Six English Towns (1978), Six More English Towns (1981) and Another Six English Towns (1984) are three television documentary series presented by architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor for BBC Two. In the series, Clifton-Taylor visits an English town and discusses its history and architectural character, with a particular focus on the building materials.
A writer on architecture, Clifton-Taylor came to television late in life. He was introduced by his friend Nikolaus Pevsner to BBC arts producer John Drummond who was planning a series on British architecture called Spirit of the Age. Drummond asked Clifton-Taylor to present the first episode about medieval English architecture, which was broadcast in October 1975.
Based on the success of this episode, Clifton-Taylor was teamed with producer Denis Moriarty to present a series of studies of English towns, discussing the genius loci similar to his chapters in Pevsner's Buildings of England and the AA Touring Guide to England. The Radio Times stated that the initial six towns were chosen "based not so much on the historical appeal of a fine cathedral, a castle or a church but the range and quality of the ordinary domestic houses and the use made of the traditional building materials of England - stone, brick, wood and plaster." Clifton-Taylor said "I'd like every programme to be an exercise in looking."
Episodes Three series were made in total; series 1 episodes were 30 minute in duration, series 2 episodes were extended to 40 minutes, but returned to 30 for series 3.
Series 1 and 2 feature the final movement of Thomas Arne's Symphony No. 2 in F major as their title music (which Clifton-Taylor later chose as one of his Desert Island Discs), series 3 has an original score composed by Jim Parker.
Series 1 - Six English Towns Episode No. Subject UK Broadcast Date 1 Chichester, West Sussex 4 August 1978Radio Times, Genome Project2 Richmond, North Yorkshire 11 August 1978Radio Times, Genome Project3 Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire 18 August 1978Radio Times, Genome Project4 Stamford, Lincolnshire 25 August 1978Radio Times, Genome Project5 Totnes, Devon 1 September 1978Radio Times, Genome Project6 Ludlow, Shropshire 8 September 1978Radio Times, Genome Project
Series 2 - Six More English Towns Episode No. Subject UK Broadcast Date1 Warwick, Warwickshire 15 September 1981Radio Times, Genome Project 2 Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland 22 September 1981Radio Times, Genome Project3 Saffron Walden, Essex 29 September 1981Radio Times, Genome Project 4 Lewes, East Sussex 6 October 1981Radio Times, Genome Project5 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire 13 October 1981Radio Times, Genome Project6 Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire 20 October 1981Radio Times, Genome Project
Series 3 - Another Six English Towns Episode No. Subject UK Broadcast Date 1 Cirencester, Gloucestershire 9 September 1984Radio Times, Genome Project2 Whitby, North Yorkshire 16 September 1984Radio Times, Genome Project3 Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 23 September 1984Radio Times, Genome Project4 Devizes, Wiltshire 30 September 1984Radio Times, Genome Project5 Sandwich, Kent 7 October 1984Radio Times, Genome Project6 Durham, County Durham 14 October 1984Radio Times, Genome Project
Reviews Architectural writer Jonathan Glancey cites them as a formative influence for his passion for architecture: "It wouldn't work today. A lovely old duffer in a Viyella shirt, tweed jacket and wobbly hat pottering about six small English towns with a camera crew in tow and speaking quietly of their simple virtues...I still think these programmes are some of the best made on architecture, buildings and places, because I learned so much from them, liked their lack of pretension, their quiet passion and Clifton-Taylor's great ability as a communicator."
Media releases Each series was accompanied by its own book, and DVDs of the three series were released in 2016 and 2017. A box set of the three series was released 5 November 2018, entitled Six English Towns The Complete Collection and includes a discussion between John Julius Norwich and Alec Clifton-Taylor called In Search of the Spirit of the age shown before the BBC2 repeat of the series Spirit of the Age in May 1976. Producer Denis Moriarty provided a new commentary on the episodes about Chichester, Saffron Walden and Cirencester.
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