Who Owns England's Green & Pleasant Land? [30min]

Comedian Marcus Brigstocke tears up the laminate flooring to reveal the true history of the British housing market, a centuries old story of greed, double-dealing and estate agency. Proudhon may have believed that property is theft, but William the Conqueror saw things rather differently. In this first programme, Marcus maps the land beneath our feet and sets out to discover who owns it. Armed with a surveyor's chain and a working knowledge of feudal tenure, he uncovers a history of theft, greed and gardening and wrestles with the philosophy of land ownership. Would Plato have approved of buy-to-let schemes? Did Adam own the freehold on Paradise? And why are we so keen to sign up for a death-pledge?