Yet this is a world that until recently has never been properly explored by the one medium best able to introduce its secrets to an audience of millions - television.

That’s why a few years ago an idea was born to create a series of one-hour programmes that - in collaboration with organisations like the National Trust and English Heritage - would capture forever the treasures of our historic buildings and gardens on video.

Broadcaster Nigel Farrell - best known for his successful prime-time documentaries for BBC and ITV such as COUNTRY HOUSE, THE VILLAGE and COPSHOP - joined forces with veteran cameraman David Bowerman who’s worked on dozens of top TV shows like BLUE PETER , WATCHDOG and TOMORROW’S WORLD to form Tadpole Lane Productions, based appropriately in the ancient county town of Winchester in Hampshire.

Their first production was THE TREASURE HOUSES OF ENGLAND, narrated by the award-winning actor Tom Conti, which features ten of England’s most famous stately homes and country houses like Warwick Castle, Chatsworth and Leeds Castle, and the magnificent art collections, antiques and furniture they contain. It was instantly a hugely popular video with visitors to the sites and, like most of the productions that followed, Tadpole Lane agreed that the BBC should be allowed restrictive, edited broadcasts, along with international sales to broadcasters around the world, which created a much wider interest.

Tadpole Lane then formed an alliance with the National Trust, beginning with TREASURES OF THE TRUST narrated by the actor Robert Hardy and featuring many of the Trust’s most famous sites like Powis Castle, Stourhead and St. Michael’s Mount. Later Tadpole Lane linked up with the well-known gardening broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh to produce a series of one-hour videos GARDENS OF THE NATIONAL TRUST. These now form the basis for Tadpole Lane’s exclusive range of videos called THE NATIONAL TRUST VIDEO COLLECTION. Other prestigious alliances followed - Tadpole Lane has exclusively produced two videos for English Heritage, THE SPIRIT OF ENGLAND VOLS. 1 & 2, BRILLIANT GARDENS, which includes such world- famous botanical gardens as Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley in Surrey, and a range of travel videos.

Tadpole Lane is a vibrant, growing company which is constantly expanding its range of titles to create the most comprehensive video guide to British heritage in existence.