Every September some 40,000 volunteers across England organise thousands of events to celebrate the breath-taking heritage of this country – the Heritage Open Days campaign.
Here in Northampton we have been taking part in this campaign for many years, with 2019 being the 25th anniversary of Heritage Open Days in our town. During these Open Days many events are held to promote the rich history of Northampton – indeed a little known fact about Northampton is that it regularly was the site of Parliament during the Middle Ages! As Heritage Minister in the Government I am pleased to support such events.
I attended an event on Sunday, 10th March 2019 in Northampton to thank all those who have organised and volunteered at Heritage Open Days events through the years. Northampton has long been famed for its fashion with a notable example being the world-renowned Crockett and Jones and it was for that reason that to thank the volunteers, bus tours of some of the town’s top fashion attractions were organised.
After the bus tours I attended the event to give a speech thanking the volunteers and to personally talk to some of them about their experiences. I am pleased to support our country’s heritage all across the country and especially pleased to be able to support the long history of Northampton where I was born and brought-up. Events like this would not be possible without the hard work of the volunteers who make Heritage Open Days possible.