There are more than 90 places to visit and brilliant things to see and do during the Heritage Open Days in Kirklees … and it’s all free.
The annual event runs from September 8 to September 17 this year, spanning two weekends and a great website (https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/) has easy-to-read information about everything that’s going on, when and how to book if necessary.
Here’s a quick tour through some of the events lined up in Huddersfield.
There will be tours around Huddersfield Town Hall and the Lawrence Batley Theatre, you can climb the 69 steps up Lindley Clock Tower and see its mechanism, the chance to visit Castle Hill and guided walks exploring Huddersfield’s heritage and the Irish in Huddersfield.
A street party will celebrate Huddersfield’s reggae sound system culture, performances by Chol Theatre will look at the town’s underground bhangra scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s and there will be a celebration of Kirklees history and culture through films, exhibition displays, stalls and a carnival performance at Huddersfield Open Market.
Greenhead Park will have an exhibition of old photos, postcards, maps and other memorabilia from the park, most dating back more than 100 years. The display will be open on Saturday, September 16 from 9.30am and 4pm in the Greenhead Park Pavilion by the bowling greens.
There will be an afternoon of free activities in Norman Park, Birkby, on Wednesday, September 13 from 1pm to 6pm including yoga, pond dipping, walks, music and food.
Colne Valley Museum will be open both weekends with baking, weaving, spinning and clogging demonstrations and Huddersfield & District Family History Society will be there to answer questions about family and local history.
Churches open in the Colne Valley include St John’s at Golcar with its exceptionally rare Binns organ, Providence Methodist Church with exhibitions and organ recitals on its unique Conacher organ installed in 1901 and performances by True Talent Theatre School which has its classes in the church.
St Mark’s Church in Longwood will host a free concert on Friday, September 8, at 7pm featuring Tower Community Band from Lindley and The Ukrainian Choir.
It’s also the 150th anniversary of Longwood Sing on Sunday, September 10 at 2.30pm.
Shabang Inclusive Learning based at Old Providence Chapel, 4 Hollins Row, Slaithwaite, is staging Dream Weavers, a 2-hour interactive performance for families who have a child with an additional need featuring Captain Roland Groove and his Magic Carpet. The show has music, storytelling and multi-sensory techniques. There are three performances on the weekend of September 9 and 10 but pre-booking is essential.
The 7-acre Edibles Permaculture Farm on Park Gate Road in West Slaithwaite will show how Edibles grows food, creates habitats and nurtures creativity. There will be story writing and art workshops, garden tours, a pop-up cafe and fresh vegetable stall on the weekend of September 16 and 17.
Skelmanthorpe’s small Textile Heritage Centre will be open from September 14 to 17 with tours and hand loom demonstrations. The centre is maintained and furnished as a West Riding weaver’s family home from around 1900 downstairs while upstairs there is an authentic handloom along with displays and artefacts linked to the area’s textile heritage.
There will be an historic walk through Kirkburton, all Hallows Church in the village will be open and a graveyard tour will reveal a landlord buried where his kitchen garden once stood, a victim of the Holmfirth floods and a young girl struck by lightning.
People can have guided tours around King James’ School in Almondbury which dates back to 1547 with parts still in use as old as 1750 and Victorian buildings dating from 1848 and 1883. The tours are on Saturday, September 16 from 10am to 2pm.
Churches and places of worship open include Wooldale Quaker Meeting House, Holmfirth Toll House, Holmfirth Methodist Church, Holmfirth Parish Church, St Stephen’s Church in Lindley, Lindley Methodist Church, Huddersfield Seventh Day Adventist Church in Crosland Moor, Holy Trinity Church near Greenhead Park, the Buddhist Vajrapani Kadampa Meditation Centre in Birkby, St John’s Church also in Birkby and St Thomas’ in Thurstonland, a Grade 2 listed Victorian Arts and Crafts style church with an iconic spire and turret clock.
There will be a 20th century embroidery, a modern stained-glass window and modern art on display at St David’s Church in Holmbridge.
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
