Below are details of some of the work produced on beekeeping structures used to shelter skeps. They are listed in date order.
About 150 walls with recesses for hives (bee boles, 'niches') have been recorded in France, and some in Belgium. Until 2001, the records were collected by the IBRA Register, and they are now held by Apistoria: 1 Place Bardineau, 33000 Bordeaux, France; email: apistoria@gmail.com which is planning to set up a database. For a discussion of these sites, see Walker and Crane (2004) below. Another interesting article by historian Robert Chevet (in French) can be found on the Itinéraires Archéologiques website.
Crane, E. (1983) The archaeology of beekeeping (London: Duckworth), Chapters 7 and 8; distribution map (1981) on pp. 248-9.
Crane, E.; Walker, P. (1984-85) Evidence on Welsh beekeeping in the past. Folk Life, 23: 21-48; also 24: 121-123 (1985-86)
Foster, A. M. (1986) Bee boles in Wiltshire. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, 80, 176-183.
Walker, P. (1987) Past beekeeping in Yorkshire: evidence from bee boles and other local sources. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 59: 119-137.
Foster, A. M. (1988) Bee boles and bee houses (Princes Risborough, Bucks: Shire Publications – Shire Album 204)
Walker, P. (1988a) Bee boles in Kent. Archaeologia Cantiana, 106: 107-127.
Walker, P. (1988b) Bee boles and past beekeeping in Scotland. Review of Scottish Culture, No. 4: 105-117.
Walker, P.; Linnard, W. (1990) Bee boles and other beekeeping structures in Wales. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 139: 56-73.
Walker, P.; Crane, E. (1991) Bee shelters and bee boles in Cumbria. Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 91: 237-262. See also update by Green, E. (1997) Bee boles and related structures in Furness and Cartmel. ibid., 97: 231-236.
Walker, P. (1992) Cumbria’s bee boles. Abbot Hall Quarto, 30(2): 27-29.
Walker, P.; Ogden, R. B. (1995) Bee boles and other beekeeping structures in Devon. Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts, 127: 97-119.
Walker, P. (1996) Bee boles in Yorkshire. Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group Annual Journal, 42-43.
Crane, E.; Walker, P. (1998) Irish beekeeping in the past. Ulster Folklife, 44: 45-59.
Crane, E.; Walker, P. (2000) Wall recesses for bee hives. Antiquity, 74: 805-811.
Walker, P; Crane, E. (2000) The history of beekeeping in English gardens. Garden History, 28(2): 231-261 [includes a list of sites with structures, by county]
Crane, E; Walker, P. (2001) Winter bee houses and cellars. Local History Magazine, No. 86: 10-13. Also published in Beekeepers Quarterly, No. 68: 12-14 (2002).
Walker, P; Crane, E. (2004) Stone structures used in France for protecting traditional bee hives. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 5: 245-255
Walker, P (2008) Recesses used by traditional beekeepers in Scotland to protect skeps in winter. pp.21-28 in: Vernacular Building 31. Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group. 2007-2008 (Edinburgh: SVBWG)
Walker, P. (2012) Bee boles in Dorset and Somerset. Notes & Queries for Somerset and Dorset, XXXVII (Part 375): 101-110.
Walker, P. (2014) Bee Boles and Other Beekeeping Structures. BBKA News (August): 259-260
Price, M. (2014) Discovering Tayfield Bee-House. IHBC Context, issue 134 (May): 29-31