Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home: In a genuine horror story, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the lethal products, gadgets and conveniences that lurked in every room of the Victorian home and shows how they were unmasked.
Some of the least pleasant employment opportunities open to people in the Middle Ages. Tony Robinson discovers how fullers spent their working lives stomping on newly woven cloth in vats of stale urine, while leech collectors risked infection by wading into marshes and letting the bloodsuckers cling to their legs.
Historian, Joann Fletcher explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in the running of state and, indeed, in shaping every aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. Perhaps unassumed by most, the ancient Egyptians were unique in their attitude to sexual equality with women holding the title of ‘Pharaoh’ no fewer than 18 times, while there were also female doctors, tutors, prime ministers and priestesses. Focusing on women of royalty such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertari, as well as women of high profession such as Lady Peseshat, the earliest female doctor known to the world, Fletcher reveals an ancient civilization unparalleled in its sexual equality.
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to Tudor times, when the newly emergent middle classes had money for luxuries and early consumer goods, many of which contained hidden dangers.
Among the thankless tasks tackled by Tony this week are the work of the midshipman, lighthouse keeper, stoker and trimmer, the men of Britain's first navy who survived on minimal rations, and the men who wore sacks on their heads on the luxury liners. Finally he experiences the dangerous occupation of the Victorian lifeboat man.
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb looks at the hidden dangers of the British post-war home. In the 1950s, people embraced modern design for the first time after years of austerity and self-denial. The modern home featured moulded plywood furniture, fibreglass, plastics and polyester - materials and technologies that were developed during World War II.
Tony Robinson continues his look at The Worst Jobs in History with a rundown on the worst royal jobs. As Tony takes on the work traditionally done at court we learn of the miserable lot of food tasters, whipping boys, falconers, and laundry women who beat Elizabethan laundry with paddles similar to cricket bats.
The dawn of the 20th century and the reign of a new king ushered in an era of fresh inventions and innovations that transformed the way we lived. Electricity, refrigeration and a whole host of different materials promised to make life at home brighter, easier and more convenient. But a lack of understanding of the potential hazards meant that they frequently led to terrible accidents, horrendous injuries and even death.
This week we take a close look at the worst rural jobs and remember those who risked their necks to maintain the heart of rural life, shifted excrement to produce enduring images of the countryside and saved souls in the villages by eating bread. Tony experiences life as a shepherd boy, nettle harvester, reddle man, thresher, chaff-box boy, sedge cutter, sin eater, pole man, lead-white maker and featherier. Then he tackles the most arduous job of all, that of the steeplejack when he climbs the highest spire in Oxfordshire.
This is an extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in 1612 in the trial of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours; thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.
Julius Caesar is one of the monumental figures of history. He forged the role of Emperor and was worshipped as a brilliant general and reformer, but he was killed by the people who knew him best.
The Roman empire was a time of power and brutality, fueled by violent games and bloodbaths. However, it was also abundant in refinement and extreme sensuality. Food and cooking was an key indicator of success, with quality and abundance of dishes the primary measure. As the first and largest european civilisation, Rome was at the epicentre of culinary innovation, with an acute emphasis on vegetables, meat and spices.
Tony Robinson’s Romans series continues as he examines the life of Caligula.
Lets Cook History is an entertaining and informative five-part series exploring the origins of European cooking and eating habits. Each episode reconstructs a famous meal on from a different period in history, depicting the evolution of tastes, customs and world trades that have shaped the contemporary cuisine.
Tony Robinson sets out to sift the fact from the fiction on whether Robin Hood, the legendary dispossessed nobleman hiding out in Sherwood Forest did actually exist.
The Coronation in 1953 appeared to be a glittering triumph for the House of Windsor. But behind the scenes there was a three-cornered story of jealousy and rivalry at the highest level.
For 2,000 years almost all evidence of Cleopatra had disappeared - until now. Neil Oliver investigates the story of a ruthless queen who would kill her own siblings for power.
In 1934, Pamela Travers created the ‘practically perfect’ woman in Mary Poppins who bought order into the chaos of people’s homes. Decades later, the magical English nanny is still adored by children and parents alike.
In contrast with the common representation of the middle ages as a gloomy era haunted with famine, this episode provides a more positive view on medieval cuisine. Throughout Europe, medieval kitchens were often filled with innovative, healthy and savory dishes. Enjoy the elaborate information on the preparation of bread, meat, wine and herbs consumed in castles, monasteries and the growing cities.
We all know about the late Queen Mum – one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable figures. But few have even heard of the Queen’s mother-in-law, Princess Alice. And yet, the life story of Prince Philip’s mother almost defies belief.
Tony Robinson explores the major uprising across large parts of England in 1381; it's origins, motives and aftermath.
Tony Robinson's Romans series continues as he examines the life of Nero.
Part two of The Peasants' Revolt. Tony Robinson explores the major uprising across large parts of England in 1381; it's origins, motives and aftermath.
Wallis Simpson found herself at the centre of a national scandal when she was seen to ensnare Edward VIII and lure him from the throne of England. But in this explosive film, biographer Anne Sebba sifts through a newly discovered cache of documents - shown in this film for the first time - that contains 15 secret letters written by Wallis Simpson herself around the time ofthe abdication. These extraordinary personal missives have the power to rewrite both history and our perception of Wallis. They reveal she was deeply in love with another man, and chart her fear, desperation and loneliness as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying the man who should have been king.
Joann sees how people here changed, in just a few centuries, from primitive farmers to pyramid builders and finds the early evidence for Egypt's amazing gods and obsession with death and the afterlife.
CS Lewis's biographer A.N. Wilson goes in search of the man behind Narnia - best-selling children's author and famous Christian writer, but an under-appreciated Oxford academic and an aspiring poet who never achieved the same success in writing verse as he did prose.
Archaeologists have made an astonishing claim that could change our understanding of the life of Tutankhamun forever. Many of the burial goods found in Tutankhamun's tomb may not have been his at all. Working with Tutankhamun expert Nicholas Reeves, the Egypt Detectives try to determine the daunting problem faced by his successors and how it was solved.
The French Revolution in 1789 had a major impact on French society, as it meant the end of an era of absolute monarchy. Old ideas of hierarchy and power were replaced by new ones, including the emergence of the bourgeoisie. Of course, these social changed left its trails in the culinary world. As is shown in this episode, Paris was the birthplace of the first restaurants where the Nouveaux Riches wined and dined.
For centuries archaeologists have searced for the lost city of Troy without success. Project Trois, a huge archaeological expedition and dig in North-West Turkey, is searching for the city of Troy.
During the fourteenth century the Renaissance started in Italy, and slowly spread throughout Europe. As shown in this episode, the refreshing Renaissance era indicates an intellectual, philosophical, artistic and religious revolution and is mainly influenced by humanism. The objective of this movement to improve humanity also had its effect on the kitchen and dinner table. Strict table manners and consumption of imported vegetables are examples of the many culinary changes discussed in the episode.
Akhenaten is ancient Egypt's most mysterious and puzzling pharaoh - for no apparent reason he destroyed the established religion of Egypt and moved 50,000 people to a lonely bay on the edge of the Nile, where he built a magnificent city from scratch. Why Akhenaten unleashed this astounding revolution has never been fully explained. Now the Egypt Detectives set about uncovering the real portrait of the rebel pharaoh.
The Great Plague of 1665 killed 100,000 Londoners – one in three of the people living in the city. While kept diaries have provided terrifying testaments to the horrors of that summer, other stories have been hidden in the archives of London churches for centuries. Rare documents unearthed in some of the cities oldest places of worship now tell the story of what it was like for an ordinary person, more often than not living in poverty, as the plague swept through London. This factual drama follows the lives of those living in Cock and Key Alley, one of the dank and dismal yards squeezed between Fleet Street and the Thames – and brings to life 17th Century London at one of its most frightening moments.
Two thousand years ago one of history's most notorious individuals was born. Professor Mary Beard embarks on an investigative journey to explore the life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus - better known to us as Caligula.
Intrigue and mystery have always surrounded the pyramids. Mysteries abound about how and why they were built, but questions still remain unanswered about where they were constructed. With Miriam investigating the geology of the Nile Valley and Dominic the Egyptian religion and myth, the Egypt Detectives try and piece together some logic behind the geography of the royal tombs.
Samurai Bow explores the violence, beauty and reverie which surround the Samurai's earliest weapon. With stunning dramatic reconstruction, we reveal the ancient way of the Samurai and explore how the bow could avert wars when put in the hands of a true master.
‘My Mother Diana’ is the story of Charles and Diana's marriage from a new and revealing point of view. It’s the story of how their marriage shaped William. It explores the effect of his mother’s relationships, the tell-all book she collaborated on with Andrew Morton, the effects of her Panorama interview and William's reaction to his father’s relationship with Camilla. On the surface William appears to be a product of the old order, groomed by the House of Windsor. But William is the son of Diana – who transcended celebrity and transformed the monarchy. This film seeks to understand William by exploring his relationship with his mother and examines where William was as key moments of her later life played out; because what she went through made him who he is today Why did William propose using his mother’s engagement ring? And what does it tell us about this future King and the legacy of his mother Diana? Fourteen years after her death Diana’s influence appears undiminished.
Pompeii: one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history. We know how its victims died, but this film sets out to answer another question - how did they live? Gleaning evidence from an extraordinary find, Cambridge professor and Pompeii expert Mary Beard provides new insight into the lives of the people who lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius before its cataclysmic eruption.
Francis Pryor examines the history of Britain near the end of the Roman occupation. The first instalment focuses on Britain under Roman rule, revealing a much greater degree of collaboration with the natives than was previously recognised.
A moving and intimate portrayal of Nelson Mandela filmed on the campaign trail in the days leading up to South Africa's first democratic election.
In China, there exists an astonishing place. A burial ground to rival Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, where pyramid tombs of stupendous size are full of astonishing riches. In 221 BC, China's first Emperor united warring kingdoms into a nation that still exists today. To memorialize this achievement, he bankrupted the national treasury and oppressed thousands of workers to build one of the world’s biggest mortuary complexes.
Tony Robinson reveals the real story behind the last great Anglo Saxon king. Far from being just the loser at the Battle of Hastings, Harold was a charismatic leader.
Emily Davison stepped into the path of the King's horse at the 1913 Derby and was fatally injured. Clare Balding uncovers her story and finds out how a middle-class governess became a radical activist.
Go back in time with Suzannah Lipscomb to the Victorian times, the Edwardian era and the 50s and see what hidden killers most affected women.
Using skeleton analysis and dramatic reconstruction, experts hunt for Richard III’s lost chapel in Towton, North Yorkshire. What secrets will they reveal?
What was the childhood of the two Princes really like?
Jan Leeming show us what Roman cooking was really like.
Experts unearth the mass graves of those who died at the battle of Visby in 1361, revealing the bravery of the Gutes in their defense against the Danish king's army.
Jan Leeming show us what medieval cooking was really like.
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb show us the dangerous ways the Victorian’s fought off dirt.
With continuing releases of major films and TV series on Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character has never been more popular. But what about his creator, the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose own life was at times as dark and as mysterious as the man he created?
Jan Leeming show us what medieval cooking was really like.
Archaeologist Tim Sutherland unearths historical clues as he digs up burial sites from the Battle of Agincourt, which took place in 1415 in northern France.
The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with divinity, death and the afterlife and reincarnation. Christy Kenneally visits Saqqara, south of Cairo, where the Egyptians learned the technique of mummification and built the first pyramid, an early prototype for the grand monuments of the Giza pyramid complex. He journeys on to explore the ruins at Abydos, Karnak and Luxor, arriving finally at the island of Philae, the site of the last hieroglyphics and a little-known shrine to Egypt's lost Gods.
The Sahara is the biggest desert on earth ... it takes its name from the Arab word for "emptiness". In the dead heart of that emptiness there's a place called the Tenere. The Tenere takes its name from the Tuareg word for "nothing". A nothing the size of France in the middle of an emptiness the size of the United States. It's no wonder the locals call this place "The Land Of Fear”. David Adams retraces the trade routes of the people who call this stove-hot corner of the planet home.
Tim Sutherland and the team make a return trip to Sweden, where they hunt for clues to a battle that took place on the island of Gotland.
Former Royal Chef Graham Newbould who was once a chef on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the Queen reveals what goes on in the kitchens of the famous House of Windsor.
Jan Leeming show us what Tudor cooking was really like.
Suzannah Lipscomb shows us how sugar, bread and milk and chicken led to diseases and even death throughout history.
Experts try to piece together a gruesome jigsaw when the skeleton of a medieval woman is found.
Iran is one of the earth’s final frontiers. It’s a country little visited by western travellers in recent years, yet it has been at the centre of world affairs for millennia. I wanted to take a peek “behind the veil” of modern-day Iran. What I discovered was a complex, incredibly hospitable people living in a much-misunderstood country at the heart of a troubled region. My journey takes me from the bustle of Tehran, via the Valley of the Assassins to ancient cities unchanged since Marco Polo first entered them eight centuries ago. But this isn’t just a journey through an ancient landscape. It’s a journey in search of one of the world’s least known religious sects ... the ancient Fire Worshippers Of Yazd.
Jan Leeming show us what 17th Century cooking was really like.
Through thorough investigation, experts are shedding light on the illnesses and diseases that blighted medieval life, and reveal that leprosy may not have have been as horrible as the history books have claimed.
Would the promise of being rich ever drive you to rob something? What about a painting, or an ancient artefact? Join us as we delve into some of the most prolific museum robberies in history.
Jan Leeming shows us what Georgian cooking was really like and how to prepare for a Georgian feast!
For 56 years Prince Charles was the King in waiting – a wait that has surely been hard on him. Against the background of his wedding to Camilla, the film examines his controversial ideas on architecture (nothing too modern, please), medicine (coffee enemas and a diet of liquidized fruit), and religion (flirting with Islam, Sikhism, and regularly visiting the Greek Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos). Looking at the heir to the throne's difficult relationships with women, family, and the public, we find out what makes Charles tick.
Jan Leeming shows us what was eaten on May Day through the ages.
A television special focusing on four areas where women's progress has been most dramatic: Politics, Sexuality, Work and Family. By using Babe (the 1940s gal reporter, created by Cathy Jones of This Hour Has 22 Minutes) as our tour guide and narrator through the 20th Century, this information is packaged in an entertaining as well as informative manner.
This episode explores a gallery of amour from centuries ago.
Jan Leeming show us what the Victorians' ate.
Exploring what really happened at Herculaneum following the eruption of Vesuvius. Pompeii, the lost Roman city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD, has long been a source of fascination to archaeologists. But its sister city Herculaneum, buried in the same eruption but to a much greater depth than Pompeii, reveals far more detail of how the Romans lived. For many years the city appeared to have been abandoned and it was assumed the inhabitants had managed to escape in the hours before Herculaneum was engulfed by the volcano. Then in the 1980s a macabre discovery was made. Burrowing through the volcanic mud, archaeologists found hundreds of bodies huddled pitifully together.
This is the incredible true story of Nancy Wake, the daring allied spy who became the Gestapo’s most wanted woman in WWII. Codenamed ‘The White Mouse’ for her elusiveness, this international femme fatale was a key inspiration behind Sebastian Faulkes’ celebrated fictional spy Charlotte Gray.
Explore the history of the legendary aircraft.
Biographer A.N. Wilson uncovers the intriguing personal life of Queen Victoria through her journals and letters in this psychological portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch. With Queen Victoria's writings read by Anna Chancellor.
The relics and artefacts of dinosaurs that walked the Earth are explored.
Biographer A.N. Wilson uncovers the intriguing personal life of Queen Victoria through her journals and letters in this psychological portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch. With Queen Victoria's writings read by Anna Chancellor.
A body inside a coffin which it is too large for, missing genitals, and an obvious overbite are the clues which set the Mummy Investigation Team on the trail in this mystery. They know who the coffin was made for – a female Egyptian temple dancer – what they need to know is who rests there now and why this mummy is in such strange condition. Extraordinarily, what they discover is a tragic tale played out at the highest echelons of Egyptian society, set at the court of one of Egypt’s greatest Pharaohs.
Documentary detailing the highs and lows of Queen Elizabeth II's reign as head of the British monarchy.
On 9th September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-serving British monarch. One of the most enduring images of her coronation in 1953 is that of Her Majesty surrounded by her dukes. Their influence once extended beyond the merely ceremonial, they were a crucial part of the architecture that supported the monarchy. Only 24 noble dukes now remain and this documentary - with unique access to the dukes of Norfolk, Argyll, Montrose and Marlborough – explores both the fascinating history and function of their great dukedoms in modern day Britain.
Tony Robinson demonstrates the top 5 worst royal jobs in history.
Explore a secret Cold War bunker that has been converted into a museum.
Dr. Joann Fletcher and her team investigate a female mummy inside a sealed Egyptian coffin.
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb shows us the top 3 scientific hidden killers from the Victorian, Edwardian and post-war eras.
Once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world. How did this shining beacon for civilisation and knowledge meet its classical demise? Featuring stunning visualisations from the major movie Agora, acclaimed historian Bettany Hughes looks at Alexandria past and present, unearthing archaeological gems and following in the footsteps of Hypatia, the city’s last great female philosopher and guardian of great Library of Alexandria - whose murder would bring down the curtain not just on an era but on the ancient world as a whole.
The life of legendary painter Tom Thompson is explored through the relics of his life.
The Mummy Research Team at the University of York is called out to look at the body of a South American mummy that has a number of visible wounds. Was the man a victim of crime?
Stephen Fry takes a look inside the story of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.
Brendan Bracken was Winston Churchill's closest advisor for over 30 years. Was Brendan Bracken Churchill's illegitimate son? In the 1920s even Winston's wife had to ask. This documentary tells the truth about this remarkable man.
Age-old Mayan ceramics are explored in this episode.
The Mummy Research Team at the University of York examine a Peruvian mummy that had lain hidden in a London storage facility and attempt to discover why it was preserved in an unusual cross-legged posture.
According to the Bible, The Ark of the Covenant was a box which housed the two tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments. It was constructed by a man called Belazeel on Mount Sinai in Ancient Egypt to the instructions given to Moses by God. An object of immense power - capable of laying waste armies, of killing those who dared touch it in a flash of sparks, and guaranteed victory to those who carried it before them into battle. Over the centuries it has remained an object of great mystery, inspiring books, feature films and infinite questions. But can modern science shed new light on what the Ark really was? This compelling and controversial film aims to shed new light on the Ark of the Covenant and perhaps finally unravel the truth behind one of the greatest biblical mysteries of all.
Let's face it, there's always been plenty of extra work to be done at Christmas time. Be it late night shelf-stacking at your local mall, cramming this year's must-have items into valuable shop space in an effort to fuel the 'pile 'em high, sell 'em dear' festive shopping frenzy, or doing the night shift down the sorting office to help out the postie, it's a tradition for students, down-at-pocket teenagers and lonely housewives. But the seasonal labour market hasn't always been just about earning pin money and having a lark. Back in the olden days, folks had to work their fingers to the bone in some of the worst Christmas jobs in history…
Tony Robinson goes on the trail of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior whose story was told in the film Braveheart.
The Lost Tomb of Jesus is a documentary which makes a case that the 2,000-year-old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries" belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.
Prof Kate Williams studies the legacy of the Stuarts through the eyes of an aristocratic Welsh clan. After Elizabeth I's death in 1603, James VI of Scotland claimed the throne.
The remarkable transformation of a young English woman. Combining remarkable footage and expert interviews, this authoritative special presents the true story of Kate Middleton, the seemingly ordinary young woman now destined to be Queen of England. From comparatively modest circumstances, the Middleton family could not be more different from the royal family.
Simon Reeve begins in Istanbul, Turkey, a busy medieval staging post for pilgrims to the Holy Land. Before falling to the Ottoman Empire, it was the centre of Roman Christianity under Emperor Constantine. His mother Helena, arguably the first pilgrim to the Holy Land, brought back relics from Jerusalem to fill the city's churches, which made it a major destination for pilgrimage in its own right for centuries to come. Simon visits the magnificent Hagia Sophia and a traditional Turkish bath, discovering that pilgrims brought public bathing back with them to Europe, showing how pilgrimage spread practical ideas as well as religious ones.
A bodiless mummy head is examined and clues about the person are gathered from the head alone.
Professor Kate Williams studies the reign of Charles I, who succeeded James I in 1625. Hear how religious upheaval and authoritarian rule led to civil war and a beheading.
