History Series / BBCHistoricalFarmSeries

* LongTitle: ''Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom''.

* PowerWalk: Ruth, Peter and Alex do a rather period one at the end of the opening montage of ''Edwardian Farm''. They also do a more slower and less brisker one at the end of every episode of ''Wartime Farm''. Subverted in the Christmas special of that show, where Peter and Ruth do a new variation on it in a very different ([[ItMakesSenseInContext but plot-related]]) location. A variation in ''Tudor Monastery Farm'' is more of a calm little stroll, with baskets in hand.

* TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold: The series is often conscious about ''averting'' this. Sometimes more overtly, sometimes subtly. The regions and local places where a given period is recreated often influence its depiction on the show, and the cast is very willing to stress this fact. But, in an even more direct example, the exact bits of the Tudor period or the 17th century that were picked for ''Tudor Monastery Farm'' and ''Tales from the Green Valley'' are those that tend to be covered a lot less in popular works. Instead of Henry VIII.'s or Elizabeth I.'s era (in the former case) or the era of the English Civil War (in the latter case), the two shows depict the pre-Reformation chunk of the Tudor period (hence "''Monastery'' Farm") and the 1620s (almost two decades before the outbreak of the greatest British war of the 17th century). ''Victorian Pharmacy'' covers the particularly obscure topic of apothecaries and mundane medicine in the 19th century. And even in a show with a decidedly modern and familiar setting like ''Wartime Farm'', the presenters cast the English countryside and agricultural efforts of that time into an often fresh and rarely depicted light. They cover some more obscure WWII homefront topics that rarely appear in most documentaries or other non-fiction about the period.

* CluckingFunny: Exemplified in [[http://edwardianfarm.co.uk/images/gallery/IMG_1415.jpg this image]] from ''Edwardian Farm''. There's also a somewhat narmy scene in the first episode of ''Wartime Farm'', where Peter grabs a hen by its legs and she starts the typical panicing. Subverted, because Peter took care to grab her in a way that would avoid having her flail around her legs all over the place.

The shows have a steady main cast in the form of a trio of professional English historians, ethnographers and archaeologists : [[http://www.ruthgoodman.me.uk/ Ruth Goodman]], [[http://unitedagents.co.uk/peter-ginn Peter Ginn]] and [[http://www.alexlanglands.com/ Alex Langlands]]. In two of the series, Langlands' role was handled by Tom Pinfold instead. In each show, these experts act as both presenters and protagonists. The various episodes also feature guest appearances by various other people knowledgeable about historical crafts, old technologies, period culture, and so on.

!!!Shows in this series so far :

!!Tropes seen in the shows of this series :
* AnachronismStew / HollywoodHistory : Averted, thankfully. Though each show has to represent a somewhat general, broad picture of the era it covers, the cast and crew usualy do their best to point out when exactly did an actual agricultural or industrial practice or certain piece of technology come into wider use. They also try to tie in the crafts, industries, handiwork and recipes shown on screen with the specific region of Britain they're filming a particular show in. (So, the shows generally try their best at stressing the importance of regional geography and history in the perspective they offer.)

* ThoseTwoGuys : [[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/512xn/p01lg4lf.jpg Peter and Alex]], doing most of the outdoor work related to experimentally recreating various bygone crafts and jobs of the past. While not outright VitriolicBestBuds, Alex does poke fun at Peter in a friendly or [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] way from time to time. This dynamic is a bit less pronounced between [[http://assets.whatsontv.co.uk/whatsontv/live/styles/large/s3/media/4634721-high-tudor-monastery-farm.jpg Tom and Peter]], though you can still catch Tom making the occasional jab at Peter.

** In ''Tudor Monastery Farm'', Peter and Tom try out 16th century lead mining in southern England. Reason ? They need some lead for a stained glass window that they and Ruth are working on.

* ChristmasSpecial: Hey, after all, it's a British series ! The three-episode miniseries ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p71fz Victorian Farm : Christmas]]'' was a holiday-themed spinoff of the usual iteration of that show. Besides showcasing Victorian era preparation of decorations, presents and Christmas recipes, the cast also work on several more mundane tasks as well. One of them - the careful restoration of a historical blacksmith workshop - is cleverly tied in with the plotline about the preparation of presents [[spoiler:(with the help of Alex and the blacksmithing instructor guest, Peter uses the restored worskshop to create a hand-made doorknocker as a present for the owner of the estate where the series was shot)]]. In December 2012, ''Wartime Farm'' became the second show in the series [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pgr4b to receive a Christmas special]] (though Alex was, for once, absent in that one). 2013's ''Tudor Monastery Farm'' also [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ndb8c gained one]], which unlike the Tudor Christmas special from a few years prior concentrated on the Christmases of the commoners instead of the nobility and royalty.

* CoolTrain: They appear only sparingly, but there are a few lovely period locomotives and cars to be seen in a few episodes of ''Victorian Farm'', ''Edwardian Farm'' and ''Wartime Farm''. Then, in ''Full Steam Ahead'', they get a whole series of their own ! And it's every bit as awesome and informative as you'd expect.
* CrazyEnoughToWork: Some of the solutions used to certain problems can be genuinely surprising or funny. In an episode of ''Wartime Farm'' which covered the WWII black market, the best solution to filtering out the colouring from stolen petrol turned out to be... [[{{Squick}} using a loaf of bread as a filter]] !

** The fact that the secret society of Freemasons dubbed their meeting places "lodges" traces its origins back to the (not exactly correct) Enlightenment era belief that medieval masons were seen as "esotheric" in their day, due to the degree of their skill and importance of their trade. Where did actual medieval masons work at and rest at ? At ''literal'' lodges (sheds, huts, cottages) next to the construction site.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: The series had some struggling beginnings, to be sure. In the mid-2000s, the skepticism went "A documentary show about experimental archaeology and living history that's not a Reality TV project ? Who would watch that ?!". Though ''Tales from the Green Valley'' had an overall good reception, some people felt that they were right with the aforementioned assessment. However, come ''Victorian Farm'' a few years later, with added production values and sophistication, and the doubters were quickly proven wrong, as the shows became very popular and commercially successful both home and abroad.

* SequelEscalation: ''Edwardian Farm'' to ''Victorian Farm'', in general. Both cover largely similar social and technological periods and have a similar feel, but while the older show is mostly focused on agriculture and everyday chores at a relatively small farming estate, ''Edwardian Farm'' massively ups the ante and has the team travelling large parts of Devon and southern Wales, trying out various industries, crafts, trades... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and even going on vacation at the seaside !]]
* TheSimpleLifeIsSimple: Averted. Hard work at the farm or in industries is not trivialised or romanticised. However, you couldn't tell by how the presenters seem to react most of the time: The cast is usually having genuine fun while working on authentically recreating the housing conditions and farming and labouring methods of the past. They even tend to rediscover and learn certain facts that have been lost to history, due to some production methods not being tried for a very long time, and previously being little documented.

* BackgroundMusic: All instrumental and period-appropriate. Local 17th century folk music in ''Tales from the Green Valley'', a mostly orchestral score in the 19th and early 20th century shows, a mix of orchestral and jazz music in ''Wartime Farm'', 16th century folk music and religious music in ''Tudor Monastery Farm'', French medieval lay music and orchestral music in ''Secrets of the Castle...''. David Poore composed the music for ''Tales from the Green Valley'' and most of the music from later shows was created by Matthew Winch and Andy Hamilton.