ABSTRACT
Beamish, as it is generally simply known in the region, is one of the early generation of open-air museums aimed at reconstructing the life-ways of a particular period. The theme of this Museum is industrial life in the north-east of England in the period when it was one of the great hearths of European industrialism, based on shipbuilding, coal and steel. The museum occupies a large site across a shallow valley, and arriving at the entrance, visitors can inspect the sweep of terrain in which various of the exhibits are placed. The valley was in fact formerly partly farmland and partly a small coal mine, with the waste land of the latter having been restored to support some of the Museum buildings. Since Beamish is an open-air museum aiming at re-creating a total environment, its material is grouped around the site in a series of theme areas.
