- 2 days ago
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:01Well, welcome to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
00:04Up until very recently, the wonderful columns here,
00:07the Doric columns and everything, were all boxed in.
00:09But my determination was to bring it back to what it was.
00:12And there is a bar dedicated to Cecil Beaton,
00:16who, of course, did the costumes for My Fair Lady,
00:19which was the first musical I ever saw.
00:22Andrew Lloyd Webber is a multi-award-winning
00:24global superstar of musical theatre.
00:27He has composed and produced some of the world's most famous
00:31and commercially successful musicals,
00:34including Cats, Evita and Phantom of the Opera.
00:40So, come in here and we go into the Great Drury Lane Rotunda.
00:45This is the last great one of its kind.
00:49Andrew runs an entertainment empire, owning six West End theatres.
00:54In 2000, he bought the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
00:58and has spent the last two decades restoring it to its original glory.
01:04For me, it's like having one's beautiful country house in the middle of London.
01:09I just walk around it sometimes and I just can't believe that we've been able to bring it back like
01:14this.
01:14It really combines my great passion of music and art and architecture.
01:20If you like to look up,
01:23Rodgers and Hammerstein played here,
01:25and that's a fanciful scene with Richard Rodgers playing the piano.
01:29And on the right-hand side, a very young Andrew Lloyd Webber listening to his absolute idol.
01:37Born in London in 1948, Andrew grew up in a musical family.
01:43His interest in theatre started as a child.
01:47I built this toy theatre at home, which did everything from rock shows
01:52to sort of rather serious, po-faced plays,
01:55which my brother would help me in pushing things around on the stage,
01:58doing really terrible musicals.
02:02Julian, my brother, is three years younger than me,
02:05and he developed very, very early on this extraordinary interest in the cello.
02:12And, of course, he went on to become, you know,
02:16probably the leading cellist in the country.
02:22My mother was a really extraordinary piano teacher,
02:26and my father was an academic musician and a brilliant church organist.
02:33But what I discovered was how much, really, he wanted to be a composer.
02:38I would often play him things that I'd done.
02:50And so I played it to Dad, and I said,
02:53does it remind you of anything?
02:55And Dad turned around and said,
02:56it reminds me of ten million dollars.
03:03Everybody has a bit of everybody in them.
03:06You know, I love taking on challenges,
03:08so there has to be some strong person somewhere around.
03:12I suppose the thing I would most like to discover
03:15is where on earth my love of musical theatre came from,
03:19and where the shows that I like to write,
03:23you know, where on earth did that come from?
04:01So here he is, Mojito, a very important member of my family.
04:05Really, it's him whose parents should be being discussed,
04:09and his bloodline, because he's a Havanese dog from Cuba,
04:12and therefore he's a very, very Spanish aristocratic person.
04:17But he's Mojito, who I bought when I saw the Cats movie,
04:20because I thought I needed an antidote, and it's called a dog.
04:23And here he is, and he's a very, very lovely boy.
04:26And at my advanced age, I have fallen in love with a little dog.
04:31And he loves the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
04:33Likes the Royal Box, because he likes to sit in that.
04:36Here we go, into the theatre.
04:40Petey.
04:41Here we go. Come on.
04:43It's a good boy.
04:45To help him explore his family archive,
04:49Andrew is meeting up with eldest daughter Imogen in his theatre office.
04:56Let's start at the very beginning.
04:57Very good place to start.
04:58So what have we got here?
05:00Oh, is that the wedding?
05:02That, yes, is Mum and Dad.
05:05Gosh, my mother's very flowery.
05:09Very flowery indeed.
05:11So this, of course, is you with your mum, Gene.
05:14Yes.
05:15Tiny, tiny baby.
05:15On the balcony of our flat in South Kensington.
05:18But she was also musical as well, so you got it on both sides.
05:21Yeah, but she was a very good piano teacher.
05:23Where your patience comes from, Dad.
05:25Yes, I mean, my well-known sense of, you know.
05:28Yes.
05:29Quiet patience, yes.
05:31Yeah, I am part and very patient.
05:32Yes.
05:33And never, ever lose my temper.
05:34Never, ever.
05:35That's my Granny Molly when she's very young.
05:38She was a strong woman, wasn't she?
05:40Frankly, she was the backbone of the family.
05:44We all lived in her flat.
05:46So she was married to a Johnston.
05:49They're a clan in Scotland.
05:50They're a clan, yeah.
05:50Yes.
05:51So you're allowed to wear a kilt, aren't you?
05:53Yes, I have the whole regalia.
05:55So she was married to the Johnston and then he left her and...
05:59Well, I don't know exactly what happened, but they got divorced,
06:02you know, very early on at a time when people didn't really get divorced.
06:06And I do know she basically bought up the kids
06:09and they moved from Harrow, which is where they had a house.
06:13Right.
06:13After my uncle was drowned in this boating accident.
06:18That's Alistair.
06:19That would be Alistair.
06:20So he drowned young, didn't he?
06:23Well, he was 18.
06:24It's very, very sad.
06:27We found something in your archive, Dad,
06:29that might go back a bit further into the maternal side of the family.
06:33So there you all are.
06:35That's us, yeah.
06:36It goes right back then.
06:38Look, they all came to marry reverence.
06:40There's a lot of church.
06:42We got this guy.
06:44He looks very posh.
06:46Sir Peregrine, yes.
06:47Have you heard about him?
06:48No.
06:50He commanded guards at Waterloo.
06:52Well, perhaps he inspired Abba.
06:54You never know.
06:54Well, you never know.
06:55OK, so that means Thomas is your fourth great-grandfather.
07:00Yes.
07:00And then Peregrine is your fourth great-uncle.
07:04That's right.
07:04That would be right.
07:04Well, this side of the family, I think, is obviously posher than we possibly thought.
07:10Well, that's interesting.
07:11We must find out a bit more about Sir Peregrine, but he's rather distinguished.
