Monday, January 17, 2011

The Victorian Farm


By chance, I found this rather amazing video series floating around on YouTube today. I was a huge fan of Frontier House and Colonial House when they first aired on PBS. Being a veggie gardener and having majored in History at college, I knew that this historical role-playing documentary series about life on a Victorian era farm would be just the thing to quell my growing cabin fever. (Our New England weather is supposed to be particularly horrendous this week.) Anyway, here is the gist of this series produced by the BBC:

Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year. Wearing period clothes and using only the materials that would have been available in 1885, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn are going back in time to relive the day-to-day life of the Victorian farmer.

Working for a full calendar year, Ruth, Alex and Peter are rediscovering a lost world of skills, crafts and knowledge, assisted by an ever-dwindling band of experts who keep Victorian rural practices alive. Each month and season brings pressing priorities, from tending to livestock and repairing buildings to raising crops, preparing food and crafting furniture and tools. Can they make a success of farming the Victorian way?

Fascinating stuff, aye?! You can view all 36 parts of the series here. Oh and did I mention there is also Edwardian Farm? I haven't been this excited in ages! Why can't they produce something this amazing here in the States???
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25 comments:

  1. -HeidiJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:15 AM

    Oh yeah, I'll be watching that! Thanks for posting it!

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  2. meemsnycJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    Oooh, I love shows like this. So interesting!!

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  3. AliJanuary 18, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    Wow, I am not sure that I would have lasted more than five minutes, but what an experience. Would you like to do it?

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2011 at 4:06 AM

    British are great at making these kind of TV shows. I love it and I will be watching it. Thanks!
    I think that book would be great to read sometime, "Book of the Farms".

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  5. weaverpatJanuary 18, 2011 at 7:36 AM

    Hi Thomas,
    This is wonderful! I can't wait to have some time to sit down and watch.
    Your last santence says it all! Why, indeed???

    Thank you for finding and suggesting this great presentation!

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  6. KellyJanuary 18, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    I have seen some similar stuff in the past. One was set in England, I believe it was mimicking life during World War One, it was heart-breaking. The family was struggling with rations, and was initially refusing to kill the provided rabbits for meat.....they told a story of a man whose house caught fire after a raid, and upon emerging from the bunk he put the fire out only to suffer a fatal heart attack.

    Another show was in the states, I thought- back in the days of the pioneers. The main goal was to gather enough food and wood to last through the winter, if I am recalling correctly most of the families failed this task.

    Thinking they both were on PBS. Any historic peek into the past is quite fascinating, makes us remember how great indoor plumbing and the grocer's market are!!

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  7. A Work In ProgressJanuary 18, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Thanks for posting this, I'll definitely be watching that. I love those types of shows.

    I think it's so important to preserve this sort of information for future generations. The knowledge of traditional farming and animal husbandry practices is an important part of our cultural heritage, it should be celebrated and passed on!

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  8. Dreaming of JeanieJanuary 18, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    Shows like this make you realize how easy you have it. I will definitely be watching. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    How funny you should mention this, I've been watching Victorian Farm off and on and JUST finished re-watching Forntier House. My 5yo enjoyed it in particular.
    I often wonder how my husband and I would do.
    Anna

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  10. Michelle @ Give a Girl a FigJanuary 18, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    Oh my gosh...I am SO HAPPY that you shared these! I LOVED Frontier House and Colonial House, too. And have been searching for more shows like them...I was literally scouring the library shelves on Saturday looking for something similar to watch. I didn't find anything...so your sharing this is so perfectly timed. Thank you!

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  11. JackieJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Here in England, we have been following Edwardian Farm and loving it. Our very favourite though was the original 'Tales from the Green Valley'
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxtbCufq58U

    Jackie
    x

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  12. kibblesJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    WOW! What a find! This is a really cool show/concept. Thanks for sharing!!

