0:00:04 > 0:00:08500 years ago, England was emerging into a new era.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13After years of war, plague and famine,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16the kingdom was enjoying peace and prosperity
0:00:16 > 0:00:20under the reign of the first Tudor king, Henry VII.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27A new class of business-savvy farmer was thriving,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29boosting food production...
0:00:29 > 0:00:31And then over she goes.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35..while wool from their sheep was generating half the nation's wealth.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Many of the nation's farms were under the control
0:00:41 > 0:00:44of the biggest landowner in England after the King,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46the monasteries.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Their influence could be felt in every aspect of daily life.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54They were not just places of religion,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57they were at the forefront of technology,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59education and farming.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04But with the daily lives of monks devoted to prayer,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07they depended increasingly on tenant farmers
0:01:07 > 0:01:09who worked and tended their lands.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Steady, girl.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Now, historian Ruth Goodman
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and archaeologists Tom Pinfold and Peter Ginn
0:01:20 > 0:01:24are turning the clock back to Tudor England,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27here at Weald and Downland in West Sussex,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29to work as ordinary farmers
0:01:29 > 0:01:32under the watchful eye of a monastic landlord.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Here, away.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39That's the way, nice.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44To succeed, they'll have to master long lost farming methods...
0:01:44 > 0:01:45They're going again.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49..and get to grips with Tudor technology...
0:01:49 > 0:01:52SHRIEKING
0:01:52 > 0:01:56- Quite noisy. - Wow, it's a really violent process!
0:01:56 > 0:01:59..while immersing themselves in the beliefs...
0:01:59 > 0:02:00ALL: Amen.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02..customs...
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and rituals that shaped the age.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This is merry England for heaven's sake, so to speak,
0:02:09 > 0:02:10let's enjoy it.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15This is the untold story
0:02:15 > 0:02:18of the monastic farms of Tudor England.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It's September, the beginning of autumn,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36and the days are getting shorter.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43The team are preparing for the end of their farming year
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and their time as Tudor farmers.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Ruth, Peter and Tom need to make provisions for the winter.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55The pea crop has been collected and stored.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56Yeah, this is good.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Flabbergasted with just how many peas we've got.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Yeah.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03It's time to bring the animals back to the farm
0:03:03 > 0:03:05from their summer grazing.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10And the barley crop is now ready to be harvested.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16In the Tudor period, the harvest was the climax of the farming year.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20If the harvest failed or the weather turned,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23it could lead to malnutrition and even famine.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It's a lot of barley, isn't it?
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- It's a lot of work, but it looks amazing.- Yeah.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Like, the colour is just incredible.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36As one of England's largest landowners,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40monasteries owned vast amounts of agricultural land.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Most fields were open and not enclosed by hedges,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46unlike today.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49So, tenant farmers would be given strips of land to cultivate
0:03:49 > 0:03:52within these large areas.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56So, I suppose as much as this could be a huge open field,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59we would just have this strip here, wouldn't we?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01And also probably another strip over there
0:04:01 > 0:04:02and another strip over there.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05But everyone would be growing the same crop
0:04:05 > 0:04:08- and it'd be all hands to the pump. - Yeah, definitely.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Well, that's why school holidays take the form they do, isn't it?
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Cos even students had to come out and do harvesting.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Yeah. We need bodies!
0:04:25 > 0:04:26The team are discovering
0:04:26 > 0:04:29just how backbreaking the harvest would have been
0:04:29 > 0:04:31for the Tudor farmer.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It's amazing how often we have to actually sharpen our tools.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38I mean, you think metal versus barley, it'd be an easy win,
0:04:38 > 0:04:39but it's not.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Once it's cut, it needs to be bound into sheaves.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Traditionally,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51it's the men who reap and the women who bind.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55So, you run along behind the blokes, picking up all the loose stalks...
0:04:57 > 0:05:00..and then binding it into a sheaf.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05See, so much easier to control once it's bound like that.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Every last grain from the harvest was precious.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Even the smallest amounts would be gathered by those less well off,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16a practice known as gleaning.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Well, for very poor people it was a really important source of food.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24I mean, for anybody that extra bit makes the difference, doesn't it?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26You know, if you think this is your year's crop,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29that little bit that's gleaned by the kids is the last week's food.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- Yeah.- And you can get pretty hungry in that last week.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35- And don't we know it. - THEY LAUGH
0:05:37 > 0:05:41If it rained, then all the barley they had gathered would be ruined.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45To prevent this, the sheaves were stood upright on the ground,
0:05:45 > 0:05:46known as stooking,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49which allowed the grain to dry off.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It is the most incredible amount of work.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57This tiny little piece that we've done of our strip,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01this has taken us four and a half hours to do.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And look at how much more there is waiting for us.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25As well as bringing in the crops,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29it was crucial, in the autumn, to prepare meat for the winter.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33The essential ingredient for doing this was salt.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Ruth's learning the job of a waller,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40the women who were in charge of making salt.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Salt was one of the most important commodities
0:06:45 > 0:06:49of the ancient world, and also in the medieval.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It was one of those things that you simply couldn't do without.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55It was necessary for survival,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57it was an important item of trade
0:06:57 > 0:06:58and a huge industry.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02However, it was one of the basic staples of life
0:07:02 > 0:07:05which you basically had to purchase for cash.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It was part of the cash economy,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10unlike, say, carrots which you could grow your own.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19In Tudor times, the majority of salt was imported from France or Spain.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But pockets of England were highly productive.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Especially areas in the north that had natural brine springs.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The team have reconstructed the equipment used in this period.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35What I've got here are two different parts,
0:07:35 > 0:07:36a furnace and a pan.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Now, the pan is made of lead, flat-bottomed
0:07:40 > 0:07:42to evaporate off as much of the water to produce the salt.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45But that has sort of technical difficulties.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Lead is a very soft metal.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It means that under the weight of the water
0:07:49 > 0:07:53there's a danger that it would collapse downwards.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56So, that's what this frame over the top is for.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59It's actually for supporting the pan.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03The areas set up for salt production were known as walling yards.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Hence the name "waller" for the women who worked there.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10The pans were left boiling 24 hours a day.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18It takes some serious boiling to turn brine back into salt
0:08:18 > 0:08:20but it is beginning to happen.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22The surface is crusting over,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24it's becoming so concentrated.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Bucket after bucket after bucket of brine.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Reduce, reduce, reduce.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And there it is,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34salt forming as a skin on the surface.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51In autumn, the Tudor farmer would make provisions
0:08:51 > 0:08:54to ensure all their valuable animals would survive winter.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We're coming up here cos the weather's turned, it's got cold.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02We need to look after our flock, we need to protect our investment.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05And the best way to do that is to get them back
0:09:05 > 0:09:07to our homestead, to get them back to the farm.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09You can even sleep above your animals
0:09:09 > 0:09:11to get the heat coming up, if you so need to.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15- TOM LAUGHS - You're not enjoying the cottage then?
