Historical Tours

Share
  • Rare Planes that Changed Aviation Forever

    Ever wondered how we went from flying small wooden machines, to supersonic jets taking off vertically in the space of less than 70 years?

    Luke Tomes travels to Brooklands Museum in Surrey, one of Britain’s first operating aerodromes and home to one of the oldest and largest aircraft factories, t...

  • The World of Stonehenge Revealed: Decoding the Find of the Century

    Described as the "most important piece of prehistoric art to be found in Britain in the last 100 years", an elaborately decorated 5000 year-old chalk cylinder, discovered buried with 3 child skeletons in Yorkshire and as old as the first phase of Stonehenge, is going on display at the British Mus...

  • The Dennis Severs' House: A Theatre of the Imagination

    Art historian Dan Cruickshank gives Alice Loxton a tour of the Dennis Severs' House in Spitalfields.

  • Access All Areas

    1 season

    History Hit gets AAA permission to head behind the scenes at top history locations!

  • American Revolution: The First Battle

    250 years ago, on April 19th 1775, the first muskets were fired in the American War of Independence - the famous "shot heard round the world".

    In this special History Hit film, Dan Snow explores the key sites where it happened on this day - Battle Green, Lexington; The Old North Bridge, Concord...

  • The History of Westminster Abbey

    Sir David Cannadine shows Dan around the iconic Westminster Abbey, in the heart of London. With an unrivalled arrange of monuments - ranging from grand royal tombs to the grave of The Unknown Warrior - and spectacular architecture spanning nearly 1,000 years, join the two historians as they explo...

  • Great British Houses

    1 season

  • Waterloo Uncovered: The Bones of the Battlefield

    A major breaking story filmed by History Hit.

    Incredibly rare bones of men and horses have been discovered in July 2022 at the Waterloo Battlefield - and History Hit has been there to record the excavations as they unfold.

    The veterans support charity 'Waterloo Uncovered' returned to the Water...

  • Versailles: Palace of Science

    Versailles, the magnificent royal palace near Paris, home to a grandiose monarchy that was swept away in the Revolution. But there was another side to Versailles - this was also a Palace of Science.

    In this special film, Dr. Maddy Pelling visits the Science Museum in London to explore a remarkab...

  • Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece

    Born in Paris in 1840, François-Auguste-René Rodin is quite possibly the most famous sculptor in recent history. Considered by many to be the first ‘modern’ sculptor, his works such as ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’ have become iconic throughout the world. He possessed a unique ability to model a c...

  • The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama

    1 season

    From popular revolt to obsession with the self, Simon Schama explores the legacy of the Romantics.

  • A Tudor Wonder - Hardwick Hall - with Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb

    A History Hit treat for the holidays, this special new film reveals an extraordinary Tudor life-story and an amazing creation. We meet the extraordinary Bess of Hardwick and go inside the incredible home she built, a spectacular construction in glass and stone that defined the elegance and grande...

  • Inside Blenheim Palace

    One of the grandest private houses in the world, the site of Blenheim Palace has been host to the murder of a royal mistress, the downfall of a quarrelling Duchess and the birth of Sir Winston Churchill. Dan Snow takes a tour of one of Britain's most famous attractions.

  • Bignor Roman Villa

    West Sussex has its fair share of stunning Roman sites: Fishbourne Roman Palace, Stane Street, the Novium, the list goes on. But one of the region's star Roman attractions has to be Bignor Roman Villa. Situated deep in the heart of the Sussex countryside Bignor is home to some of the most impress...

  • RRS Discovery: Aboard the World's First Polar Research Vessel

    Dan Snow steps aboard the RRS Discovery in Dundee, the first purpose built scientific research vessel for the Antarctic. Guided around the ship by Ali Gellatly, he learns what life and adventure was like aboard this unique vessel.

    The legendary polar explorer Captain Scott commanded Discovery's...

  • Ham House: Women of the Civil War

    Our Great British Houses series continues with another gem of The National Trust’s collection. About 10 miles from the centre of London is one of the most magnificent houses of Stuart England, Ham House. This lavish mansion is a treasure trove of 17th century art and architecture, a dazzling red-...

  • George Washington: The First Battle

    Dan Snow goes to Pittsburgh to explore the extraordinary story of how an over-ambitious young George Washington fought for the British and helped to fire the shots that started the Seven Years War, the world’s first global conflict.

  • Stourhead: The Grand Tour

    Kicking off our new series, Great British Houses, we join Alice Loxton and Dan Snow on a journey through one of the gems of the National Trust’s collection, the magnificent Stourhead.

    In this documentary Alice and Dan set off on a whirlwind tour of the social and cultural movements which influen...

  • Broadway Tower: A Folly of Delight and Daring

    High on the peak of the Cotswolds stands one of the most remarkable buildings in Britain. Built as a folly in the final days of the 18th century, Broadway Tower sprung up during the height of the French Revolutionary Wars under the distracted watch of the architect James Wyatt. In the following y...

  • Kensington Palace: Untold Lives

    Dan Snow explores behind the scenes at the majestic Kensington Palace, the glittering centre of the royal court in early Georgian England. It's a very special time to visit - the Historic Royal Palaces team has been delving deep into the archives to lift the veil of the public facing court and e...

  • Queens Lands' of Norfolk: Sixteenth Century Walsingham Priory

    Andy Silen-McMillin has been mapping and examining the financial patterns associated with the queen’s lands of consort queens from the Elizabeth of York to Anna of Denmark. One of the focus points has been the impact of various policies brought out by Henry VIII and his dissolution of the monaste...

  • Legendary Megastructures

    1 season

    Take a trip to France to discover the construction secrets to some of its most legendary megastructures. See how Napoléon the 1st instigated many constructions that are anchored in the Parisian landscape. The Arc de Triomphe, the Vendôme Column, the Palais de la Bourse, the church of La Madeleine...

  • Henry's Forts: Castles on the Coast

    On the 26 February 2021, around 38 metres of wall collapsed at Hurst Castle, one of a series of vital coastal forts built by Henry VIII in the 16th century to protect England from threat of invasion by the European powers. Recently, Dan went out on his kayak to assess the damage at the castle whi...

  • Britain's Wild West: Discovering Hay Castle

    The peaceful South Wales town of Hay-on-Wye offers few clues today of its brutal past on a violent frontier. A monument to this history can be found in Hay Castle. Once right on the border between England and Wales, it sits in a region densely packed with castles that saw border skirmishes and bi...