Six More English Towns (DVD)

Another companionable journey tracing the history and architecture of some of middle England's most characterful towns

Architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE presents a potted history and architectural study of six more picturesque English towns.

As he continues to outline an ever-shifting pattern of English building', Clifton-Taylor guides viewers around grand public buildings, manor houses and family homes, examining how each town evolved in harmony with the local landscape with an appropriate choice of natural building materials.

The amiable and erudite host ventures out in all weathers to marvel at treasures of conservation while pausing to criticise past missteps in restoration and damage caused by expansion during the Industrial Revolution and the unsightly developments of the mid-20th century. He also wryly plots the sometimes successful but more commonly failed compromises between medieval planning and modern traffic needs.

In the second series, first broadcast on BBC Two in 1981, he takes in Warwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Saffron Walden, Lewes, Bradford on Avon and Beverley.

Thirty-five years on, the series now serves as a fascinating historical snapshot of the enduring character of each town over many centuries.

You might also like Six English Towns and Six More English Towns.

Running Time: 180 minutes
Region: Region 2

Release Date: 7 Nov. 2016