The Shropshire attractions opening their doors for Heritage Open Days

Established in 1994, Heritage Open Days is England's contribution to the European Heritage Days and has since grown into the country's largest community heritage festival.

To celebrate the country's largest festival of culture and history, dozens of museums and historic properties right here in Shropshire are throwing open their doors to visitors.

Running from September 6 to 15, it's your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences, all of which are completely free to explore.

Some events do require booking through their organisers, with contact information provided online at: heritageopendays.org.uk

Without further ado, here's what's going on in Shropshire for Heritage Open Days 2024:

Free entry for Ironbridge Museums

Enginuity, Museum of Iron, Darby Houses, the Old Furnace and the Coalbrookdale Gallery are all free to enter on September 7 to 8.

Activities on both days include tours, food demonstrations, printing and hands on craft sessions.

Behind the scenes at the Music Hall - Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

Discover centuries of history in a behind the scenes tour of the complex array of buildings currently home to Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.

Hear about the history of these historic buildings and their fascinating past as well as how they became the eclectic museum buildings we all enjoy today.

Saturday, September 15 at 2pm, booking required.

Haughmond Abbey Guided Tours

English Heritage are offering exclusive guided tours around the ruined Haughmond Abbey. Tours are available at 11am on September 9, 10, 11 and 12. The tours are around hour long and dogs are welcome on leads

Dudmaston Hall

Free entry to the enchanted wooded parkland, sweeping gardens and impressive house at Dudmaston Estate.

The National Trust property will be free to enter from Sunday, September 8 to Sunday 15.

Guide tours of the Iron Bridge

English Heritage volunteers will be leading guided tours of the iconic Iron Bridge through the week.

Free tours are being held at 11:00 and 13:00 on 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 September. Booking is essential.

Newport Heritage Festival

Newport is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Heritage Open Days Festival by opening more 'closed doors' than ever before.

Newport Town Council, in conjunction with St. Nicholas Church, Newport History Society, the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust and Newport Bell Ringers, are opening four sites to the public on Saturday September 14.

Sites include the Victorian 'Black Shed' on Water Lane Car Park, St Nicholas Church Bell Tower, Guild Hall and the Chapel of Remembrance in Newport Cemetery.

Behind the scenes at the Shropshire Museums Collections Centre in Ludlow

The behind the scenes tour on September 7 will have curators showing you hidden gems from the vast collections of Shropshire Museums held at Ludlow. Including costumes, paintings of Ludlow and surrounding area and the real Shropshire Mammoths! Booking required.

A heritage train ride along the railway at Llynclys

Llynclys Station is the home of the Cambrian Heritage Railways Carriage and Wagon Department. It is here that volunteers restore heritage rolling stock for use on our railways. The line is being re-opened especially for the Heritage Open Days.

The station will be open from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 from 11am to 4pm.

Tour Shropshire Archives

On September 10, a behind the scenes tour of Shropshire Archives in Shrewsbury will reveal over six miles of documents from 12th century charters to modern newspapers. Booking required.

Guided tour of Weston Wharf Railway Station and Goods Shed

A guided tour of the former Cambrian Railways Company goods shed and yard explaining the history and purpose of the building and railway wharf. A chance to see how the site has been recently developed to incorporate facilities in the style of an old rural railway station.

Running from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8, pre-booking not required.

Wellington Walking Festival features Telford history

There are 11 walks taking place as part of the Wellington Walking Festival that are featuring the best of Telford's history.

On September 9, there is a five-mile walk largely following the Roman Watling Street from St Georges to Oakengates via Snedshill.

The following day an eight-mile walk will follow part of the Shropshire Way, arriving for lunch at the Longdon on Tern Aqueduct built by Thomas Telford.

There's a easy three mile walk visiting Guillotine Locks at Hadley Park and the Leegomery Pool, looking at traces of both canals and railways on September 12.

On September 14, a moderate 1.5-miles will take walkers through Broseley's maze of ancient pathways, many dating back to the 17th century and originally used by the squatters.

More information about the other walks, and the whole Wellington Walking Festival is available online at: wellingtonwalkersarewelcome.org.uk

Oswestry South Signal Box

The refurbished, grade II listed Oswestry South Signal Box will be open for viewing on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 between 11am and 4pm.

First built in the 19th century for the Oswestry and Newtown Railway, Oswestry South signal box was operational for over 100 years.

Unlike much of the neighbouring railway infrastructure, it escaped demolition but was stripped of its contents and equipment and remained a shell for many years.

Recently Cambrian Heritage Railways volunteers have spent countless hours refurbishing the structure and sourcing and installing appropriate equipment

Free Entry to the Mill exhibition

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings are offering free entry into the Mill exhibition for Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September. Learn all about the grandparent of the modern skyscraper, the first iron-framed building in the world.

Church House, Whitchurch

Not normally open to the public, Church House on Claypit Street was constructed as a hall for St Alkmund's Parish Church in 1908.

The building will be open to the public on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

Three valuers from Hall's of Shrewbury auctioneers will be on hand on Saturday until 2.30pm, giving visitors the chance to have a free appraisal and valuation of their treasured possessions.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Fathers of Nicea, Dove Close off Otteley Road, Shrewsbury

The church stands on a unique site used for worship for at least 4,000 years. On September 12, visitors can look around this ancient Church and there will be a talk about its history, an archaeological dig at the site and its present role and Church community.

