A House Through Time

Original version

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Series 4

Documentaries

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

The story of those who lived in one house, from the time it was built until now.

A world of history within the walls of one house. David Olusoga brings the past to life, delving deep into the lost lives of everyday Britons - under the same roof, decades apart.

Series 3

BBC Four

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

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 Four HD

David Olusoga

Mary Crisp

Zarina Dick

Paul Honey

Maxine Watson

Twenty Twenty TV

Edmund Moriarty

Mike Duly

A House Through Time: Series 3: Episode 4

Episode 4

BBC Two - A House Through Time, Series 3, Episode 4

David Olusoga traces the house’s history through the Bristol Blitz to its current glory.

David investigates the house’s history from World War II to the present, discovering tales of mystery and crime, before seeing the house renewed in the 21st century.

The final episode of the series sees David tracing the lives of 10 Guinea Street’s occupants through World War II to the present day, discovering stories of love, loss and renewal.

In the run-up to the war, the house is occupied by the younger generation of the Wallingtons, the long-term owners of number 10, who move back to the house after several years living in the rural Somerset. The Wallingtons are letting rooms to lodgers when war is declared in 1939 and would have sheltered in their cellar as German bombs rain down on Bristol. Over the ten months of the Bristol Blitz, the old city is devastated and 3,000 houses destroyed. Number 10 itself is almost among them, as a bomb falls directly on Guinea Street, only missing the house by a whisker. 

Amongst the casualties of the blast is Isaac Long, a neighbour living further down the road at 5 Guinea Street. As David discovers, Isaac and his wife Mary move into number 10 when the bombing renders their house uninhabitable. David follows the Longs’ trail into the fifties, when Isaac and Mary move out of number 10 to another house in Guinea Street.

David then sets out to investigate the postwar tenants of number 10. Amongst them he finds a man named Cyril Tabrett, whose story proves to be something of a puzzle. The records of Cyril’s life show different dates of birth, places of birth and different combinations of first and second names. Is this a mistake of record-keeping or a deliberate attempt by Cyril to change his identity?

David’s attention turns next to the Wallingtons, the owners of 10 Guinea Street since the late 1880s. By the 1950s, four family members still live here - siblings Cyril, Norris, Hilda and Winifred Wallington, now well into middle age. He is unable to find any children or any living relatives who can provide detailed information about them. But he does discover a former tenant of the house who remembers a Mr Wallington living in the basement.

By the late 1960s, the house is in a serious state of neglect, and it takes a series of careful owners before the house is restored to its former glory. David meets a selection of more recent residents, from a young man recovering from a serious car accident to a refugee fleeing political unrest in Ethiopia. Finally, he asks the current owners, Karen and David, to listen to the stories of some of the former occupants of Guinea Street, and to reflect on the extraordinary 300-year history of 10 Guinea Street.

A House Through Time: Series 3

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.

David Olusoga traces the lives of the residents of an 18th-century house in Bristol.

David Olusoga traces the lives of the residents of an 18th-century house in Bristol, discovering extraordinary stories ranging from a runaway slave to a World War II fraudster.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

A House Through Time

Series 3

Episode 4

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Two Northern Ireland

About BBC Two