We were still around an hour from our destination, driving west across Gloucestershire, and the sun was starting to set. I saw a sign for a historic bee shelter a mile off of the main road and suggested we turn around to go see it. A historic bee shelter!
And that's how we came to be in Hartpury on Saturday. The village has one of the country's largest tithe barn - and this fantastic mid-nineteenth century bee shelter. It was made by a somewhat local stonecarver who'd already worked on the Palace of Westminster at this point in his career, made perhaps to advertise his skill and the selection of locally-available stone, as it was made from a variety of them. In any event, it eventually ended up at a local agricultural college and then, restored within the last decade, in its current home in the churchyard at Hartpury.
It's no longer in use, but what a visionary way to keep hives!
The place further endeared itself to me through its name, whose roots are the same as "hard perry". Appropriate, regional, and tasty.
