The Mediaeval Custom of Skep Beekeeping

by Mike Reddy.

NOTE: Most of this material was gathered for the purposes of

investigating Mediaeval and Tudor beekeeping practices. Therefore,

some of the facts contained here may not be so wide-ranging as other

more complete sources, or may disagree with material appropriate for

other time periods. Any other errors are probably mine.

Beekeeping has always been an integral part of the British Economy.

Even today, after 150 years since they were in common usage, images of

traditional straw-domed beehives are still found and recognised in many

places. The bible, many mediaeval texts and numerous examples of folk-

lore refer to beekeeping:

"The better the wheat and the wool, the better the honey" - Anon

"Heaven flows with milk and honey" - Exodus 3, v.8-13

One 14th century example [Rawl c1370] from the Bodlean Library, is an

almanac, predicting wars, plagues, famines and the productivity of

beehives. So, it is clear that the produce of bees was of great

economic significance.

Although we now see honey as a rather expensive sweetener, compared

with sugar - At stlg2 per 1lb. jar it loses hands down to a 65p bag of

sugar - the main product of Mediaeval and Tudor apiarists was, in fact,

the wax; principally used by chandlers to make candles for the Church

until the Reformation in 1536 when King Henry VIII in his obsession to

gain a male heir all but destroyed the market.

Honey was still the reserve of the richer families and was used in

baking, medicines, polish and the manufacture of Mead (the oldest

alcoholic drink!). In fact, mead was the weakest of a number of honey

derived beverages, collectively known as Meth (not Meths!) or

Hydromel. The strongest was Methaeglen, a one time favourite of Queen

Elizabeth I. Such was the importance of the drink to the Royal Court

that Welsh mead makers were immune from all prosecution while making

it! They could, literally, get away with murder!

The main difference between beekeeping is that now we have techniques

for separating the honey from the brood - a legal requirement for

selling in fact - with the movable comb hive. Although, tree stumps

and clay pots have been used around the World, in Western Europe, the

most popular hive was a conical basket called a skep - derived from

the Anglo Saxon "Skeppa" which means basket - made of woven wicker

baskets (with a coating of cloome or daub), or long straw coiled and

stitched with blackberry briar. The straw skep is said to have

started with tribes west of the Elbe in Germany [Crane]. The earliest

remains may have come from possibly a twelfth century skep found in

1980 during an excavation at Coppergate, York. [Crane].

Skeps need not be made with long wheat straw. Reeds and sedges could

also be used, presumably dependent upon locally available materials.

Skeps have been known to last 150 years. Skeps were usually set upon

tables to protect them from damp and scavengers. The platforms would

be made of wood, as stone would be likely to chill the bees.

An extension to the front would provide an increased landing area,

with a groove to allow access to the hive. Alternatively, bees could

gain entry if the surface was uneven, through a hole cut in the side

or the base of the skep, or by raising the side of the skep with

sticks (often used in Summer to facilitate many bees coming and

going).

Protection from the elements would be by a 'hackle' or reed wigwam

affair. For a typical skep, 6-8 combs would hang vertically, being

attached to the top and sides. This makes it almost impossible to

examine the brood or remove the honey without destroying the comb.

Skeps were usually measured in pecks, a measure used for stored grain

and perhaps a throwback to the original use for skeps. Butler

mentions one and two peck versions - 10 by 15 inches and 14 by 15 inch

respectively - The small size was probably because the cramped space

would encourage swarming, a vital process for replacing the harvested

skeps.

'Hefting' or lifting the skeps was an acquired skill for judging the

weight of honey so that the beekeeper could decide which to destroy.

The medium weights would be left to swarm the following year, while

the lightest and heaviest would usually be taken; the lightest would

not survive the Winter without feeding, the heaviest as the brood

would possibly be too large for the stored honey, or would eat the

profits!

The dastardly deed itself would have been performed in one of two

ways: The first was simply to immerse the skep in water, though

impure water would almost certainly taint the honey. The second

involved using the smoke from a sulphur fire to asphyxiate the bees.

The technique required digging a hole slightly smaller in diameter

than the base of the skeps. A fire would be built up in the hole,

then sulphur added just before the skeps would be placed on top.

After a short time, the dead bees could be shaken out, however leaving

the skep too long might melt the comb or flavour the honey.

Clearly, this approach was wasteful for both bees and drawn comb, as

well as being quite upsetting for us to consider, spoilt as we are

with our modern hives. A precursor of the Super was a 'cap', a skep

placed on top to allow honey to be harvested without destroying the

brood comb. Alternatively, an 'eke' (a ring of four coils of straw)

or a 'nadir' (a skep with a hole in the roof) could be placed below to

increase the size of the hive.

Another technique was to drive the bees, but this could only be

profitably done in Autumn because of the reduced brood comb.

Furthermore, the bees would need to be joined to an existing colony as

they would not survive otherwise. It is interesting to note that all

the expert authorities of the time disapproved of this approach.

Comb was extracted in three parts:

1. Sheere honey and wax (equivalent to our supered comb)

2. Second honey and sandarach (mixed brood and honey)

3. Dry wax

Interestingly, no mention of pollen is made in the distinctions,

though it was understood that bees collected and stored it.

The honey was extracted through a cloth bag. The first or 'run' honey

was the best quality, the second came from wringing the cloth, while

the meth was obtained by washing the cloth in warm water. The latter

was used for the mead. stlg6-9 for a barrel of best honey, stlg5 for a

barrel of Heath honey.

It was generally understood that raw honey was not so fit as that

heated for half an hour with a little water (or even the white of an

egg) to aid removal of impurities.

Reference sources:

Karl Showler of B&K Books is well known for being an authority on

ancient bee books. He is also exploring the use of a skep in his own

apiary. You can contact B&K Books at Riverside, Newport Street,

Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5BG. Tel: 01497-820386. Fax: 01497-821004.

Butler, Charles "The Feminine Monarchy, or The Historie of Bees",

1609, A facsimile is available from Northern Bee Books. THE book of

Tudor beekeeping. The copy I have has been read and re-read.

Crane, Eva "The Archaeology of Beekeeping", 1982, IBRA. An excellent

source on the history of beekeeping throughout the ages.

IBRA, "British Bee Books: A bibliography 1500-1976" 1979, IBRA. Again,

a fascinating list of references from the year dot. Numerous plates

from various publications. Southerne, Edmund "A Treatise Concerning

the Right Use and Ordering of Bees", 1593. A facsimile is available

from IBRA. The first original book in English entirely on beekeeping.

Thorn, Thorskegga "History and Method of Beekeeping up to 1900" by

Darr Publications. I have not seen this book, but it was due out in

December 1995.

MS Rawl. D939, part 4. "Prognostications from an English calander" in

"IBRA Slide Set 1: 45 slides Mediaeval Manuscripts". Sadly, no longer

available to buy, this slide set can be borrowed from IBRA for a fee.