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- The farmstead not good enough for you?- You won't snuggle!
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The monastery's flocks could number thousands.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Tenant farmers faced the daunting task
0:09:27 > 0:09:31of herding their sheep from the fields back to their farms.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37So, we've got sheep up there and sheep up there.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Ideally, get them down the middle, work them down. Yeah?
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- Pincer movement? - Pincer movement.
0:09:44 > 0:09:45I'll see you in about an hour!
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Don't fall asleep,
0:09:48 > 0:09:49counting your sheep.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55The 1530s would see a turning point in sheep-farming.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57At the end of the monastic era,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59the monastery's land was sold
0:09:59 > 0:10:01so flocks were broken up
0:10:01 > 0:10:04and large common fields were enclosed.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07Here, sheep. Come on.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10This is good, they're going.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17It was the last time these huge flocks grazed together,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19changing farming enterprises
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and the landscape of Britain.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Come on. Hey.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25It's going really well.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28This field is massive, it's an open field.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32But the secret is not to go in there too hard and heavy.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35We're just slowly pushing them,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38tickling them here, tweaking them there
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and they're all bunching together in a mammoth flock.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Good stuff, Tom.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48We don't even have a dog this time.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50I've got you, Peter, I've got you.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11The brine has been boiling for four hours.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Enough water has evaporated for Ruth to attempt
0:11:13 > 0:11:15the next stage of the process -
0:11:15 > 0:11:18extracting the salt.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22The very best quality salt is this first...
0:11:22 > 0:11:23scum.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27If it's clean.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28And there is one thing I could do
0:11:28 > 0:11:32to make sure that it really is clean.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35What I need to do is throw a load of proteins in
0:11:35 > 0:11:40and then those proteins will bind with any impurities that are there.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42The cheapest was ox blood
0:11:42 > 0:11:44but I haven't got a huge supply of that.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46I'm going to try with some eggs.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And just give 'em a big stir up.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02It's certainly gathering bits together in larger clumps.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07I mean, the sort of leaves and twigs it's not doing much to.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08But it does look like
0:12:08 > 0:12:11it's taken some of that funny colour out.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Prices for salt varied depending on its purity and whiteness.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19There were different grades of salt
0:12:19 > 0:12:22with the greyest and cheapest used for household cleaning,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and the whitest being reserved for salting cheese.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29That is looking much cleaner.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Ruth is experimenting with forming salt
0:12:40 > 0:12:42in a traditional wicker cone.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45These would have been used for draining and transporting.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48It will be taken back to the farmhouse
0:12:48 > 0:12:50to be used for her winter preparations.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Before the weather turns,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02the barley needs to be safely stored
0:13:02 > 0:13:04or the crop will be ruined.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06To ensure it is kept safe,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09the boys are using an age-old technique -
0:13:09 > 0:13:10picking gorse.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13So, what we're going to do
0:13:13 > 0:13:16is actually make a layer of this gorse on the bottom of our barn.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19And these spikes will keep the mice and the rats at bay,
0:13:19 > 0:13:20keep them out of it.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22But also raising the barley off the floor
0:13:22 > 0:13:25will just get some air underneath, keep it nice and dry,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28protect our investment, protect our crop.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Although, this is not a job I'm enjoying.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36It seems like it was going to be one of our easiest tasks
0:13:36 > 0:13:38but...at the moment...
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Bleeding, now.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Prickling my ankles.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I know. It's like taking an angry dog for a walk, isn't it?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Autumn was the time for slaughtering animals,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00as it was harder to feed and look after them
0:14:00 > 0:14:02in the colder months.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08The tenant farmer would want to make their meat last
0:14:08 > 0:14:10for the months ahead.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Ruth is trying a Tudor technique for preserving beef,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16using the salt she's produced.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23You know, nowadays we cut up beasts
0:14:23 > 0:14:26according to certain joints we want to get out.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29But a Tudor butcher was looking for something rather different.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32He was looking to be able to fill his barrel
0:14:32 > 0:14:35with equal sized pieces
0:14:35 > 0:14:37of a portion for a man.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Nobody really worried too much when they were butchering
0:14:40 > 0:14:43whether one person got mostly meat and another person got mostly fat,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46as long as you got your 2lb weight.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48It's not exactly easy though,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50butchering it up into beautiful pieces.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Salting the meat for winter
0:14:55 > 0:14:58was usually the job of the Tudor housewife.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04I am really pleased with my salt cone.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07But I can tell you, it's a heck of a lot of work.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09After the salt has been crumbled,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12it is then rubbed onto every surface of the meat.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And what I'm hoping to do by this process
0:15:15 > 0:15:18is to dehydrate the meat.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22I'm going to try and draw out all the juices within it
0:15:22 > 0:15:26because they are what allow infection in.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Once the blood and other fluids have been drawn out of the beef,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31it is ready to be stored in brine -
0:15:31 > 0:15:35a mixture of water that has been boiled with salt and herbs.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39This will move the salt further into the tissues of the meat.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41There we go.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Now, just need to leave it in the brine for three days
0:15:44 > 0:15:46for that brine to really penetrate.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49Once this has happened,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52the meat can be packed into a new barrel of dry salt
0:15:52 > 0:15:54for the final stage in preserving.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00During the winter,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03pieces of the meat would then be taken out and rinsed
0:16:03 > 0:16:05when required for cooking.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20So I'll jump over, Peter. You pass it over?
