'The Victorian Farm' - Alex Langlands

Alex's most recent television appearence was as a presenter in BBC Two's THE VICTORIAN FARM (6 x 1hr). Exploring the world of rural Victorian England, the series, produced by Lion Television, follows Alex and a team of follow archaeologists and historians, accompanied by a cast of experts, live life off the land as it would have been over 100 years ago.

"Running a Victorian Farm for a year was a test of all my skills. Not only did I have to get to grips with working heavy horses in a very short period, but understanding crop rotations, ploughing, harrowing, sowing and harvesting were all essential to a successful year on a farm. At all times we had to work with period equiptment and some machinery that hadn't been used for decades.

Along with the arable part of the project, Peter and I also had to run a small livestock concern including cows, pigs, sheep and poultry. In the course of the year we successfully reared both Gloucester Old Spot and Tamworth pigs, more than doubled our flock of Shropshire sheep, produced a Short Horn Cow bullock and hatched a clutch of fourteen turkeys.

However, before any farming could be achieved we needed to undertake some much needed repairs to the farm we were to rent and as a consequence all of our carpentry, stone masonry and plastering skills were stretched to the limit.

During the quieter moments we found the time to indulge in some traditional crafts skills making tools, stools, hurdles, baskets and corn dollies.

The series follows us throughout the year and charts our story as we battle to run a small tenant farm as it would have been run in the late Victorian period."

THE VICTORIAN FARM builds on the success of the 12 part series TALES FROM THE GREEN VALLEY (12 x 30mins) which was set on a Welsh hill farm in the 1620s. Alex was a key part of the team that successfully ran the early 17th Century farm.

From the team of TALES FROM THE GREEN VALLEY , Alex, Peter and Ruth made a one-off Christmas special entitled A TUDOR FEAST AT CHRISTMAS (1 x 1hr) in which the team brought the 16th Century kitchens at Haddon Hall back to life for one last Tudor feast.

“absorbing…an unassuming, worthwhile endeavour” The Times

“Charming…the archaeologists and historians delight in putting their knowledge into practice” The Sunday Telegraph

“reality TV with educational value, as well as being highly entertaining…A thoroughly engaging concept” Sunday Express

“ambitious” The Observer

“there’s some great trivia here...gradually it beguiles” The Mail on Sunday

“gentle and informative” The Telegraph

“it’s a real history-come-to-life series that demonstrates you don’t need social strife to make reality TV absorbing. Seeing the experts put their knowledge into practice is surprisingly gripping…there’s also a richness to the photography that makes it quite lovely to watch” Radio Times

“rather more sober and educative than your average episode of Big Brother” The Independent

“the historians and archaeologists’ enthusiasm for the project is charming and fascinating” TV Choice

“Fans of such pioneering TV projects as The 1940’s House will love this new series” Total TV Guide

In September 2003, Alex joined up with a team of fellow archaeologists and historians to spend a year immersed in the world of seventeenth century farming. ‘Tales from the Green Valley ’ (BBC TWO, Spring 2005) is a twelve-part extravaganza for all those who adore food, history, nature and technology. It is made by one of Britain ’s leading and most successful production companies, Lion Television. The series follows the team through the twelve months of the year as they run a farm set in the year 1620. Alex says:

‘What a fantastic experience! This was an opportunity to approach history from the other side, to live, breath and taste the past. I have always had a passion for the past and, having grown up around farming communities, for rural life, nature and the countryside. Combining these two great loves of mine for a year spent on a beautifully reconstructed farm complex was an experience I will never forget.

At first I was somewhat daunted by the prospect. All those animals to care for, crops to tend and buildings to build; how would I manage? Fortunately a good friend of mine stepped in to the fray, Peter ‘Fonz’ Ginn, and together we explored what it would have been like to have been farm labourers 400 years ago.

Our first task was one of the most daunting. We were charged with building a cowshed for our herd of Welsh mountain black cows that we would have to bring in over winter. When we arrived on the farm, the walls of the barn had been completed – it was up to us to do the rest. By the time we had left, we had built and thatched the roof, wattled and daubed the walls, put the doors and stalls in place, built feeding troughs and filled the loft with a bountiful harvest of hay which we had scythed from the farm’s own meadow.

During the course of the year we learnt to thatch, to hedge, to dry stone wall, to sow, to reap, to thresh, to winnow, to coppice, to plough, to harrow……..the list is endless. Practicing all these skills on a day-to-day basis gave us a real insight into rural life in the Seventeenth Century.’

For news, updates and further information about the series look up Peter Sommer (Director and Producer).

If Tales from the Green Valley has inspired you and left you hungry for more information about life in the Seventeenth try looking up Ruth Goodman - fellow participant in the series.

Alex is currently developing a number of other possible projects along the same lines and is looking at a number of locations across the country. If you are involved in a reconstructed historical site, you own one or have access to one and you would like to do something similar then please do get in touch.

To see a selection of screen grabs and other images from ‘Tales from the Green Valley’ go to the gallery. You can also see another showreel.