The Good Old Days

Travis Elborough charts the rise and fall of the antique, examining how, ultimately, the present always dictates which bits of yesteryear we deem worthy of collecting.
In the first episode, he looks back at the origins of the antiques trade and traces how it developed in Britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. He discovers the fashion for buying suits of armour and unearths the significance of "Wardour Street English".

Producer: Sheila Cook.