''Britain's Best Buildings'' was a BBC documentary series in which the TV presenter and architectural historian Dan Cruickshank discussed his selection of the finest examples of British

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

. It was first broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

from 2 to 23 November 2002, and returned on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

from 5 May to 2 June 2004.

Episode list

Series one

#''

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close ...

'' 2 November 2002 #'' Blenheim Palace'' 9 November 2002 #''

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of ...

'' 16 November 2002 #''

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

'' 23 November 2002

Series two

#''

Harlech Castle Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 ...

'' 5 May 2004 #''

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

'' 12 May 2004 #'' Hardwick Hall'' 19 May 2004 #''

The Circus, Bath The Circus is a historic ring of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, forming a circle with three entrances. Designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1769, and is regarded as a pre-emin ...

'' 26 May 2004 #''

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder i ...

'' 2 June 2004 Edited editions of the Palace of Westminster edition (ranging from 5–15 minutes) are often shown on the

BBC Parliament BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees of the British Parliament, the Scottish Parliame ...

channel, when live coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords, committees etc. ends early, before the beginning of the next programme. These edited editions are used to fill the gaps. The

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

channel Yesterday frequently repeats the series. However the episodes are shown in an edited 46 minute format to allow for commercials.

Companion book

The 2002 companion book to the series, also written by Cruickshank, covers the four buildings featured in the first series along with four additional buildings; these are Holyroodhouse,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

;

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

; Midland Grand Hotel,

St Pancras station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; and Highpoint I, London.

Selected editions

* *

External links

* *
Britain's Best Buildings
' BBC press release *
Choosing Britain's Best Buildings
'' by Dan Cruickshank at BBC History
Building Styles Gallery
at BBC History * 2002 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British documentary television series BBC television documentaries about history Documentary television series about architecture English-language television shows Documentary television series about art Television shows about British architecture {{UK-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub