Portillo's Hidden History of Britain

A compelling and evocative history of Britain through the stories of its ‘lost’ or abandoned buildings, published to tie in with Channel 5’s series of the same name. Abandoned prisons, closed-down cinemas, empty hospitals and derelict military bases ... there is a wealth of crumbling buildings across Britain; untouched for decades and frozen in time. Why has an entire village in Wiltshire, completely deserted in 1943, been left vacant ever since? How did a military hospital in Aldershot become the birthplace of plastic surgery? In Portillo’s Hidden History of Britain, his captivating companion to the Channel 5 series, Michael Portillo combines the skills of historian and detective as he investigates some of Britain’s most interesting ‘lost’ buildings. Themes covered include crime and punishment, health and medicine, defence and warfare, and entertainment and leisure. Through his own rigorous investigations, archival research and contributor interviews, Portillo tells us what these many intriguing buildings were used for and by whom, why they were abandoned, and what they can reveal to us about our past. Evocative and authoritative, and filled with fascinating insights and observations, Portillo’s narrative provides a compelling and original perspective on Britain’s social and military history.