The beginnings of Beamish go back to 1970, when Frank Atkinson, first Director and founder, and his small band of colleagues first came to Beamish. The idea, however, to establish an 'open air museum' of the Scandinavian type goes back to 1958, when Frank had just been appointed Director of the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle. Frank realised that the North East region was changing dramatically, the old industries of coal mining, shipbuilding and iron and steel manufacture were disappearing along with the communities that served them. He was most concerned that the region was losing its identity, "customs, traditions and ways of speech" were dying out. Frank proposed that the new museum would "illustrate vividly the way of life ... of the ordinary people", and would "attempt to make the history of the region live".
Frank adopted a policy of "unselective collecting ... you offer it to us and we will collect it". The imagination of the people of the region was captured and they donated objects of all sizes, from steam engines to shops and sewing machines. A whole army camp of 22 huts and hangers at Brancepeth was rapidly filled, creating a bond between museum and community, which has never been lost.
A group of Friends actively collected for and supported the idea of the museum and eventually, after much discussion and argument, the politicians of the region representing nine local authorities within the North East, agreed to a joint financial and management arrangement. The search was then on for a suitable site. A basin shaped valley of about 300 acres, with steep slopes, a river, woodland areas, some level ground and a south facing aspect, was thought to be ideal. Beamish, one of many sites considered and once the home of the Shafto and Eden families was available and was ideal for the purpose, having buildings of some antiquity already in situ. The land was acquired and the rest is history.
The Role and Purpose of the Museum
Beamish plays a major role in the preservation of the heritage of the North East of England. It is now established as a major museum with outstanding collections of national and international importance and is one of the major tourist attractions in the North of England.
Beamish was established as a regional open air museum, its collections are drawn from the geographical counties of Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Cleveland. The periods within which collections are sought cover mainly the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At present the period areas represent the early 1800s leading up to 1825, when the Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened with George Stephenson's Locomotion, and the early 1900s leading up to 1913, immediately prior to the First World War. These periods were particularly selected in order to represent the importance of certain aspects of regional history and development. The museum however does collect outside these dates.