Content hub

Heritage is about everything that makes us who we are; this means it weaves an incredibly rich, varied and powerful tapestry. Sadly though, not all of its amazing colours and strands get included in every weaving. This can leave people whose story threads are missing feeling invisible, and the general tapestry is dimmer, even misleading for the gaps – like trying to read a story with several chapters missing. Earlier this year we attended a powerful workshop run by a project in Sheffield who are leading the way in working with communities to address these issues. We’re delighted to introduce you to them and their work here.

From planting seeds to real rocket science, it’s amazing what you find when you start looking! Turns out Warrington in Cheshire has some really incredible connections to Astounding Inventions that Hannah White, Collections Assistant at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery is exploring ready to share with visitors this September. Here’s just a taste of some of the stories she’s uncovered…

New Year is a time for lists, resolutions and honours; so reflecting on last year and thinking about what highlights lie ahead, we’ve come up with an alternative Honours list. To get you thinking about what catches attention, here are some events that proved firm favourites for the team and media in 2024…

What brings us together? Are you a traveller or a host? At the heart of our festival theme this year is people - so here are 12 great events exploring the routes we've taken and connections made throughout history.

Over the festival, alongside managing the media channels and taking turns with 'helpdesk duty' it's really important for the team to see events in action. It helps us to support organisers locally and reconnect with the festival experience as visitors, to see where we might do more to help in future. From the pinkest event to pen nibs hidden in doors, here's a quick taste of where we went and what we discovered this year.

We need your help to create a special showcase celebrating three decades of local people sharing the diverse heritage that matters to them.

Where can you see beneath the soil, visit an Anglo-Saxon village, unveil hidden treasure, or explore a flying boat lifted from the water? Well, this summer, all these are on offer as part of the CBA’s Festival of Archaeology. One of their amazing team shares their story as they introduce us to this fantastic summer festival.

Magic and mayhem about sums up this season (oh no it doesn’t, oh yes it does!). Get in the mood and discover a little more about what goes on before, behind and on the stage with this post from the brilliant team at Crewe Lyceum Theatre.

Do you know your optometrists from your oenologists? How about your conservators from your curators? Meet the faces behind the titles and try your hand at some specialist techniques, including classic car renovation and jewellery making! Here are some of our favourite expert-led events for this year.

Family. We can’t explore Routes-Networks-Connections without looking at this! One family history group that participate in our festival is particularly special – helping people overcome barriers to explore their links to Travelling people, whose stories can be hard to trace, but have contributed much to our histories. To celebrate Gypsy, Roma & Traveller History Month we invited them to share their work, and some stories with us - including talented craftspeople and the origins of Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach!

Don't Fret - it's not over yet! Heritage Open Days is officially in full swing, with thousands of events taking place all across the country! Not had a chance to get out there yet? No stress, there’s still loads of incredible opportunities to get involved - online and in person. From castles and gardens to lifeboat stations and limeworks, have a look at some of our top events that are still to come.

Digging into the past can be a muddy job, and not just for the archaeologists! Untangling the threads of who wrote what, and what each object means, how that may have changed, and also, crucially, what’s missing? Well, it's... complicated, to say the least - it takes a lot of detective work to illuminate our kaleidoscopic story. The more pieces we uncover though, the richer that story becomes. So as we celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, I’m delighted to introduce Timothy Allsop from a new project looking into the often hidden histories of Queer Rural Connections, and how important they are to us today.

Has an event ever caught your eye, only to discover that it’s taking place on the other side of the country? Luckily we have a huge range of online events for you to browse at your leisure! Whether you’re a sweet-toothed Geordie who can’t get to London’s Chocolate Museum, or a Brummie with a love of marginalia but no time to visit Devon’s historical book exhibition, we’ve got you covered.

Our extraordinary community festival went ahead in unprecedented circumstances this year. HUGE thanks go out to all involved, helping people come together was never more important or powerful. Whilst we gather our breath to take stock before planning the next chapter, we thought we'd take 5 with you to share some highlights from our travels to connect with communities across the country.

The good, the bad... and the bunting! Our amazing festival is over for another year, but we couldn't visit all the thousands of events, so we need you to tell us - how did it go?

A popular crossword clue is to name the spice more expensive than gold*  but did you know that a favourite crumble pudding ingredient was also once more precious than gems? Grab a cuppa and take a seat as  garden writer, Gary Webb, introduces us to the wonderful world of heritage produce - the stories behind our 'five-a day' are more full of love and adventure than you might imagine!

Several days down, but there is still more to come! Time's ticking by fast as we move into the second half of the 2024 Heritage Open Days festival. Here's a sneak preview of some amazing events we think you shouldn't miss in the final days.