Field Trip and Bus Trip

One of the fringe benefits of taking on a programme like Heritage Practices is that apparently we get to go on field trips!  Definitely one of the big things lacking from higher education.  Anyway, our first foray into the wonderful world of heritage was with a visit to Beamish, The Living Museum of the North.  Living museums are like recreated history.  Think of it like a Renaissance festival without the turkey legs and weirdos in leather.  Since Beamish was first thought up in the late 1960s, it has been collecting anything having to do with the North East's past.  This includes furniture, buildings, tram cars, old buses, old farming equipment, vintage signs, an old coal mine and a carousel.  It's pretty much like an episode of American Pickers.  But unlike those hoarders (and I say that lovingly), they actually have done something with all the stuff they've collected.  They've recreated towns and villages to give people today a glimpse of what life was like in the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s.


One of their leading principles was they wanted to have three generations to visit and be able to have the older generation recognize certain things and then be able to tell the younger generations what it was like.  This also means that the museum itself is always growing.  They are currently working on a 1950s section.  Since as a museum they strive for immersion, they have made the museum more interactive by having volunteers 'acting' out what it was like in the particular time periods.  If you've seen this kind of thing before, you know that it can either be good and informative or bad and cheesy.  Thankfully, Beamish swayed heavily to good and informative.  They are there to tell you what life was like but they also realize it's 2014 and because of that are able to put things into context if need be.  Another great thing about Beamish is that you get to participate in the past.  We were told in our discussion that during a part on the children evacuees during the London Blitz in World War II, instead of just standing there and telling them about it, they would take children volunteers and have them 'evacuated' and write letters home.  In more simpler ways, as you wander around the towns and villages you can pop in at the pub for an actual pint, buy some 1940s sweets and even take a quick tour of a coal mine.  To get around the 300 plus acres, all you have to do is hop aboard one of the many trams they have gathered up from around the area.


While there, we were also treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the collection that Beamish manages.  To say that it's a massive collection is a bit of an understatement.  There are multiple warehouses full of movable shelving that stores all of the things they have collected over the years.  We were able to get a glimpse at items that the public hasn't seen; for example the Scottish claymore sword that was oddly found within the wall of a local house.  We also learned some important practical lessons, like that museums can kill you.  Apparently people never think of all the dangers in working in museums, I certainly hadn't.  But think about a museum particularly something like Beamish where most of their collection has been donated.  Bottles of medicine or toiletries from the past would be something they would be interested in but who knows what's really in those bottles, let alone what time may have done to the chemicals inside.  We were told one of the number one rules is "Never Put On a WWI/WWII Gas Mask".  Why?  Because A) the filter is often all asbestos and B) if it actually was used then the poison could still be in the filter.  The same rule applies to WWI helmets (the cushion part was usually made out of asbestos).  I certainly hope they have all these rules written done somewhere cause I'll be pretty annoyed if I finally get a job in a sector I like and then die on the first day!        

             

With the long week of introduction to the programme over, I had a weekend to enjoy before the real work would begin on Monday.  Since we had wonderful weather, I felt I had to kick my bum in gear and go out and see something; I need something to write about after all!  I decided to head down to Durham.  It's about an hour south on the bus for £5 or a 15 minute train trip for £20.  Since I had all the time in the world, I took the bus.  It wasn't until we were pulling away, that I realized I didn't have my camera.  CRAP!  Well that certainly isn't a good start to the day now is it?  At least I had my Kindle with me and I could take pictures, though no guarantee they would be decent.  You know how there are days when you wake up and think, "man, it's gonna be a good day!" and then you end up spilling your coffee or stubbing your toe and that one act pretty much changes the entire tone for the day?  That was what forgetting my camera did for me that day.  We got into Durham and I just started following everyone else, figuring I'd stumble upon a sign eventually.  I did and I headed over the River Wear on a quaint cobblestoned bridge.  Looking up from the river, the castle formed an imposing spine along the ridge.


The story of Durham is an interesting one.  St. Cuthbert was a big name in the North East in the 6th century.  When he died, long story short, his followers were on the search for a new location to set up a permanent location.  The story goes that while lugging his coffin around the North East, it got stuck.  His followers decided to pray about it and one of them had a vision to go to a place called Dun Holm.  They didn't have a clue where Dun Holm was, but they at least knew it was probably a hilly island (given that dun is Anglo-Saxon for hill and holm is Scandinavian for island).  So picking up Cuthbert's coffin, they headed out.  Turns out they weren't the only ones that didn't know where Dun Holm was; everyone they asked didn't have a clue either.  Until one day, they overheard a pair of milkmaids (this is beginning to sound like a bad joke) talking about a missing cow and how the cow was last seen at Dunholm.  You can see that cow and milkmaid in a wall carving at Durham Cathedral.  The area had actually been inhabited for over two thousand years, most notably by the Celtic tribe the Brigantes, by the time St. Cuthbert's followers arrived, but they were instrumental in forming the actual city of Durham.


Durham Cathedral was built in 1093 to act as a monastery for the Benedictine monks.  During the Middle Ages, Durham was one of the major pilgrimage sites for Christians.  With wealth coming in from the pilgrims, it also became an important economic centre and the prince-bishops of Durham were the authority in the area.  Of course, with most of the other religious houses in England, when Henry VIII came to power, their power came to an end.  Though the cathedral lost countless relics and riches, it still faired a lot better than some of the other abbeys and cathedrals during that time.  In 1986, Durham Cathedral and the surrounding castle (which was built by William the Conqueror) was named to the UNESCO list as a World Heritage Site.  It met three of the ten criteria for UNESCO.  Those being: "to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history..., to exhibit an important interchange of human values over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world..., and to be directly or tangibly associated with events of living traditions with ideas or with beliefs..."

The Cathedral is definitely an awe inspiring building, making you feel small and rather insignificant (which it has been suggested was an intended reaction).  But personally speaking, I have an issue with places that don't let you take pictures.  It's one thing if the artwork is sensitive and flashes are prohibited but I get a bit bent out of shape when they state that 'so as not to annoy other visitors, you can't take pictures' while at the same time, quickly mentioning they have postcards for sale; it seems a bit disingenuous.  I'm honestly not sure why me taking pictures will ruin someone's day any more then having to hear the loud door open and close every five seconds.  Again, it's a bit of a pet peeve and frankly a bit of a moot point since I didn't have my bloody camera anyway!  The castle itself was a bit of a let down because you really can't go and explore it.  (This is a perfect example of when you should have done a little more research on what you can and can't see.)  It's now being used as university buildings for the University of Durham.  I mean, kudos to the students for getting the choice to bunk in a thousand year old castle, but again it doesn't help me any!  And to add the final icing on the cake, it was moving in day for said students so the thin cobbled streets of the city were teeming with bright eyed 18 year olds and nervous parents.  Oh well, you quickly find in travelling that not every destination is going to be better than the last.  And often times it's places that you think "I need to go there" that end up not delivering much.              
       
 Til next time...