The Ibra Bee Boles Register Online
Until the introduction of modern hives in the late 19th century, beekeepers in Britain and Ireland kept their bees in traditional hives (skeps) made from wicker and, later, coiled-straw. Before sugar was introduced, the honey was much valued as a sweetener and was also used to make mead; the beeswax was very important for making candles for the church.
Most skeps of bees were kept in the open, but some beekeepers built special structures to protect the skeps from the weather. The commonest type of structure surviving in the UK is a wall containing a row of recesses (bee boles), but other types have also been recorded: alcoves, bee shelters, bee houses and winter storage buildings. The International Bee Research Association Register, which was started in 1952, is now a large and valuable collection of records and photographs of these structures in many parts of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The IBRA Bee Boles Register database, which contains 1370 records and over 1100 images, can now be accessed online (free) at www.ibra.org.uk/beeboles. Searching is easy, and selected records and images can be viewed. In addition, a list of relevant publications is provided. The site will be of special value to local historians throughout Britain and Ireland who are interested in our beekeeping heritage and in vernacular buildings. It could also be useful for school or college projects.
Penelope Walker, the voluntary curator of the Register for IBRA, has organized the conversion of the paper record forms and photographs into this online database. Its main purposes are to make the information and images easily accessible to anyone interested, and to encourage conservation of the structures as well as further recording. New records are welcome, and the database will be updated regularly. For contact details, see the website, or tel. 029 2037 2409 (IBRA).
Financial contributions towards the cost of the project were received from Awards for All (to the English Bee Boles Society), CADW (Cardiff), Historic Scotland (Edinburgh) and the Eva Crane Trust.
BELOW: Row of bee boles, Lovington, Somerset (No. 0131; photo: H C Tilley)