Chelmsford will again be hosting Heritage Open Days

Early in September the city of Chelmsford will again be hosting Heritage Open Days, an annual free nationwide event sponsored by the National Trust. The idea behind the event which runs from the 7th and the 11th of September is to allow free access to properties that are not usually open to the public and includes various tours. This year we will be opening a number of the favourite venues again along with some newcomers and a few surprises.

On the evening of the 7th September the Mayor of Chelmsford will attend an event at Writtle University College which will be a special talk on “Writtle a heritage of 10,000 years and the influence the Romans had on this small Essex village”.

Guy Harlings, the Diocese Office built in 1720 will be open with the opportunity to see their linen fold wood panelling, impressive state rooms and beautiful hidden gardens. A new addition this year will be a beautiful 17th century manor house now the Greenwoods Hotel at Stock where the Queen Mother once stayed.

Back by popular demand this year will be the special tours of the County Council Chamber with fine examples of very large Mural paintings depicting significant events in the history of Essex. A guided tour will also take place of the campus of the Anglia Ruskin University which will include the Award-winning Michael Ashcroft Building.

There will be a history event at the Ideas Hubs featuring not one but two talks by local historians. The first by Andy Begent on “Chelmsford during the Second World War” followed by a second talk on “The secret wartime device made in Chelmsford” by Alan Pamphilon. This promises to be an interesting evening when more will be revealed about this period of our city’s past. Another history event taking place will be at the Galleywood Heritage Centre on Sunday afternoon when there will be a talk about the rich history of the village of Galleywood and the racecourse.

A number of churches and other religious buildings in the area will be open over the period from 7th to 11th September which will include the Chelmsford Mosque. This is a three storey building next to Parkway, which has prayer room floor coverings that must be seen.

In all there are 29 properties involved in this event this year and information on them all can be found on the Chelmsford Civic Society website along with details on how to enrol on the free bookable tours and talks. Chelmsford Heritage Open Days has been organised by Chelmsford Civic Society and sponsored by Chelmsford City Council.

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