Tour

East Sussex

Rother

This is the enthralling story of Wilhelmina, Duchess of Cleveland.

A walking tour of the abbey grounds puts her life into the context of the Victorian Age. Discover the Duchess’s passion for Battle Abbey; glimpse her favourite features in the gardens and discover her ambitions to establish the site as heritage attraction.

Discover how she opened the abbey to tourists and attempted – sometimes haplessly – to manage the early days of the ‘visitor experience’. Hear the Duchess in her own words and get to know this dynamic, formidable and yet relatable woman.

The tour involves some walking with limited places to rest and may include some stairs or uneven terrain. This tour takes place outside, so please wear suitable footwear and dress appropriately for the weather.

Bookings for this event open on this page on Monday 20 April.

Members' Week:

Come to Marble Hill on every second Friday of every month, from March - December 2026 and learn about our trees and the work we've done to allow them to thrive.

Our expert volunteer guides will lead you around Marble Hill Park, showing you our magnificent and varied collection of trees.

This is a free tour and no booking is required. Please meet your guide outside the Coach House Café.

Guided Tree Tours At Marble Hill

Celebrate Mother’s Day with a little handmade love!

Drop in to our free badge-making workshop and design a special badge for your mum, grandma, or someone who cares for you. Create a colourful keepsake, perfect for gifting or wearing with pride.

This is a free event and no booking is required. All ages are welcome.

There is no booking required. For more details please contact chloe.cooke@english-heritage.org.uk

Mothers Day Badge Making At Marble Hill

In 1611, a grand new mansion at Thornton Abbey suddenly collapsed, but why? Join Dr Alastair Oswald as he leads a fascinating tour into the rise and fall of Sir Vincent Skinner, an ambitious, self-made Puritan who built his dream home on former church land. Was its destruction really an act of divine vengeance, as some believed? This tour uncovers the hidden truth behind the mystery. We’ll explore the financial troubles that dragged Skinner into mounting debt, the dramatic unraveling of his fortune, and the possibility that local landowner Margaret Winn dismantled the house to reclaim her loan.

This tour is graded as moderate access due to uneven terrain.

Members' Event:

Join us on Saturday 14 March where participants and new audiences will be invited to experience ‘Ten Times Table’, a site-specific audio experience co-created to celebrate King Arthur’s Round Table.

North Star Co-Design have worked with 60 local community members, to explore our relationship to the free-to-enter site, asking what metaphorical tables we find ourselves invited to or excluded from and what conversations currently demand our ear.

North Star Co-Design was founded in 2022 by theatre maker Louie Ingham and writer Lee Mattinson, who have worked together since 2015 on a series of socially-engaged and place-based projects. They co-create with people in a variety of settings and their process is a person-led approach to making ambitious new ideas happen.

This event is free and booking is essential.

Book tickets at 1pm. Book tickets at 2pm. Book tickets at 3pm.

'Ten Times Table’ is supported by English Heritage’s Community Connections grants with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

'Ten Times Table' Audio Play At King Arthur's Round Table

Enjoy the fresh air, pleasant surroundings, and community spirit of Marble Hill with our weekly Community Walk. The experience is led by our volunteers and is free to attend with no pre-booking requirement.

Meet outside the Coach House Café.

Community Walk At Marble Hill

Join a community of crafters for a weekly knit and natter in the Coach House Cafe at Marble Hill.

We’re a friendly and encouraging group, who work on our own independent projects alongside each other.

Open to all adult ages and abilities.

There is no booking required. For more details please contact chloe.cooke@english-heritage.org.uk

Knitting Group At Marble Hill

Visit our kitchen garden, where we have a selection of fresh produce for sale. All produce is grown by our volunteer kitchen gardeners, and proceeds support our beautiful house and gardens.

Expect to find fresh vegetables, cut flowers, and other seasonal produced.

Our Kitchen Garden is in the northeast corner of the park, by the sports block.

Card payments only.

This event is weather dependant and might be called off in short notice.

