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Venues across Fenland and Cambridgeshire will be throwing their doors open to the public for free as part of the Heritage Open Days event.
Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture returns from September 9 to 18.
It is England’s largest festival of history and culture and this year HODs will honour the English inventions and innovations we can’t live without.
Each year, places across the country throw open their doors and give people the chance to see hidden places and try new experiences for free.
There are dozens of venues open across Cambridgeshire and you can find a full list on the Heritage Open Days website here.
Those locally that will be welcoming visitors include the following:
Stonea Camp, The Stitches, Stonea, PE15 0FD. Stonea Camp is Britain’s lowest lying Iron Age Hill Fort, it was a feasting and ritual site for Boudicca’s Iceni Tribe.
As part of the HODs, Heritage, Culture & Community (HCC) Stonea will be presenting two guided tours.
One on the afternoon of Saturday, September 10 and the next on the afternoon of Sunday September 11. Both tours will start at 2pm and will be finished by 4pm. All are welcome to go along and walk in the footsteps of Boudicca at Stonea Camp, discover what archaeology tells us today about the site and what we are yet to discover.
Wisbech St Peter and St Paul's, Church and tower. The church and tower will be open Saturday September 17 from
10am to 4pm. In the church, Bridget Holmes will be on hand to answer questions. Guided tours will be available at 11am and 2pm. Refreshments and cake will be available.
In addition the church will be offering tours of the bell tower on Saturday September 17 by Martin Slough and his team from 10am hrs to 4pm. Access will be restricted for safety reasons and will not include the top of the tower.
There will also be a chance to see and hear the 10 bells cast by William Dobson in 1823 and to watch bell-ringers practising their art.
No booking is required but visitors must be fit and able and children must be accompanied by an adult.
The church is holding a Last Night at the Proms on September 10 - tickets, which include refreshments, are £8 and are available on 01945 430586 or 07538875884. The event, which will include performances from the King's Lynn town Band and guest soprano Anneli Killen starts at 7pm.
Wisbech Masonic Centre in The Crescent, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire will be open over three days: September 16, 17 and 18 from 11am to 4pm.
Visitors will be able to view the Masonic meeting rooms and to learn about what Freemasonry does, its local heritage and charitable giving. Experienced members will be available to give guided tours and provide advice and guidance to any visitor wishing to know more about joining. Complimentary hot and cold drinks will be available along with biscuits and cake.
The building, which is listed, was originally a Methodist chapel with many features of the original building still visible.
Wisbech Heritage Centre, 7 York Row is offering a range of activities including the opportunity for people to pick up a map and use it as a guide around the historic town. Details of blue plaques and special boards around the town celebrating the people and places born or who lived in Wisbech throughout history.
There are a number of people born in Wisbech who went on to change the world, quite literally. Find the plaque, and then see online more of their interesting careers.
On Tuesday September 13 there is a chance to see traditional home crafts from the Fens in action and a small exhibition. Home crafts that have long been part of Fenland tradition. Rag rugs in particular and also drop spindle spinning. The event runs from 1pm to 3pm and no booking is required.
On Monday September 12, Tuesday (13) and Wednesday (14) from 10am to 3pm an exhibition using the well known Geoff Hastings photographs/drawings of Wisbech and comparing it to today.Wisbech Projects CIC is creating an Eco Hub and Heritage Centre in Wisbech - the creative space for the community. Supporting local authors, artists and heritage organisations. No booking required.
On Saturday and Sunday September 10 and 11 Wisbech Historic Friends Meeting House, 21 North Brink is giving people a chance to see inside this historic building and secluded grave yard at back of the property. The present Meeting House was designed and built by Algernon Peckover in 1854 but Quakers have been worshiping on this site since 1711. There is a photo of the previous building.
Behind the Meeting House is a grave yard where all the Peckovers, who died in Wisbech are buried including the last to die, Alexandrina, in 1948.
There is also the very unusual and unique grave of Jane Stuart, natural child of James II. She spent most of her life living in Wisbech as a Quaker.
There are free leaflets about the building and the Quakers of Wisbech and you can get a book about Jane Stuart for £5 The event runs from 1pm to 3pm both days and no booking is required.
Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House7 South Brink, Wisbech will be openon Thursday September 15 from 1pm to 4pm to the public to showcase its new rooms and new information about this fascinating woman who was born in this house in Wisbech.
The house will be open for the first time since lockdown and has had some new displays created and others re-organised. Take this opportunity to see the story of this remarkable woman and her lifetime of achievements in the fields of social housing, army cadets and amenity societies, leading to the founding of the National Trust, who co-ordinate Heritage Open Days.
