What is Heritage Open Days (HOD)?
The next date is 7th-10th September 2017
The event provides free access to places that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission, and/or provides specially arranged events and activities. HOD takes place every year on four days in September, with over local 1,400 organisations taking part annually, ran by some 40,000 volunteers.
How does my church take part?
1. Consider the heritage of your building and legacy of church life and what stories will interest people.
2. Develop ideas for activities. Some ideas are below.
3. Speak with churches who have taken part in HOD to learn from their experience. A list is below
4. Register nationally on the Heritage Open Days website.
5. Register locally. The closing date for registration varies, but may be end of January. Some areas have a local co-ordinator to promote the event; for example, producing a local HOD visitor booklet with venue/activity listings. Other areas may not have a booklet but might promote on a website and/offer advice on running an event:
- Cheshire East.
- Cheshire West and Chester - Chester History and Heritage. A Chester booklet is produced, closing date end of January. Email Doreen King, or Telephone Chester History and Heritage on 01244 972210
- Halton Borough Council Contact: Su Bullen. Email or telephone: 0151 5117825
•Macclesfield. For advice on running an event, contact Dorothy Bentley Smith, Chair of Macclesfield Heritage Forum on tel: 01625 613 003
•Stockport Council Stockport Tourist Information Centre on Telephone 0161 474 4444
•Wirral History and Heritage Association . Email address.
Ideas for activity
HOD activities in the Diocese of Chester have included:
- Create a display- ideas for themes:
- Key aspects of the building or graveyard
- Memories from around the parish (social history, town/village history etc)
- Aspects of faith and heritage for example, marriage, baptism etc over the years
- Topical issue, for example, WW1 memorabilia
- Notable characters/ancestry
- Photographs of local area
- Church Registers available for people to view (Image above from St Matthews, Edgeley and Cheadle Heath)
- Interpret key features of the church and their meaning (Image right are the colours of the church in costume from St Thomas' church, Stockport)
- Invite a local art society to exhibit and/or sell work
- Flower displays on different themes
- Bell ringing – have a go! A local school had a chance to ring the bells
- Guided tour
- Church members trained in church history in attendance on the day(s)
- Talks repeated throughout the day
- Guide book or trail leaflet
- Children’s trail
- Musical performance, for example, organ, choir etc.
- Refreshments, coffee morning and booksale, afternoon tea, cakes and jam sale
- The HOD coincides with 'Ride and Stride' fundraising event, so one church offered refreshments to thirsty riders as well as to HOD visitors
Partner organisations to jointly running activities in our churches have included:
- Local people, for example, loaning photographs or wedding dresses for a display on the social history of the church etc
- Local History Society
- Family History Society
- School visit
- Local celebrity
- Local MP
- Music group ((Image right is Chester Vocale performing at St Mary's, Dodleston on HOD weekend)
- Floral society
See Heritage Open Days website for more ideas
Benefits of taking part may include:
- An impetus to learn
more about the heritage of your church building in order to share with others - Increased publicity will mean people will be are aware of what you can offer, both as a faith organisation and community resource or heritage asset
- More people visiting your church
- A greater range of people may visit, hopefully some for the first tim
- It may assist with fundraising; for example, to include in a grant application as one activity that opens the door to the wider community. At the event, therefore, gathering evidence of numbers and types of visitors is important
- New ideas may follow. Speaking with visitors may lead to ideas for future projects at your church.
- New links. Working other organisations to run activities may be mutually beneficial and also lead to further ideas
Churches in the Diocese who have taken part in HOD
If your church has taken part in HOD and is not on the list, please email Emily Allen, Church Buildings Development Officer.
List in alphabetical order by location:
- Astbury, St Mary
- Aston, Runcorn, St Peter
- Backford, St Oswald
- Bebington, St Andrew
- Birkenhead Priory
- Birkenhead, Christ Church
- Bromborough, St Barnabus
- Congleton, St Peter
- Chester, St John the Baptist
- Chester, St Oswald
- Chester, St Peter
- Chester, Newtown, Christ Church
- Daresbury, All Saint
- Dodleston, St Mary
- Edgeley, St Matthew
- Hyde, St George
- Farndon Parish Church
- Frodsham, St Lawrence
- Macclesfield, St Michael & All Angels
- Malpas (Shocklash), St Ediths
- Neston, St Mary and St Helen
- Neston, Parkgate, St Thomas
- New Brighton, St James
- Plemstall, St Peter
- Shocklack, St Edith
- Stockport, St Thomas
- Stockport, St. George
- Tarvin, St Andrew
- Walton, Church of St John the Evangelist
- West Kirby, St Bridget
Quotes from churches in the Diocese
Edgeley and Cheadle Heath, St Matthews
Our HOD was to encourage local people to visit church and view parish records from St Matthew's, as well as two closed churches, St Mark's and St Augustine's. We produced a simple guide book to allow people to explore the church, had displays of memories from around the parish (including a display marking the marriage of the parents of Fred Perry, Wimbledon champion, who were married at St Matthew's). We also invited a local history society to have a display of postal and war memorabilia and an expert on a local Cockleshell Hero.
