Series Information
Episode 6 – Twickenham
Showing Times
In each programme our duo are called in to solve the hidden history of a house, no matter how big or small, old or new.
Dr Nick Barratt is our archive specialist. Dr Jonathan Foyle is our architectural historian and archaeologist.
Jonathan and Nick investigate "Heath Villa", Kevin and Patricia's mock Tudor house.
"Heath Villa" is situated in the middle of a Victorian Street, and was originally part of the grounds of Twickenham House. The owners would like to find out how old their house is, and whether there was there was any truth in the local rumour that there was a fence made of swords from the Battle of Culloden in their garden.
Jonathan investigates the outside of the house for clues about it's history and finds some dark-red brickwork, lime mortar and blocked up windows all of which date the building to the eighteenth century.
Jonathan persuades Kevin to let him dig up the garden and unearths a piece of metal that suggests the rumour about the fence of swords may in fact have some truth in it.
Nick finds some newspaper cuttings and a painting of Heath Villa, at Richmond Reference Library, which help him to connect the sword fence to the house, and enables Jonathan to make yet another discovery - the house was once an Orangery.
