Beamish

Situated near Durham, Beamish is a living museum that has set out to preserve the now largely declined industrial heritage of the north-east of England. This site extends to some 300 acres and recreates the different aspects of life in the early 19th and 20th centuries - a period that accurately spans both the heyday of our traditional industries, and their eventual decline. Many of the buildings have been 'rescued' from other areas and reconstructed at Beamish Museum, although the Drift Mine, Home Farm and Pockerley Manor stand in their original locations.

As a living museum, there are many advantages: having no intimidating signs, such as 'do not touch'; having staff - all dressed in period costume - acting as friendly curators willing to answer any questions that you may have; and having beautifully restored period Trams and Buses to transport you between the various sites of interest. Beamish Museum concentrates on the industrial history from two main periods, with Pockerely Manor and Pockerley Waggonway dating from 1825, whilst Home Farm, The Colliery Village, The Town and The Station are features from the later date of 1913.

The colliery village comprises a fascinating collection of buildings, including a stone engine house, a drift mine, a steam engine shed, a row of pit cottages, the local schoolhouse and a chapel. The town is created from an intriguing mix of typical early 20th century buildings - in fact, it would be very easy to spend most of the day in this area alone. One of the most magnetic places in the town is the old-fashioned sweet shop, where visitors are drawn to the rear of the premises by the fragrant, sugary smells. Beamish Museum is famous for the regular demonstrations of traditional crafts, such as sweet making, and everyone is offered delightful 'tasters' of the finished products. The Co-operative Grocery store contains an enviable collection of just about everything you can think of, from provisions to curtains, pots, pans, and paint. They even have an original Lamson-Paragon cash system operating immediately above your heads. There is also the car and motor cycle works, The Sun public house, the newspaper office, the music teacher's house, the dentist's house and surgery, the solicitors office, and a bank. A recent addition to the town is the carriage house, displaying a collection of period horse-drawn carriages. At the edge of the town is the railway station, and a fairground.

Down at Home Farm, although the actual buildings here range in age up to 250 years old, the theme remains as it would have been in 1913. The farm has a good head of livestock, containing many traditional breeds, some of which are now rare. At Pockerley Manor, the house has evolved from two distinct building periods. The original medieval building, formerly a wing of a larger manor house dating from about 1400, has been cleverly incorporated into the newer section constructed in around 1820. The manor estate contains a selection of outbuildings together with formal gardens, vegetable gardens and an orchard.

Construction of the Pockerley Waggonway, adjacent to the manor house, has now been completed. This includes an engine shed and length of track, demonstrating the early passenger railways introduced by the Stevenson brothers. The replica of Stevenson's 'Locomotion' engine was built by local engineering apprentices. The engine shed also houses an original Stevenson engine, thought to be the third oldest railway engine in the world Beamish Museum is a prime example of how fun and education can be successfully combined in a good family day out.