Ruth Goodman (historian)


Ruth Ellen Goodman 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, went on to participate in all six of the 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.

Early life

She was born in Cardiff and went to Fearnhill School in Letchworth.

Career

Goodman has been a consultant to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the film Shakespeare in Love. She is a member of the Tudor Group, a re-enactment organisation for the Tudor period. 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.
From 2005 to 2014, she was a presenter on the BBC television educational documentary series Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm, Wartime Farm and Full Steam Ahead. Goodman participated in the 2011 series of Celebrity Masterchef. Since 2015, Goodman has presented segments within the BBC television series Inside the Factory.

Personal life

She is married to Tudor reenactor and musician Mark Goodman. They have two daughters: Eve and Katherine. Eve has appeared several times with her mother on television, and Katherine made an appearance during Victorian Farm. They live in Quainton, Buckinghamshire.
On 18 July 2012, Goodman was awarded the Honorary Degree of "Doctor of the University" from Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln, for her contribution to history education.

Publications