07:16A long-forgotten document in the family archive has helped Andrew trace his maternal line back to his four times
07:24great-grandparents, Thomas and Jane Maitland.
07:31The document also shows that his four times great-uncle Peregrine Maitland was a knight and a general who fought
07:39at the Battle of Waterloo.
07:42Andrew was made a lord in 1997, but he's discovered that his noble lineage goes much further back.
07:49So, to find out more, he's come to the Royal College of Arms, where the records of Britain's aristocracy are
07:55kept.
07:56He's welcomed by officer-at-arms Peter O'Donoghue.
08:02I found in my archive this family tree of my mother's side of the family.
08:11I was very intrigued by this fellow, Sir Peregrine Maitland, who I really know nothing about.
08:19Well, let's have a look at this, which will shed a little bit more light on Sir Peregrine Maitland.
08:26Now, this is a painting of the Battle of Waterloo.
08:29The artist tried to capture this very complicated, confusing battle in one iconic moment.
08:35Yes. That is Wellington.
08:36That's Wellington himself.
08:37Exactly.
08:38Right.
08:40And?
08:40And Sir Peregrine Maitland is features here.
08:44Oh, he's a fierce fellow.
08:46Wellington waits until the Imperial French Guard are just coming up to the brow of the hill,
08:51and then he turns to Maitland and he says,
08:53Now, Maitland, now's your time.
08:56Maitland rallies all of his brigade of guards.
08:59They will leap to their feet and fire into the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard are routed.
09:04And that's sort of the moment that the battle really is won.
09:07So, he was obviously a very brave military man.
09:11Exactly.
09:11This is something that I did not inherit.
09:14I don't think Sir Peregrine would have been very proud of me.
09:18Well, there's different types of bravery, but his was to sort of hold your nerve.
09:24Yes.
09:25And then take advantage and strike hard when it's the right time.
09:28It is a turning point, actually, in history, isn't it?
09:31Exactly.
09:31Because that was the end of Napoleon.
09:33Yeah, exactly.
09:34Thank goodness.
09:37Andrew's four times great uncle, Peregrine Maitland, was caught up in one of the most famous moments in European history.
09:44The Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when British forces defeated Napoleon's army.
09:52Peregrine's decisions on the battlefield were critical to Britain's victory against France.
09:57And, after more than 20 years of conflict, the Napoleonic Wars were finally over.
10:05Peregrine Maitland becomes a national hero.
10:08Sir Peregrine was knighted shortly after the battle.
10:11So, this is a grant of a coat of arms.
10:13Yes.
10:13So, this commemorates his great military service.
10:16I came in here some years ago, trying to decide on a coat of arms when I went into the
10:22House of Lords.
10:23And I could never work it out.
10:25So, now I've got food for thought, although I obviously can't pinch the other maintenance idea, I don't think.
10:30Maybe not.
10:31So, you could make a reference to it.
10:32I might have to have a cat, maybe.
10:35Very nice.
10:36Cats are very popular.
10:37I'm sure they are.
10:38We actually have to steer people away from having too many domestic pets.
10:40No, I think you're right there.
10:42He, obviously, mentions his own honours.
10:44Yes.
10:45And then he can't resist mentioning his ancestors.
10:49He's obviously very status conscious.
10:53The College of Arms holds more evidence of Andrew's aristocratic ancestry.
10:58So, to look further at that interesting family, I've got another manuscript I'd like to show you now.
11:04This is a wonderful treasure.
11:08Here's the page we want.
11:11This is beautifully done, isn't it?
11:13Yeah.
11:15This manuscript was more than 400 years old.
11:19So, Peregrine, it's one of those very, very rare and unusual names.
11:25Yes.
11:25Which sort of echoes down the family tree.
11:27Well, I can spot a peregrine here.
11:30And then it goes up to Richard and Catherine.
11:35You've got this line of military figures, these men.
11:37Yes.
11:37But what's incredibly interesting is the power actually comes from the women.
11:42Interesting.
11:42Comes from Catherine.
11:44So, she's key to the whole thing.
11:46Exactly that.
11:46And it's a way into understanding a lot that was going on during this period.
11:51And we are talking here, of course, about the reign of Henry VIII.
11:55Goodness me.
11:56Sir Catherine married twice then.
12:00Her first husband, Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk.
12:03So, this immensely powerful and wealthy person.
12:06And he died or?
12:08And he died.
12:09Yes.
12:10And then her second husband, your ancestor.
12:13Yes.
12:13Richard Barty.
12:14Wasn't a nobleman.
12:16He wasn't from that aristocratic background.
12:18So, she married down the second time.
12:20She married down, yeah.
12:22And you're going to want to think about why that was and what the circumstances.
12:26Maybe she just fancied him.
12:27You never know.
12:29Andrew has pushed his family tree back to the 1500s
12:32and discovered that his 12 times great-grandmother, Catherine Willoughby,
12:37was married twice.
12:38First to the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Charles Brandon,
12:42and then a much lowlier marriage to his 12 times great-grandfather, Richard Barty.
12:48Having uncovered some tantalizing clues about Catherine's life,
12:52Andrew is keen to know how the story unfolds.
12:55So, he's starting at the beginning
12:56and heading to Catherine's childhood home in Suffolk,
12:59now owned by farmer Mike Gray.
13:04It's quite, quite beautiful.
13:07Actually, in the sunlight, it must be absolutely wonderful.
13:09Yeah, I'm...
13:10I'm imagining it in glorious...
13:13It's a day to come, Andrew.
13:14It's a nice sunny day, I can assure you.
13:17It looks as if this is a sort of, almost like a fragment of the house.
13:20Obviously, in your family's time,
13:22it would have been a lot bigger house than what it is there.
13:24Yes, and it's become a farmhouse.
13:27But, you know, what is absolutely stunning about it is the brickwork.
13:33Andrew has arranged to meet Tudor historian Linda Porter in one of the oldest parts of the house.
13:40Gosh, what a ruin.
13:42And we've got some interesting things to show you in it.
13:44How wonderful.
