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Heritage Open Days
It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore. Here are a few of the local historical venues that will be taking part this year.
Heritage Open Days 2022 9th-18th September The Gatehouse, Foster Hill Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 7TD
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A beautiful Victorian Grade II listed cemetery with great trees and lovely surroundings.
We will be leading guided walks to areas of special interest, many of them themed walks. We will be taking groups around the cemetery on guided walks, or you can take a leaflet and follow it around at your own pace.
We hope it will be possible to have all the registers from 1855 available for everyone to see and search for individual burials as required. Representatives of the Friends of Bedford Cemetery (which is arranging the event) will be available to help with searches of the registers and also the grounds of the cemetery itself. The cemetery is on a beautiful sloping site and some areas can be steep, so need care for anyone with reduced mobility.
Saturday 10 September: 1000-1600 Burial records from 1855 onwards will be available, no organised guided walks, but leaflets for self-guided walks will be available. Sunday 11 September: 1345-1600 guided walks around the cemetery showing graves of particular interest and natural history. No booking required.
Contact Mrs Margaret Carpenter 07951 577461
www.fosterhillroadcemetery.co.uk/
Shuttleworth
Shuttleworth, Alder Drive, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9DT
Explore Shuttleworth House, Shuttleworth Swiss Garden, and the Shuttleworth Collection. Take a relaxing walk around the Shuttleworth Swiss Garden filled with pretty seasonal colours and two delightful peacocks. Wander along the woodland sculpture trail, around a lake home to a variety of wildlife. Observe fantastic views and scenic surrounding countryside from North Park’s gentle hills, before a stroll around the paddocks overlooking the grass airfield. Venture inside the Shuttleworth House and admire its grand period
rooms. Discover the Shuttleworth Collection, showcasing the best of early aviation, vintage vehicles and Clayton & Shuttleworth industrial heritage.
Thursday 15 September: 1000-1700
www.shuttleworth.org/product/ heritageopenday2022/
Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre
Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre, Station Road, Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, MK43 0XP
An award-winning Victorian (1846) station house restoration in the Gothic Cottage Orné style, with Museum (Original Victorian Booking Office with historical displays & temporary exhibitions) Station Master’s Parlour, vintage tea room & more!
We tell the story of the Marston Vale Railway Line engineered by Robert Stephenson which opened in 1846 and celebrating its 175th Anniversary Year. It was the first railway line to reach Bedford and for much of its life serviced the vast clay workings and brickworks at Brogborough and Stewartby; later transporting much of London’s rubbish to landfills in the former clay workings. Now at the heart of the East-West Rail Scheme to reconnect Oxford back to Cambridge. Guided tours are available at the Heritage Centre. New Marston Vale Line 175th Anniversary Exhibition.
There may be an opportunity to ‘meet’ one of the former Victorian station staff on Sundays during Heritage Open Days. Family Quiz and Puzzle Booklet are available to purchase from the Gift Shop. New Symbol Spot Trail for children aged five and over. Collect your free pack from the Gift Shop with a valid train ticket.
Vintage Tea Room in the former Ladies Waiting Room (10% discount available for rail passengers). A variety of circular & linear walks are available from the Heritage Centre.
Friday 9 September – Sunday 11 September : 1000-1600 Wednesday 14 September – Sunday 18 September : 1000-1600 No booking required. Booking recommended for Tea Room – call 01525 287120. New outside seating area available. Contact Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre Gift Shop 01525 287121
www.marstonvalecommunityrail.org.uk
Stotfold Watermill and Nature Reserve
Mill Lane, Stotfold, Bedfordshire, SG5 4NU
Stotfold Mill is a fully restored and operating watermill. It’s a great place to explore, with a traditional tearoom, gift shop and riverside nature reserve. Ample free parking and disabled access to all floors.
Run entirely by volunteers the watermill covers three floors and is in operation, water level allowing, at set times during opening hours. Information panels describe its history and restoration and our Milly Mouse signs direct visitors to key points around the building giving insight into the milling process, along with volunteer guides on all the floors, there are also working models and displays. There are loads of fun things for kids to do as well, including grinding their own flour and following the Milly Mouse trail around the mill and nature reserve.
There will also be an exhibition in the Ivel Room showcasing model vehicles, from horse-drawn to diesel. All created by local craftspeople. Cream teas are on sale in Randall’s Tearoom along with soup and a wide selection of cakes. Our stoneground flour and oats can be purchased from the Kingfisher gift shop. The Mill stands on an eightacre Local Nature Reserve which is a great place to take a relaxing stroll or have a picnic.
Sunday 11 September: 1230-1700 Sunday 18 September: 1230-1700 No booking required Contact Pat Clarey 01462 734541
www.stotfoldmill.com
For more information visit
www.heritageopendays.org.uk
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RGR Garages (Cranfi eld) Ltd, High Street, Cranfi eld, Bedfordshire MK43 0DG
