The History Express

Before it became the setting for the hit series ‘Downton Abbey’, Lord and Lady Carnarvon opened the doors of Highclere Castle, their stunning lakeside country house, for a documentary all about the running of their rambling estate in Hampshire.

This is the untold story of the greatest slaving nation in history. Up till now, Britain’s place in the history of slavery has been as the country that abolished the international slave trade. Britain’s Slave Trade reveals the shameful truth behind this liberal facade, showing how the economic, social and cultural life of Britain would have been unrecognisable without slavery.

Britain’s Slave Trade explains how a middling European power transformed itself into the ruler of the waves, tracing the impact this had on the British way of life and taking in the Industrial Revolution, the beginnings of Empire and the birth of modern racism along the way. It also unearths startling evidence showing how many families that think of themselves as ‘pure’ English stock are in fact descended from slave ancestors.

Unfinished Business looks at how Liverpool became the greatest slaving port in human history.

This is the untold story of the greatest slaving nation in history. Up till now, Britain’s place in the history of slavery has been as the country that abolished the international slave trade. Britain’s Slave Trade reveals the shameful truth behind this liberal facade, showing how the economic, social and cultural life of Britain would have been unrecognisable without slavery.

Britain’s Slave Trade explains how a middling European power transformed itself into the ruler of the waves, tracing the impact this had on the British way of life and taking in the Industrial Revolution, the beginnings of Empire and the birth of modern racism along the way. It also unearths startling evidence showing how many families that think of themselves as ‘pure’ English stock are in fact descended from slave ancestors.

The Old Corruption challenges the accepted version of the history of abolition, that the passive, suffering slaves were freed by benevolent white crusaders, revealing the corruption of the plantations owners, and how the inhuman treatment of African people was finally acknowledged.

Incest

Incest

This film follows a team of experts as it excavates a famous WW1 battlefield in search of a top secret tunnel and a legendary 60-foot flame-thrower. Built for use during the opening day of the bloodiest clash of WW1, this weapon fired a blast of flaming oil over 100 yards long. Historian Peter Barton hopes to recover the machine and with help from British Royal Engineers, build a working replica.

This film follows a team of experts as it excavates a famous WW1 battlefield in search of a top secret tunnel and a legendary 60-foot flame-thrower. Built for use during the opening day of the bloodiest clash of WW1, this weapon fired a blast of flaming oil over 100 yards long. Historian Peter Barton hopes to recover the machine and with help from British Royal Engineers, build a working replica.

Dan Cruickshank explores the mysteries and secrets of the bridges that have made London what it is. He uncovers stories of Bronze-Age relics emerging from the Vauxhall shore, of why London Bridge was falling down, of midnight corpses splashing beneath Waterloo Bridge, and above all, of the sublime ambition of London's bridge builders themselves.

David Adams re-lives the last days on the last trail of two American heroes, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, through the deserts of Bolivia. In 1908 the two legendary outlaws disappeared in the south of Bolivia not far from the border of Argentina. Were they killed by the Bolivian Cavalry? Or did they fake their deaths and escape to the USA and Europe as rich men? This is the mystery tackled by David Adams and the “Journeys” team. He recreates the lives and adventures of Butch and Sundance from La Paz in the north, to San Vincente to the south. And in the process he discovers what life was really like for them, and the true story of what happened in their final hours.

On 6th June 1944, thousands of American, British, Commonwealth and German troops went to battle in Normandy. This is the story of the fiercest of those battles. Using striking and rare colour footage, the events of one tragic day are brought vividly to the screen. Some of the veterans who survived the bloody battle return to Omaha Beach, and by weaving their stories together, soldiers of different nations are brought together for the first time. But does time heal everything?