13:45The first two words are of considerable interest in the context of Catherine's youth.
13:51This indenture?
13:52Yes.
13:52Ah.
13:54Made the 20th day of November.
13:55In the 19th year of the reign of King Henry VIII.
13:58In the year 1527.
14:00And that is a signature?
14:02Yes, it's Henry VIII's signature on the indenture.
14:06Goodness.
14:07Between the same sovereign lord on the one party and Charles Duke of Suffolk on the other party,
14:13witnesses that the king hath bargained, sold and granted unto the said duke the custody of Catherine Willoughby.
14:20Well, she's sold.
14:21It's her wardship that's being sold.
14:23That's being sold, yes.
14:24For which bargains, sale and grant, the said duke shall content and pay unto the treasurer of the king
14:314,000 marks of lawful money of England.
14:33But it does look as if 4,000 marks was paid for poor old Catherine.
14:37What's happened to her is that her father has died the previous year.
14:41Right.
14:42Wardship was a way of securing a well-born child for the future.
14:47Yes.
14:47One that was also lucrative for the crown.
14:50So basically it's a kind of tax.
14:53Yes.
14:53So what age would Catherine have been?
14:55Catherine was eight at the time that this wardship was awarded.
14:59Gosh, it gets worse and worse.
15:00And she was going to move to join the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk at their house at Westhorpe.
15:07I see.
15:07In Suffolk.
15:08That would be just 4,000 marks.
15:11What would that be?
15:12It amounts in today's money to about 1.1 million.
15:16The little millionaires.
15:18Yes.
15:18Well, as far as her.
15:20Well, she didn't get it.
15:21No, she didn't get it.
15:22There was a poor price on her head.
15:22The Willoughbys were a very important family.
15:26And for Charles Brandon there is a really useful financial imperative in allying with them.
15:31But Andrew, there is a twist to all of this.
15:33This is the next document which will take the story much further on.
15:37Aha.
15:41Looks like a whole load of figures.
15:43It's in code.
15:44It's in code.
15:45We have a transcription.
15:47On Sunday next, the Duke of Suffolk will be married to the daughter of Lady Willoughby.
15:53She was promised to his son, but he is only 10 years old.
15:57And although it is not worth writing to Your Majesty, the novelty of the case made me mention it.
16:02It's from the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuis, writing to his master, the Emperor Charles V.
16:09The Duchess of Suffolk had died in 1533.
16:13Yes.
16:13Three months later, Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, marries his ward, Catherine Willoughby.
16:21And she was 14 years old.
16:23How big was the age gap?
16:24He was 49.
16:2549?
16:26Yes.
16:26And she was 14?
16:27She was 14, yes.
16:29And the marriage went ahead?
16:30It did, yes.
16:31Shortly after her marriage to Charles Brandon, they left Suffolk to take up residence at Grimsthorpe Castle.
16:40Grimsthorpe?
16:41Well, I've been there quite recently, and I had absolutely no idea that there was any family connection with the
16:48place.
16:52To find out more about Catherine's life with her much older husband, Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, Andrew is
16:59heading north to Grimsthorpe Castle, armed with his favourite guide to British architecture.
17:06Well, Simon Jenkins describes Grimsthorpe, I rather love this, as brim by name, but not by nature.
17:13Grimsthorpe is one of the great houses of England, and I have to say I agree with him, but I
17:18have no idea that my 12 times great-grandmother was at one point the mistress of the house.
17:37Hello, Andrew.
17:38Oh, good morning.
17:40Good morning.
17:41Welcome to Grimsthorpe.
17:42What a joy to be here.
17:43Andrew is meeting the castle curator, Emma Miller, who is related by marriage to the Willoughby family.
18:02We're heading back in time here into the Tudor portraits.
18:07So here you've got Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk.
18:11That is Catherine.
18:12That is Catherine.
18:14She looks rather stern.
18:16There's a hint of a smile.
18:18And then next to her, we've got Charles Brandon.
18:23Well, she looks a bit like Henry VIII, doesn't he?
18:25He does.
18:26He really does look like Henry VIII.
18:29Well, looking at that portrait, she obviously was a woman of steel.
18:33Absolutely.
18:34What do you think she really was like?
18:36I think she was a fascinating character.
18:38I just want to show you this.
18:40It's an account by Stephen Gardiner, who was the Bishop of Winchester.
18:48My lord, her husband, having invited me and diverse ladies to dinner, desired every lady to choose him who she
18:56loved best, and so placed themselves.
18:58My lady, taking me by the hand, said that for so much as she could not sit down with my
19:04lord whom she loved best, she had chosen me whom she loved worst.
19:09So Catherine's being very cheeky.
19:12The Duke of Suffolk has said, come and choose who you want to lead into dinner.
19:17And, of course, she couldn't choose her own husband, so she said, come on, Gardiner, I like you least of
19:24all these people here, and I'll take you in to dinner.
19:26I'll take you in, yes.
19:27And she wasn't afraid of saying that to him, despite the fact that he was quite a powerful man at
19:34the time.
19:34She had a dog, which she named Gardiner, and dressed up in clerical robes.
19:41It was quite naughty of her.
19:42Well, she clearly didn't conform to anything then much.
19:45No, no, no, she absolutely spoke her mind.
19:49And that was a dangerous thing to do at times.
19:55In 1545, when she was 26, Catherine's husband, the Duke of Suffolk, died, leaving her a widow and back in
20:04control of her own wealth.
20:07Andrew's keen to find out how Catherine ended up marrying her second husband, his twelve times great-grandfather, Richard Barty.
20:16Historian Sarah Gristwood has come to meet him in the castle's King James room.
20:23Who was Richard Barty, my twelve times great-grandfather?
20:27Well, there may be an answer in this document here.
20:31The sermon by the preacher Latimer, who was a great friend of Catherine Willoughby.
20:38Faith is a lady, a duchess, a great woman.
20:42She has a gentleman usher that goes before her.
20:45And where he is not, there is not Lady Faith.
