Beamish – Living Museum of the North

Today we went to the Beamish Museum, just a bit north of Durham. It is a living museum showcasing the agricultural and coal mining history of North East England. Different sections highlight different time periods, with many buildings outdoor areas, and period trams and trolleys to get around. Today was the National Quoits Championships, but more on that in a separate post.

The trams, trolleys, and buses span a range of periods.

There is a 19th century village including a coal-powered steam train and church.

Next stop, 1920’s Main Street including an apothecary.

There was an old print shop to visit as well. Deb’s dad owned a print shop and newspaper so this brought back a few memories!

** Hey Dad Blizzard – was this the machine Mort worked on?

And of course, the apothecary. We’ll pass on the cocaine drops…..

There was a large Pit Village from the early 1900’s as well. A Pit Village is a town created by a mining company for the miners and their families.

They are just starting to build, with apologies to our parents, the 1950’s village!

We even went to a soda shop for a banana split and listened to the Wurlitzer.

We had a great day at Beamish! Look for our other post on the National Quoits Championships at Beamish that we also watched.