Devon

Properties and events in Devon

Before heading out for your Heritage Open Days visit, please check entries for last-minute changes.

Print selected events below

Columbjohn Chapel and the Gatehouse Arch on the Killerton Estate

Columbjohn Farm, Rewe, Exeter, Devon, EX5 4ER
In person
Pre-booking not required

Columbjohn Chapel and Gatehouse Arch: intriguing remains of an ornate C16th arch, isolated Chapel and the site of a lost Tudor mansion. Exeter University carried out an excavation of the area in May 2024. Come and find out what they found.

Clyston Mill on the Killerton estate

National Trust, Clyston Mill, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3DX
In person
Pre-booking not required

Step back in time to discover how Victorian engineering harnessed the power of water in this historic mill.

Killerton House, Garden and Park

National Trust, Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3LE
In person
Pre-booking not required

Enjoy Killerton's glorious landscaped garden, extensive parkland, fine 18th-century house and unique fashion collection.

The Highways and Byways of Bampton

Bampton Heritage & Visitor Centre, Station Road, Station Road, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NG
In person
Pre-booking not required

A special exhibition of maps centred on Bampton, Devon from 1579 to the present day with displays about Turnpikes, Mail Coaches and the Railway.

Tuckers Hall

140 Fore Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3AN
In person
Pre-booking not required

Medieval meeting hall dating from 1471. Home to The Incorporated Guilds of Weavers, Fullers (AKA Tuckers) and Shearmen. Woollen Cloth Trades Museum with static and interactive exhibits plus guided tours.

St Lawrence Chapel Heritage and Community Centre

St. Lawrence Chapel, St. Lawrence Lane, Ashburton, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 7DD
In person
Book on day

Visit the unique Grade II* listed historic chapel and historic archives about the history of the chapel, especially when it was Ashburton grammar school. Have an escorted trip up the tower and view historic Ashburton

Bridging the Tamar Anchorage and Under the Bridge tour

Tamar Bridge Office, Pemros Road, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 1LP
In person
Pre-booking required

A unique opportunity to walk directly beneath the road deck of the Tamar Bridge. Visitors also have the chance to view inside the underground anchorage chamber at the foot of the Tamar Bridge and learn more about this award-winning structure.

Plymouth Proprietary Library

St. Barnabas Terrace, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 5NN
In person
Pre-booking not required

The Plymouth Proprietary Library holds some rare and interesting books a selection of which will be on display for visitors.

"Sun, sea and shifting sands" - an exhibition of paintings and prints from our Museum Collection about the Teign Estuary

Teign Heritage - Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum, 29 French Street, Teignmouth, Devon, TQ14 8ST
In person
Pre-booking not required

This exhibition will be held at Teign Heritage Centre, Teignmouth, Devon, from 7th to 14th September, with Heritage Open Day on 14th September. Our aim is to inspire local artists to create their own response to the art for a later exhibition in 2025

Powderham Castle

Powderham Castle, Powderham Park, Powderham, Exeter, Devon, EX6 8JQ
In person
Pre-booking preferred

Powderham, historic and present home to the Earls of Devon. Built in 1391 by Sir Philip Courtenay, what was once a medieval hall has expanded in to one of Devon's finest (and continuously lived in) family homes.

The Best of Times - The Worst of Times

St Stephen's Church, High Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LN
In person
Pre-booking not required

A talk exploring the way people lived in the Middle Ages.

Dartmoor Light & Shadow

Neadon Barn, Manaton, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 9UY
In person
Pre-booking not required

This exhibition will showcase the work of 25 different professional photographers, adorning the walls of a 17th-century Dartmoor barn alongside historic photographs from the Dartmoor Archive.

Hemyock Castle, Devon

Hemyock Castle, Culmstock Road, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3RJ
Online & In person
Pre-booking not required

Self-Guided Tours: See the rare surviving ruins of Hemyock's moated medieval castle: Remains of gatehouse archway, towers, curtain-walls and moat which surround the older manor house. Grounds, Interpretation Centre, Cider-Press, Farmyard displays

Exeter Library's Special Collection: A 'White Glove' Experience

Exeter Library, Rougemont Place, Castle Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3PQ
In person
Pre-booking required

Get up close and personal to a selection of books from Exeter Library's 'Special Collections', dating back to 1480!

