England: 1820's Farm Life

Beamish, the Museum of the North, was on the docket today. It's another living history museum, spread out over acres, and divided into different eras. Naturally, I toodled over to the 1820's which happened to be all about farming. Usually when you think farm, you think this:

But actually, this farm was quite impressive and not nearly as rustic as you might imagine. Here's the front of the house . . .

And here's the view from looking out the front door . . .

Not too shabby, eh? This is the house of the farm manager, the fellow who was responsible for all the farm workers, the crops, and the animal husbandry on the estate. He reported directly to the lord of the manor. He was at the top of the food chain when it came to commoners. Here's a picture of his wife in the kitchen . . .

She'd be responsible for running the home, overseeing all the female staff, and making sure meals were served regularly for all the farm hands. Here's the dining room . . .

And here's their bedroom . . .

Compared to lots of other folks living during this era (except for the gentry, of course) being a farm manager was a pretty sweet gig to have.