Thursday, 17 July
6.10pm

History, geography and drama are all rolled into one with a fascinating eight-part series on Britain's architecture from the dark ages to the present.

Presenter English historian Simon Thurley and a team of local specialists look at how Britain's buildings are more than bricks and mortar, they’re also a document of the times that created them.

This first episode looks at the might and power of the Normans who destroyed all the Anglo-Saxon traces in their path when they conquered Britain in 1066.

They stamped their wealth and brutality in their buildings - soaring, stone edifices of castles, cathedrals and monasteries that spoke intimidation and terror, but also paradoxically, reverence to God.