Tunnels & Trains: From Brunel's Rotherhithe Tunnel to the King's Cross Channel Tunnel link Adam Hart Davis looks at the history of tunnelling in the capital. The earliest attempts were bids to link both sides of the Thames but they met with failure until Mark Kingdom Brunel, father of Isambard, was inspired by the teredo navalis woodworm which was then munching its way through the British fleet. The worm had two large teeth, which it used to chew through the wood before excreting what it had eaten behind it to create a kind of cement tunnel. Brunel's 'shield technique' worked but was incredibly slow, earning his Rotherhithe project the nickname 'The Great Bore'. The engineers who built the first tube lines opted instead for the cut and cover method which caused massive disruption on the surface. All deep tunnels have since used versions of Brunel senior's method. This episode also looks at the enormous Ring Main water system that encircles London, the recently closed Post Office underground and the Woolwich and Greenwich foot tunnels. The Railways - often called "London's iron roads" - have shaped the growth of the city from early 19th century onwards. Railway landmarks from the classic gothic lines of Sir George Scott's St Pancras Station to Norman Foster's cathedral-like Canary Wharf underground stop are examined. The programme also looks at the extraordinary logistics that were needed to create these new arteries into the capital and how the position of the mainline stations was dictated by the geography of the more upmarket parts of nineteenth century London.
Palaces and Bridges: London's most recent palaces were built not for royalty but for the general public. In this programme historian Adam Hart Davis takes a look at the building of Alexandra and Crystal Palaces and the Palace of Westminster and traces how architecture on a grand scale started to be used to provide buildings for the general public. Crystal Palace was the subject of an intense competition to decide on the design for the building that would house 'The Great Exhibition' - Joseph Paxton came up with a revolutionary way of building with prefabricated cast iron and glass sections and his design was an enormous success. It paved the way for leisure centres and theme parks, one last remnant of his design being the recently restored dinosaur park- an idea more than a hundred years ahead of its time. The programme will also look at the original People's Palace - Alexandra - and its history of fires, historic television broadcasts and hippy happenings and at the amazing gothic edifice of Sir Charles Barry's Palace of Westminster. Bridges have played a vital part in the creation of modern London and this programme examines these crucial crossings, from Tower Bridge to the recently completed Hungerford foot bridges. For centuries there was only one bridge traversing the Thames - London Bridge. In the 18th century the king decided to have another built but was unwilling to spend his own cash and so decided to fund it by a lottery. It became known as the 'Bridge of Fools' due to the many financial and technical problems that included parts of the foundations being swept away during construction. Pierre Lablaye's design was eventually completed nearly twenty years after the first Royal Lottery. It confounded its critics, who said it's design was flawed, by surviving an earthquake in 1753. This programme will also look at the amazing hydraulics inside Tower Bridge and at another Lottery funded bridge beset by technical prob
Defence and Development - Skyscrapers and Fortifications: In this programme historian and TV presenter Adam Hart Davis looks at London's tallest buildings and the city's defences. From the Tower of London to the Old Bailey and on to the Natwest Tower, the capital's skyline has constantly remained in a state of ground-breaking transition. However, until the 1960s a local bylaw banned construction over 65 feet high as the fire brigades ladders could only reach that far. There were exceptions of course - most notably St Paul's Cathedral and its incredible dome that spans 365 feet - one foot for everyday of the year. Other notable exceptions to the 65 foot rule include the OXO Tower whose owners' bent planning regulations about advertising to include the name of the firm in the very fabric of the building. Post 1960s classic skyscrapers would include the mysteriously empty Centre Point, the allegedly 'nuclear blast proof' Post Office Tower and more recent designs like the Swiss Re building, otherwise known as the 'erotic gherkin'. The historian also examines London's defences through the ages. From the hi-tech Norman defence system of the Tower of London to the soon to be overcome Thames barrier this episode looks at all the structures that have been built to keep Londoners safe over the centuries. Other featured structures will include the Cabinet War Rooms, underground nuclear fall out shelter below Tottenham Court Road and Bazalgette's famous 82 miles of sewage superhighway that transformed both the health of Londoners and the north bank of the Thames.
Adam joins student barristers for a meal at Middle Temple Hall, one of London's ancient Inns of Court. They may have passed their exams, but until they've eaten 12 dinners here, they can't be called to the bar. The Hall was built by leading craftsmen in the sixteenth century, with a double-hammered beam roof and an elaborately carved 23-foot screen. The iron spikes on top were a later addition, following an incident of misbehaviour by students. Adam goes on to Ede and Ravenscroft, London's oldest tailor, which has catered for the legal profession for 300 years. He tries on different forms of legal dress and finds out how the wigs and robes have evolved over time. Next Adam pays a visit to the Central Criminal Court, which came to be known as the ‘Old Bailey’ because of its situation directly inside the old city gates. A ‘bailey’ is a fortified wall in a castle, and Adam can see the remains of the Roman wall in the basement. There has been a courtroom on the site since medieval times, but the current one was built in 1907, the design mirroring the nearby dome of St Paul's. Adam takes his turn in the witness box with its canopy, a reminder of the days when court was held in the open air and witnesses had to be protected from the odd shower. He also follows the path of condemned prisoners along the narrowing passageway ‘Deadman's Walk’, in the shadow of the only remaining wall of the notorious Newgate Prison. We find out a bit more about prison design at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. It was the first prison in the world to implement what came to be known as ‘the separate system’, which aimed not just to punish, but to move the prisoner towards spiritual reflection and change. This was done using isolation and labour. Adam visits Pentonville Prison, London that was built according to the same principles. He discovers how inmates were held in single cells, hooded and forbidden to talk
Music Adam Hart Davis goes behind the scenes at London’s Royal Opera House and visits the only building in England on the world list of endangered buildings. Letters Adam Hart Davis makes his own paper and operates an early printing press, as he looks at the history of the written word in London.
The City Adam Hart Davis visits the city of London and discovers how ancient customs and buildings sit side by side with hi-tech banking institutions. He also visits the site of a Roman amphitheatre that once hosted gladiatorial combats and discovers a huge and seemingly unsupported staircase in the Bank of England. Housing Adam Hart Davis looks into the history and architecture of London’s houses. He finds out how to build a wall using wattle and daub and visits the first brick built home in London.