Heritage Open Days 2022
Heritage Open Days is England’s largest free festival of history and culture! Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to see hidden places and enjoy new experiences, free of charge.
Mid Devon is awash with buildings of historical interest and significance. Listed below are those that are taking part in the Heritage Open Days event. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore. Where will you discover?
Bampton – A Journey Through Our Railway
Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre, Station Road, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NG
A display of railway memorabilia, photographs, artefacts, and a video journey on the Exe Valley Railway, inside the Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/bampton-a-journey-through-our-railway-history
Spiceland Quaker Meeting House – image courtesy of https://quietgarden.org/gardens/spiceland-meeting-house/
Spiceland Quaker Meeting House
Uffculme, Devon, EX15 3AZ
Visit Spiceland’s historic 200-year-old Quaker Meeting House and the burial ground which came into use around 1680. Find out more about the history of Quakers. Visitors are welcome to bring their own refreshments to enjoy in the grounds.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/spiceland-quaker-meeting-house2
Grantlands – image courtesy of themovemarket.com
Grantlands
Commercial Road, Uffculme, Devon, EX15 3ED
The Grantlands estate was built in the 1860s, with all the buildings on the main part of the estate being Grade II listed: this is a chance to walk through an unchanged 19th century private estate in the heart of Uffculme village.
Hemyock Castle
Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3RJ
Pre-Booked Self-Guided Tours: See the rare surviving ruins of Hemyock‘s moated medieval castle: The remaining gatehouse archway, towers & curtain-walls which surround the older manor house. Cider-Press & Farmyard displays.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/hemyock-castle
Knightshayes
National Trust, Knightshayes Court, Bolham, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7RQ
Discover Knightshayes, a country estate on a grand, gothic scale. With acres of glorious garden and park, surrounding a spectacular Gothic Revival house, Knightshayes is the complete country gentleman’s dream. The National Trust is celebrating heritage open day by offering free access to the house and gardens and by running unique tours.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/knightshayes2
St Peter’s Church, Tiverton: Image courtesy of Robert Cutts from Bristol, England, UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
St. Peter’s Church and Tower
Peter Street, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 6RP
Church & Tower open event on Saturday 10th with tours of the bells, clock, ringing demonstrations and a chance to get splendid views of the town from the roof.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/st.-peters-church-and-tower
Heathcoat’s Factory – image courtesy of The Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life
Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life – From Lace to Space!
Beck’s Square, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 6PJ
Follow the journey of Tiverton’s Heathcoat factory, from its revolutionary lace making beginnings, through wartime production of shell casings, parachutes and net for gas masks, to its state of the art work on NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
Bampton Open Tower
St Michael & All Angels Church, Station Road, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NA
A chance to find out what happens in Bampton’s bell tower – tour of the tower, demonstrations, displays and a chance to ring a bell yourself.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/bampton-open-tower
The Exe Valley Line – A Working Model
Barnhay, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NG
A special exhibition of a working model of the Bampton railway station, with a display of photographs. A chance to see this working model in Bampton.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/bampton-a-thriving-railway-town-1884-1963
Uffculme Local History Group’s Jubilee Year Exhibition
Village Hall, Bridge Street, Uffculme, Devon, EX15 3AX
An exhibition to continue the Jubilee Year celebrations, with an emphasis on local Jubilee events which have taken place in the Parish over the past century and a half.
St Mary’s Church, Silverton – image courtesy of www.silvertonlocalhistory.co.uk
Silverton, St Mary’s Church Tower Open Morning
Church Road, Silverton, Exeter, Devon, EX5 4HS
Visit St Mary’s Church and bell tower. See a demonstration of ringing.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/silverton-st-marys-church-tower-open-morning
John Waldron Chapel – image courtesy of Tiverton Almshouse Trust
John Waldron Chapel Tiverton Almshouse Trust
Wellbrook Street, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 5JL
John Waldron Chapel is a unique Chapel in the centre of Tiverton built in the 1500s. Visitors are invited to come along and join us to see inside the recently restored Chapel and to get an insight into its history.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/john-waldron-chapel-tiverton-almshouse-trust
Bonus Event: Crediton Church Open Day
Boniface Centre, Church Lane, Crediton EX17 2AH
For a bonus event, although not taking part within the event dates, Crediton’s Parish Church (Church of the Holy Cross) has an Open Day on Saturday 24 August from 10am to 4pm. There will be tours of the bell tower at 11am and 2pm, singing by choir members at 10:30am, organ playing at 11am and 1pm and the day ending with Etchechuria (Jack and Beth Robson) singing from 3pm – 4pm.
There are many more events happening around Mid Devon including at the National Trust Killerton Estate near Silverton. For more information about Heritage Open Days, visit: www.heritageopendays.org.uk/.
