Heritage Open Days, England's largest festival of culture and heritage - and all completely free - is back in September.

This year's celebration from September 5 to 15 marks 30 years with a huge 5,400 events on the bill all over the country, including many in Gloucestershire.

Over the three decades since Heritage Open Days began it has grown in scope and scale. What began as a weekend dedicated to revealing buildings not normally open to the general public has exploded into a ten-day festival, celebrating a myriad of different aspects of heritage and culture.

With more than 100,000 events and over 39 million visits across 30 years, it has grown from just 700 events in the first year to over 5,250 in 2023. Still committed to its founding principles of free access and being community led, it's a much-loved event that many look forward to every year.

Events in Gloucestershire include:

Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall (Main A38), Twigworth, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL2 9PG

Wallsworth Hall has a curiously obscure history. A fine Georgian mansion situated just north of Gloucester, it featured in Simon Jenkins' acclaimed book "England's 1,000 Best Houses". Since 1988 the Hall has been the home of Nature in Art, the world's first museum dedicated to Art inspired by nature.

Friday, September 13, 11am - 3pm.

Pre-booking not required

Newark Park House, Ozleworth, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 7PZ

Newark Park will be offering free entry on Saturday, September 14 as part of Heritage Open Days 2024. You can explore the garden, estate and house for free. There will be local artists exhibiting their sculpture in the garden, children's trails and plenty of opportunity to take in the colours of autumn on the estate walks.

Saturday, September 14, 10am - 5pm.Pre-booking not required

Bygonz Wandering Minstrels

Gate Streets, The Cross & The Folk of Gloucester, Westgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2PG

Catch the popular minstrels in full costume performing on their medieval inspired instruments around the centre of the city.

Saturday, September 14, 1.30pm - 3.30pmPre-booking not required

Beatrix Potter Guided Walk

9 College Court, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2NJ

A guided walk around Gloucester to places associated with Beatrix Potter. In 1903 Beatrix Potter published one of her most loved tales 'The Tailor of Gloucester'. It was inspired by a visit she made to the city. This guided walk takes in the places of Gloucester which are closely connected with Beatrix Potter. The walk lasts about 45 minutes.

Friday, September 13, 2pmSunday, September 15, 2pmPre-booking not required

135 years of Music in the Forest of Dean

The Main Place, Old Station Way, Coleford, Gloucestershire, GL16 8RH

Pillowell Silver Band celebrates 135 years of brass band music from the village of Pillowell in the Forest of Dean. Formed by a group of brass players in the village in 1889, the band is still very much alive and entertaining in the local area. From their bandroom (affectionately called the hut) deep in the forest on the edge of the village the band prepare for concerts and contests all over the country. As recently as 2015 the band have appeared in the National Finals of the Brass Band Organisation, having qualified by beating bands in their section from as far away as Portsmouth and Penzance. The band are regularly invited to play at venues all over the area including the prestigious Pershore Midsummer Brass Festival in July. With a reputation for entertaining the band will play a selection of music from throughout their 135 years and you can find out more about one of their famous marches comprising previous conductors and see memorabilia from the band's history.

Friday, September 6, 7pm. Pre-booking preferred

St Christopher's Church, Warden Hill

Lincoln Avenue, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 3DD

A wonderful mix of stained glass and etched windows, regular talks and self-guided tours. Bell-ringing. Tea and cake. A 1960s building with 10 splendid Thomas Denny stained glass windows based on the parables. Unusually, all are set in landscapes from across the British Isles. A Comper window based on medieval and Victorian designs, intended for a church which was never built. Two newly-etched Nicholas Mynheer windows from 2014. A new talk about the windows given on each hour. A self-guided tour of the windows with leaflets and stewards available to assist. The lightest ring of bells in a church in the world. Bell-ringing during the afternoon. Refreshments - tea and cake in our small hall.

Saturday, September 14, 2pm - 5pm, Talks 2pm, 3pm, 4pmPre-booking not required

The New Antiques Centre - Guided Tour

26 Westgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2NG

Believed to be Britain's finest example of a timber framed town house. Built in 1560, it was once the hall of the Grocers' Guild, the mansion house of a Mayor of Gloucester and, in the 19th century, a lodging for assize judges. Meet outside on Westgate Street. Tours last about an hour.

Saturday, September 14, 11am and 1pmSunday, September 15, 11am and 1pmPre-booking required

Wotton House Talk: The History and Archaeology of Wotton House

Gloucestershire International School, Horton Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 3PR

Wotton House has been part of the Wotton Landscape since 1707 and educating students for the past 100 years. It has been part of the Wotton Landscape since 1707, home to some fascinating characters and, for almost 100 years, educating many students. Our talk given by John Swann, head of Humanities at Wotton House International School, will present a student-led research project on the Horton family and subsequent owners, the buildings and the gardens past and present.

