How We Built Britain
Programme Two: The Heart Of England – Living It Up
David Dimbleby journeys through the Heart of England to discover the great country houses of the 16th century – an age of pleasure, wealth and adventure.
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As Henry VIII destroyed the church, his supporters grew rich on its land and buildings, including Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire. Once a nunnery, William Sharington of the Royal Mint converted it in 1540 into grand living quarters, replacing the church with a tower to house his riches.
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This era of upward mobility reached its peak in the reign of Elizabeth I, who had a habit of dropping in on her subjects.
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David explains: "Elizabeth didn't build much herself. Instead she relied on her courtiers to spend for her, hungry for favour and keen to impress. They would build some of the most beautiful houses in the world."
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Burghley House in Lincolnshire is fit for a queen. Built by Elizabeth’s Lord Treasurer Sir William Cecil, it features 76 chimneys – the design craze of the age.
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Sir Christopher Hatton built England's largest private house, Holdenby Hall in Northamptonshire, moving an entire village to improve the queen's view of the countryside. But Elizabeth never arrived and Hatton died penniless.
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Ordinary people made a simple living from the land and beneath the peasant farmer were the vagrants who wandered the countryside begging for food, work and shelter. At Dunchurch in Warwickshire, David tries out the stocks where beggars were put as punishment.
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Under Elizabeth, Catholic priests were outlawed. They hid at the homes of Catholic families, while master builder Nicholas Owen travelled Britain devising and building ingenious priest-holes to conceal them. Harvington Hall near Worcester houses a network of hides – under stair treads, inside fireplaces and behind beams.
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When James I took the throne the extravagance continued. Spectacular Lodge Park near Sherbourne in Gloucestershire was built for the aristocratic sport of deer coursing.
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But the Civil War of 1642 changed everything. Says David: "Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan revolutionaries brought to a halt an era of grand and lavish building. What they built couldn’t have been more different."
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