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Yep, let's get this gorse down.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Oh, it's prickly, prickly stuff.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30If I pop it over there and you can spread it with that.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40I suppose, not only have we brought our sheep and our cows in,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42we're also bringing in our harvest.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And by doing so, we're leaving stubble fields
0:16:45 > 0:16:48so we're taking away the home of the rats and the mice
0:16:48 > 0:16:50and we're creating a food store for them.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53So they're all going to come here looking for food,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55so we need this gorse down here to protect it,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57otherwise we're in shtook.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59This barley would have been used throughout the year
0:16:59 > 0:17:02to make two of our staples, bread and ale, so it's very important.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Well, one more load to get
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and then, we can have our feast.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22I'm looking forward to it. Let's crack on.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35It's Michaelmas, a feast day to St Michael,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38the protector of the Christian Church.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40It marks the shortening of days
0:17:40 > 0:17:44and the end of the yearly farming cycle.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Ruth is cooking goose,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48the traditional meat eaten at this time of year.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I mean, nowadays many people only ever eat goose,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56if they eat it at all, at Christmas.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59And that's a madness from a farming point of view.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Utterly ridiculous!
0:18:01 > 0:18:03It's completely out of season.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07There are two points in the year when it makes sense to eat goose.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10One is towards the end of summer.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13At that moment, they are at their fattest and their juiciest
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and it used to be called a green goose, a grass-fed goose.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21However, if you want to keep them through to Michaelmas,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24then there is one more source of free food
0:18:24 > 0:18:26to fatten up your goose.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29You set your geese free on your stubble lands
0:18:29 > 0:18:30and they pick about.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33And any of the dropped grains they feed on
0:18:33 > 0:18:34and fatten up a second time.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37And that is a stubble goose,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39just ready for Michaelmas.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57The last of the barley is being brought in to be stored.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00It was customary, once the last field was reaped,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02for people to celebrate,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04marking joy and relief
0:19:04 > 0:19:07after the hard work that had gone into the farming year.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12The celebration took the form of "Harvest Home"
0:19:12 > 0:19:14and was steeped in rituals,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16as communities across the kingdom
0:19:16 > 0:19:19thanked God for helping them with their harvest.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23It's almost religious. It's like every single grain is precious,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25the amount of work and effort that has gone into this.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27- There you go.- Thank you.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Thank you.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Professor Ronald Hutton has joined the team
0:19:31 > 0:19:32to help bring in the harvest.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37So this year, the fact that we've got such a good crop,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39this really is a moment for celebration.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Let's consider the alternative a moment.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44There was a disease in Tudor England called the bloody flux.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49In modern times, we thought it was some infection that had died out.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Only with our relief work in Ethiopia and the Sudan
0:19:52 > 0:19:54in the late 20th century
0:19:54 > 0:19:58did we realise that the bloody flux is the last stage of starvation.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- Oh!- When your body is famished beyond a certain point,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04the wall of your intestine gives way
0:20:04 > 0:20:06in a massive haemorrhage that kills you off.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- Oh, goodness! - And that's the alternative
0:20:09 > 0:20:12to getting in a good harvest... or even a harvest.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13That's pretty stark.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19With the dark prospect of famine avoided,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23the farmers would have been able to rejoice.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Once the cart was filled with the last of the barley,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28the community would choose a Harvest Queen,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30a maiden from the local village
0:20:30 > 0:20:32who would be carried on top of the cart
0:20:32 > 0:20:34as it made its way back to the farm.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37What do you think? Na-na-na...
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- Mary? - ALL: Yeah.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43We think so? Okey-doke. Come on then. Come on, come on, here she is.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Here she is.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Congratulations, Mary. That sounded pretty unanimous.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51You get the honour of a crown and a ride in the cart.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- Lucky you!- You're going to grace our last harvest.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07- Gentlemen.- Yes.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- One last little ordeal for you. - Yes(!)
0:21:11 > 0:21:14There are generally games involved in bringing home,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17triumphantly, the last cart from the field.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18Games like?
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Usually, guys versus girls, one which lasted for centuries
0:21:22 > 0:21:26after the Tudor era was for the men - that's you, I'm afraid -
0:21:26 > 0:21:32to try and get a small sheaf of cereal each into the barn.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Now, you see the ladies are lined up behind you armed with water,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39who will try and empty the water over as you do so,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42so this is speed and intelligence. LAUGHTER
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Ready.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45One, two, three...
0:21:45 > 0:21:47LAUGHTER
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Oh, you and your crazy ideas!
0:21:54 > 0:21:58This is history that does it to us. LAUGHTER
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- I'm just the messenger. - And you're dry!
0:22:03 > 0:22:06The rituals were followed by a great feast
0:22:06 > 0:22:09to reward the harvest workers for their toil.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Hooray, harvest over!
0:22:16 > 0:22:19It was a time of year which marked relief,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22expressed by giving thanks for farming success.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Who's carving the goose?
0:22:27 > 0:22:32It's Michaelmas, the Feast Of St Michael And All Angels,
0:22:32 > 0:22:36which marks the real end of the agricultural year.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38That's why we're celebrating so hard.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And the monastery has rewarded us,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45for our labour, by a customary extra gift of a goose...
0:22:46 > 0:22:50..which we roast for Michaelmas, to show that not only are we getting
0:22:50 > 0:22:53on well with each other, but we're getting on well with our landlord.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57But before we do anything, would you please speak the grace?
