Beamish — An Open Air Museum in a changing industrial community

Stevens, Christine (2010) Beamish — An Open Air Museum in a changing industrial community. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 55 (2). pp. 401-415. ISSN 1216-9803

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Abstract

The North of England open air museum was established at Beamish in the early 1970s, since when the local community has radically changed in terms both of ethnicity and of occupations. Heavy industry and agriculture have been largely replaced by service and light industries. This paper explores the ways in which Beamish is engaging with local communities who have no previous experience of the collections it holds and the history it represents. The paper has been prepared from a presentation by the author to Société Internationale d’Ethnologie et de Folklore Congress, 2008, and includes material from a presentation by Chris Scott, Beamish Curator of Industry, to the Society for Folk Life Studies conference, Swansea, 2007, and reports prepared by Seb Littlewood, Rural Collections Curator, and Helen Barker, Collections Access Officer.

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