COVID-19 may have pull a brake on automobile production for Rolls-Royce and all other automakers, but another of Rolls-Royce’s production with around 250,000-strong workforce is literally on the buzz. And it is not medical devices that these hardworking “employees” are turning out; it is honey.
So, yeah. Rolls-Royce actually produces honey too, which makes it a literal Rolls-Royce of Honey. Rolls-Royce has a Bee Apiary at the Home of Rolls-Royce over at Goodwood, West Sussex.
The humble, but no less distinguished apiary has only just six hives that are homes to some 250,000 English Honey Bees. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reported that its apiary is set to exceed its 2020 volume targets.
Established in 2017, the six beehives at the Goodwood Apiary are English-crafted, traditional wooden beehives, each with a polished stainless steel nameplate handcrafted in the company’s Bespoke Workshop.
And yes, each hive has its own name, with 5 are named after Rolls-Royce models, namely Phantom, Wraith, Ghost, Dawn and Cullinan, while the 6th is named “Spirit of Ecstasy” – the marque’s mascot.
Not only these “employees” are more in number over their automobile counterparts, they also work in an expansive “factory” – 42 acres of estate with 500,000 trees, shrubs and wildflowers, and 8 acres of sedum plants that grow on the manufacturing plant’s ‘living roof’.
Sometimes, more hardworking and adventurous bees will make their way to the surrounding Goodwood Estate that has further floral specimens to offer.
At the end of each season, the raw honey is hand-processed by local specialists and the final Rolls-Royce of Honey is served to guests of the luxury automaker.
All images courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
