Almost 80 free events across Kirklees for September’s Heritage Open Days
There will be tours of Huddersfield railway station for the first time as part of Kirklees Heritage Open Days. Photo by Andy Hirst from AH! PR.
Local organisers of the national Heritage Open Days Festival have exceeded previous records by bringing together over 70 venues, talks and activities across the district.
Half of them are new to the annual programme, including the chance of a tour at Huddersfield Railway Station.
The 77 locations for the festival which runs from Friday, September 9 to Sunday, September 18, are featured in what the organisers say will provide an exciting choice of free activities for all ages, with a number focussing on this year’s national theme, ‘Astounding Inventions’.
Highlights associated with the area’s unique industrial heritage include the story of Shoddy and Mungo in Dewsbury, woollen textiles in Huddersfield and a David Brown tour in Meltham. Cleckheaton’s industrial innovations in belts, card clothing and moulded plastic are revealed while children can become mini professors at Bagshaw Museum in Birstall which is celebrating locally born scientist Joseph Priestley.
Both Huddersfield and Dewsbury offer a broad range of activities as part of the towns’ Heritage Action Zones funded by Historic England and Kirklees Council.
Local historical characters will be revealed in Dewsbury’s Bee Line Trail and, if you fancy drawing, bring your sketchbook and pencil for an urban sketching walk aimed at all levels of experience.
In Huddersfield, the conservation and renovation work on the historic George Hotel will be revealed in an evening presentation, walks will explore the town’s Modernist architecture and Heritage Mile and 20 costumed dancers will celebrate the Windrush Generation in St George’s Square. The Grade 1 listed station will also be offering tours for the first time.
As always, the festival will include a varied range of the district’s historic churches, some coinciding with Yorkshire Churches Day on September 10 organised by Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust.
Dewsbury Minster, founded in 627AD, will reveal its Anglo-Saxon relics, tower tours and links with the Brontes. As well as the key Anglican churches across the district, visitors can discover quirkier gems such as Holy Spirit Church, Heckmondwike, Our Lady of Unfailing Help and St Paul Church, Cleckheaton, Quaker Meeting Houses at Wooldale and High Flatts, Providence Methodist Church, Golcar and an Arts and Crafts Baptist Church in Birkby, now the Vajrapani Kadampa Meditation Centre for Buddhists.
Historic and unique buildings include Lindley Clock Tower, the Arts and Crafts house Briarcourt, Holmfirth’s Owd Towser, Kirkburton’s energy efficient Passivhaus, while garden lovers can explore the seven acres at Paddock Farm, Slaithwaite, discover ‘allotments, orchards, dikes and shrogs’ in Birkby and both Greenhead and Beaumont Parks in Huddersfield.
Kirklees Heritage Open Days committee chair David Griffiths said: “This year’s programme offers a most amazing choice for all age groups and interests. It offers a unique opportunity to discover some of Kirklees’ finest locations and, above all, it’s free for everyone.”
Details of all 77 events and the booking process can be found in the Kirklees Heritage Open Days brochure (https://discoverhuddersfield.uk/hod2022) which is being distributed to information points and libraries across Kirklees in the last week of August or by going to the national website www.heritageopendays.org.uk