Rent Britain's First Photo Album: London and South East (2012)
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1h 15min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Join John Sergeant in this fascinating BBC documentary as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of pioneering Victorian photographer Francis Frith. Frith set himself the formidable task of photographing as much of Britain as possible in the latter half of the 19th century. Sergeant examines the manner in which Frith set about doing so and attempts to put the endeavour in historical perspective.
Chelsea to Tower BridgeBroadcaster John Sergeant follows in the footsteps of Victorian pioneer photographer Francis Frith who, in the 1860s embarked upon a monumental mission to attempt to document every city, town and village in Britain. This round-Britain trip begins in London, where John meets the first ever lady Chelsea Pensioner, finds out about the real Eliza Doolittles who inspired My Fair Lady and descends deep under Tower Bridge to witness Victorian engineering at its most impressive.
Gravesend to Broadstairs
John travels along the North Kent coast from Gravesend to Broadstairs and finds out how much it has changed since Frith was there over a century ago as well as taking his own modern day photographs. He hitches a ride on a Thames sailing barge, finding out what people used to do in their leisure time in the 19th Century and dropping in on the new owners of Charles Dickens' favourite holiday home.
Reigate to Hythe
Using the old photographs as his guide, John visits the remains of Frith's home in Reigate and travels south to investigate the smugglers' haunts of medieval Rye, before finding out where the riflemen of the Victorian British army learnt their skills. To complete his travels John also takes a photograph to capture the modern setting of the Frith pictures.- Actors:
- John Sergeant, Francis Frith
- Directors:
- Stephen Taylor Woodrow
- Producers:
- Richard Farmbrough, Stephen Taylor Woodrow
- Narrated By:
- John Sergeant
- Studio:
- Demand DVD
- Genres:
- Children & Family, Documentary, Special Interest
