- 5 months ago
- #victorianfarm
- #documentary
Documentary, BBC Victorian Farm S01E03
Victorian Farm is a British historical documentary TV series in six parts, first shown on BBC Two in January 2009, and followed by three Christmas-themed parts in December of the same year. The series, the second in the BBC historic farm series, recreates everyday life on a farm in Shropshire in the 1880s, using authentic replica equipment and clothing, original recipes and reconstructed building techniques. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television[1] and filmed at a preserved Victorian era living museum farm, Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, Shropshire.[2] The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman, and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn.
Much use was made of period sources such as The Book of the Farm: Detailing the Labours of the Farmer, Farm-steward, Ploughman, Shepherd, Hedger, Cattle-man, Field-worker, and Dairy-maid by Dr Henry Stephens, first published in London in 1844.[3]
The series was one of BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009, with audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode.[4][5][6] It was highly praised by reviewers.[7][8]
A corollary miniseries, Victorian Farm Christmas, comprised three episodes aired at Christmastime in 2009.[9]
An associated book by Langlands, Ginn and Goodman, also titled Victorian Farm, was published in 2009.[10] The book reached number one on the Sunday Times best seller list in February 2009
#Victorianfarm #Documentary
Victorian Farm is a British historical documentary TV series in six parts, first shown on BBC Two in January 2009, and followed by three Christmas-themed parts in December of the same year. The series, the second in the BBC historic farm series, recreates everyday life on a farm in Shropshire in the 1880s, using authentic replica equipment and clothing, original recipes and reconstructed building techniques. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television[1] and filmed at a preserved Victorian era living museum farm, Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, Shropshire.[2] The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman, and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn.
Much use was made of period sources such as The Book of the Farm: Detailing the Labours of the Farmer, Farm-steward, Ploughman, Shepherd, Hedger, Cattle-man, Field-worker, and Dairy-maid by Dr Henry Stephens, first published in London in 1844.[3]
The series was one of BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009, with audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode.[4][5][6] It was highly praised by reviewers.[7][8]
A corollary miniseries, Victorian Farm Christmas, comprised three episodes aired at Christmastime in 2009.[9]
An associated book by Langlands, Ginn and Goodman, also titled Victorian Farm, was published in 2009.[10] The book reached number one on the Sunday Times best seller list in February 2009
#Victorianfarm #Documentary
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LearningTranscript
00:00here in Shropshire is a farm that's frozen in time lost in Victorian rural England now a
00:11unique project has brought it back to life as it would have been in the 1880s a time that saw a
00:21revolution in British agriculture centuries-old skills were under threat from industrialized
00:27farming it was the crossroads between the old and the new I'm just trying to keep this thing in a
00:33straight line for a full calendar year Ruth Goodman Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn are reliving the life
00:41of the Victorian farmer four months into the project they've planted a wheat crop in a long
00:52abandoned field spent weeks restoring their cottage to its former glory and got to grips
01:00with a host of traditional breeds so all around this is a pretty good show now it's January the
01:07farm needs emergency repairs but with no DIY shops the team is forced to go back to basics with the
01:15help of the blacksmith the basket maker and the woodsman the wheat crop comes under attack so
01:23it's time to master the art of pest control Victorian style the reality of life without modern comforts
01:31starts to bite it's cold and with spring around the corner the first baby animals are due to arrive
01:39it's new year on the Victorian farm Ruth and Peter are welcoming a very important new resident
01:59princess is a Gloucestershire old spot a favorite breed of Victorian farmers she's pregnant the team
02:11is hoping she'll produce a litter of piglets in a few weeks time if they can convince her to move in
02:19that is nothing as obsolete as a pig who doesn't want to go good girl come on good girl good girl
02:31I think we might need a little bit of bribery and corruption always a mangle when you fancy a mangle
02:37yeah oh hallelujah there we go you're a gorgeous pig aren't you you're gonna give us lots of lovely
02:49little piglets yeah yeah delicious Richard Lutwitch is president of the Gloucestershire Old Spot Society
02:56so how many do you think she's gonna give us then I'd be quite happy if she had eight or nine she might
03:03have ten or twelve oh gosh so what sort of things should we look out for then what can go wrong very
03:10little really I mean pigs are much easier than other farm animals it's like shelling peas just let
03:16get on with it basically and hopefully everything will be all right Peter built these pigsties
03:21himself with princess moved in they're finally complete she only just fits under that door slight
03:28design error though I think with all this new livestock around the farmyards becoming a little chaotic
03:41come on you two out come on get away mind that duck roof the real troublemakers are the pigs if the
03:58doors are open the pigs get out they either frighten the cows hello will they eat the eggs they get into
04:04the nests and eat the eggs so Peters set himself a major new challenge what we need to do is we need
04:13to devise a way of controlling our stock so we've got our farmyard we've got a stack yard and it makes
04:18sense to divide it in half so essentially what we need is a fence and then these guys can be free to
04:25run around without interfering with the cows and the ducks and what we're working on in the Victorian
04:32countryside you couldn't necessarily buy a ready-made fence from a shop Peter is going to have to make
04:38one from scratch he's called an expert Damien Goodburn one of the handful of people alive today who
04:46studied the craft of Victorian woodsmen together they must track down the right tree to make the fence
04:54right well what we're looking for is some oak an oak tree which will provide the main gate post and
05:02then some smaller logs that can be split to make the post and rail fence in the 19th century estates