Using unique BBC footage, this documentary tells the story of two royal women, each of whom rebelled against convention in her own way, until they both became royal outcasts.
We delve into the whirlwind romance of Charles and Camilla; a story that divided the loyalties of The Royal Family and the British public for years.
This is a story of conspiracy and betrayal, of a lust for power and a lost allegiance; the story of the man who killed King Richard III. In this documentary we set out to prove that the Welshman Sir Rhys ap Thomas, master of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire, killed King Richard III, changing the course of British history. Sir Rhys ap Thomas had sworn allegiance to King Richard III. He had accumulated lands and status in Wales that were dependent, in part, on his loyalty to Richard. But at the Battle of Bosworth he betrayed him, fighting on the side of Henry Tudor.
This is an in-depth look at the lives and marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
This fascinating documentary takes us back to the early days of the Thames barge matches when they started in 1863 - the second oldest sailing competition in the world. This documentary includes the first and second episode.
This is the story of Sarah Ferguson, once Her Royal Highness, Duchess of York - now an exile from the royal family - a woman who had everything, then threw it away when forced to exploit her name during a huge scandal.
The British dynasty on which Game of Thrones is based is skillfully brought to life. Following one of the most shocking periods in British history, a new historical docu-drama brings to life the dynasty that dragged Britain out of the dark ages and into the modern world. Ruling the country for over three hundred years, ruthlessly crushing all competition, The Plantagenet story is more shocking, more brutal and more astonishing than anything you’ll find in Game of Thrones. Presented by acclaimed historian Dan Jones, the Plantagenets combines his scintillating story-telling with drama reconstruction and brings to life a dramatic and bloody time in England’s history. This is history like you’ve never seen it before. Dan delivers his extraordinary take on one of the most visceral and violent chapters in British History.
Professor Kate Williams studies Charles II's reign through the Wynn family's eyes. From religious upheaval to fighting the Fire of London, we look at the indelible mark on the face of British history left behind in the wake of Charles II.
This fascinating documentary takes us back to the early days of the Thames barge matches when they started in 1863 - the second oldest sailing competition in the world. This documentary includes the third and fourth episode.
The Sacred City presents compelling evidence that suggests the holy city of Mecca is in the wrong location and that the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims are praying in the direction of the wrong city. Compiling evidence from both historic sources and new technologies point to the correct location in this seismic, revelatory new film. In this startling and original documentary, writer and historian, Dan Gibson, shows that descriptions of Mohamed’s original holy city – as detailed in the Qur’an and Islamic histories, do not match that of the Mecca we know today. If true this could shake Islam to it’s roots, because every Muslim is required to pray towards the ‘forbidden gathering place’.
Episode two reveals the collapse of friendship between Henry III and Simon de Montfort, spiraling into bloody civil war. The British dynasty on which Game of Thrones is based is skillfully brought to life. Following one of the most shocking periods in British history, a new historical docu-drama brings to life the dynasty that dragged Britain out of the dark ages and into the modern world.
Professor Kate Williams scrutinizes the short reign of James II: the Last Stuart King.
This fascinating documentary takes us back to the early days of the Thames barge matches when they started in 1863 - the second oldest sailing competition in the world. This documentary includes the fifth and sixth episode.
Since her death 1300 years ago, Wu Zetian has been remembered as a callous tyrant, who brought calamity to China. But now, extraordinary new discoveries are revealing a very different picture of her reign.
The British dynasty on which Game of Thrones is based is skillfully brought to life. Following one of the most shocking periods in British history, a new historical docu-drama brings to life the dynasty that dragged Britain out of the dark ages and into the modern world.
Burma's Open Road explores the lives of every day Burmese intertwined with the fortunes of the reconstruction of the Burma Road through Asia's last great wilderness.
For Christabel and Sylvia, their own sisterhood would be strained to the point of breaking for the suffrage movement.
The British dynasty on which Game of Thrones is based is skilfully brought to life. Following one of the most shocking periods in British history, a new historical docu-drama brings to life the dynasty that dragged Britain out of the dark ages and into the modern world. Ruling the country for over three hundred years, ruthlessly crushing all competition, The Plantagenet story is more shocking, more brutal and more astonishing than anything you’ll find in Game of Thrones. Presented by acclaimed historian Dan Jones, the Plantagenets combines his scintillating story-telling with drama reconstruction and brings to life a dramatic and bloody time in England’s history.
Throughout time there are thousands of stories of horrific fires at sea. The images that tell their tales are remarkable, haunting, and rarely seen. Now, with restored film footage and high definition photo technology, we can look deep inside these seagoing stories of heroism and tragedy to fully understand what happens aboard ship when there is a fire at sea. Because not only does a fire at sea mean a ship is going down, but passengers and crew have two choices: be burned alive or jump into an unforgiving ocean.
Born in 1371, Zheng He was captured at the age of 10 by Chinese troops, and castrated. But in a remarkable change of fortune, he joined the household of Prince Zhu Di, son of the Emperor. The Prince was so impressed that when he ascended to the throne, he gave Zheng He command of the greatest armada the world has ever seen. Over thirty years, Zheng He led vast expeditions to India, the Middle East and Africa, covering 25,000 miles of ocean.
This episode considers the court of Richard II. Richard presided over the first truly sophisticated and artistic court in England. Painters, sculptors, poets, tailors, weavers and builders flocked to court to make their fortunes. But these were dangerous times. Being close to Richard brought many courtiers to a sticky end.
In the first part of the 20th century, a seeming miracle took place. Humans learned how to fly. But the quest to reach for the skies came with tremendous danger. Events and circumstances that in an instant could turn deadly. Every time a new barrier was pushed, the limits of gravity pushed back harder, making every advancement in the world of aviation one that was paid for in blood.
Who is the 'real' Prince Harry? Despite relentless media scrutiny, much of it negative, Harry remains a tantalising, elusive mystery.
Stephen Smith explores Renaissance Florence under the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo Medici. Cosimo’s fledgling court prized the finer things in life and some of the greatest painters, sculptors and craftsmen in world history came to serve the Grand Duke. But successful courtiers had to have brains as well as brawn. The canniest of them looked to theorists like Niccolo Machiavelli for underhand ways to get ahead, whilst enlightened polymaths turned their minds to the heavens, and to ice cream.
San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, now using restored film footage and high- definition photos, we can dig deep beneath the madness — and the rubble — to explore what happens to cities, towns and people... when mother nature decides to let loose.
The documentary follows the story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship, examining whether their marriage has already radically changed the British monarchy.
Stephen Smith explores the flamboyant Baroque court of the Sun King - Louis XIV. Louis created the Palace of Versailles so he could surround himself with aristocrats, artists, interior designers, gardeners, wigmakers, chefs and musicians. Hordes of ambitious courtiers scrambled to get close to the king. But unseemly goings-on in the royal bedchamber reflected the quickest path to power.
The birth of Prince George to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge marked a new chapter in their lives and in royal history.
The hidden world of the Harem has long been shrouded by mystery and erotic fantasies. At the centre of Suleiman the Magnificent's power was Topkapi Palace. Into it came hundreds of women from all over the empire and beyond. It was a place where intimacy could equal power.
The extraordinary story of one of Britain's fastest-growing religious groups Wicca, and its eccentric creator - an Englishman called Gerald Gardner.
From student to royal girlfriend and then to modern day princess, Kate Middleton has made a remarkable journey. In less than a decade, this normal girl from an ordinary background has won her prince charming and become the prospective Queen of England.
On 29 April 2011, William and Catherine were married in a fairy tale wedding watched by more than two billion people and celebrated the whole world over.
The extraordinary and tragic story of Prince Charles Edward. As Queen Victoria's youngest grandchild, he was forced to take up the Dukedom of Coburg in Germany after a series of unexpected deaths. Transformed overnight from a British Prince to a German Duke, the course of his life was altered in ways he could never have imagined as he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ever since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have captured the imagination and interest of scholars and the public. After more than fifty years of research, the diverse perspectives of biblical scholarship, science, and technology will bring this legendary find to life.
A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a healer, a spy and a lover. He led a tempestuous life where he made and lost fortunes, invented the National Lottery, fought duels with Counts, and had the most famous love life of all time. These letters are actual correspondence between Casanova and his lovers, offering a completely unique perspective to his story.
In this fascinating and heart-breaking film, Eva Schloss talks about her memories of Anne, her experiences and survival, and life as the step daughter of Otto Frank, Anne's father and the sole survivor of the family.
Ever since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have captured the imagination and interest of scholars and the public. After more than fifty years of research, the diverse perspectives of biblical scholarship, science, and technology will bring this legendary find to life.
A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a healer, a spy and a lover. He led a tempestuous life where he made and lost fortunes, invented the National Lottery, fought duels with Counts, and had the most famous love life of all time. These letters are actual correspondence between Casanova and his lovers, offering a completely unique perspective to his story.
With contributions from the likes of thespian Richard E. Grant, social commentator Will Self and author Philip Pullman, at once adoring and provocative this documentary casts a conflicted eye over the creation of Wonderland. Pouring through historical evidence and stories passed down through generations, hear the tale of Carroll’s first encounter with the three Liddell girls and the first telling of Alice’s tumble down the rabbit hole one summer’s afternoon in a boat upon the River Thames.
Ever since their discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have captured the imagination and interest of scholars and the public. After more than fifty years of research, the diverse perspectives of biblical scholarship, science, and technology will bring this legendary find to life.
A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a healer, a spy and a lover. He led a tempestuous life where he made and lost fortunes, invented the National Lottery, fought duels with Counts, and had the most famous love life of all time. These letters are actual correspondence between Casanova and his lovers, offering a completely unique perspective to his story.
This amazing documentary focuses on the vital role women spies played in putting an end to World War II.
Tony Robinson goes on the trail of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior, better known as Braveheart. Was he really the way the film portrayed him? A charming, selfless patriot?
A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a healer, a spy and a lover. He led a tempestuous life where he made and lost fortunes, invented the National Lottery, fought duels with Counts, and had the most famous love life of all time. These letters are actual correspondence between Casanova and his lovers, offering a completely unique perspective to his story.
There have been many events across the centuries that have played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these momentous events from the 20th century and how it helped shape the century.
There have been many people across the centuries who played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these amazing people from the 20th century and how they helped shape it.
A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a healer, a spy and a lover. He led a tempestuous life where he made and lost fortunes, invented the National Lottery, fought duels with Counts, and had the most famous love life of all time. These letters are actual correspondence between Casanova and his lovers, offering a completely unique perspective to his story.
There have been many events across the centuries that have played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these momentous events from the 20th century and how it helped shape the century.
There have been many people across the centuries who played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these amazing people from the 20th century and how they helped shape it.
Casanova roamed throughout Europe for eighteen years, all the time hoping to get back to his beloved Venice. For most of his life, he was always on the move, until finally, he found comfort in what is now the Czech Republic.
There have been many events across the centuries that have played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these momentous events from the 20th century and how it helped shape the century.
There have been many people across the centuries who played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these amazing people from the 20th century and how they helped shape it.
The lives of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have been cloaked in historical myths, romantic legend, cliches and half-truths. Their turbulent relationship continues to spark fierce debate. In this documentary series, we'll be retracing the steps of this extraordinary couple, piecing together the fragments of evidence that have survived to discover what brought Henry and Anne together, and what ultimately tore them apart.
There have been many events across the centuries that have played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these momentous events from the 20th century and how it helped shape the century.
There have been many people across the centuries who played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these amazing people from the 20th century and how they helped shape it.
The lives of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have been cloaked in historical myths, romantic legend, cliches and half-truths. Their turbulent relationship continues to spark fierce debate. In this documentary series, we'll be retracing the steps of this extraordinary couple, piecing together the fragments of evidence that have survived to discover what brought Henry and Anne together, and what ultimately tore them apart.
Counting down from 49 to 34, this episode features the Treaty of Versailles in the hopes of bringing peace to the world, the Watergate political scandal, the downfall of the Soviet Union, and the assassination of John Lennon.
In one of the most diverse episodes in the countdown we meet, among others, a man who became the face of the film industry, a revolutionary who took back his nation without waging war and a princess who broke our hearts.
It has been said that no two sisters were ever less alike. One reserved and proper. The other lively and controversial. One the anchor of a commonwealth of nations. The other searching for purpose in life. Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret are among the most photographed women in history. But what of the real women beyond the royal splendour, and cheering crowds - beyond the Crown itself?
A space venture of a shuttle called Challenger, a ship journey on the unsinkable Titanic, and a car chase of Princess Diana. We see a war in Vietnam, in China, and war upon the U.S.; the birth of the Israeli nation, and a new style of cinema with sound.
The countdown moves towards its climax. We meet some of the greatest inventors, influential leaders, and most infamous villains of the twentieth century as we head towards the Top Twenty.
Peter Ginn, Tom Pinfold and Ruth Goodman arrive at Guédelon, in the Burgundy region of France, to join the world’s biggest archaeological experiment - a 25 year project to build a medieval castle from scratch, using only the tools and materials available in the 13th century.
Mary was a short-lived, little-favoured Catholic and Elizabeth was a long-reigning, all-admired Protestant. However, Henry VIII's daughters have more in common than meets the eye.
Some people of the 20th century who invented tools we use every day and some who committed crimes which continue to effect people decades later; John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso, Adolf Hitler, the Wright Brothers, Muhammad Ali, and many more.
The 13th century was known as the golden age of castle building. Most are still standing to this day, but many of the secrets of how they were constructed have been lost in time. How were they built? What methods were used?
Anne has been celebrated and damned, seen as either schemer or a victim. Her sister Mary is less remembered and often dismissed as a fool. But what was the truth?
There have been many events across the centuries that have played a transformative role in shaping life as we know it now. Join us for another episode, where we take a look at some of these momentous events from the 20th century and how it helped shape the century.
An in-depth look at the lives of Winston Churchill, Andy Warhol, Nelson Mandela, the Beatles, Albert Einstein, and many more.
Ruth, Peter and Tom enter the surprisingly colourful world of medieval interior design. The castles that we see today are in fact scarred by centuries of decay. Most of their original roofs, carpentry and interior finishes have long since disappeared, but in their heyday they were lavishly decorated.
Kate Humble retraces the steps of 15th-century explorers, setting out on a trail that takes her to India and Sri Lanka, the birthplaces of pepper and cinnamon.
The story of two nineteenth-century scientists who revealed one of the most significant and exciting events in the natural history of this planet: the existence of dinosaurs.
Which 10 events will stay in our minds and hearts as those that marked history? Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech influenced civil rights laws, apartheid ended in South Africa, a bomb dropped in Hiroshima, and man landed on the moon.
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn recreate the running of a farm as it would've been in the Edwardian era. The trio establish their domicile, scrubbing flagstone floor and cleaning out a clogged chimney. They put up hay, hire a stonemason to make a trough, learn to thatch, make rag rugs, begin keeping chickens and sheep. Ruth cooks a sheep's head stew.
The team delve deeper into the secrets of the skilled communities who built medieval castles. The stonemasons working on the castle walls are dependent on blacksmiths, whose metalwork was magical to the medieval mind-set.
Kate Humble embarks on a journey around the fabled spice islands of eastern Indonesia in search of two spices that launched epic voyages of discovery, caused bloody wars and shaped empires - nutmeg and cloves.
Alex, Ruth and Peter are falling behind with their ploughing, and are forced to work at night. But how can they light their way without breaching the vital blackout restrictions introduced during the war?
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn recreate the running of a farm as it would've been in the Edwardian era. Alex and Peter milk goats and train the ploughhorses. They begin a market garden of strawberries. Ruth pickles apples, salts a ham, and smokes bacon. Alex and Peter press apples to cider (scrumpy), freighting first the apples, then the barrel on the river. They visit a cooper and make lime putty. They read government agricultural leaflets, collect eggs, make chicken stew, and celebrate Halloween in Edwardian style.
Ruth, Peter and Tom look at the castle’s place in the wider medieval world. 13th century Europe was a busy, developing, connected place, where work, trade, pilgrimages and Crusades gave people the opportunity to travel across the continent and beyond.
Kate Humble uncovers the story of the world's most expensive spice - saffron, before travelling to Paplanta in Mexico, the birthplace of vanilla.
When Britain entered the Second World War, two-thirds of all Britain's food was imported - and now it was under threat from a Nazi blockade. The team tackle the conditions faced by British farmers in 1940, when the full impact of rationing took hold and which also saw Britain face the onslaught of Nazi bombing in the Blitz.
Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn recreate the running of a farm as it would've been in the Edwardian era. Ruth prepares for the arrival of the farm's pigs and works on the privy, while Alex and Peter compare ploughing with horses to ploughing with the world's oldest working tractor. Peter begins a trout hatchery. In order to repair the hedgerows, Alex takes a trip to a water-powered smithy for a billhook. Ruth makes sloe gin for Christmas and entertains with a gramophone.
The first episode finds the farm team arriving at Weald and Downland in West Sussex. There are domestic tasks to tackle, from lighting fires with flint, making meals with depleted crops during the hunger gap and using a tread wheel to fetch water from the well. Peter and Tom's first job is to move the sheep to fresh grass. Wool at this time was known as 'the jewel in the realm', because it generated much of the nation's wealth.
With December approaching, the team look forward to celebrating Christmas 1940-style. People were understandably eager to put the horrors of war behind them - if only for a day - but this was the first Christmas under rationing and compromises had to be made.
As winter sets in, the three farm dwellers must look further afield to earn money. Peter and Alex fish for crabs while Ruth hires herself out for domestic work. Ruth rides a bicycle and tries period cleaning techniques, including early vacuum cleaners. They separate growing calves from their mothers. Peter finds out how leather is made. They celebrate Christmas modestly, as poor farmers might have, and listen to a Methodist Christmas message.
The team work with sheep: driving, milking and shearing them; make cheese from the milk; sort, grade, card and spin wool. Additional they produce a period cold treatment from herbs, steam-bend wood, and celebrate Whitsun. They take custody of geese and drive them to market. They observe the smelting of iron as well as the weaving and fulling of cloth.
Ruth, Peter and Alex face a Second World War-style government inspection, meeting an expert who tells them to grow and to get their milking operation up and running.
The continuing winter forces Alex and Peter down a copper mine, while Ruth makes lace. The copper mine is located at the King Edward Mine in Cornwall, and the lace-making takes place at Honiton.
The team wean piglets, cultivate wild yeast, malt barley, make ale and bread, harvest honey and beeswax, dip candles, shave their sheep's hooves, demonstrate period hair care methods, roast lamb, and celebrate both a mass and the midsummer festival. They take custody of a boar to service their sows. They observe the shaping, moulding, and pouring of a bell, learn about period clock mechanisms and observe a wind-powered grain mill.
Ruth finds out how Britain coped with shortages of the wood vital for the war effort in the building of aircraft, ships and rifles, as well as pit props for crucial coal mining. With her daughter Eve, she travels to the New Forest and discovers how women known as 'Lumber Jills' were drafted in to fell trees in the Women's Timber Corps.
Six months into their year, Ruth, Alex and Peter explore the daily lives of Edwardian farmers. This episode has a slightly different format to the rest of the series; instead of covering a whole month's changes it uses a framing device of Ruth writing a letter describing the events of a single day on the farm.
The team mine, smelt and cast ingots of lead; plait eel baskets and harvest eels; shape stained glass; patronize a pub; pasture their piglets in the forest; paint cloth and manage their garden. Tom sits for a camera obscura portrait.
With tasks mounting up on the farm, the team turn to a popular source of additional wartime labour - children. Children's harvest camps were set up by the Ministry of Agriculture to release kids from school during periods of urgent need on farms, and over 70,000 pupils took part, paid sixpence an hour to avoid accusations of exploitation. Ruth enlists eager child labour to collect herbs that were desperately needed by the pharmaceutical industry to make medicines during the war. But once the job's done, she has to feed them.
Ruth's daughter, Eve, arrives on the train to spend Mothering Sunday - an important occasion in the Edwardian calendar - on the farm. For the many daughters who worked away in service, it was the only time in the year when they could get time off to return home.
The monastery enlists the help of the team to restore a corrody room which would have been granted to an elderly worker as a form of pension. The room needs a new floor so the boys gather and roast limestone in order to make lime putty. Ruth is in charge of the home comforts and harvests rushes from the river to make a mattress.
