and the answer is..................
...........a Bee Shelter
This Bee Shelter is regarded by the International Bee Research Association as unique. Containing 28 bee boles built to house straw bee skeps, it dates to around 1850.
Here are some more examples of Bee Boles
Bee Bole on a cottage wall behind Quebec House, NT in Kent courtesy Oast House archive
Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall courtesy wikipedia
Kellie Castle garden, Fife, Scotland courtesy Gwen and James Anderson
West Linton, Scotland courtesy Walter baxter
Thank you to everyone who gave it a go. It may be that this has introduced you to a new architectural feature to watch out for in the future!!!
Three people got it right:-
Marian from flowersandhome Linda at A Rich Tapestry and Darien, who doesn't seem to have a blog - well done.
Sorry I have had to switch word verification back on, I am being inundated from someone. Will give it another try in a couple of months and see if they have gone away!!!
Three people got it right:-
Marian from flowersandhome Linda at A Rich Tapestry and Darien, who doesn't seem to have a blog - well done.
Sorry I have had to switch word verification back on, I am being inundated from someone. Will give it another try in a couple of months and see if they have gone away!!!
Thank you for the quiz which gets one thinking about a very beautiful and unique feature. It has got me wanting to visit your county once more as there are some wonderful old buildings, especially the churches.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend - sorry to hear about the word verification situation as my eyesight makes it difficult unless I magnify the words and letters or keep changing to alternatives until I can read one successfully.
Well done Linda for giving it such a thorough try and getting it right. Most little communities here do have some interesting buildings to investigate - perhaps I will use another one for a guess the quiz in a few months.
DeleteSorry about the verification and that you have difficulty with it because of eyesight. I think quite a few people do. I do not think that blogger needs to make it quite so difficult, sometimes you really have to squint to read it, and quite often I just take pot luck as it is so blurred and jumbled up. If the one person goes away I will give it another go.
Dear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteI've been out of action this week having had a little accident, so I didn't take part in your quiz however I think these beehive shelters are lovely (I would not have guessed the answer) and at the same time very practical.
AGA is thinking of beehives when we build our own house and I think, having seen this post, that a shelter is a must.
Bye for now
Kirk
Dear Kirk - so sorry to learn that you have had an accident, nothing too serious I hope.
DeleteWhen you build your own home then incorporating a bee shelter would be a really interesting feature to do. These bee boles were commonly used during the 18th and 19th century but then free standing wooden hives became the norm. Take care Kirk.
Thanks Rosemary,
DeleteI felt lousy on Wednesday but today all is well once more - which is good because we have half term holidays this week!
Lucky you, and glad you are well again.
DeleteHello Rosemary,
ReplyDeletei love the magical details!
Congratulations and a big hug
Hello Antonio - glad you enjoyed seeing photos of the bee boles.
DeleteWell Well Well Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteI couldnt wait until today, to find out what the edifice was... never in a million years, would I have thought that it had anything to do with bees.. How extremely interesting..
I have never heard or seen bee boles.
A great quiz was this one.. well in fact they all are..
wishing you a wonderful weekend.
switching off my computer tomorrow..
I had someone leave a message.. but you can vet who writes on your post comments Rosemary.. i just delete them.
hope they dont come again.
see you soon
val xxx
Dear Val - delighted that you enjoyed learning about bee boles, they are rather nice little architectural edifices. The particular one I showed first is unusual because it is free standing, as you can see most are incorporated into walls.
DeleteHave a great trip Val and look forward to learning about the visit on your return.
Dear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great quiz and I had great fun reading everyone else's attempts at trying to guess what it is. Never in a million years would I think it had anything to do with bees never having seen one before.
Dear Paula - glad that you enjoyed finding out about the bee boles. If you want to see it sometime it is at Hartbury on the road to Ledbury, there is a sign post saying bee shelters.
DeleteAbsolutely smashing Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteJean x
Delighted that you enjoyed seeing it.
DeleteHello Rosemary
ReplyDeleteThe suspense is over. Congratulations to the winners.
This has warmed my heart to see such a beautiful piece of architecture honour the industrious bee. They must feel like the "bees knees" living here.
Hele xx
Dear Helen - love your quote - these are remnants of bee boles from the 19th century which have now been replaced by the wooden hive.
DeleteThe bees certainly dwell in elegance. Such a fascinating thing. Thanks for an interesting in architecture and bee keeping. Lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed seeing this unique bee architecture. It is an example how something can be both practical and attractive at the same time.
DeleteWhat beautiful structures!
ReplyDeleteI had some trouble with unpleasant commenters and dealt with it thus:
Go to your Dashboard page and the drop down menu 'options' next to your blog button. Go to comments. Mark just one comment from that person as 'spam' and thereafter no comments from that source will show up - they will go directly to spam. Good luck!
It is a lovely small piece of architecture.
DeleteI am not sure which my Dashboard page is, I can't find it. I will do a bit of searching.
They do go into spam but arrive in my email first of all - a lot of them from one source.
I love it! How unique and bee-autiful!! I couldn't resist! ;)
ReplyDeleteDear Tina - very good comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
Deletehowwnderfully interesting!!! I hope to use this information one day to impress someone..I have seen holes a lawys thought they were shrines....