05:09could make big money from selling their timber so woodland like this would have been carefully managed
05:14what sort of thickness are we looking for well we want something that's manageable by hand not too big
05:21we're not trying to fail a valuable big tree that could be sawn up to make furniture or for boat
05:26building that kind of thing the Victorian period if they allow a fairly straight one like this to
05:31grow big then it it becomes something it's almost like money an investment almost money in the bank
05:36Damien's very picky about his trees and there's this one here yeah a little bit bendy this one here is a
05:44tiny bit small a bit oval it's a bit sinuous how about that one there's another one there's one up here
05:50which would be a good tree to use because it will never make a brilliant timber tree but so with
05:54any luck we might be able to get it down so all in all this is our tree being very careful not to
06:02hit the ground the first stage is to square off the base of the tree with an axe ready for sawing
06:07okay we have problems we'll we'll use the axe to start now that's all right
06:18you're going to need to go a little bit to your left slowly don't push the saw just let it slide
06:26itself in a little bit like right yeah it is isn't it if I did this regularly I wouldn't be as fat as
06:34I am because you don't see many pictures of fat Victorian woodsman the falling tree could easily
06:43get snagged in the dense branches of the forest so Peter and Damien try to make sure it falls into a
06:49gap to do this Damien makes a triangular cut facing the path they want the tree to take and this is
06:59going to encourage the tree to fall in the direction we want it to go certainly the theory and I hope the
07:05theory is correct then it's back to sawing the other side to meet up with the cut how far now
07:16um still a bit more on your side then hang on hang on she's going get her out
07:28that's what we were trying to avoid oh well
07:37that's what we were worried about and we didn't quite succeed in making it go where we wanted it
07:44to now what we've got to do is get it to go that way if we have the smaller axe and we'll cut the
07:51hinge on that side so at the moment Damien's just going to chip away and hopefully it will roll around
08:00the tree and fall down where we want it to go
08:03come here and give us a push
08:08this is what we need a pole for now have we got any poles around here
08:15how much more does that need
08:25you hear it moving now don't worry
08:39ginger beer required finally after a famous five-hour struggle
08:52back in October Alex toiled for weeks to sow a wheat crop in the farm's long abandoned field
09:05but now the weeds have been conquered there's a new enemy to face of the feathered variety
09:13one of my worst fears has been realized here and we've obviously had the birds in here the last few days as I've been passing and there's been a group of pheasants on this patch in particular and I think what they're doing is they're sort of tugging at the top of this the leaves here and then pulling out and having a nibble on the grain
09:34in the Victorian countryside tenant farmers like Alex often struggle to stop pheasants eating their crops
09:41the birds were raised for shooting parties and every single one was the landlord's property not to be touched
09:49the tenant farmer killed one he could be arrested for poaching
09:55now Alex finally has the chance to get his own back land agent Rupert Acton has invited him to come along on a pheasant shoot
10:06but first he's got to make some preparations
10:12Victorian style
10:14one thing I've really noticed over the past couple of months has been so wet that the ground is just like a morass
10:20there's mud everywhere and my boots have been getting soaking wet
10:23so what I've got to do is get them waterproof because we've got a big day coming up we've got the shoot
10:27Alex is using a 19th century shoe polish recipe containing beeswax tar and tallow a form of beef or mutton fat
10:37now I've no idea as to what quantities should be putting in here but I'm going to do it by feel
10:43the first thing to go in is the beeswax which has melted down nicely
10:48I know that we're going to really want more tallow in
10:53that's having an interesting effect actually that's almost sort of turning like a paste in there already
11:00give that a bit of a stir
11:03we just do that
11:05now this is great because it's actually turning into a sort of dark tan boot polish here
11:11and I think it's wet enough or at least it's warm enough to start to apply to the boots
11:18moment of truth
11:20let's get it on there
11:22that's going really thick actually
11:27I can see the beeswax
11:30really work it in
11:32I'm very excited about the shoot
11:35in the late 19th century shooting parties were getting bigger and bigger
11:39there's more game about
11:41so the friction between gamekeepers and tenant farmers was at its peak
11:46and it's perfectly understandable really
11:48there's birds out there and you know they're eating your crops
11:51you're going to want to obviously find one for the pot
11:54in the forest Peter and Damien are dividing the tree into logs
12:01after the exhausting task of felling it
12:04now comes the real challenge
12:06just glad
12:09well the chaps are going to need some help lifting these logs out of the forest
12:13and who better to do it than Klumper
12:15it's the first time he's ever had a go at this
12:17it's called touching
12:18basically dragging or skidding a log out of the forest
12:21so as I say it's his first time
12:24he's not too sure about the environment
12:26but let's see how he gets on
12:31one log ready to tush
12:38we'll give him a little go
12:40come on
12:42I'll tell you against the tree
12:44two, three
12:46this log weighs around 300 kilograms
12:50that's the equivalent of three baby elephants
12:53that's it
12:54good boy
12:55he's going well isn't he
12:56he is
12:57it's not as if it makes a difference to him uphill or downhill
13:00no he actually quite likes sort of getting stuck into it
13:04come on
13:05last bit of hill
13:07come on boy
13:08and he just makes these things look like matchsticks
13:12I struggle to walk at the pace that Klumper tushes
13:18uphill
13:27Klumper is heading for the estate saw pit
13:30where the log will be cut up for use in the farmyard fence
13:33good boy
13:38come on keep coming
13:39keep coming
13:40keep coming
13:41keep coming
13:42and whoa
13:43he's done very well
13:45I'm quite surprised actually
13:46I thought there would be more problems
13:47getting it out there in the
13:48out of the
13:50that steep slope right at the beginning
13:51was a bit difficult
13:52and the guys had to roll it
13:53but otherwise
13:54took it in his stride
13:55and
13:56it never ceases to amaze me
13:57how easily he takes the jobs
13:59forward Klumper
14:01he's even listening is he
