BBC Two's historical farm series are five documentary series first broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

from 2005 to 2013. They illustrate the lives of people: farmers, labourers, fishermen, housewives, etc. in a variety of historical contexts. Historians and archaeologists play the parts of ordinary people and live and work immersed in the time specified. The team perform the everyday crafts such as hunting, gathering, sowing and reaping as well as experimenting with more specialised work like blacksmithing, woodcutting and mining under the eyes of an experienced tutor. Each series (save the first) has taken place at a public

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

site that provides external in-period experts, experience, and flavour. The Wartime Farm series includes conversations with men and women who remember the time. All were produced by

David Upshal David Upshal is a British television producer. His work includes '' Victorian Farm'', '' Victorian Pharmacy'', '' Edwardian Farm'', '' Wartime Farm'', '' Tales from the Green Valley'', '' Tudor Monastery Farm'', ''The True Face of War'', '' Da ...

for Lion Television and broadcast on

Related series

Several other shorter series featuring the same people and production staff have been made: * '' A Tudor Feast at Christmas'', at

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, ...

, 1 episode (2006) * ''

Victorian Farm Christmas ''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 ser ...

'', 3 episodes (2009) * '' Victorian Pharmacy'' at

Blists Hill Victorian Town Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open-air museum built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England. The museum attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town i ...

, 4 episodes (2010) * '' Secrets of the Castle'' at Guédelon Castle, 5 episodes (2014) *
Victorian Bakers
' at

, 4 episodes (2016)
''Full Steam Ahead''
courtesy of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

, 6 episodes (2016), filmed predominantly at the

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...

. * '' 24 Hours in the Past'', 4 episodes (2015)

Other "living history" BBC series

* ''

The Victorian Kitchen Garden ''The Victorian Kitchen Garden'' is a 13-part British television series produced in 1987 by Keith Sheather for BBC2, based on an idea by Jennifer Davies, who later became associate producer. It recreated a kitchen garden of the Victorian era ...

'' at

Leverton, Berkshire Leverton is a small hamlet in West Berkshire, England, close to the border with Wiltshire and around north-west of Hungerford History Leverton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as lands owned by the Abingdon Abbey, with 9 households, and valu ...

(near

Chilton Foliat Chilton Foliat is a village and civil parish on the River Kennet in Wiltshire, England. The parish is in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is on the county boundary with West Berkshire and is about northwest of th ...

, Wiltshire), 13 episodes (1987). ** ''The Victorian Kitchen'' (with

Ruth Mott Ruth Mott (5 February 1917 – 28 July 2012) was an English domestic servant who became a television cook and personality. Mott spent most of her life working in country houses with her television work not beginning until the age of 70, when her kn ...

), 1989. ** ''The Victorian Flower Garden'', 1991. ** ''The Wartime Kitchen and Garden'', 1993. ** ''Harry's Big Adventure'', 1994. * ''The Sweet Makers'' at

, Shrophire, 3 episodes and a Christmas special (2017). * '' Victorian Slum House'' at

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have un ...

, 5 episodes (2016) - London slum life during Victorian era. * ''

The 1900 House ''The 1900 House'' is a historical reenactment reality television series made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The program features a modern family attempting to live in the way of the late Victorians for three months in a modified house. It w ...

'' at 50 Elliscombe Road, Charlton, South-East London, 10 episodes (1999). * '' The 1940s House'' at 17 Braemar Gardens, West Wickham, Kent, 5 episodes (2001) – a family "living" through the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. * ''

The Edwardian Country House ''The Edwardian Country House'' is a British historical reenactment reality television miniseries produced by Channel 4. First aired weekly in the UK beginning in April 2002, it was later broadcast in the United States on PBS stations as '' ...

'' at

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller, ...

, 2002 (6 episodes). * '' Treats From The Edwardian Country House'', 2002 (6 episodes). * ''

Regency House Party ''Regency House Party'' is a historical reenactment reality television program made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 2004. Narrated by Richard E. Grant, the Regency reenactment is the fourth in a series of historical reality programs produced by ...

'', at

Kentchurch Court Kentchurch Court is a Grade I listed stately home east from the village of Kentchurch in Herefordshire, England. History It is the family home of the Scudamore family. Family members included Sir John Scudamore, who acted as constable and ...

, 2004 (8 episodes). * '' Coal House'', at Stack Square in the Welsh hills of

Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Th ...

, 2009 (12 episodes) – a 1920s Welsh mining community, including a 1944 wartime special. * '' The 1900 Island'', at

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...

, 2019 (4 episodes) - a 1900 fishing village in

* ''

Turn Back Time – The High Street ''Turn Back Time – The High Street'' is a 2010 British reality documentary television series. The show started airing on BBC One on 2 November 2010 and ran for 6 episodes. The series is based and filmed in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, and se ...

'', at

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, 2010 (6 episodes) * '' Back in Time for...'', 2015; each series takes one "typical" family or multiple individuals relating to the topic (e.g., factory workers in Back in Time for the Factory) and immerses them in life of past decades. * ''The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts'', 2019 (4 episodes)

References

Reenactment of the late modern period Historical reality television series {{BBC-tv-prog-stub