The team move into a Victorian smallholding on the Acton Scott estate that has not been used in nearly half a century. Their first task is the restoration of the cottage. As incoming tenants, they help thresh the previous summer's wheat crop, their first experience of steam-powered machinery. Alex attempts to sow a wheat crop using horse-power. Ruth and Peter install a range in the cottage and take a trip to the canals to load up on coal. It's time for the apple harvest, so Alex and Peter turn their hand to making cider. Ruth explores the challenges of Victorian cooking by making preserves ready for winter and cooks her first meal on the range. And the team must learn shepherding skills the hard way as the first livestock arrive on the farm - a flock of Shropshire ewes.
Racing pigeons were requisitioned by the military to carry vital intelligence to and from occupied France. Ruth revives the traditional craft of basket making to create a pigeon transporter while Alex and Peter head out into the English Channel to find out how birds were trained for their long missions.
It is April and the fishing season has arrived - a time when Devon's 'fisherman-farmers' went to sea. Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn go to sea in an Edwardian trawler, hastily finishing repairs before setting sail. They master the singing of sea shanties as well as steering a wind-powered vessel and casting a net the old-fashioned way - but will they catch any fish?
It is harvest time, and the days are getting shorter. This episode the team will be bringing in the barley and celebrating with a harvest feast, to give thanks for their bounteous crop. Peter learns how to carve stone and make floor tiles, and Ruth makes Tudor medicines.
As autumn ends, winter-proofing begins in earnest - essential work if the livestock and crops are to make it through the cold and frost. The team stock up on animal feed using a host of Victorian machinery. Peter faces his biggest challenge so far - building pigsties. Ruth tackles the laundry, a gruelling four-day process that Victorians tackled weekly. The ram arrives on the farm - ensuring he gets the ewes pregnant is essential if they are to produce lambs in the spring. The team take delivery of a Shire horse and Alex learns to drive him. And there is a traditional Victorian Christmas to look forward to, including decorations, cookery and church carols. They celebrate Christmas Day with friends they have made over the past four months.
The team face the conditions of 1945 and prepare to tackle the most crucial event of their farming year: harvesting the wheat crop. They grapple with weeds, one of the wettest summers in memory and wartime machinery to bring the crop home, but take a giant leap into the modern era with the arrival of a 1940s combined harvester.
Back in the Edwardian period, thousands of tourists began coming to the Tamar Valley by paddle steamer every summer. The combination of reduced working hours and greater mobility encouraged a new form of tourism - day-tripping. Workers from towns and cities like Plymouth flocked to rural spots like Morwhellham Quay for festivities.
The introduction of steam railways in the early 19th century changed Britain in a way no one could have predicted. This episode explores how they created a domestic revolution, changing the way we lived, from the houses we lived in to the food we ate.
The team go back to DIY basics, with the help of the woodsman, the blacksmith and the basket maker. Ruth has a go at some traditional potions and remedies. When the wheat crop comes under attack, its time for some pest control, Victorian style, as Alex and Peter join a pheasant hunt. Alex goes out catching rabbits with a team of Victorian poachers. And with spring around the corner the first baby animals are ready to be born.
Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill presents a documentary following the scientific investigation that aims to lift the lid on what life was like in the small Roman town of Herculaneum, moments before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.
The team follows a flock of sheep up on to Dartmoor, where it was traditional for many shepherds to take their flocks for summer grazing. Alex and Peter get to grips with shearing, while Ruth takes the fleeces off to a wool mill to find out how it was processed and manufactured.
Historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn visit Beamish in County Durham to examine how railway companies began to develop ways of moving people, rather than just stone, coal and iron, around the country. The comfort of the early passenger wagons is put to the test on one of the earliest steam trains, and Ruth finds out how people were moving further than ever before.
It's spring in the farm, and there are lambs and pigs to be delivered, which means Alex and Peter need to master animal midwifery. A prized ewe is in danger and a lame horse may jeopardise vital work on the farm.
Elly Glass, a Viennese woman, traveled to Berlin in an effort to free her Jewish husband from Buchenwald. Elly, only 23 years old, obtained an audience with a high ranking Gestapo officer. By the end of that meeting the officer said, “Your husband will be released in 10 days”. And he was.
It's time to bring in the cherry harvest with the help of their Dartmoor pony Laddy, and enjoy a cherry feast to celebrate. Historian Ruth Goodman tries her hand at salmon netting, while archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn take drastic measures to save their potato crop from being destroyed by blight.
This time, the team find out how the railways transformed the British diet, rescuing a nation that was struggling to feed itself. Putting theory into practice, Alex and Peter load a flock of sheep onto a train, discovering how the mass transportation of livestock by rail transformed the quality and quantity of meat available to Victorian consumers. This new capability gave birth to the traditional British roast.
In this episode, the team embarks on a trip by steam train, Ruth begins a tough task in the dairy, Alex tries his hand at beekeeping, the sheep are sheared using the latest time-saving technology, and the lengthening summer days allow Alex and Peter to try out the new Victorian sport of cricket. It is also time for the hay harvest, weather permitting.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks rejected the bus driver's order to give up her seat in the coloured section to a white passenger, after the whites-only section was filled. Parks' prominence in the community and her willingness to become a controversial figure inspired the black community to boycott the Montgomery buses for over a year, the first major direct action campaign of the post-war civil rights movement.
The team must harvest their oat crop, but everything depends on the weather. Constant rain is making the job impossible. They investigate ways of forecasting the weather.
At the National Railway Museum, Alex and Peter help get the most famous locomotive in the world, the Flying Scotsman, into steam. The team take a ride of a lifetime as the loco travels along its original route, connecting the two most important financial capitals of the empire - London and Edinburgh - and Alex finds out what it is like for catering staff with 250 hungry mouths to feed.
The team's year on the farm is coming to an end. First, they have to bring in the wheat harvest, the most crucial part of the Victorian Farm calendar. Ruth explores the craft of straw plaiting and discovers the art of printing. Alex and Peter try their hand at homebrew. The team brings in the wheat harvest with the help of some extra labor, and celebrates with a harvest festival.
Chester Himes was an African-American writer whose novels reflected his encounters with racism in day-to-day life. After his prison sentence, he moved to Paris where he published a series of the first ever black detective novels.
In this episode, the team head to the South Devon Railway to explore the life of the branch line before the 1960s Beeching cuts. Ruth discovers how the railways came to the rescue when a deadly disease wiped out almost the entire stock of London cattle.
Thurgood Marshall, perhaps best known as the first African-American Supreme Court justice, played an instrumental role in promoting racial equality during the civil rights movement. As a practicing attorney, Marshall argued a record-breaking 32 cases before the Supreme Court, winning 29 of them. This included the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Tony Robinson explores the mysteries and legends of the Icknield Way's prehistoric mines, hidden caves, demonic dogs and mysterious ley lines, as he travels from the Norfolk coast to Bedfordshire's hills.
In the final episode, the team find out how the combination of increased leisure time and affordable rail transport brought a new kind of freedom for working-class Victorians. Ruth travels along the beautiful south Devon coast before enjoying a Victorian shopping spree in the capital while Peter finds out what it was like to work on the excursion trains and the impact tourism had on the area.
Tony Robinson follows in the tracks of Celtic warriors and travellers, explores a burial chamber that's older than the pyramids and uncovers the secrets of a great white horse on the Ridgeway.
150 years ago, the first Welsh settlers arrived in Patagonia and many of their descendants still live in a small community in the south of Argentina. This documentary follows a group of archaeologists who believe they may have excavated bones belonging to the first Welsh woman to die there, in 1865. To solve the mystery once and for all, they locate Nia Olwen Ritchie, a fire fighter from present-day northern Wales, who travels to Argentina to donate her DNA.
Tony visits one of Britain's oldest oak trees and the shrine of Thomas Becket, uncovers a lost battle site of Julius Caesar and marvels at the discoveries of Darwin on the North Downs Way.
In 1885 the British army invaded Burma and deposed its King. He died in exile, ending a thousand years of monarchy. The royal family vanished, and the country was plunged into war and the longest military dictatorship of modern times. But after a century of silence they are back, and they’re on a journey to bring the family - past and present - back together. Filmed through three years of seismic change in Burma, this is the story of a family and a country emerging from the darkness.
Tony hikes across Dartmoor in the footsteps of Britain's greatest detective, plunges into a bottomless lake and comes face-to-face with a four-legged beast.
Calling someone a Philistine is the ultimate insult - but archaeology turns the insult into a compliment. We examine the tribe of Delilah and Goliath, their fertility cults and a temple like the one Samson may have destroyed with his bare hands.
Tony walks Offa's Dyke in the footsteps of William Wordsworth, encounters Wales's fearsome dragon and examines the priceless gold coin issued by King Offa.
This documentary examines the Queen Mother's love for her husband and daughters, her support for the institution of monarchy, her animosity towards Mrs. Simpson and Princess Diana and her extravagant lifestyle and love of racing, gardens and fashion.
Drawing a line all the way from ancient desert cave scrawlings to present-day urban graffiti, Simcha traces the evolution of the simple shapes that democratised communication.
Tony uncovers a prehistoric shark tooth, explores an abandoned railway tunnel, discovers DH Lawrence's mountain retreat located in the Peak District and learns more about the Eyam Plague Cottage.
This documentary examines the enigma and the woman behind this aural assault on the public. Taking on the challenge of portraying the flamboyant ‘queen of dissonance’ is opera superstar Joyce DiDonato making her cinematic debut. The casting of a great opera singer in the title role makes it possible for the film to contrast two different musical worlds: the music Florence Foster Jenkins wanted to hear and claimed to make, melodious and masterful, and the reality of the sounds she subjected her audience to.
Britain’s canal network is a true national treasure. Forged in the fire of world-changing historic events, it is bursting with undiscovered history and home to a vibrant community rooted in a unique way of life. In this definitive and comprehensive series, John Sergeant sets off on a rich and colourful voyage along the eight best canal journeys Britain has to offer, exploring each stage of their extraordinary story as he goes. Every step of the way John immerses himself in living history, bringing the past to life by rolling up his sleeves, getting stuck in and having a go at canal practices past and present.
It's been an enduring mystery for two thousand years; what stopped the brutal Assyrian army from sacking Jerusalem in 701 BCE? Scholars around the world have puzzled over this mystery for hundreds of years, but now, a Canadian journalist, Henry Aubin, thinks he has the answer. He asserts that an Egyptian army saved the day, lead by a black Nubian Pharaoh.
Tony follows the Roman road of Dere Street north through Hadrian's Wall, observes the ancient night sky, sounds a Celtic horn, mixes medieval potions and encounters ancient invaders.
The team travel to the river Wye to investigate a strange formation that only appears at low tide. Conditions are a terrible combination of sucking mud and extreme tides. The team's goal is to confirm the formation they can see is part of a bridge built by the Romans during their invasion.
Britain’s canal network is a true national treasure. Forged in the fire of world-changing historic events, it is bursting with undiscovered history and home to a vibrant community rooted in a unique way of life. In this definitive and comprehensive series, John Sergeant sets off on a rich and colourful voyage along the eight best canal journeys Britain has to offer, exploring each stage of their extraordinary story as he goes. Every step of the way John immerses himself in living history, bringing the past to life by rolling up his sleeves, getting stuck in and having a go at canal practices past and present.
One of the most brutal and brilliant leaders of ancient times, the first century King left a disconcerting legacy. And, he died the most gruesome and mysterious death. He was famous for impressive public works and architecture; and, for the Biblical slaughter of the firstborn sons of Israel and extraordinary cruelty including murdering his own family.
The Team try to crack the mysteries of the Lords of the Isles on Islay in the Scottish Hebrides - where were these 13th-century Kings crowned and how did they live?
The team travel to the Shetland Islands to visit a remote outcrop known as the Kame of Isbister that has a series of enigmatic structures. They are the first archaeological team ever to investigate the crumbling headland, and with the fast rate of erosion possibly the last. They hope to prove the settlement was either a Monastic retreat or a leper colony.
John journeys from Bath towards London along the beautiful Kennet and Avon Canal, which was built to connect the river Avon from Bristol to the river Kennet outside London.
The antiquities market has always been plagued by fakes and forgeries. We also discover an early and sensational fake, the fabrication of an entire culture complete with artifacts that made their way into some of the world's greatest museums.
This episode takes an in-depth look at archaeology as it happens in a derelict medieval castle stranded in the middle of a Sunderland housing estate.
The team travel to Culzean Castle in Scotland, built on a headland the castle stand over a series of caves whose occupation and use remains unclear. The team discovers human remains and the old legends of cannibals inhabiting the caves resurface.
John voyages along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the nation's longest at 127 miles. After being measured up for a suit in Leeds and encountering an unfriendly alpaca on a farm in Saltaire, he successfully crosses the Pennines on his barge, heading via Burnley and Blackburn toward the famous Liverpool docks.
The antiquities market has always been plagued by fakes and forgeries. We also discover an early and sensational fake, the fabrication of an entire culture complete with artifacts that made their way into some of the world's greatest museums.
The team try to discover why a 15th century village church has a small pagan Roman statue embedded within its walls.
The team travels to Parys Mountain on the island of Anglesey. They investigate if a connection between two bronze aged copper mines can be found. Their efforts will be complicated by the crumbling nature of the workings. Only recently pumped dry the expectation is the whole Bronze Age mine operation will collapse in on itself in a matter of months. This is the ultimate one shot expedition.
John barges his way across Scotland along perhaps the most dramatic and scenic canal in Britain - the Caledonian Canal. The canal links together three natural lochs, each a vast expanse of water as it makes its way right across Scotland from coast to coast. Along the way he searches for Nessie the monster, learns how to tackle arguably the highland's real monster - the humble rhododendron - and, much to his delight, enjoys a stop at the occasional whiskey distillery.
In North America it would be pretty unusual to have a bulldozer hit anything besides a hidden gas line or cable... but in Israel the cumbersome building tool often unearths ancient treasure. While digging a foundation for a new home, it's not uncommon to find the remains of an ancient city. We explore the four level basement of Siebenberg House and find relics that are two thousand years old.
In this episode the team try to determine whether the Roman road into London crossed the Thames at Lambeth or Tower Bridge, and if Lambeth or the City was the site of the first Roman settlement.
Tintagel a rocky outcrop on the Cornish coast has long been associated with the legends of King Arthur. The team needs to negotiate the rocky cliff faces to discover the truth about the site. Can they find evidence of inhabitation between the occupation of the Romans and the medieval conquest by the English?
John barges from England into Wales on one of the most spectacular canals in Britain: the Llangollen Canal. Along the way he takes in the landscape, industry, towns and villages that have sprung up along the canal, and meets the people who live and work along its path.
The Bible is full of references to the kinds of food ancients ate - but there are no recipes. Simcha learns what archaeology tells us about what people ate in ancient times; shops in Jerusalem for ingredients noted in the Bible and attempt to cook a meal fit for a king.
The team excavate a Saxon burial ground in a Wiltshire village which is situated on a building site owned by developer, David Buckland. Until all the graves have been mapped he is unable to continue with the development. They are joined by osteoarchaeologist Margaret Cox, archaeologists Peter Cox and Helena Cave-Penney, and conservator Meg Brooks; while blacksmith Ivor Lawton forges a Saxon blade from alternate leaves of steel and iron.
In south west Wales the chance discovery of ancient coffins weathering out of a cliff face entice the team to examine who the graves belong to and how many people are actually buried in the area. As evidence is uncovered many of the team go through strange emotions as the truth about the site is revealed.
In 1831, Charles Darwin set sail on one of the most epic scientific journeys ever made. Darwin circumnavigated the Earth on the clipper Beagle, making discoveries that changed our ideas of time, space, chance, sex and nature. Almost 180 years later, his descendant Sarah Darwin and British author Redmond O’Hanlon repeat this epic expedition to find out how Darwin’s world has changed.
The team try to discover what a 2000-year-old underground chamber beneath a garden was used for. Dowser Hamish Miller shows the extent of the fogou beneath the lawn, and Tony tries his hand at dowsing. But Mick is skeptical, preferring to rely on the geophysical survey. They are also trying to find the Iron Age settlement that would have adjoined the fogou. Joining the team are archaeological geophysicist Susan Ovenden, and county archaeologist Nick Johnson.
The team returns to the Shetland Islands, this time to investigate an iron age fortress known as Burgi Geos. Just getting to the site proves a nightmare as the crew must cross some of the deepest peat bogs in Europe. As the team begins investigations it becomes more apparent that the site was far more than a simple fort. But why was there a community to protect in the first place?
Follow the team down the coast of South America and see some of the most impacting remnants of the slave trade. Tread in Darwin's footsteps as he discovers his first giant fossils, proving the existence of ancient and extinct animals.
Time Team go to a gravel pit that is soon to become landfill, where they attempt to unearth 200,000-year-old remains of mammoths and other prehistoric animals. Gravel pits are typical sites for paleolithic remains, but the chances of finding evidence of any prehistoric peoples are remote.
The team investigates a cave system recently discovered under the Forest of Dean on the border of England and South Wales. They are looking for ways to identify and date a series of bones possibly dating to the last ice age found over the last 13 years. Conditions are arduous and the expedition soon takes a heavy toll on a number of team members.
Peter travels to the Royal Agricultural Society's annual show with sheep expert Richard Spencer to choose a new ram for the flock. Back at the farm, Ruth makes mincemeat for the Christmas mince pies. She also prepares for the hoped-for hay harvest celebration with some essentials - bread and butter.
This remarkable portrait of Princess Diana examines her life following her divorce from Prince Charles. She is overwhelmed by doubts and uncertainties, but still aims to achieve great good for her family, herself and the world.
A 13th century picture of Christ, strikingly similar to that on the Turin Shroud, has turned up. It's believed to belong to the Knights Templar, a medieval order of monks who gave their name to the village of Templecombe. The team investigate a manor house thought to be on the site of a monastery. What's left of the monastery, and who were the Templars anyway? So far all the evidence seems to be outside the house, where Phil and the team have already dug up pieces of encaustic tile.
1944 saw the sixth Christmas during World War II, and shortages were biting deeper than ever. Added to this, Britain's cities were in the grip of the worst German attacks since the Blitz of 1940. Unmanned flying bombs - the dreaded V1 'Doodlebugs' and V2 rockets - rained down, stretching morale and services to breaking point.
As winter marches on and Christmas nears, they must source a yule log: firewood to burn for the Twelve Days of Christmas. At the cottage, Ruth winter-proofs the house, making a paper blanket and remedies for coughs and colds. It is also a chance to begin preparations for the Christmas banquet in earnest - in particular, a very Victorian invention, Christmas crackers. Ruth enlists the help of Christmas cracker historian Peter Kimpton.
After Diana's death, the focus has shifted to Charles, the widower, parent and heir to the throne. This program examines his relationship with his sons William and Harry, his long-term lover Camilla and his future as King. With contributions by royal experts David Starkey and Anthony Holden.
20 years ago a teenage boy discovered a 400-year-old bronze cannon in water close to the south Devon coast. Nobody has yet identified the ship it belonged to. As usual, Time Team have only three days to figure out who it belonged to. Tony is looking forward to getting into his diving suit but the team cannot dive until the wreck's archaeological supervisor arrives. Meanwhile the wreck's finder, Simon Burton, tells his story. Undeterred by disappointing geophysics results, the divers go ahead with their search in murky water.
This documentary delivers unique insights into both historical combat and theatrical swordplay. The truth of the sword has been shrouded in antiquity, and the Renaissance martial arts that brought it to being are long forgotten. Featuring interviews from Hollywood fight choreographers and world-renowned historians.
Ruth Goodman and food historian Ivan Day try their hand at making a Christmas pudding using the same methods as Bob Cratchit's wife in A Christmas Carol. Meanwhile, Alex and Peter light the forge for the first time to re-shoe the farm workhorse Clumper - the first time a horse has been shod at this forge in over five decades. Alex goes in search of a Christmas tree for the banquet, while Ruth and Peter head for the Victorian town of Blists Hill for Christmas shopping. At the cottage, Ruth meets Debbie Bamford to dye an array of colourful Christmas ribbons to decorate the tree and the presents that sit beneath it.
An in-depth look at King Charles III as a young adult and the character behind his public façade. This is the story of a man caught between the pressures of public duty and the demands of private life with a publicly deteriorating marriage. It is a unique insight into the man whose destiny was always to be King.
The team are at the Navan Fort, County Armagh, where according to Celtic legends three palaces were built. The evidence of two have been found and the team try to find evidence of the third.
In this episode, Sarah Darwin visits the last remaining members of a native tribe that was wiped out by a European disease. We also hear the history of the Beagle's incredible nautical resilience.
