Creative arts theme for Heritage Open Days with 800 years of history on show

Inside Hull Minster

By Angus Young

More than 800 years of history will be on show from this weekend when dozens of buildings across Hull and East Yorkshire open their doors to the public showcasing their own unique stories.

The annual Heritage Open Days (HODs) event runs from Friday, September 8, to Sunday, September 17, and includes venues in Hull, North Ferriby, Hedon and Bridlington.

As well as featuring free access to many landmarks normally closed to the public during the rest of the year, the programme also includes a number of guided walks and talks hosted by a range of experts, as well as an all-day Old Town festival taking place this Saturday in Hull’s Trinity Square and Hull Minster.

The Hands On History Museum in South Church Side

John Netherwood, who has organised the Hull HODs programme for more than a decade with his wife Christine, said: “When this year’s Heritage Open Days theme of ‘The Creative Arts’ was announced by the national organisers the National Trust at the back end of last year, it sounded very formidable to a humble engineer like me who is more used to things that are made and move.

“However, it soon became eminently clear that here in Hull and the East Riding, we have an abundant store of artistic assets, past and present, from which to contract this year’s programme.

“It’s been very interesting meeting quite a lot of new people and opening the book on many historical figures who have left a legacy of creative genius.”

Mr Netherwood said the ten-day programme would not be possible without support from sponsors and around 400 volunteers opening their buildings, guiding walks and giving talks.

A stained glass window in Hull Minster

“It’s amazing to think that locally and nationally, HODs is the largest volunteering event there is,” he added.

The vast scale programme is underlined by the number of venues opening their doors to the public this year. There are 42 in Hull, 13 in Bridlington, eight in North Ferriby and six in Hedon – all easy to spot with distinctive pink banners and bunting outside each one.

In North Ferriby, visitors can follow a three-mile heritage trail with 30 locations and 50 points of interest to explore, while seven guided walks have been organised around Hedon charting the town’s long history.

In Hull, some of the more unusual venues taking part include St. Paul’s Boxing Club in North Church Side where Olympic champion Luke Campbell trained as a youngster, the Hull and East Yorkshire Centre for the Deaf in Spring Bank and the workshop of monumental masons Oddlings in New Cleveland Street.

Wrecking Ball Arts Centre in Whitefriargate

There are also tours of the Reckitt factory in Dansom Lane this Saturday and Sunday with pre-booking required for those interested in taking part.

There are also 17 different guided walks in Hull to join and a wide variety of talks mainly at the Wrecking Ball Arts Centre in Whitefriargate and Hull Minster.

Topics for the talks range from Hull’s Medieval markets and the craftsmen who built Hull Minster to the history of community theatre in the city, and festival organiser Rick Welton’s series of installations featuring giant toads, moths and, more recently, puffins.

For more details about all the venue opening times, events and any pre-booking requirements visit www.hullandbeverleyheritagestore.co.uk