Heritage Open Days is the name of England’s largest Heritage Festival. Bigger than that, it is part of Europe’s Heritage days and has been running since 1994. Around 50 countries take place in the event each year!
In England, there is a national team who support the event, underpinned by the National Trust and private partnerships, but the festival itself is locally driven and organised by volunteers and building owners. Both a local resident and tourist attraction, the Heritage Open Days offer a glimpse into our iconic buildings and a chance to experience our heritage, history, and culture. Many of the buildings are not normally open to the public.
In Ipswich, the event has been running for three decades and has been delivered by The Ipswich Society The Ipswich Society » The Ipswich Society. This year, they are taking a break and the All About Ipswich team has stepped in to run the event https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on.html
By registering their individual buildings on the Heritage Open Days’ national website, owners and operators of our iconic town structures agree to participate in the event. This year we have 22 participating buildings around the whole Town.
- Sailing Barge Victor, outside Custom House
- Masters House, 19 Lower Brook Street
- The Hold – home of Suffolk Archives
- New Wolsey Theatre
- Ipswich Regent Theatre
- Ipswich Town Hall and Corn Exchange
- Ipswich Magistrates Court, Elm Street
- Ipswich School, Henley Road
- St Margaret’s Church
- St Peter’s by the Waterfront
- Ipswich County Library
- The Admiral’s House, Tower Street
- Unitarian Meeting House
- Christchurch Mansion
- Ipswich Citadel (Salvation Army) Woodbridge Road
- Broomhill Pool
- Fore Street Pool
- Pykenham’s Gatehouse
- Bethesda Baptist Church
- Christ Church United Reformed Baptist Church
- Ipswich Masonic Hall
- Woolverstone Hall
Specific to the Maritime Heritage elements on Saturday, 7th September 2024 10am – 5pm, take a look at these highlights:
11am: Book signing: Band of Brothers Directory of Bargemen, by Barry Girling, on board Victor
11.45am: Unveiling of maritime heritage information board by the Deputy Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Lynne Mortimer, at the Old Custom House
12 noon: Sea shanties with the Shefarers and the Orwellermen, on board Victor
Celebrate our Maritime Heritage by exploring sailing Barge Victor, moored alongside the Old Custom House, looking round the exhibition of amazing images from
Ipswich’s past, at the Old Custom House (by kind permission of ABP) and visiting the Ipswich Maritime Trust’s Window Museum on Albion Quay, Ipswich IP4 1FN (Open 24/7)
The National Heritage Festival runs over 06/09/2024 – 15/09/2024, but each venue opens at different times during the period, so please do check the website for each location’s participation.
Check out the page and search for all event timings in Ipswich: What’s on? (heritageopendays.org.uk)
Who wrote this about Ipswich?
Sam Sherman
Sam is a Co-Founder of Ipswich.love. Passionate about Ipswich, Sam looks to see how we might jointly reverse some of the recent negativity and bring some deserved positivity back to our beloved Town.
No Comments
If comments are open, feel free to leave a comment below. You need to register to comment on posts. We’re all about the love & whilst we welcome your comments, we will not tolerate any abusive language or hate speech. Play nicely, people.