How Britain Worked

tv show

poster for How Britain Worked

6 total episodes

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1 seasons

First Aired October 21, 2012

Overview

Guy Martin celebrates the workers of the Industrial Revolution by getting stuck into six of the country's biggest restoration projects, bringing some of the 19th century's most impressive engineering achievements back to life.

tv poster

Brixham Sailing Trawler

Season 1 - Episode 5 - 1h 45m

Air Date

November 18, 2012

Overview

Guy helps restore the oldest surviving Brixham sailing trawler, the boat that launched the modern fishing industry and transformed the way a nation ate. Guy learns how the trawler's radical design saw off the competition, tries his hand at the precision joinery that made that design possible, tests his own version of an Industrial Revolution life jacket by jumping into the sea, and makes rope using the original machines that wove the ropes for Nelson's HMS Victory. He experiences deep sea trawling - said to be the most dangerous job of the 19th century - for himself, and discovers how Britain acquired its taste for fish and chips.