Tales from the Green Valley
Encyclopedia
Tales from the Green Valley is a historical documentary TV series in 12 parts, first shown on BBC Two
in autumn 2005.
The series was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion TV. It was directed and produced by Peter Sommer. The Series Producer was David Upshal
. The narrator was Owen Teale
, and the music was composed by David Poore
.
The series recreates everyday life on a small farm in Wales
in the 1620s
, using authentic replica equipment and clothing, original recipes and reconstructed building techniques. Much use is made of period sources such as agricultural writers Gervase Markham
and Thomas Tusser
.
The series features historians Stuart Peachey
and Ruth Goodman
, and archaeologists Alex Langlands, Peter Ginn and Chloe Spencer.
The series has been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK
.
An associated book by Stuart Peachey-–The Building of the Green Valley: a reconstruction of an early 17th-century rural landscape-–was published in 2006.
.
A new series set in the 19th century entitled Victorian Farm
was screened on BBC Two in January 2009 and Edwardian Farm
in November 2010.
, The Victorian Kitchen, The Victorian Flower Garden and The Wartime Kitchen and Garden.
The reality television
genre has also used historical reconstructions as the basis for a number of shows including The 1900 House
and Coal House
.
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in autumn 2005.
The series was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion TV. It was directed and produced by Peter Sommer. The Series Producer was David Upshal
David Upshal
David Upshal is an Executive Producer for Lion Television, one of Britain's largest independent television companies.His work includes Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy , Edwardian Farm , Tales from the Green Valley , The True Face of War , Days That Shook The World , Gordon Brown's Missing...
. The narrator was Owen Teale
Owen Teale
Owen Teale is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Guildford School of Acting, Teale made his television debut in The Mimosa Boys in 1984. He later appeared in Knights of God , Great Expectations , Waterfront Beat and Boon before being cast as Will Scarlet in the 1991 TV movie Robin Hood...
, and the music was composed by David Poore
David Poore
David Poore is a British independent musician, who has composed and produced music for over 200 films by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Disney, PBS, National Geographic, RTÉ and other broadcasters.-Education:...
.
The series recreates everyday life on a small farm in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in the 1620s
1620s
-Significant people:* Antonio Maria Abbatini of Rome , composer* George Abbot of England , Archbishop of Canterbury, held position 1611–1633...
, using authentic replica equipment and clothing, original recipes and reconstructed building techniques. Much use is made of period sources such as agricultural writers Gervase Markham
Gervase Markham
Gervase Markham was an English poet and writer, best known for his work The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman first published in London in 1615.-Life:Markham was the third son of Sir Robert Markham of Cotham, Nottinghamshire, and was...
and Thomas Tusser
Thomas Tusser
Thomas Tusser was an English poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. It contains the lines...
.
The series features historians Stuart Peachey
Stuart Peachey
Stuart Peachey is a British historian specialising in the English Civil War and the history of food and clothing. He has produced many works on these and other subjects...
and Ruth Goodman
Ruth Goodman (historian)
Ruth Goodman is a British freelance historian of the Early Modern period specialising in offering advice to museums and heritage attractions. She is a specialist in British social history and is a presenter of the BBC educational documentary series Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy and Edwardian...
, and archaeologists Alex Langlands, Peter Ginn and Chloe Spencer.
The series has been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK is a DVD publisher which distributes and sells home video products with a particular focus on British television.- Company history :The company was founded in 1997 when Lesley Fromant set up a branch of parent company Acorn Media in the UK....
.
An associated book by Stuart Peachey-–The Building of the Green Valley: a reconstruction of an early 17th-century rural landscape-–was published in 2006.
Sequels
A Tudor Feast at Christmas – a "spin-off" from the series, broadcast in December 2006 – showed the team recreating a Tudor banquet at Haddon HallHaddon Hall
Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland, occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its]...
.
A new series set in the 19th century entitled Victorian Farm
Victorian Farm
Victorian Farm is a historical documentary TV series in six parts, first shown on BBC Two in January 2009. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed on the Shropshire estate of Acton Scott. The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists...
was screened on BBC Two in January 2009 and Edwardian Farm
Edwardian Farm
Edwardian Farm is an historical documentary TV series in twelve parts, first shown on BBC Two from November 2010 to January 2011. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed at Morwellham Quay, an historic quay in Devon. The farming team was historian Ruth...
in November 2010.
Related programmes
The series followed on from a number of social history documentaries on UK television based on historical reconstructions, including The Victorian Kitchen GardenThe Victorian Kitchen Garden
The Victorian Kitchen Garden was a 13-part television series produced in 1987 by Jennifer Davies for BBC2. It recreated a kitchen garden of the Victorian era at Chilton Foliat in Wiltshire, although at the time the series was made Chilton Foliat was in the county of Berkshire...
, The Victorian Kitchen, The Victorian Flower Garden and The Wartime Kitchen and Garden.
The reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
genre has also used historical reconstructions as the basis for a number of shows including The 1900 House
The 1900 House
The 1900 House is a historical reality television programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The show is about a modern family that tries to the live in the way of the late Victorians in 1900 for three months in a modified house...
and Coal House
Coal House
Coal House is a Welsh television series made by Indus Films for BBC Wales, and broadcast on BBC One Wales, with a subsequent UK wide repeat of both series on BBC Four. Series 1 was set in the depressed economic coalfields of 1927, while Series 2 was set in 1944 as World War II draws to a close...
.