14:03working outside all day is tough on the Victorian farmer's body
14:10but in small villages there wasn't always access to off-the-shelf remedies for aches and pains
14:17at the cottage Ruth's been looking into some homemade solutions
14:23I'm going to make a cream for chat cans
14:26so I've got some lard here and I've been just softening it and then whisking it with a fork
14:31so it's light and fluffy
14:33so now I'm going to add the honey
14:35not so runny
14:37fairly runny
14:38and a little oatmeal
14:41the texture of the oatmeal
14:44will make it very slightly sort of scrubby when you're putting it on
14:50which will help to massage the whole cream into the skin
14:54now I need egg yolks
14:56and the last thing I need to put in is some rose water
15:00which is just distilled water and oil of roses
15:04and that adds not only a beautiful scent
15:07but also adds to its absorbability into the skin
15:11and whisk
15:15storage is not a problem
15:18because of all the fat in it
15:20I just have to pop it in a jar
15:22pop a lid on it
15:23it'll keep three maybe four months with no problem
15:26you've got to get all the calls right
15:38yes
15:39ok
15:40thank you
15:41probably a few more woodcars
15:43the day of the pheasant shoot has arrived
15:45Peter and Alex are taking up their position as beaters
15:56flushing the birds out of the woods
15:58the sport of pheasant shooting as we now know it
16:04was invented in the late 19th century
16:06Prince Albert and his sons were big fans of shooting
16:12but they had a problem
16:15traditionally shooting parties tried to sneak up on the pheasants
16:18which meant most of the birds got away
16:21so a new technique evolved
16:25employing beaters to drive the game towards the guns
16:28with a series of calls
16:30we've all got to hold a line as we walk through this copse
16:36to make as much noise really as possible
16:41I can't hear you making much noise Peter
16:45Peter let's hear you calling
16:50for land agent Rupert Acton
16:53shooting runs in the family
16:55my great-grandfather Augustus Wood Acton
16:59lived here in the late 19th century
17:01and he shot about once a week
17:05and there would have been about four guns
17:07and four or five beaters
17:10in the 19th century on this estate
17:13they were probably shot in the region of
17:16four or five hundred game birds
17:18during the shooting season
17:19there's one
17:20there's one there
17:27too much talking
17:32the swampy ground will give Alex's waterproofing efforts a stern test
17:39I'm really impressed with the mix
17:40because I've got the job of making my way through the stream here
17:44so it was a godsend that I decided to do it
17:48but Peter isn't quite so lucky
17:54should have waterproofed your boots Peter
18:00no birds have been shot on this drive
18:02so the beaters must move on to a new wood
18:09I've been having trouble
18:11I do most winters with chapped lips
18:13as soon as the weather gets cold and wet
18:14my lips go all dry and start to crack and bleed
18:17so therefore I'm making some Victorian lip salve
18:21the recipes say for chapped lips specifically
18:25but quite interestingly most of them include Alconet
18:29which doesn't do anything for chapped lips
18:31what it is is a dye
18:33it's a red dye
18:35so I'm hoping that this recipe is going to come out with
18:38cherry coloured lip gloss
18:40Alconet is a common plant that often grows as a weed
18:44you can use any part of the plant to get some colour
18:48but the root is where the majority of it is
18:50so this is just dried Alconet root
18:52I've got some olive oil to pour in
18:54what I'm going to do is put the Alconet in the oil and put it on the range just to warm through
19:02and hopefully the colour then will infuse within the oil
19:06the other two ingredients are mutton fat and white wax
19:10the two have got to be melted together
19:14and the Alconet has done the most fantastic colouring job
19:20it's really done its business isn't it
19:22if that's not red I don't know what is
19:24so that's my wax and mutton fat melted
19:27and that goes in with that lot
19:30and then just got to strain them to get all the bits out
19:36oh yeah look at the colour on that
19:40the mixture will be kept in a cool place to set
19:43you couldn't buy anything that was more like a red lip gloss than this
19:48and there's nothing nasty in it is there
19:57the beaters have moved on to a new wood
19:59Peter's encouraging the birds to fly away from him
20:02and towards the guns
20:06the technique of driving game quickly became very popular
20:18but with more birds to target
20:20the Victorians needed to shoot faster
20:23traditionally loading a gun was a fiddly process
20:28with gunpowder and shot pushed down the barrel
20:31so gunsmiths came out with a cartridge
20:36containing everything in one simple package
20:38and a brand new weapon that could be split in two for easy loading
20:43reloading time was cut from minutes to seconds
20:48and many more birds could be shot
20:50let's see if we can take a claim on these birds then
21:02a nice change from firework
21:05yes
21:06yes that's about
21:07with the pheasant shoot over
21:08the beaters have been rewarded for their hard work
21:11did that bird drop did it?
21:14couldn't see
21:15couldn't see
21:16I was too busy
21:18wondering why I hadn't applied waterproof substance
21:20to my boots
21:21it's February
21:37with fewer pheasants around
21:39the crop has a chance to grow
21:41the farmyard fence is coming on well
21:45Peter's been chopping the log ready for the saw pit
21:49this is why I never owned a skateboard as a child
21:52and princess the expectant sow is settling in nicely
21:57let's get them in this pen
22:01we'll get down with the bucket to this pen
22:03and get them in the pen
22:04we'll have a closer look
22:05baby pigs are not the only thing the team is expecting
22:08call them to yalex
22:10that's the way
22:12in November sheep farmer Richard Spencer lent the team his prize ram, Fred
22:19but though Fred took a fancy to the ewes
22:22Alex isn't quite sure if any of them are pregnant
22:25come round here Alex and I'll show you
22:27so Richard's come back to find out
22:29if a sheep is in one, if she's pregnant
22:32what is in the udder now should be wax and sticky
22:36getting to the udders requires an expert technique
22:40you're going to put your knee in the shoulder so she can't escape
22:43and you're going to put your hand under there
22:45find the teat
22:46and get some wax out and tell them she's in one
22:48right
22:49he he he
22:51I'm stuck
22:54ok
22:55that's it now put your hand underneath find the teat
22:57it's in there somewhere
22:58right nothing there
23:00you really want to put your hands gently to the top of the udder
23:03and gently just massage it down into the teat
23:05I can't find it Richard
23:08I've got one
23:11you can do this Alex think positive slow
23:15how far apart are these things usually Richard?
