Heritage Open Days 2009

This year we are fortunate to have Ipswich Transport Museum participating in this event by supplying a 'heritage' vehicle to link between some of the properties involved in Heritage Open Days. New venues for this year are:

• Harwich Royal Yacht Club at Woolverstone. There will be guided tours to view an exhibition of the yachting archives, artefacts and pictures.
• Martlesham Heath Aviation Society Control Tower Museum will be pleased to welcome visitors for their Annual Open Day.
• Wherstead Park. The mansion was built for the Harland family in1792-4. The property has changed hands many times, but it remains much the same as it did in the 1800s. The East of England Co-operative Society now owns it. I have recently visited the impressive mansion and grounds and would encourage members to have a look for themselves.
• Arlingtons Brasserie, Museum Street. This building stood empty for many years. It has now been completely refurbished. It was the home of the original Ipswich Museum.

There are twenty-one other buildings participating in this year's event. They represent seven centuries in the history of Ipswich, providing a chance to see inside historical buildings, many of which are not normally accessible to the general public. There will be free guided walks on both the Saturday and the Sunday led by Ipswich Tourist Guides.

All information will be in the Society's leaflet available from mid-August at the Tourist Information Centre, museums and libraries.

Dianne Hosking