Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history & culture, taking place every September and involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Stories are told, traditions explored and histories brought to life. The festival provides members of the general public with the chance to see usually hidden places and try out brand-new experiences. And what’s more, it’s all absolutely FREE...

The event returns this year from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 September - and here are just some of the venues you can explore around Shropshire...

Broseley Pipeworks
Duke Street, Telford, Shropshire, TF12 5LX

The Broseley Pipeworks is an original 19th-century clay tobacco pipe factory. It was abandoned in the 1950s, but restored by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in the early 1990s. A unique time capsule, the site details the development of an industry whose products were exported all around the world.

For the Heritage Open Days event, there will be guided tours focusing on how historic buildings like this are rescued, and opportunities to see archival material relating to the site. Demonstrations of pipe making will also take place during the day.

Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September | 10am - 4pm, no pre-booking required

Dudmaston Hall
Dudmaston Hall, Quatt, Bridgnorth, WV15 6QN

Heritage Open Days visitors can enjoy free entry to this lived-in family home at the heart of a working Shropshire estate.

A much-loved home for over 875 years, the Hall features family rooms scattered with photos (and maybe with an odd pair of shoes or two peeping out from under a table!).

The galleries create a total contrast, with their formal, crisp lines, designed by the last owner, Lady Labouchere. Meanwhile, the gardens provide amazing vistas and a real sense of tranquillity, while the orchard is the perfect place for adults to relax and children to let off steam.

Sunday 14 - Thursday 18, and Sunday 21 September | 10.30am - 4.30pm, no pre-booking required

Haughmond Abbey
Haughmond Abbey, Haughmond, Uffington, Shrewsbury, SY4 4RW

Join the expert team of English Heritage volunteers for an exclusive tour of Haughmond Abbey.

The extensive remains of the Augustinian abbey include its abbots’ quarters, refectory and cloister. The substantially surviving chapter house has a frontage richly bedecked with 12th- and 14th-century carving and statuary, and a fine timber roof from around the year 1500.

Saturday 13, Monday 15, Tuesday 16, Thursday 18 - Saturday 20 September | 11am (and 1pm Mon, Thurs & Fri), pre-booking required

Ironbridge guided tours
The Iron Bridge, Telford, TF8 7JP

The world’s first iron bridge was erected over the River Severn in Shropshire in 1779. This pioneering structure marked a turning point in English design and engineering; after it was built, cast iron came to be widely used in the construction of bridges, aqueducts and buildings.

Join knowledgeable volunteers to find out more about this fascinating site and its equally fascinating history.

Saturday 13, Monday 15, Tuesday 16 and Saturday 20 September | 11am & 1pm, pre-booking required

Oswestry South Signal Box
Cambrian Heritage Railways, 30 Oswald Road, Oswestry, SY11 1RE

Built in the 19th century for the Oswestry & Newtown Railway, Oswestry South Signal Box was operational for more than 100 years. Unlike much of the neighbouring railway infrastructure, it escaped demolition but was stripped of its contents and equipment and remained a shell for many years. A Grade II listed building, Cambrian Heritage Railways volunteers have spent countless hours refurbishing the structure and sourcing and installing appropriate equipment. The signal box has now been restored for operational use, so is no longer normally available to visit. However, as public-service trains are not running over the Heritage Open Days weekend, visitors will have a rare opportunity to look around the restored facility and see how it works.

Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September | 11am - 4pm, no pre-booking required

For further information about Heritage Open Days across the region, visit the website at heritageopendays.org.uk

Check out other regions -

BIRMINGHAM

WOLVERHAMPTON AND BLACK COUNTRY

STAFFORDSHIRE

WARWICKSHIRE

WORCESTERSHIRE