Elizabeth Fry | Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good

Duration: 3'12''

Synopsis

Like so many other Victorian bankers, Samuel Gurney was a Quaker. Banking and its rewards seemed at odds with a faith that valued modest simplicity, but Gurney's wealth helped the work of his sister, prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, who is immortalised on today's five-pound note.

Further Information

More resources about History

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 29'03''

How the duke's death led to the start of the First World War.

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

BBC One | 2002 | 27'58''

In a one-off precursor to his Historyonic's series, Nick Knowles gets a behind-the-scenes look at why a Yorkshire-born zealot called Guy Fa...

2: The Battle of Hastings | Battlefield Britain

2: The Battle of Hastings | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'14''

Peter and Dan Snow on the battles that shaped our nation, using state-of-the-art graphics. The story of the turbulent events ...

4: The Battle Against the Spanish Armada | Battlefield Britain

4: The Battle Against the Spanish Armada | Battlefield Britain

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'48''

Peter and Dan Snow take a look at the battles that shaped our nation. Drake's unlikely sea victory against the...

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

The Somme: From Defeat to Victory

BBC One | 2006 | 58'17''

Drama-documentary which offers a new perspective on the most infamous battle of World War I, revealing how it was on the Somme that the Bri...

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

BBC Two | 2018 | 1'34'52''

Transforming archive footage more than a century old, Peter Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell the story of World War I: the ...

2: The Land of Lost Consent | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

2: The Land of Lost Consent | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'36''

The 1950s were a period of apparent calm, order and prosperity for Britain, but much of the populace wa...

5: New Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

5: New Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'19''

In the final part of Andrew Marr's national saga, Britain enters the post-Thatcher era. Many have done well during...

1: Medieval London | Filthy Cities

1: Medieval London | Filthy Cities

BBC Two | 2011 | 58'14''

Dan Snow gets down and dirty in medieval grime to discover how the London of today was forged in the filth of the 14th century.

5: Sewer King | Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

5: Sewer King | Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

BBC Two | 2003 | 48'50''

As 19th century London's sewage problem reached crisis point and cholera was rife, Joseph Bazalgette proposed a scheme ...

20th Century Wrap: 4: 1950s: Britain - A Time of Change? | History File

20th Century Wrap: 4: 1950s: Britain - A Time of Change? | History File

BBC Two | 1995 | 23'57''

Schools history programme looking at 1950's, a period of great change. How did British people react ...

5: Bloody Beginnings | Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

5: Bloody Beginnings | Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

BBC Four | 2008 | 59'00''

Michael Mosley looks at how surgery dragged itself kicking and screaming out of the dark ages, transforming itsel...

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley

BBC One | 2018 | 1'29'01''

Documentary, presented by Lucy Worsley, which uses dramatised testimony to tell the story of a group of working-class women conducting a dange...

1: Helped into Power | Nazis: A Warning from History

1: Helped into Power | Nazis: A Warning from History

BBC Two | 1997 | 48'29''

Documentary series examining how Hitler came to power. By January 1933, Germany had voted for a chancellor who was openl...

4: Youth in Hitler's Germany | History File

4: Youth in Hitler's Germany | History File

BBC Two | 2000 | 23'15''

Using evidence from five people who lived through the rise of National Socialism, this takes a look at why Germany fell into the ...

Trump: A Second Chance? | Panorama

Trump: A Second Chance? | Panorama

BBC One | 2024 | 57'54''

For the past two years, Panorama has been following some of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters. They tell Panorama why they want him to...

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'04''

David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...

1: 1066 | Historyonics

1: 1066 | Historyonics

BBC One | 2004 | 29'01''

Nick Knowles sets out to find the truth behind the story of William the Conqueror and King Harold. Why and how did the two protagonists of the Battle ...

2: Chaos and Consent | Nazis: A Warning from History

2: Chaos and Consent | Nazis: A Warning from History

BBC Two | 1997 | 48'17''

A look at the extraordinary popularity of both Hitler and the Nazis, as well as the astonishing degree of voluntary supp...

Episode 3 | 1066: A Year to Conquer England

Episode 3 | 1066: A Year to Conquer England

BBC Two | 2017 | 58'50''

Duke William leads his vast invasion fleet across the Channel to face King Harold. The two armies meet at battle in Sussex on 14 ...

More from Ian Hislop

3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'13''

The perils of booze and sex are the focus for the final episode of Ian Hislop's series about Victorian ref...

Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History

Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History

BBC Four | 2019 | 59'31''

Ian Hislop's sharp, provocative take on 200 years of fake news and its consequences - from Victorians on the moon to 21st-century deep...

Workers or Shirkers? Ian Hislop's Victorian Benefits

Workers or Shirkers? Ian Hislop's Victorian Benefits

BBC Two | 2016 | 59'07''

Ian Hislop presents an entertaining and provocative look at Victorian attitudes to the poor, exploring the views of five...

1: Heroes for All Times | Ian Hislop's Olden Days

1: Heroes for All Times | Ian Hislop's Olden Days

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'20''

Documentary series in which Ian Hislop explores the British trait of obsession with the past. Here he examines King Arthur ...

3: Last Hurrah? | Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip - An Emotional History of Britain

3: Last Hurrah? | Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip - An Emotional History of Britain

BBC HD | 2012 | 59'32''

Ian Hislop investigates Britain's emotional history. He takes a wry and witty look at the up...

Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good

Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'02''

Ian Hislop presents a film about Victorian financiers known for their spectacular philanthropy, including Samuel Gurney, George Peabody, A...

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten

Channel 4 | 2007 | 48'21''

In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...

Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts

Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts

BBC Radio 4 | 2001 | 27'08''

An ear of corn is at the heart of the second programme in the daily series. Ian Hislop charts an Act tha...