23:18well at the normal distance really
23:20one on each side they come in pairs
23:22I'm not getting anything
23:24I'm wondering whether I should get you to teach me to turn them over
23:28sheep farmers often turn their sheep over to inspect them
23:32but with each you weighing up to ten stone it can be a challenge
23:37you lock it tight onto your knee
23:40and you literally keeping it tight on your knee
23:43you just rock backwards with your fingers firmly hooked under that flank
23:46and just rolls over on your knee onto her butt onto her rear
23:51it doesn't involve a lot of physical stress on your foot
23:53just using the principle of levers and the sheep's weight
23:55it's a bit of a sort of judo roll
23:57lift the head up into the air let it roll round your knee
24:00yes keep it going keep it going keep it going backwards
24:03lift it off drop it
24:04you've done it that's it
24:05yeah
24:06and all the rest will be easy after that
24:08well done
24:09oh
24:10oh look at the scratch on that man's face
24:12look at that he'll sleep well tonight
24:13yeah I got it
24:14now you can get the wax out of that one
24:16massage it gently from the udder into the teat
24:19yes you can see it filling the teat now you see
24:21the teat is full of wax
24:23and then I
24:24it's full of wax
24:25and then
24:26yeah
24:27ah
24:28there you are
24:29ah
24:30there we are
24:31it is so happy
24:32there we are
24:33one happy camper
24:34let's try this one
24:36yeah we've got a drop
24:37there you go
24:38look at that
24:39there you go
24:40now then if you
24:41listen to that there
24:43better than sticky tape
24:46spot on
24:47wonderful stuff
24:48that is sticky wax
24:49wow yeah yeah yeah
24:50yeah
24:51there you are
24:52that is perfect
24:53that sheep is definitely inland
24:54right
24:55brilliant
24:56you rolling go
24:57the wax is a clear sign that in a few weeks this sheep will be producing milk to feed
25:02her young
25:03now all Alex has to do is check the rest of his flock
25:07you are young man
25:10thank you very much
25:11we'll make a shepherd of you yet
25:13ensuring livestock was well fed over winter was absolutely crucial for the Victorian farmer
25:20every day the team process food for the animals in machines such as this root slicer
25:27but Ruth has hit a snag
25:29the bucket is entirely the wrong shape so more time scrape it off the floor
25:34there's so many jobs to do simply can't afford to have inefficient tools
25:39to make a better container Ruth has asked someone with unique skills to come to the farm
25:46this this is oak which was felled just the other day and I'm going to turn this into a basket
25:54Owen Jones makes a type of basket specific to the Lake District and the West Midlands
26:04though once common his profession is now endangered
26:09in Victorian times there have been hundreds possibly thousands of people making baskets
26:15for many years I was the only person recently I've taught someone else so there's now two of us
26:22in Britain most baskets are made from willow
26:25what makes this basket special is that it uses local materials oak and hazel
26:31it's a coppiced hazel rod which is going to be the rim of the basket and I have to smooth it off ready for bending
26:43next Owen prepares the ribs of the basket each oak log must be measured up and chopped into strips
26:56this is where we start to get a feel of what the wood's like
27:01drive it in
27:03it'll take her in five hours to make this basket
27:06in the 19th century oak basket makers got together in small workshops of two or three men
27:12collectively producing dozens of baskets each week
27:15as I'm splitting now working it down there is a potential problem it can start running off or running out to one side
27:29so I can control that by which way I pull the throw either pull towards me or push against
27:35once the oak's been cut to length it's placed with the hazel inside a boiler
27:42when it's finished Owen's basket will make processing food by hand a much easier task
27:50but on the estate's home farm Alex and Peter have discovered a brand new way of making food for their flock
28:00ok engage
28:02ok engage
28:03ok engaging now
28:04throughout the 19th century the machinery of mass production was making its way onto farms
28:09excellent
28:11this system of belts and pulleys is over a hundred and fifty years old
28:15this is our oats bruiser our kibler
28:22you can hear it engaging there
28:27that's a sound isn't it
28:29the kibler grinds up wheat grain for the farms animals to eat
28:33they've all been bruised they've been crushed
28:37so when they go through the digestive system of the animal they'll be absorbed more efficiently
28:42all this machinery is powered by the Victorian farms driving engine
28:48clumper the shire horse
28:51key up
28:53that's it
28:55I find this absolutely fascinating because all you need is a horse
29:03some hay for winter
29:05keeping well fed
29:07you've got energy
29:08you've got power
29:09you've got horsepower
29:10the term horsepower was coined by the engineer James Watt
29:16he designed a steam engine and to market it he came up with a method to compare its power with that of a horse
29:24the result was a brand new measuring unit horsepower
29:31good lad
29:33every time clumper goes round once that wheel up there turns 52 times
29:38so if he works for a week this works for a year
29:41this truly is the birth of mechanised farming
29:45in the farmyard Owen Jones is ready to shape the rim of his basket
29:54throw it down initially on the ground that will take a bit of the moisture out of it
29:58take a bit of the heat out of it
29:59hopefully this will bend nicely
30:01I'll put the butt end in first
30:03be careful around the curve so it doesn't kink
30:06it feels like it's steamed enough
30:08pulling with my right hand and following with my left hand
30:20yeah I'm happy with this one this looks pretty good
30:24next the oak is removed from the boiler
30:27it's actually a wonderful smell it's just fruity like a fruity smell it's the best part of the day
30:41this process is known as writhing
30:44this is quite hot on the hands
30:47if you sometimes you get to a point where your hands start burning
30:50and then you have to knock them on your knees and that cools them down
30:54the simplest way of doing it is this way
30:58and you're pulling it down it's a feel thing
31:01this is really good stuff it's quite tough stuff
31:03I can leave it quite thick and bend it like that
31:06so that'll make good strong baskets
31:08the material is now ready for the final stage
31:15starting to weave the basket now
31:17it's all woven there's no fixings, no nails, no pins
31:21it's all woven together
31:29these baskets would have been used throughout the 19th century on farms
31:34they're very important they would be used for broadcast sowing seed
31:39harvesting root crops such as potatoes, feeding animals, chopped turnips
31:44so it gradually declined as mechanisation took over
31:49for instance a wire basket was introduced
31:51and tractors came along with the seed drills
31:54and there was less hand work on the farms
31:58wow, that looks fantastic
32:08so how long is something like this going to last then?
