Walking Through History

The Birth of Industry (1x1)

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Tony takes a 40-mile walk through the glorious Peak District, along the Derwent Valley, where the world's industrial revolution was born. This is a journey that reveals how Britain transformed itself from a nation of farmers into the industrial powerhouse of the world. En route Tony visits sleepy Peaks village Cromford, where Richard Arkwright established the world's first ever factory, and examines the grip that Arkwright had on Cromford, including enforcing his own currency. Nearby is the building that would lay the foundations for today's skyscrapers. Tony also encounters a 900-year-old stately home that has been used to film three different Jane Eyres. Brian Blessed introduces Tony to the joys - and the huge significance - of the Cromford canal. Later Tony climbs to the heights of the Peaks, drawn by the chance to operate a huge steam winding engine that's been working in the same place since 1829. He ends his incredible journey through economic time in Derby; the railway town's secret crown jewel is the world's first engine roundhouse, built in 1839 and now restored to its former glory.