You should at least put in a credit for the narrator - he is a very respected historian who is credited with many books and other programmes: DAN CRUIKSHANK.
It's funny to me that so many people are complaining at the volume - my headphones are at 9% volume, and I can make out every word. Yes, he lisps a bit, and has a very "bbc english" accent, but it's *so nice* to have programs where the presenters aren't shouting all the time, when they don't need to, just to "hype up" what they're saying. I suppose people have got so used to be screamed at by every advert and program that they can't make out normal speech anymore.
I totally agree with you, I appreciate narration that’s at a normal conversational level. I can’t stand that dramatic, shouty style that’s more the norm today.
This is undoubtedly an outstanding historical documentary glimmering with precious ancient, medieval and Victorian marvels along with the inconspicuous modern wonders of modernity. I love London! Greetings from New York City and Rio de Janeiro! Bravo!
I like hearing British people talk. There's a fella from Britain living in our little country town - has that accent. A very pleasant gentleman - enjoy conversing with him. 😊 🇺🇸
There are so many accents that can come under the banner of 'British'. You'd be stunned! You'd have fun trying to decipher a 'Geordie'. That's someone from Newcastle, in the NE of England. And as for a Glaswegian from The Gorbals - forget it!!
@@ScooterMcGraw You do have a point ,I was in customs in Miami and the lady officer actually radioed for a "Scotch interpreter "Anyideas I had above my station were wiped out that day !
@@gc3847 I'd like to think that its no coincidence that Scotland is formed from an entirely different tectonic plate. Interestingly Scotland is a little bit that separated from the plate that formed America.
@@runswithcows Geologically yes, however Scotland's people came from the European mainland thousands of years ago. Just the same as the English, Welsh & Irish too. Us living in the British Isles are a mix of many European & other far off nations, including mediterranean lands. We have celtic, viking & anglo saxon ancestors. Many Americans share that ancestry too. 🇬🇧🇺🇸
One city in the US that is defined by it's bridges is Portland Oregon. The city even being far inland worked as a port city for a very long time. Up untile the late 20th century a boat could come from the Pacific Ocean down the Columbia river and dock to the north of the city. Many of those ships could then enter the Willamette River drifting past a vast industrial area into the heart of the city and beyond. It did not matter how tall your ship was because all the bridges were either tall enough or were one of 5 draw brudges that swung upward or pivoted sideways to let ships past. Over the years fewer and fewer ships moved south of the city as many dock areas shut down and became residential. Finally the city said no more ships taller than 40 feet will pass south of the city. They built a solid bridge that was intended for light rail passenger trains, pedestrians and bicycles only. That bridge was to create a south passage for commuters to move from the growing far south suburban areas of Portland into the city center by small train or there own human power modes. Finally people living in south east Portland could go to downtown easily without a car. In doing so the city was saying the few port facilities south of that new bridge were limited to low laying barges. Not a giant problem as tall sailing ships no longer existed and ships of an ocean going size had no way to proceed since dreadging of that area had stopped 50 years prior.
Good info, I mean that. No disrespect but most Americans wouldn't cross any bridges to get to Portland these days starting with crossing the Hudson River! Edited: Portland lost it's industrial might due to the outsourcing of industry and jobs to overseas nations. We can all thank NAFTA-GATT, TPTB and Washington DC (the District of elitist Criminals) for that!
the breathy voice, his overdone and artificially theatrical narrative style (sounds like narrating the climax of a horror story for pre-schoolers - for a whole hour!) make listening pretty tiresome. the whole thing would have profited greatly from a more sober tone.
A "Fantastic" documentary!!! I watch/listen to mostly BBC documentaries. British presenters are so well-informed on their subject matter presented. Please keep them coming!!!
You know, some of the comments I just don't get ... I absolutely love hearing a posh Englishman giving us a tour of Merry Ol' England. Ain't nobody makes a documentary better than the British, that's for sure. Tah .. 🌹
I'm American and I do too. I love the words they use such as 'brilliant' and 'cheers'. They say please and thank you, even when they're being sarcastic. I get a kick hearing the Queen say 'Oh please'! When she hears something ridiculous or asinine she says it. It's the way she says it that is unlike anyone lol.
I remember singing the song "London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling falling down, my fair lady" since elementary.
My guess is that those who can't understand the narrator are Americans. The accent is very different from any accents I've encountered in the US. I'm Canadian, we're part of the British Commonwealth and the accent isn't foreign to many of us.
@@kerrijill7442 Kerri - Wow such a ridiculous and ignorant assumption! The United States and it’s territories are quite large and span many regions. And there are well over 30 dialects of English alone spoken across the country! Not to mention the different languages such as Spanish, French, Hawaiian, Chamorro, (Guam) We also have large groups of immigrant populations that bring their languages with them. We come in contact with them in business / school. I also might add that we have radio/ television/ even internet just like you. So it is not uncommon to hear/see programs made in other countries/languages. Maybe do some research before making blanket assumptions and blaming Americans.
