1
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(Cock crows)

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Here in Shropshire is a farm
that's frozen in time,

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lost in Victorian rural England.

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Now a unique project will bring it back to life,
as it would have been in the 1 880s.

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- Such an amazing piece of kit.
- That is just tremendous.

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Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn

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are taking up the challenge of living
as Victorian farmers for a full calendar year.

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From the depths of winter
to the warmth of summer.

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They'll wear the clothes, eat the food

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and experience the day-to-day life
of rural Victorians.

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They'll rear Victorian breeds of animals.

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They're an unruly bunch, they really are.

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That's the first lamb you've delivered?

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Hello, sweeties.

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They'll grow crops.

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Fingers crossed l'll get it right
and won't look like too much of an idiot.

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And get to grips
with the crafts and skills of the age.

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This was a time of agricultural revolution
in Britain,

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but the industrialisation of farming
would wipe out centuries of traditional skills.

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Where are you, Alex? Good grief, young man!

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Thankfully there are a select few
who still keep them alive.

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This will encourage the tree to fall
in the direction we want it to go in.

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That's the theory!

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With their help, the team are about to turn back
the clock to rediscover a lost world.

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But first, before winter sets in,
they must restore their dilapidated farm cottage.

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- l've never used anything like this.
- You're one excited lady. l love it.

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Sow crops using only horsepower

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whilst dealing with the perennial problem
of the British weather.

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Unfortunately it's not working out for us today.

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The problem is it's just so wet.

31
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And take charge of livestock,
learning shepherding skills the hard way.

32
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What a nightmare.
This doesn't bode well for the year.

33
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They'll be getting to grips with every aspect
of life on the Victorian farm.

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lt's the 1 st of September.

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Ruth, Alex and Peter
arrive at their Victorian farm.

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- This is the way to travel, isn't it?
- l know! lt's fantastic.

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Ruth Goodman specialises in domestic history.

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She'll run the cottage,
and be responsible for the dairy and poultry.

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The Victorian period
is a really interesting moment in history.

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lt's a time of the most enormous social change.

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There's new ways of feeding ourselves,
clothing ourselves,

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new ways of housing ourselves,
new ways of transporting ourselves.

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We all base our modern living on

44
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the things that came out of this great turmoil
and experimentation.

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- What's in this one?
- Mostly cook gear.

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Utensils.

47
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Archaeologist Alex Langlands
will be responsible for growing crops

48
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and rearing the animals.

49
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lt's about getting up first thing in the morning
and coming in when the sun goes down.

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lt's about spending the time outside, eating
fresh ingredients, growing your own ingredients.

51
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l mean,
it really is about going back to a way of life

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that l think many people today
would love the opportunity to do.

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Peter Ginn, also an archaeologist,

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is keen to get to grips with the steam
and horse-powered technology of the era.

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We all know about the big events in history.

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l want to know about the day-to-day living
within that context.

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There are massive changes in industry and
also there are massive changes in agriculture.

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Cos it's such a moment of change, you've got
the old and new sitting alongside each other.

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You've got ancient crafts
that are almost unchanged for a millennia

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sitting right alongside a time of mass production.

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Their farm is on the Acton Scott estate,

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which stretches across 1,500 acres
of Shropshire countryside.

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lt's been home to Thomas Stackhouse Acton's
family since 1 255.

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Mr Acton is a Victorian farming enthusiast

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and has spent his life collecting
old agricultural tools and machinery.

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His son Rupert manages the estate

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and will be their land agent for the year ahead.

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Goodness. (Laughs)

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- You look a bit daunted.
- Yeah.

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You ring the bell.

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First stop for the farmers is Acton Scott Hall.

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(Bell clangs)

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- Ah, hello.
- Hello.

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Nice to meet you.

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- How are you?
- Very good indeed.

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- Hi, l'm Peter.
- Nice to meet you.

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- This is Ruth.
- Hello.

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- l'm Alex.
- Excellent.

79
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- Hello.
- This is little Florence.

80
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- Hello, Florence.
- Little Florence Acton.

81
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She's rather shy.

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ln the Victorian age, this was a busy
working farm with 1 5 acres of land.

83
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lt was abandoned 50 years ago,
but little has changed here for a century.

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- lt's quite a sight, isn't it?
- l'm afraid so.

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This is the cowshed.

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Wow, look at that.

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- Stunning.
- All the stalls.

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These barns will be home to their cows,
horse and pigs.

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- Needs a bit of a clean.
- lt is going to need a bit of a clean, isn't it?

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Home to hundreds of spiders.

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Although abandoned long ago,
amazingly, the Victorian water pump still works.

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l spent many happy hours here as a child,
pumping water for the cattle.

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lt's seen better days.

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Above the cowshed is the tool loft.

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Untouched for decades.

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Be very very careful.

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There's a good range of tools.

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- Fantastic.
- Look!

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This one is a castrating knife.

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Lovely.

101
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That's definitely a boy job.

102
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You know it's a milking stool.
No other stool is that high.

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- lt's absolutely perfect.
- Or has three legs.

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Exactly.

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There's some horse medication up here as well.

106
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- You've thought of everything.
- lt's not still in there?

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There we are.

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The bottle's still sealed.

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''The one minute cure.''

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''For gripes or fret in horses.''

111
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My gosh. lt's still sealed. Oh, flipping 'eck.

112
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Wow.

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There's so much here, so much to take in.

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RUTH: This place is amazing.

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lt's almost like it was left yesterday.

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Yeah. Well, a long, slightly rusty yesterday.

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A time capsule that we've just uncovered,
with everything here.

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We've just got to get it back in shape.

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Make it easier to get to the door.

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The team will not just be farming, but also living,
cooking and eating like rural Victorians.

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Rupert has found them
a small farm worker's cottage,

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uninhabited since the 1 950s.

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l believe one of these keys fits this door,
but l'm not quite sure which one it is.

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You feel like you've got a key
when you've got a key like that, don't you?

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Oh, there we go.

126
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Ah, there we are.

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- Go on.
- Oh, wow.

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Fantastic.

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ln need of a bit of work, l'm afraid.

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This can't have been lived in for quite a while.

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lt hasn't been lived in for 50 years. Yes.

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At the heart of the Victorian cottage
is the coal range.

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This was the way most people cooked
until the 1 920s,

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when gas and electricity began to replace coal.

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lt's not only essential for cooking
but provides hot water and heats the house.

136
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But this range is in a sorry state.

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We're going to have to get this sorted
absolutely first thing.

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We're not going to be able to do anything
until we've got a decent range.

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The rest we can live without,
but we can't live without the range.

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l'm worried about cooking on a coal range.

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l've never done it before.

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That's going to be
quite an important thing for me.

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lf l can't crack it, we're going to eat horrible food
all year, which is not very nice.

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So, shall l show you upstairs?

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Show you where you'll be billeted.

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Although dilapidated,
the cottage is structurally sound.

147
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lt's not too bad up here.

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- l think it's pretty good.
- He says.

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Get shot of the dead birds from the windowsill.

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Right, that's it. l'm moving in.
As soon as possible.

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Guiding the farmers through the year ahead
is the celebrated Book Of The Farm

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by Henry Stephens, first published in 1 844.

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This kind of book is absolutely priceless.

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lt gives you a breakdown of everything
you'd need to do throughout the year.

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lt also gives you the science behind it as well,
types of breeds.

156
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There's absolutely everything here.

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What is most interesting
about these publications

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is their mixture of the old and the new.

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lt often refers to ancient ways of doing things,

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but without quite knowing
the exact science behind it.

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This was the bible for farmers coming to terms
with the industrialisation of farming

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in the 1 9th century.

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lt's also got some of the cutting-edge technology
of the time.

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l'm just looking at this
ploughing with a steam engine,

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with huge cumbersome steam engines.

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But it seemed to be and it says here,
absolute cutting-edge technology.

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Turning this theory into practice
will be an enormous challenge.

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One of the tasks that l've been entrusted with
throughout the project

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is going to be managing our arable concern.

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lt's really a part of the project
where l just can't afford to fail.

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And of course for farmers
back in the late 1 9th century, it's not an option.

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l'm really anxious about it,
but at the same time, really excited.

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The farm has three acres of arable land.

174
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On some of it they hope to grow a cereal crop,
like wheat or barley.

175
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At the moment, the field's covered in grass,

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so first it must be ploughed
to return it to bare earth.

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Guiding Alex is Britain's most
award-winning ploughman, Jim Elliott.

178
00:10:41,247 --> 00:10:42,680
- Hi, Jim.
- Hiya.

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- Who are these lovely fellas?
- This is Lion. He's an eight-year-old shire.

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And this is Prince.
He's a 1 3-year-old lrish draught.

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- They work well together, then?
- Yeah, they do.

182
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What do you think of the field, Jim?

183
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lt looks fine. Quite a bit of grass on

184
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but we should be able to plough it down
and put a bit of fertility into the soil.

185
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- As long as there's no big stones.
- l'm glad you're confident.

186
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Gee back, Prince. Gee back.

187
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Whoa, whoa. Slowly, now.

188
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ALEX: This is your money-maker.

189
00:11:12,687 --> 00:11:15,679
This is important,
especially for a farm of our size.

190
00:11:15,727 --> 00:11:17,922
You've really got to turn out a good cereal crop.

191
00:11:17,967 --> 00:11:20,356
That's where you're going to get your cash.

192
00:11:22,287 --> 00:11:27,759
During the 1 9th century, the population of Britain
grew from 1 0 million to 40 million.

193
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To feed the masses,
agriculture had to undergo a revolution...

194
00:11:33,527 --> 00:11:35,518
by industrialising.

195
00:11:37,207 --> 00:11:42,122
Simple wooden ploughs used for centuries
were superseded by high-tech iron machines.

196
00:11:44,367 --> 00:11:47,245
Leading the market were Ransomes of lpswich.

197
00:11:47,287 --> 00:11:51,121
ln the 1 840s, they came up with this -
the Yorkshire Light.

198
00:11:52,007 --> 00:11:56,000
So great was the design,
it was still being manufactured a century later.

199
00:11:57,887 --> 00:11:59,081
Walk on.

