Fred Dibnah’s Magnificent Monuments. Fred’s down-to-earth guide to 4000 years of Great British Buildings.
Britain’s best-loved steeplejack, Fred Dibnah, takes a breathtaking trip round Britain’s finest buildings. With the help of his own drawings and and a little building work in his back garden, Fred offers a unique insight into the design and construction of some of our most fascinating national treasures. From Hadrian’s Wall to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Thames Barrier to the ‘The Big One’ Rollercoaster, Fred reveals just what makes a monument into one of Britain’s best.
Program One: Forts and Castles
First in a six part series. Fred begins his journey in Wiltshire with an insight into the development of castles. Featured: Eastnor Castle, Old Sarum, Hadrian’s Wall, Dover Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Warwick Castle.
Program Two: Houses and Palaces
Dibnah looks at various dwellings, including Hampton Court Palace, Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire and his own childhood home in Bolton. Featured: Fred’s house in Bolton, Ightham Mote, Hampton Court, Cragside, Beamish, Lacock Abbey.
Program Three: Places of Worship
Dibnah visits religious sites, starting in Preston and taking in York minster, a Saxon church in Durham, and St Paul’s cathedral in London. Featured: Preston Spire, Avebury Parish Church, York Minster, Chester Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Program Four: Places of Work
Dibnah’s journey takes him from a 1000-year-old tithe barn in Sussex to a modernLloyd’s Building in London. Along the way he visits a Norman hospital and one of Britain’s oldest dockyards in Kent. Featured: Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, Lacock Village, Armley Mills, Lloyd’s Building.
Program Five: Bridges and Tunnels
Dibnah’s journey this week takes him from the earliest wrought-iron suspension bridges to the Channel Tunnel. In Wales he steers a canal barge across the Pontcysyllte aqueduct and later admires the view from atop one of the Humber bridge’s 500 foot-tall towers. Featured: Telford’s Pont Cysyilte, Conwy Suspension Bridge, Brunel’s Box Tunnel and Maidenhead Bridge. York Station, The Forth Bridge, Humber Bridge, Thames Barrier and Channel Tunnel
Program Six: Pleasure Palaces
Fred Dibnah’s final foray takes him to structures built for entertainment. This week he takes in Bath, Shakespeare’s reconstructed Globe theatre, the Victoria and Albert museum and the recently restored Scott monument in Edinburgh, before finishing up in Blackpool. Featured: Scott’s Monument, Bath, Roman Baths, Shakespeare’s Globe, The George Inn, Bankside, Victoria and Albert Museum, Blackpool Tower, Pepsi Big One
Details
Format: VHS
Number of tapes: 1
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Beckmann Visual Publishing
DVD Release Date: 17 April 2000
Run Time: 150 minutes