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Benedictus, Benedicat per Jesum
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Christum Dominum Nostrum, amen.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13- Bravo.- Amen.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Well, I have to say this goosey is fair. Carve away.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Oh, goosey, goosey!
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Pass down your plate!
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Pass down your plates if you'd like a wing.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30There, more geese.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39LAUGHTER AND CHATTING
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Well, Ronald, it is good to be alive.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49It certainly is right now. Remember, in 1500, we have winter
0:23:49 > 0:23:55ahead of us - hyperthermia, darkness, and above all, boredom.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58We're going to have to while away those long nights
0:23:58 > 0:23:59with lots of stories.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Well, as the beer is flowing we'll have a few stories.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07That's a wonderful, wonderful idea, here's to you.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08CHEERING
0:24:32 > 0:24:34With the harvest safely stored, the team have
0:24:34 > 0:24:38completed their farming obligations for the monastery.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43For the previous 800 years, monasteries had
0:24:43 > 0:24:47been at the forefront of farming, education and technology,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51as well as a hub for a range of craft and commercial activities.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Monasteries wanted elaborate, beautiful buildings to
0:24:58 > 0:25:02display their devotion to God, and skilled masons were in high demand.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Peter has come to Gloucester Cathedral to meet with
0:25:08 > 0:25:13master mason, Pascal Mychalysin, who is restoring the stonework.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- What are you working on at the moment?- A canopy.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And is this for Gloucester Cathedral?
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Yeah. A canopy that's stone, which is covering a statue,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26the head of a statue.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30It always amazes me, cathedrals, they're so beautiful and
0:25:30 > 0:25:34so ornately carved and, I suppose, one of the few
0:25:34 > 0:25:37buildings that were built out of stone in the period.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41So, yeah, when we talk about stone architecture we talk, in medieval
0:25:41 > 0:25:46- times, we talk almost exclusively about religious architecture.- Yeah.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50That means the masons, their patrons were the Church
0:25:50 > 0:25:53and very soon most masons would, would be out of a job...
0:25:53 > 0:25:57- Yeah, OK.- ..after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.- Yeah.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03A mason would trace designs onto floors and use basic geometry
0:26:03 > 0:26:06and rules of proportion to create buildings that have
0:26:06 > 0:26:08lasted for centuries.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12What is extraordinary with the medieval mason,
0:26:12 > 0:26:19and Tudor masons is what they did with almost nothing
0:26:19 > 0:26:23and using very, very little tools and mostly they used their wits.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28- Right.- And that's the tool they cut it all with. Right.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- A pickaxe.- And that's it? - That's all they had.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33So could anyone become a mason?
0:26:33 > 0:26:38The modern equivalent to understand that spot-on is you go to
0:26:38 > 0:26:42a football academy. Either you can kick the ball or you can't.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- Right.- It's a ruthless, but fair system of meritocracy.- Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49At the end of the day, you know you can have the skills
0:26:49 > 0:26:52of wielding the axe, or you can't.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56I've kicked a few balls in my time and they've never gone in the direction I want them to,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58but hopefully, if I hit a few blocks of stone I can er...
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Yeah, well we, we can have a little demonstration.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Building was usually done in the spring and summer months.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09The mason would work with stone that was fresh from the quarry
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and contained natural sap that made it soft and much easier to carve.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17The stone could be put in place and left to set in the winter.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20All right, that cut looks absolutely fantastic,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and you're doing that all by eye?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Well, I'm a trained mason
0:27:25 > 0:27:28so it would be sad if I couldn't do it.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- You make it look so easy. - Have a go.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35OK. And this finger, this is basically for guidance, is it?
0:27:35 > 0:27:39This piece of stone will be placed in the Cathedral when complete.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41You see you've got to control the cutting angles,
0:27:41 > 0:27:42so you've got to go in a bit...
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Yeah, I can see straightaway
0:27:44 > 0:27:46it's coming out like that, so I need to...
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- So, what, tilt the axe slightly up like that?- Yeah.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Yeah, not bad.- It's amazing the difference
0:27:55 > 0:27:58that the index finger makes, it does give you...
0:27:58 > 0:28:00- Control.- ..that control.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02A Tudor stonemason would traditionally
0:28:02 > 0:28:04serve a seven-year apprenticeship.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07A system which still operates today.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19And what is nice too is the medieval mason didn't need to go to the gym.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23- HE LAUGHS - Definitely not!- Keep you fit.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- Well, based on that very, very little bit of me...- Yeah.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30..chopping a bit of stone off, do you think I've got potential
0:28:30 > 0:28:33to be able to kick a football in your stonemason academy?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- Yeah, I think we can put you on a three-month trial.- Right.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39I will see.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Hopefully, you won't regret that!
0:28:51 > 0:28:54The beautifully embellished monasteries were not just places
0:28:54 > 0:28:59of prayer, they were also places of refuge, and many monastic orders
0:28:59 > 0:29:02were involved in looking after the sick in the local community.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Ruth has come to the monastic herb garden to pick plants that
0:29:08 > 0:29:12were believed to cure ailments common to the winter months.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17This is my last chance to harvest the medicinal herbs
0:29:17 > 0:29:19ready for the winter.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22And this is a job that you'd have found going on in pretty much
0:29:22 > 0:29:24every household all over Britain.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28You needed a stock of household medicine to keep you going.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Medical knowledge in medieval times was quite limited,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36relying on herbs and folklore remedies.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42In about 1500, the Renaissance makes it to Britain, and what this
0:29:42 > 0:29:47really is, is a rediscovering of Ancient Greek texts.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50It was changing the way people understood the plants around them.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53If you were to be an intellectual in 1500,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57one of the forefronts of research was in plants.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01The botany of this age was the science of the day.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Monasteries were often large complexes of gardens,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16dormitories and areas for prayer.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20All of these areas were rich in decoration.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Great tiled floors were costly and were another craft
0:30:24 > 0:30:28that thrived thanks to the patronage of the Church and monasteries.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Peter has come to the abbey to meet with Karen Slade from the
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Company Of Artisans who will help him make tiles for a church.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42- So, how do you make one?- Well, you have to start with some clay.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47Then you can take a wire and you can cut it from a block.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Wow!