200
00:11:59,127 --> 00:12:04,520
Fantastic bit of kit, this. lt's a Ransomes plough.
This is one of these mass-produced ploughs.

201
00:12:04,567 --> 00:12:08,355
What you have in the earlier period,
the earlier 1 9th century,

202
00:12:08,407 --> 00:12:11,683
is you've still got your wooden ploughs
made in local workshops.

203
00:12:11,727 --> 00:12:15,845
But with Ransomes...mass-produced
and they're being sent out all over the country.

204
00:12:15,887 --> 00:12:20,119
You'd be using one of these north of Scotland
all the way down to the south of England.

205
00:12:22,007 --> 00:12:26,523
These high-tech ploughs
revolutionised arable farming.

206
00:12:26,567 --> 00:12:29,001
The earth was ploughed to a consistent depth,

207
00:12:29,047 --> 00:12:33,404
improving the quality of the land
and increasing the crop yield.

208
00:12:33,447 --> 00:12:36,962
ln much the same way
that you see a modern tractor,

209
00:12:37,007 --> 00:12:40,238
with all sorts of gadgets on it -

210
00:12:40,287 --> 00:12:43,484
hydraulics, levers - it's very much the same here.

211
00:12:45,047 --> 00:12:48,835
Having to adjust everything
just by small fractions of inches.

212
00:12:55,247 --> 00:12:58,956
At the cottage, Ruth and Peter
are beginning the restoration.

213
00:12:59,007 --> 00:13:01,726
Let's get rid of these birds first, shall we?

214
00:13:02,847 --> 00:13:04,565
Put them in there.

215
00:13:04,607 --> 00:13:06,677
The first job is to clean the bedroom.

216
00:13:08,087 --> 00:13:10,555
lt's in a pretty neglected state, this room.

217
00:13:12,127 --> 00:13:15,881
The walls... The plaster's there, mostly.

218
00:13:16,247 --> 00:13:21,037
lf we just start at the top and take it
as thoroughly as we can down.

219
00:13:22,087 --> 00:13:25,397
This has been 50 years of dust,
50 years of spiders,

220
00:13:25,447 --> 00:13:27,642
50 years of an insect and animal paradise.

221
00:13:28,127 --> 00:13:30,118
Yeah, it's absolutely filthy.

222
00:13:30,687 --> 00:13:34,805
This is a much bigger job than l thought initially.

223
00:13:36,647 --> 00:13:41,675
As they remove half a century of dust,
the state of the plaster becomes clear.

224
00:13:43,087 --> 00:13:47,365
The plaster's not as good as l thought it was.
lt's going to take quite a bit of...

225
00:13:47,407 --> 00:13:49,921
lf it needs to come off, it needs to come off.

226
00:13:49,967 --> 00:13:53,118
The more we look,
the more we find we have to do.

227
00:13:53,687 --> 00:13:57,316
Downstairs in the kitchen,
there's an even more pressing issue.

228
00:13:57,367 --> 00:13:59,085
The range.

229
00:13:59,127 --> 00:14:01,322
So this is Henry Cottage.

230
00:14:01,367 --> 00:14:03,278
And this is our range.

231
00:14:03,327 --> 00:14:05,761
l don't know what you think about it.

232
00:14:05,807 --> 00:14:10,597
Peter's called on Paul Arrowsmith,
an expert in Victorian building.

233
00:14:10,647 --> 00:14:12,638
lt could be repaired but...

234
00:14:13,327 --> 00:14:15,716
- lt's a big job.
- Not worth it.

235
00:14:15,767 --> 00:14:18,964
lt's a very small opening.
Do you need to do much cooking?

236
00:14:19,007 --> 00:14:22,363
- We need to do a fair bit of cooking, yes.
- Oh, right.

237
00:14:22,407 --> 00:14:26,446
l'm not sure if this is actually
the original fireplace.

238
00:14:26,487 --> 00:14:28,364
We've obviously got this here.

239
00:14:28,407 --> 00:14:32,116
On the adjacent wall is evidence of a fireplace
bricked up long ago.

240
00:14:32,807 --> 00:14:34,798
Only the wooden lintel is visible.

241
00:14:35,687 --> 00:14:41,557
lt's a lot bigger area, so l'm sure it goes back
further so you can get a much bigger range in.

242
00:14:41,607 --> 00:14:44,963
The only way to find out is actually
to get rid of some of the stuff.

243
00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:52,039
The old range will be discarded
and a new bigger range installed here.

244
00:14:56,127 --> 00:15:00,200
Peter is hoping that beyond the rubble,
the chimney will still be intact.

245
00:15:08,367 --> 00:15:10,835
Henry Cottage hasn't been used for 50 years.

246
00:15:10,887 --> 00:15:14,038
And, moreover, this is a bricked-up chimney.

247
00:15:15,167 --> 00:15:21,163
So this is all rubble that has been used to fill up
this fireplace when it was abandoned

248
00:15:21,207 --> 00:15:23,198
and they moved across to there.

249
00:15:30,727 --> 00:15:32,718
We've got fresh air now.

250
00:15:33,807 --> 00:15:38,198
To burn, the range draws air from the room
out through the chimney.

251
00:15:38,247 --> 00:15:43,275
But if the chimney's blocked, the air won't flow,
so the coal won't burn.

252
00:15:44,687 --> 00:15:49,317
When they blocked this chimney up,
they capped it with stone,

253
00:15:49,367 --> 00:15:52,677
so that we can still use the fireplace
in the bedroom above.

254
00:15:54,007 --> 00:15:57,682
At the moment, that stone is lingering
precariously up that chimney.

255
00:15:57,727 --> 00:16:01,163
They're trying to force it down
so it doesn't fall on us while we're working.

256
00:16:01,207 --> 00:16:05,405
Upstairs in the bedroom,
Paul's attempting to shift the offending stone.

257
00:16:06,047 --> 00:16:09,756
lt's coming! More of that, please.
More of that. Looks good.

258
00:16:10,527 --> 00:16:12,518
Give it a thrash.

259
00:16:15,287 --> 00:16:17,278
OK.

260
00:16:17,327 --> 00:16:21,957
Once the rubble's cleared,
the chimney's revealed in all its glory.

261
00:16:22,847 --> 00:16:28,444
You can see the shape tapering as it goes up...
to draw the smoke up.

262
00:16:28,487 --> 00:16:30,557
We've had a shoe come out of here,

263
00:16:32,047 --> 00:16:34,561
and a salt hole here.

264
00:16:34,607 --> 00:16:36,598
These houses would have been damp.

265
00:16:36,647 --> 00:16:39,320
This is one of the few places
you could keep your salt dry.

266
00:16:39,367 --> 00:16:41,562
So it would still be granulated.

267
00:16:44,287 --> 00:16:47,120
We're going to sweep the chimney
with these drainage rods.

268
00:16:47,167 --> 00:16:49,317
As you can see, this is just the beginning.

269
00:16:49,367 --> 00:16:53,280
l think there's going to be tons and tons of debris
coming down.

270
00:17:01,007 --> 00:17:04,636
We've got all the birds nests out of there
and you can see daylight.

271
00:17:04,687 --> 00:17:06,757
We're just waiting for the range now.

272
00:17:18,087 --> 00:17:22,638
ln the fields,
Alex's early optimism's turned to gloom.

273
00:17:22,687 --> 00:17:24,837
What we're finding up this end of the field

274
00:17:24,887 --> 00:17:28,118
is that we've got a lot of boulders here,
a lot of stones.

275
00:17:28,167 --> 00:17:32,445
What's happening is the share is hitting
these stones and it's kicking the plough out.

276
00:17:32,487 --> 00:17:35,206
lf it was a bit wetter, it could just roll it over.

277
00:17:35,247 --> 00:17:38,398
- The ground is just quite dry.
- Right.

278
00:17:38,447 --> 00:17:41,325
We have had rain overnight
but l don't know if it's gone in.

279
00:17:41,367 --> 00:17:44,006
But it's been dry for two months almost.

280
00:17:44,047 --> 00:17:46,402
That's going to create real problems, is it?

281
00:17:46,447 --> 00:17:49,598
The furrow won't want to roll off smoothly.

282
00:17:49,647 --> 00:17:51,524
lt'll want to break in lumps.

283
00:17:51,567 --> 00:17:55,242
That might be our worst concern
but we'll have to give it a try.

284
00:17:55,927 --> 00:17:58,885
- l'm slowly losing confidence here, Jim.
- There's no need to.

285
00:17:58,927 --> 00:18:01,487
All the many problems you're pointing out.

286
00:18:01,527 --> 00:18:03,279
Go on.

287
00:18:04,087 --> 00:18:05,998
(Whistles)

288
00:18:06,047 --> 00:18:10,359
Alex is coming to terms with the challenges
that faced the Victorian farmer.

289
00:18:11,567 --> 00:18:16,482
Failure of a wheat crop back in the Victorian
period would spell disaster for any farmer.

290
00:18:16,527 --> 00:18:22,477
lt really would be a case of going from
struggling to get by to being broke, essentially.

291
00:18:22,527 --> 00:18:26,076
You might even find yourself and your family
in the workhouse.

292
00:18:30,207 --> 00:18:32,004
l've got to have a go myself.

293
00:18:32,047 --> 00:18:38,043
Obviously a farmer of my stature would know
how to plough back in the late 1 9th century.

294
00:18:38,087 --> 00:18:43,320
So l'm a bit anxious here
because if l cock this up,

295
00:18:44,247 --> 00:18:46,715
then Jim's got a lot of work to do to rectify it.

296
00:18:46,767 --> 00:18:52,444
What l want you to do is keep the furrow wheel
up against this edge here.

297
00:18:53,127 --> 00:18:54,560
Walk on.

298
00:18:54,607 --> 00:18:56,598
Good boy.

299
00:18:57,247 --> 00:18:58,965
Keep the land wheel on the ground.

300
00:18:59,007 --> 00:19:02,443
You can put a little bit of pressure
on the right-hand handle.

301
00:19:02,487 --> 00:19:04,717
That helps turn the furrow better.

302
00:19:04,767 --> 00:19:09,397
As long as this wheel doesn't
come off the ground. You'll lose your depth.

303
00:19:09,447 --> 00:19:11,961
- How's it doing, Jim?
- You're doing fine.

