Archaeologist, Ben Robinson visits the east coast village of Flamborough which sits on a rugged headland sticking out into the North Sea. A largely unassuming village today, it was once effectively cut off from the rest of the country by a five-metre-deep, two-and-a-half-mile long man-made dyke, re-enforced and fortified with local chalk. \n\nAs Ben discovers when he visits two of the village's most prominent structures, chalk plays a large part in the history of Flamborough. Built from chalk in the 1350s, Flamborough castle is now in ruins, but once belonged to an influential local family called the Constables. Using modern technology, Ben will build up a picture of what their vast, fortified estate might once have looked like. \n\nLocal historian and archaeologist Andrew Jones shows Ben around the village’s most imposing surviving chalk building. Constructed\nin 1674 and standing 87 feet tall, Flamborough Tower was built with the purpose of improving ship to shore navigation but would ultimately be used by local law enforcers in a bid to prevent smuggling. \n\nBen also takes to the North Sea with local fisherman Richard Emmerson to see for himself some of the secret nooks and crannies that smugglers would have used to hide their valuable contraband in days gone by.
Source: BBC 2
Series 4: 10. Johnshaven
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BBC 2
Series 4: 9. Greyabbey
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BBC 2
Series 2: 3. Thorpeness
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BBC 2
Series 4: 8. Porthgain
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11-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 7. Seaton Sluice
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BBC 2
Series 4: 6. Beer
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BBC 2
Series 4: 5. Solva
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BBC 2
Series 4: 4. Holkham
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BBC 2
Series 4: 3. Cushendall
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BBC 2
Series 4: 2. Port Carlisle
Ben Robinson examines the remains of a lost harbour in Port Carlisle, Cumbria, a small village near Carlisle which grew as a consequence of the canal building surge that swept t ...
24-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Orford
Lying off the North Sea is the unassuming Suffolk village of Orford. It’s behind a large shingle spit called Orford Ness. But as archaeologist Ben Robinson unearths, it&rs ...
04-08-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Botallack
The small hamlet of Botallack was once at the centre of the Cornish tin and copper mining industry as archaeologist Ben Robinson discovers. By 1861, Botallack’s mine was o ...
19-05-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Parkgate
Archaeologist Ben Robinson explores Parkgate, on the estuary of the River Dee in Cheshire. Today the village is landlocked, cut off from the Dee and the Irish Sea due to the est ...
18-08-2023
BBC 2
Robin Hood's Bay
Archaeologist Ben Robinson reveals the story of smuggling intrigue and bravery on the Yorkshire coast.
30-03-2022
BBC 2
Series 4: 3. Cushendall
Ben Robinson travels to Cushendall, one of the finest planned Georgian villages in Northern Ireland. It was owned and shaped by a series of owners but most notably its 19th-cent ...
01-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 5. Solva
Ben Robinson discovers the impressive lime kilns in Solva, Wales. This picturesque 19th-century port is famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both agriculture an ...
08-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 6. Beer
Ben Robinson heads to Beer, Devon, home to beer stone, which has been quarried since Roman times and used in many of the nation's cathedrals and landmark buildings, including We ...
08-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 4: 9. Greyabbey
Ben Robinson unearths the ancient past of Greyabbey, a small village on Northern Ireland’s beautiful Strangford Lough. The village name comes from Grey Abbey, its Cisterci ...
17-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 4. Charlestown
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits the picturesque Georgian village of Charlestown on the south west coast of Cornwall and learns how it was\nshaped by the vision of one man.
13-03-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Craster
Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits a small village in Northumberland to find out how the family and village who both share the name Craster have had their lives and fortunes inte ...
14-06-2023
BBC 2