It’s time to start booking your Heritage Open Day tours
For a couple of weeks in September, thousands of buildings across the UK, mostly outside London, are open to the public.
The Heritage Open Days is a UK-wide version of the London Open House events, and while the vast majority are open to wander in and look around, some need booking in advance. They range from old buildings to theatres to sewage pumping stations.
Some are taking bookings now, but many won’t be for a week or two, so now is the time to plan your day trips to (mostly) outside London, and put notes in your diary for when the tickets are released.
My personal tip is to find something you really want to visit, then check their website for all the other buildings in the area that are also open. For smaller towns, that’s mainly churches, but the larger towns and cities can easily fill a day out.
The full search is here. There is also a selection of regional lists here.
Below is the current list of venues that caught my eye. More may be added closer to the date.
Happy hunting.
Berkshire
Fri 6th Sept
A special opportunity to visit the Abbey Gateway and learn about this listed building’s fascinating history and its role in the Abbey Quarter.
Booking needed
Sat 7th Sept
Tour of the University of Reading’s Great Hall on the London Road campus
For the first time, the University Great Hall is open to the public this year. It will give an opportunity to hear about its history, view the organ, enjoy the architecture and the internal decor, and to see behind the scenes backstage.
Booking needed
Sun 8th Sept
Tour of Foxhill House at the Whiteknights campus
Foxhill House is a fine example of mid-Victorian architecture. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, it is situated on raised ground near the northern corner of the University’s Whiteknights campus overlooking the meadows down to the lake.
Booking needed
Taplow Court, a mid 19th-century mansion set high above the Thames near Maidenhead, and its grounds will be open to the public
Sat 14th Sept
Visit the Council Chamber & see the Town Hall’s history, civic regalia, portraits and the Roll of Honour of Mayors back to 1596. Meet the Mayor, Councillors and Civic Team members who can talk to you about the fascinating history of the Town Hall.
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
Decontamination Suite, Greenham Air Base
A rare opportunity to gain access to the Decontamination Suite that formed part of the Cold War US Airbase at Greenham Common with guided tours through the facility explaining the history of the building.
Buckinghamshire
Wed 11th Sept
A rare chance to see inside the Gothic Temple, a splendid folly built in 1741 by architect James Gibbs. Enjoy free entry to both National Trust Stowe and Gothic Temple as part of Heritage Open Days.
Booking needed
Essex
Sat 14th Sept
Essex Record Office Behind-the-Scenes Tours
The Essex Record Office is the county archive service for Essex and holds primary sources including written archives, maps and drawings, photographs, and recorded sound and video. Find out about the work of the ERO and its collections.
Booking needed
Colchester possesses one of the finest and most imposing town halls in England which reveals in its architecture the history of Britain’s newest city.
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
A wonderfully atmospheric smithy where the eccentric Victorian blacksmith Dick Nunn spent his working life. Its smoke-stained walls, dusty bellows and heat-cracked hearth are witness to the passing years.
Sun 15th Sept
Colne Valley Postal History Museum
Housed in the gardens of a large suburban house in the pleasant Essex town of Halstead, the collection has been built up over a number of years by one man and now comprises 165 ex-British Post Office and Overseas Postal Administration letter boxes together with 25 Stamp Vending Machines, documents, bicycles, uniforms and associated artefacts.
Hertfordshire
Sat 7th and Sun 8th Sept
A rare opportunity to visit the Grade I listed 11th/12th century St Leonards Church In Bengeo, Hertford. Described by Pevsner as “a rare example of a virtually intact Norman village church”
Sun 8th and Sun 15th Sept
BFI National Film & Television Archive
See the specialist skills and knowledge involved in preserving the film, TV & screen heritage of the nation. They will host tours, demos and exhibits, all celebrating the BFI collection and the people who work to maintain it.
Booking needed
Greater London
Sat 7th Sept
Conservation open house at the British Library
A behind-the-scenes view of the British Library Centre for Conservation and learn about the work conservators do to help preserve and make the Library’s collections accessible.
Booking needed
British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum
Celebrate Britain’s electronics industry. Join a tour to explore our vast collection of radio and television receivers and historic recordings through which we learn of the contributions the industry has made to UK society.
Booking needed
Sat 14th Sept
The Hidden Secrets of Richmond Old Town Hall
Opened in 1893 as a headquarters for the newly formed Richmond Council, this elegant former Town Hall now houses the borough’s archives, Local Studies and Reference libraries, and the Museum of Richmond. Learn more about the history of the building in this free tour.