32:11this basket can last for decades
32:13in fact I have repaired baskets
32:16occasionally get them repaired and they've been 50 years old
32:19wow
32:20some of the strips go and I can just weave them
32:22gosh talk about environmentally friendly
32:23something that you can use for 50 years
32:25and then get repaired and carry on using it
32:27yes and then you can use it kindling for your fire
32:29fantastic
32:30oh isn't it beautiful
32:32that is just a really really beautiful thing
32:36they give you many years of service
32:38and they're really strong
32:39in fact
32:40one of the tests at the end of it
32:41you have to be able to stand on it
32:43you sure?
32:44yeah
32:45flipping egg
32:46bounce up and down
32:47it's incredible
32:51who needs a horse
32:54at the saw pit
32:55Peter and Damien have reached the last
32:57and most technically precise stage
32:59of the fence post
33:01that's about where we want to be
33:02about there
33:03one, two, three
33:04okay then just up and down
33:06just a few strokes to get it bedded in
33:08men employed to saw wood were called sawyers
33:11by the late 19th century
33:13saw pits like this were in decline
33:15industrial saw mills were taking over
33:18and hand sawing couldn't compete
33:21you come right up and right down
33:23slow down
33:24imagine you're doing this all day
33:27it'll take several hours to cut off the sides of this log
33:31a mechanical saw mill could process hundreds in a day
33:35the top of my arms and my shoulders
33:37are really starting to ache
33:39as in really starting to ache
33:44the constant sweaty exertion of farm life
33:49means tending to personal hygiene
33:51is a high priority for the team
33:57with Alex and Peter out of the house
33:59Ruth has the perfect opportunity
34:01I'm going to have a bath
34:05people in this period felt that washing
34:11was seriously the underpinning thing
34:14about keeping yourself healthy
34:16despite the fact that it's actually really difficult
34:18in this sort of situation to do
34:20Ruth's bath is a sawn off wooden barrel
34:25covered with a sheet
34:26it's almost like a drip tray
34:28that catches the water
34:30as you pour water over yourself
34:33and it's very very efficient on resources
34:40bathing in a room with no central heating
34:45it's pretty cold
34:48a lot of people have the image of a Victorian bath
34:51being a large tin affair
34:53that you can fill up with water
34:55and be submerged in up to your neck
34:57but most people in the country
34:59who didn't have spare money
35:01managed in this sort of shallow tray
35:05with wiping yourself down
35:06soaping yourself all over
35:08and pouring water over you
35:09so somewhere between a shower
35:11and a stop down
35:22Peter and Damien have been sawing
35:24for almost four hours
35:26as night falls
35:27the race is on
35:28to finish the gate post
35:32You're getting the hang of it, Peter?
35:33That's a drive
35:34Yeah, definitely
35:39Like you say, it's very zen
35:40Is it?
35:48Wedge always falls on the header
35:49Sorry
35:50David
35:51This is our third side of our post
35:55Just before bed
35:56Ruth's trying out her homemade remedies
36:05This is the hand cream I made earlier
36:10with rose water and lard and oatmeal
36:12And it definitely helps
36:13But I don't think anything would, you know, completely protect your hands from the amount of cold water and hard work
36:26And this lip gloss, however, is absolutely fantastic
36:31There's one more hygiene challenge that Ruth must tend to
36:38I'm just making up some more sanitary towels
36:42Back in the Victorian period, of course, you couldn't just nip down the shops when you needed such supplies
36:46You have a bag which can be washed and then you stuff it with something absorbent
36:53So for example, if there was a load of nice dry moss outside, I might use that to stuff the bags with
36:59And you just pop whatever it is you're going to stuff inside the bag
37:03And there you go, one sanitary peg
37:05And that sort of sorts out that monthly problem
37:08It's often these sort of intimate little details about people's personal lives that I find most fascinating
37:15History's full of all the big stuff
37:17But, you know, the details, the day-to-day, just how you manage
37:20Often gets forgotten and left by the wayside
37:22March has arrived and the farm is showing the first signs of spring
37:43Ruth's basket is being put to use
37:46Fantastic
37:49Hello pigs, you ready?
37:55Don't have to make life easier
37:58Peter's gate post is finally in the ground
38:02And all ten ewes are pregnant
38:06Laming time is now imminent
38:09The boys have travelled to Richard Spencer's farm to get some much-needed advice
38:14How are you?
38:15Oh, it's steady, steady
38:16Good to see you again
38:17Good to see you again
38:18Good to see you again
38:19Yeah, so you're going to give us a crash course today
38:21Have you lambed a sheep before?
38:22Never
38:26Well, there's one here
38:28We have a nose
38:30And two front feet
38:31You can tell me the front feet
38:33Well, I could pull this out as easy as pie
38:35But as you've never done it before
38:37Who's going to go first?
38:39Who wants to learn?
38:40Can I give it a go?
38:41You can give it a go?
