Bury St Edmunds, Sudbury, Eye, Ipswich and Lowestoft among towns inviting visitors to join them for creative cultural celebration

Every September England’s biggest community-led festival of history and culture brings the chance to see hidden places and try new experiences … all for free.

Heritage Open Days, which involve over 40,000 volunteers and 5,000 events countrywide, see a huge range of opportunities and events including rare glimpses into normally private places, tours and talks, and free entry to major attractions that usually charge for admission.

Here are some of the events in Suffolk during this year’s festival which runs from September 8 to 17 and has a special focus on creativity,

Great War Huts, Brook Farm Camp, Bells Lane, Hawstead, IP29 5NW

Creative Conflict is a special exhibition at Great War Huts just for Heritage Open Days, featuring some wonderfully creative artefacts from their collection stretching from the South African War in 1899 to the Falklands War in 1982.

Amid the death and destruction of warfare, soldiers have always found the time and the means to be creative.

The exhibition features items predominantly from the First World War, but it also features some items from earlier, and later, conflicts.

This is a rare opportunity to see objects which have been drawn, painted, engraved, embroidered, whittled, carved and written. The creators of these include soldiers, nurses, prisoners of war, and even manufacturers who spotted a commercial opportunity.

Open daily from September 9 to 17, with guided tours, which must be pre-booked, on some days. Booking via heritageopendays.org.uk or call 01284 388986.

Suffolk Archives, Records Office, 77 Raingate Street, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 2AR. A chance to explore some of the creative treasures from the collection, from hand-drawn historic maps to a WW2 sketchbook. There will also be a chance to take a peek behind the scenes.

Suffolk Archives cares for 900 years' worth of documents, images, and sound recordings which together tell the stories of Suffolk's people and places. Altogether the collections take up about 11 miles of shelving at sites in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, and Lowestoft.. Saturday 9 September: 1000-1600.No booking required.

The Guildhall, Guildhall Street, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 1PR offers a weekend of live music in the oak-panelled Court Room. You can also explore the stories of unsung heroes in the WW2 Royal Observer Corps Operations Room, and wander in the walled gardens. Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September. 1000-1600. No booking required.

Ickworth House, Horringer, IP29 5QE The National Trust invites visitors to Suffolk's own 'Little Italy', with its spectacular Italianate palace, gardens and parkland, in a week filled with engaging experiences, art, and history. Saturday 9 to Sunday 16 September. Booking suggested for guided tours. Go to nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/ickworth-estate/events.

Ancient Library tour. St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Angel Hill, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 1LS. Learn more about the fascinating books in the cathedral’s Ancient Library with 30 minute tours conducted by guides. There are more than 550 books, mainly dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Ancient Library was founded by Dr Miles Mosse in 1595 as a resource for clergy training. The books are now housed in a room above the north-west porch, which was designed in 1960 by Stephen Dykes Bower. the architect who oversaw the extension of the Cathedral in the 20th century.

Friday 8 and 15 September: Half-hourly 1400-1630. Saturday 9 and 16 September: Half-hourly 1000-1230. Tours must be pre-booked - call Sarah Friswell on 01284 748730, email sarahfriswell@stedscathedral.org or go to stedscathedral.org/whats-on

Cavendish Hall, Cavendish, CO10 8BN.Cavendish Hall is an early Regency country house of great charm, set on the outskirts of one of Suffolk’s loveliest villages. Houses like this are familiar to anyone who has ever read a Jane Austen novel and it is easy to picture Mr Darcy striding across the lawn, or Elizabeth Bennett lingering in one of the elegant rooms.

This is a rare chance to explore the building, learn about its history and restoration. and bring a picnic to enjoy in the garden if the weather is fine. Leaflets about the history of the house - now run by historic buildings charity Landmark Trust as a holiday let - will be available.

There is limited parking in a neighbouring field. Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September. 1000 to 1600. Booking preferred. Call 01628 825925 or go to booking@landmarktrust.org.uk.