The team arrive in a large square field about 20 miles from Colchester. This is an area typically rich in Roman activity. Several remains have previously been dug up, including coins, an elaborate key, and Samian ware. Adrian Thorpe, the farmer, wants to know more. The indications are of a settlement with high status buildings, maybe timber-framed. With recycled fragments of genuine Roman glass, fired up in a homemade furnace, glassblower Ed Iglehart creates an authentic conical beaker. Among hundreds of finds is a metal owl brooch.
The clipper crosses the Strait of Magellan. Redmond examines the value of salmon farms, while Sarah retraces Darwin's journey into the Andes Mountains - an expedition he considered to be one of the highlights of his five year voyage.
Tony finds out how a knacker became an executioner, and how clothes were made in Tudor times. He also finds the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's sunken ship, and shows us how food was prepared in Tudor England.
With the shop's dwindling inventory, Drew's search for one-off items takes him from posh to junk. With priority access to a sprawling Scottish estate, Drew hopes to uncover a bit of country house magic. An old-school scrapyard in Coventry is like heaven. At a company that exports antique furniture, the master negotiator meets his match. Ricky's property is like an amazing museum of rare vehicles but it seems nothing is for sale. Drew makes a stop in Brighton to sell a few of his wares. Back at the shop, Drew hears the restorer's verdict about his new rusty Morris.
The crew makes for Australia to examine the profound effect that human habitation and the introduction of invasive species has had on the island. They are also confronted with the reality of how climate change has impacted the land and its inhabitants.
Tony travels back to the 1800s, meeting a 13-year-old girl who worked 14-hour shifts in a match factory, a woman who worked down the mines, and one of the first employees of Marks and Spencer.
With sales manager Mark along for his first-ever buying expedition, Drew gets unprecedented access to the largest traveling vintage funfair in the world. The guys visit a Windsor pub where everything is for sale. Featuring British kitsch at its finest, the hangar-size illuminations depot in Blackpool is jam-packed with unlikely pieces of pop art. Apart from the biggest collection of tractors in Scotland, Davie's Aberdeen property boasts a mammoth marine artifact that's certain to fetch a monumental price.
Tony travels back to Georgian times, learning of a sailor's attempt to leave behind his scurvy existence for a Tahitian girl, and a gin entrepreneur who fell foul of the law. Plus, a hungry poacher has a cunning plan.
When a first-time buyer from France places a mammoth order that clears out the shop's inventory, the team scrambles to pack and ship the goods while Drew enthusiastically hits the road to hunt down more stock. In Brighton, Drew scours a warehouse full of artefacts from a burned-down pier and searches for treasure in a historic cinema. A former air force base in Scotland is a gold mine of industrial fixtures. At a sprawling Scottish salvage yard, Drew gets serious about tracking down the good stuff.
Tony talks to a survivor of the Bethnal Green tube disaster, an ATS driver who worked with Princess Elizabeth, a resistance fighter's daughter in Guernsey and a GI bride.
With non-stop sales at the shop, Drew hits the road with Julian to replenish his stock. A Devon salvage yard is a honey pot of funky pieces and period furniture but the owner's sales philosophy proves to be a nightmare. The guys visit Europe's largest air salvage yard where the heat is on to find something worth bragging about. With his salvage hunter's reputation on the line, Drew heads to Battle where an offbeat inventor's collection includes a mummified cat, a mechanical hand, and a time machine.
A group of modern shopkeepers and their families are on the journey of a lifetime - they're taking over empty shops in a neglected market square in Shepton Mallet to see if they can turn back time for the British High Street. They'll live and trade through six key eras of history and in this episode they begin their journey in the 1870s, when the high street was born.
Tony Robinson encounters corpses mutilated after death, a twelfth century plague-spreading zombie, and cannibalistic King of England in his quest to discover why our ancestors were so afraid of the dead.
Fame can break down barriers. It can transcend culture and race. Death is never the end, so long as there is money to be made. The Jacksons broke down racial barriers, but the pressure of success fractured the family. Francis Ford Coppola gambled as a filmmaker, affecting his whole family.
At the request of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, members of the Royal Archeology and Historical Association of Portugal excavate 78 mummies in a crypt beneath the altar of the Sacramento Church in Lisbon. In the course of excavation the researchers find handwritten books indicating there is a large amount of treasure buried - somewhere - near the mummy crypt. They also discover the exotic history of many of the mummies, including one known as 'The King of the Congo.'
In this episode Tony Robinson confronts demons, learns how to perform an exorcism, uses a fifteenth century textbook to summon evil spirits, and reveals the terrifying truth about the fairies that stole babies - all in his quest to understand what our ancestors believed evil spirits were… and why they were so terrified of them.
Nothing and everything is personal in business dynasties. Families are bound together or pushed apart as patriarchs and matriarchs lead the way, or let others take the fall. Business is just business. But a name is everything.
The butcher, the baker, the grocer and the ironmonger are joined by a dressmaker, and together they must provide a modern town with the exceptional service and luxuriant shop displays worthy of the Edwardians.
Tony Robinson takes a bath in blood, performs stone-age brain surgery, and detonates a perfume bomb in his quest to understand the paranormal forces which our ancestors believed made them ill and the magical medicines they used as cures.
Having a revered name does not guarantee the survival of an individual. Some of these powerful families came to be at the forefront of generations before disappearing from the limelight.
As government regulations reduce working hours and cheap sugar means lots of sweets, life gets a bit sweeter for our shopkeepers. Nostalgia boosts sales for the grocers, who have masses of 1930s recognisable brands, the dressmaker has to sell thirties glamour to the town, and the butcher has good old British beef.
Tony Robinson recreates the evil spells and dark rituals of medieval witchcraft. He learns how to identify, arrest and torture a witch in his quest to discover why, in the 16th and 17th centuries, our ancestors were so terrified of black magic that they executed more than 40,000 supposed witches.
From coronations to threats of assassinations, to coups and abdications, imperial dynasties have survived it all. Each generation leaves their mark as either a pawn or political powerhouse.
The grocer family struggle with wartime rules and regulations, and customers have to decide whether to stick to rations or to buy from the black market. The bakers feed the town from their British restaurant, while the butcher promotes mutton to modern shoppers. The dressmaker and the blacksmith convince the town of the benefits of 1940s style recycling.
Tony Robinson confronts Viking berserkers, recreates the flaming horror of the Wicker Man, re-enacts a ritual human sacrifice, and witnesses self-mutilation demanded – all in his quest to understand how our ancestors worshiped.
Hero-villain stories are among the most beloved in European mythology. This episode explores the strange Slavic story of Ivan and Koschei the Deathless, the origins of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin, the journey of Odysseus as he resists the beautiful songs of the Sirens, and finally, Sigurd and his battle with the dragon Fafnir.
In this episode the shopkeepers move into the swinging sixties, and big changes hit the high street. Every shop has transformed completely - 1960s mass production of meat, bread and clothing means the bakers find themselves running a milk bar, the butcher sells hardware and the dressmaker is now running a hair salon. The grocers has become self-service, bringing a more modern shopping experience to customers. The bakers have to produce milkshakes and burgers, while the dressmaker turns her hand to bouffants and beehives. The butcher finds himself in direct competition with the grocer.
Rupert Everett follows in the footsteps of romantic poet Lord Byron, 200 years after he embarked on his infamous tour of Europe. Described as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’, Byron sought to escape his notoriety in Britain by travelling through Portugal, Greece, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy. Everett goes on the trail of one of history’s best known romantic explorers in this fascinating, witty and enlightening documentary.
The ancients saw the wilderness as a place of mystery and darkness, where a traveler could find rewards - as well as danger. We explore the tragic Greek myth of Actaeon, the Celtic Otherworld, the Kraken and the woods of Brothers Grimm.
Amidst the explosion of popular culture the supermarket reminds everyone of the part the 1970s played in our quest for cheap food and convenient shopping. At the cornershop the Sandher kids find out just how hard their dad worked when his family left India to set up shop in Britain and they are shocked to hear his memories of the 1970s. The record shop treats the town to a Eurovision winning band performance and all the traders prepare for a Silver Jubilee street party. The town has experienced one hundred years of high street history, but will power cuts, the 1970s shopping experience and the Great British weather dampen the community spirit that has built up over the years?
Rupert Everett follows in the footsteps of romantic poet Lord Byron, 200 years after he embarked on his infamous tour of Europe. Described as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’, Byron sought to escape his notoriety in Britain by travelling through Portugal, Greece, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy. Everett goes on the trail of one of history’s best known romantic explorers in this fascinating, witty and enlightening documentary.
War has been a constant in human history, and stories of conflict often lie at the root of a society's values, ideals and identity. We explore the violent story of Romulus and Remus, the brutal Vikings and the Valkyries, the Trojan War, the influence of Homer's Iliad on Alexander the Great, and 15th Century Romania with its bloodthirsty ruler, Vlad the Impaler.
Three families experience life across five different eras of British history. The Edwardian era pushes the three modern families to their limits.
This documentary tells the story of the three literary sisters, charting their progress from their childhood collaborations with Bramwell to their independent achievements acclaimed across the world.
Jealousy, betrayal and other dark emotions born out of romantic desire have inspired some of the most enduring stories known to humankind. In this episode we explore some of the most legendary love stories, including that of the Phoenician queen who founded Carthage.
In this episode, the families are put through the mill as they experience family life during the Interwar years. They experience the highs of the "roaring twenties", followed by the lows of the Great Depression and its catastrophic effect on British economy.
Beer, known as liquid gold to many in this day and age, but even more so to the ancient Egyptians. This fascinating documentary takes us on an archaeological dig as the Scottish and Newcastle Brewery tries to discover the secrets of the original recipe in the land of the Pharaohs. Following brewery executive and keen Egyptologist, Jim Merrington, and his efforts to recreate this ancient mysterious beer - it's an intriguing journey into a beverage that has stood the test of time.
How does a community form? How does it survive and adapt to change? The role myths and legends have played in establishing the rules of society and the punishments for those who break them.
In this episode, the families face life on the home front with Great Britain at war; they pull together to survive and do their bit for the war effort, as well as enduring a night in a bomb shelter; and Susie Meadows finds herself responsible for everyone's safety.
TV presenters Fern Britton and Louise Minchin, weight-lifter Zoe Smith, former rock chick Meg Matthews, actors Kirstie Alley, Keith Allen and Charlie Condou, comedian Chris Ramsey, ex-footballer Jermaine Jenas and long jumper Greg Rutherford sign up to be transported back to six periods of history, starting with the Elizabethan era where they are servants at a great hall preparing a banquet for the lord and his guests. Here they discover just how menial a menials life was.
Death is a frightening, unsettling prospect for us all. Myths and legends help explore those anxieties. But they tell us about more than mortal fear alone. For in a culture's tales of death we can see what it is they value in life.
In this episode, the families are thrown into the swinging sixties and the street is introduced to a new family, the Hawkes, who are walking in the shoes of their ancestors who arrived as immigrants from the Caribbean. Brother and sister Jonathan and Rachel arrive on Albert Road first, and are shocked by life in the sixties. They discover life in the sixties was a difficult time, with racism, isolation and separation from loved ones taking its toll.
The Time Crashers are now back in 1468, one of the few years England was not troubled by the Wars of the Roses and they are in two unisex teams of squires, the Reds and the Blacks, competing with each other to prepare their knight for a jousting tournament. The fastest team to accommodate the winning knight is rewarded with a feast whilst the losers must polish yet more armour.
Four modern bakers bake their way through the era that gave us modern baking as we know it - the reign of Queen Victoria. Experts Alex Langlands and Annie Gray join them to tell the incredible story of our daily bread.
In this final episode of the series, Albert Road is transformed once again for family life in the 1970s. Single mum Lisa Rhodes moves in with her two sons, joining the other parents for whom the seventies are all about nostalgia. But as daily life is turned upside down by strikes, the three-day week, power cuts, water shortages and women's liberation, the rose-tinted glasses are off and the parents realise just how tough their own parents had it.
The Time Crashers are now servants at a country house in the year 1913 but their employers are not the cosy fantasy figures of 'Downton Abbey'. Housemaid Fern disgraces herself serving tea to the hatchet-faced lady of the house and Zoe Smith is summarily dismissed without a reference for refusing to pluck a pheasant. The boys also have a hard time having to run backwards and forwards to a hunting party with food, including a jelly that refuses to lie down.
Four 21st-century bakers bake their way through the era that gave us modern baking as we know it - the reign of Queen Victoria. Experts Alex Langlands and Annie Gray join them to tell the incredible story of our daily bread. The bakers have left the rural bake house and the golden age of baking behind, this time it's the 1870s and they're moving into an urban bakery in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.
When Queen Victoria's grandson, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, was born with a paralyzed arm, it led to a story of child cruelty, secret shame and incestuous desire.
It is now the Georgian period and the group are on a farm where the women must milk goats and make butter and cheese, as well as bake bread. The men must tend to the livestock, sprucing up the animals for the gentleman farmer's inspection, and it is Chris, usually the loose cannon of the team, who comes in for the most praise.
The bakers have said goodbye to the brutal working conditions of the 1870s urban bakery. It is now 1900 and Britain's middle classes are enjoying the democratisation of luxury. Bakers were quick to cash in - this time, the bakers have an elegant shop on the high street.
Victoria stayed at Chatsworth House for four days in October 1832. Her host was the 6th Duke of Devonshire, one of the richest men in the land. Princess Victoria was 13 years old and visited with her mother Duchess of Kent, just a year after finding out she was to inherit the throne. This shows how her host improved the house before she arrived and brought in servants from his London home.
The bleak Norfolk coast in the 1880s is the setting for the latest task where the men must catch a seemingly impossible quota of mussels and oysters to ship to the London markets and the women gut fish for sale at local markets. When the deadline seems out of reach the whole team pulls together to save the day, giving them a true sense of camaraderie for which they are rewarded with suppers of fish and chips.
Dan Jones visits the exact location of the bakery where it started, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals how Londoners tried to save their belongings, and Rob Bell investigates 17th-century building materials and the prevailing weather conditions.
Tim reveals how Princess Victoria was kept under 24-hour surveillance by her mother the Duchess of Kent - such was her paranoia that something untoward would happen to her. The sleeping arrangements while at Shugborough back this up. Victoria slept in the same bedroom as her mother, most likely in the same bed. Tim also tastes the beer still brewed in the estate as it would have been during Victoria's visit and disovers its role in warding off cholera. Plus, Tim tells the story of the host's dramatic crash into bankruptcy after Victoria's visit.
The final setting is an Iron age village in A.D, 43 and, whilst there are no bosses, life is certainly primitive as the group must make bread, start a fire from scratch and prepare chickens and a deer, as well as constructing a wicker man to burn at their feast. One of their number fails to stay the course, their identity being somewhat of a surprise though the remainder toast themselves at their celebration with Chris getting a special title.
Dan Jones follows the path of the fire on the worst day of its rampage as it swept through some of London's iconic buildings. Suzannah Lipscomb finds evidence in the archives of who was blamed and who escaped scot free. Rob Bell visits Imperial College London for more information about the spread of the fire and to re-create the intense heat it generated.
Victoria's visit to Harewood House in Yorkshire was made in 1835, two years before she became Queen, having learnt she would inherit the throne four years earlier. And it appears our teenage Victoria was becoming quite used to the royal highlife, and becoming pretty hard to please. She records in her diary that she played the piano here before going to bed and we know she was learning the piano from one Mr Sale who, we hear, was finding it hard to teach her. When he told her that if she wished to succeed she must practice more, she slammed shut the lid of her piano and shouted, 'There is no must about it!'.
In Victorian England the Workhouse formed the basis of society. The poor and destitute entered Workhouses to receive free health care and food. But in a society that viewed poverty as a crime, these workhouses were never meant to comfort. It was a means to punish the destitute and encourage future independence. In this two-part documentary, several UK celebrities explore how their ancestors survived the difficult environment of the Workhouse and discover some unexpected family secrets which shock and inspire them in turn.
Dan reveals why Londoners were desperate to stop the fire reach the Tower, Rob looks at the bizarre 17-century methods of treating burns and Suzannah examines a controversial new theory about how many people died. They also examine how the authorities dealt with the 100,000 people who had lost everything and how a new city was built from the ashes.
Tim and Rosemary visit Holkham Hall in North Norfolk, as they retrace the steps of 16-year-old Victoria on a two day visit there, in 1835, two years before she became Queen. It was part of a PR drive by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, who was keen to show Victoria off to her future subjects. And it was obviously working. Tim reveals how, in nearby Kings Lynn, the townspeople insisted on pulling her carriage around the town in celebration of her visit, and he also discovers the young princess's love of music and how on this visit she was involved karaoke, Victorian style.
In Victorian England the Workhouse formed the basis of society. The poor and destitute entered Workhouses to receive free health care and food. But in a society that viewed poverty as a crime, these workhouses were never meant to comfort. It was a means to punish the destitute and encourage future independence. In this two-part documentary, several UK celebrities explore how their ancestors survived the difficult environment of the Workhouse and discover some unexpected family secrets which shock and inspire them in turn.
In this drama-documentary series, Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb goes in search of the origins of the deadly craze of witch hunts and trials that infected the British Isles 400 years ago.
Chef Rosemary Shrager and antiques expert Tim Wonnacott visit the Royal Pavilion in Brighton to reveal the story behind 19-year-old Queen Victoria's visit in 1838 - the year she became queen. From her diary entries we glimpse how reading Dickens helped shape her thoughts about her subjects and we have an insight into the serious-minded queen she was becoming.
The stories behind the most important trains in history and their impact on the world, beginning with a look at the first locomotives during the Industrial Revolution.
In this drama-documentary series, Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb goes in search of the origins of the deadly craze of witch hunts and trials that infected the British Isles 400 years ago. Through original documents and powerful drama, Suzannah uncovers the fears that drove the persecutors to such lengths and what it was like for the innocent victims tortured and executed for crimes they didn't commit.
At the time of this visit to Scone in Scotland, Victoria had been married to Albert for two years and had given birth to her first two children Princess Victoria and Prince Albert Edward.
The railroads ended slavery in the USA, but trains can be agents of oppression too. The British Empire built railways to rule the world, enabling it to control the empire.
This is the inside story of how one man's encounter with a First Folio turned into a drama of Shakespearian proportions. It takes a confident conman to try to fool the world's Shakespeare experts, but that's what 53 year-old book dealer Raymond Scott allegedly tried to do when he walked into Washington DC's Folger Shakespeare Library, intent on authenticating the book he had been given by his Cuban girlfriend's family.
Tim Wonnacott and Rosemary Shrager are at Walmer Castle in Kent, following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, who was 23 years old and had been queen for five years when she visited in November of 1842 with Albert and their two children Edward and Victoria, both under two.
Alan Davies explores the extraordinary life of Harry Houdini, who against the odds was among the richest, most successful entertainers in the world, he was the ultimate showman and one of the first American celebrities. In order to understand why Houdini felt compelled to perform such terrifying death-defying stunts, Alan tries to hold his breath under ice cold water, lies on a bed of nails and is strung up upside down in a straitjacket, among other things.
In an age of science, one tale of the supernatural continues to seduce us: the legend of the vampire. Embodied in the persona of Count Dracula, this pale, elegant aristocrat lusts for blood, making him at once repulsive… and irresistible. By day, he hides his face from the light… by night; he escapes the velvet confines of his coffin and flaps off to drain helpless damsels of their lifeblood. At last, scientists are digging vampires out of their tombs to take a good, long look at them. What they’re finding is a surprising factual side to the ancient legend. Fact may be stranger than fiction!
Victoria visited Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire with Prince Albert in 1843. She was just 24 years old but had already been queen for six years. With food historian and chef Ivan Day, Rosemary painstakingly recreates a typical Victorian dessert: steamed cherry cabinet pudding with a very alcoholic sauce. They also make a silver cleaning polish using deer antlers as an ingredient.
Not everyone lived in marital bliss, however – as Victorians Uncovered exposes. Caroline Norton suffered at the hands of her abusive husband, but the law forbade her from divorcing him. Novelist George Eliot could not marry the man she loved because he was legally bound to remain married to another. How did these less fortunate women cope? And what effect did it have on Victoria's popularity?
Tim reveals that, when Victoria and Albert came to Belvoir, Albert's popularity rating was pretty low. Although Victoria adored him, he wasn't really liked by the public or the upper classes. So Victoria's advisers - the spin doctors of the day - thought that the sight of a handsome man on horseback, hunting heroically with the famous Belvoir hunt, might help boost his image.
