Swindon & Wiltshire News
Landmark buildings throw open their doors for Heritage Open Days
The UK’s largest community heritage festival, Heritage Open Days, celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend and next. Thousands of buildings or parts of buildings not normally open to the public will be welcoming visitors between September 6 and 15.
The heritage of Bristol & Bath, Swindon & Wiltshire, and Berkshire is, of course, well represented. Here’s a run-down of Business Biscuit’s highlights for 2024:
Strongroom tours at Bristol Archives
Celebrating its centenary this year, Bristol Archives – formerly Bristol Record Office – is the oldest borough record office in the UK and looks after the official archives of the City of Bristol, besides collecting and preserving many other records relating to the city and surrounding area for current and future generations to consult. The Archives moved from the City Hall to newly converted premises in the former B Bond Warehouse (pictured) in 1992.
Its millions of records include parchments dating back to the 1200s, and major deposited collections from the Wills tobacco company and J. S. Fry & Sons, the chocolate makers. It also holds written records, photographs, maps, films and sound recordings made by and about the people of Bristol, and digital records chronicling the 21st century.
Bristol Beacon venue tour
If you’ve not paid a visit to the new Bristol Beacon yet, what have you been waiting for? The venue – formerly the Colston Hall – first opened in 1867. After extensive works costing £132 million it reopened to great acclaim in November last year with some of the best acoustics of any concert hall in Europe. Behind-the-scenes tours take place on Monday and Tuesday September 9 and 10.
Bath Quaker Burial Ground
Celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Quaker founder George Fox with a visit to the Quaker Burial Ground. Local Quakers will be on hand on September 7 to talk about the Religious Society of Friends and its leading role in historic social movements like the abolition of slavery and equal rights for women along with its current campaigns for peace and action on climate change.
Parade House, Trowbridge
Remember a pint of Ushers? The brewer and pub operator would have been celebrating its 200th anniversary last year. Sadly, it wasn’t to be – the last pints were produced in 2000. Its headquarters, Parade House, is now an events space and wedding venue with a 24-seat Cinema and art gallery. And the team behind the venue will be celebrating Ushers’ anniversary on September 7 with photographs and memorabilia – including a vintage Ushers lorry – talks, and a beer tent.
Create Studios and iCAST Creative Hub, Swindon
Swindon is well known for its Victorian railway heritage, and rightly so, but the town also casts an eye to the future. Create Studios, Swindon’s digital media hub – based in the redeveloped railway Carriage Works – will be throwing open its doors on September 7. Filmmaker Martin Parry will be hosting the screening of two Swindon heritage films.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring iCAST Creative Hub, an innovation space for experts in sustainable technologies, will be giving talks and demonstrations.
Green Park Wind Turbine Tour, Reading
You’ve seen it from the motorway, now find out about the landmark – at 120 metres tall one of the largest land-based windmills in the UK. While not ‘historic’ in the conventional sense, it is nearly 20 years old and is acknowledged as Europe’s most visible wind turbine.
Decontamination Suite, Greenham Air Base, Newbury
Once home to American military 96 cruise missiles – and the accompanying peace camp on the other side of the fence – Greenham is far less threatening today, with a business park and an arts centre and gallery.
Some of the Cold War buildings remain, including the military control tower, and the charity that runs the building is giving visitors a very rare chance to visit the Decontamination Suite inside Building 274 – with its blast-proof steel-reinforced walls and doors – on September 15. The purpose of the decontamination suite was to cleanse personnel of nerve agents in the event of a chemical attack on the base.
