Original version

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC One

BBC Four

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC Four HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Reel History of Britain

Melvyn Bragg

Dympna Jackson

Ruth Pitt

Reel History of Britain: Episode 14: Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

Factual: History

Episode 14

Episode 14: Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

BBC Two - Reel History of Britain, Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

A look back at the 1930s and how unmechanised rural life in Britain used to be.

Archive footage telling the history of modern Britain. A look back to the 1930s when mechanisation started to change the face of the countryside.

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, and tell the history of modern Britain. 

This episode comes from the Museum of Kent Life and looks back to the 1930s. This was a time when British farming was on the brink of mechanisation, a move which would change the face of the countryside forever. 

Gerry Smith paints a vivid picture of the tough but satisfying life he led as a young farmworker in the 1930s and the sadness he felt when his beloved horses were replaced by machines. Jonathan Dimbleby explains what the arrival of machines meant for the countryside, and John Reeves-Vane shows Melvyn how unmechanised rural life in Britain used to be.

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

A showcase of British life in the 20th century told via film archive and viewers' memories

Presented by Melvyn Bragg, a social history of 20th-century Britain. Fascinating stories of how people worked and lived, via viewers' personal memories and rare film archive.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Reel History of Britain

Episode 14: Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

Contributors

Genres

Series

BBC Two HD

About BBC Two