0:00:08 > 0:00:10This is a journey through Britain
0:00:10 > 0:00:14to discover how a thousand years of history
0:00:14 > 0:00:17has shaped the way we've built our country.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24On the final leg of my journey, I'm travelling to the south of England
0:00:24 > 0:00:31and the capital, London, to see how Britain was transformed in the 20th century.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Modern technology opened up a new world, changing the way we lived.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53Breathtaking new designs altered the face of our cities.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56We may not always have liked what we saw.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01But we were prepared to take risks.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09This revolution was at its most dramatic in the south of England.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18The modern age is the age of the optimist,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23always looking for news ways of living, willing to experiment even at the risk of failure,
0:01:23 > 0:01:28making it one of the most intriguing chapters in the history of how we built Britain.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16At the beginning of the 20th century London was the heart of a great empire.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19But it was bursting at the seams.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Five million people were crammed into the capital.
0:02:31 > 0:02:37Overcrowded and polluted, it was a breeding ground for disease.
0:02:41 > 0:02:48But the capital, as it always had done, still sucked in newcomers looking for work.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55People dreamed of building a better life for themselves,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59of escaping from the crowded streets of the city
0:02:59 > 0:03:02to a place with space and trees, fresh air.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07And suddenly it all seemed possible.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12'Please ensure that you keep all your personal belongings with you at all times. Anyone...'
0:03:12 > 0:03:18A ticket out of the smoke to start a new life began here.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22'..is now ready to depart, stand clear of the doors now please, mind the doors.'
0:03:22 > 0:03:29The new Metropolitan Line stretched the underground network beyond the city and into the countryside.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47If you'd been travelling this line in 1910, the view out of the window would've been quite different.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53Instead of all these houses and factories it would have been rich, open countryside.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03But the arrival of the railway transformed the landscape.
0:04:06 > 0:04:12The Metropolitan Line Company not only bought the land and built the railway but called in the developers.
0:04:14 > 0:04:21Between 1910 and 1933 the fields bordering the new line running north towards Buckinghamshire,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26were sacrificed to street after street of new housing.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34Four million new homes were built across the country.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36The biggest house-building boom in British history.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46It was a free for all, with developers
0:04:46 > 0:04:51colonising virgin territory as though it were the Wild West.
0:04:58 > 0:05:04The new suburbs were promoted by the railway which created them as "Metro Land".
0:05:21 > 0:05:23'Mind the gap, please...'
0:05:23 > 0:05:29In the 1930s, the number of people using this station at Rayners Lane,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33grew from 100 a day to 10,000 a day.
0:05:33 > 0:05:40The suburban commuter could claim that he, not the cockney, was now the true Londoner.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48The gateway to the new Metro Land suburb was a lofty station.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Attractions included a stylish cinema.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56No longer showing movies.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00And a high street to meet every need.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Within a few years, a new community had taken root.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26And they came to live in the brand new semis of Harrow Garden Village,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30advertised in the Metro Land brochure as fresh and refreshing.
0:06:30 > 0:06:37"A Reed house," it says "has a pledge of quality and after sales service, embraces features usually only found
0:06:37 > 0:06:41"in more expensive houses. Whilst the excellence of the materials
0:06:41 > 0:06:47"and the workmanship employed will be readily recognised by discriminating house seekers."
0:06:55 > 0:07:01The annual catalogue of Metro Land was packed with ideas for the perfect home.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05The styles varied but overall became known as Tudorbethan.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08There was plenty to choose from, fake half timbering,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12old-fashioned gables,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and modern bay windows for good measure.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20'No house is quite the same - each has it's individuality.'
0:07:20 > 0:07:26Here, after a day's work in the city, everyone could enjoy the feeling of being an English gentleman,
0:07:26 > 0:07:32coming home to his country house, an instinct the advertisers weren't slow to pick up.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37'Home again and free -
0:07:37 > 0:07:41'free to enjoy this...
0:07:46 > 0:07:48'How peaceful it all is.'
0:07:54 > 0:08:00Or if you wanted a night out, there was always the movies.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05By the early 1930s, every London suburb had its own cinema,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08its Granada, Ritz or Odeon.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12'In this modern civilised age, Odeon has become a household word,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15synonymous with everything that is perfect in entertainment.'
