Ruth Goodman
{{Short description|Welsh freelance historian (born 1963)}}
{{about|the historian|the writer|Ruth Goodman (writer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ruth Goodman
| image =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|10|05|df=y}}
| birth_place = Cardiff, Wales
| occupation = BBC presenter, historian
| children =
| notable_works = BBC documentaries, advisor to the Victoria & Albert Museum
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Ruth Goodman (born 5 October 1963{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8110967/Tough-but-tranquil-life-on-the-BBCs-Edwardian-farm.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Ceri | last=Radford | title=Tough but tranquil: life on the BBC's Edwardian farm | date=5 November 2010 | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410053232/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8110967/Tough-but-tranquil-life-on-the-BBCs-Edwardian-farm.html | archivedate=10 April 2017 | df=dmy-all }}[https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/7LEScKqMyXfbVzWfZJuDRrdJ8W0/appointments Companies House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927160025/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/7LEScKqMyXfbVzWfZJuDRrdJ8W0/appointments |date=27 September 2017 }}) 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 after presenting the 2005 television series Tales from the Green Valley,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4163982.stm|title=Lessons from our ancestors about the countryside|last=Lane|first=Megan|date=19 August 2005|work=BBC News Magazine|accessdate=4 September 2010|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123103618/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4163982.stm|archivedate=23 November 2008|df=dmy-all}} went on to participate in several BBC historic farm series. She occasionally presents features for The One Show, and she co-presented Secrets of the Castle in 2014, and 24 Hours in the Past (2015).
Early life and education
She was born in Cardiff and went to Westbury primary{{cite news |last1=Gill |first1=Nick |title=Houses to be built on former Letchworth school site |url=https://www.thecomet.net/news/houses-to-be-built-on-former-letchworth-school-site-5246094 |access-date=26 August 2022 |work=The Comet |publisher=Archant Community Media |date=18 January 2011 |language=en-UK}} school{{cite news |last1=Gill |first1=Nick |title=A fortnight of Letchworth Festival fun |url=https://www.thecomet.net/news/a-fortnight-of-letchworth-festival-fun-5250280 |work=The Comet |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en-UK |date=10 June 2011}}{{cite web |title=An Evening with Ruth Goodman |url=http://broadwayfilmgroup.org/event2011.htm?18=An%20Evening%20with%20Ruth%20Goodman |website=Letchworth Festival |publisher=broadwayfilmgroup.org |access-date=26 August 2022 |date=12 June 2011}} and Fearnhill School{{cite web |last1=McDermott |first1=Olly |title=History and Alumni |url=https://www.fearnhill.herts.sch.uk/about/history-and-alumni/ |website=Fearnhill School |access-date=26 August 2022}} in Letchworth. "School...was rather pedestrian...I became a very poor student, simply going through the motions, and my academic record at both school and university indeed lacks lustre."{{cite news |last1=Martin-Brown |first1=Becca |title=Lessons from the past |url=https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/nov/26/lessons-past/ |access-date=26 August 2022 |work=Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette |date=26 November 2020 |language=en}}
Career
Goodman "couldn't get a job after university", so she trained for a job as railway ticket clerk for British Rail, working at Chester station for a short time.{{cite web |last1=Webb |first1=Claire |title=Full Steam Ahead's Ruth Goodman on her days as a stationmaster |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/travel/full-steam-aheads-ruth-goodman-on-her-days-as-a-stationmaster/ |website=Radio Times |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en |date=11 August 2016}}
She has been a consultant to the Victoria & Albert Museum and to the film Shakespeare in Love.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/3352834/The-good-old-days-of-back-breaking-labour.html |title=The good old days of back-breaking labour |last=Ford |first=Matt |date=4 October 2008 |work=Daily Telegraph |accessdate=4 September 2010 |location=London |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222010940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/3352834/The-good-old-days-of-back-breaking-labour.html |archivedate=22 December 2010 }} She is a member of the Tudor Group, a re-enactment organisation for the Tudor period.