Secrets of the Castle

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Secrets of the Castle
Also known asSecrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom
GenreFactual
Directed byBlythe Tinker, Stuart Elliott, Lindsay Hill, Giulia Clark
Starring
Narrated byPaul McGann
ComposersMatthew Winch, Andy Hamilton
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerDavid Upshal
Production locationsGuédelon Castle, Treigny, France
Running time60 minutes
Production companyLion Television
Original release
Network
Release18 November (2014-11-18) –
17 December 2014 (2014-12-17)
Related

Secrets of the Castle, or Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom is a British factual television series that first broadcast on BBC Two from 18 November to 17 December 2014.[1] The series stars archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold, and historian Ruth Goodman. In the series, the team takes part in the medieval construction project at Guédelon Castle[2] in Treigny, France. During their stay there, they reveal what kind of skills and crafts were needed to build a castle in the 13th century, by using the techniques, tools and materials of the era.

Location[edit]

The castle construction site shown in the series is Guédelon Castle in France, a 25-year experimental archaeology project where a castle is being built using only the techniques, tools and materials from the Middle Ages, ie. without electricity or modern power tools.

Episode list[edit]

# Title Directed by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)[3]
1"Why Build A Castle?"Stuart Elliott18 November 2014 (2014-11-18)1.58
The team arrives at Guédelon, in the Burgundy region of France, to join the world’s biggest archaeological experiment - a 25 year project to build a medieval castle from scratch, using only the tools and materials available in the 13th century.
2"Defending The Castle"Blythe Tinker25 November 2014 (2014-11-25)1.89
Ruth, Peter and Tom look at the ingenious features medieval castle-builders came up with to withstand attack from an ever more formidable array of siege engines.
3"Inside The Castle"Lindsay Hill2 December 2014 (2014-12-02)1.70
Ruth, Peter and Tom enter the surprisingly colourful world of medieval interior design. The castles that we see today are in fact scarred by centuries of decay. Most of their original roofs, carpentry and interior finishes have long since disappeared, but in their heyday they were lavishly decorated.
4"The Castle’s Community of Skills"Blythe Tinker9 December 2014 (2014-12-09)1.65
The team delve deeper into the secrets of the skilled communities who built medieval castles. The stonemasons working on the castle walls are dependent on blacksmiths, whose metalwork was magical to the medieval mind-set.
5"Beyond The Castle Walls"Giulia Clark17 December 2014 (2014-12-17)1.78
Ruth, Peter and Tom look at the castle’s place in the wider medieval world. 13th century Europe was a busy, developing, connected place, where work, trade, pilgrimages and Crusades gave people the opportunity to travel across the continent and beyond.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ BBC - Programme Information
  2. ^ Guédelon Official Website
  3. ^ "BARB Top 30s".

External links[edit]