Michael Portillo visits four abandoned locations that were at the centre of relatively unknown historical events, examining their place and importance in Britain's past. He begins at the Royal London Hospital in the East End, which closed its doors on 2013 but pioneered medical breakthroughs and healthcare for generations of men, women and children from its founding in 1740. It was also the home of Joseph Merrick, known as the Elephant Man, who spent the last three years of his life as a resident.