0:30:49 > 0:30:54And you can then wedge that up and put that into a tile frame.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59So this is a frame that just helps you get everything the same size.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04The tiles would then be decorated.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07And so if you'd like to make a 1500s tile,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10this one is a pattern from Hailes Abbey in Gloucester,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14and was made in about, originally, in 1536.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- So, that's a, a fleur-de-lis, is it? - That's a fleur-de-lis, yes,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19and the three petals that you see here, they symbolise
0:31:19 > 0:31:23the Trinity, so you've got the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and a very popular symbol.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26I'm also right in thinking that Henry VII adopted this?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- Yes, he did, yes, he did. - OK, so I just what, line this up?
0:31:29 > 0:31:31- Yes that's it, line it up nice and square.- Over the clay.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35That's it. And then you hit it with a hammer.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37- So, one...- Now, am I hitting hard?
0:31:37 > 0:31:40You hit it relatively hard, in the middle first and then each corner.
0:31:44 > 0:31:45That's it, and then just
0:31:45 > 0:31:48if you hit it just about there just to level it up.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50That's it, brilliant.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52And just have a look and see how that's come out.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Oh, there we are, that's perfect. Certainly ready to use.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00The sunken areas on the pattern are filled in with another form of
0:32:00 > 0:32:04clay known as slip, which will then turn yellow once glazed and fired.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- And this is the only thing that they used to have to pay for.- Right.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12So, you can see how little I'm using compared with the red clay.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14- The red clay was free.- Yeah. - You can dig that up,
0:32:14 > 0:32:20but this white clay isn't found in very many places, so it's precious.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22- And then, that's it? - And then, that's it.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25So, the next stage we need to do is to just
0:32:25 > 0:32:28have a go at scraping off the surface now that it's stiff.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31You're trying to get a clean edge in between the two colours.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34So, if I just start with just this tiny piece at the top here,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37just so that you can begin to see that lovely clean edge.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- And how long does this take you? - Oh, it takes ages.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44- Yeah.- It takes about 20 minutes per tile.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I was going to say, the process of making a tile did seem
0:32:47 > 0:32:50ridiculously fast and I knew there had to be a snag somewhere.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52- There is a snag, this is the snag. - Yeah.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54So if you want to have a little go, if you want to take over.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57You just need to scrape it flat.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00One thing I never thought I'd be doing was shaving a tile.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02SHE LAUGHS
0:33:02 > 0:33:05They will not know if the pattern has worked until it's been fired.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07- I think that one's almost done but...- All right.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10..that's not going to make an entire floor so we've got to crack on.
0:33:10 > 0:33:11No, we have got a few more.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13I know, you'd better get going, hadn't you?!
0:33:19 > 0:33:24In Tudor England, the threat of fatal disease was ever present,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27such as the sweating sickness and the bubonic plague.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31The average life expectancy was just 35 years.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Herbs were used for treatments and it was important to store them
0:33:40 > 0:33:41over the winter.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Ruth's using the hyssop she picked to attempt a Tudor remedy.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50That's a load of honey.
0:33:50 > 0:33:58And I'm just bruising the first of many batches of hyssop
0:33:58 > 0:34:03and I'm going to seethe the hyssop in the honey.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Hyssop is one of those plants that was used really quite
0:34:09 > 0:34:11extensively in the period.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14It's not so much now. If you went to a modern herbalist
0:34:14 > 0:34:16they wouldn't be all that impressed by using hyssop,
0:34:16 > 0:34:22but, in 1500, it was considered to be an important medicinal plant.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Medieval medicine was based on the theory of the four humours.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30It centred on the balance of four liquids in the body - blood,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33phlegm, black bile and yellow bile.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Illnesses were believed to be caused by an imbalance of one
0:34:37 > 0:34:41of these humours, and medicines would aim to restore the balance.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46And every plant out there was assigned to
0:34:46 > 0:34:49one of the particular humours, to a lesser, a more or less degree.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54So hyssop, which is the one here, this is hot and dry,
0:34:54 > 0:34:59it's ideal for counteracting, for balancing diseases of phlegm.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Anything where you have too much phlegm can be cured,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07according to this Ancient Greek idea, by hyssop.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13A spoonful of hyssop mixture mixed with hot water was
0:35:13 > 0:35:15viewed as a useful remedy.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25The infirmary was a space within a monastery where the elderly
0:35:25 > 0:35:28and the infirm of the community could be cared for.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Whether they were there because simply of old age or, you know,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34whether it was a particular ailment,
0:35:34 > 0:35:38it was an area of the monastery that was heated, unlike the rest.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43Monks were allowed to not take part in all the offices of the day
0:35:43 > 0:35:46so that they wouldn't get too exhausted.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50And they also were allowed to bypass some of the dietary rules.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53There was a bed, there was warmth, there was food,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57but more importantly, in the eyes of the 15th and 16th century,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59there was spiritual care.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Under the reign of Henry VIII,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10many of these monastic hospitals were closed.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13In their place, came the civic and parish provisions
0:36:13 > 0:36:17which laid the foundations for modern social welfare.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Peter and Karen have come to the church at Hailes Abbey to see
0:36:26 > 0:36:29their tiles put into place on the reconstructed floor.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33These looks a lot smaller than when we were making them?
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Oh, yes, they do, they shrink quite a lot,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38you have to think about that when you're making a pattern.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Oh, wonderful, look at that?
0:36:40 > 0:36:42There we are, so...
0:36:42 > 0:36:45We're bringing more tiles, it's looking pretty good that.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47I mean, are they fairly quick to lay?
