Professor Huttons Curiosities

History Documentary hosted by Ronald Hutton, published by UKTV in 2012 - English narration


Information
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Professor Hutton's Curiosities
Britain has a rich history of museums, but there are many full of history and curious objects that are not so well so known. Most of these 'secret' Museums are housed in small buildings, tucked away from the mainstream in hidden corners of our cities. The brand new and exclusive 12-part series takes viewers on a journey with enthusiastic academic and historian, Professor Ronald Hutton, to the unsung gems of British museums. Each episode features a different museum that is bursting with little known history. Professor Hutton visits little known places all over the country, including the Magic Circle museum; the Grant museum of Zoology, which houses a fascinating and macabre Victorian skeletons and remains in jars; Pollock's Toy museum; and Egyptian mummies inside the Petrie Museum.



10)  Kew Bridge Steam Museum 
The Kew Bridge Steam Museum is next for Professor Hutton. The Kew Bridge Pumping Station was originally opened in 1838 by the Grand Junction Waterworks Company to pump millions of gallons of water from the Thames into homes across West London. The steam engines were retired from service in 1944, and the museum opened in 1973. Today the site and its huge steam powered engines, remains an internationally recognised museum of steam pumping, and great Victorian engineering. The men whom run these leviathans of steam are called engine drivers, and one of them, Clive Penfold, shows Professor Hutton around.

11)  Brunel Museum 
Located in historic Rotherhithe, the Brunel Museum is on the site of the Thames Tunnel, the first tunnel under a river anywhere in the world, and the only project which both Brunels, father Marc and son Isambard, worked on together. It's a fascinating story of drama, farce, ingenuity, and tragedy so typical of the great Victorian engineering projects. In the end, it nearly bankrupted Brunel, and damn near killed him too. But, in 1843, Londoners were finally able to walk under the Thames for the first time. Never short on hyperbole, the Victorians called the tunnel, the Eighth Wonder of the World. Today the Tunnel is used by the East London Line and closed to the public, but the original entrance shaft is still accessible and the Museum itself is housed in Marc Brunels original Engine House. Its curator, Robert Hulse, shows Professor Hutton around. The Cuming Museum, also in South London, is a curious collection on the ground floor of Walworth Town Hall, just a stone's throw from the famous Elephant and Castle roundabout. It's a century or so's collection of curiosities of the wealthy Cuming Family including archaeology, ethnography, social history and natural history from around the world. Some have even called it 'a mini British Museum'.

12)  The Horniman Museum 
The Horniman Museum was founded by Frederick John Horniman in 1901, who had inherited his father's tea business. The cash from the business allowed him to indulge his lifelong passion for travelling and collecting. The result was an initial collection of some 30,000 items, ranging from natural history, and cultural artefacts to ancient Egypt. This has now grown to over 350,000 items and the largest community museum in the country. The main part of the museum is the Natural history hall, with all manner of stuffed animals staring back from their glass coffins. There are ostriches, giant fish, crocodiles and wild cats, and one huge, stuffed, Walrus. The Horniman Museum also has one of the oldest aquariums in the country, with a charming array is displays including British river life, ponds, coral, and jellyfish. Its part Natural History museum, part British Museum and part V&A, with a small Sea Life centre thrown in. Museum guide Kathryn Leung shows Professor Hutton around.

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Technical Specs
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 * Video: Codec: x264 CABAC [email protected]
 * Video: Bitrate: 1338 Kbps
 * Video: Aspect Ratio: 1.778 (16:9)
 * Video: Resolution: 832 x 468
 * Audio: Codec: AAC LC
 * Audio: Bitrate: 160 Kbps CBR 48KHz
 * Audio: Channels: stereo (2/0)
 * Audio: English
 * Run-Time: 25mins
 * Framerate: 25fps
 * Number of Parts: 12
 * Part Size: 210 MB
 * Container: mp4
 * Source: PDTV
 * Encoded by: Harry65



Links
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1)  Further Information 
http://realscreen.com/2013/04/18/yesterday-lines-up-professor-huttons-curiosities/