The Horestone Apiary

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The Horestone Apiary

One of the greatest assets of the branch (and a centre for a lot of the social contact of the members) is the Branch Apiary. This site, near Bishop's Tawton in the picturesque valley of the River Taw, is leased to us by the Chichester family, the rent being 17 pounds of honey per annum !

On site, we have a large meeting hut, a stores/maintenance hut and a honey extraction & bottling hut, which is in the process of refurbishment, as well as some 12 or so hives, and several nucs during the summer.

There is a small car park at the bottom, with an overflow car park in the field on the opposite side of the road for use in summer months

Looking down the apiary at the recently refurbished honey preparation hut, with the meeting hut in the background. The new concrete slabs ready to receive their hives can also be seen

The meeting hut (a former chicken shed) has a small kitchen area, a workshop at the rear and a meeting room which can seat 20 people or more.

The hives on site are divided up into four areas.

The first group of hives is managed by Chris and Beryl and is used to teach basic beekeeping to attendees of the beginners beekeeping classes.

The second area is the responsibility of Kay and is used to teach more advanced beekeeping..

The third area is managed by the apiarist, Rashid, for honey and nuc production, and the final section is looked after by Michael for a more philosophical, contemplative approach to beekeeping.

Tuesday work sessions are held throughout the year, with winter tasks being concentrated on improvements and maintenance of the grounds and buildings, whereas summer tasks revolve around the hives.

We also hold Open Days on selected Sundays throughout the summer (see Events Page for details), when friends and guests are most welcome.

Additionally, teaching sessions are held throughout the Summer months

A winter inspection of one of the hives

A HISTORY OF HORESTONE APIARY

The name of the apiary is Old English for a parish boundary stone which probably marked the boundary of the Bishops Tawton parish and the adjacent parish of Atherington. The site was once part of an orchard attached to a cottage long since demolished, and apple trees still dominate it. The land is part of the estate owned by the Chichester family for centuries and bees have been kept on the site for as long as people can remember - cut comb used to be taken (initially by horse and then by bicycle) to Barum market for sale.

In about 1980, Northern Branch moved here from an apiary site near Instow which they had to vacate. The small shed that was used at Instow came with us, but was eventually demolished in the summer of 2004.

The main shed currently on site, now called the meeting shed, was originally a chicken shed. You can still see the hen's pop holes near the floor. It was purchased for Ł400. We also obtained various EU grants for a new floor and then a water & electrical supply with fittings donated by members.

Bee friendly plants, including a lime tree, have been donated by members over the years and are scattered around the grounds.

Up to 16 colonieshave been kept on the site. Over the 25 years we have been here, we have raised many queens, created lots of nucs for sale and produced thousands of pounds of honey, and many, many members have taken their BBKA assessment here.

But we have had our problems .....................

The Propane Gas Cylinder Incident

The gas cylinder was thought to be leaking gas and a member (long since gone) decided to check with a match. The rubber hose ignited and a lot of flames appeared. We all ran, but local hero, Ken Thomas, dragged it outside the main shed on to the path. Eventually the safety valve discharged jets of flame for about 20 feet every few seconds. Luckily in a direction up the hill. We all took cover beyond the far side of the shed waiting for it to explode. But after a long wait it burnt itself out. The resulting scorching of the wood wall by the entrance door can still be seen. Now we have two types of fire extinguisher available.

The Salmon Poachers Incident

A local well known group of poachers, known by the police as the Bridgewater gang, paid us a visit. They set up three nets across the river. While waiting for the salmon to swim into the nets, the gang broke into the main apiary shed and made cups of tea. They stole tools and 40 lb. Honey in 1 lb. Jars and returned to the nets. However, the water bailiffs, police and police dogs were waiting. The gang was chased for miles across countryside leaving a trail of honey jars. They were all eventually caught and prosecuted. The branch was fully compensated.

The Water Supply Incident

The water we used came by gravity from a nearby well located up the hill and was shared by the two cottages opposite the apiary. The water was precious, as the well sometimes ran dry in the summer but we were good neighbours, using it sensibly. But one autumn there was a very early frost. The plastic piping froze and burst. When the thaw came, the leak caused the well to be siphoned dry. Our name was mud and we came near to being evicted by our landlords. We apologised and have left the supply cut off permanently.

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