Villages by the Sea Catch up, Series 4: 6. Beer on BBC 2

Villages by the Sea

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 Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.\n\nBen finds ancient Roman arches in the quarry and discovers the stone’s origin in the village’s unique white cliffs. He also learns of the village’s lace industry and finds original lace-making needles in a house where Queen Victoria’s wedding dress lace is likely to have been made.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Villages by the Sea

Villages By The Sea

Series 5: 2. Seahouses

Ben Robinson casts his eye over the industrious village of Seahouses in Northumberland. The archaeologist learns how the lethal shoreline shaped its transformation from a sleepy ...

08-08-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 5: 1. Runswick Bay

Archaeologist Ben Robinson visits Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire coast, where he discovers how this pretty village was once a place of danger. Ben explores the mythical &ls ...

30-07-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 5: 6. St Bees

In Cumbria, on the edge of the Lake District, Ben Robinson finds evidence of early pilgrimage at a remarkable Norman priory. In a 500-year-old house in the village, the archaeol ...

17-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 5: 5. Bucklers Hard

In Hampshire, archaeologist Ben Robinson investigates how a tiny village, originally meant to be a free port to process sugar, became a bustling naval shipyard.\n\nBen learns th ...

10-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 3: Laxey

Situated on the eastern coast of the Isle of Man, the village of Laxey is known today as a tourist destination, but as archaeologist Ben Robinson finds out, it wasn’t the ...

06-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

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 ...

05-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

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 ...

04-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

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 ...

03-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 3: Tintagel

Archaeologist Ben Robinson uncovers the secrets of Cornwall’s Tintagel, famed as the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Ben discovers Tintagel was potentially more impor ...

02-06-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

Villages By The Sea

Series 5: 4. St Agnes

Ben Robinson investigates how a Cornish gem became world-famous for tin. In the bay, the archaeologist unravels the epic story behind the hundreds of huge carved stones that lie ...

30-05-2025

BBC 2

All episodes