Families are encouraged to put their skills of deduction to the test and investigate the likes of mystery murders and bank robberies during the school half-term break.
The invitation comes from Beamish Museum which will be running a Discover Crimes of the Centuries event from February 18-26, looking at cases dating from the 1800s up to the 1950s - the period covered by the County Durham site. And these will include the murder of 'Joe the quilter' whose reconstructed cottage - the scene of his death - is one of the museum exhibits.
Joseph Hedley was a Georgian quilter who was murdered in 1826 in a crime which shocked the nation and his cottage in Northumberland has been faithfully rebuilt at Beamish - right down to the wide crack it had in an exterior wall. His murder will feature in the event during its examination of crime and punishment in the Georgian period.
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The week will also focus upon crimes in the early 1900s, 1940s and 1950s. They will range from the most serious - as well as murder, visitors will be able to visit the Masonic Hall to hear stories of a Sunderland bank robbery which took place in 1897 - to minor crimes, such as illegal games of pitch-and-toss in a back lane in the Pit Village where families also can find out what happened to those who played truant.
In The 1900s Town, they can find out about the actions of some of the North East’s Suffragettes, while at The 1940s Farm the secrets of Second World War's black market will be revealed and at the new Spain’s Field Farm - which will be open weekends only - families can help the farmer and a policeman to track down missing animals following reports of sheep rustling.
As part of its ongoing fifties town development, Beamish is set to open 1950s police houses - replicas of two, with a single-storey office, from Heworth in Gateshead - later this year when visitors will be able to experience the daily routine of a police officer from that era. The planned room layouts for these will be on display in the 1950s welfare hall during half-term week, alongside fascinating policing objects which the museum has in its collection.
There also will be an opportunity to try out lock-picking in The 1950s Town and take part in an activity trail to solve The Mystery of the Sleepy Salesman. Connor Emerson, keeper of social history at Beamish Museum, said: “We’re very excited to invite everyone to come and get involved in looking at crime and punishment.
“Each area of the museum will be concentrating on the types of crimes and punishments of the times they portray. There will be lots to discover and plenty of activities to try your hand at during this week-long event”.
The fifties development at Beamish continues to take shape thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, with the museum's Remaking Beamish project havng been awarded £10.9m by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2016. New exhibits are set to open this year in both the 1950s Town - including semi-detached houses, a terrace of aged miners’ homes, a bowling green and a pavilion - and on its 1820s landscape, where there will be a Georgian pottery and a Drover’s Tavern serving Georgian-inspired food and drink.
For more about upcoming events at Beamish, which next month will include celebrations from March 11-12 around International Women’s Day; a March 18-19 Science Weekend and Mothering Sunday activities on March 19, see here.
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