Hello Thomas. I have the same book(s) about Buckfast Abbey and I can offer the following: The hives shown in the old photographs (early this century) have pitched roofs, which were common then and a main feature of the traditional British "WBC" hives. Those are the ones with gabled outer coverings, which are very attractive and look like little white houses. They gradually fell out of favor due to their complex and expensive design, and the difficulty in moving them. (They are actually a frame hive within an outer covering of removable boxes.) Now, the "modern" hives used at Buckfast are a modification of the Dadant hive, which is deeper than our Langstroths. That way they run all the colonies on the single, large brood boxes. Br. Adam evidently decided to keep the pitched roof idea, and so the modern hives there have a slight peak to them. These are used with an inner cover ("crown board") or a "quilt" which is the traditional carryover from WBC days. Back then they would use a sheet of canvas or other durable fabric to lay over the frames, under the lid. That has widely been exchanged for a proper inner cover of wood, like we use. The inner covers can then used with bee escapes to free the supers of bees at harvest time. I am not sure whether there is a dead-air space or insulation in the modern Buckfast covers. I don't think the books are clear on its design, either. To me it seems rather elaborate. A plain telescoping cover suits the requirement just as well, and since hives are usually tipped forward slightly to encourage the draining away of moisture, rain or snow will eventually run off even a flat cover. I hope this is somewhat helpful. The Buckfast covers do look nice, and as I recall the design was further intended to allow supers to be set down on the cover (placed on the ground). The front and back boards supply an even surface for supporting removed supers. This is also done with simple flat outer covers, by inverting them on the ground, so the supers can be set across on the edges. Maybe someone who has been to the Abbey and seen the hives being worked could offer us some clear details. Best regards, JWG