304
00:19:12,007 --> 00:19:14,965
- Do say.
- l'll soon tell you if you're not.

305
00:19:15,007 --> 00:19:17,316
l daren't look at my handiwork.

306
00:19:17,367 --> 00:19:19,722
- lt's fine.
- We'll catch it on the way round.

307
00:19:22,207 --> 00:19:25,597
- lt's mesmerising, watching it turn over.
- Steady now.

308
00:19:27,247 --> 00:19:28,885
Good boy.

309
00:19:28,927 --> 00:19:32,476
Victorian farmers ploughed an acre a day,

310
00:19:32,527 --> 00:19:35,360
walking 1 1 miles from dawn till dusk.

311
00:19:36,327 --> 00:19:39,000
But the work is backbreaking.

312
00:19:39,047 --> 00:19:42,756
After a couple of hours, Alex is exhausted.

313
00:19:42,807 --> 00:19:44,604
You're doing well.

314
00:19:44,647 --> 00:19:46,638
A little bit more.

315
00:19:49,487 --> 00:19:51,478
Thank you.

316
00:19:54,087 --> 00:19:57,841
And the dry stony ground is adding to his woes.

317
00:19:58,767 --> 00:20:01,804
- Whoa, whoa.
- lt's totally ridden out there.

318
00:20:04,807 --> 00:20:06,798
Press on to the right.

319
00:20:06,847 --> 00:20:09,315
This is doing my back, this really is.

320
00:20:10,127 --> 00:20:14,120
My father used to say that hard work
never killed anyone,

321
00:20:14,167 --> 00:20:16,362
but it made them into great queer shapes.

322
00:20:16,407 --> 00:20:18,204
(Laughs)

323
00:20:18,927 --> 00:20:23,842
l suppose a lifetime of ploughing like that,
and out in all weathers as well.

324
00:20:29,087 --> 00:20:31,043
At the cottage, the chimney's clear

325
00:20:31,087 --> 00:20:34,841
and two flues have been built,
ready for the range to be fitted.

326
00:20:38,647 --> 00:20:42,845
Peter Parker and Steve Powell
are Victorian range experts,

327
00:20:42,887 --> 00:20:45,720
and have restored a 1 00-year-old model.

328
00:20:45,767 --> 00:20:50,522
We're just sizing up the oven to make sure that
it actually fits within the opening

329
00:20:50,567 --> 00:20:53,001
that's been made for it.

330
00:20:53,047 --> 00:20:55,607
But there's a snag.

331
00:20:55,647 --> 00:20:57,763
The flues have already been put in.

332
00:20:59,167 --> 00:21:02,284
They're too far forward,

333
00:21:03,127 --> 00:21:07,598
which means that the oven
is protruding in front of the brickwork,

334
00:21:08,527 --> 00:21:10,995
which is going to make it a bit of a problem.

335
00:21:13,007 --> 00:21:15,567
While adjustments are made to the flues,

336
00:21:15,607 --> 00:21:19,998
Peter and Ruth set out to forage for fruit
on the Acton Scott estate.

337
00:21:23,247 --> 00:21:26,683
- This is real hunter-gatherer stuff, isn't it?
- Absolutely.

338
00:21:26,727 --> 00:21:32,199
This has been a staple of peoples
throughout the ages. Thousands of years.

339
00:21:32,247 --> 00:21:34,397
lt's probably why it makes you feel so good.

340
00:21:34,447 --> 00:21:36,915
l always feel happy doing something like this.

341
00:21:36,967 --> 00:21:38,559
lt always lifts my spirits.

342
00:21:38,607 --> 00:21:44,204
- lf you think of the toil that's put into the fields...
- This is like a bonus, a blessing.

343
00:21:44,247 --> 00:21:46,602
A luxury in life.

344
00:21:46,647 --> 00:21:48,763
What are your plans for the sloes?

345
00:21:48,807 --> 00:21:50,798
Mostly gin.

346
00:21:50,847 --> 00:21:52,280
Good to hear.

347
00:21:55,047 --> 00:21:56,765
Ooh.

348
00:21:56,807 --> 00:21:58,718
l think we've got damsons here.

349
00:21:59,407 --> 00:22:02,956
This bounty of free fruit will only last days
unless it's preserved.

350
00:22:04,327 --> 00:22:07,922
Ajob that requires a kitchen and a range.

351
00:22:12,247 --> 00:22:17,401
After a few alterations to the flues,
the range is fitted and ready to be blacked.

352
00:22:18,567 --> 00:22:26,201
We're putting graphite onto the cast iron
to help protect it from rusting

353
00:22:26,247 --> 00:22:28,283
and it gives it a nice sheen.

354
00:22:28,327 --> 00:22:30,522
Usually the housewives would do this.

355
00:22:30,567 --> 00:22:32,444
The young ladies of the house.

356
00:22:33,167 --> 00:22:37,957
l'm saying that because we don't want to get
pressurised into doing this at home, do we?

357
00:22:38,007 --> 00:22:39,759
No. True.

358
00:22:46,127 --> 00:22:49,164
Ruth's keen to try out the range
as soon as possible,

359
00:22:49,207 --> 00:22:51,243
but first she needs some fuel.

360
00:22:54,527 --> 00:22:58,645
Ruth and Peter head to the nearby
Shropshire Union canal

361
00:22:58,687 --> 00:23:00,723
to collect a cartload of coal.

362
00:23:02,127 --> 00:23:05,802
Building Britain's canals was one of
the biggest engineering projects

363
00:23:05,847 --> 00:23:07,405
the country has ever seen.

364
00:23:08,647 --> 00:23:13,926
By the 1 850s, over 4,000 miles of waterways
had been dug,

365
00:23:13,967 --> 00:23:17,516
transporting 30 million tons of freight a year.

366
00:23:19,687 --> 00:23:23,396
This Shropshire narrow boat, Saturn,
was restored by Tony Lewery

367
00:23:23,447 --> 00:23:27,759
and a group of enthusiasts,
and is the last of its kind.

368
00:23:33,767 --> 00:23:35,166
Whoa.

369
00:23:36,367 --> 00:23:38,801
- Wow, what a boat.
- Beautiful boat.

370
00:23:38,847 --> 00:23:42,362
- The best. Just the best.
- We've come to pick up some coal from you.

371
00:23:42,407 --> 00:23:44,716
- Very good.
- What sort is it?

372
00:23:44,767 --> 00:23:47,759
The boat is a Shropshire Union boat,
built as a flyboat.

373
00:23:47,807 --> 00:23:48,683
Flyboat?

374
00:23:48,727 --> 00:23:53,005
Flyboat - non-stop boat, going day and night,
changing the horses along the way.

375
00:23:53,047 --> 00:23:55,515
These boats were the creme de la creme, really.

376
00:23:55,567 --> 00:23:58,639
They were built smaller, slimmer
and they went very well indeed.

377
00:23:58,687 --> 00:24:00,120
lt's a very graceful boat.

378
00:24:00,167 --> 00:24:02,727
- Do you want a hand with the coal?
- l certainly do.

379
00:24:04,847 --> 00:24:06,519
How many tons do you want?

380
00:24:06,567 --> 00:24:10,162
We've just had a range fitted in our cottage.

381
00:24:10,207 --> 00:24:13,882
- You'll need most of this for the winter.
- We'll need a fair bit.

382
00:24:15,487 --> 00:24:17,876
This stuff changed the entire world, didn't it?

383
00:24:17,927 --> 00:24:20,043
lt did. And the canals helped it, really.

384
00:24:20,087 --> 00:24:21,918
Because until the canals came along,

385
00:24:21,967 --> 00:24:25,960
travelling coal in bulk for long distances
was impossibly expensive.

386
00:24:26,007 --> 00:24:29,682
As soon as the canals came,
suddenly you could deliver 20 ton at a time,

387
00:24:29,727 --> 00:24:32,321
with relative ease,
and everything burgeoned, then.

388
00:24:32,367 --> 00:24:34,005
lndustry, steam engines.

389
00:24:34,047 --> 00:24:36,766
We're used to the idea
of coal changing industry,

390
00:24:36,807 --> 00:24:40,482
but it changes farming, it changes food,
it changes laundry,

391
00:24:40,527 --> 00:24:45,123
it changes the way you breathe in your house,
it changes everything.

392
00:24:45,167 --> 00:24:49,365
Canals were one of the principal
communication networks of Britain

393
00:24:49,407 --> 00:24:51,159
in the lndustrial Revolution

394
00:24:51,207 --> 00:24:54,199
but also enabled farmers
to move produce across Britain.

395
00:24:54,247 --> 00:24:57,364
Essentially it linked farms,
so it allowed them to specialise.

396
00:24:57,407 --> 00:24:59,477
That's a really good point, isn't it?

397
00:24:59,527 --> 00:25:02,405
Being able to choose which is the most
commercially viable -

398
00:25:02,447 --> 00:25:05,325
is it better to be growing grain,
or better to grow dairy?

399
00:25:05,367 --> 00:25:10,521
Whether you've got a canal or a railway
in your area will be one of the factors

400
00:25:10,567 --> 00:25:12,797
that makes you make that decision, isn't it?

401
00:25:12,847 --> 00:25:15,361
lt's the industrialisation of farming, in a sense.

402
00:25:18,727 --> 00:25:21,924
Transportation
opened up wider markets for farmers,

403
00:25:21,967 --> 00:25:26,085
enabling them to specialise in one product,
like dairy, crops or meat.

404
00:25:26,967 --> 00:25:30,277
For the first time,
it created a national food economy.

405
00:25:36,527 --> 00:25:38,404
lt's late September.

406
00:25:38,447 --> 00:25:42,042
The ploughing has taken Alex
twice as long as he hoped,

407
00:25:42,087 --> 00:25:44,157
but finally the job's done.

408
00:25:44,207 --> 00:25:47,677
Next he must decide what crop to sow.

409
00:25:48,647 --> 00:25:52,356
ln the cottage,
Peter's stripped the walls back to bare stone.

410
00:25:53,567 --> 00:25:55,876
Now he must learn how to plaster.