I remember when we was kids we pulled a shopping trolley out of a pool by us and caught more fish than an angler did in 8hrs on a peg only 15 metres away. Lol........
The comments are right. There needs to be more American aspects. Shouting, random nonsense and fake tension. LOL. Come on. Relaxing and informative documentary.
As a boy, I thought Tower Bridge was built at the same time as the Tower of London and was pretty impressed that William the Conqueror had his people engineer a steel drawbridge deck.
@@allensherrill850 The post you replied to was talking about Tower bridge not London bridge. The 1800's London bridge is in Arizona, not Tower bridge lol. Tower bridge is still in London since it was built in Victorian times. The one with the two towers, Tower bridge? 😉🇬🇧
I finally learned so much!!! How modern the Tower Bridge actually is, and how similar the original London Bridge was (in concept) with the Rialto in Venice! Amazing. Thank you!
I have learned so much from this documentary, I used to cross the river regularly without a thought of the engineering that went into my ease of passage. The only bridge I use regularly now makes me pay a toll - a bit like living in the 16th century.
No Elle, The current London Bridge is as the video tells us, only the latest one of many that goes back centuries! It is only the latest one. The Bridge sold to Arizona, is the second one back. Archeologists are finding structures of long, long ago remnants of ancient foundations of bridges dating back to B.C. Times! That’s not to say that the bridge in Arizona wasn’t a witness to history. Obviously, it was. I have a idea, why don’t you do a simple Google search and discover what fascinating stories it has seen?
If you live near the old site, you really have to go and see the model of the old bridge in the Church of Magnus The Martyr. The Church is gorgeous too 😃
My great-great-grandfather John Plews was an engineer on the bridge transported to Arizona. His obituary from the Institute of Engineers is on the internet. Apparently, it was constructed by Jollif and Banks.
@@andrew6978 Googling out of curiosity I see there is an All Fool's Day, April 1st 2010 article from the Daily Mail which reports the sale of Tower Bridge to a different US millionaire from McConnell, the purchaser of London Bridge. In the spoof article McConell is quoted as saying that at least someone has the right bridge this time, as that was what he thought he was buying. That might be the start of the "urban myth", although 2010 seems so recent, I'm sure I heard the story long before that.
@@christopherseton-smith7404 "MAY 6, 1983: Grelle White talks to Ivan Luckin about his money-spinning ways with old City bridges There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the Americans thought they were getting Tower Bridge when they bought London Bridge! The nagging suspicion was firmly quashed when we visited the man who sold London Bridge, Mr Ivan Luckin, at his Chorleywood home. "Of course not" thundered Mr Luckin with the sort of authority you expect in a City man."
During a long trip to Arizona on a summer vacation my family and I had seen Remy's New London Bridge and to be honest with you it was as beautiful and magnificent as this man describes. However I felt as though London lost a great treasure and should have never lost it to begin with ; When I saw the bridge its details looked worn down by high wind water and sand. I only hope this treasure doesn't dissolve over time with the very hot unpredictable Arizona whether.
It was post-WW2. Britain was in massive debt from WW1 and WW2. Other countries in Europe signed up with the US Marshall plan but had to give up territories (colonies) around the world. Britain had made commitments to people and places like Hong Kong and the Falklands and money/security to be had controlling places like Gibraltar. Britain was barely holding on right up until the 90's. In 1997 Britain paid off WW2 and in the 2000's Britain paid off WW1 (more expensive and bigger debt.) Meanwhile other parts of Europe relied on financially more on the US. Britain had to let go of the large colonies, but kept promises to the small, more vulnerable places that voted to stay with Britain. It meant having to keep a standing army and navy at a time when the rest of Europe abandoned the notion in order to get back on their feet. All this to say, if someone wanted to buy London Bridge, Britain sells London Bridge. If someone had enough money to buy Tower Bridge, Britain wasn't in a position to refuse if it was for more money that it would cost to build it and put a dent in Britain's debt. When you're in serious debt, you do whatever it takes to pay it off.
@@runningfromabear8354 can you answer this then, if Britain wasn't so much that then why was another Bridge built? Where did the money for that bridge come from?
@@valenciacarlin2357 To the best of my knowledge it was cheaper to build a new bridge from the proceeds of selling the original bridge and use the money left over for other things.
The 1831 London bridge was not strong enough for the vast amounts of traffic in modern times (1960's). It was originally built for only horse & carts to use. The decision was made to build a newer stronger bridge built 1962. Nothing to do with having to sell the bridge because of Britain's financial situation whatsoever! 🇬🇧
OMG! we all learned the nursery rhyme as babies. I never knew till now that it is actually a political narrative and protest against official corruption and malfeasance! Nothing ever changes it seems. I wonder who will write the nursery rhymes of our day? LOL
Another nursery rhyme about England is "Ring Around The Rosie". The original rhyme is, "Ring-a-ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies, A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down." The "ring-a-ring-a-roses" refers to the red rash from the plague. A "pocketful of posies" were the "medical" measures used to combat the plague. "A-tishoo, A-tishoo" are the sneezing symptoms. And "we all fall down" refers to the people falling down dead. Some nursery rhymes are pretty dark.
