Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain

Focusing on the 11th century building programme undertaken by the Normans, which resulted in impressive fortress cathedrals at Peterborough and Ely and a magnificent castle in Rochester.

Fred investigates the construction of the great chain of castles of North Wales, revealing the building techniques and the defensive features that helped Edwards I subdue the rebellious Welsh.

Fred looks at how carpenters have used their talents to transform buildings such as Stockey Castle, Little Moreton Hall and Harvington Hall.

Fred focuses on Scottish baronial style. At Glamis Castle, Fred reveals how a simple sandstone tower house was transformed with the help of stonemasons from Aberdeen and plasterers from Italy. In addition, he visits the house of Dun near Montrose and Culezean Castle on the Ayshire coast.

Fred Dibnah takes his series on the building of Britain to his home turf, Lancashire, so he can wax lyrical over the roots of the nation's canal network. He visits Worsley to see where it all began and, in his own back garden, and demonstrates the early canal-building process. Fred then takes a trip on the Leeds-Liverpool waterway, revealing the hard work and skill that made such a passage possible.

Fred Dibnah shows how steam-powered machinery helped build Herefordshire's Eastnor Castle, and takes a look at the work of Augustus Welby Pugin, the architect whose buildings - such as the Palace of Westminster - were inspired by mediaeval gothic architecture.