On Wednesday 13th July 2016, Year 4&5 visited the Spainsfield Farmhouse on the back road to Rookhope. The farmhouse is now derelict and is being taken down and restored/rebuilt at Beamish Museum. The history of the farm is fascinating and the children were really interested to learn about the Raine family who lived there. They were particularly interested to learn about the sister, Elizabeth who had polio – yet ran the farmhouse despite not being able to walk properly. As a result everyone used to visit her in the farmhouse and throughout the 1950’s the farmhouse had a reputation as a ‘party place’ with Elizabeth and her two brothers throwing parties at every opportunity!
The children spent some time using their sketching and shading skills to draw a representation of the farmhouse in situ. It is hoped that the children can revisit the farmhouse at Beamish once the restoration is complete.
