About
Edwardian Farm is an historical documentary TV series in twelve parts, first shown on BBC Two from November 2010 to January 2011. It depicts a group of historians trying to run a farm like it was done during the Edwardian era. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed at Morwellham Quay, an historic quay in Devon. The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn. The series was devised and produced by David Upshal and directed by Stuart Elliott. The series is a development from two previous series Victorian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy which were among BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009 and 2010, garnering audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode. The series was followed by Wartime Farm in September 2012, featuring the same team but this time in Hampshire on Manor Farm, living a full calendar year as wartime farmers. An associated book by Goodman, Langlands, and Ginn, also titled Edwardian Farm, was published in 2010 by BBC Books. The series was also published on DVD, available in various regional formats.
Cast
Ruth Goodman
as Presenter
Alex Langlands
as Presenter
Peter Ginn
as Presenter
Stephen Noonan
as Narrator
Seasons
Episodes
Season 1
September
In September they begin with the basics. They set up home in one of the cottages, where the first task - after cleaning - is unblocking the chimney so they can get the range working in order to cook. They prepare for the arrival of their first livestock - a flock of sheep and a ram called Cyril, and Ruth cheers up the cottage by making a rug out of rags. And she cooks her first meal on the range - a sheep's head stew. Alex builds a hay rick to store feed for the animals over winter; while Peter heads to Bodmin moor to carve a stone feeding trough. And they must plant crops. The high acidity of the soil makes it infertile for growing crops, so the top priority is neutralising the acid with fertilizer - and for this they must make deadly quicklime. They will need literally tonnes of the stuff. It is a hazardous and gruelling - but essential - job.
October
In October, the Edwardian farmers branch out into new ventures like market gardening, all-year-round egg production and beef cattle. After acquiring a beef herd, the team bring in a bull. They also begin training the shire horses for a year of work in the fields. And they take on a pair of goats who prove to be more than a handful at milking time. Morwellham Quay's market gardens were once one of the nation's largest producers of strawberries, until abandoned half a century ago. Now the team attempt to bring them back to life. Cider was a vital part of the Edwardian rural economy, so Alex and Peter attempt to follow in this tradition by making it on an industrial scale - using an Edwardian cider press and a ton of apples. Ruth preserves supplies for the winter: she pickles apples, salts a ham and smokes bacon. Peter visits a cooper and learns how to make a barrel, and Alex launches a chicken enterprise. Finally they see in the winter with Halloween - Edwardian style.
November
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's November and to prosper as Edwardian farmers, Alex, Peter and Ruth need to get to grips with the technologies of the age and use Edwardian science to set up an exciting new venture on the farm. Alex and Peter want to grow oats, essential as feed for their livestock, and potatoes, a reliable source of income. But first they must plough the land. Most Edwardian farmers still relied heavily on horse power, but new technology was on the horizon. A travelling salesman makes a dramatic entrance bringing a piece of the state-of-the-art machinery from the Edwardian age - the world's first tractor, the Ivel. Ruth prepares for the arrival of the farm's pigs by restoring the farm's pig sty privy - an ingenious construction combining a pig sty with a lavatory so that pig waste and human waste could be composted in one place. After introducing the pigs to their new home, Ruth grooms them. Peter embarks on building a trout farm and populating it by using revolutionary fish-breeding techniques that were new to Devon's Edwardian farmers. And Alex wants to maintain the farm's hedgerows - but first he'll need to learn how to forge a Devon billhook using water-powered technology. After all their hard work, Ruth cheers the team up by making sloe gin and acquiring an Edwardian musical novelty - a gramophone.
December
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's December and, as winter sets in, Alex, Peter and Ruth face the challenge of earning a living in one of the hardest months of the year. They'll have to profit from their livestock, leave the farm in search of part-time work and head to the coast to reap the ocean's bounty. With poverty rife in the countryside, Edwardian farmers often had to find additional work away from their land. Alex and Peter follow in the footsteps of Tamar Valley farmers who traditionally took advantage of living between the North and South Devon coasts to profit from the county's other great industry - sea fishing. Ruth follows the growing number of Edwardian women who entered domestic service. She goes to a grand Edwardian stately home, Lanhydrock House, where she encounters luxurious novelties such as running water, electric lights and even prototype vacuum cleaners. But when Alex and Peter have little luck on their seafaring fishing expedition, Ruth has to prepare a poor man's Christmas lunch.
