Cheshire’s Heritage Open Days programme unveiled

Cheshire West & Chester Council and the Chester Civic Trust have arranged a series of free events for this year's Heritage Open Days running over four days from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 September.

Heritage Open Days are an opportunity to discover 'hidden' buildings not normally open to the public.

Experts at many of the buildings and sites will be on hand to answer questions from visitors and give an informal explanation of the building history.

This year more than 50 buildings will be open in locations stretching from Burton Manor in the North down to Shocklach Church in the South. There will also be an increased number of free walking tours and events during the four days of the celebration, all given by Blue Badge Guides and local volunteers who have specialist knowledge of local history. There will be walking tours around Chester city centre plus guided walks in Neston, Mollington and Weaverham.

This year marks the centenary of the death of prolific local architect John Douglas, who died in 1911. He was responsible for a great number of buildings in Chester and the surrounding area, and for the Eastgate Clock which is perhaps the most famous city centre image. Many of his buildings will be open to view and local guides are leading walking tours on the John Douglas theme.

• A local booklet is available from Chester Visitor Information Centre, Town Hall Square, the Grosvenor Museum, History and Heritage in St Michael's Church, and local branch libraries. The booklet is also available online from www.heritageopendayschester.co.uk Heritage Open Days are co-ordinated and sponsored by English Heritage.