0:08:18 > 0:08:25The London suburb of Tooting was the setting for one of the most exotic picture palaces ever built.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31- Evening.- Ah, good evening, sir. Welcome to the Granada Tooting, the most spectacular cinema in Britain.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32Thank you very much.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48This lavish interior was the work of the Russian set designer, Theodore Komisarjevsky.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58This is cinema as fantasy, a chance to escape from reality and dream.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02And the cinema itself is the start of the dream, marble pillars and all.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Just look at what's in here...
0:09:10 > 0:09:13A hall of mirrors,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18colonnades down both sides, a flower-encrusted ceiling.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23This isn't a South London cinema, this is a palace in Southern Spain.
0:09:28 > 0:09:35To come into a building like this all those years ago would have been absolutely incredible.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Probably a bit like walking into Buckingham Palace or something now.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43What did it mean to you to come here?
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Well, it was the big treat of the week.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51It was um...I think it was sixpence to come in or something silly.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55But sixpence, when you've got four children to send is quite a lot of money.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00And it was just the one big treat of the week. The only time you really ever did anything
0:10:00 > 0:10:04apart from play on the streets or round the park or something.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13For most children it was sort of mind blowing really, to come to the cinema
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and to see those things, you know, that you saw on film,
0:10:18 > 0:10:24different worlds different times. So it was the only chance to see the outside world.
0:10:30 > 0:10:37Up to 3,000 people a night came to worship at the altar of the latest matinee idol.
0:10:40 > 0:10:46You simply wouldn't believe it possible unless you come in here to look at it with your own eyes.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49This huge, carved ceiling, for a start.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53And then galleries all round,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57minstrels playing in the arches there.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Damsels with those wimples on over there. A jester over there.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Huge doorways -
0:11:04 > 0:11:08left and right, and then great stained glass windows, looking
0:11:08 > 0:11:10as though the light's shining through them.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17And then over there a huge wooden screen.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Today, the cinema has a different use.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Red 20, white 73, yellow 29, blue 49...
0:11:34 > 0:11:39The Tooting Granada has been reborn as the Gala bingo hall.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42When did you last win?
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Oh, about five year ago.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Red number 1, blue 48, white 77,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53blue 56, red number 7.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57But one reminder of the old cinema days has survived.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS
0:12:09 > 0:12:11That's fantastic.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Even some applause there.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Len, what, eh... This is the most beautiful organ, what date is it?
0:12:18 > 0:12:20This went in with the theatre in 1931.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- Right.- So, it's getting on for 80 years old now.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26What was the idea? They come to come to the cinema, not to listen to the organ.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Well, in the first place they were used for silent movies.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34The pianist wasn't able to fill the theatre with sound and an orchestra was too expensive.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39- You mean they'd have had a, a film running and this Wurlitzer playing?- Most definitely, yes.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- Can I have a try?- You're welcome.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- I'm very much the amateur... - Come and...
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- I'd love to hear it.- Come round. - Oops.- We have four keyboards for different sounds.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Where do you put your feet - up there?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- Yes, don't push them over, whatever you do with them.- OK.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56THEY START PLAYING
0:13:02 > 0:13:03You're not in time...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05- What?- Yes, you've got three flats.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- I haven't got a flat there.- Oh, sorry, you're up there!- Yes, that's our problem.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10You have to take it, I said that.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- I thought we were at odds with each other.- You're on page two already.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- Yeah, I was on that,- We've got an advanced student.- I started there.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20No wonder it was so awful. Right, let's try again.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- All right here we go, one, two, ready, go.- ...three, four.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27THEY PLAY
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- Ha-ha, that was pretty good rubbish that was.- Well...
0:13:39 > 0:13:45- # My love... # - And into the big finish...
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- Bravo.- And we finished together. - That's better.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14While many of us were happy enough creating fantasies of Tudor England
0:14:14 > 0:14:21or medieval Spain in our new suburbs, a few brave souls look to the future.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Ten miles out of London in Esher is the Homewood.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34It was built in 1938, by architect Patrick Gwynne.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42Fired by the new European idea of modernism,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45clean cut with minimum decoration.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50Gwynne created a functional machine for living in.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Like a classical building,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59strict mathematical proportions were used for every element of his design.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07These kind of materials had hardly been seen in Britain before,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11concrete, flat roof, these huge glass windows.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17Landing here in sylvan Surrey, it must have seemed like something from an alien planet.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Houses like this didn't come cheap.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29The Homewood cost £10,000 to build, a small fortune at the time.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40Gwynne's father called this a temple of costly experience.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Was he right?