{{cite news|url=http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/entertainment/Live-life-Tudor-times/article-957478-detail/article.html|title=Live your life in Tudor times|date=2 May 2009|work=Derby Telegraph|accessdate=4 September 2010|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503215045/http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/entertainment/Live-life-Tudor-times/article-957478-detail/article.html|archivedate=3 May 2009|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F15FC3F5E0C778DDDAF0894D0494D81|title=Q & A: Tudor Tour|last=Siano|first=Joseph|date=14 June 1998|work=New York Times|accessdate=4 September 2010}} Since participating in Tales from the Green Valley in 2005, she has been a presenter on the BBC television educational documentary series Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm,{{cite web |title=Ruth Goodman |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/9Ph0F7PtlDMthtvnG9F0wT/ruth-goodman |website=Tudor Monastery Farm, Series 1 |publisher=BBC Two |access-date=26 August 2022}} Wartime Farm,{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/about.shtml|title=Victorian Christmas|work=BBC|accessdate=4 September 2010|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213023436/http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/about.shtml|archivedate=13 December 2010|df=dmy-all}} Wartime Farm Christmas, Secrets of the Castle, and Full Steam Ahead.{{Cite web |title=BBC Two - Full Steam Ahead |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07lpglf |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} She participated in the 2011 series of Celebrity Masterchef. Since 2015, she has presented segments within the BBC television series Inside the Factory.{{cite web |title=Inside the factory. Series 3, episode 1, Tea bags |url=https://onesearch.wesleyan.edu/discovery/fulldisplay/alma99232407303769/01CTW_WU:CTWWU |website=OneSearch |publisher=Wesleyan University |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en}}
In 2007, the Weald and Downland Living Museum Historic Clothing Project was founded by Hannah Tiplady, Head of Interpretation, consulted by Goodman and historical costumier Barbara Painter.{{cite web |title=Historic Clothing |url=https://www.wealddown.co.uk/discover/domestic-life/clothing/ |website=Weald and Downland Living Museum |access-date=26 August 2022}}
In 2022, Goodman was featured in A Farm Through Time with brothers Rob and Dave Nicholson,{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/farm-time-review-ant-dec-agriculture-plough-straight-parody/ | title=A Farm Through Time, review: The Ant and Dec of agriculture plough straight into parody | newspaper=The Telegraph | date=18 August 2022 | last1=Swain | first1=Marianka }} a three-part series shown on Channel 5 that explores how farming practices have changed over the years.{{cite web|url=https://www.cannonhallfarm.co.uk/new-tv-show-a-farm-through-time/|title=New TV Show: A Farm Through Time|website=cannonhallfarm.co.uk|date=12 August 2022 |accessdate=16 August 2022}} Prior to A Farm Through Time she had appeared with the brothers on one of their nightly ...on the Farm programmes at Cannon Hall Farm, discussing alcoholic brews from the past.
Television
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Notes |
| 2005
|12-episode documentary series that depicts life on a Welsh farm in 1620. |
| 2006
|A Tudor Feast at Christmas |Sequel to Tales from the Green Valley. The team recreating a Tudor banquet at Haddon Hall. |
| 2009
|Victorian Farm/Victorian Farm Christmas |Six parts to recreate everyday life on a farm in the 1880s at the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire. Followed by three Christmas-themed episodes. |
| 2010
|Twelve parts to depict a group of historians recreating the running of a farm during the Edwardian era at Morwelham Quay, a historic port in Devon. |
| 2010
|Four parts filmed at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire looking at life in the 19th century and how people attempted to cure common ailments. |
| 2012
|Eight parts to reenact the running of a farm during the Second World War. Filmed at Manor Farm and River Hamble Country Park close to Southampton. |
| 2013
|Six parts and a Christmas special filmed at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in Sussex to show life in the Tudor period – 1485 to 1603, including the reign of Elizabeth I. |
| 2014
|Five episodes filmed at Guedelon castle in the Burgundy region of France, joining the world’s biggest archeological experiment – a 25 year project to build a medieval castle from scratch, using only the tools and materials available in the 13th century. |
| 2015
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of bread, chocolate and milk. |
| 2016
|Full Steam Ahead |The Age of Steam was an era of extraordinary change which utterly transformed every aspect of British life. These six episodes reveal how the world we live in today was entirely shaped by the railways. |
| 2016
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of cereal, crisps, baked beans, bicycles, sweets, shoes and Christmas treats. |
