Some worthwhile history television programming being shown on BBC2 at the moment, in the shape of a series called "A House Through Time," which traces the history of one house in Liverpool from when it was first built and occupied right up to the 20th century. Historian David Olusoga is the presenter who uses archive material to find out who owned and lived in a terraced house, number 62 Falkner Street, Liverpool, over 180 years, right up until the 1940's. It's a sort of "Who Do You Think You Are," but instead of following backwards to discover the ancestors of a celebrity it traces the house's inhabitants. Infact it made by the same production company who made "Who Do You Think You Are?", Wall-To-Wall Television. It's totally enthralling and if anything else, shows the various sources you could use yourself if you were to trace your own home's history. As a result of doing some of my own family history I've discovered some interesting material and from watching this programme might even think of tracing the history of my home as a child when I lived at Malting Farm in Cardington, Bedfordshire. The farm house was built in 1764, so there would be some history behind that and it would be fascinating to discover who lived in the house over the years before my family moved in.
A series of documentaries across all BBC channels is on about the Royal art collection as well as the Crown Jewels. The Coronation was an hour-long documentary on BBC1 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Queen'sCoronation. A rare glimpse of the actual crown she wore in the 1952 ceremony at Westminster Abbey and an even rarer chance to hear her actually talking about that occasion. It's very unusual to hear her Her Maj actually speaking in a more natural voice than to the one we've come to expect, for example, for such occasions as the Christmas Message.
There's quite a few television programmes which visit various places throughout the United Kingdom. 'Great British Railway Journeys,' which is presented by Michael Portillo. This has covered a great deal of the United Kingdom, and he has used the Victorian 'Bradshaw's' railway timetable for various years to explain a wide selection of historic events as he stops off along the way. I'm not certain how many series he's done of this, but last week he was covering the Edwardian period and this week he's in America, and the show is now entitled "The Great American Railroad Journeys." The other television stations seem to have caught on to this type of programme, a sort of amiable amble about the countryside, stopping off to view the scenery along the way. Channel Four in the afternoon has a series presented by Penelope Keith called "Village of The Year," where each episode is from a different region of the British Isles and four villages are profiled and then one is chosen to go forward to the next 'heat' and then eventually one village will be chosen as the winner. There have been a few series about villages, presented by Penelope Keith, 'Hidden Villages,' as well as 'Coastal Villages.' She did another series, I think for Sky Arts, where she visited National Trust properties. I have a feeling it was also bought out on DVD as I've seen them in either National Trust or English Heritage shops whenever we've visited any of either organisations properties as we're members of both.
A series of documentaries across all BBC channels is on about the Royal art collection as well as the Crown Jewels. The Coronation was an hour-long documentary on BBC1 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Queen'sCoronation. A rare glimpse of the actual crown she wore in the 1952 ceremony at Westminster Abbey and an even rarer chance to hear her actually talking about that occasion. It's very unusual to hear her Her Maj actually speaking in a more natural voice than to the one we've come to expect, for example, for such occasions as the Christmas Message.
There's quite a few television programmes which visit various places throughout the United Kingdom. 'Great British Railway Journeys,' which is presented by Michael Portillo. This has covered a great deal of the United Kingdom, and he has used the Victorian 'Bradshaw's' railway timetable for various years to explain a wide selection of historic events as he stops off along the way. I'm not certain how many series he's done of this, but last week he was covering the Edwardian period and this week he's in America, and the show is now entitled "The Great American Railroad Journeys." The other television stations seem to have caught on to this type of programme, a sort of amiable amble about the countryside, stopping off to view the scenery along the way. Channel Four in the afternoon has a series presented by Penelope Keith called "Village of The Year," where each episode is from a different region of the British Isles and four villages are profiled and then one is chosen to go forward to the next 'heat' and then eventually one village will be chosen as the winner. There have been a few series about villages, presented by Penelope Keith, 'Hidden Villages,' as well as 'Coastal Villages.' She did another series, I think for Sky Arts, where she visited National Trust properties. I have a feeling it was also bought out on DVD as I've seen them in either National Trust or English Heritage shops whenever we've visited any of either organisations properties as we're members of both.
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