Castle Drogo

Castle Drogo, Drewsteignton, Exeter, Devon, EX6 6PB
In person
Pre-booking not required

High above the Teign Gorge on the edge of Dartmoor stands Castle Drogo. Reminiscent of a medieval fortress the castle was designed and built between 1910 and 1930 by renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for self-made millionaire Julius Drewe.

Talk - Thompson's Seat (Mount Edgecombe)

St. Barnabas Terrace, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 5NN
In person
Pre-booking preferred

Illustrated talk: 'Thompson's Seat and other artefacts at Mount Edgecombe as examples of emerging British identity in the eighteenth century'.

Newton St Cyres Church & Tower Guided Tours, Devon

Newton St Cyres Church, Church Lane, Newton St Cyres, Exeter, Devon, EX5 5BH
In person
Pre-booking required

Our History Group will take you on guided tours of this Grade I Listed church, from the earliest history (12th century) and, for some, a climb up the 80 steps of the Bell Tower to the roof!

Quay Words presents Ian Mortimer: The road to Exeter – from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century

Custom House, The Quay, Exeter, Devon, EX2 4AN
In person
Pre-booking preferred

Quay Words are thrilled to be joined by writer and historian Ian Mortimer for this free, Heritage Open Days event. During his talk Ian will be talking about travel in the southwest. Ian will draw on his latest book Medieval Horizons.

Bridging the Tamar Anchorage tour

Tamar Bridge Office, Pemros Road, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 1LP
In person
Pre-booking required

An opportunity to come inside the anchorage chamber at the foot of the Tamar Bridge and learn more about this award winning structure.

Mothecombe House

Mothecombe House, Holbeton, Plymouth, Devon, PL8 1LA
In person
Pre-booking required

Grade 1 listed Queen Anne House and contents

Lydford Gorge

Lydford Gorge, Lydford, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 4BH
In person
Pre-booking not required

Explore this steep-sided river gorge, filled with temperate rainforest, carved into the western edge of Dartmoor. Descend into the Devil's Cauldron pothole on a platform over the water, and take in the 30-meter-high Whitelady Waterfall.

Story telling - Our Smuggling Heritage Event at the East Budleigh Heritage Centre in Salem Chapel, Devon

Vicarage Road, East Budleigh, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, EX9 7EF
In person
Pre-booking not required

What smuggling stories there are to tell! From the secret passages where the contraband arrived in the dead of night, to the concealed store in the chapel roof, to the characters who ran the smuggling - the Lord, the vicar and the smuggling sailors!

The church of our lady, Upton Pyne

Upton Pyne Church, Upton Pyne, The School House, Exeter, Devon, EX5 5JA
In person
Pre-booking preferred

We invite you to look around our beautiful and interesting Church. There are leaflets available, tower tours and a children's trail. Refreshments are available.

Newton Abbot Museum - Routes, Networks and Connections.

Newton Abbot Museum, Newton's Place, Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 1JQ
In person
Pre-booking not required

It's all about exploring, traveling and finding your way this year for Newton Abbot Museum's Heritage Open Day. -Explore the ancient clock tower -Build a lego train carriage -Make a map -Complete a quest -Meet our costumed interpreter

The Arts & Crafts hospital: Winsford Cottage Hospital open days

Winsford Hospital Cottage, Halwill Junction, Devon, EX21 5XU
In person
Pre-booking preferred

The Landmark Trust have lovingly restored Winsford Cottage Hospital in Halwill Junction. Designed by Arts & Crafts architect CFA Voysey, it has been at the heart of its community for over 100 years. Come along to our open days to find out more.

Spiceland Quaker Meeting House

Spicelands, Uffculme, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 3AZ
In person
Pre-booking not required

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 and Quakers in the 21st Century.

Castle Drogo's Hydro Turbine Open Day

Hydro Turbine House, Teign Gorge, Drewsteignton, Exeter, Devon, EX6 6PW
In person
Pre-booking not required

The hydro turbine house on the river Teign will be open to have a look around.

Finch Foundry

Finch Foundry, Sticklepath, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2NW
In person
Pre-booking preferred

Finch Foundry was a mainstay of Dartmoor's industrial landscape for 150 years, producing up to 400 tools per day for local industry. The waterwheels and machinery are still mostly operational today. Tours of the site on the hour from 1100-1500.