> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Your guide to Ipswich's Heritage Open Days - URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/your-guide-to-ipswichs-heritage-open-days/ - Published: 2026-09-14T06:23:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-14T06:23:35.000Z - Description: Heritage Open Days run across Ipswich until Sunday, 20 September 2026, with the town's festival of history and culture still offering plenty to see this week – from a boot-scraper talk to a Tudor hall said to be haunted. - Author: Nicola Sebastian - Tags: News, History, Heritage & Museums, Town Centre & Waterfront, Events & Things To Do This year's festival theme, "Everyday History Heroes," celebrates the volunteers and enthusiasts who have preserved Ipswich's buildings and traditions, with churches, schools, theatres and heritage groups across the town opening their doors for tours, talks and trails through the week. ## Available now ### Ipswich Trail Makers – Digital Blue Plaque Trail Launched on 11 September and running throughout the festival, this new digital trail was created by Ipswich Society working with primary schools across the town. Pupils researched the stories behind selected Blue Plaques and produced digital characters to represent them, forming a new public heritage trail around the town centre. - **Where:** Around the town centre – there's no set starting point, so visitors can join the trail wherever suits them - **When:** Available anytime - **Booking:** Not required ### AudaTours Ipswich Audio Tour: Hands That Built the Port A self-guided audio tour exploring the dockers, shipwrights, brewers and merchants who built Ipswich's port, taking in 12 stops between the Cornhill and the waterfront, including the Ancient House, Wolsey's Gate and St Peter's by the Waterfront. The tour runs for about an hour of audio, or roughly two hours including walking. - **Where:** Starts at Ipswich Cornhill - **When:** Available anytime - **Booking:** Get a redemption code via the AudaTours website, then download the app ## Tuesday 15 September ### **St Peter's by the Waterfront & The Ipswich Charter Hangings** The historic mariners' church, with links to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, is open to view heritage displays and the Ipswich Charter Hangings – artwork created to mark 800 years since Ipswich was granted its Royal Charter by King John. The church also holds a rare Tournai Marble Font dating to 1130. - **Where:** College Street - **When:** 10:00-16:00, Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 September (12:00-14:00 on Wednesday) - **Booking:** Not required **Life's Rich Tapestry:** A talk by Ipswich-based tapestry artist Liz Chester exploring the history and language of tapestry weaving, an ancient craft she says is enjoying a resurgence. - **Where:** The Unitarian Meeting House, Friars Street - **When:** 19:00-20:30 - **Booking:** Not required ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/2026/09/img-2416-1.jpeg) Ipswich Waterfront (Photo: Oliver Rouane-Williams/Ipswich.co.uk) ## Wednesday 16 September ### **Ipswich Society Talk: Cowell's Printing** Nigel Ball and Rob Ramsden discuss the history of W.S. Cowell Ltd, a British printing company established in 1818 that produced children's literature and coffee table books, and which the Ipswich Society describes as playing "a significant role in the history of printing in Ipswich." - **Where:** Museum Street Methodist Church, Black Horse Lane - **When:** Doors 19:00, talk begins 19:30, with refreshments to follow - **Booking:** Not required ## Thursday 17 September ### **Architectural Oddities** Architect Stuart Edgar returns with another illustrated talk on Suffolk's unusual architectural features, having previously covered crinkle crankle walls. - **Where:** Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House, Friars Street - **When:** 19:00 - **Booking:** Not required ## Friday 18 September ### **Old Jewish Cemetery, Ipswich** A rare chance to view this Grade II listed burial ground, used by Ipswich's Jewish community between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. The walls date from around 1764 and survive largely intact. - **Where:** Total Car Parks, 3 Salthouse Lane - **When:** 10:00-13:00 - **Booking:** Not required - **Note:** The site is in the centre of a car park, so visitors are asked to park carefully ## Saturday 19 September ### **Unsung Heritage Heroes** A guided walk celebrating the volunteers behind Ipswich's civic, heritage and creative groups, taking in buildings and features connected to architects, embroiderers, musicians, sailors and engineers who have given their time to the town over the decades. - **Where:** Starts outside the Town Hall, Cornhill - **When:** 14:00, lasting around 90 minutes - **Booking:** Essential, via ipswichinstitute.org.uk/ipswichtourist or in person at Ipswich Institute, 15 Tavern Street ### **Ipswich School Heritage Open Morning** Tours of Ipswich School take in its links to Cardinal Wolsey, its Grade II listed library designed by Birkin Haward with stained glass by John Piper, and the Old Town Library, which holds books dating back to the 1400s on behalf of the town. - **Where:** Ipswich School, Henley Road - **When:** Tours at 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00 - **Booking:** Not required – simply arrive at reception ### **Red Rose Chain: Gippeswyk Hall & The Avenue Theatre** The theatre company throws open the doors of its base at the Grade II\* listed Tudor Gippeswyk Hall, described by staff as "most-likely haunted," with guided tours running throughout the day. - **Where:** Gippeswyk Hall, Gippeswyk Avenue - **When:** 10:00-16:00 (last entry 15:30), tours from 11:00-16:00 - **Booking:** Not required ### **CLAY 1A: Lost Cargo Hunt** A family trail beginning at the historic grain warehouse being transformed into a new cultural attraction, sending visitors out to uncover stories from Ipswich's maritime past before returning to CLAY 1A for further activities. - **Where:** Waterfront House, 1A Wherry Quay - **When:** 10:00-14:00 - **Booking:** Not required ## Sunday 20 September ### **Curzon Lodge – Cellar Tour** A rare look inside the arched undercroft cellar of this 14th-century building, featuring Roman bricks, ancient beams and tales of a possible secret chapel. - **Where:** 47 St Nicholas Street - **When:** Tours at 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00 - **Booking:** Not required - **Note:** Organisers say the cellar is unsuitable for wheelchair users, with no handrail and slippery steps ## The bottom line Ipswich's Heritage Open Days run for the last week and offer everything from Tudor halls to tapestry talks, with most events needing no advance booking. Full listings and any late additions can be found at [heritageopendays.org.uk](https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/printable-area-lists/ipswich.html?ref=ipswich.co.uk). --- **Don't forget:** If you enjoy our content, please [add Ipswich.co.uk as a "preferred source" on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=ipswich.co.uk&ref=ipswich.co.uk) so you can easily find more of the content you value. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=ipswich.co.uk&ref=ipswich.co.uk) --- ### This article cost us \~£32 to produce It's free for you to read thanks to the generous support of our partners. Please support us by supporting them.