20:48So, Lady Faith is Catherine Willoughby.
20:52And Richard Barty, Catherine's gentleman usher.
20:56So, in essence, he was a servant?
21:00Yes, a gentleman servant, but still nothing like her social equal.
21:05He had been educated at Oxford.
21:07Yes.
21:07Just two years older than Catherine.
21:09But, um, it was indeed very definitely not the kind of grand match she might have been expected to make.
21:17So, it might have been love?
21:18Yes, I think it was.
21:20And if we want to have a look at Richard Barty, here he is.
21:24Yes.
21:25Yes, goodness.
21:26Certainly a pensive-looking chap.
21:28Mm.
21:28Do you think also that he was a bit of an intellectual stimulant to her?
21:33Yes, I think that's highly likely.
21:37They did certainly both have the same religious beliefs.
21:42Yes.
21:42They were very strongly of the Protestant faith.
21:47And this, indeed, is the story of your 12 times great-grandparents.
21:53At last, between six and seven of the clock in the dark night, they came to Vesel.
21:59Where is Vesel?
22:01It's on the eastern side of the Rhine.
22:03So, Germany, basically.
22:05And repairing to their inns for lodging and some repose after such a painful journey, they were refused of all
22:11of the inn holders.
22:12Mm.
22:13The child, for cold and sustenance, cried pitifully.
22:16The mother wept as fast, and the heavens rained as fast as the clouds could pour.
22:21Now, what's that about?
22:24It's about a very painful adventure.
22:28They had to flee abroad, Catherine disguised as a merchant's wife, and carrying the first-born baby, the daughter, Susan.
22:38Catherine and Richard lived through a time of extraordinary religious change.
22:42Under Henry VIII, the crown had broken with Catholic Rome and embraced Protestantism.
22:50Henry's son and successor Edward VI was a staunch Protestant, as were many of his subjects, including Andrew's 12 times
22:58great-grandparents, Catherine and Richard.
23:02But in 1553, devout Catholic, Queen Mary I came to the throne.
23:09Known as Bloody Mary, her five-year reign saw hundreds of Protestants burned at the stake.
23:16Fearing for their lives, Catherine and Richard fled to Europe.
23:23In other words, they were refugees.
23:25Yes, they were.
23:27Having got to Europe, then what?
23:29Well, they went from pillar to post, often pursued by English agents, sometimes under circumstances of real hardship and danger.
23:40And their second child was born, your 11 times great-grandfather, and named Peregrine for their peregrinations, their wanderings.
23:52I didn't know that Peregrine actually meant wandering.
23:56So, after all of these wanderings, did they end up safely?
24:01Well, this shows you what happened next.
24:06The most rare and excellent history of the Duchess of Suffolk's calamity.
24:12For when Queen Mary was deceased, the Duchess returned home again, who was of sorrow quite released by Queen Elizabeth's
24:20happy reign, whose godly life and piety we all may praise continually.
24:25Catholic Queen Mary died to be succeeded by the Protestant Queen Elizabeth.
24:34Catherine and her husband settled up here at Grimsthorpe and Catherine lived for another 20 years.
24:52She clearly was an amazing woman ahead of her times, very, very feisty, very committed, probably very difficult to live
25:02with, but an extraordinary, extraordinary personality, who I must say I would have loved to have met.
25:21We're about to explore my father's side of the family, which is really exciting for me because I know very,
25:28very little about that.
25:30My father, from a very, very early age, played in churches because that was a place where, if you were
25:36a working-class family, you could find music.
25:38All these churches had choirs.
25:40My grandfather also, I do know, did sing in church choirs, and he was a plumber, I believe.
25:48That's what I've always been told.
25:50He never did any plumbing for us, so I can't tell you any more.
25:57Andrew is meeting Anne, his cousin on his dad's side.
26:00Hello.
26:01Hello.
26:02Hello.
26:03Lovely to see you.
26:03Very nice to see you after all these years.
26:06Do you remember our granddad at all?
26:09A little bit, but I don't really remember.
26:11I mean, of course, never met grandma.
26:13No, she died before we were born, didn't she?
26:15Yeah, yeah.
26:16And that was around about the time they were married, which was in 1913, I think.
26:22And their marriage certificate.
26:24Profession plumber.
26:25He was obviously, our granddad, very, very musical.
26:29Yes.
26:30And did a lot of singing and in these.
26:33Have you seen any of these?
26:34No, I haven't seen any of these.
26:35He looks like one of those sort of either tenor of the time or some kind of illusionist and magician.
26:43You sort of wonder whether or not he wouldn't...
26:46That's brilliant.
26:47I think you're spot on with tenor, because that sort of leads into an amazing review at the Conservative Club.
26:56The Raines Park Conservative Club.
26:58Yes, that's brilliant, isn't it?
26:59Good heavens.
27:00The finest artist of the evening was, in our opinion, Mr W. C. H. Webber, a tenor at one of
27:07the best West End churches, whose style and voice quality was superb.
27:11His interpretation of Thora was first class, and the audience was held spellbound.
27:17Isn't that lovely?
27:19It's lovely.
27:19I think that's really great.
27:20Lovely.
27:21Yes.
27:21Have you seen this photo?
27:23No.
27:24My goodness.
27:25What have we got here?
27:27This is a coronation choir and orchestra, May the 17th, 1937.
27:34So this would have been the coronation of George VI in Westminster Abbey.
27:39My goodness.
27:40And our granddad sang there.
27:42Yeah.
27:43He's just down there.
27:45I...
27:46Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
27:48I mean, the singing plumber in Westminster Abbey.
27:52Good thing.
27:52Do you think ever there was an act called the singing plumber?
27:55I think you could do one, couldn't you?
27:57Sort of gurgling noises and things.
27:59I mean, quite intriguing.
28:00The next thing I've been able to find is our grandfather's birth certificate.
28:05Yes.
28:061886.
28:07Yeah.
28:07East Battersea.