38:42Right, Alex, the trick is if you're on your own, which you're often all working with livestock
38:46Yeah
38:47The sheep is on the side, everything's okay
38:50You get close in with your knees, inside of her stomach
38:52So if she kicks and struggles, which she might do, she's not going to kick you where it hurts
38:56And you don't look with your eyes, you look with your fingertips
38:59Can I just hand straight in?
39:00Yeah, straight in there
39:01There's plenty of lubricant provided by Mother Nature
39:03Okay
39:04Don't look with your eyes, look with your fingertips
39:05So, I'm not looking at my eyes, right?
39:08It's a very big lamb
39:09So why she's taking so long?
39:10Why she needs help?
39:11Don't be afraid to pull
39:13Yeah
39:14Go on, really give it some
39:15Go for it
39:16Got it?
39:17Yeah, here it comes
39:18Go, go, go, go, go
39:19Go, go, go, go
39:20Both hands, just don't mess about
39:21Because it'll grip the umbilical cord
39:22Keep going
39:23Both hands if you wish, Alex
39:24Go, go, go, go, go, go
39:25Get him out
39:26Get the placenta off his head
39:27His head's covered with the placenta, clear it
39:28Yep
39:29Use your fingers to squeeze his nose
39:30And clear the mix off his nose
39:31Just get everything clear
39:32Yep
39:33Right
39:34Put your finger and thumb
39:35Middle finger and thumb
39:36On his ear
39:37And prick it really tight
39:38Get the nails to rub together
39:39Either side of his ear
39:40Nails into here
39:41That's it
39:42That's good, that's a gasp
39:43Still not very strong
39:44Grab some straw
39:45Grab some straw
39:46That's it
39:47And scrub his chest
39:48In there
39:49No, you're playing with it man
39:50You're scrubbing the floor
39:51Really, really rub it
39:52Get the circulation going
39:53Really stimulating
39:55Yeah
39:56It's like an aggressive mother
39:57Sort of licking him
39:58To get him going
39:59Yep
40:00That's it
40:01That's the first lamb
40:02You've actually delivered
40:03Is it, Alex?
40:04That is the first lamb
40:05I've ever delivered
40:06That's fantastic
40:07Look at him
40:08Can you also check that there's milk there
40:09Look
40:10It's important
40:11That's it
40:12Perfect
40:13Yeah
40:14See if that works as well
40:15Oh, slot on
40:16Got you
40:17Oh, absolutely wonderful
40:19Absolutely wonderful
40:20Absolutely wonderful
40:25Now we've got this sheet with a healthy lamb
40:27I'm all lucky that it's sucked in well
40:28Just pen her up
40:29So that no other sheet comes along
40:30And takes them away from her
40:31Anywhere you like
40:32Up the wall side
40:33Use the corner of the wall there
40:36To wedge the end of the hurdle against
40:38It won't move away then
40:39Just remember where the sheet puts the pressure
40:43Where she pushes against it
40:45When you're working with sheep
40:46You have to think like a sheep
40:48She's taking
40:49The lamb's taking milk
40:50Oh, look at that now
40:51That's what I love about the Shropshire sheep
40:53The lambs have got that wonderful tenacity
40:55That wonderful will to live
40:56As soon as they're out there
40:57And we struggled to get the breath
40:59First breath in that lamb, didn't we, Alex?
41:00Yeah, yeah
41:01Wonderful
41:02Wonderful sheep to Shropshire
41:03They really want to get up and go
41:04There's been a real barrage of emotions
41:08Um, they certainly give me confidence
41:11Hello
41:12Our own lamby
41:13But, um, there's still part of me
41:15That's very apprehensive, very nervous
41:17Because when we're away from here
41:19When we're back on our farm
41:21We won't have Richard
41:22We won't have the backups
41:23We'll be on our own
41:24And, you know, if something goes wrong
41:26Will we be able to cope?
41:28With the first lambs due in just a few days
41:31Peter will soon have a chance to find out
41:34But before the lambs are born
41:39The sheep field needs urgent repairs
41:41There's a big hole in the hedge surrounding it
41:44Which Ruth has decided to fix
41:46Using an ancient technique called wattle work
41:49I'm just driving some posts in
41:53Along this gap in the hedge
41:55And then I'm gonna
41:57Weave a load of hazel up and down
41:59The early spring or late winter
42:02Is a time when
42:04You do as much of the sort of hedging and ditching
42:07As you possibly can
42:08There's not too much other agricultural work
42:11And there's no leaves
42:13On the wood to get in your way
42:17I expect the vegetation to sort of
42:19Grow up around this bit
42:21So this should solve the gap
42:23For the next 20, 30, 40, 50 years maybe
42:26If I'm lucky
42:27To test her repairs
42:30Ruth's drafted in the farm's
42:31Most consistent escape artists
42:33Jump through
42:35Go on, try and get through my fence now
42:40Well it's only a very quick bit of
42:47Emergency fence mending
42:49But I think that'll do
42:51The fence across the farmyard
42:58Is far from complete
43:00To speed things up
43:02The boys are going to cut
43:03The rest of the logs by cleaving
43:05We're putting in wedges
43:06That's forcing the wood apart
43:08There's no question about this
43:10Being a thousand times quicker than sawing
43:12It's a rough and ready form of fencing
43:17It's got to be functional
43:18It doesn't necessarily have to be pretty
43:20A bit like us
43:21Play the wedges
43:22Oh, look at that
43:23It's just gone
43:24There we are
43:25I think the key is
43:26Putting the axe in at the start
43:28And dictating how it's going to split
43:30I think the key is
43:31After we've done the job
43:33If only you were so smart before the job, Peter
43:37Back in the farmyard
43:40The quartered logs must be cut down by two feet
43:42That's good
43:43How big's two?
