19 Jun
20 Jun
21 Jun
22 Jun
23 Jun
24 Jun
25 Jun
26 Jun
27 Jun
28 Jun
29 Jun
30 Jun
1 Jul
A chance to delve beyond the stereotypes of upper class luxury living between the World Wars, built around a treasure trove of 16mm footage made by a witness and participant in that gilded era. In the third episode, Bobby Cunningham-Reid – politician, filmmaker and professional bon vivant of the Thirties – returns to the House of Commons as MP for Marylebone. Bobby relished the buzz and performance of politics, but fellow conservatives were appalled by the arrival of this brash outsider. There was something vulgar about his sense of adventure, curiosity and fun. But it was a restless spirit that prompted him to tour Easter Europe, resulting in haunting footage of the Jewish markets of Warsaw. Part 3 of 4.
A chance to delve beyond the stereotypes of upper class luxury living between the World Wars, built around a treasure trove of 16mm footage made by a witness and participant in that gilded era. The final episode of this unique compilation of home footage finds the decadent lifestyle of those in the country house under threat as Europe plunges towards war. Mary, unable to stomach Bobby’s philandering, sues him for divorce. Bobby counter sues, becoming the first man in Britain to receive alimony - an act that was 'tremendously ungentlemanly'. Bobby, one of life’s great bounders, pocketed the London house, the cars, the yacht and £10,000 a year for life. Part 4 of 4.
Four-part series exploring the influence of the Medici family on 15th-century Europe's intellectual and artistic revolution. Having established the world's largest banking business, Cosimo de' Medici and his father count popes and princes among their clients. Outwitting his political rivals and establishing his family at the heart of Republican Florence, Cosimo uses his phenomenal wealth to breathe new life into the study of the ancient past and cement his position of power. Part 1 of 4.
The story of Kibworth moves on to dramatic battles of conscience in the time of the Hundred Years' War. Amazing finds in the school archive help trace peasant education back to the 14th century, and we see how the people themselves set up the first school for their children. Some villagers join in a rebellion against King Henry V, while others rise to become middle class merchants in the textile town of Coventry. On the horizon is the Protestant Reformation, but the rise of capitalism and individualism sow the seeds of England's future greatness. Part 4 of 6.
All the great American steam yachts of the Golden Age are gone, except Cangarda. The vessel was built in 1901 at the Pusey and Jones Shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware. She is 136 feet long, and weighs 125 tonnes, the size of a small airliner. Watch as the original machinery is restored, including seven steam engines. It will take over 100,000 man hours to bring this classic yacht her back to life. One of the most important yacht restorations of all time, no detail was spared to bring Cangarda back to her original beauty and charm, while at the same time utilising modern technology, making her seaworthy and suitable for family use. Cangarda now has the best of the old, and the best of the new, and is out sailing the sea, doing what she was designed to do.
The legendary Ahrens Fox fire truck, built in 1927, was the pride of the Kansas City Fire Department, a rolling work of art that could shoot water to the top of a 40-storey building. The crew at the Reliance Fire Museum in Estes Park, Colorado, all firefighters themselves, have promised Kansas City that they will have The Ahrens Fox running and looking like new. This will be the hardest, most intensive restoration they have ever completed.The Ahrens Fox is a showpiece, covered in chrome and gold leaf. A magnificent statement of the importance of a fire truck in its community, watch as she is put back together, using the best of the old and the new to make her shine and do what she was intended to do - pump water.
The tale of Kibworth village reaches the dramatic events of Henry VIII's Reformation and the battles of the English Civil War. Michael Wood tracks Kibworth's 17th century dissenters, travel on the Grand Union Canal, and tells us about an 18th century feminist writer from Kibworth who was a pioneer of children's books. The story of a young highwayman transported to Australia comes alive as his living descendants come back to the village to uncover their roots. Lastly, the Industrial Revolution comes to the village with framework knitting factories, changing the village and its people forever. Part 5 of 6.
Featuring riveting historical crime stories, this eight-part series travels back to a violent and lawless world, chronicling the birth of law enforcement in America. This episode looks at the wave of brutal crime that emerged during the Great Depression in the American Midwest, as a new breed of gangster got the upper hand. And it falls to the FBI’s Melvin Purvis to lead a massive manhunt for the most dangerous men in America.
