Domesday to Magna Carta

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Episode 2 of 6

Duration: 1 hour

Groundbreaking series in which Michael Wood tells the story of one place throughout the whole of English history. The village is Kibworth in Leicestershire in the heart of England - a place that lived through the Black Death, the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution and was even bombed in World War Two.

Wood's unique portrait moves on to 1066 when the Normans build a castle in Kibworth. He reveals how occupation affected the villagers from the gallows to the alehouse, and shows the medieval open fields in action in the only place where they still survive today.

With the help of the residents, he charts events in the village leading to the people's involvement in the Civil War of Simon de Montfort. Intertwining the local and national narratives, this is a moving and informative picture of one local community through time.

  • Episode Two: An extract from Merton's Survey of Kibworth Harcourt, ca 1280

    Episode Two: An extract from Merton's Survey of Kibworth Harcourt, ca 1280

    When Walter of Merton, the founder of Merton College Oxford, purchased Kibworth Harcourt in the 1260s, his first act was to undertake a full account of the village. Due to the detail it's one of the most interesting of any thirteenth-century village. Listed here are the free tenants, the customary tenants, and the cottagers - the names of families some of whom we can trace for 15 generations, right through our Story of England.

    Watch the clip showing the extract from Merton's survey
  • Photo: Michael Wood

    Photo: Michael Wood

    Presenter and historian Michael Wood in the Leicestershire village of Peatling Magna.

  • BBC TV Blog: Michael Wood on a year in Kibworth

    BBC TV Blog: Michael Wood on a year in Kibworth

    Historian Michael Wood explains why, after epic journeys to India, Afghanistan and the Andes, he chose to tell the tale of one Leicestershire town.

    Read Michael's blog post

Credits

Presenter
Michael Wood
Writer
Michael Wood

Broadcasts

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