BBC - Tudor Monastery Farm (2013) Part 3 Bread and Ale

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold turn the clock back over 500 years to run a farm at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex exactly as it would have been in 1500, during the reign of the first Tudor King, Henry VII.

Part 3: Bread and Ale

The team focus on preparing staple foods of everyday Tudor life - bread and ale. With the monasteries owning much of the farmland, Ruth, Peter and Tom are well aware of the importance of praying for a successful harvest. They join their fellow parishioners in the tradition of 'beating the bounds' - circling the parish boundary while praying for a good yield. Peter and Tom join pig farmer Neal Careswell in weaning the piglets from their mother. Meanwhile, Ruth is in the woods trying to harvest wild yeast from the air for the bread-making, and Peter goes to a local windmill to help with the production of wheatflour. Tom also visits a foundry to help cast a new bell, while Peter helps harvest beeswax used to make candles.

BBC Site

Full Version Available Upon Request