The Vikings changed Europe forever, yet half of them have almost completely disappeared from collective memory: the viking women. Quite unjustly so, as they played an important role in the world of the Vikings and performed extraordinary deeds. Viking women commanded ships and settled colonies.
Antiques expert Tim Wonnacott and chef Rosemary Shrager visit Blair Castle in Scotland, following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, who was there in 1844.
Viking influence stretches from the Baltic to the Black Sea in 1072. Jova's quest takes us to the Viking communities transitioning to kingdoms and undergoing the transformation to Christianity.
Scientists perform an autopsy on the best preserved mummy ever discovered: that of a Han aristocrat named Lady Dai (Xin Zhui). More than 2,000 years after her death her skin is still resilient and her veins are still red. What can her remains tell us about life in ancient China?
Victoria and Albert were guests at the stunning Burghley House, Lincolnshire, in 1844. Victoria had been here before when she was 18, and wrote in her diary, 'I remembered its beautiful exterior and splendid situation but was even more struck when I arrived this time.' In 1844, the pair came to Burghley for a christening where Albert was the godfather and, for once, the centre of attention - although the baby was still called Victoria. As Tim discovers, the christening didn't quite go to plan.
Tony Robinson takes a fresh and humorous look at British history ‘from the bottom up’. Instead of the usual stories of the powerful, rich and famous, this is history through the eyes of the common people. We explore their everyday lives: how they washed, ate and made a living; and also how the behaviour of those who ruled the land affected them. One thing is for sure, life for the common people was tough!
They were bloodthirsty Scandinavian warriors and fine craftsmen. They opened trade routes, founded cities and captured ancient hubs. The Saxons of England feared them but mocked their careful grooming habits. In short, they were pirates with style. This series follows the Vikings everywhere they went, revealing new discoveries that turn Viking history on its head.
Presenters Rosemary Shrager and Tim Wonnacott visit Hatfield House in Hertfordshire to reveal the story of Queen Victoria's visit there in 1846. Victoria was 27 years old and had been on the throne for nine years.
Tony Robinson takes us back to the beginning of the last century. It’s a time of elegance, innovation, class division and social progress: The Edwardian Period. Tony begins with two people who travelled on the Titanic. One is ship’s fireman, Arthur Priest, who tends the ship’s furnaces. The other is Mrs Cavendish's Maid, Nellie Barber.
This series follows the Vikings everywhere they went, revealing new discoveries that turn Viking history on its head. We tell their incredible story from eye-witness accounts and the foremost experts on Viking warfare and way of life.
Presenters Rosemary Shrager and Tim Wonnacott visit Castle Howard in Yorkshire to follow in the footsteps of Queen Victoria and her tour of the country visiting the great and the good. Tim talks to the current Earl of Carlisle, Simon Howard, who reveals the lengths his ancestors went to host the queen, and just what happened when 2,000 vistors turned up to see where her majesty had slept.
Tony takes us back to the 1950s. Fondly remembered today as an optimistic period of social and economic regeneration. A period that was tough but rewarding for many.
The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages. Norsemen, another word for Vikings, conquered a quarter of France, half of England and a third of Italy.
Chef Rosemary Shrager and antiques expert Tim Wonnacott visit Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire revealing just what happened when Queen Victoria visited the Leigh family in 1858. Victoria was 39 years old and had been queen for 21 years. She was with Albert but without any of her nine children. The royal train took her from London to Coventry, then she travelled on to Stoneleigh by horse and carriage for this three-day visit.
Tony takes us back to the Middle Ages, a time of knights in shining armour, big-shot kings, and fabulous clothes - if you could afford them. His first encounter is with someone you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night, or any time, really. Richard Rakiere has the vital role of a ‘Gong Farmer’, or Nightman, and spends his hours of darkness emptying cesspits.
The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages. Norsemen, another word for Vikings, conquered a quarter of France, half of England and a third of Italy.
Victoria, who had been on the throne for 21 years, visited Warwick Castle with Albert in 1858 for just three hours. They were tourists just like the other ten thousand visitors to the castle, which had been open to the public for at least 30 years before the queen popped in. The royal couple used the visit to learn more about the history of their country from one of the finest castles in England, built some 500 years earlier.
The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages.
Victoria and Albert visited Penrhyn Castle in Bangor, North Wales, in 1859 for three days. Victoria had been on the throne for 22 years at the time. The castle had only been completed in 1845, just 14 years before the Queen's visit, and the whole place is built in a sham medieval style.
Chronicling the romantic life of Britain's royal family in the 20th century, this documentary explores the history of royal marriages and asks what's next for a royal family increasingly battered by media pressures.
Queen Victoria visited Floors Castle on the River Tweed, Scotland, for three days in 1867.
Emmeline Pankhurst led an army of women onto the streets of Britain as the leader of the Suffragettes - but how much do we really know about this global icon? In this documentary, actress Sally Lindsay take a rare look at the personal loves, losses and political passions that transformed this working mum from Manchester into a militant activist campaigning for votes for women.
At the time of the visit to Hughenden, Queen Victoria was a 58-year-old widow and had been on the throne for a hefty 40 years. This was her first ever trip to the home of Benjamin Disraeli, who was in his third year as prime minister; she came to discuss an international crisis. Russia was at war with Turkey, putting vital trade routes to India at risk, and Victoria wanted the prime minister to declare war on Russia in order to quash the threat.
Most people regard the Vikings as violent robbers, but they were much more than that. Get an insight into the changes in their environment and society that forced them to leave Scandinavia.
At the time of her visit to Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, in 1890, an elderly Queen Victoria was approaching her 71st birthday. She'd been on the throne for over half a century and was still in mourning for her beloved Albert more than 30 years after his death.
In the French Empire, the Vikings come face to face with new defenses and Charlemagne refuses to hand over Christian land to pagans and pirates. The defense continues but then changes.
Rosemary and Tim look back at what they've found out about Queen Victoria, choosing some of their favourite stories that helped them get to know her.
In the second half of the 900s, the Vikings return to France, but this time they choose unification over robbery. With a political connection, this paves the way for the Duchy of Normandy.
Bettany Hughes examines the roots of the Minotaur myth, taking her back to the Minoan civilization.
The Vikings have turned from monastic robbery, to a power struggle for the crown. The battle of Hastings 1066 marks the end of the Viking Age, but with the victorious Vilhjálmur, a new era begins.
Bettany Hughes examines how the Minoans turned to religion to guard against the ominous threats of volcanoes.
Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. Amber begins by examining portraits of King Charles II to draw up patterns for items of clothing that can be recreated using historical methods by tailor Ninya Mikhaila.
The Rouen Museum has just returned a severed Maori head, which has been in its collections for 150 years, to New Zealand’s Te Papa Institute. This film reveals the story of how such heads ended up in European museums, and the Maori people's efforts to have the head returned.
Four families, with a longing to escape the demands of the modern world, head back over a hundred years to the turn of the 20th century. In this major new series, The 1900 Island, they are living for a month as a small Welsh fishing community on the dramatic tidal island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey.
Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. In this edition of the show Amber and the team attempt to recreate the clothes worn in one of the most studied and most complex paintings in the history of European art - the Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck.
England's history has been steeped in ambition, greed, treachery, and betrayal. Its castle walls have witnessed centuries of bloodshed. The anguished wailes of the forlorn still echo through the corridors. Cut off by tragic death these restless spirits have been trapped in limbo between heaven and hell. This program presents spine-tingling stories in a riveting tour of England's ghostly heritage.
As the families enter their second week, the weather finally turns in their favour and the men head out to sea to try for a successful catch. The women are left with unrelenting domestic chores and the children head to school.
Amber Butchart seeks to elevate the lives of those overlooked in fashion and art history and introduces a rare portrait of an 18th-century worker. By rebuilding his outfit, we have a rare insight into the life of a Georgian laborer.
Scotland is a land that has witnessed a bloody history of intrigue and betrayal. The victims of cruel torture and untimely death have become restless spirits doomed to linger in its haunted castles. Cursing the generations that follow their suffering echos down the years.
Four families with a longing to escape the demands of the modern world head back over a hundred years. They’re experiencing life, for a month, as a small fishing community on the dramatic and wild tidal island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey.
Amber explores the life of The Black Prince, a hero to the English, villain to the French. He was a warrior whose premature death in 1376 denied him the crown by just 12 months. He is laid to rest in a gilded bronze tomb at Canterbury Cathedral. A prime example of 14th-century clothing, a pivotal time in fashion history.
Deep in Wales' long memory is a history of violence and bloody curses. Where the deeds of noblemen and warrior princes come back to haunt the living world. Acts of treachery and vengeance leave their stain within Wales' haunted castles.
Four families with a longing to escape the demands of the modern world head back over a hundred years. They’re experiencing life, for a month, as a small fishing community on the dramatic and wild tidal island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey.
Over a century ago, a tomb ship bound for China was shipwrecked and sank. The SS Ventnor had a ghostly cargo, the remains of 499 Chinese gold miners were all packed in coffins that never made it home. The ship still lies off the coast of Northern New Zealand. Can the descendant retrieve their ancestors from their watery graves?
Immersed in Ireland's timeless beauty is a dark history of magic, ritual, and prime evil worship. Elemental forces from this ancient past come back as apparitions to wander amongst the living and many of these restless souls are trapped in Ireland's castles.
The Chemise à la Reine was a dress made infamous by Marie Antoinette in the early 1780s. In contrast to the highly structured opulent garments worn by the French court, the gown was made of thin muslin and resembled underwear. When Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted Marie Antoinette in her new clothes, the portrait launched a scandal and solidified the peoples’ hatred for their queen.
In 1459, a book was written that contained images so bizarre that even 500 years later their meaning is still shrouded in mystery. It depicts improbable medieval siege engines and machines of war. Figures an extraordinary apparatus and blood-thirsty jewels. Why was this manuscript written, and who could have unlocked its full potential? This book will reveal the secrets of a medieval age far more advanced than future generations could ever imagine.
At 95, Queen Elizabeth II represented the glory of an age gone by. At 27, the striking young monarch seemed to be ushering in a new Elizabethan era that she vowed would last a lifetime. But, the following 6 decades have been filled with pomp, pageantry, melodrama, and tragedy. The much-loved Queen will be a hard act to follow.
Fusing biography, art, and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. She looks at Dido Belle, the 18th-century daughter of an enslaved West Indian woman brought up at Kenwood House in London.
Bra design has reflected the evolution of femininity since Victorian whale-boned corsets. Lingerie and female sexuality on screen evolved alongside one another in Hollywood. This definitive film reveals a fascinating insight into the multi-billion dollar business of bras, past, present & future.
Stephen Fry takes a look at the story of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century. Beginning with religious works and textbooks, soon presses were churning out all manner of texts from Reformation pamphlets to romantic novels.
Sam begins with the arrival of a new breed of gentleman criminal out of the ashes of the English Civil War - the highwayman. Including the notorious James Hind who became the mold for the character of Robin Hood.
In July of 1920, all eyes were on the Tennessee capital as Anti and Pro-suffragists each fought for their vision of a socially evolving the United States. One more state was needed to ratify the proposed amendment, and that duty rested solely on the shoulders of Tennessee. It passed by one swing vote, cast by a 24-year-old legislator, Harry Burn, whose mother had urged him to "Do the right thing".
Secrets damage governments and change the destiny of empires. In this episode Tony reveals the extraordinary measures powerful people take, to deceive the public and cover up the truth. Tony exposes the untold story of a wartime mutiny in Queensland, deemed so dangerous an American president suppressed it for 70 years.
Sam takes to the high seas in search of the swashbuckling pirates of the golden age of piracy during the early 18th century. Following in the wake of the infamous Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Calico Jack, and others, Sam charts the devastating impact these pirates had during an era of colonial expansion and how, by plundering the vast network of seaborne trade, they became the most wanted outlaws in the world.
This is the remarkable human history of eight beautiful Islands found off the coast of California. Known as the Galapagos of North America, the Channel Islands can be seen from the mainland, yet few people know their rich and important history.
History is full of rule-breakers and rabble-rousers who stand up against injustice. In this episode, Tony embarks upon a journey to find out just what it takes to make a difference. Time-traveling to the first century A.D. in Britain, Tony tells how a Celtic Queen fought back Roman invaders.
Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the hidden killers that lurk in every room across the ages. From the Tudor to the Post War era, we discover the lethal inventions and the 'safe' domestic home life of households from the past.
This is the remarkable human history of eight beautiful Islands found off the coast of California. Known as the Galapagos of North America, the Channel Islands can be seen from the mainland, yet few people know their rich and important history.
Sam looks at urban crime, fraud, and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues gallery of charmers, fraudsters, and villains. Charmers like the thief and serial escapee Jack Sheppard, so notorious that almost a quarter of a million people turned up to witness his hanging.
Tony Robinson brings his inquisitive storytelling approach to Australia's diverse suburbs and towns. His mission is to uncover the hidden history that lies behind, below, and above the places, we walk every day.
Uncanny coincidences are scattered throughout history, leading to the downfall of empires and the good fortune of everyday citizens. In this episode, Tony uncovers how a deadly medieval plague was able to infiltrate a thriving Australian town in the 1900s.
In this episode, Tony discovers the inspirations, setbacks, and ingenuity that lead to astonishing feats of invention. To discover how powered flight first began Tony joins a group of enthusiasts in country Victoria, attempting to get a replica plane off the ground.
The real story of Melbourne isn’t found in the grand tree-lined boulevards or boomtown architecture. It’s hidden down the lanes and alleyways. Utopian idealists, internationally celebrated art, class-war dressed up as teen-rebellion, you’ll find it all in the center of the city.
What European Christmas Markets have to do with the Holy Roman Empire; why are Christmas Markets mostly in German-speaking countries; history of the Advent wreath, Silent Night and the character named Krampus.
From calculating killers to merciless victors, in this episode, Tony seeks to answer why some people will stop at nothing to get what they desire. He travels to 1950s New Zealand to uncover what triggered the killing of an innocent victim by a young couple and why the disturbing case captured headlines around the world.
Tony Robinson brings his inquisitive storytelling approach to Australia's diverse suburbs and towns. His mission is to uncover the hidden history that lies behind, below, and above the places, we walk every day.
Queen Victoria named Glasgow the second city of the empire. What made this city so important to the industrial revolution? Who is buried under Glasgow Cathedral and why? Who is Saint Mungo, and why is he so big? Why does Glasgow City Chambers look like a palace? How did this seaport town become a center for the Scottish Enlightenment? And how did the creativity of one man, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, leave a permanent mark on this city?
The never-ending quest to satisfy humankind's senses has led to some magnificent culinary creations. But it's also caused great conflict - from the toppling of leaders to the creation of empires.
Bendigo is literally built on rivers of gold. But there is more to be discovered than the history of the Victorian gold rush and Tony Robinson is out to dig it up.
In this episode, we explore the curious world of Royal Warrants, a special designation given only to the best shops and services, literally fit for a king or queen. We also visit the atelier of one of Princess Diana's gown designers.
Catastrophes capture both the tragedy of life and the strength of the human spirit. In this episode, Tony examines the series of events that lead to disasters and the legacies it leaves behind. From a daredevil acrobat risking his life in 19th century Sydney, to the ill-fated Burke and Wills cross-continental expedition.
Tucked around a corner from the iconic sights of Sydney is a forgotten pocket-handkerchief-sized suburb that contains hidden history from every era since settlement. From the Razor gangs of the 1930s to the Heritage Battles of the 1960s, Woolloomooloo has seen it all.
How did Dublin get its name? And what do Vikings have to do with it? Who was Maewyn Succat, and why is he celebrated with green beer? How did the harp become a symbol of Ireland? What is the curious history of the Book of Kells?
In 1941, sleepy tropical Brisbane found itself the nerve center for the Pacific War effort, playing host to 100,000 US military personnel. The former convict colony found itself changing quickly, and the pace of progress has barely slowed since then.
Taking its name from the English coastal mining town, Australia’s Newcastle also has a reputation for toughness and heavy toil that began when the convicts were first dropped there to collect coal from the beaches. But it’s also a town with a unique identity, a rich maritime history, and more than its share of eccentric characters.
The Habsburgs were the hereditary rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. Their kingdom was the largest realm in Renaissance Europe. How did they shape Europe? Where did Mozart perform as a 6-year-old prodigy? When and why did Austria shrink to a tenth of its size?
This episode explores the extraordinary lengths people will go to in search of freedom, as Tony meets some of history's greatest escape artists. In 1800s Australia, destiny hinges on the flip of a coin as an influential pioneer risks his life in a duel.
Carlton is known as the headquarters for generations of crime bosses. But it was also the epicenter of a creative outpouring in the 1960s and 70s that lead to the emergence of a uniquely Australian film and theatre culture. This inner-city gem has always been a suburb of incredible diversity. It’s also home to Australia’s first world heritage-listed building, the remarkable Exhibition Building.
Why did the Scottish kings live in Edinburgh, and why don't we have Scottish kings anymore? Why was Edinburgh Castle built high upon Castle Rock? What's the connection between Edinburgh and Harry Potter? And where are the real-life inspirations for Harry Potter locations? What is so royal about Edinburgh's Royal Mile?
In this episode, Tony journeys back to 776 BC to witness the birth of the ancient Olympic Games, held in honor of the Greek god Zeus. He uncovers why the Roman Empire banned them and how the games reappeared in an English village thousands of years later.
Over the centuries art has influenced societies and altered viewpoints. In this episode, Tony takes a fascinating spin through time and space to determine art's impact on history. He journeys back to the 1930s, to unravel the mystery of a phantom graffiti artist covering an Australian city with an enigmatic single word.
After nearly 500 years, French is still the official language of this North American city. How has this UNESCO World Heritage Site retained its 'Frenchness' after all this time? Why does the Château Frontenac hotel look like a French castle, and what does it have to do with the Canadian railway? What's so curious about Rue Saint-Jean, Place Royal, and Petit-Champlain?
In this episode, Tony travels through history to discover the ordinary men and women who rally against the odds. He takes us to 1820s Parramatta where he finds out how defiant female convicts challenged the penal system and won. I
Once a seaside retreat for 19 Century yuppies escaping “Smell-bourne”, later a suburb completely defined by the heroin addicts who flocked there, St. Kilda has endured a constant cycle of boom and bust – even carrying the label “Rock Capital of The World” for a few heady years in the 1980s. Today it is again one of Melbourne’s most desired addresses.
This beautiful region of England is full of picture-perfect rolling hills, quaint stone cottages, sprawling country estates, and that distinct Yorkshire dialect. Why are country estates named Castles and Abbeys? What is The Shambles, and how did it get its name? Why is one of the largest medieval Gothic cathedrals in Europe in the small town of York?
In the mountains of China's Sichuan Province is the sight of hundreds of ancient wooden coffins hanging precariously from a cliff face. Some experts believe the dead were placed there thousands of years ago to be within reach of the gods, while others say it was to keep them away from wild animals.
City of Churches it may be but Adelaide has always been a strange mix of progressive politics and small-town parochialism. From the infamous Bodyline series in the battle for the Ashes to the mass hysteria caused by a seer’s prediction of a tidal wave at Glenelg, Adelaide has had its share of drama too.
From the Sound of Music to Silent Night to the Sonatas of Mozart, it’s time to get curious about Salzburg! Why is there a giant church complex, the DomQuartier, in this tiny Alpine town? And why is there an equally giant medieval fortress high above it? Who lived in Mirabell Palace? And Hellbrun Palace?
Frank Lloyd Wright is probably America's greatest ever architect. But few people know about the Welsh roots that shaped his life and world-famous buildings. Now, leading Welsh architect Jonathan Adams sets off across America to explore Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces for himself.
Topics covered in this video include, Introduction to Kalgoorlie, The Super Pit Today, The Miners' Pub, The First Miner, The Miners Referendum, The Kalgoorlie Pipeline, The Sacred Gold Nugget, Miners' Drinking Challenge, Herbert Hoover and The Miners' Brothels.
San Miguel De Allende is one of the most beautiful and unique places in Mexico. How did this UNESCO heritage city get such a curious name? Why are there so many grand mansions in such a small town? Why is there a pink Gothic church?
This documentary investigates the story behind HM Prison Holloway, from its beginnings 165 years ago. It recounts the criminal history of its most infamous and prolific female inmates.
Tony meets with Pairrebeener Elder Patsy Cameron who shows him some Aboriginal foraging traditions. Tony then continues through the Tasmanian town of Launceston, which was once a colonial powerhouse, home to explorers, farmers, businessmen, and entrepreneurs.
