August
August brings the climax of the farming year - and the end of 12 months on the Edwardian Farm for archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman. The team must harvest their oat crop, but everything depends on the weather. Constant rain is making the job impossible. It is crucial to be able to predict when a dry spell will come so that they can be prepared to swing into action. They investigate ways of forecasting the weather and embark on creating a weather vane. Peter tries his hand at the art of repousse to make a copper cockerel for the vane, and the team heads for the woods to do a traditional charcoal burn in order to smelt iron for the compass points. When the rain finally clears, the team deploy the latest in Edwardian farming technology for the oat harvest - including a tractor that was then state-of-the art, the 'Moghul'. And the event is captured by an Edwardian film crew - tapping into the very latest in Edwardian fads: the cinema. To celebrate the end of harvest, the whole town enjoys a grand fete sporting new innovations such as the electric light bulb, the latest threshing machines, the petrol-powered Lister engine and a genuine flying machine. The Edwardian era ended with an event that changed the countryside forever - the First World War. Michael Morpurgo, author of the play War Horse, comes to the farm to give Alex, Ruth and Peter an insight into the consequences. Although the human cost was dreadful, the growth of mechanization meant many rural areas had labour to spare. But over a million horses were also drafted into service - and only 60,000 came back - paving the way for tractors to finally replace horse-power. Farming would never be the same again. Last in Series
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S1 E1
September
In September they begin with the basics. They set up home in one of the cottages, where the first task - after cleaning - is unblocking the chimney so they can get the range working in order to cook. They prepare for the arrival of their first livestock - a flock of sheep and a ram called Cyril, and Ruth cheers up the cottage by making a rug out of rags. And she cooks her first meal on the range - a sheep's head stew. Alex builds a hay rick to store feed for the animals over winter; while Peter heads to Bodmin moor to carve a stone feeding trough. And they must plant crops. The high acidity of the soil makes it infertile for growing crops, so the top priority is neutralising the acid with fertilizer - and for this they must make deadly quicklime. They will need literally tonnes of the stuff. It is a hazardous and gruelling - but essential - job.
S1 E2
October
In October, the Edwardian farmers branch out into new ventures like market gardening, all-year-round egg production and beef cattle. After acquiring a beef herd, the team bring in a bull. They also begin training the shire horses for a year of work in the fields. And they take on a pair of goats who prove to be more than a handful at milking time. Morwellham Quay's market gardens were once one of the nation's largest producers of strawberries, until abandoned half a century ago. Now the team attempt to bring them back to life. Cider was a vital part of the Edwardian rural economy, so Alex and Peter attempt to follow in this tradition by making it on an industrial scale - using an Edwardian cider press and a ton of apples. Ruth preserves supplies for the winter: she pickles apples, salts a ham and smokes bacon. Peter visits a cooper and learns how to make a barrel, and Alex launches a chicken enterprise. Finally they see in the winter with Halloween - Edwardian style.
S1 E3
November
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's November and to prosper as Edwardian farmers, Alex, Peter and Ruth need to get to grips with the technologies of the age and use Edwardian science to set up an exciting new venture on the farm. Alex and Peter want to grow oats, essential as feed for their livestock, and potatoes, a reliable source of income. But first they must plough the land. Most Edwardian farmers still relied heavily on horse power, but new technology was on the horizon. A travelling salesman makes a dramatic entrance bringing a piece of the state-of-the-art machinery from the Edwardian age - the world's first tractor, the Ivel. Ruth prepares for the arrival of the farm's pigs by restoring the farm's pig sty privy - an ingenious construction combining a pig sty with a lavatory so that pig waste and human waste could be composted in one place. After introducing the pigs to their new home, Ruth grooms them. Peter embarks on building a trout farm and populating it by using revolutionary fish-breeding techniques that were new to Devon's Edwardian farmers. And Alex wants to maintain the farm's hedgerows - but first he'll need to learn how to forge a Devon billhook using water-powered technology. After all their hard work, Ruth cheers the team up by making sloe gin and acquiring an Edwardian musical novelty - a gramophone.
S1 E4
December
Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman are in Morwellham Quay in Devon - once home to one of the busiest ports in Britain. They will be attempting to bring it back to life as it was in its Edwardian heyday. It's December and, as winter sets in, Alex, Peter and Ruth face the challenge of earning a living in one of the hardest months of the year. They'll have to profit from their livestock, leave the farm in search of part-time work and head to the coast to reap the ocean's bounty. With poverty rife in the countryside, Edwardian farmers often had to find additional work away from their land. Alex and Peter follow in the footsteps of Tamar Valley farmers who traditionally took advantage of living between the North and South Devon coasts to profit from the county's other great industry - sea fishing. Ruth follows the growing number of Edwardian women who entered domestic service. She goes to a grand Edwardian stately home, Lanhydrock House, where she encounters luxurious novelties such as running water, electric lights and even prototype vacuum cleaners. But when Alex and Peter have little luck on their seafaring fishing expedition, Ruth has to prepare a poor man's Christmas lunch.