and the bailey is where the chief

:23:31.:23:34.

The Lord himself lived in there, the hall keep.

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And today, I'm going to meet the current Lord, Howard of Rising.

:23:41.:23:45.

One feature of this rather grand entrance, in case

:23:46.:23:48.

there were unwelcome visitors, there was one of the defencds,

:23:49.:23:51.

which is a hole through which boiling oil was poured

:23:52.:23:54.

So, you are trying to impress some people with this

:23:55.:24:02.

lovely thing, others, you want to keep out.

:24:03.:24:04.

Lord Howard can trace his f`mily back to the Norman Lord,

:24:05.:24:07.

William D'Albini, who built the castle for his new wife,

:24:08.:24:10.

Now, your family, the Howards, and the Albinis, were connected

:24:11.:24:17.

One of my ancestors married one of his descendants, but then

:24:18.:24:21.

what happened in the meantile, the castle had gone out of D'Albini,

:24:22.:24:25.

through various people, into the Royal family,

:24:26.:24:29.

and it was given to the Dukd of Norfolk, who was a Howard, at

:24:30.:24:32.

The Lord may now be a benign figure, but in Norman times,

:24:33.:24:40.

At a stroke, we lost this more democratic Saxon model,

:24:41.:24:47.

where the Lord literally lived with his people.

:24:48.:24:50.

His hall was like a community centre at times.

:24:51.:24:53.

But in Norman England, people really learned

:24:54.:24:57.

Together with the new style of governance came a new approach

:24:58.:25:03.

I'm in the Rockingham Forest area of Northamptonshire,

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and this is one of the great Norman Royal forests.

:25:11.:25:13.

Now, forest to the Normans leant something different to how

:25:14.:25:16.

The area was not covered in woodland.

:25:17.:25:20.

There was pasture, cultivatdd land, moorland, heath.

:25:21.:25:25.

This was all about control of the countryside.

:25:26.:25:32.

Now, the woods were especially important, and I'm off to one now,

:25:33.:25:35.

Keith Walkling is a voluntedr for the Woodland Trust.

:25:36.:25:39.

I'm just looking at this hazel stall here, we are about to start

:25:40.:25:45.

And coppicing, that's cutting it down right to stump level?

:25:46.:25:50.

Yeah, cut it down right to ground level, in order

:25:51.:25:52.

You are doing exactly what the Normans would have

:25:53.:25:56.

done 1000 years ago, for slightly different reasons.

:25:57.:25:59.

Absolutely, I mean, we are doing it for environmental reasons,

:26:00.:26:03.

In Norman times, woodland like this was virtually

:26:04.:26:10.

The timber had a great valud, it was a commodity, as such,

:26:11.:26:16.

the King very carefully controlled who had access to it.

:26:17.:26:20.

If you couldn't pay for it, you couldn't have it.

:26:21.:26:23.

That drove a further wedge between the people

:26:24.:26:26.

in the countryside, the nobhlity and the King.

:26:27.:26:30.

Back in places like Norwich, something else was happening.

:26:31.:26:34.

The towns were developing a class of their own, the merchant class,

:26:35.:26:37.

traders who unlike their cotntry cousins, had rights.

:26:38.:26:44.

Despite the destruction of ` large part of Saxon Norwich

:26:45.:26:46.

to build the castle, there was then a deliberate policy

:26:47.:26:49.

to expand the place, and the Normans did this

:26:50.:26:51.

with the creation of a new puarter, the French Borough.

:26:52.:26:55.

The market was right at the heart of this place and it still hs today.

:26:56.:27:00.

It was part of a deliberate ploy to ensure that the town thrhved

:27:01.:27:04.

as the major regional centrd in one of the richest parts of the country.

:27:05.:27:10.

And with the markets came produce from the countryside.

:27:11.:27:13.

Game meat, but also exotic food and exotic herbs and spices

:27:14.:27:17.

The contrast with rural England could not have been more marked

:27:18.:27:31.

The split between town and country that we see to this day was cemented

:27:32.:27:36.

Life without the Normans wotld have been very different.

:27:37.:27:41.

From mighty castles and cathedrals to town life and the rigid caste

:27:42.:27:44.

system, all of these were Norman imports and for better or for worse,

:27:45.:27:48.

Well, that is it from the Norman castle here at Castle Rising.

:27:49.:28:00.

We are going to be back in our regular spot next wedk,

:28:01.:28:03.

We are going to be investig`ting the epidemic of type two di`betes.

:28:04.:28:10.

We discover why it is so serious for the NHS, experts warn that

:28:11.:28:14.

preventable diabetes is putting huge strain on Health Service finances.

:28:15.:28:20.

But in the meantime, you can get in touch with me on Twitter,

:28:21.:28:23.

We will see you next week, take care, bye-bye.

:28:24.:29:04.

Hello, I'm Elaine Dunkley with your 90-second update.

:29:05.:29:07.

Silence to remember the Aberfan disaster.

:29:08.:29:10.

50 years ago today, a mountain of coal waste engulfed a village,

:29:11.:29:13.

144 people were killed - most of them were children.

:29:14.:29:19.

A chemical incident at London's City Airport.

:29:20.:29:23.

He was a policeman and a scout leader.

:29:24.:29:25.

Today, Allan Richards was found guilty of 40 offences,

:29:26.:29:28.

including rape and sexual assault against boys as young as eight.

:29:29.:29:30.

He had carried out the attacks over 30 years.

:29:31.:29:37.

A chemical incident at London's City Airport.

:29:38.:29:39.

Passengers were evacuated and all flights grounded.

:29:40.:29:44.

26 people have been treated for breathing problems and two

:29:45.:29:46.

The scene in the English Channel earlier.

:29:47.:29:49.

This is a Russian aircraft carrier heading to Syria.

:29:50.:29:54.

The ship was monitored by the Royal Navy

:29:55.:29:57.

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