0:15:42 > 0:15:48Marble bench, marble floor, beautiful mosaic here, glass tiles, an innovation at the time.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Everything really carefully thought out.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And a staircase!
0:15:54 > 0:16:00A spiral staircase, with this lovely zigzag marble again on the top,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03ebonised hand rail.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Beautiful view down the spiral.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Fancy chandelier, everything else is rather simple.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21We're on a sort of bridge, that side are all the bedroom, this way the living rooms.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26And the entrance is very grand these white leather doors.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27Ah!
0:16:29 > 0:16:32And this is the most spectacular living room.
0:16:32 > 0:16:39Cosy it is not, vast, with this great wall of glass looking out onto the garden.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44So you actually feel you're almost outside, except of course you're protected here on the inside.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48But all light and space, not cluttered.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53All carefully designed by him to suit his own precise needs.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00A home like this is a give-away.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03It tells you what its owner was like,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05meticulous and neat.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16And like all modernists, he couldn't resist a nice gadget.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24Record player up here, everything you need to kick start a good party.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30MELLOW JAZZ PLAYS
0:17:30 > 0:17:32VOLUME INCREASES
0:17:34 > 0:17:36And behind here...
0:17:37 > 0:17:43the cocktail cabinet with a cocktail bar that comes out.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Here?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Yeah...
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Shaker - a perfect martini's the thing.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59A good dollop of gin, just a touch of Martini.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Shaken not stirred.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Great... Perfect.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Everything thought of, a little...
0:18:11 > 0:18:14table comes out there, for the drink.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Ah...
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And take in the view of the garden.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35A home like this was beyond the reach of most people, even if they had wanted it.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41But the modernist dream wasn't only for the rich.
0:18:44 > 0:18:50In the late 1930s, the south of England was recovering from economic depression.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52It was time to enjoy life again.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04In the pursuit of sunshine and fun people came flocking to the seaside,
0:19:04 > 0:19:09but they weren't coming for a dip in the sea, they were after something far more exotic.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19In 1938, a spectacular, modernist pleasure ground
0:19:19 > 0:19:22was revealed on the south coast,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25the Saltdean Lido.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30With it's sleek streamline shape and curved frontage,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34it was the latest in continental style and sophistication.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Lidos weren't just places to come and swim, they were symbols of modernity,
0:19:50 > 0:19:56of a belief in a healthier, happier, more egalitarian future,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59a kind of Utopia by the sea.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13'Summer is here,
0:20:13 > 0:20:18'and all the papers are full of pretty pictures of prettily-costumed girls.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20'Generally lots of girl and not so much costume.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24'But the cult of today is that of the sun.'
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Here the ordinary rules of society were relaxed
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and people could let their hair down.
0:20:35 > 0:20:42These places had it all, sunbathing terraces, cafes, water polo
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and regular displays by the Women's League of Health and Beauty.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55'This is the sort of thing that only goes to show what's possible, when you're both healthy and beautiful.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57'All those in favour raise a leg.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:01But Lidos weren't just about health, they were about sex and glamour too.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06They provided the perfect venue for beauty competitions
0:21:06 > 0:21:09with categories like, Miss Shapely Calf And Ankle,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Miss Lovely Legs,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Miss Physical Excellence.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- WOLF WHISTLE - 'Just look at these charming costumes.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21'Our cameraman missed his last train back, but what an excuse he had.'
0:21:28 > 0:21:33With their tiered fountains and giant diving boards,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37they were also the perfect stage for thrilling spectacles.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55'Now what about a dip?'
0:21:55 > 0:21:57You must be joking, it's far too cold.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14- What's it like today?- It's lovely. - Is it?- I recommend it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- Is it warm?- Yeah, it's all right.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- Why do you do it? Why do you swim? - I love it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- Oh, lovely.- It's energising, really. - Why's it energising?- I don't know.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29You know, heat makes one ugh, while the cold makes me fresh.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50While one part of Southern Britain relaxed,
0:22:50 > 0:22:55another braced itself to face a nightmare.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Between 1928 and 1930,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17mysterious structures grew along the Kent coast.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Strange shapes that baffled the locals.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38These are quite extraordinary. I don't think, if you didn't know what they were, you'd have any idea.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41They look like sculptures - mother and daughter there,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and then a great wall over there.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Huge reinforced concrete bowls.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And what they are is actually what they almost look like.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55This big one is like a giant ear. I can even hear it echoing as I speak at it.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Hello!
