What the Tudors Did for Us

What the Tudors Did for Us is a 2002 BBC documentary series that examines the impact of the Tudor period on modern society.

What the Tudors Did for Us
GenreDocumentary
Presented byAdam Hart-Davis
ComposerDavid Mitcham
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4
Production
Producers
Running time23 minutes
DistributorBBC
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Picture format16:9 576i
Audio formatStereo
Original release23 September (2002-09-23) 
14 October 2002 (2002-10-14)
Chronology
Preceded byWhat the Victorians Did for Us
Followed byWhat the Stuarts Did for Us
External links
Website

Episodes

Episode one: Seeing the World

Before Tudor times the image people had of their world was, well, rather dark and mysterious, but that was about to change thanks to some incredible adventures and remarkable discoveries.

Adam Hart-Davis

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Tudor Age in art, optics and exploration.

Episode two: The Thinkynge Revolution

One night in 1572 the Elizabethan astronomer Thomas Diggs saw a bright new star in the sky. It was a real shock; it shouldn't have been there. The Tudors believed that heaven, where God lived, was perfect and unchanging, and the appearance of this bright new star completely undermined their whole system of belief. But there was worse, that observation wasn't just quietly recorded it rapidly became common knowledge thanks to a really dangerous piece of high technology, the printing press. News of that star was just one of a load of ideas that were going to turn the Tudor world upside-down.

Adam Hart-Davis

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Tudor Age in science, literature and education.

Episode three: The Goode Lyfe

In a climate of domestic peace England prospered; wealthy Tudor homeowners could worry less about defence and more about comfort.

Adam Hart-Davis

Hart-Davis travels around Britain showing how domestic life developed during Tudor times.

  • Interior design, using the example of Hardwick Hall: the layout of separate rooms with dedicated functions - instead of one great hall, upholstered furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and windows.
  • The invention of the flush toilet by John Harington.
  • Interior design, using the example of Hardwick Hall: the layout of separate rooms with dedicated functions - instead of one great hall, upholstered furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and windows.
  • The foundation of the Royal Exchange, London by Sir Thomas Gresham, and in particular the associated two floors of shops, characterised as the world's first mall.
  • The popularising of sports including real tennis and horse racing.
  • Adding hops to small beer thereby increasing the alcohol content.
  • The invention of the knitting machine by William Lee.


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