In the first episode, Tony is at York Minster. It has sat at the heart of our nation for more than 800 years, and has been a backdrop to some of the most dramatic events in British history. It has survived fires, war and subsidence, and its bishops have been influential on the world stage.
Canterbury is Britain's oldest cathedral, a World Heritage site, the 'mother church' for over 85 million people, and has witnessed the rise and fall of kings and queens, the murder of saints and the birth of a religion.
In one of the biggest engineering projects of the Middle Ages, Salisbury Cathedral was moved from a wind-blasted Iron Age hill fort to its current location - a feat accomplished in just 38 years, helping establish the Wiltshire city in the process. A place of both ancient tradition and home to one of the country's oldest choirs, Tony witnesses the ritual of inducting a new chorister and sees the oldest working clock in the world. The presenter also reflects on the cathedral's role in a clandestine operation that helped turn the tide of the Second World War.
History series. Tony Robinson tells the turbulent history of six of Britain's cathedrals. Durham cathedral is one of Britain's first UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a leading tourist attraction. The cathedral is over 900 years old and stands 218 feet high. When it was first constructed, it was the country's tallest building.
Liverpool cathedral is the Church of England's newest cathedral, and the largest in Britain. It was designed in the Gothic style by Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the red telephone box. It took 74 years to build and was paid for by money donated from the people of Liverpool. National tragedies such as the sinking of the Titanic - many of whose crew came from Liverpool - and the Hillsborough football disaster are remembered within its walls. It is also where Paul McCartney composed and performed his first classical piece of music, the Liverpool Oratorio.
The actor recounts the history of Winchester Cathedral, the longest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, which has witnessed civil wars, religious battles and struggled with collapsing foundations. It is the burial place of novelist Jane Austen - though only four people attended her funeral and originally her plaque made no mention of her writing. Tony learns that Winchester's bishops were among the richest, most influential and most badly behaved in the country and some were wealthier and more powerful than even England's kings. Last in the series.
