Beamish Things

I just posted a bit about Beamish on my other blog, which is about Lewis Carroll and "Alice in Wonderland." It's quite an old blog, but I always add anything "Carrollian" that I notice.

Anyway, if you know Carroll's "Jabberwocky" you'll know about the "beamish boy." (Here's the poem.) Carroll never explained what a "beamish boy" was but he lived quite near Beamish, Co. Durham, and so I'm going to write a bit in this post about Beamish Living History museum.

Here's the main street of the museum's "1913 town".

To me, parts of Beamish resembled bits of modern Britain today. Okay, most places don't have cobblestones, or trams, and I suppose you'd find chicken takeaways and mini cab firms behind some of those old windows - yet I'm sure I know places like this - do you?

My friend once lent me her cottage in the wilds of Yorkshire. She kept it deliberately old fashioned. It really was like stepping back in time, though she did have electric blankets. It was a headache to build up the fire and keep the flagstones swept, but it was cosy of a winter night, and quite like this Beamish interior (below).

The lady is one of the volunteers who helps to keep the museum going. She was happy to explain about her "life" in 1913 to all the visitors.

You could explore inside many of the old buildings. Many visitors loved the period interiors, not as historic pieces but as the kind of place they might like to live themselves. This one below was very popular, judging by the admiring comments ...

I prefer like this cosy music room, below, with its red wallpaper and drapes. It has a settled and welcoming air. Though I am sure the potted aspidistra wouldn't have been stuck in the middle of the floor but on a little table.

A nice old kitchen dresser - love the wallpaper.

Cute nursery, although I think it would need a nursery maid at hand to tidy it up, there isn't even a child in it and it is still a bit untidy...

My favourite interiors though were in the Georgian farmhouse, late 18th, early 19th century. Georgian fittings and furnishings are elegant, harmonious but not fussy. I always feel sad when I read in house renovation magazines about people who buy old houses and rip out the interiors. Details like the arched and panelled wall cabinet, built to fit, are irreplaceable - and always hand made.

I liked farmhouse kitchen below. They had a couple of volunteers dressed in farmhouse corduroys, sitting around and chatting to add to the atmosphere, and if you look closely you can see the fire burning in the grate. It always had to be on, even in the summer, to provide hot water and do the cooking.

What do you think of these interiors?