(Channel 5), a new two-part series in which he visits six of the nation’s most beautiful buildings. You may remember a similar show, hosted by Tony Robinson. Now, Robinson is a knowledgeable fellow, but I think he would concede that he never achieved heartthrob status.
” (Evening Standard), “the dashing old Etonian vicar” (Tatler), “tall, charismatic and every bit as poshly diffident-and-handsome as Hugh Grant in his prime” (this very newspaper).
It turns out that Allerton is a TV natural. It’s difficult to believe that this is his first presenting role, so assured is he in front of the camera. And when he raves about the architecture or listens as an expert talks him through historical events, his enthusiasm feels genuine.
and his trusty copies of Bradshaw’s Guide.
At St Paul’s, he learned that Sir Christopher Wren’s “Great Model” for the cathedral did not impress members of the church commission, who wanted a smaller dome and a taller spire. Wren duly revised the design according to their wishes, then went ahead and did his own thing anyway. “It helped that he outlived most of the people on the original commission,” as St Paul’s head of collections put it. In Canterbury (“the mother church”) he stood at the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered.
Visiting Salisbury, he was shown the bore hole and dipping stick used to check the water table several times a day, as the cathedral is built on a flood plain and its foundations are less than four feet deep. The language was a little repetitive – “incredible”, “stunning”, “wow” – but that only added to the sense that Allerton was speaking from the heart and not reciting a script. Channel 5 will do well to hang on to him.
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