This vibrant UNESCO World Heritage site has a remarkable history. Guanajuato City in Mexico has been inhabited for thousands of years. Translating to the "Frog Hills", this mineral-rich valley has been home to the Otomi, the Aztecs, and the Spanish.
David Susskind's historical, long and intimate interview with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. originally aired on June 9, 1963 by WPIX-TV New York. Among the subjects discussed were the current state of the American Civil Rights Movement and the recent (at that time) events in Birmingham, Alabama. Recently restored by the Paley Center.
For 160 years, the garden city of Christchurch was antipodean England. Two devastating earthquakes changed that forever, but they haven’t destroyed the city’s will. Tony Robinson visits a town that is looking to the future but still takes pride in its past.
Why did the English choose Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg, Virginia as their early American settlements? Why did King William III and Queen Mary II establish a university here? What was life like for the colonists here? What crazy concoctions are to be found in a colonial apothecary?
Comedian Johnny Vegas, entertainer Len Goodman and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup go on an emotional journey to discover how their ancestors coped with serving time in Victorian prisons.
If you thought Canberra was nothing but pollies and public buildings…think again. Tony’s walk through the nation’s bush capital proves that the city its founding fathers built to rival the great European capitals is chock-a-block with some very surprising hidden history.
England's Great West Way follows the ancient path from London to Bristol. We take the train & get curious at stops along the way: Stonehenge, Bath's masonic architecture, the Roman Baths, the S.S. Great Britain, sample some curious pub pies, learn some cockney rhyming slang, and visit some charming villages too.
Secrets from the Clink follows Len Goodman, Johnny Vegas, Michelle Collins, Mariella Frostrup, and Daisy McAndrew as they find out about the crimes their ancestors committed dating back to the Victorian Era and the punishments they received for the crimes.
The Wakefield family made colonizing New Zealand their family business. After Edward Wakefield kidnapped a teenage heiress, he hatched a plan to found South Australia's capital. His brother, William Wakefield, was also involved in the kidnapping and later became one of Wellington's founding fathers.
"Women Outward Bound" is a documentary about how 1 month, 50 years ago, taught 24 girls they could do more than they ever thought possible. Fifty years ago, girls were not allowed to participate in the rigorous U.S outward-bound wilderness school until 24 women broke that barrier. Find out how one month of surviving in the woods changed them... and history.. forever.
Tony swaps his walking shoes for a steering wheel as his biggest walk yet takes him to the beautiful towns and wineries of South Australia’s Barossa Valley. In the 160 years since German immigrants came here fleeing religious persecution, this beautiful region has become synonymous with fine wine, and good food.
Why is La Grande-Place so gilded? How did Brussels’ chocolate legacy begin? Where can you walk through the pages of a comic book? How did Flanders become such a source of Master artists?
Arthur visits Loch Lomond and explores the complex coastline of Argyll and Bute, including Jura, Kintyre, and a beautiful airfield on the Inner Hebrides. He meets with the son of the brave Scottish pilot who was the first to fly over Mount Everest in 1933.
Tony’s itchy feet take him to tropical Townsville. Plenty of war history here, but as usual, it’s the hidden history that uncovers the not-so-well-known side of a far North Queensland treasure. High-altitude graffiti, the invention of texting! Townsville will surprise you.
The invention of maps is a fascinating chapter in human history beginning 5,000 years ago. People throughout history and across the globe all attempted to create a picture of our world. How do human beings know what lies beyond the sea?
Before there was Pirates of the Caribbean, there was Treasure Island. Critics hail it as the most famous pirate story in history. Since its publication over a century ago, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island popularized the most potent symbols of pirate lore: swashbuckling seamen, uncharted tropical islands, and dog-eared treasure maps marked with an 'X'.
Parramatta - Sydney’s city within a city has always been home to some of Australia’s most important colonial history. But in modern times, the one-time breadbasket of the colony is re-inventing itself as a multi-cultural hub.
Historians recognize three motives for European exploration into the New World: God, gold, and glory. People throughout history and across continents all attempted to create a picture of our world. How do human beings know what lies beyond the sea?
Why does Cardiff have so many Victorian and Georgian arcades? What is a bara brith? Why is there a giant wall in the middle of Cardiff? Who built Cardiff Castle? And Coch Castle? And laverbread? (Seriously, what is it?)
Geelong missed out on being Victoria’s capital thanks to a quirk of nature, but this beautiful seaside town doesn’t lack unusual history. Horses escaping assassination, never to be seen again prison escapees, false maps, and a load of old bollards are proof positive that a walk around Geelong is one not to be missed.
The invention of maps is a fascinating chapter in human history beginning 5,000 years ago. People throughout history and across the globe all attempted to create a picture of our world. How do human beings know what lies beyond the sea?
How did Manchester kick-start 'Railway Mania' in the Industrial Age? What is Manchester's Water Palace? What is so curious about the architecture of the John Rylands and Chetham's Libraries? Why is a bee the symbol of Manchester?
Alice Springs: a tiny speck in a vast, red, dry interior. Surprisingly, this town is a fertile oasis of historical highlights - the center of an early mass communications trail, a vital transport link in the battle to save Australia from invasion, and a vital link in a chain of nuclear early-warning sites.
Alexandria was a royal Greek city in the land of the Pharaohs. Along the sandy banks of the Nile delta on the African Mediterranean coast, the most powerful metropolis of its time rose from virtually nothing. The Hellenistic culture mingled with the legacy of the Pharaohs and bore the fruits of a glorious new heritage.
How did Hong Kong get its name? What is so junky about a junk boat? We get curious about the Big Buddha, the Po Lin Monastery, and the Wisdom Path on Lantau Island. Then, we head to the Kung Wo Tofu Factory to learn a centuries-old tofu-making technique.
In Victorian England, the Workhouse formed the basis of society. The poor and destitute entered Workhouses to receive free health care and food. But in a society that viewed poverty as a crime, these workhouses were never meant to comfort. It was a means to punish the destitute and encourage future independence.
Athens gave the world its modern political system – the birth of “democracy” is a long and complicated yet utterly galvanizing process. Even the Gods have a say in worldly doings. The city beneath the Acropolis becomes the very cradle of western culture.
We get curious about the stunning natural landscape of Wales. We visit an Iron Age settlement-turned-castle, Brecon Beacons National Park, Pembrokeshire National Park, the smallest city in Britain, Wales’ Town of Book), a Victorian seaside resort, and lots and lots of curious castles.
Michael Portillo visits the Royal London Hospital in the East End to visit the home of Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man. The hospital closed its doors in 2013 but pioneered medical breakthroughs and universal health care for generations from its founding in 1740.
Carthage came into being as a Phoenician trading base, its strategically favorable location eventually allowing it to develop into a major center of trade and seafaring. Carthage, Rome's fierce adversary, is the gateway to the treasures of Africa.
Bruges, Belgium looks like medieval fairytale. Who were the Flemish Masters, and how did they leave their mark on art history? Who stole Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges? And who rescued her? Why does Bruges look the same as it did in the Middle Ages?
Michael visits one of the most mysterious places in Britain: Orford Ness. On the Suffolk coast lie a complex of bunkers, rusting towers, and crumpled military hardware once home to an Anglo-American over-the-horizon radar system.
Rome would never have made it into the history books without the backing of its huge military apparatus. The life and the incredible luxury the ancient city of over a million inhabitants enjoyed was only made possible through the exploitation of its colonies, a course of action that never would have been possible without its troops.
Why is Dublin known worldwide for its pubs? Where did traditional Irish music come from? Why are there always flowers decorating a pub? What does the word “pub” mean? What is a “snug?” A Brian Boru harp? And how did a fella named Arthur Guinness become so important?
In 1943, the English village of Imber on Salisbury Plain began to be used as a Second World War training ground. The residents were ordered to leave by the War Office and, despite promises to the contrary, have never been allowed to return.
For many Americans, the journey of the Mayflower in 1620 symbolizes the birth of their nation. Led by William Bradford, the Pilgrim Fathers traversed the Atlantic to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in search of religious freedom.
Who stole the famous Ghent Altarpiece, and who recovered it? And who is restoring it? What is Prinsenhof, and why is it so pretty? Where did the famous Ghent Dragonfly in from? Why is Ghent so famous for its lace? Why is St. Peters Abbey so important to Ghent history?
Michael Portillo explores Shepton Mallet prison which over its 400-year history has seen executions and escape attempts, been used as a store for historical documents during wartime, and became the U.S. military's WWII death-row. Let's uncover the institution that built London's most notorious gangster twins: The Krays.
During the late 1800s, a multitude of strange artifacts were unearthed in Michigan. Written in ancient scripts from around the world, they told of a Near Eastern culture living in North America before the arrival of Columbus.
A group of modern shopkeepers and their families are on the journey of a lifetime - they're taking over empty shops in a neglected market square in Shepton Mallet to see if they can turn back time for the British High Street.
The series returns as Michael visits the former Cambridge Military Hospital in the garrison town of Aldershot, Hampshire to learn of the far-reaching legacy of the medical innovations that took place there.
The romantic tale of the Native American teenager, Pocahontas, and John Smith is an American legend. Was it really a love story or the figment of a vivid imagination? The truth of Pocahontas' life is subject to the interpretation of both the oral and written accounts, which contradict one another.
Michael Portillo explores the early days of organized firefighting. With the bare minimum, these brave heroes saved countless lives. Manchester's Iconic London Road Fire Station was decommissioned in 1986.
The story of the engineers who worked tirelessly to keep the electric power running as the Titanic sank. Their selfless actions kept the lights on and the electric lifeboat winches operational to facilitate the survival of others.
Spanish Armada captain Francisco de Cuéllar was shipwrecked off the Sligo coast in September 1588. He spent seven months in war-torn Ireland, trying to escape death and marriage before eventually making his way to Madrid.
A top-secret Cold War stronghold and a decommissioned Soviet nuclear submarine reveal just how close we came to nuclear armageddon, and the British military's plans if it should come.
A mystery is emerging out the Yukon ice: human hunting tools hidden for as long as 9,000 years have started to melt out. And each new find is another piece to the puzzle of who these people were.
In this landmark living history series, a late 1800s Victorian arts and crafts commune in the Welsh hills has been painstakingly brought back to life as a group of 21st-century crafters move in to experience the highs and lows of living and working together as a creative commune.
Michael visits the abandoned shell of the New Victoria in Bradford, once one of the most impressive entertainment complexes in Britain with a 3,000-seat cinema, grand ballroom, and state-of-the-art technology that even 'washed' the air.
Historians Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb team up with engineer Rob Bell to tell the story of the Great Fire of London as it happened in real-time. Over 350 years after the fact, `The Great Fire' explores exactly what went down, hour by hour, street by street as the fire spread and destroyed almost every building within London's city walls.
In this landmark living history series, a late 1800s Victorian arts and crafts commune in the Welsh hills has been painstakingly brought back to life as a group of 21st-century crafters move in to experience the highs and lows of living and working together as a creative commune.
The popular Georgian "Health Retreat" on the Brighton seaside was blooming into a full-blown resort town in the Victorian era. Millions flocked to this small coastal village every year seeking fresh sea air. But "Dr. Brighton" was secretly serving up heavy doses of cholera, typhoid, and venereal disease.
Rivers of sewage and horrifying living conditions turned one of the largest cities in America into Socialists. These "Sewage Socialists" cleaned up these diseased slums, helped the environment, and fought corruption in the midwest.
The crafters tackle the dining room in their creative communal home; leaving behind their 21st-century tools and techniques, they are set to craft from scratch a set of Tondino plates, a complete set of curtains, and a pair of ornamental fire dogs.
The life and loves of France's most famous king, Louis XIV. Dubbed the Sun King by his admiring court, Louis conquered half of Europe, conducted dozens of love affairs, and dazzled his contemporaries with his lavish entertainments. But perhaps his greatest achievement - and certainly his longest-lasting love - was the incredible palace he built at Versailles, one of the wonders of the world.
The Haida were known as the strongest indigenous naval power in North America. For generations, the First Nations of the Northwest coast lived in fear of these fierce warriors. From their island strongholds, they dominated the region.
The 21st-Century crafters have received their toughest set of challenges so far. Concentrating on the communal areas of the house they have to craft from scratch a heavy metal weather vane, and a decorative mirror, write, publish and print their own Arts and Crafts magazine and create a decorative pergola for the front of the house.
Versailles, the world's most magnificent palace is about to become its most notorious, and home to decadence on a truly royal scale.
In 1885, Louis Riel and rebel Métis would stun the upstart Canadian government with a violent uprising. Dismissed and dispossessed, the Metis would fight to secure a place in their own homeland.
The White House. The Burj Khalifa. The Louvre. These iconic buildings may feel like architectural accomplishments that could only be achieved in the modern era, but in reality, they all share a great debt to the architects of the ancient world.
When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette took the helm of France's monarchy, Versailles had been the home to the most powerful family in Europe for over a century. A place of artistic brilliance, lavish entertainment, passionate love affairs, and outrageous scandals.
Once the Cree and their allies dominated the western fur trade. Their people's lifeline was the Buffalo. By 1885, their decline meant disaster and starvation. Betrayed by Ottawa, who offered peace and food for land, the Cree would make a valiant last stand to save their people’s future.
Great scientific leaps have been shaping our world since the dawn of time. Journey through some of the ancient world’s most revolutionary scientific breakthroughs and uncover how they’re still shaping our world today.
A group of modern shopkeepers and their families are on the journey of a lifetime - they're taking over empty shops in a neglected market square in Shepton Mallet to see if they can turn back time for the British High Street.
The European style of warfare was not optimal on the new battlefields of North America. Aboriginal allies soon taught the colonists their style of guerilla warfare. These tactics would sadly soon be used against them.
Law, democracy, and religion are all key traits of our modern world. In this video, discover how the roots of these systems can be traced back to the earliest moments of recorded history and how they have shaped the human experience for millennia.
Alan Titchmarsh goes behind the scenes of Knole to discover how the priceless treasures are being saved from the cold, dampness, and decay. He crawls between the medieval walls in search of superstitious rituals and meets the researchers cataloging the smells and sounds of Knole’s priceless antique furniture.
Once the five nations of the Iroquois were bitter enemies. Until the Peacemaker's law bound them together. Stronger together, the Iroquois used commerce, diplomacy, and firepower to destroy their enemies. And fight the French Empire to a standstill.
Perhaps the most important development in all of human history is that of agriculture. Discover the incredible journey we've taken with food, from the earliest food cultivation to the potential terraforming of Mars. Dig in!
In the Lake District, Alan finds out about the area that inspired some of our best-known children’s books and tells the tale of their author, Beatrix Potter.
In 1812, General Isaac Brock needed allies to push back the American invasion. He would find one in a legendary hero fighting for a nation of his own— Tecumseh.
From Ancient Egypt to the modern-day, the ability to communicate with one another is what truly makes us human. Discover the origins of written communication and how ancient forms of writing may be more relevant in our modern age than ever before.
Alan Titchmarsh visits Attingham Hall to tell the incredible story of the 2nd Lord and Lady Berwick, the extravagant 19th-century power couple who squandered their family fortune.
North American First Nations fought each other and the European newcomers over territory, resources, and survival. In a pivotal moment, the Mohawk nation is stuck between their longstanding British allies and the newly formed rebel Americans.
So much of what we know about the ancients is through their art. It allows us a glimpse into the past and what many historical figures might have actually looked like. Discover how the treatment of artisans has changed and developed over the centuries and how our very relationship with art has shifted with time.
At Quarry Bank, Alan learns about the people behind Britain’s Industrial Revolution, uncovering the true stories and accidents of the child workers. Oz Clarke climbs the battlements of Dunster Castle and historian Dan Jones joins an archaeological dig on the South Coast.
In just over eight hundred years, the greatest invasion in human history would totally transform the map of North America. Through centuries of violent struggle and hardship, the First Nations would fight Europeans and each other.
Located on the edge of a dense 20,000-hectare forest and explored by more than 10 million visitors every year, the Château of Fontainebleau is one of the most imposing palaces in France. With its Renaissance gallery, built 150 years before the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, its huge formal garden and canal over a kilometer long, Fontainebleau is the only residence that has been home to all the dynasties of France.
Alan rolls up his sleeves to help the specialists working hard to maintain Lyme in Cheshire, from winding the 50 clocks throughout the house to vacuuming a 17th-century tapestry. Dan Jones goes panning for gold in Wales and Jon Culshaw visits one of the most famous trees in the world at Woolsthorpe Manor.
Where did syphilis actually come from? An old theory suggests that indigenous people of South America may have given it to the first European colonists who followed Columbus, but is there another explanation?
Built on a cliff more than 60 meters high, the Prince's Palace dominates Monaco and overlooks the sea. The construction work that started in 1215 and is still in progress today was a major challenge at the time: the construction of an imposing fortress to defend the Genoese Republic from potential attacks by its enemies.
Alan Titchmarsh reveals the secrets of the Cistercian monks who lived at Fountain's Abbey in North Yorkshire over 800 years ago and visits its neighbor - the spectacular Studley Royal Water Garden.
Through animation, location footage, archive, and interviews, the Beowulf epic is examined in the light of the civilization that created it, the Anglo-Saxons. In this documentary, we investigate the Anglo-Saxons' religious beliefs, and their everyday life, and explore the suggestion that the poem may have roots in an even more ancient fertility cult.
This is the story of a King possessed, whose pride and religious beliefs sparked the English Civil War. But did he truly deserve to die?
Bess of Hardwick rose from humble beginnings to become the second most powerful woman in the country behind Queen Elizabeth I. He also learns about Bess’ granddaughter, Arbella Stuart, who ended up imprisoned in the Tower of London.
In Paris, The Élysée Palace is the building that best embodies French power. However, the road from Madame De Pompadour's townhouse to Emmanuel Macron's fortress was not pre-ordained.
It is the final year of Queen Victoria’s reign. Four families face the harsh realities of one of the toughest ways to make a living in Victorian Britain. Can these modern families survive for a month as a small Victorian fishing community on the tidal island of Llanddwyn?
Join Suzannah Lipscomb, Dan Jones, and Alan Titchmarsh as they explore and restore the Georgian pleasure gardens at Stowe.
Matteo Ricci, a young Jesuit would be the first European to enter China at the end of the 16th century. Trained in geometry and algebra, he would soon discover that cosmology and the art of measuring time were at the very center of Chinese civilization and imperial authority, the Emperor’s Mandate of Heaven.
The story of the political prisoners exiled to the Australian colonies as convicts in the late 18th and 19th Centuries. Their legacy is inspirational. Liberalism, republicanism, trade unionism, working-class politics, democracy, responsible government… all arrived in the colonies shackled in chains.
On a visit to Waddesdon, Alan uncovers the story of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, famed for his lavish lifestyle and the parties he threw at his French Renaissance-style château.
Matteo Ricci was the first European to be allowed into China's Forbidden City. Trained in geometry and algebra, a young Italian Jesuit priest would soon discover that cosmology and the art of measuring time were at the very center of Chinese civilization and imperial authority, the Emperor’s Mandate of Heaven.
In this episode, Alan uncovers the stories of the Victorian poor who found themselves living in harsh conditions at The Workhouse & Infirmary – now the most complete remaining workhouse in the country.
On October 26th 1859, on the last leg of her journey from Melbourne to Liverpool, the Royal Charter was wrecked in one of the worst storms ever to hit Britain. The loss of life was immense, but so too was the amount of gold on board. $130m worth: unearthed in Australia, lost at sea. Now, world champion gold hunter, Vince Thurkettle is on a mission; to recover the Royal Charter's lost treasure.
Cragside was the home of William Armstrong, a Victorian industrialist and scientist known as the ‘Modern Magician’. Alan explores the world’s first ‘eco home’ – lit by hydroelectric power and brimming with Armstrong’s inventions that intrigued even royalty.
Marco Polo’s legendary journey from Venice to the far reaches of the Mongol Empire, which he started in 1271, was a monumental leap of human exploration. His travels 700 years ago revealed an exotic world of riches the west had little knowledge of. But how does his journey look today?
Join Alan to discover a house of split personalities that bore witness to lunacy, attempted murder, and later the ground-breaking work of pioneering 19th-century scientist, Mary Ward.
She was buried around 3,800 years ago and has European features, like many other mummies in this complex. She is unusually well preserved, with clothes, hair, and eyelashes still intact. She was found in the Taklamakan desert, part of Marco Polo’s legendary journey from Venice to the far reaches of the Mongol Empire.