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Hello?
0:24:04 > 0:24:10These curious creations were known as sound mirrors.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18They were designed to collect and reflect the sound of
0:24:18 > 0:24:24incoming enemy aircraft, so that the alarm could be raised in time.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33The first versions were not very effective.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39In 1930, a much larger and greatly improved model was designed.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45A 200 foot long wall.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56This wall is beautifully built, a very gentle curve,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00mathematically calculated all the way up and then this great sweep around.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05And the idea was that the sound would be reflected down to microphones
0:25:05 > 0:25:06that lay along here at the bottom,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10and they would transmit to a hut behind, a listening post,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13where they'd be able to track exactly what was happening.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22These amazing structures never saw action.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25By 1939, when war broke out
0:25:25 > 0:25:31radar had been invented and the sound mirrors were obsolete.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41DRONING OF PLANES
0:25:45 > 0:25:49In the end, not even radar could save Britain from German bombing raids.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55The nightmare had become reality.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59The South was worst hit.
0:26:01 > 0:26:07The London Blitz alone killed 43,000 people and destroyed over a million homes.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Conditions in London became unbearable.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24The homeless joined those sleeping in the Underground, or took refuge with relatives.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33When the devastation of the war ended,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38housing the homeless became the Government's first job.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54And this was their answer, houses constructed in a factory
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and assembled on site, prefabricated.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00What everyone came to call the prefab.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09In the two years after the war,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13157,000 thousand prefabs were assembled across the country.
0:27:13 > 0:27:19Instant homes, with priority given to returning servicemen and their families.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23'There's nothing like seeing your own house built while you wait.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25'And what's nicer than to sit and dream of the future.'
0:27:29 > 0:27:34One of the largest surviving prefab estates is in Catford, in South East London.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40MUSIC: "On The Sunnyside Of The Street."
0:27:52 > 0:27:58One of the first residents to move in was Edmund O'Mahony, just discharged from the forces.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04- Hello.- Hello.- Can I have a look around?
0:28:04 > 0:28:07- You can by all means, come in. - Thank you very much.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Oh, nice and warm in here.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14- The sitting room.- What did you think when you first came in here?
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It was heaven. My wife was amazed.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Loads of cupboards, cupboards and drawers everywhere.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28'Plenty of built-in cupboards are a welcomed feature.'
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Did it feel very modern to you?
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Absolutely, I hadn't seen anything like it before.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36You know, come and have a look at the kitchen, I'll show you.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42'The kitchen is equipped with wash copper, fridge and electric cooker.'
0:28:42 > 0:28:44All the cupboard space you've got.
0:28:44 > 0:28:50Everywhere you look - the working tops, the stove. There was actually a gas boiler here.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55'Thank goodness for this modern kitchen, where everything is to hand when you want it.'
0:28:55 > 0:28:57The sink, the gas stove, a fridge.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02'A super refrigerator, illuminated and with a door that opens to the touch of a pedal.'
0:29:02 > 0:29:05And a table that went back into the wall.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09'A hinged breakfast table is a space-saving idea.'
0:29:09 > 0:29:16If I go out for the day, I look forward to coming home. I love this place.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Well, thank you, thank you very much indeed.
0:29:21 > 0:29:22Oh, well, you're more than welcome.
0:29:34 > 0:29:41In 1951, London was the setting for one of the biggest parties that Britain had ever seen
0:29:41 > 0:29:44and everyone was invited.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55It was an attempt to lift the spirits of the nation.
0:29:55 > 0:30:01'This is a festival, a diverse place of serious fun and light-hearted solemnity.'
0:30:04 > 0:30:11Over there, on the south bank of the River Thames was the site of the Festival of Britain.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18I remember it so well, I was 13 at the time, I think. I went with my mother and father.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20The whole of the river bank was covered.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24It's just the Festival Hall left now, with buildings and displays.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28And the whole place was sort of fresh and colourful,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32and gave you the feeling that the future was going to be good,
0:30:32 > 0:30:36that the war was over and everything had changed now and we were on our way.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42The Festival was a showcase of cutting-edge technology
0:30:42 > 0:30:46and brilliant new architecture and design.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54It gave the British public a tantalising taste of what lay ahead.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05The Festival's message was clear.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10We should look forward with confidence.