28:08Alfreda Charlotte Honor Webber, formerly Simmons.
28:13Have you heard of, been aware of the Simmons?
28:17Do we...
28:17No.
28:18No.
28:18Never heard of the Simmons at all.
28:20It was a surprise to me.
28:22I know.
28:22When I found it.
28:23Yes.
28:24Simmons.
28:25And then we can go back to the marriage certificate of our great grandparents.
28:32So they're obviously very much based in Battersea.
28:35Alfreda Charlotte Honor.
28:37Her father's name is Henry Samuel Simmons.
28:40And was a London City missionary.
28:44I'm really intrigued to know something more about that.
28:47Very humble beginnings, all that.
28:49Yes.
28:50Yeah.
28:51With the help of his cousin Anne, Andrew has pushed his paternal line back four generations.
28:57And in contrast to his mother's aristocratic ancestry, it reveals a working-class background.
29:06Andrew wants to start by investigating his great-great-grandfather Henry Simmons' work as a missionary.
29:17Andrew, the ultimate London West Ender, is heading east, where Henry worked.
29:23He's come to the 19th century pub, the George Tavern, to meet historian, Dr Victoria Lockhead.
29:31That's nice.
29:42Happy in D-flat.
29:44That's good.
29:45I've learnt that Henry Simmons was hugely involved with the London City mission.
29:51But I know nothing more.
29:53I can show you a document.
29:56This is a record of his interview.
29:58When he applied to become a member of the mission.
30:02Yeah.
30:02This candidate is not quite 24 years of age, but he's been six years a member of Surrey Chapel.
30:09He had intended to have become an actor, and practiced a little in that line at saloons.
30:16Ooh, like this.
30:17He is very quick and ready, and his heart seems much in the work.
30:21He is sound in doctrine, and well able to deal with infidels.
30:25There is possibly a little tendency to self-confidence, but the rough character of our work will tend to keep
30:32him in his right place.
30:34The fact that he was an actor probably, well wanted to be one, probably stood him in very good stead.
30:40He had a great skill set for being a missionary.
30:43He could hold an audience.
30:45Henry was the first missionary to visit public houses in the East End of London.
30:49It was his initiative.
30:51Was it?
30:52Henry realised straight away that far more people could be met in public houses than going from door to door.
30:58Was his ambition to actually close these pubs?
31:02Not at all.
31:03His ambition was to deter the poverty that was consequent upon excessive drinking.
31:10But pubs were also the hubs of communities.
31:13If you had good news, you'd go to a pub.
31:16If you had bad news, you'd go to a pub.
31:18People were employed through public houses.
31:21Their wages were collected in public houses.
31:24They had far broader social function than just being a place for drinking.
31:28I mean, I know that this was one of the poorest areas anywhere in Britain, but I just wonder what
31:34it would have been really like to be here.
31:37These are extracts from Henry's journals.
31:40The whole of the houses in Brunswick Street, without one single exception, are inhabited by the fallen.
31:47The persons who rent them carry on a system of gain by letting the rooms to these degraded women, ready
31:53furnished at an exorbitant rent.
31:56Vast numbers of seafaring men are cabbed to the different houses in the street for the worst of purposes.
32:03Most of these women tell me that they are unhappy and that they wish to relinquish, if possible, their present
32:08mode of living.
32:09Henry's attitude towards the prostitutes was extraordinary.
32:13He was compassionate. He was sympathetic.
32:16He felt that they were more deserving of his attention, not that they were criminal.
32:21But did he encourage people out of prostitution?
32:24He did. Anyone who wanted to leave prostitution, he could find a refuge place for them.
32:29He just wanted to improve the quality of people's lives wherever he could.
32:34I'd say he's a real working class hero.
32:37Did Henry ever marry?
32:39He did. He lived with his family in the district, in Christian Street, that was back to back with Brunswick
32:46Street, the most notorious street in the East End for prostitution.
32:50I'm supposed to put it bluntly. He was bringing up his family in a red light district.
32:55They'd have been in the thick of it.
32:58Henry took on a new field of special mission in 1865.
33:02He became missionary to the navvies who were constructing the great network of railways south of the river.
33:09So Henry and his family moved to Battersea.
33:11I'm fascinated to know what happened to them.
33:19Following in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather, Andrew's travelling to St Mary's Church in Battersea.
33:26He's meeting historian, Dr Clare Graham.
33:31Well, I've been learning a lot about Henry Simmons, who I am related to, and absolutely polaxed, really, by what
33:42I learned about his work in East London.
33:45And I wondered what brings me to Battersea.
33:51He came here to work in the local factories, pubs, gas works, railway works, still missionising.
34:00But found time, believe it or not, to do something else as well, something which I think will come as
34:06a complete surprise.
34:07So here's a very, this is rather fragile.
34:11All About Battersea by Henry S. Simmons.
34:15So he's writing about the church here.
34:19He's finding time to write the first written history of Battersea.
34:24This really is almost an architectural guide to Battersea as it was at the time.
34:30Yeah, it is.
34:31It was published in 1879, and it's still really, really valuable today because he is describing Battersea,
34:41which had just grown up from this little riverside village of which the church was originally the centre, into this
34:48enormous urban area.
34:50He obviously wrote this at the same time as he was doing his missionary work?
34:54Yes, and bringing up six children.
34:57Wow.
34:57Yes.
34:58The next document relates to that, which is a letter written by Simmons himself to the South London Press.
35:07On Saturday the 16th, myself and wife were plunged into deep and unexpected grief.
35:13Our dear Edward, who was ten years of age, fell from the embankment into the River Thames and was drowned.
35:18His body was found on the following Sunday, after being in the water 19 hours.
35:24If a chain had been fastened along the side of the embankment, my darling boy, when rising to the surface
35:30of the water, might have clutched it.
35:32That's incredibly sad, isn't it?
35:34Despite the grim shadow over our household, I feel I am performing a public duty by thus urgently calling your
35:41lordship's notice to the unguarded state of the embankment.