411
00:25:57,887 --> 00:26:00,959
And Ruth's about to light the range
for the first time,

412
00:26:01,007 --> 00:26:04,397
under the guidance of
range fitters Peter and Steve.

413
00:26:04,447 --> 00:26:06,722
- Exciting.
- Good. l'm glad you are.

414
00:26:06,767 --> 00:26:08,837
Are you going to show me
what you've been up to?

415
00:26:08,887 --> 00:26:11,799
We've got it all covered up for you
to give you a surprise.

416
00:26:11,847 --> 00:26:13,041
Let's hope you like it.

417
00:26:13,087 --> 00:26:14,566
(Gasps)

418
00:26:14,607 --> 00:26:16,723
- Oh, wow.
- What do you think about that?

419
00:26:16,767 --> 00:26:19,839
You'd swear it had come
straight from the factory. Wow.

420
00:26:19,887 --> 00:26:22,082
Let's hope it's going to work.

421
00:26:22,127 --> 00:26:24,687
Do some nice cooking on it.

422
00:26:24,727 --> 00:26:27,525
Oh, dear. l've never used anything like this.

423
00:26:27,567 --> 00:26:30,001
- One excited lady. l love it.
- l am.

424
00:26:30,047 --> 00:26:31,275
l love to see it.

425
00:26:31,327 --> 00:26:34,603
l'm terrified something's going to go wrong
and l'm going to be an idiot.

426
00:26:34,647 --> 00:26:37,639
- No, l don't think you will be.
- Well, we'll see.

427
00:26:39,367 --> 00:26:43,485
Ruth's collected kindling and wood
to get the coal going.

428
00:26:43,527 --> 00:26:44,926
Now l'm getting excited.

429
00:26:44,967 --> 00:26:48,403
And a little bit worried
as to whether it'll work first time.

430
00:26:48,447 --> 00:26:50,199
Here we go.

431
00:26:51,967 --> 00:26:53,605
See if it'll...

432
00:26:58,167 --> 00:27:01,603
- Those flues are obviously working.
- They are, aren't they?

433
00:27:02,407 --> 00:27:05,001
Oh, yes! That's a bit more like it.

434
00:27:05,047 --> 00:27:07,117
- Are you happy with that?
- (Laughs)

435
00:27:07,167 --> 00:27:09,158
That looks good, doesn't it?

436
00:27:09,207 --> 00:27:10,879
l am a pyromaniac.

437
00:27:13,607 --> 00:27:17,486
Mm. This fire's lovely and hot now
and the kettle's nearly boiling.

438
00:27:18,647 --> 00:27:22,162
Cooking on coal is so different.

439
00:27:22,207 --> 00:27:25,358
lt's not something that l've done before.

440
00:27:25,407 --> 00:27:29,002
And l know that it has the most enormous impact
on what you can cook.

441
00:27:29,047 --> 00:27:31,925
Wood smoke tastes nice.

442
00:27:31,967 --> 00:27:34,845
Coal smoke, however, tastes foul.

443
00:27:34,887 --> 00:27:37,401
lt's sort of acidy and sulphurous.

444
00:27:37,447 --> 00:27:42,601
ln the old way of cooking on wood, you'd be
encouraging smoke round your open food,

445
00:27:42,647 --> 00:27:47,721
but on coal you want to stop that,
you want no smoke whatsoever.

446
00:27:47,767 --> 00:27:52,204
You're trying to make sure you've got
as much separation between food and fuel.

447
00:27:53,367 --> 00:27:56,200
Coal revolutionised cooking,

448
00:27:56,247 --> 00:27:59,125
and recipe books were rewritten
for the new fuel.

449
00:27:59,167 --> 00:28:03,240
Roasting on a spit went out
and oven-roasting came in.

450
00:28:03,927 --> 00:28:06,680
l don't know that l'm going to get it right
for quite a while.

451
00:28:06,727 --> 00:28:11,164
lt's going to take me half the year to practise.
Maybe by the end of the year l'll be quite good.

452
00:28:12,247 --> 00:28:14,442
(Whistles)

453
00:28:15,287 --> 00:28:18,120
Coal also revolutionised farming.

454
00:28:18,167 --> 00:28:21,762
And nothing symbolises
the agricultural revolution more than this -

455
00:28:21,807 --> 00:28:24,275
the threshing machine.

456
00:28:27,487 --> 00:28:31,639
ln the Victorian age, these steam-powered
machines moved from farm to farm,

457
00:28:32,327 --> 00:28:36,286
threshing wheat,
removing the valuable grain from the plant.

458
00:28:38,287 --> 00:28:40,755
l'm just looking at our bible,
The Book Of The Farm.

459
00:28:40,807 --> 00:28:45,244
Once again Henry Stephens is quick to
inform us about what we should be doing here.

460
00:28:45,287 --> 00:28:48,597
As the incoming tenants,
there'd be jobs we'd have to do.

461
00:28:48,647 --> 00:28:51,400
And one of these
is to get involved with the threshing.

462
00:28:51,447 --> 00:28:56,237
lt says here: Not infrequently, the incoming
tenant undertakes for the outgoing

463
00:28:56,287 --> 00:29:00,724
the threshing and delivering of the crop
to market on payment for the trouble.

464
00:29:00,767 --> 00:29:03,042
Hopefully we'll earn a few quid today.

465
00:29:03,527 --> 00:29:06,405
Alex and Peter have joined
a local threshing team.

466
00:29:07,087 --> 00:29:09,999
Tom Henderson operates
the steam traction engine.

467
00:29:10,687 --> 00:29:14,077
lt should start to build up steam
in about three quarters of an hour.

468
00:29:14,127 --> 00:29:16,436
We should see the gauge move.

469
00:29:16,487 --> 00:29:19,638
When we get over 1 00lb,
we've got enough to start threshing.

470
00:29:19,687 --> 00:29:21,040
(Hissing)

471
00:29:21,087 --> 00:29:24,124
(Steam whistle)

472
00:29:25,647 --> 00:29:30,004
This new mechanised threshing
ended centuries of rural tradition.

473
00:29:30,847 --> 00:29:34,840
Until the 1 830s, the job of separating the grain
from the stalks by hand

474
00:29:34,887 --> 00:29:38,675
employed thousands of unskilled men
throughout the winter.

475
00:29:39,407 --> 00:29:42,365
l've got here a head of wheat.

476
00:29:43,247 --> 00:29:48,480
lt's only really with some force that l can release
the wheat from the husk.

477
00:29:48,527 --> 00:29:51,644
When you think about this job,
it's timeless, essentially,

478
00:29:51,687 --> 00:29:53,678
since the first harvests of wheat,

479
00:29:54,447 --> 00:29:57,803
to separate the grain from the rest of the plant.

480
00:29:59,167 --> 00:30:03,604
These machines reduced threshing time
from months to just days.

481
00:30:03,647 --> 00:30:07,162
Now a few men could do the work of thousands.

482
00:30:08,207 --> 00:30:12,758
The unemployed were furious.
Farms were attacked and machines smashed.

483
00:30:13,847 --> 00:30:19,240
But by the 1 880s, the threshing machine
was a generally accepted part of country life.

484
00:30:23,167 --> 00:30:27,160
The threshing machine...is an absolute beast...

485
00:30:28,127 --> 00:30:30,118
..that needs feeding...

486
00:30:30,167 --> 00:30:33,955
so l'm just pitchforking up these sheaves...

487
00:30:34,007 --> 00:30:36,077
and they're being put inside.

488
00:30:36,127 --> 00:30:39,199
lt's reasonably light work, l suppose.

489
00:30:39,247 --> 00:30:42,125
l'm just getting to grips with this pitchfork.

490
00:30:42,167 --> 00:30:45,398
l've been told l look quite amateurish
when l do it.

491
00:30:47,127 --> 00:30:51,837
For those lucky enough to get work threshing,
there were other advantages.

492
00:30:52,687 --> 00:30:54,837
We're cooking eggs and bacon.

493
00:30:55,567 --> 00:30:58,001
l've just got the fat hot on the shovel.

494
00:30:58,047 --> 00:31:00,356
Next job now is to put some bacon on.

495
00:31:00,407 --> 00:31:03,444
Excuse my clean hand,
but it does add to the flavour.

496
00:31:04,407 --> 00:31:07,080
There we go. That's rasher number two.

497
00:31:07,127 --> 00:31:09,083
We usually get three on.

498
00:31:11,247 --> 00:31:13,556
Ah, this is ideal.

499
00:31:17,727 --> 00:31:19,479
Could be non-stick, this.

500
00:31:19,527 --> 00:31:21,597
Nonstick, Teflon shovel. There we are.

501
00:31:21,647 --> 00:31:24,366
There you go.
That's how you cook egg and bacon.

502
00:31:25,847 --> 00:31:28,315
(Whistle toots)

503
00:31:32,367 --> 00:31:35,757
Lunch break over,
it's time to finish the threshing.

504
00:31:36,807 --> 00:31:38,684
lt's the end of the rick now.

505
00:31:38,727 --> 00:31:42,800
lt's quite precarious
because l'm just standing on metal struts,

506
00:31:42,847 --> 00:31:45,759
with my hobnail boots on. lt's a bit slippy.

507
00:31:45,807 --> 00:31:48,719
l feel my legs buckling.

508
00:31:51,847 --> 00:31:54,964
With the threshing done, the grain is weighed.

509
00:31:55,007 --> 00:31:57,316
What's the news, Mike? Have we done well?

510
00:31:57,367 --> 00:32:01,280
Very well, yes. About two-and-a-half
hundredweight for the day's threshing,

511
00:32:01,327 --> 00:32:03,557
which is about 1 25kg.

512
00:32:03,607 --> 00:32:06,246
- Right, OK.
- So very successful.

513
00:32:07,807 --> 00:32:10,879
Most of the grain
would have been sold to make flour.

514
00:32:10,927 --> 00:32:15,079
Some would have been kept to resow
back in the ground for next year's crop.

515
00:32:15,127 --> 00:32:17,118
- Do the honours?
- Yep.

516
00:32:17,167 --> 00:32:19,283
- You all right with that?
- Yep.

517
00:32:19,327 --> 00:32:21,124
You sure?