January
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn go down a copper mine, just a few hundred yards from their cottage, which was once the major source of Morwellham Quay's wealth. In the 19th century the largest deposit of copper in Europe was discovered in Devon. And the mining industry made Morwellham the busiest inland port in Britain. In the latter half of the century rising costs and cheap foreign imports put the copper mining industry into decline. But resourceful Devon farmers found other ways to extract income from copper - such as 'fossicking' (literally scavenging by breaking up rocks overground) and building precipitation tanks which extracted copper deposits from the water which flowed out of the mines. Meanwhile, historian Ruth Goodman learns the art of lacemaking, visiting the town of Honiton which became world famous for its lace, renowned for its beauty, delicacy and intricacy. Once half the inhabitants of east Devon were lacemakers. The boys also go tin mining in Cornwall, an industry which survived until the end of the 20th century when the last mine closed in 1998. But it's a gruelling trade, full of risks. They drill blast holes by hand and get to grips with tools such as the grimly nicknamed 'the widow-maker'.
February
To mark the half-way point of their sociological experiment, Alex Langlands, Peter Ginn and Ruth Goodman, explore a single day in an Edwardian farmer's household. Using a cache of letters from the time found in Morwhellham to research the realities of life, the trio experience typical daily routines, from the usual early morning hair-styling and oral hygiene, to the end-of-the-day trip to the local pub. It is February and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman approach the halfway point in their year on the Edwardian Farm. To mark the occasion this episode explores one single day in a typical Edwardian farmer's life. Incorporating a remarkable cache of letters written in the 1900s in a cottage at Morwhellham Quay, 'A Day in the Life' reveals the hidden stories of how ordinary rural Edwardians got by. We see how Edwardians prepared for the day when they got up in the morning - from struggling into a corset and Edwardian hair-styling, to shaving and what they used to brush their teeth. Through the day we follow the team's routine - managing the animals; re-stocking the feed-store; tending the land; caring for an injured goose that's been attacked by a fox; going shopping; receiving a visit from an eccentric travelling salesman; and a football match against the Plymouth Argyle legends played under strict Edwardian rules - which means no offside, no red or yellow cards, and wearing very, very heavy boots. And in between, of course, there's breakfast, lunch, dinner and a visit to the local pub to round off the day.
March
Spring sees the daffodil harvest, accompanied by a rush to get the flowers off to the train station so they can be delivered to towns and cities across the country within hours of being picked. Alex and Peter Ginn go to Dartmoor for the annual pony trek, and use the occasion to purchase one of the beasts for the farm. However, before their new pony is fit for work, he needs to be trained, and the farmers hire American horse whisperer Mike Branch for the job. Meanwhile, the arrival of new lambs is followed by a pleasant surprise for Ruth in the run-up to Mother's Day. It is March and Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn greet the long-awaited arrival of spring. It is time to bring in the daffodil harvest. During it's heyday in the early 20th century, the Tamar Valley was the largest producer of early daffodils in Britain - the result of the region's mild climate combined with the arrival of a railway, which meant produce could be delivered to towns and cities across Britain within hours of being picked. The team takes their daffodil crop to the train station and gets to grips with the workings of the Edwardian steam-powered railway system. Ruth's daughter, Eve, arrives on the train to spend Mothering Sunday on the farm - an important occasion in the Edwardian calendar. For the many daughters who worked away in service, it was the only time in the year when they could get time off to return home. Alex and Peter fertilize the potato crop - which requires 10 tonnes of well-rotted horse dung. They also go up to Dartmoor for the annual pony trek - a time when wild ponies on the moor were rounded up. They select a new pony for the farm. The pony needs training before he's fit for work and Mike Branch, a specialist trainer from Tennessee, arrives. He's following in the footsteps of American farmer John Solomon Rarey, who in the 19th century found fame and fortune in Britain with his revolutionary method of taming wild horses. Instead of 'breaking' the horse physically, he used the technique now known as 'horse whispering'. After a bumper daffodil harvest and having seen all the ewes successfully give birth to their lambs, the team are in high spirits for the celebration of Easter - which means feasting, a special church service and surprise for Ruth.
April
It is April and the fishing season has arrived - a time when Devon's 'fisherman-farmers' went to sea. Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn go to sea in an Edwardian trawler, hastily finishing repairs before setting sail. They master the singing of sea shanties as well as steering a wind-powered vessel and casting a net the old-fashioned way - but will they catch any fish? Women were considered bad luck at sea, so Ruth Goodman stays ashore. She forages on the sea shore and prepares potted shrimp. She also builds a smokehouse and smokes some mackerel. Peter and Alex drive their herd of cattle along a dangerous drove road to find new pasture and prepare for the birth of the herd's first calf. Alex makes a coracle that Peter tests out on the pond; and Ruth explores one of the growing fashions of the Edwardian era by holding a séance.
Similar Shows
Shows like this one
Recommended for You
Based on this series
