The Bowlers, a family firmly rooted in 1999, needed to learn many things about living in 1900, a time very different from their own, in order to ensure the success of the project and, just as importantly, their own happiness, health and safety in an unfamiliar era.

They were provided with a large book called the 1900 House Ledger which lived in the kitchen and contained details on all sorts of things they needed to know, from how to work the range, tie a corset and light an oil lamp, all the way through to facts about the cost of living and guidelines that would help them stay within 1999 Health & Safety rules without undermining the project.