If These Walls Could Talk
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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...
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How did the English Civil War affect our buildings?
Historian Michael Sewell reflects on how the British Civil War impacted and destroyed landmarks that were cherished and used by communities. Using Colchester as his Case Study he will show the conflict shaped our town’s landscape forever and show the lasting legacy of the conflict in English hist...
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Hidden in the Trees: Cardiff's Forgotten Landmark
A History Hit Community film. For nearly a thousand years, something high in the forest has been watching over the Welsh capital. A community pulled together in the Sixties, giving St. Mary's church in Caerau a short new life.
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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...
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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...
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Queen Victoria's Favourite - Disraeli and Hughenden
Hughenden - a beautiful house owned by the National Trust is set deep in the rolling greens of the Buckinghamshire countryside. This was the home of Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Minister - Benjamin Disraeli. But Disraeli was so much more than a Queen's favourite. He was a writer, a performer,...
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The Cardiff Castle Hidden in the Centre of London
Chris Lloyd spotted a house in London which reminded him of Cardiff. It turned out it had a huge link to the Welsh capital, as well as currently having a very famous resident.
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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...
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Whitefriars: The Lost Priory of Gloucester
In July 2021, the remains of a 13th Century Carmelite friary, also known as Whitefriars, were recently found by archaeologists beneath a demolished multi-storey car park in Gloucester city centre.
Historians knew roughly where Whitefriars had stood, but its exact location was a mystery. The dig,...
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England's Royal Churches
This film celebrates the glory of England's forgotten royal churches and their links to the most opulent country residences.
The church has always been at the heart of the English monarchy. From operating as a place of contemplation and refuge to symbolising national celebration, art historian...
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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-...
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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...
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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...
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Karnak: Decoding Egypt's Greatest Temple
History Hit’s ancient history expert, Tristan Hughes, digs deep into one of Ancient Egypt's greatest treasures, a site that ranks among the world’s most impressive religious sanctuaries in both its size, splendour and importance.
But there is another, fascinating side to exploring Karnak beyond ...
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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...
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Undermining the Nazis: Paris' Secret Tunnels
On June 14th, 1940, Paris falls under German occupation. Two doctors, Jean Talairach and René Suttel, discover an entrance to the mines of the city. They start a mapping operation of the catacombs in order to help the Resistance and de Gaulle.
How did two young resistance fighters manage to find...
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Paestum: A Tale of Three Cities
The story of ancient Italy is so much more than just Rome. Tristan Hughes visits the extraordinary site of Paestum in southern Italy, home to some of the greatest ancient Greek temples from anywhere in the world.
From majestic temples to pristine wall paintings more that 2,500 years old, he exp...
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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...
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A World Torn Apart: The Dissolution of the Monasteries
1 season
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb unravels one of the most profound transformations in Tudor society, when faith and politics collided: the dissolution of the monasteries. Over just four years in the 1530s, Henry VIII dismantled the spiritual and cultural bedrock of medieval England. This was the most ...
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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.