Friends of Beamish Museum.Events you must not Miss.
Georgian Fair and Napoleonic Muster
GEORGIAN FAIR - SATURDAY, 9TH AUGUST
A recreation of the hustle and bustle of an 1825 Fair at Pockerley Manor. Adding to the atmosphere and excitement will be fire-eating, corn dolly and basket making, military drills, musket firing and traditional Northumbrian pipe music.
NAPOLEONIC MUSTER – SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 9TH & 10TH AUGUST
An exciting and authentic recreation of a Napoleonic recruiting muster in the splendid setting of our 1825 exhibit, Pockerley Manor. Re-enacted by the 68th Regiment of the Light Infantry in full battle dress.
North Country Quilting – Saturday & Sunday, 9th & 10th August
Demonstrations of the traditional craft of North Country Quilting and patchwork, together with a small exhibition of fascinating handmade quilts from the extensive Beamish collection.
Little Kickers - Saturday & Sunday, 9th & 10th August
Football fun for under 5s.
Morris Minor Rally – Sunday, 17th August
The North East branch of the Morris Minor Owner's Club will host their summer rally at Beamish, giving visitors the opportunity to see these fabulously presented classic vehicles.
Triumph Stag Car Day – Sunday, 17th August
Beautifully presented Triumph Stags travel to Beamish from throughout the country. Invited guests include other Triumph car clubs, on display alongside the Stags will be gleaming Spitfires, TRs and Triumph Heralds – motoring nostalgia from the 1950s, 60s and 70s !
Westoe Netty Re-opens at Beamish
A chain pulling ceremony marked the opening of the newest addition at Beamish, The Westoe Netty, on Friday, 25th July 2008. South Shields artist Bob Olley and John Cuthbert, Managing Director of Northumbrian Water each ‘pulled the chain’ to draw curtains and declare the Netty open (though not for business !).
The Westoe Netty, a late nineteenth century public gentlemen’s toilet from Westoe in South Shields, was built around 1890. Although entirely unspectacular in itself, the Netty inspired a well known painting of the same name by Robert Olley.
Through its inclusion in Robert’s painting, the Netty has become a notable, cultural symbol of North East England’s working class. Many thousands of prints of the original painting have been sold to North Easterners and visitors to the region alike.
Originally the Westoe Netty was recessed into the embankment of the Harton Coal Company railway to Westoe Colliery, adjacent to the abutment carrying the railway bridge through Westoe. It was taken down by an enthusiastic group of Robert’s friends, in advance of demolition for regeneration in Westoe around 1996.
The Netty was stored in a shipyard in Hebburn in South Tyneside until 2007, when it was donated to Beamish by South Tyneside Council. It has now been rebuilt near to the Museum’s 1913 Railway Station, placing it in as near its original context as possible. It is open to visitors, though as an exhibit rather than serving its original purpose !