The Building

The Barn at Beal stands approx 90 metres east of Beal House but is actually a cart shed, built in the mid 19th Century.  Approx 25 metres to the east of Beal house is a set of early 19th Century (possibly even 18th century) farm buildings.  They consist of 4 ranges set around a court yard with further buildings inside the courtyard.

On the south range is an arched entrance with byres on either side.  On the north range is a former barn (now a hay store)with flanking shelter sheds and a granary above.  The west range contains stables whilst the east range has been altered of late and not of any significant archaeological interest.

Finally approx 180metres west of Beal house is the remains of an 18th century Dovecote.  It is rectangular in plan, approx 5.4 metres by 9.1 metres and is currently roofless.  Although it is currently in poor condition, this is one of the only examples of a lecturn style dovecote to be found in England.  However working in conjunction with English Heritage, Natural England and Berwick BC, there are plans to look into restoration to preserve this rare interest feature.

There are several 20th century defensive sites on this farm.  Probably the most visible are over 400 anti-tank blocks along the eastern edge of the farm.  Over 310 lie to the south of the causeway road whilst over 100 lie to the north of the road and extend up to 150 metres.  Some of the blocks are joined by low brick walls and most of the blocks are of ‘cube’ design.

There are also a number of pillboxes and a Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post.  One concrete pillbox lies to the north of Beal and a further two were located at Crag end, but are now most probably destroyed.

The Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post is an underground chamber built during the Cold War period which was intended to monitor radioactive fallout in the event of a nuclear attack.

The medieval village of Beal is first mentioned as part of the Bishop of Durham’s Estate in the early 13th century.  Remnants of medieval or post medieval house plots and ridge and furrow cultivation survive around the village remains.