European Heritage Days were set up in 1991 - the principle was to throw open the doors to historic monuments and buildings, in particular those normally closed to the public, in order to raise appreciation of Europe’s rich and diverse cultural assets and the need to care for them. Heritage Days are now held annually in September in 50 European states.
Abingdon’s first big Heritage Open Day was in 2003 and since 2007 they have been run by volunteers, mainly from the Friends of Abingdon Civic Society and the Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society.
During the early years Abingdon Heritage Open Days (HODs) mainly involved giving people the opportunity to see inside buildings not normally open to the public - in some cases private householders bravely opened up their homes to visitors. Since then the event has expanded to include heritage-themed guided walks, and often an exhibition, usually running for a full week. In some years we have had a mini-festival with family activities as well as the regular elements.
This year’s event will of necessity be rather different. Plans include:
• Video tours of properties which would otherwise be open
• Live-streamed events from the County Hall Museum
• Information in windows of historic properties
• Self-guided walks using either leaflets or mobile phone technology
• A Market Place stall with information and leaflets
Full details of the event held on 19th and 20th September can be found at: https://abingdonheritage.org.uk
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