Stories

The colossal marble fireplace at Cragside designed for royalty is to be saved from water damage by conservator’s work

The last surviving windmill on the Isle of Wight has been restored by the National Trust to its appearance when it was captured in watercolor by J.M.W. Turner in 1795. New sails have been fitted to the 300-year-old structure.

Join Bettany Hugh on a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avebury in Wiltshire. Here the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world stands at the center of one of the greatest concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in Western Europe and holds vital clues to story of Britain, and its relationship to the wider world.

Upton House in Warwickshire was one of four houses owned by Walter Samuel, the 2nd Lord Bearsted, who was one of the richest men in Britain before the Second World War. When he bought this estate in 1927 it satisfied all those favourite pre-war pursuits for the well-heeled British, but there is more to this house, and its former owner, than meets the eye.

At Kingston Lacy in Dorset, Bettany Hughes meets House Steward Bernie King to learn about William John Bankes who, during the 19th Century, turned Kingston Lacy into the treasure trove you’ll find today. This extraordinary house is a testament to Bankes’ obsession for exploring and collecting in Europe and beyond.

Archaeologist discovers thousands of rare items under the floor of a Tudor house

A brooding, lonely building lost in the quiet of the far North of England near the sea is a fitting place to discover a large winter roost of bats

Now a romantic ruin, Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire was a thriving industrial hub for the Cistercian order of monks in the 12th Century. Here Bettany meets archaeologist Mark Newman to bring the Abbey to life once more and to explore the impact of the Cistercians, the first truly pan-European movement, on Britain’s economy.

Cradled in a beautiful Cotswold valley rest the remains of one of the grandest Roman villas in Britain.

Agatha Christie called Greenway in Devon 'the loveliest place in the world' and treasured it as a holiday home for her and her family. In this episode James Grasby explores house and gardens that inspired some of Poirot and Miss Marple’s most famous tales.