43:45I will use my Victorian measuring stick
43:49This is a foot
43:51From elbow
43:52There we are
43:55To that knuckle there
43:56So if I mark that up there
43:58To there
44:01It's this mark here
44:03Doing a nice rocking action around here
44:10Yeah, you use a lot more of your body weight
44:13With a saw like this
44:14So this is going in this hole just here
44:20Okay
44:21It's still going
44:22Look at all that water coming out
44:24The fence needs a gate
44:26And a gate needs hinges
44:28On the farm's estate
44:30There's only one man for the job
44:32John Herbertson is the local blacksmith
44:35Blacksmith
44:36Blacksmiths rather pride themselves on being the possessors of the king of crafts
44:51Because if the blacksmith couldn't make the tools and the carpenter couldn't cut his wood
44:56The wheels on the carts wouldn't be shod
45:00And no one could do anything
45:02So the blacksmith would have been a man of some importance
45:07And his contribution would have been to drag everybody in to the village blacksmiths
45:14There'd be farmers there parking their horses to be shod, carts to be mended
45:19And also in the winter of course it would be the one warm place around
45:23By the late 19th century the village blacksmiths trade was declining
45:28Competition from factories meant many of their products were being made
45:32And mass produced by machines at much lower cost
45:35Items like hinges, nails and wagon parts could be purchased ready made
45:40What I'm doing is rolling it up
45:44A bit like a Swiss roll
45:45But unlike other rural craftsmen
45:47Many blacksmiths survived into the 20th century
45:50They took on work for the railways
45:53And when automobiles began to appear
45:55Some became mechanics
46:02Hi John, have you finished the hinges?
46:04Yes, I have
46:05First done now
46:06So the gate will open that way
46:09It's absolutely perfect
46:11Thank you very much
46:12I'm very, very impressed
46:14The fence is almost finished
46:16But before they can complete it
46:18The team have a new problem to tackle
46:25The wheat crop is once again under attack
46:27Not from pheasants this time
46:29But from rabbits
46:31Just like game birds
46:34Rabbits were the property of the landowner
46:37For much of the 19th century
46:39It was illegal for tenant farmers to kill them
46:42So Alex has decided to take matters into his own hands
46:46In the style of a notorious figure of the Victorian countryside
46:50The poacher
46:52Going out on the pheasant shoot
46:54Was very much something we did with the land agent
46:56But catching rabbits like this
46:58Is something that you'd do as a poacher
47:00You know
47:01You certainly wouldn't want to let the land agent know about this
47:04Doug and Bob Jones are a father and son team
47:07They've been catching rabbits in these hills for 50 years
47:11Using ferrets
47:13Net this all
47:16What you do is you net up all of the holes
47:18And then you put the ferret in
47:20And we've got a Jill
47:22Which is a female ferret
47:24She runs around
47:25And of course she puts the fear of God in the rabbits
47:27They shoot along the burrows
47:29And they come out
47:30And these nets are designed in such a way
47:32That as the rabbit hits them
47:34It sort of traps them behind
47:39Poaching was widespread in Victorian Britain
47:41And the authorities took a very serious line
47:44Game laws throughout the 19th century were incredibly strict
47:51Police were issued with stop and search powers
47:54And this was an enormous bone of contention amongst the working classes
47:57In practice the law meant that the police could stop a farm labourer returning from work
48:04And ask him to turf out his pockets
48:06And obviously if they've got any traps or nets or even game
48:11They could be arrested
48:12But of course the police then at the time were using these powers
48:15Just to stop random people
48:17And just to check to see what they were up to and what they were doing
48:19And of course this really upset a lot of farm labourers
48:22Okay we're going to drop the ferrets in
48:25Right
48:26In case she's in so quiet now
48:41The ferret looks in every burrow
48:43Until she finds a rabbit
48:45If there's none to be found
48:47She'll reappear
48:49Just seeing the ferret just stick its head out
48:52Nothing here
48:54Boxer
48:55Boxer
48:56Okay we'll move on
48:57Move on to the next
48:58Move us to the next one
48:59Yes
49:00With dozens of warrens in these hills
49:02There are plenty more to try
49:04It's a bit of an it-and-miss affair really
49:06You don't really know where they are
49:08Back at the cottage Ruth is dealing with the leftover pheasant from Alex's first hunting trip
49:21We had them roasted the other night but there's quite a lot of meat left on them
49:25I've got here a book about how to cook with leftovers
49:30It's called The Family Save All
49:32And it's marvellously thrifty and it's full of really interesting recipes
49:36This recipe here is for pheasant
49:40Hashed pheasant
49:42Waste not want not
49:45Not only a Victorian saying but such a Victorian moral
49:48So many people going hungry
49:50And the idea of wasting good food appalled people
49:54If you were a person with not very much spare money
49:58And you lived in London for example
50:00There were any number of shops where you could buy food leftovers
50:05Which would be collected from places like hotels or gentlemen's clubs
50:12Places like that
50:13And for very very small amounts of money
50:15You could buy such leftovers and take them home and make a dinner out of them
50:20After stripping the bones
50:22Ruth makes a stock in which to stew the leftover meat
50:26Plenty of fox muck about here anyway so that's a good sign
50:36He doesn't hang about for nothing
50:38No he doesn't does he?
50:39At the second rabbit warren hopes are running high
50:43See how she gets on
50:46Can we have some quiet now please?
