The Unofficial Website for Tony Robinson

Time Team: Series 16, 2008 - Click on the links below for the different programmes.
The Trouble with Temples - Friars Wash
The Wedding Present - Scargill Castle
Heroes' Hill - Knockdhu
Toga Town - Caerwent
Blood, Sweat and Beers - Risehill
Buried Bishops and Belfries - Salisbury
Anarchy in the UK - Radcot
Mystery of the Ice Cream Villa - Colworth
Hermit Harbour - Looe
Called to the Bar - Lincoln's Inn
Beacon of the Fens - Warboys
The Hollow Way - Ulnaby
Skeletons in the Shed - Blythburgh

Buried Bishops and Belfries - Salisbury

This week the Team try to recreate how the seminal structure of Salisbury Cathedral and its surroundings looked during the time of one of its most colourful bishops - Richard Beauchamp who resided there in the 15th century.

They take a close look at the ornate chancery chapel he built for himself and uncover the original bell tower - the stand alone building that supported the original spire to the north of the cathedral.

The bell tower was built at the same time and by the same people who constructed the cathedral and by investigating it the Team try to learn more about how the cathedral was engineered.

Fo Tony, the dig is a chance for him to return to a town he'd visited often as a child.
He said: "One of my earliest holiday images is of this cathedral and the landscape. A lot of my family come from The Collingbournes, and I was always in and out of Salisbury on holiday as a kid.
But apart from anything else, it is such a magnificent cathedral and of course as a southern Englander it's the capital of England as far as I'm concerned."

In 2000, an evaluation of Beauchamp's chapel revealed some leg bones, apparently in situ, so as part of the excavation, the Team reveal the full skeleton and try to establish if these are the remains of Bishop Beauchamp.

Click on an image to see a bigger picture. All images are copyright and not to be reproduced in any way without prior permission.
Quicktime VR 360 degree Panorama's: To view these requires Quicktime - download free from Apple
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