0:36:47 > 0:36:49They're fairly quick to lay.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52By using the lime screed to start with, that gives you a level base.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56- Right.- And then you're simply just buttering on the bedding material,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59so the tiles are going to be more or less flat anyway.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Tiles could feature the crests of the benefactors
0:37:02 > 0:37:06paying for the floor, as funding works on religious buildings
0:37:06 > 0:37:09was viewed as a way of avoiding Purgatory.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Other designs had more religious overtones.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14So, this is our tile.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16So, that's it after it's been scraped and then dried
0:37:16 > 0:37:18and then fired with a glaze on top.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And the glaze has changed the colour from white,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25pure white, to a yellow colour when they're fired.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28- So, are you happy with how it's come out?- I think it's fantastic.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Good.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33The distinctive yellow and red tiles were phased out from the 1540s,
0:37:33 > 0:37:39with the influx of tilers from the continent bringing new styles.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42All of a sudden, you've got wonderful Italian tilers
0:37:42 > 0:37:46and French tilers and people from Holland making Delftware,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48- making blue and white.- Yeah.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51And as soon as people see blue and white tiles on the floor,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53they don't want brown and yellow any more.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Suddenly, their floors are in HD(!)
0:37:55 > 0:37:57That's it, they don't want them any more.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01The final process is to use a dry mortar mixture of lime
0:38:01 > 0:38:05and sand brushed over the tiles into the cracks.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09Water is added to set the mixture and keep the tiles in place.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15At the point of Dissolution, the large monastic houses were
0:38:15 > 0:38:18still spending money on embellishments such as these
0:38:18 > 0:38:22tiles or ornate stonework, and they really didn't see it coming.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49In 1500, the monasteries under Henry VII were thriving,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52even rivalling the power of the State.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57But when his ambitious son, Henry VIII, came to the throne,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00the new monarch came to resent the monasteries' power,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03their wealth and their control from Rome.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07The king also questioned the religious
0:39:07 > 0:39:10purpose of the monasteries.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Influenced by ideas from Europe that monks no longer needed
0:39:13 > 0:39:17to pray on behalf of society, individuals should now pray
0:39:17 > 0:39:21directly to God to ensure their own salvation.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26In the 1520s, the wheels were put in motion for the king to
0:39:26 > 0:39:30break away from the Roman Church and dissolve the monasteries.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Professor James Clark, an expert in medieval history,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38has come to discuss the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42I just find it utterly amazing
0:39:42 > 0:39:47that so enormous a shift happened with remarkably little protest.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52It is remarkable. This is carried out in four years or so.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56They are, in fact, continuing to embellish their churches
0:39:56 > 0:39:59and the buildings of the convent at the very
0:39:59 > 0:40:01moment that the king's commissioners arrive.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04There's one scene at one monastery where the king's commissioners
0:40:04 > 0:40:08are literally picking their way over the trenches that
0:40:08 > 0:40:11are being dug for the foundations of new walls and so on.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14What was the impact to the wider society?
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The institution that has really made
0:40:17 > 0:40:23and shaped many people's living and working environment is removed.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Monasteries provided care for the sick
0:40:26 > 0:40:31through hospital foundations, they had school foundations
0:40:31 > 0:40:34and these are closed at the Dissolution.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37This is uncharted territory for many village
0:40:37 > 0:40:39and town communities across England.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56The team's time as tenant farmers at the monastery is coming to an end.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02The farmer's calendar was punctuated with religious festivals.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Earlier in the year, the team set up a religious guild, a group
0:41:06 > 0:41:10that monitored its members' piety to ensure the salvation of their souls.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Guilds often put on mystery plays, a tradition that was to be
0:41:17 > 0:41:20largely lost after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27A representative from the guild would be in charge of organising
0:41:27 > 0:41:31the play and recruiting locals to act and help build the sets.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35The team are meeting with drama expert,
0:41:35 > 0:41:39Dr Eleanor Lowe, to find out what's involved.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41What do we mean by mystery play in the first place?
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Well, the word mystery links to the Latin word "mysterium",
0:41:44 > 0:41:46which means a guild or a craft,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50so these plays were very much linked to the guilds who
0:41:50 > 0:41:52were responsible for each of these plays.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55And each of the guilds would be asked to put on their own
0:41:55 > 0:41:56section of the story.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59So, these mystery plays were a cycle of plays,
0:41:59 > 0:42:00several different plays,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04each of which told a sort of little snapshot moment from the Bible.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07They tell a story of the Scriptures from the Creation,
0:42:07 > 0:42:09right through to the Harrowing of Hell, yeah.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11So, it's education and entertainment at the same time?
0:42:11 > 0:42:13Absolutely, all at the same time.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Are we talking professional actors then or people giving it a go?
0:42:16 > 0:42:18No. So, these are amateurs as part of the guild,
0:42:18 > 0:42:22performing on the street in front of their fellow townspeople
0:42:22 > 0:42:24and trying to communicate a message.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Ruth is in charge of making a popular Tudor drink for the audience
0:42:33 > 0:42:37at the play, using forgotten fruits from the countryside.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Sugar was only known as a sort of rare spice in early
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Tudor England, so you couldn't possibly make jam or bottle fruit
0:42:46 > 0:42:49or any of those sorts of methods that,
0:42:49 > 0:42:54later on in history, people used for preserving fruit through the winter.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59No, in the 1490s, in 1500, fruit had to keep all by itself,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01so what you were looking for
0:43:01 > 0:43:04was varieties which would do exactly that.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06As fruit was expensive to preserve,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11any that could last for longer in the larder would be most welcome.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Bullaces are ripe on the bullace tree, a really ancient fruit,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19one that sort of gets rather forgotten about these days.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24They're a little sort of type of plum, a little bit sour,
0:43:24 > 0:43:28but, I mean, you can eat them raw if you like sharp flavours.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33A little bullace, being a more solid flesh, less watery sort
0:43:33 > 0:43:37of a fruit, will keep for three or four weeks after it's been picked.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42As tastes changed and sweeter varieties of plums
0:43:42 > 0:43:45such as damsons became more popular,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47the bullace plum was largely forgotten.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52But what that means is it becomes something of an indicator species.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53If you're out in the countryside
0:43:53 > 0:43:57and you come across a great line of bullace trees,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01you're almost certainly at the site of ancient settlement.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05They're as much a part of our heritage as any church or
0:44:05 > 0:44:06other building.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13To impress the audience of the play,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17guilds would pull out all the stops to produce a memorable performance.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Tom has come to see alchemist, Jack Green,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24to experiment with making Tudor pyrotechnics.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Jack, it looks like you're about to start cooking here, we've got
0:44:28 > 0:44:30pestles and mortars, got ingredients,
0:44:30 > 0:44:35- but this is actually what we're going to use to make Tudor fireworks.- Fireworks, yes.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Although they had been used in China since the 10th century,
0:44:38 > 0:44:43in England it was not until the 13th century that a churchman
0:44:43 > 0:44:47called Roger Bacon first studied how to make fireworks.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50So, Jack, what's our first ingredient?
