Beamish attempts to preserve the heritage of the North East by bringing together old buildings from all parts of the region, buildings which would otherwise not have survived. Buildings are carefully researched and once selected they need to be recorded in as much detail as possible, with accurate plans, drawings and photographs. As much information as possible is found out about the origin of the building, when and how it was built, how it was used, who lived in it and how the building could have been altered over the years.
Important pieces of stonework, lintels and special features are numbered and rephotographed before a building can be dismantled onto numbered pallets.
Great thought is put into deciding which buildings should and can be moved to the site. The museum is concerned to see buildings preserved on their original site whenever possible. However where this is not possible, will 
consider the suitability of a particular building for removal. Much will depend upon whether the building is typical of the region, whether its construction will allow it to be moved and also how it will fit in with the museum’s overall development plan. Once a building has been selected, much will depend upon funding initiatives to allow a project to go ahead.
A development strategy has been approved by the local planning authority, which gives outline planning permission for land usage. However individual planning permission and building regulations still require to be adhered to.
The pictures on this page show the sequence on events invloved in the moving of the Sun Inn public house from Bishop Auckland to Beamish Museum.