Page 65 - Phonebox Magazine December 2009

TEACHING RUTH GOODMAN TO MAKE LACE FOR A “VICTORIAN FARM” EPISODE by Elizabeth Knight
Elizabeth Knight, local historian, lace maker and Olney character, was asked recently to help with the filming of Victorain Farm. This is an Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year. Wearing period clothes and using only the materials that would have been available in 1885, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn are going back in time to relive the day-to-day life of the Victorian farmer. This is her story.
It happened that on Wednesday, 27th May 2009, Charles and I left Olney at 8.50am heading for Shropshire and the Acton Scott Estate, via the Ml, M54, A5, A49 to Church Stretton, from where we followed the very detailed directions given to us by the Lion Television Company. A sharp left hand turn off the A49 took us up and around a lovely wooded hillside then along minor unclassified roads to Acton Scott Hall, where we arrived just five minutes before the designated meeting with two of the production team. Claire and Julia took us up to the former Nursery Floor at the top of the Hall, which the television company now rents for their use while filming locally.
Preparation
After lunch I put on the costume that had been hired for me. It consisted of a long, very heavy, waist petticoat, a floral blouse with front buttons, and a floor length floral
skirt, covered with a white apron and a white cap to go over my hair. Unfortunately, the lovely high buttoned boots were too tight with the thick black tights that had been provided, so I used my own black shoes, as they would not be seen under the long skirt. With a light shawl to cover my shoulders and Charles’ grandmother’s Victorian spectacles (I had had my ‘reading’ prescription put into them), I looked quite the part!
We proceeded to Henley cottage, a mile or so away, which turned out to be much smaller in reality than it appears on television. We met the other members of the production team: Naomi, the producer; Stewart, the series producer and director (and main camera man); Matthew, the second camera man and Tim, the sound man.
Ruth Goodman was just finishing making a hazel support for the runner bean in the garden. She was wearing her dark brown dress and was just as nice and pleasant as I had imagined she would be.
Filming starts
They wanted to film the lace making upstairs in the bedroom, so I set up my pillow and maid (stand) near the window for the maximum amount of light. It surprised me that the cottage has no electricity (even now that it is let out to holiday makers), so candles and oil lamps provide after-dark
lighting. Fortunately, the afternoon had brightened up after the morning rain.
They said they wanted to film me arriving, but could do that tomorrow morning! What did I think they should begin with indoors? I said Ruth needed to learn the basic stitches of lace making straight away, so that is what we did. I sat at the pillow and showed her how, though the pillow was set up with eleven pairs of bobbins, one only worked with two pairs at a time casting one pair aside after the stitch is made and bringing in another pair.
When first asked if I would teach Ruth lace making, after the TV company had contacted the Cowper and Newton Museum, I said I really needed Ruth for a session “off camera” to get her used to working whole stitch and half stitch before beginning a pattern but no, they said, they wanted her to
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Phonebox Magazine 65
Picnic lunch at Glebe Farm with Ruth Goodman, star of Victorian Farm