Beamish Open Air Museum Vividly recreating life in the North East in the early 1800s and 1900s was established in 1970. Beamish tells the story of the people of North East England at two important points of their history 1825 and 1913. Beamish is the first regional open air museum in England and covers over 300 acres.
Beamish is not a traditional museum. Most of the houses, shops and other buildings have been taken down from other parts of the region and rebuilt exactly at the museum. The Drift Mine, Home Farm and Pockerley Manor were already on the site of the museum. Within the buildings there are costumed people trained to talk to visitors and to answer their questions.
Take a tram ride to town, visit the period shops and houses. The drift mine, cottages, school and chapel in the colliery village. The animals at home farm and visit the railway station. Discover the early days of steam at the 1825 railway 'Pockerley Waggonway', with great engine shed and splendid recreation of the world's 1st steam-hauled passenger train. Newley added in 2006 is an amazing working replica of the 1813 steam locomotive Puffing Billy..
Other things you can see as you stroll down the cobbled street of The Town, to see the Dentist's home and surgery, Solicitor's office, Co-operative shops, a newspaper office, Sweetshop and Sweet Factory and Motor & Cycle Works and period branch of Barclay & Co's Bank. It costs approximately £3 million each year to cover the running costs of Beamish. Around 350,000 visitors are attracted to Beamish annually. Beamish won a major national Award at a glittering ceremony in the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London on Friday, 16th June 2006.
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