0:31:12 > 0:31:19What the future might look like was revealed in 1957 in Bethnal Green, East London.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Keeling House was designed by Denys Lasdun,
0:31:30 > 0:31:35a bold and radical attempt to find a new way of living.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44His idea was to recreate the East End.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Cramped and crowded streets,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51would be replaced by a clean, fresh life in the sky.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05For a time, high-rise buildings were all the rage.
0:32:10 > 0:32:11But the novelty soon wore off.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19Parents didn't like their children playing out of their sight, several storeys down.
0:32:19 > 0:32:25And, to add to their misery, many high-rise buildings were poorly maintained.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37In 1968, there was a was a major setback for tower blocks.
0:32:37 > 0:32:43Ronan Point collapsed like a house of cards killing four people.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49The vision of how we might all live had turned sour.
0:32:54 > 0:33:01Keeling house itself was abandoned and was going to be demolished, like many other high-rise blocks.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07But a developer came to the rescue, restored the building,
0:33:07 > 0:33:14gave it proper security, and it's now a serious des res.
0:33:14 > 0:33:15- Hi, there.- Hi.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18What a fantastic view.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Thank you.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Where can you see, from where to where, London Eye.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25London Eye, yes, you can see it.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27- There, brilliant. - Yeah, pretty good view.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29- What's it like living here? - It's great, I love it.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32- It's really nice. - What do you like about it?
0:33:32 > 0:33:34What don't I like about it, is probably easier, em...
0:33:34 > 0:33:37The views of course, the style of the flat...
0:33:37 > 0:33:40I used to drive past it, before it was refurbished six years ago.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43It just looked absolutely awful, derelict and atrocious.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47People just thought, "Let's pull it down, it looks so ugly."
0:33:47 > 0:33:50What they've done, you never understood or appreciated what could be done to it.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53When they did it, it was like - wow! Is that the same place?
0:34:04 > 0:34:08The architects never really understood why the tower block didn't catch on.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10After all they worked in New York.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14They worked in Europe. They worked in the Far East but never in Britain.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Maybe it's because we don't like living end on end.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21We like to have our own front door in the street and a backyard or back garden.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Or maybe it's because they were never property looked after.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29The lifts didn't work. The hallways were filthy. They were dangerous.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32When you get a tower block like this that is properly looked after,
0:34:32 > 0:34:37has a fence all round it, a concierge sitting here, people seem to love it.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57High-rise flats may have come in and out of fashion,
0:34:57 > 0:35:03but one tall building still stands as a reminder of the spirit of the times.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09The Post Office Tower.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23With its radio waves beaming out the message of white-hot technology,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27the tower was a symbol of the new age that was upon us.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32'Today the whole field of telecommunications is expanding as never before.'
0:35:32 > 0:35:37Soaring into the air, it transformed London's skyline
0:35:37 > 0:35:40and set the record of the tallest building in Britain.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44'The Post Office Tower, the tallest of them all.'
0:35:46 > 0:35:51Opened in 1966, it seemed to capture the spirit of the '60s,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and became an instant hit with the public.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01'Suddenly London had a new place to go to. A new attraction for visitors from home and overseas.'
0:36:08 > 0:36:13In the first year, over a million visitors came flooding in here.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18It cost just one penny to go to the viewing galleries at the top and see all over London.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And if you had a bit more to spend, you could go to the 34th floor.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29'Doors opening.'
0:36:29 > 0:36:34- Ah, morning, can you take me to the 34th.- Certainly.- Thanks.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36'Lift going up. Doors closing.'
0:36:36 > 0:36:39'These high speed lifts climb at a thousand feet a minute.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43'If you're not used to vertical take off, there's always a first time.'
0:36:45 > 0:36:48Um...nice whoosh, acceleration.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Whoosh, 30 seconds later, the top of the tower.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58I haven't been up here for 30 years.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01The most wonderful view all over London.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05And this was the Top Of The Tower Restaurant.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Here you sat in splendour looking out over London
0:37:08 > 0:37:12and had a most delicious lunch. Let's see what's on the menu...
0:37:15 > 0:37:19'520 feet high, it's haute cuisine and then some.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21'Here a staff of 38 work on each meal,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24'producing dishes to impress the most fastidious gourmet.'
