From Pebble Safaris to WW1 Roadshows and medicinal gardens, the North East reveals its historic secrets as part of the Heritage Open Days 2014 weekend.
This year, Heritage Open Days is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and there are plenty of ways to join the party before the weekend itself. Log on to www.heritageopendays.org.uk/news to enter the Cake Bake or Selfie Challenge, or simply plan your weekend by choosing from guided tours, family-friendly themed events, fairs and festivals.
Over 300 free events are taking place around the North East, and just by visiting you play a role in keeping local history alive.
Thursday 11th – Sunday 14th September
www.heritageopendays.org.uk
Bowes & Gilmonby Parish Hall & Village Tour, Bowes
The boarding schools in Bowes village provided the inspiration for Dickens’ ‘village of Dotheboys’ in Nicholas Nickleby. Several buildings are still standing, including Dotheboys Hall itself. Bowes’ other claim to fame is the early 18th century Edwin and Emma story, a real-life Romeo and Juliet romance which ended with the lovers buried in the same grave under. David Mallet, a contemporary of Samuel Johnson, wrote the famous ballad some years later. Join a walking tour and see photos and information in Dotheboys Hall.
Saturday-Sunday 9am-6pm, Walks 11.30 & 3.30pm
Dunston Staiths, Gateshead
New for 2014, Visitors will be able to walk on Dunston Staiths for the first time in over 20 years. Opened by the North Eastern Railway company in 1893, Dunston Staiths on the River Tyne is believed to be the largest timber structure in Europe. At the height of its usage, 5.5 million tonnes of coal a year were taken by rail from the Durham coalfields and loaded from the Staiths onto thips waiting by the river. It is currently on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register and there are plans to make this iconic structure into a sustainable visitor attraction.
Friday 12-4pm, Saturday/Sunday 10.30am-3.30pm
Pebble Safari, Seaham
New for 2014, this family event gives an insight into the geography of the coast around Seaham and its industrial heritage through its beach. Each session begins with a general hunt for interesting pebbles, using a ‘shopping list’. Pebbles placed on trays are then identified by activity leaders, who will tell the stories behind both industrial materials and geology. Pebbles will be tested for relative hardness, followed by games and pebble art. There will be a prize for the most perfect pebble!
Saturday 11.30 & 13.30, Sunday 13.30
Dilston Physic Garden, Corbridge
Explore this medicinal herb garden with over 800 plants and learn about their wonderful healing powers. See, touch and smell hundreds of different medicinal plants, find out which medicinal plants (or compounds in them) are proven to work and discover their different eols – from folklore & magic to medical herbalism, chemistry, biology & medicine. See health-related artistic sculptures collected by the Physic Garden or relax on one of the few chamomile lawns in the country.
Sunday 11am-4pm
Hidden Hexham Concert, Northumberland
Alistair Anderson will lead Hexham Village Band and the Jazz Jammers in a special Heritage Open Days performance of his composition “Hidden Hexham,” in the north transept of Hexham Abbey. The concert will also include recently-written songs, from material discovered during the Hexham Archive project, about some of the more notorious of Hexham’s characters from the 17th to 19th centuries. An opportunity to see the newly-opened Hexham Abbey Visitor Centre.
Saturday 11.45-3pm
Hylton Castle, Sunderland
Hylton Castle is the remains of a 14th century fortified country residence built by the Hylton Family. The Gatehouse forms the main building where visitors gain access to the inside. The 13th century structure of St Catherines Chapel is also sited within the castle grounds and was the original burial site for the Hylton Family. The Castle is normally closed to the general public, therefore, this is your chance to gain access to the inside of the building
Saturday/Sunday 10am-2pm
Teesdale WW1 Roadshow, Middleton In Teesdale
This will be a general introduction to the First World War and how it affected the lives of the local population. Visitors are invited to bring along personal memorabilia that directly relates to the local area, WW1 or that era. Experts will be on hand to give advice and information them about their items, and each item can be recorded by a photographer and stored on a database. There will be an exhibition in November of everything we find, and people will be invited to display their items.
Saturday/Sunday 10am-4pm
Cells at GOTH, Gateshead
New for 2014, visitors are invited to come and experience the atmosphere of Victorian police cells! East Street Art members based in studios at GOTH are installing work in the cells, ranging from textile pieces to projections, all linked to the history of the building and the area. Historical information will also be available on everything from the cells themselves to local police, crime and dignitaries!
Thursday-Sunday 10am-4pm
LGBT Walking Tour, Newcastle upon Tyne
Lesbian and gay history has often been overlooked, forgotten or lost but times are changing and (at least in Britain) the past lives of lesbians and gay men are being researched and recorded. Join this theatrical walking tour to learn about the social and legislative frameworks that have surrounded lesbian and gay lives from the beginnings of urban life. The tour uses performance, recordings and film to imagine what gay life in Newcastle might have been like from the 16th-21st centuries.
Saturday Tour 11.00-12.30
Tommy’s Story, Houghton-le-Spring
Space 4 and Houghton Heritage Society present Tommy’s story, a First World War story of a North East soldier and his brother, told in photograhps and documents. Exhibition to be launched in Space4, on the ground floor of the Houghton library building. The exhibition will be complemented by music and refreshments and other people’s stories in words and pictures are welcome to be added to the display.
Friday/Saturday 12.30-1.30 Sunday 10.30-11.30
