Why make a series about life on a 400-year-old farm? This was my first question when I was asked to direct and extend the 12-section BBC series of about five professionals working on a farm on a Welsh hill, as it would have been in the 17th century. I have to admit that I was quite skeptical about this idea. Not only did this mean eradicating my family and moving to Wales for a year, but more than that, I was worried that this could turn into another low-level reality show, in which the historical concept would be moved into the backseat.
There were many programs in which the average family or group of people fell into a strange environment - the past - wrapped up in the period of clothing, as well as decorated with modern luxury and amenities. Sometimes they are insightful, but most of the time they occupy personal arguments between the participants and, above all, sensational ones. I wanted to try to do something completely different - a series that was beautiful to watch and, most importantly, informative.
Instead of using only people from the street, we wanted our team of farmers of the period to be experts, experts in various fields. The goal was to take their scientific knowledge and apply it to try to turn theory into practice. Therefore, we gathered our experts — Stuart Peachy, agricultural and food historian, Ruth Goodman, social historians and clothing specialist, Alex Langland and Peter Fonz Ginn, two young, strong and, above all, practical archaeologists, and Chloe Spencer, at work with animals. We started shooting in September, the beginning of the agricultural calendar, with a twelve-month farming on the horizon.
But what to shoot? For most of the year, this question was answered to me, because the schedule of farmer events is almost predetermined. Every year, monthly and almost sufficiently daily tasks of the farmer are often set in stone, dictated by the weather, the soil, and the main cycle of life. From the very beginning it was one of the most significant lessons that struck our specialists. Of course, they had a certain opportunity to choose what to do and when. Several months, like January in the depths of winter, are reliable times, without any urgent tasks. A time like this is a welcome response for the farmer, allowing him to catch up with the repairs, maintenance and breathe before the onslaught of spring. The rest of the time, great events are laid out as a series of stages: from September plowing and sowing, as well as fruit harvest in October to cutting sheep in June and hay, while the sun shines in July.
As I was planning a filming schedule, the main agricultural objectives were fairly obvious, but one of the areas I didn’t particularly consider from the point of view of agricultural activities is construction. In fact, several construction projects appeared during the year, from placing a shack (wooden store) to replacing a secret one damaged by February storms. One of the first important tasks that the experts had to face was to deliver the barn using only the tools, technologies and materials available in 1620. To put it in context, it was a time when pilgrims went to America and James I sat on the throne, only a few decades before the civil war tore England.
It was a real delight when the barn slowly but surely rose from the ground. First, Alex and Fonz grabbed a wicker and frosted wall made of wooden rods, strangled with a mixture of cow dung, clay and straw. Then the whole team set to work on the roof, from cutting beams to laying straw. Probably the first time I fully appreciated the deep and diverse qualities of the farmer since that time. Yes, he could communicate with external masters and specialists, but it would be expensive and, of course, not just a phone call. It was very important to do it yourself. He had to be inventive, inventive and, above all, the jack of all professions, which could turn his hand to almost any practical work.
Not only that, but the farmer had to dive into his local environment. While most of us today travel through the countryside, just admiring their rural beauty and charms, the period farmer saw it through completely different glasses. For him, the surrounding landscape looked like a giant storeroom and a toolbox full of valuable resources, all with their own qualities and uses, from different forests to plants with healing properties. From father to son, such inalienable craft-shrub knowledge was transferred and studied - what could be useful, how it should be managed, and when it should be collected.
I remember the time when Alex was working on the barn roof. He did not excavate such buildings from that time, but only when processing materials, cutting stray rods through the roof beams to create a grid for this, he gradually appreciated the various properties and, therefore, the potential of his instrument -Komplekt.
Back in the 17th century, wood was a resource of paramount importance. It was used to such an extent, from making charcoal to shipbuilding, that he believed that there was as much area in Britain as there was in Britain as it is today. Faced with such an appetite, the wood itself was cultivated, with the majority of farms of any size having their own village, the area of a wooded area was carefully controlled with a worldview that stretched for decades, if not centuries in the future. When we collected wood from the farm, it was like a walk through a giant DIY store, ready for cooking and easily labeled if you knew what you were looking at. For growing rods and beams in various thicknesses and lengths, various types of trees of various sizes, from young saplings to giant oaks, were grown. Whatever type of wood is required, from making a peg, building a table or replacing roofing wood, they were all ready. It was a field of agriculture, which I did not even think about before I began working on directing the series.
