<P> The premise of Emmerdale Farm was similar to the BBC radio soap opera The Archers, focusing on a family, a farm and characters in a nearby village . The programme's farmyard filming was originally modelled on RTÉ's The Riordans, an Irish soap opera which was broadcast from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s . The Riordans broke new ground for soap operas by being filmed largely outdoors (on a farm, owned on the programme by Tom and Mary Riordan) rather than in a studio--the usual practice of British and American soap operas . The programme pioneered farmyard location shooting, with farm animals and equipment . During the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes with outdoor broadcast units (OBUs) was in its infancy due to higher costs and reliance on the weather . The Riordans' success demonstrated that a soap opera could be filmed largely outdoors, and Yorkshire Television sent people to its set in County Meath to see the programme's production firsthand . </P> <P> Emmerdale has had a large number of characters since it began, with its cast gradually expanding in size . The programme has also had changing residences and businesses for its characters, including a bed - and - breakfast and a factory . </P> <P> The Miffield estate was the largest employer in the village of Beckindale, 39 miles (63 km) from Bradford and 52 miles (84 km) from Leeds . Lord Miffield leased Emmerdale Farm, on the edge of the village, to the Sugden family during the 1850s in gratitude after Josh Sugden sacrificed his life for the earl's son in the Crimean War . Josh's grandson Joseph married Margaret Oldroyd and their son, Jacob, was born in January 1916 . During the 1930s, Jacob Sugden purchased Emmerdale Farm . In 1945 he married Annie Pearson, daughter of farm labourer Sam Pearson . Margaret Sugden died in 1963, and Joseph died the following year . </P> <P> Jacob Sugden ran the farm into the ground, drinking away its profits . The badly - maintained farm's future looked bleak at his death on 10 October 1972 . He was survived by his wife Annie, two sons and a daughter: Jack, the eldest; Peggy and Joe, the youngest of the three . These characters formed the basis of Emmerdale Farm . </P>

Who lived in the big house in emmerdale
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