35:43It has a kind of resonance for me, if you don't mind my getting a little emotional, because my uncle,
35:52who I never met, Alistair, was drowned.
35:54This is so sad, because you have somebody who has devoted his entire life to really saving other people.
36:04And yes, he's lost his kid in such a very, I'm afraid, kind of ordinary way.
36:12One minute he was there and one minute he wasn't.
36:16Coming back to Simmons's life, the last document I've got to show you is actually his obituary from when he
36:24died in 1892.
36:28Who did not know Mr. Simmons and respect him. He had been a missionary for nearly 40 years.
36:34I never heard anyone speak ill of him.
36:37Kind-hearted, he was beloved by all publicans and customers, workmen and their employers.
36:43He always had a kind word for everyone, of whatever class, and all had a kind word for him.
36:49He leaves a fragrant memory among the poor.
36:53Well, that's a pretty extraordinary obituary for anybody.
36:58And somebody who obviously didn't seek fame.
37:01No.
37:02He obviously just wanted to do good work.
37:05And I'm rather humbled to have discovered him.
37:10A very remarkable man.
37:12And for somebody who loves books about architecture.
37:17Yes.
37:17This is a book that I'm going to have to somehow get hold of.
37:21Yes.
37:21Do you mind if I just walk away with it?
37:27So far, Andrew's family tree has revealed a powerful Tudor duchess and a working class hero.
37:35But no musical connections, so he's enlisted the help of genealogist Laura Berry.
37:43I'm very excited to meet you because we've found out a bit about my paternal side.
37:50A very, very impressive guy called Henry Simmons, who was an incredible missionary.
37:56But the thing that I haven't found out about is anything that suggests the musical side beyond my grandfather.
38:05Well, good news.
38:07I've got here a marriage record.
38:09This is for Henry's grandfather, Samuel Simmons.
38:14Yes.
38:15We, Samuel Simmons and Henry Alexis Mojito.
38:19Do you think that's how pronounced?
38:21Maybe it's Mojito.
38:23Musicians both of the parish of Portsmouth.
38:26The above-named Samuel Simmons and Angelica Alexis, shall we say, Mojito.
38:31Let's say Mojito.
38:33It's your family, you decide.
38:34The daughter of the above-named Henry Alexis Mojito may lawfully solemnize marriage.
38:40So what's really interesting about this is that it tells us that in your family line we've got two generations
38:47of musicians.
38:47We've got Samuel Simmons.
38:49Yes.
38:50And then also Angelica's father, Henry Alexis Mojito, or Mojito.
38:55Yes.
38:56Both musicians.
38:58Andrew has finally found the musical connection he's been looking for.
39:02His four times great-grandparents are Angelica Mojito and musician Samuel Simmons, who married in 1788.
39:12Angelica's father, Andrew's five times great-grandfather, was also a musician, with the intriguing name Henry Alexis Mojito.
39:23Do we know any more about that?
39:25Well, the Mojito surname is incredibly unusual.
39:29Yes.
39:30Here in England, at least.
39:31I did have a sort of dig around on the British newspaper archive, and the earliest record I could find
39:36for that surname, at least, dated from 1741.
39:40And this is an advert in the Newcastle Current.
39:44For Mr. Hallam's Company of Performers at the Mooth Hall in Newcastle.
39:49The town will be entertained by his famous Dutch and French rope dancers, tumblers and balance masters, particularly by...
39:58What a...
39:59Mein...
39:59Meinheber.
40:00It's like Meinheer.
40:02Meinheer.
40:03Meinheer Mojito.
40:04So that is Dutch for Mr.
40:07That's...
40:08Oh, that's Dutch for Mr.
40:09So he's Mr. Mojito.
40:11Yes.
40:12Yes.
40:12Goodness me.
40:13It's such an interesting clue because it suggests that the Mojito surname may well be, at least at this time
40:20in the 18th century, from the Netherlands.
40:22I mean, I don't know.
40:24The rope dancing area of my family is something that I never really thought of before.
40:28Well, I'm not 100% sure that these rope dancers are related directly to Henry Alexis Mojito, or Mojito, the
40:36musician.
40:37It's just a curious clue as to the origin of the surname, I would say.
40:42Yes.
40:42Well, I think this is a clue that needs to be followed up.
40:45I should be very disappointed if I don't have rope dancing in my family.
40:48Well, here's your lead, I think.
40:51Well, this is really fascinating.
40:53It seems at last that there is some kind of music in the family, going back a bit, with this
40:59Henry Alexis, interestingly named Mojito, as I now have adopted his surname.
41:05I'm really intrigued by this character.
41:10Andrew has travelled to the Netherlands on the trail of his five times great-grandfather, the musician Henry Alexis Mojito.
41:19I wonder how far below sea level we really are here.
41:27His first stop is the National Archive at The Hague to meet music historian Professor Rebecca Arendt.
41:37Well, I'm here on a bit of a quest.
41:39We come across a character called Henry, Henry Mojito.
41:44And in fact, we have found out quite a deal more about Henry and about Henry's family here in the
41:50Netherlands.
41:51I have a couple of documents here for you.
41:54The first one is directly related to your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Henry.
42:00And if you look all the way down in the corner here, you'll see that this is a baptismal record.
42:06So here we have it.
42:08Um, 1732, the 29th of June,
42:14Alexis Mojito...
42:15His full name was Johannes Alexis.
42:18And Hubert van Hassel gave birth to Henry.
42:22So that has to be my fifth time's great-grandfather.
42:28So, so we have made a little family tree here.
42:32Here we have Johannes Mojito and Hu-Huberta.
42:37Mm-hmm.
42:38And that's Henry.
42:40Mm-hmm.
42:40Yeah.
42:41They had many children.
42:42Yeah, there are Mojitos all over the place.
42:44A place is crawling with Mojitos.
42:47Indeed.
42:48And what is this?
42:49This is...
42:50This is a contract.
42:52Contract and obligation, 19th of May, 1727.