If you have any questions, please email our Senior Gardener: Harrison.Hulatt@english-heritage.org.uk

The Kitchen Garden At Marble Hill

Start your visit to Framlingham Castle on Friday 27 February or Friday 20 March with a homemade cream tea within the castle café. Then join us for an exclusive tour within Framlingham Castle workhouse, exploring areas you typically cannot explore - the attic space and the naughty cupboard!

Learn more about the history of this 18th-century workhouse and the conditions inside, including diet and work. Hear stories of some of the inmates' lives, which have been uncovered by our team of research volunteers. This tour will provide an overview of the castle's history, from its origins up to its more recent history, getting a special mention in the song Castle on the Hill. This experience includes the tour, your cream tea, and an additional hot drink to enjoy whilst you soak up the castle's history.

Please ensure you wear suitable footwear and dress appropriately for the weather, as there are some elements of this tour that may be taking place outside. This event is graded moderate access, due to some parts of the tour requiring the climbing of stairs and navigating uneven ground. Access to the attic space is only accessible via a spiral staircase.

Behind The Scenes Workhouse Tour And Cream Tea At Framlingham Castle

Join Curator of History Andrew Roberts on this guided walking tour of the 'Roman Mile' – a beautifully preserved, continuous section of Hadrian's Wall that incorporates all of the elements of the system, including a fort, turrets, a roman bridge, and two milecastles. We will explore Hardian's grand vision for the frontier and how the wall functioned, as we walk from Birdoswald Roman Fort to Gilsland.

This event is graded as challenging, as sections of this walk can be quite steep, and will involved navigating uneven surfaces with minimal stops.

Free outdoor sessions to help you feel better, move more, connect with nature, and meet new people—no gym needed!

Come and join us for relaxed, friendly group movement sessions at Dover's Western Heights.

Hike, stretch, breathe, run, and enjoy nature together. It’s all about feeling good in your body and mind, with no pressure and no cost.

Dont fancy the full four hours? Not a problem! There's a natural break halfway through the session, and we completely understand if you'd rather call it a day at that point. The most important thing to us is that you feel happy and comfortable.

Sessions are led by Primal Runners – friendly coaches trained to support all abilities and backgrounds.

  WHO?

Everyone is welcome—especially if you:

Feel stressed, lonely, or stuck indoors

Want to get moving but don’t like gyms

Are new to Dover or new to speaking English

Just want to try something different

Please note: These are active sessions. The walk to the Western Heights is steep and requires good mobility. If you have any questions about accessibility, please get in touch. We're happy to help you work out if the sessions will be suitable for you.

  WHAT?

Each session includes:

A welcome chat

A walk or run through nature

Simple body movement (no equipment needed)

Breathing and calming exercises

Time to talk, share, and connect

No experience or fancy gear is needed. Just wear some trainers and comfortable clothes to move in.

  WHERE?

Meet us at The Rings in Dover's Market Square. We’ll head up to the Western Heights together.

There is pay-and-display parking available in Dover town centre. The nearest railway station is Dover Priory, a 5-minute walk from the Market Square, and Stagecoach buses stop nearby in Pencester Road and Priory Street.

Postcode | CT16 1NU

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  WHEN?

All sessions run from 10am - 2pm (with the option to finish at 12pm) on the following dates:

Autumn 2025

Spring 2026

Sun 7 Sep 2025 Sun 15 Mar 2026

Sun 28 Sep 2025 Sun 29 Mar 2026

Sat 18 Oct 2025* Sun 19 Apr 2026

* This session only will run from 10:30 - 14:30

  THIS EVENT IS PART OF ENGLISH HERITAGE'S REACHING GREATER HEIGHTS PROJECT.

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Reaching Greater Heights is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to restore historic chalk grasslands at Dover Castle and Western Heights, protect rare wildlife and heritage, and empower local communities through volunteering, learning, and activities.

Heights Not Weights:

Come and play 'Blood on the Clocktower', the popular social deduction game, at atmospheric Marble Hill House.

Our experienced storyteller will guide veteran and first time players through an afternoon session consisting of two games.

You can enjoy a complimentary beverage and some biscuits in the Welcome Room; more refreshments are available at our on-site cafe.

Blood On The Clocktower At Marble Hill

Join us for an evening of stargazing at The Citadel Welcome Centre Café, led by the South East Kent Astronomical Society (SEKAS).

