On Saturday 14 September Historic England’s archive will be open to the public for a special event as part of Heritage Open Days.
The archive holds countless precious items
The free event is happening at Historic England’s National Office in Swindon’s Railway Village, starting at 11am.
Inspired by the ‘Routes – Networks – Connections’ theme of this year’s Heritage Open Days, the day offers visitors the opportunity to:
- Join a poetry and bookbinding workshop led by writer Olivia Douglass and Sam Petherbridge, an artist and designer
- Take part in games and activities, including creative mapping, a demonstration from our conservation team, Archive bingo and many more!
Visitors can also:
- See behind the scenes of the state-of-the-art Archive
- Tour The Engine House, a historic building once part of Swindon’s Great Western Railway works
- Explore collections of historical photographs
Aseye Negedu, Engagement and Volunteering Officer at Historic England, said: “This year’s theme is a great opportunity for us to really celebrate the town that we are based in – Swindon. Routes, networks and connections are integral to Swindon, from the Magic Roundabout to being the home of the Great Western Railway. Come and see what we’ve got in store.”
Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture; every year, thousands of volunteers and supporters organise events that allow people to discover hidden places and try out new experiences.
Brought to the public by the National Trust, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers, Heritage Open Days gives everyone free access to experiences and events across England, including access to many sites that usually charge for admission.
For details and opening times, people can visit www.heritageopendays.org.uk.
Historic England’s Archive is a national collection of more than 12m photographs, drawings, reports and publications from the 1850s to the present day.
More than a million of the records can be searched online, including more than 400,000 images in the Aerial Photo Explorer.
The collections help people to find out about the history of their home and local area and about buildings and archaeological sites, and provide a fascinating record of the way our landscape has changed over time.
The Historic England Archive is located in the former Great Western Railway Chief Mechanical Engineer’s and Drawing Office. Built in 1841 and now known as The Engine House, it is an important building in Swindon’s Railway Village and listed at Grade II.
Historic England’s Archive will be open for Heritage Open Days on Saturday 14 September 2023 from 11am until 4pm.
Advance booking to come along on the day is not needed. However, booking is required for the four The Engine House and Archive tours at 11am, noon, 1.30pm and 2.30pm, and for the poetry and bookbinding workshop led by Olivia Douglas and Sam Petherbridge.
Poetry and bookbinding workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/home-soil-poetry-suminagashi-paper-marbling-workshop-tickets-920806726707?aff=oddtdtcreator
Details about parking and accessibility are available on the booking page on Eventbrite and the Heritage Open days website: https://heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/swindon-routes-networks.html
Details of the archive’s regular opening hours can be found via https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/archive-services/visiting
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