This September you will get your annual opportunity to step into the past and find out more about the 2000 years of history that has made the North East the vibrant place that it is today!
As part of Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days 2010, from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th September, you can visit and take part in over 200 buildings and activities – all for free!
Heritage Open Days is organised nationally by English Heritage. It is the nation’s biggest free celebration of architecture, history and culture and has taken place annually in the UK since September 1994. It is part of European Heritage Days, a much larger collection of similar events across Europe taking place annually around the same time, which are run as a Council of Europe initiative. The event allows the public a chance to visit heritage sites free of charge, that are usually not open or that charge a fee.
In Tyne & Wear, the co-ordination of the event is led by Newcastle City Council, but also involves the Councils of Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, with Buttress – The Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust, English Heritage, Newcastle Association of City Guides, Sunderland Heritage & Local History Forum and volunteers. However, the weekend is only made possible by the generous time and effort of all the volunteers at the participating buildings, tours and talks.
Last year’s event was a huge success. Nationally over one million people from all walks of life took advantage of the 3,500+ properties, tours and events participating during Heritage Open Days 2009 to celebrate and explore the built environment of their community or region. In Tyne and Wear there were a record 58,265 visits to the 208 properties, tours and talks that participated.
This year, building on the success of previous years, the Tyne and Wear event is bigger and better! Throughout the County over 200 buildings, tours and talks have already confirmed that they are taking part in the weekend. Here is just a taster of what you can see and participate in…..
In Gateshead interesting events such as a quiz on ‘How Well Do You Know Gateshead?’, a walk around ‘Addison, Hedgefield and Stella’ and a talk on ‘How to Fix a Bridge in Four Minutes’ are taking place, along with buildings such as The Banqueting House at Gibside, Winlaton Forge and HMS Calliope all opening their doors.
In Newcastle buildings such as Jesmond Dene Real Tennis Club, St George’s Church in Jesmond and 733 Squadron Air Cadets at Kingston Park will be open, as well as events such as ‘Children at War! in the City Library, a ‘Greasepaint and Celluloid’ walk around Newcastle and a ‘Tunnels, Tall Tales and a Toffee Factory’ walk in the Ouseburn taking place.
In North Tyneside events such a ‘Clifford’s Fort Walk’, a ‘Preston Cemetery Guided Walk’ and a ‘Ryder and Yates Tour’ are all taking place, as well as the Grand Hotel in Tynemouth, the Spanish City Dome in Whitley Bay and Tynemouth Priory Theatre opening free of charge.
In South Tyneside buildings such as St Bede’s RC Church, South Tyneside Recycling Village and Souter Lighthouse will all be open, with events such as ‘ Marching with Maximus’ at Arbeia Roman Fort, ‘From Pictures to Pixels – Images of South Tyneside’s Heritage’ and guided tours around South Shields Town Hall in its Centenary year all taking place.
In Sunderland events such as the ‘Codex Amiatinus’ at the City Library, ‘A Talk on Sunderland Illuminations 1936-1980s’ and the ‘Geology and Flora of Mowbray Park’ will be taking place with buildings such as Langham Tower and Clifton Hall, Fulwell Windmill and Sunderland Empire all open to tour inside.
A Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days 2010 Guide giving details of all the participating buildings, tours and talks throughout Tyne and Wear will be available at all local Tourist Information Centres and Libraries from the beginning of August 2010. In addition, information about the event will be online on the fully revised local website www.twhods.org.uk also available from the beginning of August 2010.
Some properties and activities will require pre-booking, others recommend booking to avoid disappointment. The majority you can just turn up at. Where pre-booking is required, telephone numbers will be provided within the relevant listing to allow you to reserve a place. You will only be able to make pre-bookings from the beginning of August when the 2010 Tyne and Wear booklet is available throughout the County and the 2010 website is on-line. NO BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN BEFORE THIS TIME.
Do you have an idea for a Heritage Open Days property or activity? You will find details of how to participate and obtain a registration pack at www.heritageopendays.org Alternatively contact Fiona Cullen, Heritage Officer, Newcastle City Council on 0191 277 7192 or at fiona.cullen@newcastle.gov.uk or you can download the following documents as PDFs:
The first deadline for registration to guarantee inclusion in the Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Day booklet is 1st May 2010
Last year, there were a record 4,100 buildings and sites open, which were co-ordinated by 1,463 organisers and involved 4,000 volunteers. From the information submitted, English Heritage has estimated that approximately 1,060,000 visitors took part in the event.
The 2009 event in Tyne and Wear involved an amazing 208 properties, tours and events which generated a record 58,265 visits.
‘The booklet and the website were excellent in the standard of information and ease of use. They made the planning of visits an interesting exercise in itself and enabled the time available being maximised. Well done to those who produced the information.’; ‘
I had three great days, each site was interesting and guides were very helpful. I just wish this heritage weekend lasted a week; there is so much to see. Thank you for bringing this every year.’
‘Fantastic weekend of events and opportunities. I can’t wait for the next one. Really feel like I have seen some bits of hidden Newcastle over the past few days. Well done for making it all happen’
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It’s simple:
Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days would like to thank the Northern Rock Foundation for recognising the importance of this event within the region and agreeing to support its development and promotion for another three years. The grant assistance from the Northern Rock Foundation will ensure the production of the excellent Tyne and Wear booklet and development of the Tyne and Wear website until 2009