0:44:50 > 0:44:54Er, charcoal is what we need, no great cost.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56- Easy accessible?- Yes.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02This is basically the principle, to grind all the ingredients down...
0:45:02 > 0:45:06- Yes.- ..and mix them, isn't it? - Yes, so the finer you grind them,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10the more intimately mixed they are, the more powerful is the fire.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Fireworks were produced by adding other minerals to the charcoal.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Like saltpetre.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27- So, what is saltpetre? - Er, well, it's a salt,
0:45:27 > 0:45:34and it's a salt that accumulates in manure heaps, it helped ignition.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38There's also an element of risk creating gunpowder.
0:45:38 > 0:45:43It's not something people wanted spread about, that knowledge?
0:45:43 > 0:45:46The difference between a modern scientist,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49a modern chemist and a medieval alchemist,
0:45:49 > 0:45:53is that a modern chemist believes in publishing results,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57alchemists had exactly the opposite attitude.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00All alchemists wrote in code
0:46:00 > 0:46:05and the fascination of alchemy is to work out what the symbols mean.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10The Tudor period was the first time these ratios of ingredients
0:46:10 > 0:46:15were studied, and gunpowder was made to be as explosive as possible.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Jack and Tom are trying their own ratios.
0:46:19 > 0:46:20Put that there.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Very good, that goes in there, this is for filling. Funnel?
0:46:24 > 0:46:26OK, this goes on top.
0:46:26 > 0:46:33I do have a secret ingredient for this, I have here some gunpowder.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35So, we'll put a little of it in.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39- And that goes down the bottom, does it?- Yes.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42That will make it finish with a flourish, you see.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46Layers of the powders
0:46:46 > 0:46:49need to be built up to create different effects.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52Jack's experimental layer of gunpowder will,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54hopefully, make it go with a bang.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59And then a little more of this, it must be there by now, surely.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01I don't know, you're the boss.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Well, you're the man with the eyes.
0:47:04 > 0:47:05Now we put the fuse in...
0:47:08 > 0:47:10..to start it off.
0:47:10 > 0:47:11That should be good.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15And there we have it. So, there we are, good luck for the mystery play.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Trust me, these are going to bring the house down.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20I hope not!
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Ruth is experimenting with an ancient recipe to make
0:47:35 > 0:47:38an alcoholic refreshment for the audience to enjoy.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41It will be made from the freshly picked bullaces.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49Whenever people talk about monks and monasteries,
0:47:49 > 0:47:50the word "mead" comes up.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53Of course, the truth is that monks mostly drank beer,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56and they drank an awful lot of beer.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58But now and again, in party mode, there was
0:47:58 > 0:48:01a little bit of mead floating around.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Your basic mead is just some honey and some water
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and you allow it to ferment.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13But if you flavoured it with fruit you called it melomel,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15that's what this is.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18So, I'm just crushing up the fruit in order to release the juice
0:48:18 > 0:48:22and then that just goes straight in our brewing vessel.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27And along with that, the honey.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35Now, the more honey I use, the strong it'll be.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38In we go and then...the water.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44And that's it. You'll have noticed that I didn't wash the fruit first
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and that's deliberate. I want the wild yeasts on the skin
0:48:47 > 0:48:51of the fruit to be in there working, feeding on the sugars
0:48:51 > 0:48:53from the fruit and from the honey,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56quietly turning the water into alcohol.
0:48:59 > 0:49:00That's basically it.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Ruth will leave it in the sun, allowing the fruit to ferment
0:49:05 > 0:49:08and hopefully create a tasty drink.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26It's the day of the mystery play.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31Yeah!
0:49:31 > 0:49:33CHEERING
0:49:36 > 0:49:43For mankind shall dwell ever-more in bliss that never fails within.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Records give some details of how plays were put on,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51and the team have converted a farmyard cart into a stage
0:49:51 > 0:49:56from which these mobile plays would be performed across towns.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59So, what's really interesting about these plays is that,
0:49:59 > 0:50:03you know, they're very popular in the 14th, 15th century,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06and then by the time we get to the 1590s, they've really been
0:50:06 > 0:50:09censored out of fashion, and that's partly to do with
0:50:09 > 0:50:12the Dissolution of the Monasteries because, of course,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15they're very much tied up with the Catholic Church calendar.
0:50:15 > 0:50:16Our dates, you princes of...
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Guilds chose a play that reflected their interests.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Carpenters' guilds, as woodworkers,
0:50:22 > 0:50:24would naturally put on the Crucifixion.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27And the team's Farmers' Guild has chosen a play
0:50:27 > 0:50:30centred on the salvation of souls by Jesus...
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Oh, oh!
0:50:32 > 0:50:34..The Harrowing of Hell.
0:50:34 > 0:50:35Oh!
0:50:35 > 0:50:39My brethren, I think our help is near and soon shall cease...
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Mystery plays were similar in style to modern pantomimes.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44He comes to...