42:56Johannes Alexis Mojito and Alexis Mojito, owners of the tent or attraction called The Great Italian Show,
43:04have agreed that the first two parties should freely provide their tent, including its set decoration and props,
43:10for the successful presentation of The Italian Show at the upcoming Leiden Fair.
43:16Well, they obviously were theatre people then.
43:19At this time, the kind of theatre that they were doing was the trendiest, trendiest kind of musical shows.
43:26We're thinking of masks and dance and acrobatics and lots and lots of music.
43:34It was, in effect, the musical theatre of the 18th century.
43:37Well, that is very interesting.
43:42Andrew now knows that the parallels between him and his ancestors go beyond music.
43:47His six-times great-grandfather, Johannes Mojito, was part of an extended family of travelling showmen and musicians.
43:55And like Andrew, they were also successful theatrical entrepreneurs.
44:01The great Italian show, presented in the family's own giant tent, toured the Netherlands,
44:08attracting huge audiences with music, song and spectacle.
44:14But here's something else.
44:16Well, it's another Mojito.
44:18As if there are more and more Mojitos everywhere we look.
44:23Sapieta Mojito.
44:25Sapieta Mojito.
44:27So this says, the renowned Dutch rope dancer.
44:32And this is a wooden shoe.
44:35Oh, that's a shoe.
44:37There was a shoe there.
44:39One of his most famous numbers was dancing on the rope, wearing wooden shoes.
44:45A sort of clog dancer.
44:46Yes.
44:47But on the rope.
44:49That is another act.
44:50I mean, goodness, this family, you know, Britain's Got Talent's got nothing on it.
44:55He also did it on ice skates.
44:56On ice skates, on a rope.
44:59Interesting character.
45:01With that name.
45:03Were they Italian?
45:06Not Italian.
45:07So here is a document.
45:10This is the Bands of Marriage.
45:14And this is going quite a way back.
45:16And that seems to be March, is it? 1675?
45:21Yes.
45:22Alexandre Massitoire of Dunkirk.
45:25So this is the father of Johannes Alexis.
45:29Okay.
45:29So this is your seven times great-grandfather.
45:32Who was French.
45:33Mm-hmm.
45:34When people moved around, they tended to adapt their names to reflect more how they were pronounced.
45:41Would you pronounce it Majito?
45:44Majito.
45:45Majito.
45:46Majito.
45:46Oh, I prefer Majito.
45:49By following the family line all the way back to his seven times great-grandfather Alexander Massitoire,
45:54Andrew has discovered the Majitos were originally from France.
45:59By the 18th century, they had settled in the Netherlands, when Henry Majito, Andrew's five times great-grandfather, was born.
46:08Just like Andrew, Henry had a musical brother, called Alexis Majito, Andrew's six times great-uncle.
46:17Look at this.
46:20So this is basically an advertisement, isn't it?
46:24Mm-hmm.
46:25Mr. Alexis, master of the cello, with Mrs. Barberini, Italian singer, will give a concert at the Hall of the
46:32College of Music on the Bredenberg, on Monday the 4th of February at five o'clock in the evening.
46:38Yeah, and we see here, this is Alexis, the son of Johannes.
46:41Yes.
46:42Yes.
46:42By this point in his career, he's decided to use as his stage name merely Mr. Alexis.
46:49I see.
46:50And he, apparently, was a fantastic cellist.
46:55Yes, extraordinary, because, of course, my brother is a cellist.
47:00On the one hand, we seem to have, in the family, we seem to have a serious side with a
47:05really fine cellist.
47:08And on the other side, we seem to have a showman who took their tent around with an Italian show.
47:16We seem to have a rope.
47:18We got this character with his ropes.
47:22And it's just kind of remarkable, because it's a kind of mixture of serious music and showbiz, which, of course,
47:30is kind of the area I live in.
47:35This clearly shows where the music comes from.
47:39I mean, although it's so far back in the family, though, that, I mean, they're looking at the cellist, I
47:44mean, we're talking the beginning of the 18th century.
47:47But it's extraordinary how something like that could surface, because, I mean, it's not as if it's a particularly common
47:55instrument.
47:56All of this seems to be on the showman performance side.
48:01What isn't there is writing, the composing.
48:12In an astonishing twist of fate that could be the plot of one of his own musicals, Andrew's ancestors are
48:19a perfect match for him and his own brother, Julian.
48:28Keen to find out more about his cello playing six times great uncle Alexis, Andrew has come to Leiden, where
48:35Alexis once lived, to meet musician Elske Tinbergen.
48:45How do you do? Hello. Hello. Hello.
48:48How do you do? Very good to see you. Good to see you.
48:52So what is this piece?
48:55Well, it's a cello sonata by one of your ancestors.
48:59Really? By Alexis Maggito.
49:01This is very, very exciting. One of the things I was really intrigued by was whether there was any composer
49:09in my family whatsoever.
49:10Now, now it's all revealed.
49:12I've been doing a lot of research about this particular person and I've played all six sonatas in concerts.
49:21Have you? So he wrote six?
49:23I found an auction catalogue from 1764 mentioning not only these sonatas but also some concerti which he composed.
49:31Unfortunately, not found yet. Don't know where they are. No.
49:35Whether they're still out there somewhere, I have no clue but I hope to find them one day.
49:41Well, that's fantastic.
49:43I did a lot of research, especially on him. I wrote a PhD some years ago.
49:47Did you? Yes.
49:47And he was a big part of that.
49:49Well, that's extraordinary, Sophie.
49:50And I want to show you the cover. Maybe you can have a look at it.
49:56Yes. Alexis Maggito. Yes. Printed for the author and sold by, I can't read his name.
50:03It's John Wynne.
50:04John Wynne at his shop in Cambridge. I wonder if that implies he went there.
50:10Yeah, I think you have to go there to find out more.
50:12Well, I think I probably have to, yes.
50:19Well, this is really a very remarkable moment for me because, I mean, here we have my six times great
50:25uncle.