Victorian Britain on Film offers audiences a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captures a nation on film. Most of these films have been transformed by colourizing them for the first time. They offer a rare portrait of a powerful and prosperous nation – and Empire – on the cusp of great change.
Many stately homes conjure up visions of separate ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ realms, but at Erddig the 18th-century Yorke family took a different approach. Alan learns how they encouraged a romance between nanny and groomsman, immortalized staff in photos and verse, and treated them with a respect unheard of among other grand houses.
These are the stories behind some of the most famous hauntings that lurk in the castles and manor houses of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Art critic Waldemar Januszczak takes viewers on an exploration of the Baroque tradition, citing its best examples starting in Italy. We begin at St Peter's in Rome and detail the birth of the Baroque tradition as it burst forth in Italy.
Shugborough Hall was the work of two brothers: swashbuckling sailor George Anson who made his fortune on the high seas, and the artistic traveler, Thomas. Alan uncovers their stories and that of another Shugborough resident: jet-setting earl and photographer to the stars Patrick Lichfield.
Waldemar Januszczak argues that the period of history known as the Dark Ages was anything but. In the first episode, he looks at how Christianity emerged into the Roman Empire as an artistic force in the third and fourth centuries, without even any description of Jesus in the Bible.
We follow Baroque to its dark heart in Spain, focusing on the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and featuring star painters Velasquez, Caravaggio and Zurburan. Then we carry on through Belgium and Holland to discover such celebrities as Rubens and Vermeer.
Alan learns about the life and legacy of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, who transformed both the gardens at her home Mount Stewart and the political landscape for women in the early twentieth century.
`Barbarians' are often blamed for the collapse of the Roman Empire, but in reality, they were fascinating civilizations that produced magnificent art. Focusing on the Huns, Vandals, and Goths, Waldemar follows each tribe's journey across Europe and discovers the incredible art they produced along the way.
The Baroque art tradition had spread across Europe, but England was still stuck in the middle ages. The renaissance hadn’t even taken hold in England by the time Caravaggio was finding his fame. But alas, it finally did arrive in England.
Alan uncovers the scandal that rocked Victorian society, when the seventh Earl of Stamford, George Harry Grey, rebelled against expectations and married a beautiful circus performer. The reaction forced them to flee and leave the estate to decline until it found a new purpose as a military hospital during the First World War.
Along with Christianity, the Dark Ages saw the emergence of another religion — Islam. After emerging in the Near East, it spread across North Africa and into Europe in such a short time that there was originally no art. In more settled times, highly decorated mosques began to be built based on the prophet Mohammad's own home.
After six years of research, working with archeologists, Egyptologists, geologists, and theologians, Simcha Jacobovici came to the groundbreaking conclusion that the Exodus took place hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.
Tony Robinson reveals the grim occupations of workers from Georgian and Victorian era Britain. He will venture into the workhouses and factories to reveal the horrible conditions ordinary people were forced into.
The Dark Ages have been misunderstood. History has identified the period following the fall of the Roman Empire as a descent into barbarism - a terrible time when civilization stopped. This episode concentrates on the Vikings and their inventive craftsmanship, the expansive Carolingians' art of exquisite finesse and richness, and the skillful hardworking ingenious Anglo-Saxons.
The western world's most potent religion, Catholicism, was determined to maintain power at any cost in medieval France, 15th-century Spain, Renaissance Italy, and even into the 19th century. Historians, experts, and Church authorities advise on the handling of this controversial subject matter.
Alan visits Tyntesfield, the incredible Victorian gothic home in Somerset that was home to the family of businessman William Gibbs. Alan will explore the hidden room and secret passageways inside this incredible mansion.
Rare film footage, restored and colorized for the first time, provides an intimate window into how everyday Edwardians lived, worked, and socialized.
Richard Roose, the Bishop of Rochester's cook, got caught up in the Anne Boleyn scandal and met a brutal end. The king's knacker Thomas Grimes was pressed into service as an executioner in the court of Henry VIII. This is the brutal story of life and death in England between the 16th and the 18th century.
An imposing country house with a vast estate, Kingston Lacy in Dorset was beloved of William Bankes, even after he was cruelly sentenced to death and forced to flee the country.
At the turn of the century, there was a wave of optimism and excitement for the future. But by the end of the Edwardian era, the world broke into the deadliest war it had ever seen. Bringing black-and-white films of the Edwardian era back to vivid life.
Tony Robinson takes us back in time to meet a 13-year-old girl who risked her lfe every day working 14-hour shifts in a match factory. This is the real, ugly story of the Victorian era.
Alan Titchmarsh and the team go behind the scenes at Sir Winston Churchill's former country house, Chartwell, in the Weald of Kent.
Since Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying the city of Pompeii, it has been frozen in time. But now, more secrets behind the ancient Roman city are being revealed with the help of new technologies in Science Channel’s Lost World Of Pompeii.
King Herod is regarded as the most fascinating and appalling figure of the biblical world. Shrouded in legend, the evil King is portrayed in every Christmas Nativity play as a monster who killed hundreds of babies and tried to slaughter the baby Jesus in order to retain his title – King of the Jews. But who was the real Herod? Was he real at all, or just a figure of myth?
Lovingly characterized as "the most notorious aristocratic homosexual at this period", Lord Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, nicknamed "Toppy", was a British aristocrat. He was notable during his short life for squandering his inheritance on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts. We venture inside his elegant mansion on the banks of the Menai Strait.
Ruth Goodman, Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold explore the festive season as it would have been celebrated during the reign of the first Tudor King, Henry VII.
Following in the footsteps of the Victorian publishing sensation, the JK Rowling of her day, Patricia travels from London to Scotland and the Lake District to discover what fired Beatrix’s imagination and where her love and understanding of animals were born.
Petworth House was home to ___, a patron of the arts and close friend of landscape Artist JM Turner. His two passions were art and women. Set in beautifully designed grounds and owned by the art-loving third Earl of Egremont, Petworth was the inspiration for many famous painters.
The Exodus. The very word invokes an epic tale of Pharaohs and Israelites, plagues and miracles, the splitting of the sea, the drowning of an army, Moses, and revelation. The story is at the very heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
A gruesome tale set during the First World War, ‘The Bluebeard Case' tells of a seemingly respectable man who targets single women and sets about seducing them, with the sole aim of murdering them. But it doesn’t stop there. He goes on to burn their bodies on his stove in his house in France and finally strips them of all their assets.
Kedleston Hall was the vision of Sir Nathaniel Curzon. Alan Titchmarsh visits the house to see Nathaniel's vision for himself and inspects the secret original architectural plans. This is also the story of two very different Curzon men. One was a visionary patron of the arts. The other was a colonial ruler who subjugated India as its unwelcome Viceroy.
This is the untold story of the greatest slaving nation in history. Up till now, Britain’s place in the history of slavery has been the country that abolished the international slave trade.
This documentary follows the childhood of the two Princes and the impact their mother's death left on them. The popularity of Princess Diana meant the boys were always under the watchful eyes of the media, but this in-depth analysis of their early life offers a different perspective on their upbringing.
Ham House is an opulent 17th-century mansion that tells the epic story of intimate royal relationships, civil war, political brinkmanship, and the woman who triumphed over it all. This is the home of one of the most outstanding women of the 17th century.
Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937 but what actually happened to her is still a mystery. Her story and achievements however still captivate, thanks in no small part to her younger sister Muriel. Their bond, forged in childhood and tested in adulthood, could not be broken by death.
His name has become synonymous with the term “womanizer”. But a new perspective may shed a more positive light on the life of Giacomo Casanova. A true son of the renaissance, Casanova was a musician, a cleric, a spy and a lover.
Alan Titchmarsh reveals the shocking truth about Penrhyn Castle and how it was built from fortunes made in the plantations of the West Indies.
Why does Queen Victoria's Royal Pavilion look so different than other British royal palaces? What happened at the Seven Sisters Cliffs? What is a Smugglers Pub? Who wouldn't sit under a dragon? Where did Sherlock Holmes retire? And what does the Guinness family have to do with a medieval hotel?
From the Great Plains of the American West to the Rocky Mountains, from Apache Reservations to the suburbs of Deadwood, she could be seen bringing up the rear in convoys of pioneers or riding with desperados. This entertaining film recounts the true story of a unique American female legend.
Historian Lucy Worsley visits the places and houses in England where Jane Austen spent time and which served as inspiration for the settings of her novels.
Sir Tony Robinson takes us back nearly 2,000 years to a time when Britain was under the rule of the Roman Empire - a time of Roman soldiers, gladiators, and European slaves. The Roman Empire collapsed and so did their rule of Britain. But what happened next? Tony takes us through the aftermath of the Roman Empire's collapse and into the middle ages.
Often called the Galapagos of North America, the eight Channel Islands lay in plain sight of millions of people off the Southern California coast. Yet few know their names or even how many there are. And fewer still know the fascinating tales of those who have lived, worked, discovered, surfed, dived, ranched, wrecked, or were rescued on these unique and beautiful islands.
Auguste Escoffier brought fine dining to Victorian London. He is known as the Chef of Kings and the King of Chefs. He truly made his mark when he became head chef of London's new Savoy Hotel on the Strand. His influence is still today at the heart of modern cuisine.
Christopher Columbus set sail with the honest intention of discovering a new trade route to Asia. However, as the realities of the continent he discovered became clearer, his greed and brutality took over. This shift in his behavior began the darkest chapter in Spanish colonial history, an era known as ''The Black Legend''. In a few short years, Columbus and his men turned paradise into hell.
Teach An Spidéil is a fascinating house in the heart of Spiddal that has associations with Galway Sheriffs, Merchant Princes, John Wayne, and the Waterboys. Manchán takes a trip to Inis Mór to meet local historian Padraig.
Post-War Britain was starved of not only food, which was still rationed, but of manpower. Help came in the 1950s when the Windrush generation arrived in Britain from the Caribbean. With them, they brought a proud legacy of culinary tradition that has forever changed British cuisine.
Every British schoolchild knows that Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe on the Golden Hind. Drake, a clever and fearless sailor in the new era of colonialism, was employed by the English aristocracy to amass great wealth through plunder and the slave trade. He was regarded by the English as a brave hero of the Elizabethan era who outwitted the fearsome Spaniards. But to the Spanish, Drake was a pirate who was so feared that they called him "The Dragon."
Luggala Lodge in County Wicklow sits in a valley of spectacular beauty and is set against the breathtaking scenery of this ancient Wicklow valley. This legendary house has entertained and inspired royalty, musicians, poets, and artists. The house was bought by Lord Powerscourt in the 1860s and then, in 1937, sold to Ernest Guinness.
In 1812, Mary Anning unearthed the remains of an unknown creature on a Dorset beach. Buried within the rock was the backbone of 60 vertebrae, a long tail, and a 4-foot skull with sharp teeth. It was the first complete prehistoric skeleton ever found in Britain.
During the reign of Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh was at the height of his fame. The Queen admired the explorer for his bravery and good looks, despite his reckless behavior. Raleigh set sail for what he believed to be a "City of Gold" in South America.
John D’Arcy, the descendant of the ancient fourteen tribes of Galway and founder of the capital of Connemara, may have been the architect of this humble lake house. As the town of Clifden approaches its 200-year-old anniversary, we will examine D'Arcy's lasting legacy on the people of Connemara.
In 1812, a young fossil hunter called Mary Anning unearthed the remains of an unknown creature on a Dorset beach. Buried within the rock was the backbone of 60 vertebrae, a long tail, and a 4-foot skull with sharp teeth. It was the first complete prehistoric skeleton ever found in Britain.
When Captain Robert Falcon Scott embarked on his second and last expedition in 1910 he was already a famous Antarctic explorer. The Terra Nova expedition is best known for the courageous but ultimately ill fated attempt to race to the South Pole. Scott's party became the second expedition to reach the South Pole in 1912, but tragically all five members perished on the journey home.
Brigid Gallagher visits Cromwell in Central Otago, New Zealand to help revitalize the historic mining town's museum. In 1862, gold was discovered below the Junction by two miners, Horatio Hartley, and Christopher Reilly. Once the word of a gold strike was out, there was an influx of thousands of miners to the area.
Michael Portillo visits the Royal London Hospital in the East End which closed its doors in 2013 but pioneered medical breakthroughs and universal health care for generations from its founding in 1740. Later, Michael visits the former Cambridge Military Hospital in the garrison town of Aldershot, Hampshire to learn of the far-reaching legacy of the medical innovations that took place there.
Earnest Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic departed on December 5th, 1914. This would be The Endurance crew's last contact with land for 497 days. What followed became one of the most miraculous stories of bravery and resilience in human history. Shackleton will always be remembered for saving his men, stranded at the ends of the earth, with "not a life lost".
Over the years the Mōkau river had become the boundary between the Tainui, originally of Kawhia, the Waikato tribes who were further inland, in what became known as the King Country, and the Taranaki tribes.
Much of the west coast of Australia was discovered by accident when Dutch treasure galleons crashed into its fringing coral reefs and left chests of gold and silver on the coral floor.
For the better part of 400 years, people have searched the deep canyons and towering ice peaks of these mist-covered cloud forests trying to locate the lost cities of the Inca. They were all after one thing; gold. Any gold would do but there was one thing desired above all others, the Great Golden Disc of the Sun. The most sacred of all Inca relics. The Inca Holy Grail.
Brigid visits an amazing military history collection in desperate need of a makeover. This stunning collection with artifacts rivaling anything in the country is run by only one man. This museum is in desperate need of decluttering and a more professional approach.
Eight men escape from the most isolated prison on earth. Only one man survives and the story he recounts shocks the British establishment to the core. This is the story of how one man endured the unimaginable by doing the unthinkable. The film follows the final days of Irish convict and bushranger Alexander Pearce as he awaits execution.
Symbol of France's glory, Versailles is probably the most splendid royal palace in Europe. From 1643 to 1792 it was the stage on which the most glorious period of the French Monarchy played out, until the darkest days, at the fall of the Bourbon dynasty.
New Zealand's Rangitoto Island museum is a snapshot of volcanic island life in the 1900s. However, it is in desperate need of a facelift. Without compromising the historical integrity of the building, this tiny museum is in need of modernizing.
Confucius is one of history's most influential men - a sage, philosopher and teacher - who, with Socrates and Buddha, lived at an extraordinary time in the evolution of mankind's civilization. This stunning drama-documentary explores the life and times of Confucius and demystifies his ideas.
The Victorian era was one of the most remarkable in British history; it saw The Industrial Revolution, the growth of major cities, the birth of the British Empire, and huge advances in medicine, transport, and education. Incorporating rare footage from the end of Queen Victoria's reign, this film presents an uncomplicated picture of the era, focusing on aspects of everyday life.
The 2011 Christchurch Earthquake devastated New Zealand’s oldest city. Time Team’s Brigid Gallagher and her team take on a very different kind of museum challenge in Christchurch: to create a pop-up container exhibit featuring artifacts found as a result of the disaster.
Secrets of the Exhibit explores the sinister crimes, wild tales, strange findings, and shocking twists of history that altered the art world. From the diamond-encrusted slippers of an Indian Prince to stolen Renoir paintings, Secrets of the Exhibit goes beyond the surface to delve into how theft has shaped the world of heritage conservation.
The Battle of Marston Moor on July 2nd, 1644 was one of the most important of the entire English Civil War. It was here that a force of some 27,000 Parliamentarian and Scottish troops routed an army of just 18,000 Royalists.
Heritage Rescue explores the town of Thames. Its history includes gunfights on the street, famous tightrope walkers, and mysterious ghost stories feature in the creation of a new exhibit at Thames Historical Museum.
Over the span of two years, London faced a series of unimaginable disasters. A devastating outbreak of the plague was soon followed by a fire that leveled the city. Based on such sources as the diaries of Samuel Pepys, Dr. Nathaniel Hodges, Rev. Thomas Vincent, and others of the disastrous Great Plague of 1665 and the equally destructive Great Fire of 1666 and their effects on life in 17th-century London.
On 16 April 1746, on Drummossie Moor overlooking Inverness, a well supplied Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland annihilated the much smaller army of Lord John Murray and the leader he mistrusted, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. It was Bonnie Prince Charlie's final assault on the English, and the bloodiest of all the Jacobite battles. It was also the last battle fought on British soil.
Brigid visits the Kawhia museum and discovers an eclectic collection of national treasures, from Jurassic fossils to some of NZ's finest examples of Maori weaving, languishing in an outdated setting.
Many millions of years ago, before even our ancestors walked the earth, there were dinosaurs. This dazzling production explores often dramatic evidence that Australia was once a place where dinosaurs roamed in vast numbers. Using live-action and 3D animation, the film features compelling reconstructions that tell a grand story mixing earth history with the fascinating rise and fall of dinosaurs.
In October 1642, the forces of King Charles I descended on Edgehill to fight the parliamentarian army of the Earl of Essex. This battle brought a shattering end to more than 130 years of peace.
Archaeologist Brigid Gallagher travels to NZ to visit a different heritage site each week. Along with her team, Brigid gets the exhibition organized, creating new exhibits and uncovering fascinating stories.
The Dino Trails series reveals the latest dinosaur discoveries in Canada that are making headlines around the world and explains why these locations are famous.
The battle of Naseby was fought on the foggy morning of 14th June 1645 and is considered one of the most important battles in the English Civil War. Sir Thomas Fairfax, Captain-General of Parliament's New Model Army, led his troops to victory over King Charles I. Charles escaped, but the destruction of his forces meant that his ultimate defeat was simply a question of time.
A look at the Great Plague in London of 1665 and a comparison to the spreading of the Covid-19 virus of today. Medic Xand van Tulleken, archaeologist Raksha Dave, and journalist John Sergeant trace the plague back to its source and look at the ways history is repeating itself again.
Victorian Britain on Film offers audiences a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captures a nation on film. Most of these films have been transformed by colorizing them for the first time. They offer a rare portrait of a powerful and prosperous nation – and Empire – on the cusp of great change.
Tony Robinson embarks on spectacular walks through some of Britain's most historic landscapes in search of the richest stories from our past. Tony's walk this time takes him back to 1940 when Dorset became the unlikely front line in the war against Hitler. His five-day, 60-mile walk along the Jurassic coast reveals the county's hidden World War II story.
The bubonic plague epidemic decimated London in 1666. Medic Xand van Tulleken, archaeologist Raksha Dave, and journalist John Sergeant trace the plague back to its source and look at the ways history has repeated itself with the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are introduced to indigenous creation stories; discoveries by archaeologists, geneticists, linguists and anthropologists about the arrival of various indigenous people that are believed to arrive via the land bridge from what is now Russia and Alaska and also via boat and sailing down the N. American coast, settling in many areas and then developing differing languages, cultures and customs.
Tony Robinson explores the birth of the Industrial Revolution. He takes a 40-mile walk through the glorious Peak District, along the Derwent Valley, where the world's industrial revolution was born. Great Britain was a generally poor island that relied on agriculture and the wool trade. But, somehow, it became the powerhouse of the industry for the entire world and it all started in the Derwent Valley.
The Great Plague decimated the city of London in 1666. This disease killed 100,000 in London alone, a quarter of the population. Behind the numbers of infections and deaths, we find the tragedies. Like that of the Poole family, who lost all five of their children in eleven days.
Indigenous people created significant changes to their environment through resource harvesting, farming, urban development, irrigation, controlled burning, and deforestation.
Tony Robinson has quite a long walk ahead of him as it takes four days of vigorous hiking to get from Penshurst in the Weald to Lewes on the South Downs. He's visiting places with a connection to Henry VIII. Some are magnificent manor houses, but others are less well-known sites where both the Tudor iron industry and beer brewing industry once flourished.
Tony Robinson and Phil Harding travel to the Rocky Mountains in Montana, USA, for this special program on dinosaurs and the professional and private 'dinosaur hunters' who seek and recover fossil remains. Accompanying several digs, they soon learn that the methods used by the dinosaur hunters turn out to be similar to those employed by archaeologists.
Maize from Mesoamerica, Potatoes from the Andes, biodiversity of the Amazon, Camus from the Plains, seal hunting of the Arctic, whale hunting of the NW Coast, Bison jumps, and Fishing weirs. These are the foods that powered the Indigenous Peoples of The Americas throughout history before the arrival of the Europeans.
Tony Robinson takes on a tough four-day trek through the Kintail region of the west Scottish Highlands to discover the story of the Jacobite uprisings of the early 1700s. On three occasions, Highland armies, assisted by the French and the Spanish, attempted to overthrow the King and put a Stuart back on the throne.