518
00:32:21,167 --> 00:32:22,759
Yes. (Laughs)

519
00:32:22,807 --> 00:32:26,959
Victorian varieties of wheat
are very different to modern breeds.

520
00:32:27,927 --> 00:32:32,796
Today we've bred the species so that much
of the goodness that goes into the straw

521
00:32:32,847 --> 00:32:34,644
actually goes into the head.

522
00:32:34,687 --> 00:32:38,123
And wheat today is very, very short.
A couple of foot off the ground.

523
00:32:38,167 --> 00:32:40,806
This would grow to about four or five foot
off the ground.

524
00:32:40,847 --> 00:32:45,079
So, hopefully, in August,
we'll have a crop we can just barely see over.

525
00:32:47,887 --> 00:32:52,039
Before the wheat is sown,
the clods of ploughed earth must be broken up -

526
00:32:52,087 --> 00:32:54,282
by harrowing.

527
00:32:54,327 --> 00:32:58,718
This is the first time
l've actually ever driven horses myself,

528
00:32:58,767 --> 00:33:01,122
so it's absolutely thrilling.

529
00:33:02,647 --> 00:33:04,763
This is great fun.

530
00:33:05,807 --> 00:33:07,877
Now l'm going to bring them round.

531
00:33:07,927 --> 00:33:10,395
This is the difficult bit.

532
00:33:13,127 --> 00:33:14,958
Good boys.

533
00:33:16,127 --> 00:33:19,642
You know, really, l mean,
they're doing the stuff.

534
00:33:26,047 --> 00:33:29,323
At the cottage, Peter's ready to start plastering.

535
00:33:31,167 --> 00:33:33,158
He's read in a Victorian manual

536
00:33:33,207 --> 00:33:37,200
that the old lime plaster removed from the walls
can be recycled.

537
00:33:38,247 --> 00:33:42,525
l'm just using this to...
pulverise the plaster into dust.

538
00:33:42,567 --> 00:33:44,922
l've done about a day of this.

539
00:33:44,967 --> 00:33:48,164
lt's quite a laborious process.

540
00:33:48,967 --> 00:33:51,117
lt's quite hard on the upper body.

541
00:33:51,847 --> 00:33:55,396
But at night, it's the wrists.
l think it's the jarring motion.

542
00:34:01,407 --> 00:34:03,796
lt's great to be reusing materials like this.

543
00:34:05,127 --> 00:34:07,243
But it's also very labour-intensive.

544
00:34:10,527 --> 00:34:14,566
Sand and water are added...
to make fresh lime plaster.

545
00:34:15,367 --> 00:34:17,642
This is actually incredibly tough.

546
00:34:17,687 --> 00:34:21,396
The consistency we're looking for
is quite sloppy.

547
00:34:23,567 --> 00:34:25,842
Again, it's the old adage...

548
00:34:25,887 --> 00:34:27,718
a bit like porridge.

549
00:34:27,767 --> 00:34:31,282
Pretty much all the materials
used on this farm are a bit like porridge.

550
00:34:32,527 --> 00:34:35,121
There's one other essential ingredient.

551
00:34:35,167 --> 00:34:36,805
Horse hair.

552
00:34:36,847 --> 00:34:39,407
l'm just going to put this in...

553
00:34:39,447 --> 00:34:42,644
and it should help the plaster bond
when it's on the wall.

554
00:34:42,687 --> 00:34:44,325
Stop it falling off.

555
00:34:45,047 --> 00:34:46,878
Hopefully.

556
00:34:46,927 --> 00:34:52,001
lt's really good...to experiment with
all these old techniques, but...

557
00:34:53,127 --> 00:34:55,595
..God, they're difficult. (Chuckles)

558
00:34:56,687 --> 00:34:58,678
And they do take time.

559
00:35:03,727 --> 00:35:08,118
ln the field,
Alex must decide how densely to sow the wheat.

560
00:35:08,167 --> 00:35:12,080
Too dense and the shoots
will compete with each other and die.

561
00:35:13,047 --> 00:35:17,040
Too sparse and the birds will eat it all.

562
00:35:17,087 --> 00:35:20,318
Alex is taking guidance from
a highly scientific source -

563
00:35:20,367 --> 00:35:22,756
an age-old poem.

564
00:35:22,807 --> 00:35:28,279
lt goes: One for the rook, one for the crow,
one to let rot, one to let grow.

565
00:35:28,327 --> 00:35:31,205
So, according to that little poem there,

566
00:35:31,247 --> 00:35:35,843
we should be anticipating losing
some three quarters of what we're sowing today.

567
00:35:38,247 --> 00:35:43,196
Alex has called in local farmer Brian Davies
and his daughter Sharon, to help.

568
00:35:44,087 --> 00:35:47,079
To sow the wheat, they're using a seed drill.

569
00:35:48,487 --> 00:35:53,356
lt's a real concern because...really,
you wouldn't normally do this job in the rain.

570
00:35:53,407 --> 00:35:56,365
We're hoping this is just a shower
and it's going to pass,

571
00:35:56,407 --> 00:35:57,999
but it's looking fairly ominous.

572
00:35:58,047 --> 00:36:02,325
Traditionally, seed was sown by hand -
broadcast.

573
00:36:02,367 --> 00:36:06,201
The problem with broadcast sowing
is that the grain lands on the ground

574
00:36:06,247 --> 00:36:09,762
and it hits the ground at different heights
and then when you harrow it over,

575
00:36:09,807 --> 00:36:12,526
because the seed's at different heights
within the seed bed,

576
00:36:12,567 --> 00:36:17,038
it'll grow at different times, it'll be uneven,
it'll mature at different periods.

577
00:36:18,287 --> 00:36:22,166
The seed drill, invented in 1 701 by Jethro Tull,

578
00:36:22,207 --> 00:36:26,041
was a major leap forward
in the industrialisation of farming.

579
00:36:26,087 --> 00:36:30,080
This was the moment
when farming became scientific.

580
00:36:30,127 --> 00:36:32,925
Brian has brought along a design
from the 1 880s,

581
00:36:32,967 --> 00:36:35,800
the pinnacle of Victorian technology.

582
00:36:35,847 --> 00:36:41,080
The wheat in the hopper at the top
drops down the bottom into a little trough...

583
00:36:42,007 --> 00:36:44,123
..and the revolving cups there,

584
00:36:44,167 --> 00:36:46,397
those discs with the cups on,

585
00:36:46,447 --> 00:36:48,517
you can just see them picking the wheat up

586
00:36:48,567 --> 00:36:52,196
and dropping them into
the little yellow containers

587
00:36:52,247 --> 00:36:56,081
which then funnel them down into these tubes,

588
00:36:56,127 --> 00:36:58,038
so that they drop out of the drill.

589
00:36:58,807 --> 00:37:01,924
So the seeds are all planted
at the optimum depth,

590
00:37:01,967 --> 00:37:04,401
increasing the chances of germination.

591
00:37:05,247 --> 00:37:06,885
Gee up.

592
00:37:06,927 --> 00:37:09,202
But with just two rows sown,

593
00:37:09,247 --> 00:37:13,001
Alex's worst fears about the weather
are realised.

594
00:37:14,647 --> 00:37:16,922
Unfortunately, it's not working out for us today.

595
00:37:16,967 --> 00:37:19,162
The problem is it's just so wet.

596
00:37:19,207 --> 00:37:23,485
lt's so damp, the silt gets so heavy
that it's a nightmare for the horses to pull.

597
00:37:23,527 --> 00:37:27,281
lt's a nightmare, really, because it looks like
we won't get it done today

598
00:37:27,327 --> 00:37:30,524
and if this weather's set in
for a couple more days,

599
00:37:30,567 --> 00:37:33,604
we're going to really struggle
to get the grain in the ground.

600
00:37:35,607 --> 00:37:37,916
Do you want to park it up under the trees, then?

601
00:37:42,807 --> 00:37:48,040
At the cottage, Peter and stonemason Paul
are preparing to plaster the kitchen.

602
00:37:48,727 --> 00:37:52,515
So we've each got a churn brush
and we're just going to brush it down.

603
00:37:52,567 --> 00:37:55,684
Yet another dusty job on the farm.

604
00:37:57,127 --> 00:38:00,597
After that, we're going to get our stirrup pump
and moisten it,

605
00:38:00,647 --> 00:38:04,401
which will help the plaster adhere to the wall.

606
00:38:04,447 --> 00:38:07,757
This is our stirrup pump
that we found in the tool shed.

607
00:38:07,807 --> 00:38:09,604
lt's pretty old.

608
00:38:09,647 --> 00:38:13,117
Paul and l have taken it apart
and we've tried to fix the seals

609
00:38:13,167 --> 00:38:16,159
because originally more water
would come up in your face

610
00:38:16,207 --> 00:38:17,959
than would come out of the nozzle.

611
00:38:18,007 --> 00:38:21,477
But l'm surprisingly dry
and it's working very well,

612
00:38:21,527 --> 00:38:23,836
so l think we've succeeded.

613
00:38:23,887 --> 00:38:27,402
There's a remarkable improvement
in the air quality in here.

614
00:38:29,287 --> 00:38:32,563
lt's time to apply Peter's recycled plaster.

615
00:38:33,407 --> 00:38:38,276
What you have to do...is work it into the wall.

616
00:38:38,327 --> 00:38:40,283
A nice layer on,

617
00:38:40,327 --> 00:38:42,761
cos once it's on the wall,
we can spread it out.

618
00:38:44,847 --> 00:38:47,520
Really makes your forearms ache, doesn't it?

619
00:38:47,567 --> 00:38:49,683
- lt does.
- You're doing very well.

620
00:38:50,407 --> 00:38:53,399
(Chuckles) You're a good liar, Paul.

621
00:38:55,247 --> 00:38:56,999
l'm learning an awful lot.

622
00:38:57,047 --> 00:38:59,925
l'm also learning that the processes
take a lot of time.

623
00:38:59,967 --> 00:39:02,765
You can't hurry lime plaster.

624
00:39:02,807 --> 00:39:05,879
And we've got a number of coats to put on here.

625
00:39:05,927 --> 00:39:09,158
And Ruth's just got a range
and she's quite keen to have a meal.

626
00:39:09,207 --> 00:39:11,846
l don't think we're going to be finished in time.