Saturday, September 14, 11am. Pre-booking not required

Talk: Cathedral Quarter High Street Heritage Action Zone

The Ed Shed, The Folk of Gloucester, Westgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2PG

Learn more about the project which ran from 2020-2024. The Cathedral Quarter project ran from 2020-2024 and aimed to regenerate Westgate Street through its Heritage. £1.9 million funding was secured from Historic England to rejuvenate historic buildings, raise awareness of heritage and make improvements to the public realm. Claire Dovey-Evans, the project manager, talks about the work completed, the discoveries made and the impact of the project. To link with this talk there will be a guided walk of Westgate Street on Friday, September 13, at 2pm and Saturday, September 14, at 2.30pm.Saturday, September 14, 10.30am

Pre-booking required

Music: Waites of Gloucester

St Mary de Crypt Church, Southgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 1TP

A band of musicians playing 16th and 17th century music. The Waites of Gloucester came into existence in the later Elizabethan period, and were still extant until at least the end of James II's reign. Their four modern counterparts play music of the Elizabethan and Stuart eras on reproduction instruments of the period, such as shawms, curtals, and recorders.

Friday, September 13, 11am (for 30-45 minutes)

Pre-booking not required

Guided Tour of Westonbirt House Grade 1 Listed Gardens

Westonbirt House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QG

A guided tour of the Grade 1 Listed Gardens of Westonbirt House. Visitors will enjoy an expertly guided tour of the gardens planted by Robert Stayner Holford and his family. They will hear about the history of the family whilst enjoying the recently restored and planted lake, the stunning Italian Gardens, Camellia House and many other features of these beautiful grounds.

Wednesday, September 11, 11.30am -1pm

Pre-booking required

Riverside walks in Tewkesbury

Town Hall, High Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 5AL

Join our Riverside Walk to learn more about Tewkesbury's historical routes to the rest of Gloucestershire and beyond. You've heard that 'all roads lead to Rome'? Well, find your way to the entrance of Tewkesbury's Anglo-American Garden of Remembrance, on the Back of Avon, to discover our very own 'transport hub' through the centuries. Our journey back through the centuries will include air, road, rail, river and footpath, as we walk and talk en route to the Quay Bridge and along the Severn Ham bund, then back to our start position via the Riverside walk itself. Please wear strong shoes and be prepared for all weathers. Anticipated duration - 1 hour. Dogs on leads are welcome.

Saturday, September 7, 2pm and 6pm

Saturday, September 14, 2pm and 6pm

Pre-booking not required

"If Only Walls Could Talk" Guided Character Tours of The Folk of Gloucester

The Folk of Gloucester, 99-103 Westgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2PG

Historic building, guided tours and other activities. Visit our beautiful Tudor buildings which are the hub of the Civic Trust. There are many events taking place over the weekend. Guided Tours: "If Only Walls could Talk" on Friday, September 13, at 1.45pm and 2.45pm, Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15, at 10.45am and 11.45am. Duration 45 mins. Pre-booking required Max 10 per tour. Find out about the buildings and the people who owned them or worked or lived in them during the last 500 years. Find out about pin makers, the last baby born here, Bishop Hooper's last night before being burnt at the stake and much more. The Secret Garden Café and Heritage Bar will be open for refreshments.

Below Deck Aboard Kathleen & May, West Country Coastal - late afternoon event with vintage films

Kathleen and May, Gloucester Docks, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2EH

Authentic, captivating, storyteller of the seas, Kathleen & May, connecting people through time. Walk the decks and enjoy her storyboards, step below into the cargo hold, sit around the Captain's table, bringing heritage to life through storytelling. 

Listed on the National Historic Ships Register and part of the National Historic Fleet, she is considered the second most important preserved wooden merchant sailing craft in the UK, second only to the Cutty Sark and is still afloat in the historic Port of Gloucester. Originally the Lizzie May, a great Ferguson & Baird survivor from No. 51 shipyard. 

Commissioned in 1900 by the Coppack family of Connah's Quay, N. Flintshire when Capt. John Coppack was the Lloyd's agent for the Port of Chester, it is said that he took exception to a number of knees in the design of the vessel and insisted all be replaced!

It is thought that one reason why she has lasted so well is that she was over-engineered, untypical of similar vessels of her time, with a double-ribbed hull to the standards laid down for Royal Navy vessels. She is one of the few remaining links to the long-vanished trading fleets that used to sail Britain's waters and were a way of life to entire communities. 

Her importance to national heritage was recognised by the BBC Home Service who dedicated a programme to her in 1956. Currently for sale, maintenance is led by a team of community volunteers and T.Nielsen & Co. 

Hopefully she can be retained and restored to operational sail for another 150 years so that future generations can appreciate the traditional maintenance and conservation skills and techniques used and how the coastal trade of the British Isles was served by hundreds of these vessels for many, many years.

Saturday, September 7: 5.30pm - 7pm

Pre-booking required