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  13. KellyJanuary 18, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    Fronteir house!!!! I think that was one of them. There should be another during the war period, if I come across it I will post it here.

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  14. the moody box fanJanuary 18, 2011 at 10:12 PM

    Came across this entry after I posted about the show on my own blog as well. I'm in the States too, and have managed to find Edwardian Farm online as it airs - downloadable avi files - and have been following it. And Victorian Farm Christmas too, which I couldn't find on youtube. Anyway, great blog! Just wanted to share about the shows since I'm a big fan myself. Wish they'd get them on the air here!

    Joshua, http://moodyboxfan.com/

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  15. HappyPlotterJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    Hi, I'm from Middlesbrough, England and I have had been watching Victorian Farm for the last 11 weeks. Tonight is the final episode, here in England it was shown over 12 episodes, each episode is a calander month. I've really enjoyed the series and it's been a real eye opener to how they managed some of the things which we take for granted.

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  16. kitsapFGJanuary 19, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    Thanks for finding this and sharing. I really enjoyed frontier house and the other "house" series that PBS has shown in the past. I also enjoyed the Alaska Experiment show as well. This one sounds like it would be a great series to follow.

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  17. ThomasJanuary 20, 2011 at 4:41 PM

    Thanks for your comments everyone! I'm officially an addict of these shows. The three main characters are all very likable, unlike most "reality" out there. Edwardian House is turning out to be just as good.

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  18. Eliza @ Appalachian FeetJanuary 20, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    A friend of mine gave me the Frontier House series on DVD recently and you've just convinced me to bump watching it up on my todo list.

    I'd also love it if you'd submit your (yummy looking) mache post for the blog carnival How to Find Great Plants:

    http://www.appalachianfeet.com/how-to-find-great-plants/

    I sure wish I'd gotten some seeded last fall.

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  19. UnknownJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    I watched a few episodes of "Frontier House" on PBS and enjoyed it. I was not aware of the other shows mentioned here. I wonder if they are available on Netflix?

    It is so easy to romanticize living the way folks did in the past. But these reality shows give us a glimpse of how difficult it was in those times. It would be nice if we could find a happy medium of self sufficiency in the modern world.

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  20. TrailshomeJanuary 24, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    Thank you so much for sharing that link. Unlike the previous shows that were done where they just dumped the people out there without much help or advice, this one shows regular advice from experts. VERY well done and I'm enjoying it thoroughly--and learning things too! Great stuff! Thanks.

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  21. AnneJanuary 25, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Just like another commenter, I first saw "Tales from the Green Valley" about medieval farming in England and with the same 3 people plus 2 others. It is not yet on Youtube, but is worth looking for. The others are great too as well as Christmas on the Victorian Farm. I really enjoyed all of these series!

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  22. -HeidiJanuary 25, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    I am so hooked! I've watched all of Victorian Farm... and I'm just finishing up on Edwardian Farm. I'm not sure which series I'll watch next. Thanks for the tip... I don't typically watch shows anymore... and I don't know when I've enjoyed a program more!

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  23. John RifeJanuary 27, 2011 at 9:32 PM

    SWEET!!! Thanks so much for posting about this show. We are looking forward to watching them. Agree - A show like this in the States would be really successful. Also looking forward to the "Tales from the Green Valley". Glad I found your site and have subscribed.

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  24. betsyJanuary 28, 2011 at 5:26 PM

    this is so timely. i was visiting friends in london just this last week and the final episode aired. they, and i, loved it. the final episode prompted me to check out the wrought iron display at the v & a museum, amazing.
    i regularly read your blog so thanks. i am also a history major, so of course loved the one episode i saw.

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  25. Dulapul cu viseApril 21, 2012 at 5:18 PM

    You must see The victorian kitchen garden, The victorian flower garden and The victorian kitchen. You can find them on youtube. The first one was my favorite, and I became obsessed with all thing victorian ever since. Thanks for posting this, I now have something else addictive to watch :)

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