How We Built Britain
Programme Four: The West – Putting On The Style
David Dimbleby goes west to discover how classical Greece and Rome influenced Britain in the 18th century, bringing sophistication and elegance to cities – and sowing the seeds of the industrial revolution.
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From the grandeur of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire to the man-made paradise gardens of Stourhead in Wiltshire, Georgian landowners made bold statements with columns, porticos and balustrades.
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The movement spread to cities, and the spa town of Bath transformed itself with pavements and terraced housing – the vision of ambitious developer John Wood.
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David takes a sedan chair – the fashionable way to get about in Georgian times – to explore the maze of houses behind the grand façade of the sweeping crescents.
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Canals were carved through the countryside to enable horse-drawn barges to transport raw materials. Locks took the waterways over hills and along the Kennet & Avon Canal, a steam-powered pumping station was built to bring water in and lift the boats up the flight of locks.
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Says David: "It was the ability to move water that allowed London to be connected to the West Country by canal. As a result industry flourished, people prospered."
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Bristol was a busy trading port and as merchants grew rich, the population tripled and new houses sprang up. But many of these modern homes were built on profits from slavery, prompting John Wesley to design the first Methodist Chapel – a simple and understated room for his passionate preaching.
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From the tin and copper mines of Cornwall to carpets from Axminster, goods were on the move. A network of toll roads connected communities, leading to Thomas Telford's engineering triumph – a long distance road between London and North Wales. His Menai Suspension Bridge into Anglesey was such a spectacle that it became a tourist attraction in its own right.
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Ireland and Britain were united in 1801 and Dublin became Britain's second city. But the days of architectural showpieces were numbered.
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Explains David: "All over Britain, workers from the country poured into the cities in search of a better life. The modern world was racing onwards."
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