History of lighthouses with demands, and to the loss of a number of ships, most notably the Dutch merchant ship Vreede in 1800 with the loss of 380 lives. After the reforms of the Lighthouse Act 1836, owners still managed to collect large dues, of which the largest were for the Smalls Lighthouse which collected £23,000 in 1852 and Trinity House was forced to spend over £1m in buying back leases, including £444,000 for the Skerries Lighthouse. The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, as lighthouse construction boomed in lockstep with burgeoning levels of transatlantic commerce. Advances
Battlefield Britain of Britain and the RAF's struggle to prevent a Nazi invasion in the darkest days of World War II when Britain stood alone. It looks at the incredible feats of "The Few" who saw off the Luftwaffe. Battlefield Britain Battlefield Britain is a 2004 BBC television documentary series about famous battles in the history of Great Britain. From Boudicca's destructive rebellion against the Romans to the incredible feats of "The Few" who saw off the Luftwaffe, these battles all had wide-reaching consequences and implications for the future of the British isles. The series is presented by father and son team