| Victorian Farm | |
|---|---|
 Ruth, Peter and Alex on the DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Stuart Elliott |
| Starring | Peter Ginn Ruth Goodman Alex Langlands |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer | David Upshal |
| Running time | 1 hour per episode |
| Production company | Lion Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 8 January – 24 December 2009 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
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.[11]
The series is a sequel to Tales from the Green Valley, shown on BBC Two in 2005.[12] The BBC commissioned two follow-ups with the same production team and cast: Victorian Farm Christmas,[13] which aired in December 2009, and Edwardian Farm, aired from November 2010.[14][15] In September 2012 the same cast returned with the third instalment of the BBC Farm series: Wartime Farm. The fourth installment came in 2013, Tudor Monastery Farm. Various Christmas specials were also broadcast.
- ^ Peter Sommer. "Tales from the Victorian Farm".
- ^ "Victorian Farm". Acton Scott. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ Stephens, Henry (10 September 1860). "The Book of the Farm". C.M. Saxton – via Google Books.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (13 February 2009). "TV ratings: Bumper harvest for Victorian Farm". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "Shropshire Star". Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Rogers2009-02-13T11:59:00, Jon. "Piers Morgan fails to bask in glamour". Broadcast.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Walton, James (8 January 2009). "Last night on television: Victorian Farm (BBC2) - Life of Riley (BBC1)". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (9 January 2009). "Last night's TV". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ "Victorian Farm Christmas", IMDb, 11 December 2009, retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Pavilion Books. ISBN 978-1-86205-821-7
- ^ "Top 10 non-fiction hardbacks - March 01, 2009", Sunday Times, 1 March 2009, archived from the original on 29 November 2014
- ^ "Tales from the Green Valley". petersommer.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "BBC Two - Victorian Farm Christmas".
- ^ "BBC - Press Office - BBC Two takes up residence on Edwardian Farm". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Edwardian Farm Coming To BBC Two". Archived from the original on 20 May 2018.