Reply With Quotei thought this was brilliant and look forward to the rest of the series! i'd love to take part in something like this!
Did anyone catch this rather engaging programme, on BBC 2 last night, about farming in Victorian England?
Three people take on the renovation of a derelict victorian farm. Wearing the clothes of the period, the implements and horse/humanpower......with steam provided by visiting traction engines at appropriate times of the year, the three set about their tasks with much enthusiasm
Great emphasis was placed on multi-skilling and the ability of whoever was in charge of the kitchen to cure meat and preserve fruits.....normally against nature's timescale.
The cider pressing was interesting too; the finished product was often used tp pay, in part, seasonal farm workers
Episode One is available on BBC iPlayer:-
BBC iPlayer - Victorian Farm: Episode 1
i thought this was brilliant and look forward to the rest of the series! i'd love to take part in something like this!
name='jaycad']i thought this was brilliant and look forward to the rest of the series! i'd love to take part in something like this!
What struck me was how the participants actually wanted to be there and to get on with the project.
Bloody hard graft though?
i think we'll see the participants grow less happy with their surroundings as time goes on! the workload was unbelievable but i'd give my right arm(without anaesthetic of course) to swap positions with them!
They are calling it the Victorian farm, but really it's not that far away for most people. Many farms weren't mechanised fully until WWII. That's when they got rid of the horses, got tractors in and started using modern techniques (fewer labourers, loads of fertiliser and weed killer).
My Grandad and my uncle were both farmers in Wales. They both used horses to plough until the war. My Grandad was a bit of an engineer and had a steam traction engine that he used to take around the local farms to do the threshing. But most of what they did was horse-powered and lots of manual labour
Steve
I didn't see the programme in question but I would love to see The Victorian Kitchen Garden again - and probably might now that I've noticed it's available on DVD.
[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Kitchen-Garden-Peter-Thoday/dp/B000063BLK]The Victorian Kitchen Garden: Peter Thoday, Harry Dodson: Amazon.co.uk: DVD[/ame]
name='Chevyman']Did anyone catch this rather engaging programme, on BBC 2 last night, about farming in Victorian England?
Didn't BBC2 do something similar about five years ago? But the period setting was C17th?
The first episode is being repeated on Saturday evening at 19:00 (except in Scotland, where it'll start at 19:30).
BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Victorian Farm, Episode 1
What puzzled me was the mention of the canal being nearby. As far as I can remember, it's got to be about 25 miles away from Acton Scott, up beyond Wem, around Lyneal and Ellesmere. The countryside around Acton Scott is far too hilly for a canal.
Nick
Nick
name='rskershaw']Didn't BBC2 do something similar about five years ago? But the period setting was C17th?
Yes, it was called Tales From the Green Valley and featured Ruth, Alex, Peter and Stuart Peachey (who briefly taught at my school, and who I later met at Littlecote House when I was taking part in an English Cicil War Society/Roundhead Association summer camp). Narration was by Owen Teale.
'The Victorian Farm' - Alex Langlands
Tales From The Green Valley DVD
Nick
name='Nick Dando']Yes, it was called Tales From the Green Valley and featured Ruth, Alex, Peter and Stuart Peachey (who briefly taught at my school, and who I later met at Littlecote House when I was taking part in an English Cicil War Society/Roundhead Association summer camp). Narration was by Owen Teale.
'The Victorian Farm' - Alex Langlands
Tales From The Green Valley DVD
Nick
Thanks for the links. Green Valley was just lovely, the first episode of the Victorian series also.
You can even rent the cottage used in Victorian Farm for your holidays - though, I imagine, at a high price.
Living in the past Shropshire Magazine
And here's some information about the Acton Scott estate and the Working Farm Museum, which is well worth a visit.
The Acton Scott Estate, Acton Scott, near Church Stretton, Shropshire
Nick
name='Steve Crook']They are calling it the Victorian farm, but really it's not that far away for most people. Many farms weren't mechanised fully until WWII. That's when they got rid of the horses, got tractors in and started using modern techniques (fewer labourers, loads of fertiliser and weed killer).
My Grandad and my uncle were both farmers in Wales. They both used horses to plough until the war. My Grandad was a bit of an engineer and had a steam traction engine that he used to take around the local farms to do the threshing. But most of what they did was horse-powered and lots of manual labour
Steve
Interesting points Steve. In episode one it was said that the farm had last been inhabited, presumably farmed, fifty years ago. That would have been the mid to late fifties
name='Nick Dando']The first episode is being repeated on Saturday evening at 19:00 (except in Scotland, where it'll start at 19:30).
BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Victorian Farm, Episode 1
What puzzled me was the mention of the canal being nearby. As far as I can remember, it's got to be about 25 miles away from Acton Scott, up beyond Wem, around Lyneal and Ellesmere. The countryside around Acton Scott is far too hilly for a canal.
Nick
Nick
Did they mean today or in the period? Shrewsbury would have been active back then, and today Welshpool would probably be nearest.
Today. I've just had a look at the Shropshire Union Canal Society's web page and there is a map of the cuts, and the nearest it gets to Acton has to be Shrewsbury.
main display frames
We'll just have to put it down to artistic licence. After all, stranger things have happened in Shropshire when films are made - Hazel Woodus hearing the fairy music at the Devil's Chair from Earl's Hill, for instance.
Nick
name='Nick Dando']Today. I've just had a look at the Shropshire Union Canal Society's web page and there is a map of the cuts, and the nearest it gets to Acton has to be Shrewsbury.
They are trying to open up parts of the canal but much of it has been developed on. In my own town it came into the town centre and I think it was filled-in during the 60s - now of course they want to restore it..
Quite a good show but blow that 11miles of ploughing per day lark.
another enjoyable episode-i hope it's released on dvd! i think that if i was around in that period i would be walking round in dirty clothes-there's no way i could spend a whole day from 2am doing the laundry!
That woman didn`t `arf enjoy plucking that poor turkey!
xx
she's a bit mad isn't she? what did you think about having ox tongue on the christmas table? my nan used to make me tongue sandwiches(no hideous jokes please!) when i was little and i thoroughly enjoyed them along with pigs foot-i never believed it was a real pigs foot,just a nickname like 'toad in the hole'! i was devastated when i found out later in life-bad nan!!!!
Never fancied ox tongue myself but they did say it just tasted like dried beef, so it doesn`t sound too bad!
xx
its like pastrami without the spice and with a bit of jelly!!
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