History

Northumberland

Go back in time and get up close to the action as rival knights compete in the ultimate test of strength and skill at the Knights’ Tournament at Warkworth Castle.

Four armoured knights and their squires will clash in a variety of gruelling rounds. You’ll be transported back to the 13th century as you experience the pageantry and action of the fearsome tournaments of days gone by.

Book early and save 15% – and be sure not to miss one of history’s most spectacular sporting contests.

Knights' Tournament At Warkworth Castle

English Heritage in partnership with the National Garden Scheme is delighted to be offering you the chance to experience the beautiful gardens of Mount Grace Priory in the early evening when the site is closed to the public.

Meet the Head Gardener and members of their team for a tour of the gardens. Get an insight into how the team develop and enhance these wonderful spaces, carefully managed to ensure how they are presented today reflects their rich history.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the team as you experience the gardens at this very special event.

Tickets available soon.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund nursing and health charities through the National Garden Scheme, which raises millions of pounds per year for organisations like Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK. Find out more, and discover other special garden visits near you, on the National Garden Scheme website.

Your ticket is only for entry to the event. Members get a discount on the ticket price. You’ll need to book using the link above. Please bring your booking confirmation with you on the day.

Exclusive Evening Garden Tour At Mount Grace Priory

English Heritage in partnership with the National Garden Scheme is delighted to be offering you the chance to experience the beautiful gardens of Walmer Castle in the early evening when the site is closed to the public.

Meet the Head Gardener and members of their team for a tour of the gardens. Get an insight into how the team develop and enhance these wonderful spaces, carefully managed to ensure how they are presented today reflects their rich history.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the team as you experience the gardens at this very special event.

Tickets will be on sale soon.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund nursing and health charities through the National Garden Scheme, which raises millions of pounds per year for organisations like Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK. Find out more, and discover other special garden visits near you, on the National Garden Scheme website.

Exclusive Evening Garden Tour At Walmer Castle

Experience the power and glamour of John Singer Sargent’s portraits in Kenwood's new exhibition; Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits.

Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits will reveal the real stories behind the fascinating American women who crossed the Atlantic to marry British aristocrats in an exchange of money for titles. These women include a war-time nurse and the first sitting female MP.

Sargent was one of the most sought-after artists of the Gilded Age and was ‘the artist’ to depict these intriguing women. On the centenary of his death, the exhibition will be a salute to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), the most admired and sought-after portraitist of the Gilded Age on both sides of the Atlantic. These portraits represent some of his most glamorous and powerful works. In addition to full-length oil paintings, masterful charcoal portraits will also feature, depicting their subjects in a candid and perceptive light.

Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits is curated by English Heritage with the charity drawing upon the expertise of Richard Ormond CBE. The renowned Sargent scholar and the artist’s great-nephew is the exhibition’s consultant.

Book online and save 15%.

Heiress:

Four scientists have lived inside a biodome for over a decade with only the seeds of the mighty Blostma for company. This plant is so delicate and so powerful that it only flowers every 12 years. Now the scientists’ careful preparation is put to the test as they fling open the biodome doors to an audience of curious companions. The Blostma might just be what we’ve all been waiting for, but only if it blossoms under the full moon tonight!

Enter the biodome and experience this cosmic, floral event. The question is, after 12 years of waiting, will the Blostma finally reveal its blooms?

Night Out in Nature is an outdoor promenade installation performance for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).

BUY TICKETS

Night Out In Nature

Join our collections team in the Archaeological Collections Store and discover a treasure trove of unique and special objects spanning 2,000 years of England's history. These are objects not normally on display, and form around a third of our total stored collection.

This year the tours will focus on objects from Roman Wroxeter, Hill Hall and Thetford Priory.

Tours are free and can be booked when you arrive at Wrest Park.

Tours will run at 11am and 1pm on the following dates:

7 April

19 May

2 June

16 June

7 July

21 July

4 August

18 August

8 September

22 September

6 October

20 October

Archaeological Collections Store Tours

Meet Robert Dudley and enjoy a glass of prosecco as you enter Lord Leycester’s Hospital after hours. Hear the tale of how during Elizabeth I’s reign, Robert Dudley founded his legacy and created a home and sanctuary for soldiers, the Brethren. As you are guided through the medieval rooms you will learn of Dudley’s prominence and influence in the Elizabethan court. Discover this unique establishment where the community of Master and Brethren still exists after 450 years.

This event has been graded as challenging access. There will be limited places to stop and rest during the tour, will include some steep steps and unfortunately, some areas are not accessible due to the nature of the building.

Members' Event:

Chatty Café

First Friday of every month from Friday 4th April - 10am-11.30am.

Join us on the first Friday every month from 10.00-11.30am for a chat and a cuppa. There will always be a volunteer on hand so a chat is guaranteed and there is a free cup of tea as well.

Gainsborough Old Hall has been at the heart of the town’s community for hundreds of years and is the perfect meeting place for locals and visitors alike.

Sometimes the best connections are made over a cup of tea and our Chatty Café days are the perfect way to bring people together.

Memory Café

The first Friday of April and May will be extra special Chatty Café days. We’d love to hear your stories about Gainsborough Old Hall and by sharing them you’ll help us keep history alive for future generations.

Our oral history volunteers will be in the café to hear your memories and share your experience of our wonderful building. Whether it’s how you relatives worked or even lived in the hall or how you attended classes there in the 1980s, were looking to find out more and document memories for future generations.

We’ll have some pictures from the hall’s history in display to help us recollect. Your memories matter and we want to hear them!

Chatty Café At Gainsborough Old Hall

Join Julian Humphrys of the Battlefields Trust for some spectacular views on this exploration of the site of one of the most dramatic battles of the Civil War, when in July 1643 the royalists launched a seemingly impossible attack up the steep slopes of Lansdown Hill near Bath.

This tour is graded as challenging access as there will be plenty of walking with limited resting points and no seating. The battlefield walk covers a distance of around 3 miles (5km) and takes approximately 2 hours.

Join us for a behind the scenes tour of Helmsley Archaeology store!

Tours will be held: 

Friday 4th April – 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 2nd May – 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 6th June - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 4th July - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 1st August - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 19th September - 11:30 & 13:30 – Heritage Open day specials

Saturday 20th September – 10:00 & 11:30 – Heritage Open day specials

Friday 3rd October - 11:30 & 13:30

Guided by members of the collections team, these tours will explore how we look after and care for our collections, our current projects and highlight some of our favourite finds from across the North territory.

To book your place, please email the collections team on Helmsley.Stores@english-heritage.org.uk.

Please specify a date and include a list of all attendees in your email. Tours are free but contributions welcomed. Bookings will be made on a first come, first serve basis.

While tours are free, a £5 per person donation is suggested.

Helmsley Archaeology Store Tours

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. 

Knights' Tournament At Warkworth Castle

English Heritage

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