The fifth episode of the fifth series of ‘Grundy’s Wonders’ produced by Tyne Tees Television and written and presented by architectural historian and broadcaster John Grundy. Having spent much of the series asking the viewer to look up, is this week’s programme John asks them to look down and admire what is beneath their feet. Travelling across the Northeast and North Yorkshire John finds both good and bad examples of pavements, roads, gutters as well walking across historic mosaic tiled...

The fifth episode of the fifth series of ‘Grundy’s Wonders’ produced by Tyne Tees Television and written and presented by architectural historian and broadcaster John Grundy. Having spent much of the series asking the viewer to look up, is this week’s programme John asks them to look down and admire what is beneath their feet. Travelling across the Northeast and North Yorkshire John finds both good and bad examples of pavements, roads, gutters as well walking across historic mosaic tiled floors and village cobblestones. Presenter John Grundy kneels on the ground touching a cobbled pavement and states that in this programme he will give the low-down on the marvellous variety of flooring beneath our feet. An animation of a book with its pages turning revealing different buildings and architectural styles ending on presenter John Grundy holding the programmes title card. Title: Grundy’s Wonders As he walks through the suburb of Gosforth in Newcastle where her lives, John looks up and around at the architecture surrounding him. Turning onto the high street past a branch of ‘Wine Rack’ he comments that he often runs into people who tell him that he has encouraged them to look up to see what is above all the shop fronts near where they live. As he continues his journey along the high street he comically bumps into various street objects such as bollards and pedestrian crossing before stating that sometimes you have to keep an eye on the ground and see where you’re putting your feet. A montage of various types of flooring that will feature in the programme is followed by John sitting on a bench near the corner of The Grove and Moor Road North in Newcastle where he explains that he likes to go for strolls around the streets near his home to help him come up for ideas for programmes, but as this programme is about the ground that we walk on these walks can become depressing experience. Walking up to himself sitting on the bench John expresses his anger at the poor state of many roads and pavements even in this well-to-do area of the city. Leaning against a litter bin outside Gosforth Central Park John complains about the street cleaners who come along his street and don’t clear the litter from his gutter, as he talks litter on the pavement inside the park. Walking past a street utility cover John complains about the poor workmanship that went into re-sealing it into the pavement. A montage of traffic moving across various road markings around the centre of Newcastle. As John asks if we have lost the ability to design decent quality street furniture examples of what he is referring to with railings, lampstands and litter bins with him complaining about us being surrounded by so much visual mess. A second montage of various street signs changes to John walking around a small roundabout in Gosforth complaining once more about the tattiness of it all and decides that he has no choice but to crush it under ‘Grundy’s Great Boot of History.’ As he steps away an animation of a giant boot coming down and crushing the roundabout. On another one of his strolls John walks along a treelined alleyway promising not to be grumpy anymore in this programme. He comes to a pelican crossing and as he waits for the lights to change isn’t critical of the modern bobbled paving slabs designed to help disabled users as he believes it is a sign that one thing isn’t getting worse. Arriving at Highbury in West Jesmond, one of his favourite streets of late Victorian townhouses overlooking the Town Moor, he walks along it admiring its unusual floorscape being made from what he believes to be massive slaps of Northumbrian sandstone which is very odd as cheaper concrete alternative were available at the time. He moves onto talk about the curb stones made from Aberdeen granite and which line many Victorian streets across Britain. Standing outside one of the spacious terraced houses John believes it isn’t just him who loves these pavements; the owners of these houses also do. A montage follows of various different types of pavements that have been laid leading from the street to the front door of the property. Leaning against a streetlamp John explains his love for iron drain covers. In the street beside him one of said drain covers which as well as giving a makes name, Smith Patterson & Co Ltd, also the year of the street construction 1901, a good year for iron