As we were open for most of the day, people felt relaxed and able to stay and chat (and even come back again after work!) One lovely lady found an old photograph of several of her brothers which she hadn't seen before, most of them now having passed away so she was very moved (we copied the photo for her to keep and sent a digital copy to her son). Imagine our surprise when we also discovered a hand-written note of thanks to the church from Winston Churchill!
St Matthew's is working hard to break down barriers and have a greater involvement in our local community. Recent conversations have reminded us of how many people feel personally attached to St Matthew's as "their" church. By hosting days like this, we bring memories alive, rekindled friendships and form new relationships with local people’.
Congleton, St Peters 
‘We have taken part for many years. In the past we have had major displays, using the talents of our flower arranging team, e.g. focussing on aspects of the building (using a booklet called Look Around You produced by SGM Lifewords), links with the town (Mills &Monuments), aspects of faith and heritage – Marriage, Baptism. Major displays encourage people from the town to visit. Some themes e.g. marriage, can encourage the community to become actively involved (photographs, wedding dresses etc.). Being part of the HODS website brings visitors from further afield. It has raised the profile of St. Peter’s in the town...The years when we have done big displays we have had 150 – 200 people over 2 – 3 days'. Photograph right illustrates part of a display on weddings, which was exhibited throughout the church.
Stockport, St Thomas
‘We were open this year Friday 10.00 - 2.00 pm, Saturday 10.00 - 2.00 and Sunday noon - 3.30pm. Friday is enhanced by the visit of the local school and the big attraction for the children is having the opportunity to ring the bell. Including the children we had just short of 200 people. The event gives people from the local area and much further afield a chance to visit and explore the church.
Interestingly last year one of the things people were really taken by was the old service registers and the extensive collection of photograph albums. We are grateful to be able to have the organ playing throughout many of the open sessions. As always, we noted that some individuals returned a couple of times during the weekend to continue their exploration.
As well as the set piece displays, I think people enjoy a chat to talk to and question members of the congregation who are around in a low key and friendly way. St Thomas's is famed for its cakes and marmalade and they are both readily available throughout the weekend’.
Aston, St Peter
‘We have taken part in the Heritage Open Day for many years at St.Peter's Aston. The grave of Chloe Gambia is in our churchyard. Chloe was a slave girl who came to Aston Hall at the age of seven and died aged 76 having been the housekeeper for some years. We have a leaflet available giving details of Chloe's time at Aston Hall. During the Open Day our church historian Phillip Littlemore is on hand to answer any questions about Chloe and our church building. We combine the day with a Coffee Morning and Book Sale and also serve Afternoon Tea.
We liaise with Halton Council Tourist Department and are included in their brochure. We receive quite a lot of visitors especially to look at Chloe's grave. Three years ago we had a coach party from the Maritime Museum in Liverpool to coincide with their Slavery Exhibition.’
Dodleston, St Mary's
For several years St Mary’s has taken part in HOD.
‘The benefits of being part of the HODS event are that it attracts new visitors to the church and village. Dodleston has a rich history stretching back nearly 1000 years but many of those who have lived in the Parish for quite a while are also ignorant of its past. The HODS weekend is an excellent way of getting visitors into the church that otherwise wouldn’t necessarily pass through its doors on other occasions’.
Focus for HOD activity at St Mary’s in recent years:
- ‘The graves of Sir Thomas Egerton, his first wife and first son, also Sir Thomas. They are buried in the floor of the bell tower and the burials date from 1588, 1599 and 1617.
- In 2012, DLHG organised a display of 'Dodleston in 100 Objects' for the HODS weekend. This display included artefacts, photos and memorabilia and attracted just over 200 visitors in two days
- In 2013, we included reference to Canon Herbert Leigh Mallory who was Rector in Dodleston from 1927 to 1940. His son George was the famous climber. We included copies of correspondence about George's accent of Everest and subsequent death on the mountain
- In 2014, we commemorated the beginning of WW1 and displayed the Roll of Honour listing seventy four men from the Parish who went off to war. From a population of about 300, that was a highly significant proportion from a village that relied upon agriculture for its main economy. Originally it was thought that four men from the parish died in the conflict but our research discovered another five men who were killed in action! They were mentioned in our extensive display at the HODS weekend and nearly 100 people from across the county visited St Mary's Church.’
Parkgate, St Thomas’
‘We have been open for the Heritage Open Days since the church was re-opened in 2010 after 16 years closure. During these weekends, for two consecutive years we had a local art society displaying and selling their work. Other years we have produced our own displays of local photographs and documents illustrating the history of Parkgate and its people.
Being the only coastal resort in Cheshire, Parkgate attracts thousands of visitors all year round, whatever the weather. Our church is normally closed apart from church services but opening our doors during the Heritage Open Days brings people into the building where not only can they see the fully renovated and restored church and learn about its history, but they can learn about the work of our church in the community. Alternatively they can sit quietly, pray, reflect or seek spiritual guidance’.