0:37:26 > 0:37:30All in French - huitre, oysters, caviar, foie gras,
0:37:30 > 0:37:31quite expensive too.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39The Post Office Tower became the smart place to eat,
0:37:39 > 0:37:45as London tasted the new delights of the Swinging Sixties.
0:37:54 > 0:37:59But the real attraction of the Top Of The Tower wasn't the food and the drink.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02It was a little gimmick they had, I'll show you...
0:38:02 > 0:38:05The whole restaurant
0:38:05 > 0:38:07revolved round the central tower.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09You see my feet and where I've put them?
0:38:09 > 0:38:14So, as you sat eating, London passed before your eyes.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21'The restaurant revolves once every 25 minutes.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24'And as course follows course, so the panorama changes.'
0:38:29 > 0:38:33And the thing I remember is that after a little bit,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37you began to feel queasy. In fact I'm beginning to feel queasy today.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41And look how far I've travelled!
0:38:41 > 0:38:43A technological device too far.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48'Crossing from the stationary to the moving part of the restaurant presents no problems,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52'but for waiters it's sometimes a puzzle to find the customers,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55'whose table has moved since the waiter took their order.'
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Aaah! Uh...
0:39:06 > 0:39:11The Post Office Tower pointed the way forward for modern Britain,
0:39:11 > 0:39:16but it was nothing to what followed, in London's traditional financial quarter,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21the square mile of the City.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Thanks very much.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44In the 1980s, something extraordinary happened to the square mile,
0:39:44 > 0:39:49and it was to have a dramatic effect on the city's skyline.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59When the rules of the money markets were loosened in 1986,
0:39:59 > 0:40:05this part of London was transformed, it was called the Big Bang.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18As new money flooded in, new buildings shot up.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39Here at the Lloyds Building in London is one of the most striking buildings put up in the 1980s,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42but even here some of the old traditions survive.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Is it true I'm not allowed to go in without a tie?
0:40:44 > 0:40:47That's correct, sir. We do have a dress code.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48You have a dress code.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53You build a modern building... and then you have very old-fashioned habits.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54Rules are rules, sir, unfortunately.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10Lloyds Insurance began life in a coffee house over 300 years ago.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15It now makes a very modern profit of ten million pounds a day.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24Well, this is the main underwriting floor, this huge space,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27where all the real work is done.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32My goodness, look at this.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35This vast open space.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38People sometimes liken it to a cathedral.
0:41:38 > 0:41:44This great high tower, 200 feet of glass, with its dome glass roof.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Of course to get the best view, you have to go up.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15It's a breathtaking sight.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19So long as you've got a head for heights, you can see right down to the underwriting floor.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Tiny people going up on the escalator.
0:42:21 > 0:42:28And these great concrete columns rising up to the top of the roof
0:42:28 > 0:42:32and the steel framework that holds the whole building together.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35And the magical thing is, it's all open plan, everywhere you look.
0:42:35 > 0:42:42All the things that are normally inside a building, in this building have been put on the outside.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53It looks like a building on a life support system,
0:42:53 > 0:43:00with all these pipes and tubes providing air and power and warmth,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03and taking away the waste.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13It leaves the inside space empty, for the owners to use as they like.
0:43:18 > 0:43:24Its distinctive exterior made Lloyds a beacon of all that's modern in the City.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28It seemed unchallengeable.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34But three years ago it got a neighbour - a new kid on the block.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39And like all new kids on the block it threatened to knock the old one off its perch.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53The Gherkin was designed by Norman Foster.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56He and Richard Rogers, who built Lloyds
0:43:56 > 0:44:01are Britain's two top architects, and boy, do they compete.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13It's an extraordinary building,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17squeezed in, with all these buildings around it,
0:44:17 > 0:44:21and able to do that, because it's an astonishing feat of engineering.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26It looks like a kind of balloon, tethered at the bottom and about to float up.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Wherever you are in the city of London you see the Gherkin.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45And everyone has an opinion on it.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Can I just have a quick word?
0:44:47 > 0:44:50I just want to know what you think of the building.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55- Well, statuesque. - Statuesque, do you like it?
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Yes, interesting new design for the area.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03- It's unique.- Yeah, I think there's a better one in Barcelona.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:45:06 > 0:45:08What do you think it looks like?