On 16 April 1746, on Drummossie Moor overlooking Inverness, a well supplied Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland annihilated the much smaller army of Lord John Murray and the leader he mistrusted, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. It was Bonnie Prince Charlie's final assault on the English, and the bloodiest of all the Jacobite battles. It was also the last battle fought on British soil.
From the first apartment buildings of the South West to the ice homes of the far North, early Native Americans were genius architects. Whether living a nomadic existence or in sprawling urban centers, indigenous people throughout the Americas created their homes and community structures to fulfill the needs and values of their society.
Tony Robinson heads off for a 45-mile walk across Wiltshire to tell the story of life and death in Britain’s Stone Age. His route over chalk downlands and Salisbury Plains takes him through the greatest concentration of prehistoric sites in Europe.
The English Civil Wars comprised three wars, which were fought between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651. The wars were part of a wider conflict involving Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The human cost of the wars was devastating.
In the 12th century, the five Iroquois nations were locked in a bloody cycle of revenge. Human relations had broken down to the point of fratricide and cannibalism. Hiawatha was a Mohawk leader who lost his wife and children in the violence. But with the guidance of Dekanawidah, The Great Peacemaker, Hiawatha turned his grief into forgiveness. Hiawatha and The Peacemaker shared their vision of forgiveness until the warring nations found peace in togetherness. Together, they founded the Iroquois Confederacy; a nation that stands strong today.
It was 30 years after the Romans invaded Britain that they were ready to take on the challenge of conquering the Lake District. It was the toughest landscape they had encountered in the country and was populated by a rebellious tribe.
In the late 18th century, there was a surefire way to earn a living along the Cornish coast: smuggling. The great walking country is home to tiny secretive harbors, beaches, and secluded coves which were once ideal for the infamous illicit imports.
Tony Robinson is in Lancashire to explore the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the longest single man-made waterway in the UK. Next, he travels to Wigan Pier, exploring its Georgian and Victorian origins.
In the Dark Age Kingdom of Northumbria, Tony Robinson sets out on the trail of St. Cuthbert. The ancient kingdom of Northumbria holds the secrets to our Pagan and early Christian past. Tony will retrace the path of Cuthbert from Edinburgh to York.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte were born into a world of mills and moors in the early 19th century in Yorkshire. The writing prowess in the Bronte family produced timeless literary classics like "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights". Their lives, remarkable storytelling, and tragic early deaths have left a lasting imprint on the psyche of West Yorkshire.
Tony Robinson explores the history of North Norfolk, a region in Britain known for its ancient pathways, lost industries, and historic monuments. North Norfolk was once on the verge of becoming a trendy and popular area during Victorian times due to royal patronage, celebrity visitors, and the development of railway lines.
The Scottish Highlands were once considered by many down south as a mysterious land, but through rebranding efforts in the 19th century, it became one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's visit to the Highlands led to a massive influx of tourists to the region.
The Victorian era was famous for its rigid class system that divided Britain. Alan Titchmarsh will delve into the working lives of each social tier.
Sir Tony Robinson explores the Pembrokeshire coast to uncover a different kind of Norman Conquest than we are used to. The conquest of the famous Welsh coastline by the Normans was a long and fiercely fought struggle, unlike the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The Great Plague of 1665 killed 100,000 in London alone, 25% of the city's population, and a further 100,000 in the rest of the country. Taking a look at the parallels between this and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sir Tony Robinson is exploring the downfall of King John, the sworn enemy of Robin Hood. He was a famously unpopular and tyrannical medieval king and was hated by all his contemporaries. King John faced opposition due to his quest for money, heavy taxes, and loss of lands, including Normandy which is predecessors fought hard to obtain.
Sir Tony Robinson is in ‘the most rebellious corner of England’ following the fortunes of the Duke of Monmouth’s armed attempt to overthrow the British monarchy. The year is 1685… it’s 25 years after the Restoration, and the catholic James II has just ascended the throne. This is the cue for one of the most remarkable and rapid rebellions in our history and one that leads to the last pitched battle ever to take place on English soil.
The Aboriginal story is often buried deep beneath the accepted 247-year Australian historical narrative. It's not that the Australian story is wrong, it's just that it's a wee bit one sided. Getting all historical, Aboriginal filmmaker Trisha Morton-Thomas, bites back at Australian history. The story of Aboriginal Australia has in many cases been warped beyond recognition, often devoid of Indigenous input and belittling the enormous contribution Aboriginal people have made to the building of the nation.
The Tower Of London is the United Kingdom's foremost tourist attraction - an imposing stronghold that has been part of London's royal heritage for more than 1,000 years. It has changed roles, from fortress to palace to prison; if the stones of this mighty citadel could talk imagine what stories they could tell. The events that have taken place here and the tragic and heroic characters that have passed through the gates have shaped the destiny of the United Kingdom.
You'd suspect that working in a royal palace wood have been preferable to working in the fields. But these royal jobs are among the worst in history. Life was gruelling for those who found themselves working as a lance maker, falcon-keeper, whipping boy, food taster, groom of the chamber, royal messenger, royal washerwoman, fireworker, boot boy, and the dreaded purple maker.
Torture, treason, and bizarre executions were standard practices at The Tower Of London. The Tower is the United Kingdom's foremost tourist attraction - an imposing stronghold that has been part of London's royal heritage for more than 1,000 years. It has changed roles, from fortress to palace to prison; if the stones of this mighty citadel could talk imagine what stories they could tell. The events that have taken place here and the tragic and heroic characters that have passed through the gates have shaped the destiny of the United Kingdom.
Among the thankless tasks tackled by Tony this week is the work of the midshipman, lighthouse keeper, stoker, and trimmer. He will live like the men of Britain's first navy who survived on minimal rations and like the men who wore sacks on their heads on the luxury liners.
Every imaginable execution method took place at The Tower of London in its 1000-year-old past. The most grisly of all was live disembowelment. The method was so gross and barbaric that Queen Elizabeth I finally banned the practice. The last time it was used was in 1586 on the conspirators of the Babington Plot. The plot was the work of Francis Walsingham, the father of modern espionage. He was known as The Spymaster.
This week we take a close look at the worst rural jobs and remember those who risked their necks to maintain the heart of rural life, shifted excrement to produce enduring images of the countryside and saved souls in the villages by eating bread.
Joann Fletcher explores how the Pyramid Age ended in catastrophe. In one of Saqqara's last pyramid complexes, Joann uncovers evidence of famine as the young Egyptian state suffered a worsening climate and political upheaval.
From the Norman invasion in 1066 to the end of the Wars of the Roses in 1485, Medieval England transformed from an agricultural feudal society to one on the brink of creating an empire.
Joann Fletcher explores the magnificent Colossi of Memnon built under Egypt's greatest pharaoh, Amenhotep III. Joann explores the dizzying heights of Egypt's civilization, and the lives of the workers and artisans caught up in Egypt's most ambitious building project: the Valley of the Kings.
The history of organized fighting in Britain begins in the Georgian era. Lucy Inglis takes a look at the dark world of women's bare-knuckle boxing in London during the 18th century. The Georgian period in London was a time of expansion and upheaval. Women fought for honor, settled disputes, and competed for sport.
Joann discovers how Egypt's enemies exploited a country weakened by internal strife, ultimately leading to its destruction. Joann leaves Egypt and journeys south to Sudan where she finds the remarkable story of the forgotten Nubian Kings. Alexandria was once Egypt's capital, known for its power, wealth, and luxury.
We explore the history of dueling in Georgian England, where individuals fought to the death to settle disputes, clear their names, or prove their courage and skill. The evolution of the dueling weapon ranged from swords to pistols, and various modifications were made for accuracy and ease of use. The prevalence of dueling can be attributed to excessive alcohol consumption, gambling, and the concept of honor.
In Yakoutia, a forgotten province of Siberia, anthropologist Eric Crubezy has unearthed a strange tomb containing the body of a woman with her eyes covered and clothed in a garment of pearls. Eric Krubesi, an anthropologist, is excavating burial sites of ancient Yakuts in Eastern Siberia to gather genetic and anthropological data. The Yakuts, an enigmatic people of Eastern Siberia, have left few written records, and their history is largely unknown.
This is the history of bare-knuckle fighting in Victorian Britain, a brutal sport that seeks to decide the undisputed champion of the world. The rise of fighters like Tom Spring, who came from humble working-class origins to become sporting superstars, paved the way for Tyson Fury, Mohammed Ali, and Mike Tyson. Bare-knuckle fighting was a sport with few rules, no gloves, and often resulted in death.
Admiral Nelson's heroic death at the Battle of Trafalgar is immortalized in bronze and stone on the great column in Trafalgar Square. Nelson, a brave and brilliant war leader, was also known for being vain, ruthless, and impetuous.
In the late 1400s in Tudor England, knights were born and bred to face combat, both on the battlefield and the tournament ground. We explore the intriguing world of medieval tournaments, highlighting the role of knights as both warriors and symbols of heroism.
It was called the Black Death, a disease that started in the 14th century, and swept across Europe wiping out half the population, one of the most lethal killers in human history. But the cause of the Black Death has eluded scientists. Now, Evolutionary biologist Hendrik Poinar embarks on an epic journey to solve the 600-year old mystery and change the way we fight infectious diseases today.
The Black Sea is a place of great mystery and antiquity. Scientists have found evidence of ancient submerged civilizations in the Black Sea, indicating a sudden rise in sea levels around 6000 BC. Ancient legends describe a time when the oceans rose above the land, causing an entire civilization to vanish beneath the cold waters of this ocean region. Could this be the great flood described in the Bible during the time of Noah?
Queen Victoria inherited the throne of Great Britain at the tender age of 18 and rules for 63 years, giving her name to an enitre era. Victoria was a complex character, her personality a strange mixture of contradictions. This fascinating documentary provides a penetrating insight into the Queen's life as Victoria's Secrets are revealed at last.
Join us on a captivating journey to the coldest and most inhospitable environment on Earth - Antarctica. We will learn about the legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton and his adventurous spirit, drive for fame, and rivalry with fellow explorer Robert Scott.
Most Anglo-Saxons were farmers and lived off the land. They were able to make equipment such as ploughs and tools to help them in their work. They would grind wheat to make flour so they could make bread. Some Anglo-Saxons were skilled craftsmen who made decorative jewellery such as brooches and necklaces. But ultimately, Anglo Saxon life provided challenges long forgotten by today's Brits.
In 1581, China's Emperor sparked a global demand for silver, changing the course of history forever. This was how Spain's silver trade with China shaped the New World, funding America's Industrial Revolution and driving the growth of cities worldwide. Uncover the conflicts and consequences as silver becomes both a source of power and a catalyst for China's 'century of humiliation.' Join us on a journey that reveals the intricate connections between China and the rest of the world.
Samurai Bow explores the violence, beauty, and reverie that surround the Samurai's earliest weapon. With stunning dramatic reconstruction, we reveal the ancient way of the Samurai and explore how the bow could avert wars when put in the hands of a true master.
China's lust for silver helped establish their formidable economic position on the global stage. However, Western powers were reluctant to engage in silver trade and in their search for an alternative avenue they discovered something that would change history forever: Opium. As opium surged throughout the nation, it brought forth multifaceted societal issues, ultimately fueling the harrowing Opium Wars.
Examining Georgian attitudes towards love and marriage, this documentary follows a fictional young society couple as they navigate the salacious aristocratic elite of the period. A historical romp back in time packed full of fun and informative interviews with the leading experts on courtship and sex in the Georgian period that pull back the covers on the real sex lives of the Georgian aristocracy.
It's hard to believe but silver was at one time worth more than gold. China used silver as their currency and the West had to pay in silver for Chinese goods. This angered the British and so they sought a commodity that the Chinese would be forced to buy. China did not covet any goods that the West had except one: Opium.
We will uncover the surprising origins of ocean liners in steam engine technology and how visionaries like Isambard Kingdom Brunel revolutionized maritime travel. We will learn about the challenges and risks faced by pioneers in the 1830s, leading to the creation of the first purpose-built ocean liner, the Great Western. Follow the evolution of transatlantic passenger services, from the impact of World War I to the development of steam turbo-electric propulsion, transforming ocean liners into cruise ships and military transports.
David Attenborough investigates the remarkable life and death of Jumbo the elephant - the biggest animal celebrity of the 19th century whose story is said to have inspired the movie Dumbo. The most famous animal in the world, Jumbo captivated the world. But behind the curtain, was a tragic story of abuse, alcoholism, violence, and a mysterious death.
Charles Dickens' classic novel 'A Tale Of Two Cities' tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. But what was going on in Dicken's personal life that he was trying to express through this novel?
Egypt is home to one of the world's earliest civilizations, with its earliest settlements in northern Africa dating to 17000 BC. Ancient Egypt was a powerful, influential, and expansionist empire that grew from the Nile River Valley to include much of the eastern Mediterranean. The civilization brought many inventions and advancements, including agriculture, art, architecture, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, religion, writing, and so much more.
The metaphysical poets lived in a period of significant social and cultural change in the early 17th century. This era was marked by challenges to traditional beliefs due to scientific advances, religious and political upheavals, and the shift from medieval to modern society. The poets' works reflected the influences and pressures of this dynamic period, responding to the anxiety and uncertainty of the time. John Donne, the most renowned metaphysical poet, explored love in various forms—divine, sexual, and platonic.
We explore the marine mysteries of the Magdalen Islands, an archipelago in North America's tumultuous inland saltwater sea. Leonard Clark and his family, spanning three generations in the village, have meticulously documented over 1,000 sunken ships.
Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. The novel explores themes such as class, snobbery, money, and forgiveness. Pip's journey reflects Dickens' contemplation on social class mobility. It is Dickens' second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person.
Ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty has left a huge mark on the country's long history. Unlike their predecessors, the Ramesside's ability to produce a vast quantity of heirs made it seem like their dynasty would be one to last for centuries. However, this resulted in problems all its own, as infighting amongst Egypt's most powerful family began to tear them apart.
Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet living in the late 1300s, witnessed significant societal changes in England during the transition from feudalism to a more mercantile system. Chaucer began writing the Canterbury Tales around 1387 during a period when the Catholic Church still held extreme power and the Black Death and the 100 Years War were still having profound impacts on England. Chaucer employs satire, irony, and humor throughout the tales, making readers laugh at first and then revealing the seriousness and tragedy beneath.
Nefertiti, the iconic Queen of ancient Egypt, lived 3500 years ago during a period of upheaval caused by her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti is now believed to have been a fully-fledged Pharaoh after the death of Akhenaten.
Anglo-Saxon poetry reflects a fourth or fifth-century Pagan reality, creating noble pagan characters, such as Beowulf, in a Christian context. The tension arises as Christian theology requires damnation for these pagan characters, yet the poet sympathetically presents them in a favorable light.
Discover the history & treasures of ancient Egyptians who lived in Pompeii in the shadow of mount Vesuvius. Under Roman rule by the 30BC, Egypt began transmitting spoils of war and new materials such as glass, papyrus, minerals and ores to Rome.
Jane Eyre was released in 1847 and is considered a masterpiece of literature, offering a critique and celebration of Victorian society. Brontë stunned the aristocratic Victorian elite by boldly criticizing prevailing Victorian ideals in her novel, crafting a love story that defied conventional expectations.
The Vatican houses over 70,000 artifacts, with 20,000 on display. The Egyptian section in the Vatican Museum features a diverse collection spanning various dynasties, showcasing aspects of ancient Egyptian life, mummification practices, and artifacts from different periods. Including an unexpected artifact related to the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception translated into Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The English Romantic poets of the 19th century, including Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats, pioneered a literary movement marked by an emphasis on emotion, nature, and individual expression.
Vincent Van Gogh tragically ended his life on July 27, 1890, in the French Village of Auvers. Van Gogh, born in 1853, struggled with loneliness, persecution, and madness, with only one of his paintings sold during his lifetime.
The profound world of war poetry traces its historical and cultural significance through different periods. From early examples like "The Battle of Maldon," which captures the heroic spirit of the Dark Ages, to the evolving nature of war poetry during the 18th century, this episode explores how poets have depicted the human experience of war.
Discover the vivid world of Romanticism as we unravel the life and art of Eugène Delacroix, the greatest French artist of his era. From revolutionary Paris to the exotic landscapes of North Africa, delve into his masterpieces, exploring the fusion of passion, color, and rebellion that shaped art for generations to come.
Actor Sean Bean narrates this four-part documentary, which focuses on the history of one-on-one combat and how people have used organised fighting - to gamble, aid diplomatic relations, settle scores and protect personal honour, for example - throughout the ages.
The Industrial Revolution brought significant social and economic changes to Europe and Britain. The construction of the Cork and Bandon Railway presented substantial engineering challenges, including the need for a deep tunnel through Goggin's Hill. The Goggin's Hill tunnel, about a kilometer long, was a remarkable engineering feat of the Victorian Railway age.
Recognized as the foremost Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes underwent a transformative journey in his extensive career. Shifting from cheerful and lighthearted works to paintings steeped in profound pessimism, Goya's evolution raises the intriguing question: What prompted this dramatic change in his artistic expression?
Join us on a captivating journey through the heart of Dublin's historical district, Dame Street. Delve into the rich tapestry of Dublin's architectural and financial history as we uncover the stories behind the majestic banking halls that once lined this bustling thoroughfare.
Delve into the life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a renowned English artist known for his Pre-Raphaelite works. The episode highlights Rossetti's passionate affair with Jane Morris, wife of his friend William Morris, amidst the idyllic backdrop of Kelmscott Manor.
This episode of Building Ireland explores the history and significance of Waterford, Ireland's oldest city which was once a thriving international trading center due to its strategic maritime location.
From the grandeur of Pharaoh Ramses II's obelisk to intricate figurines depicting daily life, 'Forgotten Treasures of Egypt' delves into the rich tapestry of Egyptian history. Highlighting figures like Queen Hatshepsut and the radical Pharaoh Akhenaten, Curtis Ryan Woodside narrates tales of power, innovation, and religious upheaval.
Discover the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the Irish builders who shaped the skyline of Limerick with their remarkable Victorian engineering. In this captivating documentary, delve into the world of master builders who, armed with determination and skill, erected iconic structures like St. John's Cathedral, standing tall for over a century as a testament to their genius.
Join Ewan and Colin McGregor on an exhilarating journey through the skies as they commemorate the RAF Centenary in this captivating documentary. Delving deep into the rich history of the Royal Air Force, the brothers embark on a mission to explore its first 100 years. From heart-pounding dogfights to daring low-level maneuvers, they experience the thrill and danger faced by RAF pilots throughout history.
County Mayo had a thriving textile industry for centuries, influencing local development and economy. Textile mills employed thousands and played a significant role in Irish exports, especially wool and woven cloth. The establishment of Foxford Woollen Mills in the late 19th century was a social enterprise aimed at alleviating poverty.
Empires of Silver delves into the transformative power of silver in shaping global trade during the 16th century. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Andes Mountains and the bustling markets of China, this documentary explores how the discovery of pure silver ignited a revolution in commerce.
Construction workers in Chengdu, China, accidentally discovered the archeological site known as Jinsha in 2001, considered one of the most significant discoveries of the century. The site contains a treasure trove of Jade, gold, and thousands of human remains in burial grounds, with some suggesting possible human sacrifice. Jinsha was an ancient kingdom thriving around the same time as the Shang Dynasty in the Sichuan basin, challenging previous beliefs about the only birthplace of Chinese culture being the Central Plain of the Yellow River.
A terrifying network of ancient man-made tunnels in Italy might be the real entrance to the Greek underworld. Ancient literature tells us that living people visited the dead to ask them the future. Through a network of tunnels they believed they were travelling to ''the core of the earth'' to consult the Oracle of The Dead. But this site in Italy, a complex network of tunnels, was designed to trick visitors into thinking they were visiting Hell.
With groundbreaking discoveries including a silk and Jade burial suit and a trove of artifacts, Dr. Shu explores this forgotten kingdom of the Han Dynasty, shedding light on its culture, technology, and enigmatic ruler. Prepare to be transported back in time as we unravel the secrets buried beneath the earth's surface.
The institution of marriage faced serious challenges in the 20th century when World War 1 shattered the innocence of an entire generation raised by Victorian ideals of purity. When war came along and men were away for extended periods of time, marriages began to crumble and both men and women looked to find sexual fulfilment outside of their marriages, leading to STD outbreaks and affairs.