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Britain's First Photo Album

BBC TV Series on Frith

Britain's First Photo Album with John Sergeant
Britain's First Photo Album is a ten-part BBC series presented by John Sergeant on the extraordinary achievement of Francis Frith, the pioneer Victorian photographer who embarked upon a colossal project to photograph the United Kingdom during the 19th century.

Britain's First Photo Album Series Preview

Britain's First Photo Album follows John Sergeant as he retraces Frith's photographic journey through history, hoping to find the exact spots where forty photographs from The Francis Frith Collection were taken and then take his own pictures, capturing the mood of the place as it is now.

Frith's poignant photographs are further brought to life in a series of interviews as John Sergeant meets people living or working in the same places today, who tell their stories as they work to keep Britain's social and industrial heritage alive.

Watch on BBC2 every weekday, starting Friday 5th April at 2.15pm.

Britain's First Photo Album

Watch on Monday at 6.30 - Britain's First Photo Album

Episode 1 Newport to Gloucester
John Sergeant travels from Newport to Gloucester, learns about the restoration of Monmouthshire's canals, explores the caves under the Forest of Dean, and discovers how Britain's first state schools came into being.

Browse photos of: Newport | Forest of Dean | Gloucester

Watch on Tuesday at 6.30 - Britain's First Photo Album

Episode 2 Liverpool to Blackpool
John Sergeant meets members of a Liverpool photographic society that traces its roots back to Victorian photographer Francis Frith. He also visits one of the world's first shopping malls in Bolton, and discovers how Blackpool grew into one of Britain's favourite holiday destinations.

Browse photos of: Liverpool | Bolton | Blackpool

Watch on Wednesday at 6.30 - Britain's First Photo Album

Episode 3 Stirling to Falkirk
John Sergeant continues his journey in the footsteps of Victorian photographer Francis Frith. He visits a remarkable steamship in the western Highlands that has been transporting passengers for more than a century, observes the restoration work carried out at Stirling Castle and tries his hand at traditional Scottish baking.

Browse photos of: Stirling | Falkirk

Watch on Thursday at 6.30 - Britain's First Photo Album

Episode 4 Hartlepool to Whitby
John Sergeant's journey continues along the north-east coast of England and begins in Hartlepool, Co Durham, where he searches for a missing rock formation. He then heads to North Yorkshire, visiting Saltburn-by-the-Sea and ending his trip in Whitby, where he meets the descendants of a family photographed by Francis Frith.

Browse photos of: Hartlepool | Saltburn-by-the-Sea | Whitby

Watch on Friday at 6.30 - Britain's First Photo Album

Episode 5 Chesterfield to Eyam
John Sergeant travels to Derbyshire, where he visits Francis Frith's home town of Chesterfield and ascends the famous twisted spire. He also explores a medieval country house near Bakewell and enjoys a flutter at the races in Nottingham. Last in the series.

Browse photos of: Chesterfield | Bakewell | Eyam

Britain's First Photo Album - Companion Book to the TV series

Contents of Britain's First Photo Album companion book Published especially to accompany the TV series, this 320 page full colour book contains scenes and stories from each of the programmes plus a lot of fascinating additional information and photographs from the Collection.

A great present for anyone who has enjoyed the TV series!

Example spread from Britain's First Photo Album companion book Example spread from Britain's First Photo Album companion book Example spread from Britain's First Photo Album companion book

This is no stuffy history book, but a colourful and entertaining title crammed full with evocative historical photos from The Francis Frith Collection of places all around Britain as they appeared in the 19th century, combined with modern colour photos taken by John Sergeant inspired by the locations as they are now. The historical photographs are brought to life in a series of fascinating interviews as John Sergeant meets people living or working in the same places today, who tell their stories as they work to keep Britain's heritage alive.

See more Information and and order your copy of Britain's First Photo Album

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