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Not quite a gherkin.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12It looks like a big artillery shell.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Eh...pickle?
0:45:14 > 0:45:18Well, it's like a rocket, you know.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Depends how rude you are really.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22It could be, to suggest it could be a bit rude, yeah.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26Can I say it before the watershed or...?
0:45:31 > 0:45:37Just a stone's throw away from the world of international finance is Brick Lane.
0:45:40 > 0:45:47London has been transformed by people from around the world coming here to make a new life for themselves.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55And with them have come new tastes, new fashions.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58And now even new buildings.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07The Shri Swaminarayan Hindu temple in Neasden
0:46:07 > 0:46:11is the most astonishing example of a building
0:46:11 > 0:46:13we might never have expected to see in our midst.
0:46:33 > 0:46:39Made out of 2,000 tons of marble and 3,000 tons of limestone,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42it was all hand carved in India
0:46:42 > 0:46:46and then shipped to London to be assembled on site.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51The largest Hindu temple outside India,
0:46:51 > 0:46:57and I suppose you could say the world's largest prefab.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09You come in, with the sound of the traffic outside,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13into this completely quiet, peaceful place
0:47:13 > 0:47:16with brilliant carving everywhere, the marble...
0:47:16 > 0:47:22rich marble carvings, dancing figures, the gods, the pillars.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26These great archways.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30And then the great dome,
0:47:30 > 0:47:33all carved marble.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40And it's made completely without anything holding it, just locked together like a jigsaw.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Quite astonishing, here in the middle of London.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21LOUD NOTE PLAYED
0:48:24 > 0:48:27- What do you think of the building? - It's very nice.- Beautiful.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Is it? What do you like about it?
0:48:30 > 0:48:33- I like all the detailing. - Detail and decorate...- Statues.
0:48:33 > 0:48:38It's really good because, like it's, it's like impossible.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41You think how can it just be hand made.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43- Come on, one at a time.- Me, me, me.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45No, wait, wait, wait, go on.
0:48:45 > 0:48:51Because it's like impossible how... it, to imagine people doing this on,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54- by their own doing one big piece. - By hand.- By hands.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57- It's amazing how they stay together without falling.- Yeah.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59How do you think they do?
0:48:59 > 0:49:02- Magic, magic, cement.- Cement.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08- Are any of you Hindu?- Me. - You are. So, do you come here?
0:49:08 > 0:49:10- Yeah.- A lot.
0:49:10 > 0:49:11- Are you Hindu?- No.- What's...
0:49:11 > 0:49:14- I'm Muslim.- You're Muslim.
0:49:14 > 0:49:20- Yeah.- You're Muslim and he's Hindu and he's... Have you taken him to a Muslim mosque?
0:49:20 > 0:49:23- No.- So are you planning to take him to your mosque?
0:49:23 > 0:49:24Well, you should do. THEY LAUGH
0:49:44 > 0:49:50'..If you do not touch down with your Oyster, then you will pay the maximum cash fare...'
0:49:53 > 0:49:59Some of the most dramatic new additions to the capital can't be seen from the street.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Oh, my God, expensive.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09For some of the best architecture and engineering of our time,
0:50:09 > 0:50:14you have to descend into the bowels of the London Underground.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21I love this bit, Westminster Tube,
0:50:21 > 0:50:26as you go down, these great - well, tubes over the top,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28and there's movement everywhere
0:50:28 > 0:50:31escalators backwards and forwards, 17 escalators going
0:50:31 > 0:50:35more than a hundred feet, deep down into the earth.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40and it's like some high tech subterranean city they've created.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48Westminster is one of 11 new stations that opened up
0:50:48 > 0:50:53in the 1990s, as part of the new Jubilee Line extension.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56'The next station is Canary Wharf,
0:50:56 > 0:51:00'change for the Docklands Light Railway.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03'This station is Canary Wharf...'
0:51:14 > 0:51:18Canary Wharf is a station of unbelievable grandeur.
0:51:20 > 0:51:26All this just to get people off their trains and up to ground level.
0:51:28 > 0:51:35This is the most lovely station, spacious, airy, clean curves, light,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39real trouble taken over all the detail.
0:51:44 > 0:51:50Each day, thousands of commuters squeeze through these ticket barriers
0:51:50 > 0:51:55heading for their offices in the engine rooms of 21st-century business.