50:48Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
51:00There's one
51:02Don't leave it, leave it
51:04Dispatch it or dog will
51:06Leave it, leave it
51:08Simple case
51:10What we don't want to do is just broken the neck
51:13It's a start but they're hoping for many more rabbits
51:16I'll put her in lower down
51:25There he is done
51:26Good dog Charlie
51:28Good dog
51:29All right
51:30All right
51:31Leave it
51:32Leave it
51:33Leave it
51:34Leave it
51:35Leave it
51:36With the warren exhausted the final total is six rabbits
51:39And they're quickly put to use back at the cottage
51:44What I'm going to do is a pudding, a rabbit pudding
51:51It's a very rural dish
51:53Suet puddings were an absolute staple for many a Victorian family
52:00Particularly at the bottom end of the social scale
52:02They're cheap to make and they're very filling
52:05And they're easy to make nice
52:07You'd only need the tiniest touch of flavour and it goes right through them
52:10Now my pieces of rabbit are to be browned
52:14That's just sort of lightly fried in a little bit of butter
52:17So I'll just lay my pieces of rabbit in carefully
52:24Now for the suet crust of my rabbit pudding
52:34I've got to make suet crust pastry
52:36Which is just flour
52:38A little water
52:40And some fat, suet fat
52:42Now you need about twice as much flour as fat
52:46This isn't posh cooking by any stretch of the imagination
52:51This is simple food, quick to prepare
52:54Keeps you going no matter what the weather
53:05In the sheep field, one of the pregnant ewes is showing signs of distress
53:10The boys have decided they must intervene
53:13Probably there
53:14Yeah
53:15We need to go that side of you
53:24Get her down
53:25We'll go that way
53:26Get her down
53:27Okay
53:28We'll sweep the back leg
53:33Right
53:34So we're going to go for this, yeah?
53:36Yes
53:37We've got
53:39Some feet there
53:41Feel your fingers
53:42Oh boy
53:45How about, is it in the right alignment?
53:47It is, yeah
53:48The head
53:49I can feel the jaw
53:50Okay
53:51See these fingers, where my fingers are
53:53For closing, I can feel the jaw there
53:55So it's good
53:56It's very well presented
54:04All the way up
54:07Right
54:08That's it
54:09Lovely
54:10Lovely
54:11See it wipe it down
54:12And it's nose
54:13And you push from it's mouth
54:14That's it
54:15Is it breathing yet?
54:16Is it breathing?
54:17Yep, yep
54:18That's it, get some hay on it
54:19Give it a rubbed straw
54:20That gets circulation going
54:21Yep
54:22Just pinch it's here
54:23There
54:24Yep
54:25That's moving
54:26It's alive
54:27It's alive
54:28Great
54:30There we go
54:31Yep
54:32I'm inclined
54:33To get some water to her
54:35Get her penned up
54:36Get her penned
54:37And then
54:39Just sort of
54:40We'll
54:41Keep monitor overnight, yeah?
54:42Well sit here for
54:43Sit for an hour and a half
54:44Couple of hours
54:45Just to make sure she's alright
54:46And to make sure
54:47This one gets at the
54:49The teats
54:50Yeah
54:51You think, yeah?
54:52Yeah
54:53She's trying to stand up as well
54:55That's all good
54:56That's a great sign
54:57To be honest
54:58A great sign
54:59Right
55:00I mean now she's sitting here
55:01And they're both doing fine
55:03I'm really glad we did it
55:05Yeah I think we made the right call
55:06I think we did
55:07Look at that
55:08Look at them
55:09Look at that
55:10I think she's going to try and stand up now
55:11So
55:12Time for me to make my exit
55:14Mind your hands
55:18Thank you Peter
55:21That was quite something
55:22That really was quite something
55:23That really was quite something
55:36This is fantastic Ruth
55:37Delicious
55:38This is your rabbit this is
55:39Right
55:40I'm drooling over your dinner
55:43Leftover pheasant
55:44Leftover pheasant
55:45Very very nice
55:47It's a very gamey meal
55:49Yeah
55:50Yeah
55:51Well if you will keep going kitten things
55:52Yeah
55:53You have to eat them
55:59It's a great delight in eating the pheasant
56:01Because he's eating our crop
56:02Yeah
56:03Rabbit's nice
56:05The farm's first lamb is doing well
56:12And a little while after she was born
56:15Her mum gave birth for a second time
56:18Shropshire sheep can often have twins or even triplets
56:22With the rest of the flock due to give birth soon
56:27The farm's population is set to explode
56:34Just in time the boys have finally completed the farmyard fence
56:39Having felled the tree, sawn the gate post, cleaved the rails and hung the gate with the blacksmith's hinges
56:46It's now time to put their work to the test
56:49Well we've finished our post and rail fence that divides up our farmyard
56:54John the blacksmith and Ruth have come to inspect it
56:57And I'm going to let out the pigs, Alex is going to let out the cows
57:00And hopefully never the twain shall meet
57:03Come on then you two
57:06Out you come
57:10There you go
57:15Seems to be working really well
57:16I think it's a fantastic fence
57:18I think for me it just completes the farmyard now
57:21Like everything is done
57:22Yeah, they all look really sturdy these posts
57:24They look really good
57:26Well, they are all sturdy
57:28Apart from me and one
57:33Next time on Victorian farm
57:36It's spring
57:39There are pigs to be delivered
57:42And chicks to be hatched
57:45The hens come under attack
57:48Another one, Peter
57:50A prized ewes life is in danger
57:52The foot rot's got in
57:53And I'm deeply, deeply concerned about this
57:56And a lame horse could jeopardise everything
57:59The teen turned to science to help save their crops
58:05If they succeed, they'll have something to celebrate at the May Day Fair
58:11If they fail, all their hard work will have been in vain
58:16Oh no, I've broken it already
58:18It's make or break time on the Victorian farm
58:21Victorian farm
58:51It's gonna be hard
58:52There's two different animals
58:58Then I have to chop the target
59:01To be in vain
59:03To be in vain
59:05To be in vain
59:07To be in vain
59:09To be in vain
59:10To be in vain
59:13To be in vain
59:15The food of the Crients
59:16The food of the Crients
59:17Are the dogs
59:18Or the dogs
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