You’ll have the chance to:

✨ Use telescopes to observe planets, stars, constellations and other cosmic wonders (weather permitting).

✨ Learn fascinating insights about the night sky from experienced amateur astronomers and astrophotographers.

✨ Learn the stories behind our names for constellations and planets, just as the people of the past would have before us.

Book your free tickets at Eventbrite.

How to prepare:

Dress warmly—it can get very cold outside at night!

Bring a torch or phone with a torch function (red light preferred to preserve night vision). You can find a red-light tutorial for iPhone here, or if you're using Android, apps like Twilight: Blue Light Filter or Red Light can help.

Enhance your experience by pre-downloading a stargazing app like Stellarium or SkyView Lite ahead of time. There are lots of free options available.

Optional: Bring folding chairs, blankets, and binoculars for added comfort and personal stargazing.

Important notes:

The event will take place in a sectioned off area of The Citadel car park. Parts of the car park may be wet and uneven, and cars may be operating in the vicinity, so please wear appropriate footwear and take care when crossing the site.

This family-friendly session is suitable for ages 5 and up. Children and young people under the age of 18 must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult.

Refreshments will be available to purchase from The Citadel Welcome Centre Café throughout the event, including hot drinks in takeaway cups which can be enjoyed outside while you stargaze.

The event will go ahead whatever the weather. If cloud and rain mean we can't see the stars, SEKAS will deliver a talk about astronomy, astrophotography and citizen science inside The Citadel Welcome Centre Café.

Any updates will be communicated by email, so please ensure you sign up with an email address you can check reliably.

  This event is part of English Heritage's Reaching Greater Heights project and Dover District Council's Western Heights Regeneration project.

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Reaching Greater Heights is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to restore historic chalk grasslands at Dover Castle and Western Heights, protect rare wildlife and heritage, and empower local communities through volunteering, learning, and activities.

With support from Historic England and the UK Government, Dover District Council are working to regenerate Dover’s Western Heights—restoring historic views, improving safety, and reconnecting the site with the town through conservation, community engagement and heritage-led regeneration.

Citadel Sessions:

Join us at St Augustine’s Abbey as Canterbury marks a historic occasion, the installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally. As part of the celebrations, the Abbey will be open to visitors from 10am to 4pm.

Explore the Abbey with tours included at set times throughout the day, and step back into medieval life as you watch a moneyer at work, striking coins by hand. Children can enjoy a fun trail across the grounds, making the day enjoyable for all ages.

Discover the Abbey’s fascinating history as the burial site of the first Archbishops of Canterbury, and delve deeper with our complimentary audio guide, bringing the Abbey’s past vividly to life.

Tour Times:

• 11.15am - 12.15pm

• 12.30pm - 1.30pm

• 2pm - 3pm

Reserve your tour on arrival. Spaces first come, first served.

(Photography credit: St. Augustine and Queen Bertha of Kent depicted in a stained glass window by J Powell & Son, 1900, Blakeney, Norfolk © Holmes Garden Photos / Alamy Stock Photo)

Archbishop Celebrations At St Augustine's Abbey

This Easter holiday, join us for a fun-filled adventure quest! Follow the Easter trail, hunt for eggs and answer questions along the way to earn a delicious chocolate reward.

The quest runs every day throughout the school holidays and is just £2 per child for both members and non-members. This is in addition to your admission ticket. There's no need to book in advance – simply pay and join the quest when you arrive.

Book early and save 15%. Admission prices vary depending on the day you visit.

Easter Quest At Framlingham Castle

Easter Quest At Scarborough Castle

This Easter holiday, join us at Goodrich Castle, as we celebrate the start of Spring.

Pick up a free family trail leaflet in the visitor centre: solve riddles and find clues, as you search for signs that Spring has finally awakened.

This trail is included with your admission to Goodrich Castle. Members go free.

Spring Awakens Trail At Goodrich Castle

English Heritage

English Heritage cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites - from world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, from Roman forts on the edges of the empire to a Cold War bunker. 

Through these, we bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year. 

Members' Week:

English Heritage

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