Episodes

6 episodes in this season

Severn Valley Railway

45 min

Yorkshire Saw Mill

45 min

Victorian Seaside Resort

45 min

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Newcomen Beam Engine

45 min

Brixham Sailing Trawler

45 min

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

45 min

How Britain Worked

TV Series

201245m7.8

Documentary

Now playing

Newcomen Beam Engine

Season 1 · Episode 4 · Nov 11, 2012

In this edition Guy's project is the first piston engine ever built. The Newcomen Beam Engine was the first practical device to harness the power of steam and kick-started the Industrial Revolution by allowing coal mining to operate on an industrial scale. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and Europe, principally to pump water out of mines, thereby allowing coal mining to go deeper and operate on a scale never before envisaged. If Guy and the restoration team at the Black Country museum can restore their Beam Engine to full working order it will be the only working example of this ground-breaking technology in the world. Success would mean witnessing the glorious sight of one the Industrial Revolution's most impressive inventions running again just as it first did 300 Years ago. Guy helps replace the rotting timber structure above the shaft, restore the worn parts and clean the boiler and he makes fire bricks the Victorian way to re-build crumbling brickwork around the engine. Meanwhile he learns about the lives of the men women and children who went down the mines to dig for coal. Joined by his girlfriend Steph, Guy heads deep underground to dig for coal and experience the almost impossible conditions that miners worked in.

More details

How Britain Worked

TV Series

201245m7.8

Documentary

Now playing

Newcomen Beam Engine

Season 1 · Episode 4 · Nov 11, 2012

More details