‎Phil Spencer's Stately Homes - Apple TV

TV Show · Documentary · History

Britain’s stately homes were private sanctuaries that housed the nation’s aristocrats for centuries. Now, architecture expert Phil Spencer has been given exclusive access to some of the most extravagant country houses. He will be peeling back the years to explore how and why these extraordinary houses came to be built and reveal the history behind the construction and evolution of these mansions.

2016 · 46m

Starring Phil Spencer

EPISODE 1

Burghley House

One of the largest and grandest houses of the Elizabethan age, Burghley was built by Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord High Treasurer. Building expert Phil Spencer visits this masterpiece of Elizabethan architecture set in 1400 acres of glorious Lincolnshire parkland. From its Heaven room and Hell staircase to its extravagant antiques and gardens, this astonishing structure oozes history.

45m
EPISODE 2

Castle Howard

Nick Howard's family has lived in Yorkshire’s magnificent Castle Howard for over 300 years. He takes architecture expert Phil Spencer on an exclusive tour through one of Britain’s most celebrated stately homes and the setting for TV drama Brideshead Revisited. Phil climbs the grand staircase, passes through the stunning crimson dining room and spends some time in the family mausoleum.

45m
EPISODE 3

Woburn Abbey

Magnificent Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire has been the ancestral home of the Dukes of Bedford for nearly 400 years. The current Duke takes architecture expert Phil Spencer on an exclusive tour around the magical shell grotto, the sumptuous state rooms and the glorious 3000-acre deer park. And he hears of a 1950’s scheme to save the historic building that involved nudists!

45m
EPISODE 4

Holkham Hall

A little piece of Italy in this quiet corner of England, Holkham Hall is a magnificent 18th-century Palladian mansion. With unprecedented access to the archives, architecture guru Phil Spencer discovers the mind-boggling amounts of materials, labor and money it took to construct this astonishing building. The project required a 30-year build, three million bricks and a huge amount of money.

45m
EPISODE 5

Hopetoun House

Having made their fortune from mining, the Hopetoun family spent lavishly on their magnificent mansion, employing not one, but two celebrated Scottish architects. Building expert Phil Spencer travels north of the border to Hopetoun House in the spectacular Scottish Lowlands, where he uncovers the extraordinary history of the lavish house and the vast estate built at enormous cost.

45m
EPISODE 6

Goodwood House

A little piece of Italy in this quiet corner of England, Holkham Hall is a magnificent 18th-century Palladian mansion. With unprecedented access to the archives, architecture guru Phil Spencer discovers the mind-boggling amounts of materials, labor and money it took to construct this astonishing building. The project required a 30-year build, three million bricks and a huge amount of money.

45m

Phil Spencer's Stately Homes

2m
Phil Spencer's Stately Homes

2m

Phil Spencer

Host