A very exciting future awaits for Beamish Museum
There are already plenty of reasons to love Beamish Museum, County Durham’s open air recreation of North East life from decades long gone. Visit the museum between Durham and Newcastle right now to get a feel for what our area was really like in three periods: the post-Napoleonic era of the 1820s, the Edwardian decade of the 1910s, and the tumultuous 1940s, when both the War and its aftermath exerted an undeniable and enduring influence.
However, the museum recently announced a huge breakthrough set to help it even further broaden the appeal of what is undoubtedly one of the gems in County Durham’s glittering crown. In mid-October, Beamish revealed that it had been handed an “amazing” £10.9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. That money will go into the £17m Remaking Beamish project. Work on that will start this winter and will, hardly surprisingly given the size of the funding, take about four years to complete. So, what new attractions can we expect to see cropping up on the site in that time?
By George, you could enjoy overnight stays at Beamish!
Well, there’s great news if you’re already very fond of the museum’s Georgian section, which currently comprises of the tenant farmer’s residence of Pockerley Old Hall, the operational steam train at Pockerley Waggonway and the recently rebuilt St Helen’s Church, among other attractions. The new additions will include a Georgian Coaching Inn, where you will be able to stay overnight and check out nationally renowned Georgian exhibits. The inn will also provide an insight into Georgian practices, including droving and horse-keeping.
Despite its County Durham location, Beamish director Richard Evans has expressed a desire for the museum to reflect the history of the broader North East region – and other Georgian structures to be added will certainly do that. St. Helen’s Church was originally in Eston, near Middlesbrough, before it was dismantled and moved to Beamish – and, while the cottage of murdered Georgian quilter Joseph Hedley has been lost, remains of the building have been found in Warden, near Hexham, Northumberland. Using these, the cottage will be replicated on the museum site. We can also expect to see a reconstructed windmill that was transported between Sweden and Blyth.
The 1950s is also on its way to Beamish
However, Beamish will also be bringing the sights and sounds of a different era that, to some of us, might still be in living memory: the 1950s! If you fondly recall Sunderland’s Grand Electric Cinema, you will be delighted to know that the building will be restored to its previous glory and form one of the main attractions of the 1950s Town. Another Sunderland building to be replicated here is the semi-detached house of Esther Gibbon and daughter Linda Gilmore. It was originally built in 1952 as social housing and will give an idea of 1950s life in the original house’s setting of Red House, Sunderland.
The 1950s Town is also set to feature replicated shops from Middlesbrough’s Bow Street and North Shields’ Darras Drive, plus a fried fish shop from near Darlington. At that shop, you will be able to enjoy food that was popular in this post-war decade. That will also be a good reason to visit John’s Cafe, the interior of which – originally from Wingate in County Durham – could rekindle memories for many former customers of buying ice cream at the outlet owned by John Parisella. Many younger visitors with an interest in the 1950s will also probably love to eat here.