Maps of Shropshire exhibition at Castle Gates

Drop in to Castle Gates, Shrewsbury between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, September 7 to see a selection of historic maps from across the centuries.

Secrets of Buildwas Abbey guided tour

English Heritage are offering a free guided tour of Buildwas Abbey on Friday, September 13 at 11am. Pre-booking required.

Situated in a stunning wooded Severn-side setting, the expert tour guide volunteers will take you on a fascinating journey around the impressive ruins of this Cistercian abbey, including its unusually unaltered 12th century church, beautiful vaulted and tile-floored chapter house, and recently re-opened crypt chapel.

St George, Protector of England Catholic Church, Whitchurch

Access to a small Gothic building constructed as a chapel and schoolroom in 1878. Open on Friday 12 and Saturday 14.

Site of a tithe barn on Sainsbury's carpark, London Road, Whitchurch

Within an agricultural building which once belonged to the Old Rectory, it will be possible to view an exhibition chronicling the restoration of the Old Rectory Ice House and the history of similar buildings. This display will be open to the public on both days.

Also in the building are the results of a year-long creative reminiscence project run by Rural Art Hub entitled Road Stories. The interactive display will allow visitors to listen to local people's memories that now form part of an online archive.

Running from 11am to 4pm on Friday 13 and Saturday 14. On Saturday a mobile recording booth will be on site all day to allow visitors to record their own road story.

Exhibition: The Journey of Woollen Cloth from the Welsh Valleys to the World via Shrewsbury

From the farmer weavers, who produced the woollen cloth, to the carriers and shippers and their options for transport routes, to the middlemen in Shrewsbury, the Drapers, that controlled the finishing of the cloth and made the market, to some of the locations to where the woollen cloth was initially shipped to.

The exhibition is being held at 10 St. Marys Place on Saturday, September 7 from 10am to 12pm.

Wonders of Wigmore Castle

For the first time, English Heritage volunteers will be providing guided tours of Wigmore Castle near Leominster.

Once the stronghold of the turbulent Mortimer family, Wigmore Castle was later dismantled to prevent its use during the Civil War.

Tours are being held on Friday 13 at 11am and 1pm, and pre-booking is required.

Darwin the Botanist at Shrewsbury Unitarian Church

An exhibition exploring the many botanical discoveries Darwin and his contemporaries made. Find out about the weird and wonderful world of plants from around the world, journeying through the tropics, arid deserts and mountainous regions.

Running on September 7, 10, 12 and 14.

St Bartholomew's Church, Tong

St Bartholomew's Church is a splendid 15th century 'treasure house', one of England's finest medieval Gothic parish churches, famous for its Golden Chapel and world-renowned collection of medieval tomb monuments.

Guided tours will run at 11am on September 7, 11 and 14 but the church will be free to enter throughout the week.

Story Shop at Oswestry Library

Story Shop is an oral history project set to capture living memories of Oswestry's Town and high street from different generations.

As our high streets continue to shift with new trends and generations, the cost of living, online shopping and changing communities Story Shop looks to capture people's stories of how Oswestry's market town has changed in its function and purpose.

Running from 10am to 3pm from Friday, September 6 to Sunday, September 15.

Dodington old chapel, Whitchurch

A unique opportunity to visit the earliest purpose-built non-conformist chapel in the town. Visitors will be able to view a display detailing the architecture of the building and the history of non-conformism in Whitchurch.

The chapel is open from 11am to 4pm on Friday 13 and Saturday 14.

Benthall Hall

A beautiful Tudor family home in Broseley where the Benthall family have had a seat for over 1,000 years.

Situated within a stunning plantsman's garden showcasing beatiful crocus, hellebores, orchids, cherry trees and a sensuous rose garden.

Benthall Hall will be free to visit from 12.30pm to 4.30pm on September 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Thomas Telford exhibition at The Bear Steps in Shrewsbury

The upcoming exhibition from September 3 to 11 will explore various aspects of Thomas Telford's engineering work. It will consider Telford's renovation of the castle and prison in Shrewsbury, his prediction of the collapse of St Chad's Church, and his creation of the A5 trunk road passing through Shrewsbury.

The exhibition will also highlight the bridges and canals that Telford worked on throughout his career. Additionally, it will delve into details about Telford's life, from his humble beginnings in a remote Scottish village to the memorial honouring his engineering legacy in Westminster Abbey.

St Alkmund's Church, Whitchurch

A chance to visit Whitchurch parish church and view its newly restored stained glass windows. Also, parish registers, not already deposited in the county archives, will be available for the public to search. Open September 13 and 14.

Tours of the church tower will also be taking place at various times throughout the day.

Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area

The Llanymynech Limeworks is a unique heritage area which ceased working in 1914 due to economics and WWI. The area is a Scheduled Monument, with Grade II listed kilns and chimney and was also declared a Local Nature Reserve in September 2020.

On September 11 and 15, volunteers will take vistiors around the area and even up into the quarries if you have the energy. There will be films showing in the stables block, entertainment around the site, as well as refreshments and shady areas to sit.