| 2017-2018
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of tea bags, pasta, biscuits, a Christmas special, fish fingers, sauces, and soft drinks. |
| 2018-2019
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of coffee, toilet roll, sausages, curry, a Christmas special, potato waffle, frozen pizza, beer, pencils, and cheese. |
| 2019-2020
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of cherry bakewells, waxed jackets, croissants, mattresses, Christmas party food, pasties, pots and pans, soup, liqueurs, and cereal bars. |
| 2020-2022
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of cider, socks, yoghurt, Christmas cards, diggers, malt loaf, chairs, leather boots, tortilla chips, mugs, ice cream and vacuums. |
| 2022
|A Farm Through Time |A mini-series learning about what life on the farm was like in three historic periods and how old agricultural methods have shaped modern farms. |
| 2022-2023
|Historic insets for episodes on factory production of trains, buses, Jaffa Cakes, pork pies, crumpets, vegan sausages, rice pudding and mints. |
| 2023
|Women in Industry with Ruth Goodman | |
Personal life
She lives in Buckinghamshire{{cite news |last=Austin |first=Sue |date=19 April 2021 |title=Historian, Ruth calls in to sample The Fat Rabbit's pancakes |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/oswestry/2021/04/20/historian-ruth-calls-in-to-sample-the-fat-rabbits-pancakes/ |access-date=26 August 2022 |work=Shropshire Star |language=en }}{{cite web |date=4 November 2011 |title=Closing Presentation: Ruth Goodman |url=https://members.museumsontario.ca/programs-events/conference/2011/program/closing-presentation-ruth-goodman |access-date=26 August 2022 |website=Ontario Museum Association |archive-date=26 August 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826044131/https://members.museumsontario.ca/programs-events/conference/2011/program/closing-presentation-ruth-goodman }} and is married to Tudor re-enactor and musician Mark Goodman,{{cite magazine |last=Thornton |first=Gillian |date=16 September 2015 |title=I'm A Tudor Girl Through And Through |magazine=The People's Friend Special |page=3 |via=PressReader |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-peoples-friend-special/20150916/281539404737924?srsltid=AfmBOooH_tZeErmy4xtxsnMNNd6_WT4gW32fUvM9JTDSaVL7vDRl3wl3 |access-date=21 November 2024 }} who participated in one episode of Tudor Monastery Farm.{{cite web |title=Tudor Monastery Farm, Series 1, Episode 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k3bl2 |work=BBC Two |access-date=26 August 2022 }} Their daughter Eve works on historic clothing and fashions and has appeared on television, sometimes alongside her mother.{{cite web |title=Eve Goodman |url=https://www.take3management.co.uk/eve-goodman |website=Take Three Management |access-date=26 August 2022}}
Goodman was awarded an honorary degree in 2012 by Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, for her contribution to history education.{{Cite web|date=3 July 2012|title=TV star to join BG graduation |url=http://blog.bishopg.ac.uk/blog/tv-star-to-join-bg-graduation|access-date=2021-01-24|website=Bishop Grosseteste University |language=en-gb }}
As a result of her social history research, she has stopped using detergents in her washing machine, never eats factory farmed food and sometimes cooks on an open wood fire. For a period of three months she followed a Tudor body cleansing regime, and no-one complained or noticed a smell.{{cite web |last=McGrath |first=Carol |title=Did Tudors Smell Whiffy? |url=https://adventuresofatudornerd.com/2022/02/26/guest-post-did-tudors-smell-whiffy-by-carol-mcgrath/ |website=Adventures of a Tudor Nerd |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en |date=26 February 2022 }}
Publications
- How to be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life (2016). {{ISBN|9780241973714}}
- How to be a Victorian (2014). {{ISBN|9780670921362}}
- How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain (2018). {{ISBN|9781782438526}}
- How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England: A Guide for Knaves, Fools, Harlots, Cuckolds, Drunkards, Liars, Thieves, and Braggarts (2018). {{ISBN|9781782438496}} (American edition of How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain)
- The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything (2020). {{ISBN|9781631497636}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- {{IMDb name|1215053}}
- [http://content.bbcmagazinesbristol.com/bbchistory/audio/BBC_History_Podcast_Aug08.mp3 BBC History Magazine podcast, August 2008] (MP3)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Ruth}}
Category:British women historians
Category:British television presenters
Category:People associated with Bishop Grosseteste University
Category:People educated at Fearnhill School
Category:People from Aylesbury Vale
Category:People from Letchworth