Ben Robinson unearths the unique past of Porthgain, a small Pembrokeshire village built for its industry, first as a slate quarry, then exporting brickwork and finally producing a granite-like stone that helped to create the nation’s roads.\n\nThe heavy industrial infrastructure that remains in this tiny village is a sight to behold. Porthgain’s prosperity rose and fell over the years, and many of the houses were owned by the quarry companies who mined there. Eventually, the villagers took back control and bought the village themselves.
Source: BBC 2
Series 4: 10. Johnshaven
Ben Robinson travels to Johnshaven, a once-important Scottish fishing village. When its skilled sailors were press-ganged into the Royal Navy in the late 18th century, it had to ...
11-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 9. Greyabbey
Ben Robinson unearths the ancient past of Greyabbey, a small village on Northern Ireland’s beautiful Strangford Lough. The village name comes from Grey Abbey, its Cisterci ...
04-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 8. Porthgain
Ben Robinson unearths the unique past of Porthgain, a small Pembrokeshire village built for its industry, first as a slate quarry, then exporting brickwork and finally producing ...
25-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 7. Seaton Sluice
Ben Robinson travels to Seaton Sluice in Northumberland, home to the notorious Delaval family. These wealthy bottle makers were some of the greatest players on the Georgian part ...
18-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 6. Beer
Ben Robinson heads to Beer, Devon, home to beer stone, which has been quarried since Roman times and used in many of the nation's cathedrals and landmark buildings, including We ...
11-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 5. Solva
Ben Robinson discovers the impressive lime kilns in Solva, Wales. This picturesque 19th-century port is famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both agriculture an ...
04-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 4. Holkham
Ben Robinson makes an amazing discovery at Norfolk’s impressive Holkham estate - its lost medieval village, seen for the first time since its disappearance some 200 years ...
28-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 3. Cushendall
Ben Robinson travels to Cushendall, one of the finest planned Georgian villages in Northern Ireland. It was owned and shaped by a series of owners but most notably its 19th-cent ...
21-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 2. Port Carlisle
Ben Robinson examines the remains of a lost harbour in Port Carlisle, Cumbria, a small village near Carlisle which grew as a consequence of the canal building surge that swept t ...
14-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 5: 6. St Bees
In Cumbria, on the edge of the Lake District, Ben Robinson finds evidence of early pilgrimage at a remarkable Norman priory. In a 500-year-old house in the village, the archaeol ...
10-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 5: 3. St Margaret's
On a visit to the Kent coast, Ben Robinson learns how an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous suddenly became 'Hellfire Corner' during World War II. Ben examines graffiti i ...
13-12-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 2. Seahouses
Ben Robinson casts his eye over the industrious village of Seahouses in Northumberland. The archaeologist learns how the lethal shoreline shaped its transformation from a sleepy ...
06-12-2024
BBC 2
Clovelly
Archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals the story of this Devon coastal gem’s transformation from fishing village to romantic Victorian seaside resort.\n\nOur coastal villages ...
23-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: 8. Porthgain
Ben Robinson unearths the unique past of Porthgain, a small Pembrokeshire village built for its industry, first as a slate quarry, then exporting brickwork and finally producing ...
25-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 3. Cushendall
Ben Robinson travels to Cushendall, one of the finest planned Georgian villages in Northern Ireland. It was owned and shaped by a series of owners but most notably its 19th-cent ...
21-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 2: 4. Charlestown
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits the picturesque Georgian village of Charlestown on the south west coast of Cornwall and learns how it was\nshaped by the vision of one man.
20-06-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: Craster
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits a small village in Northumberland to find out how the family and village who both share the name Craster have had their lives and fortunes inte ...
14-06-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 4. Holkham
Ben Robinson makes an amazing discovery at Norfolk’s impressive Holkham estate - its lost medieval village, seen for the first time since its disappearance some 200 years ...
28-01-2025
BBC 2
Series 4: 6. Beer
Ben Robinson heads to Beer, Devon, home to beer stone, which has been quarried since Roman times and used in many of the nation's cathedrals and landmark buildings, including We ...
11-02-2025
BBC 2
Series 5: 5. Bucklers Hard
In Hampshire, archaeologist Ben Robinson investigates how a tiny village, originally meant to be a free port to process sugar, became a bustling naval shipyard.\n\nBen learns th ...
03-01-2025
BBC 2