Needless to say, the ultimate cause for the farm is food. Four hundred years ago, deprived of electricity, people had to find other ways to preserve food for as long as possible, without refrigeration. Of course, today this is done in different ways, in many places by necessity and in other cases, because the curing process adds flavor - for example, Parma hams, hinged over the years, smoked coccyx, or vegetables, pickled in vinegar. But this is one thing to enjoy your favorite salami, another thing, unlike to really see how it is done.
From the moment we killed one of the farm pigs, the food clock was ticking. First, the blood had to be depleted and used, after which it was necessary to consume offal, only then attention could pay attention to the rest of the pigs. It was usually said that the only part of the pig that was not eaten was its squeak. Of course, nothing was wasted. At the time, food disgust was unheard of luxury. But this is not a simple and simple job of processing the whole animal from beginning to end, especially for people who bought their bacon, ready sliced and wrapped in film. This is a lot of time, but in many ways a fun and festive task, as it remains in many countries where whole families are going to kill and process one of their animals. It really is all hands to the pump. Just pulling the stubble off Arthur, the pig, the cross of the wild boar Tamuvort, that the closest we can get to the breed of that time was a serious matter. These pigs are incredibly obedient and friendly, but they are also incredibly hairy, as they needed, living in the forest for a considerable amount of time.
Today, thin bristles on our almost bald pigs are boiled in large vats, but then farmers introduced another technique into the game - a pig fire. They could not burn her for too long, or she would begin to prepare the carcass, but she had to have enough to sing her hair. After removing the soot from the face, it was then necessary to clean it, only then the skin was clean, so the salt could be applied in wide quantities to cure it. In our modern world, where processed food is around, refreshingly to take a step back, remember where food really comes out and appreciates the enormous amount of time it takes to prepare things for food by hand, from plucking chicken and blowing wheat to the city.
The proof of the pudding is in the food, and I must say that Arthur's pork chops were somehow the most juicy and delicious that I have ever tasted. Another advantage on the food front was apples. These days, when we check out the fruit section in the supermarket, we can meet half a dozen varieties bred to look beautiful and good. The gardens on our reconstructed 400-year-old farm were loaded with apples, which I heard, but never saw, from Cornish Aromatics to Costards for cooking. The autumn lane could not be destroyed immediately, so they were kept in the farmhouse, in the attic of an apple tree, where it was cool and airy. They needed to be regularly checked and checked for any problems, but the vast majority survived in excellent condition for six months - a good source of vitamins during the winter to spring. While the store bought apples often seems to go away in just a few weeks these days, it was pretty shocking to eat apples in March, which we picked last September, without a refrigerator in sight.
Standing behind the camera, it was fascinating to see how experts are so easily adapted to a completely different pace of life and immersed in tasks that have not been seen in the UK for centuries. Throughout the year, they were joined by a number of traditional craftsmen, as a result of which additional skills emerged, many of which disappeared in this country. Until a professional candle maker helped the team, I had no idea that most of the candles on the farm at that time were made from sheep fat. Before the host arrived on the set with a 400-year-old straw cable car and “agile” that was used to turn it, I would never have believed that you could have made something as light as straw. Until the charcoal burner helped the team, I would never have guessed how slow and difficult the process of turning wood into something as vital as charcoal is.
It is easy to look back on such a rustic idyll with pink tinted glass. In our busy, forever life, it is easy to dream of a lifestyle that seems uncomplicated, slower and more complex. It’s too easy to forget about terrible diseases and low life expectancy, physical exhaustion of manual labor or despair and hunger when the farm had problems.
Making this documentary series was one long learning curve for me. I no longer have any illusions about how much better this was in the good old days. I really like the idea of drinking only beer, apparently up to eight pints a day, since most people do not have access to clean water, and fermented beer is safe to drink. I imagine the almost spiritual satisfaction that comes from a whole day spent in the fields and exhausted to find a hearty dinner on the table. But, having seen that Ruth and Chloe are washing the stylish style of the 17th century, they make their own dishwashing liquid. from the ashes in the fire, using the accumulated urine to remove stubborn stains, and then beating the boat on the rocks in the creek, I certainly would not want to turn the clock and give up my washing machine.
