We are fast approaching that fantastic time of year when England’s largest festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Days, comes to Hemel Hempstead! It’s a great opportunity to discover hidden places and try out new experiences right on your doorstep, and the best bit, they all are completely free to enjoy!
Running from Friday 12 September through to Sunday 21 September, this year’s events will give you the opportunity to discover your local heritage and culture like never before!
The Hemel Local History Society is organising 17 events at nine different local places of historic interest. Whether you’re interested in the early Quakers who helped build our town, our industrial past at the Frogmore Paper Mill, the buildings in the Old Town that date to the 1500s or the Roman House and Baths in Gadebridge, there are tours and guided walks to whet everyone’s interest.
Local venues for 2025 include:
• Gadebridge Roman Villa and Baths
• Friends Meeting House & Burial Ground
• St John’s Church, Boxmoor
• Frogmore Paper Mill
• Jellicoe Water Gardens
• Gadespring Watercress Beds
• Roman Fields School
• Hemel Old Town Hall
• Hemel Old Town
Mike Atkins, Chairman of Hemel’s History Society said, “This is a great opportunity for people to delve into our local history to find out more about the people that lived here and the historic places that remain.
“We’re particularly excited that Dr David Neal, the archaeologist who first excavated the Gadebridge Roman Villa and Bath House following its discovery in the 1960s, is returning to provide tours of the site and to explain what lays under our feet.
“In addition to the Roman Villa we have arranged guided tours of Geoffrey Jellicoe’s Water Gardens, the Friends Meeting House in the Old Town which dates to the 1700s, St John’s Church in Boxmoor, The Old Town Hall, Frogmore Paper Mill which was the birthplace of paper’s industrial revolution, Roman Fields School, and the Gadespring Watercress Beds. And I’ll be leading a guided walk of the Old Town buildings and explaining about the people who lived here all those years ago.”
Details for all local events, and those wider afield, can be viewed online at www.heritageopendays.org.uk
Tickets, which are free of charge, will be available online from 18 August.
About Heritage Open Days:
Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture. Running for ten days every September, the festival offers free access to heritage events and activities across England.
Heritage Open Days is brought to you by the National Trust with support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, and delivered locally by a large range of organisations (including civic societies, heritage organisations and local councils, community champions and thousands of enthusiastic volunteers).