ReplyDeleteYou could be right, some alcoves in walls are for shrines, depending on the building or where the wall is. However, Monks used to have bee boles too in the monasteries, so in that situation you could have alcoves for shrines and for bees boles too.
DeleteDear Rosemary... maybe I should send you a photo of another bee shelter, this one outside my house, in Italy, right inside my mail box!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Rosemary and very hard to solve! The edifice is truly beautiful!
Happy weekend!
ANNA
xx
Dear Anna - thanks for trying so hard, I did appreciate it. "Bee" careful with your letter box, if disturbed they can be very angry customers to deal with.
DeleteIt is a lovely edifice and I would happily give it room in my garden.
Take care Anna.
Hi Rosemary. I've had these kind of annoying comments for months now, and turned on word verification as well this week. I hope that'll do it. So frustrating to have a mailbox full of unwanted comments every day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the quiz; google helped me find the answer quite quickly; a very unique piece of architecture we all got to know thanks to you.
Marian
Dear Marian - you and Linda were both successful at finding the answer from Google. Others tried but did not manage - you must have used a secret combination of words to find it so quickly.
DeleteThese comments, mine all emanate from the same source are, I find rather weird. Why would anybody bother? I do not understand the mentality.
What a treasure! I am just now catching up. Wouldn't have guessed correctly, anyhow. If we ever move to the countryside, I'd love to keep bees and have such a structure. Thanks for sharing, Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteDear Loi - the structure is lovely - I would like it in my garden with geraniums and interesting bits of garden equipment as a feature.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed seeing it.
Dear Rosemary - Your architectural quizs are very clever, and it occurs to me that you have discovered yet another theme for a good book. Fancy bee shelters like this must be a British phenomenon — I'm not aware of American structures like this, though I could imagine the Shakers making them.
ReplyDeleteDear Mark - I am not sure whether the bee boles are just a British phenomenon or not. I know that they go back to the medieval period when they were probably first started by the monks.
DeleteNow I shall have to put my thinking cap on for the next quiz - I do have something in mind, but the particular building I have in mind might be too easy - I shall have to find another image.
On this quiz two people got the answer from Google!!!
Hi Rosemary, I didn't take part in your quiz, because I had no clue and I certainly never would have guessed that this beautiful ancient architectural structure was used as a bee shelter! When I was traveling England I never (consciously) recognized the bee boles in the walls. From now on I will look out for them on my next trip to England! I definitively learned something new today from your blog! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteChristina
Hello Christina - I do hope you find at least one next time you are travelling in the UK. It is the kind of feature that once it has been pointed out to you, it will be recognisable in the future.
DeleteCertainly didn't expect this. There go my shoes.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
Yes, you need to find somewhere else to put them.
DeleteHow remarkable and attractive these bee boles are. I have sometimes seen niches built into walls, and now I have a new possibility for their use. I really like the weathered stone and brick, and the way the boles add dimension to the walls--I would like to have some in my own (future) garden, even if I didn't keep bees in them.
ReplyDelete--Road to Parnassus
I am pleased that you enjoyed seeing them Jim. I actually have a drystone wall in my garden with three niches which I had the stonewaller insert. I have pots and things in them, but now I am thinking of looking for a straw bee skep to put in one of them. I will have to look on the internet to see where you can purchase them.
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for this late comment (we've been swamped with work for the last week or so) but I had to write and thank you for this very interesting post! You've introduced me to something new here-- I was unfamiliar with bee boles and bee shelters, but they really are so lovely... My husband and I are planning to start beekeeping this spring, so bee skeps have been on my mind lately. Perhaps a bee bole will be in order!
Warm regards,
Erika
Dear Erika - what an interesting project to start, I know nothing at all about keeping bees, I expect you know the husbandry involved. Since I did this post I realise that I could keep bees myself as I have a drystone wall with several alcoves in it big enough to take bee skeps. At the moment I have pots of flowers etc in them. However, as I mentioned I do not know the in and outs of the bee world. I have looked on the internet and there is actually a maker of straw skeps living near me, however, most people use the wooden hives now.
DeleteLook forward to hearing how you progress with this new venture.
I had no idea there even existed a structure to house bee skeps, so much nicer than those brown boxes. I've noticed a rising interest among backyard gardeners in finding ways to help out the struggling bee population. This idea might be something I can attempt (on a smaller scale.)
ReplyDeleteSince I posted this I am becoming more interested in having bees myself. I am not too sure what it involves and whether you can just have bees and get someone who is really into bees to come and sort them out with their smoke guns in proper outfits or not. I can easily find out because believe it or not our town is the World's First Bee Guardian Town. I have just looked at their website and I think I can become a Bee Guardian - watch this space.
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteFascinating! They sure are pretty and to know they served such a purpose is terrific. Thank you for the fun!
All the best, Ruthie from: http://www.ladybstimefortea.blogspot.com
Dear Ruthie - glad you enjoyed seeing them. They really are very attractive little edifices for the bee population to live in.
Deletehow beautiful*interesting! I love honey:-)))happy weekend...
ReplyDeleteHoney in yogurt is what I like - glad you found it interesting.
Delete