Weird Museums: The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence
In a small town in the south part of Wales, up two flights of stairs and behind a residential apartment door lies an ode to one of the world’s most beloved foods. The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence in Port Talbot, Wales, draws hundreds of visitors every year - and for good reason.
Personally, I have never cared much for beans of any variety. I think it’s a texture thing. So, for those of you who, like me, might be unfamiliar with the semantics of baked beans, buckle in for a little history lesson.
While baked beans are traditionally thought of as a British staple it should surprise absolutely no one that colonists actually stole the dish from Native Americans in the 17th century. Native Americans typically cooked their beans in bear fat and sweetened it with maple sugar, allowing it to bake in earthenware pots buried in holes in the earth lined with hot rocks. Apparently this reminded colonists of their beloved peas porridge back home, so they added tons of sugar and called it their own.
Baked beans were one of the first canned convenience foods and rose to international popularity in the early 20th century. Unsurprisingly, the majority of canned baked beans today are consumed in the UK as an essential part of the full English breakfast. Sadly, canned baked beans are not actually baked and everything is a lie.
Back to Port Talbot. In 1954 this quiet little town was graced with the birth of one Barry Kirk. Growing up, the quiet, reserved Barry was often the target of schoolyard bullies. He didn’t mind being laughed at, but he wanted to take the meanspiritedness out of it. A new persona started to form.
In 1986, Mr. Kirk found himself entranced by something he saw in the Guinness Book of World Records: someone setting a record for sitting in a bath of custard. Something about this idea clicked, and he started the search for the material of his own record-breaking bath. Ultimately, he landed on - you guessed it - baked beans. His goal was to sit in a bathtub full of cold baked beans for a whopping 100 hours straight.
But Barry Kirk was not interested in doing this stunt for fame or fanfare; no, instead he turned the whole thing into a charity event. The audience could pour a can of baked beans onto him for £1 each. When all was said and done, Barry had raised over £1500 for a local charity. This was only the beginning.
Once he’d showered and thawed out (canned beans are cold and 100 hours is a long time), the dynamic of his small town had shifted just a bit; kids started recognizing him as the bean man, and Barry was thrilled. This was what his childhood self had been waiting for: all those dreams of a career in superheroism were falling into place. He could finally separate the laughter and joy from the contempt.
Soon, a superhero was born: Barry Kirk became Captain Beany (literally - he changed his legal name). His Wikipedia page describes him as “a Welsh eccentric and charity fundraiser” and I genuinely can’t think of a higher compliment. Over time, Captain Beany achieved his final form: painted entirely orange, decked out in an orange muscle-suit complete with cape, boots, gloves, and sunglasses. As his following grew, so did his charitable donations; he began to run in marathons all over the world to raise money for organizations close to his heart.
In 2009 the Captain found himself with an emptier apartment than he would’ve liked after his mother passed away. Recognizing he needed to do something to help him surface from the depression of losing someone he loved so much, he says he thought to himself “Well, it’s my flat now. Let’s make the most of it.” (Source) And so began the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence.
The two-bedroom apartment is now completely orange and serves as the world’s first and only museum devoted to baked beans. Since it still serves as the Captain’s primary residence, all museum-goers must schedule their visit ahead of time and are treated to a personal tour from Captain Beany himself. Hundreds of items adorn the shelves and reveal the history and cultural importance of the dish, but, without having been there myself, I would wager that the main attraction is the man himself. Hundreds of reviews on the internet sing his praises, frequently and earnestly using such words as “fascinating,” “inspiring,” “genuine,” and “kind.”
Aided by their superhero of a tour guide, visitors are presented with ample photo ops: there are bean puns and props galore. There is even a Captain Beany original invention: “the world’s first and trademarked flatulent odour removal system named – FARTA TRAPPA!” according to his website, which serves as one of the more popular options for fan photos.
Since the museum is technically a primary residence, Captain Beany is not legally allowed to charge admission. And while he jokes that being a superhero doesn’t exactly pay well, he has raised and donated over £100,000 through the years via museum donations and charity fundraising. In one of the most notable of these fundraisers, he tattooed 60 beans on his bald head and auctioned off the opportunity for donors to have their initials permanently inscribed on his scalp.
I emailed Captain Beany with some questions and, wonderful human that he is, he was happy to oblige. Unfortunately, he’s received news that he will need to vacate his apartment indefinitely for renovations and is unsure of the fate of the museum. We’re checking to see if there is anything we can do to help or fundraise for this man who has given so much back to his community, and will keep this post updated. One day we hope to see the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence in all its glory, but, until then, the short documentaries linked below will have to hold us over.
Sources and Furthering Reading:
Wikipedia Entry on Captain Beany
Short Documentary: Captain Beany by Fluid Films
Wales is Home to the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence by Michell Debczak @ Mental Floss
Baked Bean Museum of Excellence from Atlas Obscura
Superhero from Wales | Captain Beany by Sophie Perrins | Documentary Short Film | Random Acts
Listen to our podcast episode about the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence here