Heritage Open Days 2025

About

12 - 21st September | 2025
Various venues in Nottinghamshire
Free Entry

Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture. Every year in September, places across the country throw open their doors to celebrate their heritage, community and history. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE.

• Architecture Walk at the University of Nottingham
  Friday 12 September | 2.00pm – 3.30pm | Pre-booking required
  Enjoy a guided walk around the historic houses and gardens on University Park in Nottingham.
   

• St Mary's Church
  Saturday 13 September | 10am - 4:30pm | No pre-booking required
  During the Heritage Open Days, St Mary's Church is offering Tower tours, brass rubbing, children's activities, guided tours of the church and churchyard, plus refreshments.
   

• The Adams Building
  Saturday 13 September | Tours: 10.00, 11.15, 12.30 & 2.00 | Pre-booking required
  Take a look inside the Adams Building, a Grade II* Listed Building in the heart of Nottingham's Lace Market, not normally open to the public.
   

• Nottinghamshire Archives - Archives Escape 
  Saturday 13 September | 10am, 11am, 1:30pm | Pre-booking preferred 
  A unique opportunity to explore the heritage of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire by solving puzzles and gathering clues around Nottinghamshire Archives.
   

• Newstead Abbey
  Saturday 13 September | 11am - 4pm | No pre-booking required
  Discover the ancestral home of the poet, Lord Byron, with free entry into the house. Originally, built as an Augustinian Priory in the 12th century, becoming the Byron country seat in 1540. Lots to see and do for families.
   

• Mary Potter Heritage Centre
  Saturday 13 September | 1pm – 5pm | Pre-booking not required
  Step into history and explore the Mary Potter Heritage Centre, a place where care, community and faith have shaped both lives and buildings.
   

• The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum
  Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September | 10.00am – 4.00pm | Pre-booking not required
  This beautifully atmospheric house will be open for visitors to explore at their own pace, with costumed guides on hand if you have any questions. Free entry.
   

• Lowdham Signal Box
  13, 14, 20 & 21 September | 11am, 2pm, 4pm | Pre-booking preferred
  See a historic railway signal box and try your hand on the levers. Learn what a signal box is for, and what the signalman did. This year, there will also be signalling demonstrations.
   

• Bagthorpe Gardens
  Sunday 14 September | 12.00pm – 4.00pm | Pre-booking not required
  Enjoy a guided walk through these interesting historical allotments created in the 1840s. Tours will take place at 12.30pm and 2.30pm.
   

• National Justice Musuem - Architecture Tour
  Sunday 14 September | 10:30am, 12pm, 2pm | Pre-booking preferred
  Join one of the expert interpreters for a 45-minute tour of the National Justice Museum and its unique architectural features. Discover the history of this building, the quirks no one notices, and the spaces in the museum most visitors don't get to see.
   

• Walk with an Expert: Blue Plaques – Chilwell + Beyond
  Sunday 14 September | 10.30am | Pre-booking not required
  Take a guided walk around some of the old and new blue plaques - led by local experts Dr Peter Robinson, and Alan Dance.
   

• CWGC Tours 2025 - Nottingham General Cemetery
  Tuesday 16 September | 10.30am | Pre-booking required
  Join the Commonwealth War Graves commission for a free tour of Nottingham General Cemetery.
   

• Wollaton Walled Garden Project
  Tuesday 16 & Thursday 18 September | 11am - 3:30pm | No pre-booking required 
  During this years Heritage Open Days festival, The Wollaton Walled Garden Project aims to conserve the garden’s heritage, offer a place for historic and traditional horticulture, and provide opportunities for learning and education. Volunteers will be working in the garden during the open days and visitors will be able to take self-guided tours, aided by numerous information points.
   

• How To Build Heritage: Architectural Legacy Today + Tomorrow
  Thursday 18 September | 6.30pm | Pre-booking not required
  A panel event with presentations, followed by interactive audience discussion, looking at the environment for living we are creating for ourselves and for future generations.  
   

• Greens Mill Science Centre
  Wednesday 17 - Sunday 21 September | 10am - 4pm | No pre-booking required 
  Join Greens Mill Science Centre for a special exhibition to celebrate Heritage Open Days. Learn more about famous mathematician George Green, view photos of the mill's restoration and read the many press cuttings.
   

• Curator Tour of the exhibition "Country Lives: Exploring the English Countryside from 1800"
  Thursday 18 September | 11am - 12pm | Pre-booking preferred 
  Items from Manuscripts and Special Collections at Lakeside Arts, University of Nottingham, are brought together for the first time to show how writers, artists, tourists, rural communities and workers depicted the countryside and what it meant to different people.
   

• Inspire Nottinghamshire Archives - Behind-the-Scenes Tours
  Thursday 18 September | 10:30am | Pre-booking preferred 
  An introduction to the Archives with a tour of the search room and storage areas. A chance to view some unique and incredible highlights from the collections, including architectural plans and building records.
   

• National Justice Museum - Historical Trail Reenactment 
  Sunday 21 September | 10:30am, 11:30am, 2pm, 3pm | Pre-booking preferred
  For Heritage Open Days, The National Justice Museum are delighted to open one of the rarely seen spaces to the public – our beautiful Civil Courtroom – for a family-friendly mock trial.
   

• Goldsmith Street Masonic Hall - Open Day
  Saturday 20 September | 9.30am – 3.00pm | Pre-booking not required
  Goldsmith Street Masonic Hall, the home of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nottinghamshire, will be opening its doors to the general public. All welcome.
   

• Echoes of the Erewash Canal - Mills Dockyard
  Sunday 21 September | 10.30am – 3.30pm | Pre-booking preferred
  Enjoy a free, family-friendly day of fun, stories, and discovery along the Erewash Canal! Explore hands-on activities, canal heritage, and beautiful waterside spaces.

More events are being added all the time - check back to see what's new, or visit the Heritage Open Days website for more info.