Channel logo

Phil Spencer's Stately Homes

Season 1
Britain’s stately homes were private sanctuaries that housed the nation’s aristocrats for centuries. Now, architecture expert Phil Spencer has been given exclusive access to some of the most extravagant country houses. He will be peeling back the years to explore how and why these extraordinary houses came to be built and reveal the history behind the construction and evolution of these mansions.
20166 episodesTV-PG
Free trial of BBC Select

Prime membership required

Terms apply

Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Burghley House
    August 8, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    One of the largest and grandest houses of the Elizabethan age, Burghley was built by Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord High Treasurer. Building expert Phil Spencer visits this masterpiece of Elizabethan architecture set in 1400 acres of glorious Lincolnshire parkland. From its Heaven room and Hell staircase to its extravagant antiques and gardens, this astonishing structure oozes history.
    Free trial of BBC Select
  2. S1 E2 - Castle Howard
    August 15, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    Nick Howard's family has lived in Yorkshire’s magnificent Castle Howard for over 300 years. He takes architecture expert Phil Spencer on an exclusive tour through one of Britain’s most celebrated stately homes and the setting for TV drama Brideshead Revisited. Phil climbs the grand staircase, passes through the stunning crimson dining room and spends some time in the family mausoleum.
    Free trial of BBC Select
  3. S1 E3 - Woburn Abbey
    August 22, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    Magnificent Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire has been the ancestral home of the Dukes of Bedford for nearly 400 years. The current Duke takes architecture expert Phil Spencer on an exclusive tour around the magical shell grotto, the sumptuous state rooms and the glorious 3000-acre deer park. And he hears of a 1950’s scheme to save the historic building that involved nudists!
    Free trial of BBC Select
  4. S1 E4 - Holkham Hall
    August 29, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    A little piece of Italy in this quiet corner of England, Holkham Hall is a magnificent 18th-century Palladian mansion. With unprecedented access to the archives, architecture guru Phil Spencer discovers the mind-boggling amounts of materials, labor and money it took to construct this astonishing building. The project required a 30-year build, three million bricks and a huge amount of money.
    Free trial of BBC Select
  5. S1 E5 - Hopetoun House
    September 5, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    Having made their fortune from mining, the Hopetoun family spent lavishly on their magnificent mansion, employing not one, but two celebrated Scottish architects. Building expert Phil Spencer travels north of the border to Hopetoun House in the spectacular Scottish Lowlands, where he uncovers the extraordinary history of the lavish house and the vast estate built at enormous cost.
    Free trial of BBC Select
  6. S1 E6 - Goodwood House
    September 12, 2016
    47min
    TV-PG
    A little piece of Italy in this quiet corner of England, Holkham Hall is a magnificent 18th-century Palladian mansion. With unprecedented access to the archives, architecture guru Phil Spencer discovers the mind-boggling amounts of materials, labor and money it took to construct this astonishing building. The project required a 30-year build, three million bricks and a huge amount of money.
    Free trial of BBC Select

Details

More info

Subtitles
None available
Cast
Phil Spencer
Studio
Raise the Roof Productions
By clicking play, you agree to our Terms of Use.