0:52:12 > 0:52:18When the old streets of the city became overcrowded with new buildings, the money moved east,
0:52:18 > 0:52:23transforming the old docklands into a mini Manhattan.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Out went the old warehouses and barges,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32in came New York-style sky scrapers.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Canary Wharf, with no history,
0:52:39 > 0:52:45is now the old city's rival - a triumph of energy and efficiency.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05This is where the power now lies, no longer with the Church,
0:53:05 > 0:53:10no longer with the politicians but with these giant corporations.
0:53:10 > 0:53:16And these are their shining temples - the buildings of our age.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Arrogant buildings thrusting themselves on us.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40But how many will survive to take their place alongside those of the past
0:53:40 > 0:53:45and tell us the story of the 21st century?
0:54:03 > 0:54:10We're living in an age of constant change, and our new buildings fit that pattern,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13but they occupy a different world,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16separate from our own more private lives.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Most of us live somewhere more like this.
0:54:24 > 0:54:29After nearly a year spent travelling the length and breadth of Britain,
0:54:29 > 0:54:31I'm coming home.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36This is Polegate, a little town under the South Downs.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40There's nothing very grand about Polegate,
0:54:40 > 0:54:42nothing very beautiful about Polegate,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45but it's my home town and I like it.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50It's one of the thousands of towns and suburbs in Britain
0:54:50 > 0:54:55that the architects never visited, and the planners overlooked.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57There's been no attempt at style in Polegate
0:54:57 > 0:55:00which gives the town a style all of its own.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Polegate's not exactly swinging
0:55:04 > 0:55:09but it's a friendly place with some good shops.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20This is one of the best shops in Polegate. You can get everything here.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23You can get...hooks and eyes and things singularly.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26You get brushes and brooms - anything you want.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28- Sandra!- Yes.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32- I'm just saying this is the best shop in Polegate.- Thank you.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36When I first came here, I came to buy a little pot of paint.
0:55:36 > 0:55:43I remember you asked me whether I wanted large, medium or Polegate size, what's Polegate size?
0:55:43 > 0:55:48Polegate size means we don't want the tin too big because we might be dead before we get to the end of it.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51It was a customer who said it, it wasn't my idea.
0:55:51 > 0:55:56- Listen, I take Polegate size, but I plan to outlive it.- OK.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- Hey, Nick.- Morning, David.- Morning. - Are you having some chips?
0:56:01 > 0:56:04- Yeah, OK. - Go on, it won't do you any harm.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07I know you like them.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Oh, hey, hey, that's enough.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12- See you later.- Cheerio.- Take care.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18- Hello.- Hello!
0:56:18 > 0:56:21- I'm all right, how are you? - What are you eating?
0:56:21 > 0:56:23- Chips, do you want one?- Oh.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Can I have a bottle of champagne?
0:56:25 > 0:56:27- Of course you can. - Thank you.- Just one?
0:56:27 > 0:56:32- Just one, I think.- You know if you buy two you get one free.- Oh, don't do that pitch. Bye-bye.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36- Lovely to see you.- Thank you very much.- Take care, see you next week.
0:56:43 > 0:56:50Like so many places in Britain, Polegate is a mixture of old and new.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53It all adds to the hidden charm.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56There's a medieval chapel,
0:56:56 > 0:56:58a Georgian mansion,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01a bit of Victoriana,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04and plenty of bungalows built in the 1960s.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10The latest addition, on the edge of the town
0:57:10 > 0:57:14is a new housing estate, which says a lot about what we seem to want.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29Architects are always trying to persuade us to accept news ways of living -
0:57:29 > 0:57:34little white concrete boxes, very efficient living machines, or villages in the sky.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38But the truth is that most of us prefer, houses like this
0:57:38 > 0:57:44with a touch of the Victorian or the Elizabethan or the Georgian in them.
0:57:44 > 0:57:50It's as though we accept the modern for our grand public buildings,
0:57:50 > 0:57:55for big offices, for theatres, for concert halls, for airports.
0:57:55 > 0:58:01But when it comes to our own homes we actually prefer a taste of the past.
0:58:12 > 0:58:17It just goes to prove the point that our buildings say it all.
0:58:18 > 0:58:23If you want to trace the story of how we became who we are,
0:58:23 > 0:58:26you need only look at how we built Britain.
0:59:11 > 0:59:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:14 > 0:59:17E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk