New attractions for this year’s Heritage Open days

BLOFIELD

St Andrew & St Peter, Church Road: Historical re-enactment of 15th Century life and household crafts.

Saturday, September 10 (10.30am - 4pm).

CHATTERIS

Quirks and Curiosities Trail: Chatteris may seem an ordinary small town but it has its fair share of quirks and curiosities and the odd connection with the rich and famous. What have the holder of a Victoria Cross and a jail breaker got in common, What secrets were revealed on the mortuary slab? Where did the nuns leave their timepiece? And who was the Carrot King?

Pick up a leaflet from Chatteris Museum in Church Lane or the Library in Furrowfields Road to follow the trail on Thursday, September 8 (2 - 4.30pm) or Saturday, September 10 (10am - 1pm).

CROMER

The RNLI Henry Blogg Museum, The Gangway: The museum tells the incredible story of the Cromer lifeboat crews and in particular their most famous Coxswain Henry Blogg.

Open Thursday, September 8 - Sunday, September 11 (10am - 5pm). Pre-booking required on 01263 511294.

DEREHAM

Union House, Gressenhall: Visit parts of the Gressenhall Workhouse not usually accessible to the public and see the offices of Norfolk’s archaeologists on a behind the scenes tour.

Tours on Thursday, September 8 and Friday, September 9 (11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm). Pre-booking via www.heritagecity.org/hods/brochure-and-booking-form.htm

DISS

Bressingham Steam and Gardens, Low Road: Working steam narrow gauge railways, Dad’s Army museum and 16 acres of world renowned gardens.

Tours on Thursday, September 8 and Friday, September 9 (11am and 2pm). Bookings via www.bressingham.co.uk

Burston Strike School, The Green: Burston Strike School was at the centre of the longest running strike in British history between 1914 and 1939.

Open Thursday, September 8 - Sunday 11 (10am - 5pm).

Diss Museum, Market Place: Houses exhibitions about the history of the town and area.

Open Thursday, September 8 - Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

ELSING

Open studios and gardens and art exhibitions in historic private homes. Classical music, poetry and folk music. Sheep show and beer festival.

Saturday, September 10 (11am - 5pm).

GORLESTON

The Beating Shed, 50 Pier Plain: A very rare surviving example of a beatster shed or net warehouse once typical of the herring industry.

Open to the public for the first time.

Tours on Thursday, September 8 (11am, 1pm and 2.30pm). Booking in advance on 01493 846346.

GREAT YARMOUTH

Elizabethan House Museum, South Quay:

Find out about Tudor Yarmouth. Talks and tours available.

Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11 (12pm to 4pm, tours 12pm, 2pm and 3.30pm).

HS Smokehouse, Sutton Road: Business established by Henry Sutton in 1852 and still using the original brick smokehouses to smoke the herrings in the traditional way.

Tours Friday, September 9 (10am and 2pm) and Saturday, September 10 (10am).

The Tolhouse, Tolhouse Street: Yarmouth’s oldest civic building.

Open Thursday, September 8 (10am - 5pm), Friday, September 9 (10am - 5pm), Saturday, September 10 (12pm - 4pm, tours 12pm, 2pm and 3.30pm),

Sunday, September 11 (12pm - 4pm, tours 12pm, 2pm and 3.30pm).

HEMBLINGTON

All Saints’ Church, Church Lane: Hemblington has the most complete wall painting of the life of St Christopher in the country.

Open Thursday, September 8 - Sunday, September 11 (10am - 5pm).

HOLT

Langham Dome, Cockthorpe Road, Langham:

A concrete hemisphere with a 40-feet diameter built in 1942 and used for training anti-aircraft gunners.

Open Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

KING’S LYNN

Antedeluvian Order of Buffaloes, St James Street: Former bank turned social club. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

Barclays Bank, Tuesday Market Place: Built as a mansion for a leading Lynn merchant, George Hogge, in 1768. Top floor open for the first time. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

King’s Lynn Arts Centre, King Street:

A series of warehouses behind the Guildhall of St George now in use as art galleries. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm)

King’s Lynn Library, Millfleet: See some of the books and areas not usual open to the public. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

Purfleet Quay Wine Cellars, Purfleet Quay: Extensive wine cellars under the buildings and Quay probably 18th century. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

Quaker Meeting House, Bridge Street:

The building dates from 1736 and was bought for use as a Quaker Meeting House in 1986. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 10.30am and 11.30am - 4pm).

The Life of Henry Bell Architect “Ingenious Gentilhomme”, The Custom House, Purfleet Quay: Three hundred years after his death, this exhibition celebrates the life of the man who designed the Custom House. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

LANDBEACH

Landbeach Archaeological Store, Wort’s Farm Barn, High Street: An opportunity to see inside Cambridgeshire’s archaeological archives store, where over 5000 boxes of the county’s most fascinating archaeological remains are stored and preserved. Saturday, September 10 (12pm - 4pm).

LOWESTOFT

Bonds Meadow, Sands Lane: Guided walks telling the history of this seven acre wildlife site and the people who have lived and worked on it. Open Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

MARCH

A Look at West End March, past and present: Guided Walks led by Andrew Clarke, Secretary of the March Society.

Meet behind Barclays Bank, on the High Street, on Saturday, September 10. Walks are at 10am and 2pm.

March Library, City Road: Cambridge Family History Society will be on hand to provide information, advice and an introduction to family history resources. Saturday, September 10 (10am - 3pm).

March Railway Station, Station Road: Railway-related displays on Saturday, September 10 (10am - 3pm).

March Waste Transfer Station, Melbourne Avenue: Want to know where your rubbish goes once Fenland District Council collects it? Guided tours on Friday, September 9 (10.30am and 12.30pm). Pre-booking essential via www.themarchsociety.org.uk.

St Wendreda’s Church, Wimblington Road:

Saint Wendreda’s Church is the only Grade I listed building in the town. The great glory of the 14th Century Saint Wendreda’s Church, for which it receives world renown, is its ancient double-hammer beamed roof, which is adorned with 118 carved Angels, making it almost unique.

Tours on Thursday, September 8 (11am and 2pm) and Friday, September 9 (11am and 2pm).

Trinity Church, High Street: Memorial gardens and refurbished interior. Open Friday, September 9 (10am - 4pm) and Saturday, September 10 (10am - 2pm).

NORTH WALSHAM

St Nicholas Parish Church, Market Place:

Open Thursday, September 8 (9am - 6pm), Friday September 9 (9am - 6pm), Saturday, September 10 (9am - 6pm) and Sunday, September 11 (12pm - 6pm).

REPPS WITH BASTWICK

Morse’s Wind Engine Park, Staithe Road:

The only collection of historical windpumps in Great Britain. Guided tours on the house on Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10 (10am - 4pm). Advance bookings on 01493 846346.

SHERINGHAM

The Mo, Lifeboat Plain: Guided walk through town on Friday, September 9 (6pm - 7.30pm) and saturday, September 10 (3pm - 4.30pm and 6pm - 7.30pm). Bookings on 01263 824482.

THETFORD

Charles Burrell Museum, Minstergate: The museum tells the stories of the Charles Burrell Works, the people who laboured there, and the machinery they produced.

Open Saturday, September 10 (10am - 4pm).

Guided Walk of Thetford’s Past - Market Place Area: Local historian David Osborne will lead a walk around the Market Place area on Saturday, September 10 (1.30pm - 3pm). Meet at the Guildhall.

Guided Walk of Thetford’s Past- Town Bridge Area: Local historian David Osborne will lead a walk in the Town Bridge area of the town, meet at Town Bridge at 10.30am on Saturday, September 10.

King’s House, King’s Street: Occupying the site of the medieval manor house, the King’s House was used by James I as a hunting lodge and bears the royal coat of arms above the doorway. Open on Saturday, September 10 (10am - 12pm).

Riversdale, Tanner Street: This red brick Victorian building acts as a community hub for a number of voluntary organisations and its tranquil gardens to the rear are rarely glanced upon by visitors.

Open Saturday, September 10 (10am - 12pm).

Thetford Grammar School, Bridge Street:

The school lays claim to be one of the oldest seats of learning in the country, with a roll of headmasters dating back to 1174 and original founding some 500 years earlier. Open Saturday, September 10 (10am - 12pm).

Thetford Library, Rayond Street: Home to special collections on the lives of Thomas Paine and Duleep Singh.

Open Thursday, September 8 (8.30am - 6pm), Friday, September 9 (8.30am - 7pm) and Saturday, September 10 (8.30am - 4pm).

THURNE

Thurne Windpump: Restored mill which will be working, weather permitting, on Sunday, September 11 (10am - 4pm).

WALSINGHAM

Walsingham Abbey Grounds and Shirehall Museum, Common Place: Grounds of Walsingham Abbey, with ruins of the medieval priory and place of pilgrimage, together with tranquil woodland and river walks.

Open Saturday, September 10 (10am - 4pm).

WELLS

Maltings Heritage Day, Staithe Street: Behind the scenes site tour on Friday, September 9 (10am - 4pm).

WISBECH

Wisbech Castle, Museum Square: Wisbech Castle is a Regency Villa built in 1816, which stands on the site of a Norman Castle of 1087, Bishop’s Palace 1478 and Thurloes Mansion, 1656. The site was the starting point for the development of the town.

Open on Friday, September 9 (10am - 4pm) and Saturday, September 10 (10am - 4pm).

WYMONDHAM

Wymondham Regal Cinema, 9 Friarscroft Lane: Former Regal Cinema, now the function room of the Ex-services social club. Tours of original 1930s projection room and equipment, plus showing of an archive film.

Open Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11 (11am - 4.30pm, film 12pm and 3pm).