Town Hall, Wisbech Town Council, 1 North Brink will open two weekends (September 10 and 11 and September 17 and 18) from 10am to 4pm to offer people the chance to visit the historic Council Chamber, built in 1811 and receive information regarding the history of the town and the building from a member of Wisbech Town Council.
Town Councillor Nick Meekins will show visitors the Council Chamber, pointing out documents and other items of interest. He will provide information about the town and some of its "famous" historical inhabitants.Event
Wisbech Corn Exchange - Shaping the Future, the Corn Exchange on North Brink will be open on Saturday September 17 from 11am to 4pm.
Discover and have your say on initial plans towards the future of this iconic local building. See the latest plans. Share your memories with us. - Did you see The Rolling Stones play here..? - Have your say and hear about the £3,000 fundraising goal!
Built in 1811, following plans by Joseph Medworth, as an Exchange Hall and Gentlemen’s Club, the Corn Exchange became home to Wisbech Town Council in 1835, where it remains resident to the present day.
In the latter years of the 20th century, the Corn Exchange became a regular place for public entertainment – from Shakespeare recitations to dancing, rollerskating, wrestling and bingo. Appearances by major figures in the 1960s include The Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lulu, Tom Jones, Adam Faith, Frankie Vaughan and The Hollies. The Corn Exchange closed in the early 1990s after initial plans to change its use to a cinema were halted. But now it's time to repair, revitalise and relaunch Wisbech Corn Exchange!
This year the trust has completed a Project Viability Assessment supported by financial assistance from The Architectural Heritage Fund, the first stage toward realising the objectives and aims of the trust. We are now planning for Stage 2, the key stage before submitting our Planning Application. It's time for YOU to get involved and have your say in bringing Wisbech Corn Exchange back to life!
Donations are most welcome - if you would like to support our £3,000 fundraising goal, please donate here: https://www.paypal.com/GB/fundraiser/charity/4285424.
Wisbech General Cemetery, 26B North End - the restored chapel and the old cemetery containing over 6,500 graves, dating back to 1836, will be open and people from Wisbech Society and the Friends of Wisbech General Cemetery will be on hand to answer any questions on Sunday September 11 11.30am to 2.30pm.
The cemetery was first created in 1836 and the chapel was opened in 1848. In the past five years the chapel which was derelict and without a roof or doors was restored by Wisbech Society using Heritage Lottery funding.
The Friends continue to look after the cemetery diligently cutting back the vegetation and maintaining the paths. There will be informative guided walks around the cemetery at 11.30am and 2.30pm by the chair of the Friends,
A recently completed feature this year are the rescued rear doors to the long demolished Octagon Church in Old Market which are now hung and displayed in their own shelter.
Tydd Pumping Station, Station Road, Tydd Gote is offering a rare opportunity to visit the pumping station run by the North Level District Internal Drainage Board on Saturday September 17 from 10am to 4pm.
Learn about the role of the Drainage Board in safeguarding thousands of acres of land from flooding.
Designed by R.B. Grantham, Son and Farran in 1936 and commissioned in 1937/39, Tydd Pumping Station serves an area of 15,380 hectares protecting agricultural land, industrial units and residential properties. The six pumps are capable of discharging a staggering 1,276 tons of water per minute from the North Level Main Drain into the River Nene.
The 1936 design incorporated four diesel-powered pumps, with additional pumps being installed in 1950 and 1986, to increase capacity following local flooding. The original engines were replaced in 2007.
Visitors will be able to explore the Pumping Station, learn about its role in the drainage of the area, view a static display of the work of the North Level District Internal Drainage Board, talk to the people who keep us safe from flooding and see the pumps in action. The pumps will run at 12pm and 2pm.
Refreshments will be available and guided walks along the North Level Main Drain and around Foul Anchor will set off at 10.30am and 12.45pm. No booking requited.
Ramsey Rural Museum will be open on Sunday September 11am to 5pm. The museum is a community project opened in 1983, managed and run by volunteers showing agricultural and social history over the past 200 years of Fenland history and rural life.
Displays include authentic chemist and cobblers shops, 1940s Fen Cottage, sensory garden, school room, kitchen, parlour and bedroom. Many areas display of farm machinery, implements and vehicles. There is a tea room, bookshop and museum shop.
The museum hosts Cambridgeshire Community Archive as well as the museum's own archive. A nursery rhyme trail provides fun activities for children.