627
00:39:26,327 --> 00:39:28,443
lt's mid-October.

628
00:39:29,167 --> 00:39:31,761
After a week of rain, the sun has returned,

629
00:39:31,807 --> 00:39:35,800
so Alex is back out with the seed drill,
planting the rest of the crop.

630
00:39:36,967 --> 00:39:38,958
So far, so good.

631
00:39:39,727 --> 00:39:42,605
You know, this is really turning out brilliantly.

632
00:39:42,647 --> 00:39:47,198
Two days ago, it was absolutely bucketing down
and now it's...

633
00:39:47,247 --> 00:39:51,479
now it's really dried off, really crumbly surface.

634
00:39:51,527 --> 00:39:55,361
We've got good distribution.
Took us a couple of rows to get it right.

635
00:39:56,047 --> 00:39:59,403
But it's all part of...
lt's looking really, really good.

636
00:40:04,287 --> 00:40:06,118
lt's the last thing we need to do in here.

637
00:40:06,167 --> 00:40:09,239
l don't think we'll have to come in in spring
and do any hoeing.

638
00:40:09,287 --> 00:40:11,437
lt's a job done. lt's a relief, really.

639
00:40:11,487 --> 00:40:15,400
Because...it's the first thing to do
in the agricultural year

640
00:40:15,447 --> 00:40:17,597
and it's one of the most important things.

641
00:40:18,407 --> 00:40:22,605
Hopefully, now, we'll get a good year.
We'll leave it to the weather.

642
00:40:24,127 --> 00:40:28,245
We'll be back here in August
to harvest the crop.

643
00:40:28,287 --> 00:40:31,484
Only then will we know
just how successful things have gone.

644
00:40:35,607 --> 00:40:41,239
ln the cottage, the sunny weather's helped
the slow-drying Victorian plaster to dry.

645
00:40:43,167 --> 00:40:48,116
After removing half a century of grime,
replastering and repainting,

646
00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:51,045
it's returned to its Victorian glory -

647
00:40:51,087 --> 00:40:55,319
complete with a Victorian brass bed
lent by the Actons.

648
00:40:56,087 --> 00:41:00,126
- l'm afraid it's still rather a building site.
- Mm, l can see.

649
00:41:00,167 --> 00:41:04,683
The cottage will mainly be Ruth's domain,
so she's taking advice.

650
00:41:04,727 --> 00:41:09,926
Dr Nicola Verdon is an expert
on the role of the Victorian farmer's wife.

651
00:41:11,487 --> 00:41:15,480
lf you read the farming manuals,
which were written by men -

652
00:41:15,527 --> 00:41:18,166
for example Henry Stephens'
Book Of The Farm,

653
00:41:18,207 --> 00:41:22,564
which was a very popular 1 9th-century manual
and went through several editions -

654
00:41:22,607 --> 00:41:26,919
they don't mention
the cleaning of the farmhouse as a task.

655
00:41:26,967 --> 00:41:30,926
They talk about the dairy and the poultry
and the food processing and so on,

656
00:41:30,967 --> 00:41:33,606
but the cleaning and the laundry work
and so on,

657
00:41:33,647 --> 00:41:37,606
which were big tasks and would have
taken up a large amount of time,

658
00:41:37,647 --> 00:41:41,083
- these aren't mentioned.
- Just magically happen, do they?

659
00:41:41,127 --> 00:41:43,118
(Both laugh)

660
00:41:43,167 --> 00:41:47,957
Nicola helps Ruth tackle
a much-feared Victorian pest - the bedbug -

661
00:41:48,007 --> 00:41:50,601
using turpentine and salt.

662
00:41:50,647 --> 00:41:54,322
l always used to think that bedbugs
were like dust mites,

663
00:41:54,367 --> 00:41:57,006
that lived in mattresses, but they're not.

664
00:41:57,047 --> 00:41:59,277
They're nasty.

665
00:41:59,327 --> 00:42:00,680
They get everywhere.

666
00:42:00,727 --> 00:42:04,003
They live in any little tiny crack or space...

667
00:42:04,047 --> 00:42:06,766
and lie dormant for months on end.

668
00:42:06,807 --> 00:42:09,480
Then as soon as carbon dioxide -
so, your breath -

669
00:42:09,527 --> 00:42:12,280
as soon as you're breathing,
that reactivates them

670
00:42:12,327 --> 00:42:16,036
and they come out and get you
and suck pints of blood...

671
00:42:16,087 --> 00:42:18,317
over a couple of months.

672
00:42:19,007 --> 00:42:21,316
Which sounds really unpleasant.

673
00:42:22,447 --> 00:42:25,723
Tackling bedbugs was a twice-yearly job.

674
00:42:25,767 --> 00:42:27,883
Others were daily.

675
00:42:27,927 --> 00:42:32,398
This would have been one of her first tasks
of the day, cleaning the bedrooms,

676
00:42:32,447 --> 00:42:34,438
making the beds and so on.

677
00:42:34,487 --> 00:42:39,322
Alongside the milking of the cow
and feeding the pigs

678
00:42:39,367 --> 00:42:43,485
and the hens and any other small animals
that are in the farmyard.

679
00:42:44,567 --> 00:42:47,001
And making the breakfast, obviously,

680
00:42:47,047 --> 00:42:50,437
and making sure
the men are all fed and watered.

681
00:42:50,487 --> 00:42:52,921
- Emptying the chamber pots.
- Absolutely.

682
00:42:52,967 --> 00:42:54,958
Working all day, basically.

683
00:42:55,007 --> 00:42:57,441
Very, very little leisure time indeed.

684
00:43:01,247 --> 00:43:03,397
lt's late October.

685
00:43:03,447 --> 00:43:08,999
ln a few days, the animals arrive
and caring for them will be a full-time job.

686
00:43:10,367 --> 00:43:13,325
By now Peter hoped to
have completed the cottage,

687
00:43:13,367 --> 00:43:16,518
but there's still an awful lot to be done.

688
00:43:17,327 --> 00:43:19,318
Ruth can't wait to use the range,

689
00:43:19,367 --> 00:43:22,200
so she's braving the building site with Nicola

690
00:43:22,247 --> 00:43:24,158
to preserve the foraged fruit.

691
00:43:24,207 --> 00:43:29,361
NlCOLA: What we're doing now in the kitchen
was one of the main roles of a farmer's wife.

692
00:43:29,407 --> 00:43:33,036
RUTH: Yes. That preservation of foodstuffs.

693
00:43:33,087 --> 00:43:36,841
The food processing, the preserving,
of seasonal food.

694
00:43:36,887 --> 00:43:43,326
This really kept the farm -
and the family and the workforce - ticking over.

695
00:43:43,367 --> 00:43:49,044
So it was very important that a farmer
married a woman who was a good cook.

696
00:43:49,087 --> 00:43:50,600
Look how much fruit we gathered.

697
00:43:50,647 --> 00:43:54,686
(Laughs) We just got loads and loads
and loads of it.

698
00:43:55,567 --> 00:43:58,684
They're using foraged damsons and crab apples

699
00:43:58,727 --> 00:44:00,877
to make an lndian version of pickle...

700
00:44:00,927 --> 00:44:02,918
chutney.

701
00:44:02,967 --> 00:44:07,085
l suppose we shouldn't be surprised that so
much lndian food comes into English cookery.

702
00:44:07,127 --> 00:44:10,403
- After all, there we were, over there...
- Height of the Empire.

703
00:44:10,447 --> 00:44:12,278
Height of the Empire.

704
00:44:12,327 --> 00:44:15,125
First the fruit is slowly cooked,

705
00:44:15,167 --> 00:44:19,957
then a mixture of ginger, turmeric,
cayenne pepper and cloves are added.

706
00:44:20,007 --> 00:44:21,599
Where are these recipes from?

707
00:44:21,647 --> 00:44:25,845
These particular ones are from
Eliza Acton's recipe book.

708
00:44:25,887 --> 00:44:29,846
But you can find similar ones
in almost every recipe book of the period.

709
00:44:29,887 --> 00:44:32,924
- These were cheap enough for...
- Everybody was making lndian.

710
00:44:32,967 --> 00:44:35,640
..most farmers' wives
to have been able to afford.

711
00:44:35,687 --> 00:44:37,359
- Yeah.
- At least one or two.

712
00:44:37,407 --> 00:44:40,956
They seem to have been deeply common
and you could buy them pre-prepared.

713
00:44:45,207 --> 00:44:49,246
Peter and Alex also make the most
of the autumn crop of fruit,

714
00:44:49,287 --> 00:44:53,678
under the watchful eye of the estate owner,
Thomas Stackhouse Acton.

715
00:44:53,727 --> 00:44:55,558
Still a few left on the trees.

716
00:44:55,607 --> 00:44:59,839
Every year, he makes cider
using apples from the orchards.

717
00:45:01,127 --> 00:45:03,004
There's quite a few on the ground.

718
00:45:03,047 --> 00:45:06,676
- These are cider apples, aren't they?
- Yes, these will do.

719
00:45:06,727 --> 00:45:08,763
- All of these ones, yes?
- Yes.

720
00:45:08,807 --> 00:45:12,561
- lt doesn't matter about these blemishes?
- No, it doesn't matter.

721
00:45:12,607 --> 00:45:15,519
- No ones which have gone black.
- Right.

722
00:45:15,567 --> 00:45:17,478
Like that one?

723
00:45:17,527 --> 00:45:19,802
That one we don't want. No.

724
00:45:19,847 --> 00:45:24,204
That one looks a bit past it,
even to the untrained eye, Peter.

725
00:45:26,607 --> 00:45:28,359
And avoid putting leaves in.

726
00:45:28,407 --> 00:45:29,999
Right. OK.

727
00:45:31,647 --> 00:45:36,118
With the windfall apples collected,
Mr Acton springs into action.

728
00:45:36,167 --> 00:45:38,123
This is a panking pole

729
00:45:38,167 --> 00:45:41,204
and we use it to shake the apples off.

730
00:45:41,247 --> 00:45:42,965
Mind your heads.

731
00:45:46,607 --> 00:45:48,359
One on my back.