John believes. Again, another montage of other drain covers in the area as well as other iron objects including a street drain and a Royal Mail post box. Standing in the road John confesses a love even sadder than drain covers, road surfaces. He talks about the main road with he describes as fat, smooth and luxurious while looking down the side street he admires the colours of the old road which is pink stone quarried locally at Alwinton in the Northumbrian Cheviot Hills. Checking his watch he confessions to many more surfaces left to show in the second part of the programme. Title: Grundy’s Wonders End of Part One Part Two A montage around the village of Aldborough just outside Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire ends on John sitting on a bench under a tree on the village green. He asks the viewer to look at the villages name to consider how old the place is. As he walks around the remains of the Roman town of Isurium Brigantum he explains how in AD79 a fort and later a substantial town was created to initial crush a Brigante uprising and later administer the local tribes. As the town grew it became unusually posh and where you get posh houses you get posh flooring in the form of mosaic pavements. As John follows the path to the pavilions inside which two of the twelve surviving mosaics are housed, he provides a history of their recent history having been uncovered several hundred years previous. Opening the door on the Star or Helicon Mosaic he looks down at it describing it as one of the best surviving mosaic in its original location providing details on the type of typical Roman decoration that surrounds it. Now standing beside the Capitoline Wolf Mosaic he explains that these mosaics are the most northerly examples in the whole of the Roman Empire and speculates that as there were so many of them in the town there must have been a specialist workshop. In a park in the town of Harrogate a man sits reading the paper beside a decorative flowerbed done to the design of the Union Jack. As John wonders the shopping streets, he talks about how the interest in mosaic flooring died out until the Victorian and Edwardian periods when they became popular again being used in shopfronts as they liked shiny, reflective surfaces that were durable and easy to clean. John wonders in and out of shops such as ‘J.Sutcliffe & Co’, ‘T.W. Crosby’ and ‘Madam Louis’ each an example he explains with its own unique tiled flooring which has survived undamaged for so long. Standing in the road outside John describes Byland Abbey as one of the most beautiful jewels in the neckless abbeys that grace North Yorkshire. As he begins to look around its ruin he gives a history on its construction and points out an elegant late 12th early 13th century waterleaf capitals above him on the wall. Realising the programme is about flooring he apologies to the viewer and hits rewind sending the sequence back to the beginning and him giving a second introduction to the abbey and its charming low-key grassy arrival before pointing out some of the many things to look at on the ground such as old tombstones, brass less-brass monuments and more recently Ministry of Works cast-iron signs. However, the real reason why John chose to visit Byland is to see its Medieval tiled floor at the Eastend of the building where the altar once was. While not knowing its meaning or use, he describes it to be the finest collection of Encaustic tiles in the country and is amazed by its survival. Sitting on a bench still at Byland Abbey John talks about a recent holiday to Portugal and his love of the mosaic tiled streets. Now walking through the nearby village of Coxwold he explains why ne not only likes this nonfancy and unfussy village with houses made from solid and plain local stones, he also admires the floorscape for the same unassuming reasons with grassy banks and stone used in the most beautiful range of textures. Following a montage of the various paths, gutters and driveways around the village the programme comes to an end with John talking about how an English floorscape should look like Coxwold being uncluttered and unfussy, uneven and charmingly imperfect and that definitely worth a ‘Grundy’s Wonder’. An animation of a fanfare of trumpets over the following title. Title: Grundy’s Wonders Over the closing credits a montage of some of the locations featured in this programme. Credit: Written and Presented by John Grundy Camera Simon Elphinstone, Simon Foggin, John White Sound Paul Graham, Andrew Bennett Lighting Gordon Porteous, John Mason, John Haynes Production Manager Christine Stewart-Tilling Production Assistants Karen Sharp Graphics Dave Richardson Title Music & Dubbing John Cook Editor Mark Duncan Executive Producer Jane Bolesworth Series Producer Steve Robins Title: © Tyne Tees Television 2004 End title: ITV Tyne Tees. An ITV Production