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423:, skeps eventually ceased to be used. Bee boles were no longer made and those that survive are sometimes used for decorative purposes; although many people may be unaware of the original purpose of the recesses in the walls of their property, the majority of owners are careful to preserve or even restore their bee boles.
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could be detected and captured quickly; in addition, it helped to familiarise the bees with human presence and activity. Honey was often stolen, so keeping the bees close to the house helped to deter thieves - some bee boles had a padlocked metal bar that served both to prevent theft and to hold in
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The oldest surviving bee boles may date from the 12th century, and examples have been recorded from every century after that. The 18th and 19th centuries seem to have been the heyday of bee bole construction, especially on large country house estates, although many were also built on farms or in
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in 1853), the use of bee boles was a practical way of keeping bees in some parts of
Britain, although most beekeepers kept their skeps in the open covered by items suitable for the purpose, such as old pots or sacking. The bee bole helped to keep the wind and rain away from the skep and the bees
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The
International Bee Research Association (IBRA) maintains a comprehensive record of bee boles in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Started by Dr Eva Crane in 1952, the register contains records for 1560 sites (as at 5 February 2014), and images for most of these. To improve accessibility to the
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The base upon which the skep sits is variable in design - circular, semicircular or square - and occasionally has a protruding lip for the bees to alight upon when they return from foraging. The hole in the skep faces onto this lip. The example at the Queen's Head Inn,
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records and to encourage conservation and further recording, the register was put into a database and made available online in 2005. The website also contains a list of publications on bee boles.
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Bee boles were most often built in walls facing in southerly or easterly directions (depending on the direction of prevailing winds), so that the bees would be warmed by the morning sun.
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in
Gwynedd is home to the highest concentration of bee boles in Wales. There are 46 boles, built in the nineteenth century, likely by the owner of the estate Charles Williams.
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cottage gardens. The shapes of old bee boles can sometimes be seen in walls where they have been filled in with brick or stone, with only the outline remaining.
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the flowers, although this was not discovered until 1750. Among the many walled gardens with bee boles, two fine examples at properties open to the public are:
358:, which are generally much smaller.) Brick walls are typically narrower than stone walls, thus bee boles located in brick walls are typically shallower.
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A bee shelter is a wooden or stone structure, built against a wall or free-standing, with one or more shelves to accommodate several skeps. A
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194:(144 sets by 2004), and a few are known to exist elsewhere in Europe. Other names for bee boles include bee holes, bee shells (
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The arrangement of 'hedge alcoves' occasionally seen in formal gardens may be a form of bee bole, such as at
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is placed in the bee bole. Before the development of modern bee hives (such as the design published by
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tend to be a bit larger as skeps were often wrapped in sacks or dry bracken in the winter (in eastern
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Bee boles in the wall of castle grounds at
Tolquhon Castle in Aberdeenshire (Register No. 0110)
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Bee boles and other protective structures for skeps are found across almost the whole of the
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walls; some found in sandstone walls have shaped, arched tops. Many stone bee boles are in
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Sometimes, larger bee boles, or 'bee alcoves' are found, which would take several skeps.
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place a wooden board across the front of the bole whilst the bees were overwintering.
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606:"BEE SHELTER APPROXIMATELY 50 METRES EAST OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, Hartpury (1341879)"
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for candles, especially from the prereformation churches, cathedrals, and abbeys;
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Some bee boles and other traditional beekeeping structures are part of a
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became plentiful and affordable as a sweetener. Demand was also high for
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living inside. Bee keeping was a very common activity in the past before
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and rents were often paid in honey and/or beeswax, or even bee swarms.
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Bee boles were often built close to the dwelling house so that
543:"Welsh honey is the bee's knees - Mêl Cymreig yn taro deuddeg"
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Gravenhorst, C. J. H. (1894-11-29). "Apiculture in
Germany".
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190:. Bee boles have also been recorded in certain areas of
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Design and construction of bee boles and bee shelters
46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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661:A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology
573:"Britain's biggest bee bole found near Dolgellau"
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490:A Source Book for Medieval Economic History
651:The International Bee Research Association
492:. New York: Biblo and Tannen. p. 385.
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
354:, bee boles should not be confused with
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226:The purpose of a bee skep was to house
254:. A further benefit was that the bees
130:is a cavity or alcove in a wall (the
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44:adding citations to reliable sources
246:where there were flowers providing
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611:National Heritage List for England
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326:Surviving bee boles are built in
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646:British Beekeepers' Association
583:from the original on 2020-10-20
571:Forgrave, Andrew (2011-05-25).
553:from the original on 2022-07-25
31:needs additional citations for
138:means a recess in a wall) for
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415:With the introduction of the
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411:The Bee shelter at Hartpury
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631:Historic Scotland Website
523:Bee Boles and Bee Hives.
266:(Register No. 0015) and
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342:walls, but others are
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222:Location at a property
214:) and bee garths. The
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521:Foster, A.M. (1988).
488:Cave, Roy C. (1965).
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306:Bee boles containing
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274:(Register No. 1078).
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547:Bwydydd Madryn Foods
525:Shire Publications.
505:American Bee Journal
464:Honey bee life cycle
40:improve this article
238:were often kept in
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96:December 2015
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170:Distribution
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38:Please help
33:verification
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428:Erddig Hall
392:example is
322:A Bee House
140:bee keeping
617:2017-07-27
587:2022-07-25
557:2022-07-25
475:References
256:pollinated
200:Derbyshire
66:newspapers
55:"Bee bole"
469:Honey bee
390:Victorian
376:Stewarton
310:, at the
208:Yorkshire
676:Apiaries
670:Category
581:Archived
551:Archived
458:See also
398:Hartpury
380:Ayrshire
352:Scotland
348:Scotland
344:mortared
340:drystone
244:orchards
180:Scotland
128:bee bole
240:gardens
196:Cumbria
184:England
160:beeswax
80:scholar
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511:: 694.
364:Tirril
279:swarms
252:pollen
248:nectar
192:France
164:tithes
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436:Wales
432:Clwyd
334:, or
332:brick
328:stone
308:skeps
272:Arran
232:honey
188:Wales
156:sugar
134:word
132:Scots
87:JSTOR
73:books
527:ISBN
419:and
250:and
236:bees
228:bees
212:Kent
147:skep
136:bole
59:news
430:in
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396:at
374:in
336:cob
270:on
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42:by
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