732
00:45:48,407 --> 00:45:50,079
(Laughs)

733
00:45:50,127 --> 00:45:53,039
Quite blessed.
l see why you're wearing a hard hat now.

734
00:45:53,087 --> 00:45:55,282
Yes. lt's standard gear, mate.

735
00:45:57,247 --> 00:45:59,715
The chutney's been simmering for three hours,

736
00:45:59,767 --> 00:46:04,238
so the stewed damsons and crab apples
are infused with the spices.

737
00:46:05,367 --> 00:46:09,360
Like all chutneys, this improves with keeping.

738
00:46:09,407 --> 00:46:13,685
You can eat it straightaway but it tastes
much better after about three months.

739
00:46:14,487 --> 00:46:16,842
You sort of lose that vinegary edge, don't you?

740
00:46:16,887 --> 00:46:19,765
This will be really tasty
right in the heart of winter.

741
00:46:19,807 --> 00:46:20,876
Yeah.

742
00:46:22,087 --> 00:46:24,396
l'm sorting out the sealing of the jars,

743
00:46:24,447 --> 00:46:27,405
which we're going to do with
the bladders of pigs.

744
00:46:27,447 --> 00:46:28,436
(Laughs)

745
00:46:28,487 --> 00:46:31,797
These are particularly good
because they're so stretchy...

746
00:46:33,367 --> 00:46:34,846
..and watertight.

747
00:46:34,887 --> 00:46:37,685
l should get several lids out of each one.

748
00:46:41,007 --> 00:46:44,602
l don't think l've ever actually stretched
a pig's bladder before.

749
00:46:44,647 --> 00:46:47,320
- First time for everything.
- Well, yeah.

750
00:46:48,487 --> 00:46:50,318
Let's see. lf l stretch that over...

751
00:46:51,007 --> 00:46:54,363
Certainly, as it dries, it will shrink...

752
00:46:54,407 --> 00:46:57,683
and then we'll get a really tight seal on it.

753
00:46:59,007 --> 00:47:00,486
lt's not as bad to touch...

754
00:47:00,527 --> 00:47:02,518
- (Laughs)
- lt's a bit slimy.

755
00:47:02,567 --> 00:47:05,035
A little bit, but it's only like wet rubber would be.

756
00:47:06,447 --> 00:47:11,567
Ruth and Nicola are making
another lndian-inspired recipe - piccalilli.

757
00:47:11,607 --> 00:47:14,565
So this is the vinegar and the spices.

758
00:47:15,527 --> 00:47:19,759
Ruth stocks the larder with the preserves
and pickles, ready for winter.

759
00:47:20,607 --> 00:47:24,122
As well as chutneys,
she's also made tomato ketchup,

760
00:47:24,167 --> 00:47:26,840
another popular Victorian relish.

761
00:47:27,607 --> 00:47:31,441
l'm going to let the piccalilli,
which was in this one here,

762
00:47:31,487 --> 00:47:33,364
cool down before l put the lids on them.

763
00:47:36,247 --> 00:47:41,799
Actually, l'm relieved to have managed to get
some of this pickling and preserving done.

764
00:47:41,847 --> 00:47:43,917
Without the range, l couldn't do anything.

765
00:47:43,967 --> 00:47:47,721
l'd been watching all the fruits in the hedgerows
beginning to go over,

766
00:47:47,767 --> 00:47:51,362
thinking, ''Aarghh, l've got to move soon
or we'll have nothing in here.''

767
00:47:51,407 --> 00:47:53,363
So it is a relief.

768
00:47:56,007 --> 00:47:58,726
All right, let's have these apples on the pier.

769
00:48:00,087 --> 00:48:02,317
OK. Over it goes.

770
00:48:03,167 --> 00:48:05,635
The fruits gathered from the orchard
will be crushed

771
00:48:05,687 --> 00:48:07,803
using a Victorian cider mill.

772
00:48:09,007 --> 00:48:12,522
- Just that bag and that'll be enough, l think.
- Right. OK.

773
00:48:15,807 --> 00:48:18,367
- That's enough to be starting with.
- OK.

774
00:48:26,127 --> 00:48:30,439
Now it's a case of getting the horse
to do all the hard work.

775
00:48:32,247 --> 00:48:36,718
- How long have you been doing this?
- We've been doing this for about 25 years.

776
00:48:36,767 --> 00:48:39,600
Right. Have you ever had
a really good vintage year?

777
00:48:39,647 --> 00:48:41,956
Well, we haven't made a note of it.

778
00:48:42,007 --> 00:48:44,282
We just keep drinking it steadily.

779
00:48:45,487 --> 00:48:47,523
What consistency are we looking for here?

780
00:48:47,567 --> 00:48:50,161
- Erm, the consistency of porridge.
- Right.

781
00:48:52,447 --> 00:48:55,883
The boys are being helped
by local farmer Merle Wilson.

782
00:48:57,687 --> 00:49:02,044
Peter's taken Mr Acton's usual job,
steadying the millstone.

783
00:49:02,087 --> 00:49:04,362
But things aren't running smoothly.

784
00:49:05,887 --> 00:49:07,525
Ooh.

785
00:49:07,567 --> 00:49:09,876
You're getting a bit of a build-up in here.

786
00:49:10,967 --> 00:49:12,559
Yeah.

787
00:49:12,607 --> 00:49:15,167
- Every time the stone has one rotation...
- Yeah.

788
00:49:15,207 --> 00:49:17,198
- ..it settles.
- Right.

789
00:49:17,247 --> 00:49:21,286
lf it's got good momentum and there's
not too many apples, it will just carry on.

790
00:49:21,327 --> 00:49:25,479
Mr Acton, you were saying that this stone
might have been used for sharpening.

791
00:49:25,527 --> 00:49:28,758
Probably. That's why it's got a flat on it.

792
00:49:28,807 --> 00:49:30,957
- lt's got a slightly flat edge.
- Yes.

793
00:49:31,007 --> 00:49:34,079
You wouldn't think a stone wheel
could have a flat, but...

794
00:49:35,127 --> 00:49:37,846
l think that's what's creating
most of the problems.

795
00:49:37,887 --> 00:49:42,119
He seems to be making
a harder job of it than you, Mr Acton.

796
00:49:42,167 --> 00:49:45,557
- Well, he hasn't had so many years at it.
- He has a lot to learn.

797
00:49:50,727 --> 00:49:54,845
ln the cottage, Ruth's ready to cook
her first meal on the range.

798
00:49:54,887 --> 00:49:57,082
l've got a leg of mutton here.

799
00:49:57,127 --> 00:50:00,802
You can see by the size of it,
it is not a leg of lamb, it is a leg of mutton.

800
00:50:00,847 --> 00:50:03,839
lt makes so much more economic sense
to eat adult sheep,

801
00:50:03,887 --> 00:50:07,197
after you've had eight years
of cropping them for their wool.

802
00:50:07,247 --> 00:50:13,720
And mutton was ever such...
a popular, traditional and common dish

803
00:50:13,767 --> 00:50:15,644
for the middle classes.

804
00:50:15,687 --> 00:50:17,882
Sometimes they were called ''mutton-eaters''

805
00:50:17,927 --> 00:50:23,206
as a sort of definition of people
who were doing OK, but not great.

806
00:50:24,207 --> 00:50:27,324
l'm going to take the bone out
and boil it like that.

807
00:50:28,607 --> 00:50:30,598
l think that's done it.

808
00:50:31,447 --> 00:50:33,085
Yes!

809
00:50:33,127 --> 00:50:34,685
Ha-ha.

810
00:50:34,727 --> 00:50:35,796
Right.

811
00:50:36,967 --> 00:50:39,003
lf l roll that up...

812
00:50:40,407 --> 00:50:42,716
Oh, that doesn't look too bad.

813
00:50:42,767 --> 00:50:44,997
Tie it up neat.

814
00:50:45,047 --> 00:50:47,163
l'm just going to pop him in.

815
00:50:47,207 --> 00:50:49,198
(Bubbling)

816
00:50:56,087 --> 00:50:59,716
The pulverised apples
are ready to be squeezed forjuice...

817
00:50:59,767 --> 00:51:01,564
using a cider press.

818
00:51:01,607 --> 00:51:04,599
- Winding things up again, Peter?
- Not as much as you, Alex.

819
00:51:04,647 --> 00:51:06,842
Here's your first load of apples.

820
00:51:06,887 --> 00:51:11,358
l don't know about you, Merle,
but my hands are utterly freezing...

821
00:51:11,407 --> 00:51:12,760
from these apples.

822
00:51:12,807 --> 00:51:14,365
Thank you very much.

823
00:51:14,407 --> 00:51:17,399
The pulp is loaded onto mats
known as hairs.

824
00:51:18,367 --> 00:51:21,439
This cider that we hopefully make
is going to be kept

825
00:51:21,487 --> 00:51:26,322
and be used for our hay harvest as a means
of giving to our workers, our labourers.

826
00:51:26,367 --> 00:51:29,040
Quite often, the quality of your cider

827
00:51:29,087 --> 00:51:32,875
would be something that would attract labourers
to your farm to do the work.

828
00:51:34,487 --> 00:51:38,321
And the farmer would also keep back
a batch for himself

829
00:51:38,367 --> 00:51:42,246
and he'd probably have some rotten stuff
for people he didn't like.

830
00:51:42,967 --> 00:51:44,366
Like Alex.

831
00:51:44,407 --> 00:51:46,762
The bucket's gonna end up on your head.

832
00:51:49,487 --> 00:51:52,365
The stack of hairs, known as a cheese,

833
00:51:52,407 --> 00:51:53,886
is put under immense pressure

834
00:51:53,927 --> 00:51:57,363
to squeeze every last drop
of apple juice from them.

835
00:51:57,407 --> 00:51:59,841
We're just bringing the beam down to press it.

836
00:51:59,887 --> 00:52:02,640
- Great stuff.
- Just compressing the cheese.

837
00:52:03,487 --> 00:52:06,320
And we're getting all the juice out,
all the apple juice.

838
00:52:06,367 --> 00:52:09,325
ALEX: lt's such a lovely colour as well, isn't it?

839
00:52:09,367 --> 00:52:10,800
Keep it going.

840
00:52:11,887 --> 00:52:13,525
lt's getting really hard now.