50:26I would have never guessed that not only was he a virtuoso cellist, but also a composer and also clearly
50:34wrote concerti as well.
50:37And I know a little bit from having worked with my brother Julian, who obviously is a phenomenal cellist.
50:46Look at all of this. You know, this is stuff to really, really show that you can play.
50:51And until we got here, I hadn't realised that there was anybody who was a composer, let alone a composer
50:58for the cello and a fantastic cellist, clearly.
51:01You had to be a fantastic cellist to play this.
51:04It really, really is something that I could not possibly have dreamt of.
51:09All I can say, I'm blown away.
51:21Back in the UK, Andrew is following the trail to Cambridge, where his six times great uncle Alexis Megito's compositions
51:29were published in 1765.
51:33He's meeting music librarian Dr James Clements at King's College.
51:40I'm struggling to think what a Mr. Mojito would have been doing in Cambridge with the scores, apparently, for sale
51:48in London.
51:49Yeah. Yes, I mean, he definitely was here. He was over in Cambridge by about 1760.
51:55And we have various pieces of evidence here that I can show you.
51:59And maybe we should start with the first one, which is a copy of an engraving that hangs on the
52:04wall in our music library here at King's Library.
52:06And it dates from 1767 or thereabouts.
52:10Oh, my goodness. Brilliant, a concert. This is Alexis here.
52:16Yes, the cellist. Yeah.
52:18Yes, the very cheerful-looking cellist.
52:20Yes, he's not looking as though, you know, his work has gone to number one in the charts.
52:26No, no.
52:26He's looking a little bit sour, but he's right pole position in the middle, is he not?
52:31Yes, so maybe that gives us an indication.
52:33Yes. Everybody else seems to be quite jolly.
52:35I know.
52:35But Alexis is having a bit of a rough day.
52:39Yeah, he's taking his music-making very seriously.
52:41Oh, dear.
52:42Do you recognise any of the other names?
52:44Hellendahl.
52:44We know that Hellendahl, when he was in London, would perform solo violin pieces in the intervals in Handel's operas.
52:51So he's obviously in pretty distinguished company.
52:54Yes.
52:55This is from 1764, from the Cambridge Chronicle Grand Concert for Mr. Hellendahl at Trinity College Hall on Thursday the
53:0429th, where the following pieces will be performed.
53:08Overture by Mr. Handel, then, goodness, third concerto solo owned by Mr. Alexis.
53:16Yeah.
53:16So to have performed a hall such as Trinity, he would have had to have been pretty well known.
53:22I think so, yes.
53:23And I think the fact that his name is on this advertisement is, he's a big deal.
53:29He's a draw for audiences to come to this concert.
53:32Very interesting.
53:32The other thing that draws this all together, in a way, is the fact that you can buy the tickets
53:37to be had at Mr. Wynn's music shop.
53:39And Mr. Hellendahl himself.
53:41Yes.
53:41Everywhere.
53:42Two and six each.
53:43Yes.
53:43Seems to me that they're all sort of businessmen and impresarios.
53:47Yes.
53:48It does look very much that way.
53:50All of them?
53:50They were performers, composers, publishers.
53:52They did a lot.
53:53Yeah.
53:53Absolutely.
53:54Goodness.
53:55Well, that's a lesson for all of us.
53:56Yes.
54:00Andrew can't wait to meet his brother, Julian, to share the tale of their Dutch musical heritage and its extraordinary
54:08resemblance to their own story.
54:10Well, Julian, if I told you that we had family who were involved with presenting rope dancing acts in Holland
54:20with a six times great uncle who was a composer and, at the time, Britain's leading cellist and Holland's leading
54:31cellist.
54:32If I told you that, you would completely say I'm talking rubbish.
54:36How many times move?
54:37Six times?
54:38Six times.
54:38Six times.
54:39Yeah.
54:40And they were all called Mojito.
54:42Now, you see, this is Mr. Peter Mojito.
54:46And Mr. Peter Mojito, he was the rope dancing expert.
54:51And he used to dance on ropes with skates.
54:55When's this program coming out?
54:56Is it April the 1st it goes out?
54:58Look, here goes Alexis Mojito, our great, great, great, great, great uncle.
55:06That's his sonata for violin cello and bass cello.
55:12I thought I was pretty well up on obscure cello music.
55:16So, in a funny way, is this quite a discovery?
55:20Whoever played this, you know, must have been pretty good.
55:23I mean, it's beautifully written.
55:24Yes.
55:24I have to say that.
55:26I mean, look at all of this.
55:27Yeah.
55:27It's all pretty virtuoso stuff, isn't it?
55:30It's not slow, is it?
55:32No.
55:32Way ahead.
55:33So, he was hugely ahead of his time?
55:36Yes.
55:36Would be.
55:37Would be.
55:38And this is a picture.
55:40He looks a bit serious at him in the middle bit.
55:43And this is his little band.
55:46Where's the rope dancer?
55:47Is he in this?
55:48No, the rope dancer's not part of this act.
55:50Oh, I see.
55:51This was, you know, the greatest hits album cover.
55:54Oh, right.
55:54It's a versatile family we come from.
56:24Evidently.
56:24A dog.
56:25Well, the dog, yes.
56:25We need a dog act.
56:35Well, this has been the most incredible journey for me.
56:39On my mother's side of the family, well, I mean, I didn't know anything about Catherine
56:44Willoughby.
56:45Astonishing story, really.
56:46And I would never, ever remotely have seen the rope dancing, all cello playing, composing,
56:53early 18th century, Mr. Mojitos.
56:56It is extraordinary to me because there was a missing link for me, which was the music.
57:01And also, something to do with the showmanship.
57:03I couldn't get that at all because actually on my father's side, knowing my father, that
57:09doesn't seem to have been part of his personality.
57:12But it clearly was there sitting in the family DNA.
57:15And these wonderful, magical Mr. Mahiti, I think, you know, like my little dog, are wonderful,
57:22wonderful people.
57:23let's stay tuned.