@@kerrijill7442 This is complete nonsense - sneezing was not a symptom of plague and this 'interpretation' of the nursery rhyme was made up by academics as a joke in the sixties.
@@billythedog-309 I have read that sneezing may have been one of the first signs before the outbreak of boils and pustules on the skin, and if fever and chills may be amongst the signs of bubonic plague I can see sneezing occurring as a corollary.
@@christopherseton-smith7404 Even if that were so, which it isn't, does that make the nursery rhyme ring a ring a roses a commentary on bubonic plague? lf so there should be some evidence of this interpretation from several hundred years ago i.e. before it was invented in the sixties.
@@sarasarah1810 your a bit of an idiot. in the south white people are maybe 90 percent from britain and in the north its maybe 10 percent. dont have a good night.
London Bridge is also a bridge in the USA: London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was originally built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. The bridge was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London in 1968. It was moved from London to Arizona and rebuilt brick-by-brick.
I walked to work in the city over that bridge, past the fire monument past Billingsgate towards the Tower, then a few more turns to Northumberlad Alley EC 3. London was very beautiful in those days, then came the greed of the 80's and 90's, and POW! gone was the magnificent Wren skyline.
I loved this video. Thank you for making it. I really enjoyed it! I wish someone would cover all the bridges in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the way you have covered London bridges. Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice. Many of the buildings are built on bridges!
Thanks for sharing this, just fantastic. Whenever historians talk about some objects being offerings made by people to a god or gods.....I’ve just never been convinced. Given that we have no written information or evidence, I do not the speculation etc. I’m just not convinced. That said, the comparison alluded to here of a Hindu festivals that involve making offerings to the Ganga several times a year is intriguing. Thanks again for sharing this program, much appreciated 🙂🐿.
I love this channel and these documentaries. I am, however, saddened by the fact that a couple of my favourites (Britain's Bloody Crown among them) are no longer available to be viewed here in Canada.
Probably crying over the fact that he’s missing that cup from his crown derby set at home. My grandmother loved her crown derby. She got it when she was married in 1936
[quote] people whom wish they had what it takes to live in London [/quote] Namely, the money it takes to pay the totally insane rent payments and cost of living. 😜 --No offense.
@@DoubleMrE, I back you on the rent prices: but cost of living...? I just got a CARRIER BAG full of strawberries for £1 and 3 cucumbers for 50p. I was tempted by a kilo of blueberries @ £1, a large punnet of nice grapes for 60p and 16 bananas for £1, but just didn't need them...High cost of living in London is a myth.
@Ted thesailor Yeah, I guess that's not bad. To tell the truth, the cost of living where I live IS high (Honolulu), so maybe I shouldn't complain about that. lol.
Why am I, an Alabama woman who will probably never see London in person, watching this documentary for the THIRD time? I just really love it, can't explain why.
very much like & unlike London, the millennial bridge, with its shape, really reminds me of (or rather evokes the image of) that first processional walkway of timber and reeds, 3500 years ago, at the start of the iron age...
Absolutely fantastic documentary. Over 3000 years of history. Fantastic city. Fascinating periods of history. Remember how awesome you are England. Perhaps now in 2023 the English and celts should be referred to as First Nation people and protected.
Tower bridge had a footbridge put on top so Londoners could still cross while the vacuoles were open , but hardly anyone used it because they would rather stand at the bottom , wait and watch it working. It distracted the very people who it was stopping from going about their business and they all loved it.. Travel to today , and it's going to take " London " 6 years to repair Waterloo bridge that took the Victorians 3 years to build. The Army could take that down and rebuild it in 6 weeks.
Fascinating, isn’t it, that such building could make large strides backwards. So much for technology and modern times. How much better off are we really, in those measures.
The walkway above tower bridge is still there & indeed open to the Public. You pay a fee to walk across it. It has a section of the floor made of glass, therefore peering down to the road below. 🇬🇧
Have a picture I took of this bridge when I visited London many years ago. It was displayed on my desk. One day a couple of gentlemen came in to see my boss. They noticed the picture and one of them remarked "Look. That's a picture of London Bridge". I immediately corrected him by stating that London Bridge was currently located in Lake Havasu, Arizona and that the picture was of Tower Bridge still located in London.
The 1831 version yes, a new London bridge stands in its place in London. The old one was taken down & sold in the 1960's because it wouldn't bear the weight of the vast amount of traffic in the 60's & for the future. The one in the Usa was originally built for horses & carts only. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
Great documentary! Thanks for posting. Are there any surviving bridges today, like the old London bridge, where people actually live on the bridge? Thanks again!
@@scotty20040 Thanks so much for letting me know. George R.R. Martin has a bridge called the "Long Bridge" in his series "The Song of Ice and Fire." He undoubtedly based it on the old London Bridge.