841
00:52:15,607 --> 00:52:18,326
MERLE: A lot of juice coming out.
ALEX: Pleased?

842
00:52:18,367 --> 00:52:21,279
Very pleased.
We've pressed this as much as we can now.

843
00:52:21,327 --> 00:52:22,965
lt won't go any further.

844
00:52:23,727 --> 00:52:28,562
The juice is stored in casks, where it'll be
left for the next few months to ferment.

845
00:52:30,007 --> 00:52:32,316
PETER: lt should start fermenting in...

846
00:52:33,127 --> 00:52:34,765
..five days.

847
00:52:34,807 --> 00:52:37,879
We have to top it up regularly,
sort of every day,

848
00:52:37,927 --> 00:52:40,805
otherwise the air gets in
and you get impurities in.

849
00:52:40,847 --> 00:52:44,203
We need to top it up with pond water
or stream water.

850
00:52:44,247 --> 00:52:47,319
Basically, water that hasn't
come in contact with metals.

851
00:52:48,087 --> 00:52:50,237
The last job of autumn's done.

852
00:52:53,767 --> 00:52:56,998
Just in time to greet the arrival
of the first animals...

853
00:52:57,767 --> 00:52:59,883
.. 1 0 Shropshire ewes.

854
00:53:00,887 --> 00:53:06,598
Bred in the 1 840s from local wild sheep,
they're famed for their excellent meat and wool.

855
00:53:08,447 --> 00:53:12,599
But the boys'shepherding skills
are put to the test almost immediately.

856
00:53:14,207 --> 00:53:17,722
One of our newly-arrived ewe's
split from the flock..

857
00:53:18,527 --> 00:53:20,518
..and has come into this garden.

858
00:53:24,327 --> 00:53:26,716
- Any sign of her?
- Yes and no.

859
00:53:26,767 --> 00:53:28,758
''Yes and no''?

860
00:53:28,807 --> 00:53:31,116
l could have sworn l saw her in here.

861
00:53:35,807 --> 00:53:37,877
- She's up there. Alex.
- Yep.

862
00:53:37,927 --> 00:53:40,122
Found her. You get behind her.

863
00:53:41,287 --> 00:53:43,403
Easier said than done.

864
00:53:43,447 --> 00:53:45,563
lt's pretty thick up here. Oh, no.

865
00:53:45,607 --> 00:53:47,404
- What a nightmare.
- There's a gate.

866
00:53:47,447 --> 00:53:50,484
- Has she gone through?
- This doesn't bode well for the year.

867
00:53:50,527 --> 00:53:51,596
Oh, no.

868
00:53:52,287 --> 00:53:54,755
Oh, l think all those sheep over there
have seen her.

869
00:53:54,807 --> 00:53:57,037
- Yes.
- She's in the field.

870
00:53:57,087 --> 00:54:00,284
The runaway sheep hasjoined
a nearby farmer's flock.

871
00:54:00,327 --> 00:54:02,443
Yeah, these fences are pretty low.

872
00:54:02,487 --> 00:54:05,445
Well, a 90% success rate there.

873
00:54:05,487 --> 00:54:09,036
Richard Spencer,
a sheep farmer of 40 years'experience,

874
00:54:09,087 --> 00:54:12,875
has come to give some much-needed advice
to the novice shepherds.

875
00:54:13,607 --> 00:54:18,237
RlCHARD: The one thing you have to remember
when you're getting settled down with this flock,

876
00:54:18,287 --> 00:54:21,597
every shepherd knows
a sheep is the only animal in God's creation

877
00:54:21,647 --> 00:54:23,638
looking for the quickest way to die.

878
00:54:23,687 --> 00:54:26,247
- You can do everything right... Oh, yeah.
- (Laughter)

879
00:54:26,287 --> 00:54:28,960
You can do everything right
and it can all go pear-shaped.

880
00:54:29,007 --> 00:54:33,285
You can make mistakes and if Mother Nature's
with you, you'll come out smelling of roses.

881
00:54:33,327 --> 00:54:36,319
That's Mother Nature and livestock.
You've just got to accept it.

882
00:54:36,367 --> 00:54:37,595
(Whistles)

883
00:54:37,647 --> 00:54:41,242
lf the ewes are to produce young,
they must be in tiptop health.

884
00:54:42,367 --> 00:54:45,120
Richard's checking out the field
where they're to live.

885
00:54:45,167 --> 00:54:48,876
Well, young man, it's a good set turf.

886
00:54:48,927 --> 00:54:51,646
- lt'll carry the sheep come winter, this will.
- Yes.

887
00:54:51,687 --> 00:54:55,646
lt'll take some weather.
You need a good turf to carry livestock in winter.

888
00:54:55,687 --> 00:54:59,839
lf it gets wet, without a solid turf,
there's nothing to carry the weight of the sheep.

889
00:54:59,887 --> 00:55:01,878
But this will be fine.

890
00:55:01,927 --> 00:55:05,363
l've read about flushing,
which is where you put them into good pasture

891
00:55:05,407 --> 00:55:08,205
and because of their improving condition,

892
00:55:08,247 --> 00:55:12,320
they're more likely to conceive twins, essentially.

893
00:55:12,367 --> 00:55:15,643
- ls there any basis in fact?
- Oh, absolutely.

894
00:55:15,687 --> 00:55:17,837
lt's fact-fact all the way,

895
00:55:17,887 --> 00:55:23,439
because if the sheep is bursting with energy,
she's had all this lovely, lush grass,

896
00:55:23,487 --> 00:55:26,081
she's going to shed more eggs
and have more lambs.

897
00:55:26,127 --> 00:55:29,676
So we're doing a good thing here,
bringing them into this type of grass?

898
00:55:29,727 --> 00:55:31,206
Yes.

899
00:55:32,207 --> 00:55:36,325
ln a few days'time, once the ewes
have settled into life on the fresh pasture,

900
00:55:36,367 --> 00:55:38,323
it'll be time to introduce a ram.

901
00:55:39,127 --> 00:55:42,597
Hopefully, come spring,
they'll produce plenty of young.

902
00:55:48,567 --> 00:55:51,479
lt's time to move into the cottage.

903
00:55:51,527 --> 00:55:53,882
Very kind of the Actons to lend us these chairs.

904
00:55:53,927 --> 00:55:57,920
- Yeah, well, whatever you do, don't break 'em.
- l'll try not to.

905
00:55:57,967 --> 00:56:01,562
And Ruth's first meal cooked on the range
is ready.

906
00:56:01,607 --> 00:56:04,997
This smells absolutely delicious.
What are we having?

907
00:56:05,047 --> 00:56:08,039
- Boiled mutton. Could you grab a plate?
- Yes.

908
00:56:09,007 --> 00:56:10,645
- Ooh.
- Get in here, shall l?

909
00:56:10,687 --> 00:56:12,200
Ooh! (Laughs)

910
00:56:12,247 --> 00:56:14,715
There we go.

911
00:56:14,767 --> 00:56:17,327
- Are you OK?
- Could you help me?

912
00:56:17,367 --> 00:56:20,006
Are you really that stuck?

913
00:56:22,487 --> 00:56:25,718
- My arse.
- lt went straight through!

914
00:56:26,767 --> 00:56:33,036
Oh, no. You'll have to use that chair...
which isn't much better, actually.

915
00:56:33,967 --> 00:56:36,800
- How do you think it's gone so far?
MEN: Oh...

916
00:56:36,847 --> 00:56:40,886
lt's more work than l thought
it was going to be, getting this all ready.

917
00:56:40,927 --> 00:56:42,326
- Quite obviously.
- Yeah.

918
00:56:42,367 --> 00:56:46,326
- The building work on top of everything else.
- But that's like modern builders.

919
00:56:46,367 --> 00:56:51,077
They always go, ''Yeah, a couple of weeks,''
and six weeks later you're still waiting.

920
00:56:51,127 --> 00:56:53,163
- (Laughs)
- So, you know...

921
00:56:53,207 --> 00:56:56,438
lt's starting to look good.
lt's starting to come alive.

922
00:56:56,487 --> 00:57:01,481
The good news is that we are ready
for our animals...just.

923
00:57:03,407 --> 00:57:06,638
Peter, Ruth and Alex sleep elsewhere
on the estate,

924
00:57:06,687 --> 00:57:11,203
but with the bedroom finished,
Ruth can't resist spending the night here.

925
00:57:12,247 --> 00:57:15,717
l've got my chamber pot
if l need it in the night.

926
00:57:15,767 --> 00:57:19,362
l've heated a brick on the range
and wrapped it in a cloth.

927
00:57:19,407 --> 00:57:23,525
l'm hoping this will warm the bed up a bit,
act like a hot-water bottle.

928
00:57:23,567 --> 00:57:25,125
l'll stick that in.

929
00:57:26,447 --> 00:57:29,007
Then l'm going to get in
on my lovely feather mattress

930
00:57:29,047 --> 00:57:31,402
that l cleaned and stuffed earlier.

931
00:57:34,047 --> 00:57:36,038
Get down...

932
00:57:37,327 --> 00:57:40,717
Ooh. That feels rather nice, actually.

933
00:57:41,967 --> 00:57:43,958
Mm.

934
00:57:47,767 --> 00:57:50,645
There'd better not actually be any bedbugs.

935
00:57:53,327 --> 00:57:55,795
Next time on Victorian Farm...

936
00:57:55,847 --> 00:57:57,758
building pigsties...

937
00:57:57,807 --> 00:58:01,846
We've had snow, we've had rain,
and it's just so cold.

938
00:58:03,367 --> 00:58:05,483
..back-breaking laundry duty...

939
00:58:05,527 --> 00:58:07,961
(Gasps) lt's flipping hard work.

940
00:58:09,367 --> 00:58:11,927
..a new arrival to get to grips with...

941
00:58:11,967 --> 00:58:14,003
- How am l doing?
- Very well.

942
00:58:14,047 --> 00:58:17,403
..and a Victorian Christmas to look forward to.

943
00:58:17,447 --> 00:58:19,085
- Cheers.
- Happy Christmas.

944
00:58:19,127 --> 00:58:21,038
- Happy Christmas.
- Happy Christmas.