Born: 1836 Bracewell, Yorkshire UK
Died: 1909 (aged 73) London, UK
Nationality: British
William Broughton Carr was a copperplate engraver and printer by trade, an author and beekeeper. He became co-editor of the British Bee Journal, and the Bee-Keepers' Record and Adviser. He contributed some articles which were included postumously in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Best know as the inventor of the WBC Hive which is the only double-walled hive now in general use.
In 1890 William Broughton Carr published details of the WBC hive design, it was an improved version of the existing Cowan hive, and it quickly became extremely popular, mainly because it could be made from the then readily available wooden fruit crates used by greengrocers, the wood used in thin sided fruit boxes had the required thickness for direct use in the WBC, and the outer 'lifts' and roof kept the weather off these relatively flimsy internal boxes.
The double-walls meant that the space between could be packed with straw in the winter which was a common practice at the time, the gap between the inner and outer walls was originally designed to be 3 inches (7.5cm) which is a much larger space than the one used in the present day WBC.
The air space and loose joints of the WBC allowed a good airflow through the hive venting moist air and helping prevent condensation.
The original WBC hive was designed by William Broughton Carr to have straight sides but in 1899 nine years after the original design version came out James Lee of James Lee & Sons began modifying Carr's design so as to have tapered side lifts and this produced the iconic highly recognisable beehive design that we know today.
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Mr W. Broughton Carr (on the right) is seen here posing for a photograph with an examination candidate for the BBKA's then Expert's Certificate. The hive appears to be the originial WBC design with it's straigiht sides rather than the taper sided lifts we know today. Many beekeepers avoid using WBC's owing to the inconvenience of having to remove the outer lifts before the hive can even begin to be examined and also the extra cost of it's manufacture as fruit no longer comes in those convieniently built thin sided wooden crates, the wood has to be specifically cut and worked. If you need to add another box or boxes to the inside of your hive you have to add additional outer 'lifts' as well
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Ask anyone to draw a bee hive and they will probably draw the outline of a WBC.