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Tom is playing Beelzebub, and the bad guy's arrival on stage is
0:50:47 > 0:50:49marked in the same way it is today...
0:50:49 > 0:50:50Oh!
0:50:50 > 0:50:52..with a bang.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54Oh!
0:50:54 > 0:50:55Oh!
0:50:55 > 0:50:59Such uproar never was heard in Hell.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04I am prince and principal, from here they shall not pass.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Oh!
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Records of the plays show accounts of pulley systems
0:51:09 > 0:51:12and elaborate sets being used.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16Peter is in charge backstage, using whatever he has to hand.
0:51:17 > 0:51:18They are there,
0:51:18 > 0:51:22they survive the Dissolution itself, then they just sort of peter out...
0:51:22 > 0:51:24- They're sort of formed... - ..a bit afterwards?
0:51:24 > 0:51:25Yes, exactly.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28And then in the 16th century, we get the foundation of the permanent
0:51:28 > 0:51:33theatre structures, and professional theatre companies.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36A curse afore I sink into my pit.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Oh, oh, oh!
0:51:39 > 0:51:42Jesus has saved the souls and banished the Devil.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46Lightning down.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Lightning off.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51And the cloud of peace and love.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54Here we go.
0:51:54 > 0:51:55Praise his glory!
0:51:55 > 0:51:58CHEERING
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Well done, guys. Well done.
0:52:04 > 0:52:05Sorry, Peter.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Awesome. That was brilliant. Well done, go take the praise.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10BAGPIPES PLAY
0:52:10 > 0:52:13The festivities will carry on for many hours
0:52:13 > 0:52:16and Ruth's melomel has turned out to be a hit with the audience.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18CHEERING
0:52:46 > 0:52:51In 1534, Henry VIII made himself Supreme Head of the Church,
0:52:51 > 0:52:53breaking away from Rome.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57It marks the beginning of the end for the monasteries.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01It would be the last time that religion and farming were
0:53:01 > 0:53:03so entwined.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11Over the course of the next four years, monasteries were pulled down,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15their valuable land and materials stripped and sold off.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22The great structures that had dominated
0:53:22 > 0:53:26the landscape for centuries were left as empty shells.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30They're really melancholy places these, aren't they?
0:53:30 > 0:53:33We are standing in a monastic graveyard,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37we are standing in the end of an era that was just so total.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42It's important to remember
0:53:42 > 0:53:44it's not just the loss of these buildings,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47it's the social services that are lost by the monasteries
0:53:47 > 0:53:50closing down, the education, the caring for the old and the sick,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54the employment, and it takes near enough a generation to replace this.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00But also I suppose monasteries are a victim of their own success.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02They are these institutions
0:54:02 > 0:54:04of wealth and power, of craft and industry,
0:54:04 > 0:54:08of raw materials, and Henry VIII looked at them and says...
0:54:08 > 0:54:10- "I want that", Yeah. - "I want that."
0:54:10 > 0:54:11"I want that."
0:54:14 > 0:54:17It is a lost age, you know, a lost past.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21If you think what a huge turning point it was in our history.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37It's the last day on the farm.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41The boys have come to say goodbye to their faithful oxen,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Gwyn and Graceful, and give them their winter feed.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48- These girls have worked so well. - Yeah, haven't they?
0:54:48 > 0:54:50We have been a team, guys, you have been our farm.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53You've done our ploughing, you've done our harrowing,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55you've moved the carts of wool,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57you've kept us in check, haven't you? They've harrowed ground.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00And they really have been steady... performers, haven't they?
0:55:00 > 0:55:02- Yeah.- That's the thing. - Well, someone had to be!
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Yeah, indeed.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06They picked up the slack where we've let it go.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11COW MOOS
0:55:11 > 0:55:13Yes, you'll get some food in a second.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Going to miss you guys.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Without them, we couldn't have got half the stuff done,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23and we built up a working relationship and...
0:55:23 > 0:55:26It's a real insight in just how reliant the Tudor farmer
0:55:26 > 0:55:28would have been on their livestock.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Without these guys, you don't have a farm.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Without a farm, you don't have a livelihood.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37Well, it's been emotional.
0:55:37 > 0:55:38Best of luck, girls.
0:56:01 > 0:56:06In 1500, the monasteries had been at the peak of their power
0:56:06 > 0:56:08and influence.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11They were one of the largest landowners in England.
0:56:16 > 0:56:17Controlling mines...
0:56:20 > 0:56:21..waterways...
0:56:23 > 0:56:24..and farms.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30And holding a virtual monopoly over the wool trade.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33I thought they were supposed to be white sheep, these ones?
0:56:33 > 0:56:34LAUGHTER
0:56:35 > 0:56:40They were the dominant spiritual and cultural focus in Tudor society.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47The Dissolution transferred the power of the monasteries,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50along with their land and wealth, to the Crown.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59Some aspects of monastic authority would be taken over by the State
0:56:59 > 0:57:03and private enterprise, others would simply disappear.
0:57:10 > 0:57:15And the farming landscape of Britain was changed for ever.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17Yeah, away!
0:57:17 > 0:57:21PRAYER IN LATIN
0:57:21 > 0:57:23ALL: Amen.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26It's been amazing working on a Tudor monastery farm.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29I mean turning up, it was just hustle, bustle,
0:57:29 > 0:57:31the marketplace, everything was going on.
0:57:31 > 0:57:32It was just idyllic.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40Everything's been fun, but it's definitely been hard work.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43You know, the weight's dropped off a little bit, you know,
0:57:43 > 0:57:45a few aches and pains, bruises,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49sores, but it's been fantastic, I wouldn't change anything.
0:57:59 > 0:58:04I felt, this year, almost a sort of nostalgia that we were living
0:58:04 > 0:58:07a life that was about to slip away.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10This is such a pivotal moment,
0:58:10 > 0:58:13it's like the deep breath that Britain takes,
0:58:13 > 0:58:18ready, before it suddenly launches into a new way of living.