Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open air museum located in the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. Beamish tries to show what life was like in a typical northern town in the early 20th century — much of the restoration and interpretation is specific to 1913.

It is the first English museum to be financed and administered by a consortium of County Councils (Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) and it was the first regional open air museum in England. The museum was established in the 1970s under director Frank Atkinson. Atkinson was concerned to preserve the customs, traditions, and ways of speech of the region and adopted a policy of "unselective collecting", whereby local people could donate anything of the period to the museum.

The first exhibition was held in Beamish Hall in 1971. The site was opened to visitors for the first time in 1972.

The museum is 95% self funding, mainly from the admission charges of around 350,000 visitors annually.

Pockerley Waggonway

Beamish has its own railway, Pockerley Waggonway, comprising of an engine shed from 1825 and a short length of track, on which a replica of George Stephenson's Locomotion No 1 runs. The original locomotion headed the first public, passenger-carrying, steam train in the world — on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Visitors to the museum can ride in the unsprung carriages.

Other exhibits include a coal mine, as well as houses, shops, and trams.

Town

The features of the town area include the original Annfield Plain Co-Operative Store, a dentist's surgery, school, bank and a pub. It has been used for the backdrop for many film and television productions, particularly the Catherine Cookson dramas produced by Tyne Tees Television.

See also

• Black Country Living Museum

External link

• Official website