Here History Comes to Life
The English as a nation are defined by a number of things which make us, well, English; and here are just two. We are proud of our positive contribution to the world from, for example, the Industrial Revolution to inventing the Internet, plus we embrace and even cling to our past and like to preserve the things which are no longer part of modern life. Hence, there comes the idea of Beamish – an open area museum where the relics of former days are collected, carefully preserved and kept alive.
Beamish is a living, working museum, set in North East England in the Durham countryside. Costumed enthusiasts bring to life the 1900s Town, Pit Village (1910s), Home Farm (1940s) and Pockerley Old Hall (1820s). My wife and I went there to experience first-hand how the Industrial Revolution transformed agricultural life in the region. What is interesting, the buildings you see at Beamish are not replicas, but have been brought, brick by brick, from around the region and rebuilt to give visitors a real sense of history. People from across the North East – and further afield – have donated objects which help tell the story of everyday life in the region. Unlike most museums however, the exhibits aren’t just kept in glass cases, they’re in use and on display around the museum and you’re encouraged to touch and try plus ask questions.
As an engineer, I have always been fascinated by the raw power of steam engines. So my favourite part of the tour was the Railway station dated 1867, originally from Rowley, County Durham, which was reopened at Beamish in 1976 by poet Sir John Betjeman. We couldn’t resist having a ride!
My wife was amused by the busy Town where she browsed the grocery, drapery and hardware departments of one of the first Co-operative stores in this country, moved from Annfield Plain, in County Durham. We also visited the residents of Ravensworth Terrace, which originally stood in Gateshead and had an insight in the dentist’s surgery, popped into the music teacher’s house and saw an Edwardian-style day at the office in the solicitor’s.
After that we went into the cosy farmhouse to find out about wartime family life. You could smell cooking on the Aga or range (using rations, of course), hear 1940s music and news broadcasts on the wireless, and see “make do and mend” in action.
And of course, no recreation of the history of North East England would be complete without a colliery and the people who worked there. We took a trip down a drift mine to experience the reality of life underground for miners.
There is a lot to see on the massive Beamish territory and the enthusiasts still add to the collection every day. The new project is to recreate a typical street from 1950s, where younger people will be able to recognise the things they used to see in the houses of their grandparents, thus bringing generations together!