St Mary’s Church Lewisham Open Days
Visit parts of church that are not fully accessable to the public. This includes the crypt and well under the church and also the ringing chamber in the tower of the church.
Free heritage bus rides in southeast London
Ride free on old buses in southeast London on bus routes 61 and 261, between Lewisham, Bromley and Chislehurst.
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
Chapel and crypt visits provide a rare opportunity to learn more about the Anglican chapel and the crypt beneath. There will also be general cemetery tours on both days and a woodland walk on the Sunday. Homemade refreshments will be available.
The Landmark Trust’s Princelet Street is opening for the first time since 2022, being usually occupied by holiday guests. This spacious house, sensitively restored still reflects its 18th-century roots in a vibrant and ever-changing East London.
Sun 15th Sept
Open Day at UK Professional Body for Optometry, including preview of a further newly-refurbished room of the British Optical Association Museu
Kent
Sun 8th Sept
Dover Marine Station & Admiralty Pier
Guided tour of Dover Marine Station and Admiralty Pier. Marine station, now Dover Cruise Terminal 1, was completed in 1914 and used extensively during World War I to move troops and the wounded.
Booking needed
Sun 8th to Sun 15th Sept
The towers are open for the first time in many years after an extensive conservation project. Meet the team to learn more of the history while exploring inside the towers.
Fri 13th to Sun 15th Sept
Augustus Pugin’s Ramsgate: The Grange and St Edward’s Presbytery
The Grange was built by Augustus Pugin, designer of the Palace of Westminster, in 1843-4 as his family home. The Grange offers total immersion in the Gothic Revival style – a must for any fan of the Victorian era.
Sat 14th Sept
A rare opportunity to explore Fort Burgoyne and discover more about the site’s history and it’s diverse range of wildlife. Parade ground, stables, terreplein and some casemates will be available to explore at your leisure. Tours of restricted access
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
The Grand Shaft staircase will be open for self guided walks up and down the unique and fascinating triple helix staircase hidden inside Dover’s white Cliffs
Oxfordshire
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
The old ticket office at Culham is one of the best preserved of Brunel’s characteristic and charmingly designed small country station buildings, and the only survivor of this particular Tudor Revival design. The office is Grade II* listed and retains many of it’s original features including, large fireplace, glass ticket window, unique architectural details and original 1844 work tops.
Surrey
Sat 7th Sept
Keymer Handmade Clay Roof Tiles & Wienerberger Factory Tour
Wienerberger’s Ewhurst factory is one of the largest brick manufacturing sites in the South East of England. The site opened in the 1920s and has an overall site area in excess of 350 acres including large areas of historic woodland and farmland, which help to screen the quarry and factory operations.
Sat 7th, Sun 8th, Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
British Railways Woking Electrical Control Room
A guided tour of this building which was constructed for British Railways electrification in the 1930s for the purpose of the power distribution network and contains several original Art Deco features.
Booking needed
Sun 8th Sept
Despite some later alterations, the medieval undercroft at Reigate survives well with much original medieval masonry. It is a good example of an urban medieval domestic building with well-preserved interior stonework and provides a significant testament to the early history of the town.
Sat 14th and Sun 15th Sept
Semaphore Tower is a unique remnant from the Napoleonic era, the Grade II* listed brick structure is the only surviving semaphore tower in Britain
Booking needed
Sat 14th Sept
The Lovelace Mausoleum is a unique feature of St Martin’s Churchyard. It was built by William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace (1805-1893) who almost certainly designed the mausoleum itself as he was a accomplished architect as well as a wealthy landowner. East Horsley is known as the ‘Lovelace Village’ given the distinctive architectural style imbued on the village by the Earl featuring red and black-fired bricks with flint decoration.
Take a tour of the Grade II listed Guildhall’s main rooms and the former magistrate’s court. See archive materials relating to the building of the Guildhall
Booking needed
Sun 15th Sept
Take a backstage tour of this hidden gem of a theatre sited in a set of WWII Army barracks
Explore Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London, welcomes you to explore our spectacular Grade I Listed Founder’s Building, Picture Gallery, Chapel and extensive grounds.
Sussex
Sat 7th to Sun 1th Sept
Set in one of England’s most famous views, this is a rare opportunity to see and learn about this ‘haven of history’. It played its part in the development of worldwide communications and the defending England’s shore in WWII
Wed 11th and Sat 14th Sept
Catch a behind-the-scenes look at this old theatre before taking in an exhibition of historic material.
Booking needed
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