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All (22)
Season:
1
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2
Year:
2008
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2009
Original Air Date—13 January 2008
When a new baby is born into the family, eldest daughter Laura Timmins is told by her parents that she will have to make her own way in the world. Arrangements have been made for her to move to the nearby village of Candleford where she will be apprenticed to her cousin Dorcas Lane. Dorcas is the postmistress and a very successful businesswoman. Laura is quite sad at the prospect of leaving Lark Rise and her family, but her cousin is very kind and sets about teaching her the business. Trouble is brewing between Lark Rise and Candleford however when residents of the former complain of the high cost of telegram delivery. It gets worse when one of the residents can't afford to pay and misses the news that her brother is deathly ill. |
Original Air Date—20 January 2008
Dorcas Lane is apt to say that all secrets are bound to come out in Candleford and that seems to be the case with Mrs. Macey. She's been living in the village for five years with her son Freddy, who is a bit of a hellion. Her story has always been that her husband is a valet and away traveling. The truth is that her husband, Dan Macey, has been in prison but a letter brings her shocking news that is soon spread to every corner of the village. Caroline Arless has a date in court when she fails to pay for the barrel of beer she bought. With no husband, no money and another baby on the way, few are convinced that she will land anywhere but in debtors' prison. |
Original Air Date—27 January 2008
Dorcas Lane arranges for Patty, a young woman from the workhouse, to work as a housekeeper for Old and Young Amos. She is an honest and hard worker who found herself in the workhouse though no fault of her own, but that doesn't stop the village gossips from having their say. Problems do arise when both Amos' decide that they want to marry her. When the residents of Lark Rise decide to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Sir Timothy Midwinter's family presiding over the area, his wife Lady Adelaide is not sure she wants to participate. His asking Dorcas to take her place changes her mind. Politics also enter into the celebration when Laura's father refuses to let his children sing a Tory marching song, putting him into conflict with the Reverend Ellison. |
Original Air Date—3 February 2008
A debt collector arrives in Lark Rise looking to seize Caroline Arless' property and send her to debtors' prison. A Mr. Ashlow arrives in the village looking for his two daughters, who turn out to be the Pratt sisters. One of the sisters is not pleased to see him and will have nothing to do with him. They also shock Candleford with their new window display. Ashlow engages Caroline as a prop in selling his patent medicine, which proves to be quite popular, and in his gambling which proves equally lucrative. Dorcas shows Laura her dead letter box containing correspondence that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender. In it, they find many letters written to his daughters under their previous names. |
Original Air Date—10 February 2008
A new postal inspector, Mr. Rushton, arrives in Candleford to conduct the annual inspection. It's the man's first visit and his no nonsense approach does not sit well with Dorcas Lane who is convinced he doesn't approve of a woman running a postal station. Rushton insists that Thomas, who has been asked to preach a Sunday sermon, collect the mail that day as required as required by regulations. Over time however, he come to admire Dorcas greatly. Laura makes a great error when she misplaces the Pratt sisters much anticipated parcel. She searches high and low, but to no avail. Lady Midwinter thinks she might be pregnant. |
Original Air Date—17 February 2008
Having secured a month's work at the manor house, Laura's father takes in a homeless family. It's only meant to be for one night but when they wake the next morning, they find the family has gone on having left their little girl, Polly, behind. He takes her to work with him but when Lady Midwinter finds her in the garden, she proposes to her husband that they keep her as their own. He doesn't agree and raises eyebrows, especially those of the Pratt sisters, when he takes the girl to Dorcas' house late in the evening. Dorcas and Laura plot to move true love along by sending a poem Thomas friend, the Minister's daughter. He receives one in return but a mix-up leads some people to jump to wrong conclusions. |
Original Air Date—24 February 2008
The hamlet of Lark Rise is divided when Susan Brady brings charges of wife beating against her husband Sam. He hit her while drunk but she had always warned him not to raise a hand against her and now she is being true to her word. Emma Timmins tries to convince her otherwise, but she won't budge. Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide have a major row when she dismisses the local workmen in favor of hiring someone from away to complete the new front gates. Laura brings home her young beau, Philip, for Sunday dinner but her father doesn't like his politics very much. |
Original Air Date—2 March 2008
The new "school mistress" is an attractive man, causing emotional upheaval among the ladies of Candleford and some concern at the manor. |
Original Air Date—9 March 2008
Queenie Turrell finds a beautiful hand embroidered panel depicting Adam and Eve wrapped in a 40 year-old newspaper. It was lying atop the grave of someone named Harold Wigmore and both Dorcas and Sir Timothy takes an interest in the origin of the piece and investigate. The Pratt sisters believe they have dreamed an important clue. Alf Arless decides to take on Thomas Brown by poaching on the estate. As an act of defiance against his father, Laura's brother Edmund also takes up poaching but is seriously hurt in the process. Caroline Arless returns from her stint in the work house and gets a letter from her husband who expects to be home before her confinement. Thomas continues to fancy Miss Ellison and finally manages to ask her out for a walk. |
