Programme Outline
00.35 - 08.43 The Conquest and its after-effects
Footage
Early Norman buildings including:
- Battle Abbey
- The Tower of London
- Early motte and bailey castles
- The first Norman cathedrals
Commentary
- The coming of the Normans
- The earliest castles
- Domesday Book
- Building the cathedrals
08.43 - 16.54 Defending a castle
Footage
Examples of particular castles, their location and defensive features, including:
- Warkworth Castle, Northumberland
- Caelaverock Castle, Dumfries
Commentary
- The castle and its community
- Different kinds of castles
- Border castles
16.54 -19.09 The role of the monasteries
Footage
Monastic buildings including:
- St Michael's Mount, Cornwall
- Fountain's Abbey
- The Great Coxwell Barn
Commentary
- The growing wealth of the church
- The monastic orders and their influence on agriculture
19.09 - 28.50 Everyday life
Footage
Archaeological evidence from medieval Britain, including:
- A reconstruction of a medieval village
- Traces of strip farming
- Different types of village and their development
Commentary
- Surviving evidence from the Middle Ages
- The Black Death and its consequences
- The decline of the castle
© 2000 Channel Four Television Corporation