Celebrate Heritage Open Days 2023 ‘England’s Largest Festival of History and Culture’ in Lancaster
Every September the National Heritage Open Days scheme promotes a wide range of landmarks across the country, opening to visitors free of charge. The festival allows the public to discover hidden places, explore local landmarks, and hopefully gain a newfound appreciation for the local and historic built environment.
Established in 1994, Heritage Open Days is England’s contribution to the European Heritage Days and has since grown into the country’s largest community heritage festival. During the event volunteers nationwide organise events to celebrate England’s fantastic history and culture.
Heritage assets accessible for exploration in Lancaster and Morecambe include Lancaster’s Grand Theatre, Lancaster Priory, St John the Evangelist, Quernmore Hall Park, Judges Lodgings, King Street Studios and Lancaster Friends Meeting House.
Guided walks of Ryelands Park exploring Lord Ashton’s legacy and tours of Lancaster’s Historic Mill Race area will also be taking place, in addition to events held at The Storey Gardens and Lancaster Central Library.
The Grand Theatre, for whom HPA completed extensive repairs to the external façade, is one of the UK’s oldest working theatres, operating for over 240 years.
The theatre’s wide-ranging and colourful history will be highlighted, and the creativity of the amateurs celebrated on Sunday 10th September. There will be numerous family friendly activities and guided walking tours for the event.
The Heritage Open Days 2023 take place from the 8th – 16th September, with the full list of events available here.
