Opening the Palace Doors

Description

This series unlocks the secrets behind some of Britain’s most magnificent buildings, from construction to their impact on a changing society. While fortresses and castles were defense strongholds, palaces have been the residences of bishops and kings as far back as the Romans. In this film, historian Dan Cruickshank reveals how Charles II opened the Tower of London to the public in the first royal tourism scheme, followed by Queen Victoria opening Hampton Court, Kensington, and other palaces to gain government funding. After World War II, historic buildings were rejected in favor of modernism until the Historic Royal Palaces Agency was created to conserve and fund these monuments to British neo-classical architecture. Cruickshank witnesses efforts to restore Reubens’ ceiling at Banqueting House and gains access to objects from Henry VIII’s reign. A BBC Production.

Runtime

51 min 55 sec

Series

Subjects

Database

Films on Demand

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