Original Air Date—23 March 2008
Having spent the night in the pouring rain searching for Edmund Timmins, Twister Turrill finds his health in serious decline. He decides to distribute some of his personal effects to friends in Lark Rise. Knowing that her love for Sir Timothy can never lead to anything, Dorcas Lane announces that she is selling the postal outlet and will be traveling abroad. Philip the gamekeeper tells Sir Timothy that Robert Timmins knows who is poaching on the estate but Robert won't reveal the name and soon finds himself out of work. Laura and Philip subsequently argue. Caroline Arless is determined not to have her baby until her seaman husband returns home but goes into labor in the post office. Zillah prepares for her "surprise" birthday party. |
Original Air Date—21 December 2008
When Dorcas and Emma each want to give Laura the same gift for Christmas, an old family wound is opened up and Laura finds herself torn between two mothers. As the inhabitants of Lark Rise and Candleford prepare for the festivities, loyalties are tested and, amid the gift-giving and carol singing, tensions are building. However, the arrival of a ragged, bare-footed young woman, who goes by the name of Cinderella Doe, introduces a note of Christmas mystery. Dorcas also receives a Christmas letter from Sir Timothy. With its usual mix of charm, warmth, comedy and pathos, Lark Rise To Candleford kicks off its new season with a story rich in history. |
Original Air Date—4 January 2009
A handsome stranger rides into Candleford, giving away silver three-penny coins. He has come from London to open his new hotel in the town, and Pearl and Ruby Pratt are delighted to welcome such a sophisticated incomer. However, he is actually James Dowland, a former Lark Rise orphan fostered by the Turrills who, on advice from Dorcas' father, left the area to make his fortune in the capital. In gratitude to his adopted parents he has their leaking roof mended, but Robert Timmins believes that he is not only buying the villagers' affections but also allowing the Turrills' greedy landlady, Mrs. Herring, to shirk her duties. However, when Mrs. Herring tries to move wealthier tenants in to replace Queenie and Twister, it is James' money and not Robert's principles which save the day. In the Candleford Post Office, meanwhile, Dorcas, whilst encouraging Thomas's courtship of Margaret, is having problems with her very stupid new young maid, Minnie, who creates more work than she achieves. After ruining Dorcas's mother's wedding dress Minnie prepares to be fired, but the kindly Dorcas, aware that Minnie has a sad home life with an abusive stepfather, allows her to stay provided she promises to improve her efforts. |
Original Air Date—11 January 2009
James Dowland campaigns for the parish council on a promise of house building but Robert challenges him, claiming that he is motivated by profit. When James' opponent withdraws through illness Dorcas puts herself forward as a candidate. In Lark Rise the battle of the sexes continues when the men complain that Lilly, a butch female itinerant laborer, has invaded the male domain of the local inn. This leads to a bitter row between Emma and Robert, ultimately resolved when she makes him admit his male arrogance and slips him one of her love letters. After a public debate where James patronizes Dorcas and it is clear that he will win the seat, he suggests to her that she did not want to be a councilor because it would depersonalize her. She replies that she only stood to give him, as a self-opinionated man opposed to female emancipation, a run for his money. Her trump card is the fact that she has persuaded the out-going councilors to peg the rents on his proposed new houses so that poorer folk like Lily will find them affordable. |
Original Air Date—18 January 2009
Parson Ellison dies and at his funeral Margaret is extremely hostile when her long-lost younger brother George appears. He is a qualified doctor who believes in science, not God, and she will not give him house room. To Thomas' disgust Dorcas puts him up and he proves popular in Lark Rise, as he has manual skills and is happy to pitch in and help build a foot-path. Eventually Margaret confronts him, admitting that her resentment was caused, not by his beliefs, but by the fact that he escaped to make a life for himself, condemning her to a life of duty to a bullying father - the true common enemy. Ashamed of her un-Christian outburst she gets very drunk which perplexes Thomas when he comes to propose marriage to her. He rides off into the storm and falls off his bicycle. When George rescues him there is a reconciliation between the siblings and Margaret and Thomas agree to a long engagement whilst she acts as the governess to the incumbent vicar's family. |
Original Air Date—25 January 2009
To help out stressed cousin Emma, Dorcas agrees to look after her baby, Annie, at the Post Office. Thomas is horrified but proves to be far more expert at child-care than Dorcas and her female friends, who are all very broody at Annie's presence. Thomas shocks Margaret by saying that he does not want them to have children, but later admits that this is due to his own unhappy upbringing, and, when the baby is heard to speak his name, has a change of heart. A cocky young Irishman called Fisher Bloom arrives in town to instal a public clock, paid for by James. The foolish Minnie, after an innocent night out with him, thinks she is pregnant because she starts a craving for boiled eggs, but, after initial, mutual, hostility, he begins to fall for Laura. James, meanwhile, seeks Robert's advice on how best to declare his feelings for Dorcas. |
