Heritage Open Days in Cambridgeshire

heritage opens days cambridge museum — The Whipple Library

Make like Harry Potter, and gain access to the Restricted Section of the library at The Whipple Museum on 8 September with a guided tour of their previously banned and rare books as well as scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other material related to the history of science

If books are your thing you’re spoiled for choice in Cambridgeshire with Open Events at a whole host of amazing literary spaces that are usually the reserve of those brainy types who study at the colleges. Top of the list for us are the heritage tours of Trinity’s impressive Wren Library (8 – 16 September), the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College (9 September) and the Bartlam Library at Selwyn on 12 September.

Libraries too quiet for you? How about a tour of the uni with a difference – a behind the scenes visit to the Cambridge University Farm in Madingley on 17 September? This isn’t your typical farm, there’s a dairy herd and sheep flock kept to provide clinical training for students at the Vet School, and an anaerobic digester producing electricity from slurry produced by the dairy cows. Ooh how delightful!

Back to the city centre and Heritage Open Days are a chance to have a nosey around all the colleges you’ve walked past a thousand times but never been in. Step through the historic, guilded doors on an architectural tour of Fitzwilliam College (every day), a visit to Selwyn College and its archives on 12 Sept, a tree trail of Wolfson College (every day) and tours of Westminster College on 17 September.

Tucked away just off Cambridge’s Newmarket Road is a tiny building that’s usually closed to the public – the Leper Chapel. This unassuming little building has. fascinating history. It was built in 1125 as a place of worship for Lepers at an adjacent hospital. Over the centuries it has been used for all sorts of things – that you can discover on 10 September on a guided tour.

Another amazing opportunity is the chance to have a tour of the historic Cambridge Observatory at the Institute of Astronomy on 8 September. You’ll get the chance to see some treasures of the Astronomy Library and visit the dome of the Northumberland Telescope.

Anyone with a head for heights will love the chance to visit the Octagon Tower of Ely Cathedral on 16 September. This evening tour with an experienced guide takes you behind the scenes of the lantern, reveals its fascinating history and opens up the angel doors so you can peer down into the Cathedral. There are a whole host of other Heritage Open Days at Ely Cathedral too if you search for Ely on the website.

Ever looked through the railings at the colleges and wanted to take a closer look at the gorgeous gardens? Well now you can because Heritage Open days includes lots of College Garden Tours so you can snoop around the likes of Selwyn College (15 Sept), Robinson College (15 and 16 Sept), The Fellows’ Garden Guided Tour Trinity College (13 Sept), St John’s College (10 and 16 Sept), Wolfson College garden (13 Sept) and get some green-fingered inspiration and advice from the head gardeners for your own patch.

SUFFOLK

The Bury St Edmunds Guildhall has a fascinating 1000 year history that can be discovered at the open weekend on 16 and 17 September, where live music from local musicians can be enjoyed in the panelled Court Room and the beautiful walled gardens will be open for visitors to enjoy. But if it’s behind-closed-doors kind of excitement you’re after you’ll love the chance to visit the Guildhall ROC Operations Room, home to weird and wonderful technologies that helped secure victory during WW2 – and the last of its kind left in the country.

You can certainly get a hands on experience at the Great War Huts in Hawstead near Bury St Edmunds this September. The Great War Huts include the most accurate reconstruction of the trenches in the country and you can walk through them and discover how it was to live on the front line with everything from dugouts, latrines, observation points, firesteps and a Regimental Aid Post. There’s a special exhibition, Creative Conflict, running as part of HoDs from 9 – 17 September featuring some wonderfully creative artefacts from the Great War Huts collection stretching from the South African War in 1899 to the Falklands War in 1982.

The building might be new, but the historical documents contained within it certainly aren’t… If you’re in Ipswich on 9 or 15 September, make sure to head to The Hold where Suffolk Archives will be running free guided behind the scenes tours with the chance to see some of the most fascinating pieces in the collection in one of the strongrooms. There will also be conservator on hand to talk you through how they preserve and conserve historical items.

If you’d like to see where one of Suffolk’s most famous sons, Benjamin Britten lived, now’s your chance. The Red House in Aldeburgh, where he lived with his partner Peter Pears from 1957 for the rest of his life, is open for an exhibition and chance to look around on the 8, 9, 16 and 17 September.

The historic and eye-catching Guildhall in Hadleigh is usually only open for private events so get yourself over to this lovely town on Saturday 9 Sept for a rare chance to have a look around the Grade-I Listed beauty and its gardens. Dance Historia and Dress and Decorum will be offering displays on the same day in the Grand Hall.

Last, but not least if you’ve ever fancied going behind the curtain at the theatre, now’s your chance with a behind the scenes tour of the Ipswich Regent Theatre on 9 and 10 September. As part of Heritage Open Days you can stand on the same stage a Cliff Richard and see all the parts of the theatre usually reserved for performers.

Secret Suffolk & Cambs – get VIP access at Heritage Open Days

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