Exeter Excels in Tudor Tales

University of Exeter’s own Professor James Clark and a member of its alumni, Ruth Goodman, will be appearing in new TV series ‘Tudor Monastery Farm.’

The series follows a team of historians working to recreate everyday life in 1500.

This was a huge time of change, as after being plagued by troubles such as war and famine, the crowning of the first Tudor king and the following reign of the Tudors represented a peaceful new period.

Professor Clark specializes in the influence of the church in everyday life and general culture of the Tudor period, and this is something that the documentary focuses on.

The series highlights the importance of monasteries in Tudor life, which is something that we may find hard to understand in today’s society.

Clark says they are important “not only as part of the Church establishment but as landowners, employers, key players in agriculture and in industry.”

Professor Clark

The team aimed to film in authentic conditions, which involved Professor Clark having to don a woollen habit during the summer heatwave.

Interested? The first episode was broadcasted this Wednesday at 9pm on BBC2.