Original Air Date—1 February 2009
Dorcas gets flu and Laura runs the counter for her very ably but will not tell her that the telegraph machine is malfunctioning, Thomas has started to sleep-walk and that threatening letters are arriving for Minnie from her evil step-father in case Dorcas thinks she has failed her. Minnie runs away but Twister finds her and brings her home. Dorcas recovers, thanks to James fetching Queenie from Lark Rise with her traditional remedies, and sends the step-father a letter of her own, promising legal action if he continues to harass Minnie. She is more cordial towards James but still wary of Fisher because she thinks he will make Laura too fond of him and then go on his way. |
Original Air Date—8 February 2009
On the eve of the public opening of the clock, a vital piece does not arrive and Laura's father's tool-bag is stolen. His son Edmund sells his boots and Dorcas sets up a fund to buy him new tools. He is,predictably, resentful to be regarded as a charity case but relents when Emma tells him the response is one of gratitude, not condescension, from grateful friends and clients. Learning that her father was forced to stay in Lark Rise when he first arrived because Emma was so besotted with him she stole and hid his hammer Laura owns up to hiding the missing piece for the clock. It was to make Fisher stay. Whilst Fisher confesses his love for Laura, Robert gives him a harsh pep talk, asking if he is up to the responsibility of marriage after a life as an itinerant single craftsman and, having finished the clock together, the boy moves on. Laura is very upset but her father explains his logic to her and also solves the mystery of the missing hammer from years earlier. Dorcas accompanies James to the clock's unveiling as his official companion. |
Original Air Date—15 February 2009
Laura is still mourning Fisher's departure so Dorcas sends her home to Lark Rise, where her grandfather Edmund is visiting to celebrate his birthday. He once courted Queenie and annoys Twister with his presence, especially when he lets it drop that the Turrills never married. A sophisticated middle-aged widow, Celestia, sweeps into Candleford to stay at James' hotel and turns heads. Margaret is convinced she has bewitched Thomas as he keeps avoiding her but he is in fact moonlighting as a hotel porter to get extra money for their wedding and does not want her to know. Celestia was once James' lover when she helped him establish his hotel business in London and Dorcas feels betrayed that he never spoke about her, turning down his marriage proposal as she feels she cannot trust him. However, she later tells him that she was too hasty and will reconsider as everybody heads off to Lark Rise where Queenie and Twister are about to get married at last. |
Original Air Date—22 February 2009
Following the Turrils' wedding Alf meets Nan, a milkmaid from Fordlow, a neighboring hamlet. There has been a long-standing feud between the two communities and the pair date in secret before Alf, having heard gossip from Twister, stops seeing Nan. Margaret and Thomas set a wedding date and Minnie makes clumsy efforts to reconcile Dorcas with James, whose business is floundering. After Lark Rise children have vandalized Fordlow 's gardens, their parents make them apologize, Nan and Alf make up and the two hamlets are reconciled. James is saved by a block booking and Dorcas and the post office staff muck in to help him prepare the rooms on time. |
Original Air Date—1 March 2009
Constable Patterson's wife falls ill, as she does every Autumn, and gives him permission to re-marry if she passes on. He takes a shine to Pearl Pratt, giving her presents, and, whilst she is initially shocked, she ends up kissing him, to Ruby's horror. Mrs. Patterson makes a miracle recovery, telling Laura her annual illness is due to resentment of her husband's enthusiasm for the Autumn Produce Fair and his obsession with his garden, which has killed their marriage. She resolves to make it work, helping him to win the show. As the couple reconcile, Ruby comforts her sister. |
Original Air Date—8 March 2009
James discovers he has a ten-year-old son Sidney, whose mother has just died, but he is reluctant to remove the boy from his boarding school, feeling it would unsettle him. Dorcas argues that Sidney's place is with his father and they fall out over the matter. Laura hurts Alf by telling him she saw Nan kissing another boy. The explanation is innocent - the kiss was 'currency' to buy a pig for the Arless family - but Emma, frustrated by a false pregnancy scare, accuses her daughter of meddling, though they reconcile. Margaret annoys Thomas by asking Robert, whom he sees as an atheist, to give her away at their wedding, but has a change of heart when he hears her tell Minnie that her father was a bully, not a kind person like Robert. Dorcas finally persuades James to bring his son to Candleford but he falls off his horse on his way to fetch him. |
Original Air Date—15 March 2009
Whilst James recovers in hospital from his fall Sidney stays with Dorcas, whom he adores, showing no interest in his father, who discharges himself from hospital early, unsuccessfully trying to bully Dorcas into giving him his son. Nan is cruel to Alf, claiming that she prefers bad boys but Emma discovers that this is only because the girl feels she is not good enough for young Arless and reunites them. Margaret hides from Thomas in Lark Rise when she develops a nervous rash days before their wedding but admits to Robert that she should not worry about her appearance but marry Thomas, whom she deeply loves, rash or no rash. Miraculously her skin clears and the marriage goes ahead. However James is absent from the nuptials, having returned to London for a while and leaving his son with Dorcas. |
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