Little Hall, Market Place, Lavenham, CO10 9QZ. Step inside a stunning building whose history as a family house and workplace mirrors the changing fortunes of Lavenham over 600 years.

The hall house built in 1390 for a family of clothiers was ‘modernised’ in Tudor times. In the 1800s it was tenements for working families, and was restored in the 1930s by the Gayer-Anderson twins who were soldiers, collectors and artists.

Little Hall, now home to the Suffolk Preservation Society, holds the brothers’ fascinating collection of art and artefacts and is a museum with the atmosphere of a home. The garden combines a Tudor-style knot garden with a traditional walled garden. Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September: 1300-1600. No booking required.

Clare’s Amazing History - 1,000 years in 100 minutes. The Visitor Centre, Malting Lane, Clare, CO10 8NW. A tour of Suffolk's smallest town, taking in its key heritage assets including the castle ruins, listed railway buildings, the parish church, the Ancient House Museum and Clare Priory.

It includes the only complete set of 1865 railway station buildings in the county, a new model railway, significant Grade One buildings, and an exploration of some of Clare’s literary and creative connections.

Guides will explain how the town developed from Anglo-Saxon times, and how in the middle ages it was home to the richest non-royal family in England. It will also incorporate the Ancient House Museum's exhibition of Clare Shops Past and Present. Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September: 1000-1140 and 1330-1510. Pre-booking required by September 7, online at claretourguides.co.uk

Gainsborough’s House, Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, CO10 2EU. The birthplace museum of artist Thomas Gainsborough re-opened in November 2022 after a £10 million project to refurbish the historic house and build new galleries. Friday 15 to Sunday 17 September: 1000-1700. No booking required.

Sudbury guided tours - a chance to delve into the town’s history and creativity.. Walk with expert guides to learn more about this historic market town. Six different routes are available each focusing on a different aspect of Sudbury life.

They include Legends and Literature which will reveal how the town has appeared in books by famous writers such as Dickens and 101 Dalmatians author Dodie Smith, and include the house where the first Times crossword was created.

Other tours include Sudbury’s Railway past and present, and Sudbury’s Unlisted Heritage which looks at lesser-known but no less interesting buildings that have not made it onto official listings.

Also on the programme are Strolling in Gainsborough’s Footsteps, and chances to step into the town’s history from the inspirational to the creative, the scandalous to the gory.

Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September. All tours must be pre-booked. Email towncentremanager@sudbury-tc.gov.uk, or go to sudbury-tc.gov.uk/hods. More information from Rachel Price 01787 275772.

Twin Victorian chapels. Eye Cemetery , Yaxley Road, Eye, IP23 7DP A rare pair of Victorian chapels, due for refurbishment as part of a project by Eye Town Council – this is a chance to get involved with living history and a vision for the future. Join the group working on the project and help it come to life. The team welcome any local historic information or links with the graves. Sunday 17 September: 1100-1500. No booking required.

Eye also has numerous other events to attend, and attractions open, including Eye Castle, a talk on the WW2 airfield, and a creative heritage pop-up museum in the town hall.

Sudbury Green Sundays - eco-creative special, Market Hill, Sudbury, CO10 2EA. A special edition of the monthly showcase of sustainability, which will include stalls, demonstrations, and hands-on craft activities aimed at promoting a more reduce-reuse-recycle attitude in our daily lives. Sunday 17 September: 0930-1400. No booking required.

Sudbury Town Centre - Dalmatian creation trail is a self-guided tour of Sudbury where 101 Dalmatians crafted by local groups and individuals in celebration of the town’s links to author Dodie Smith will be on display from September 8 to 17. Collect a free trail map from the Tourist Information Centre at The Town Hall (Gaol Lane entrance) or download at: sudbury-tc.gov.uk/hods

Thorington Hall, Thorington Street, Stoke by Nayland, CO6 4SS. A rare chance to look around this enchanting, rambling farmhouse built around 1600 - complete with secret passage and priests’ hole - in the heart of the Dedham Vale which is normally let as a National Trust holiday home. Saturday 9 September: 1100-1500. No booking required

In Ipswich the many opportunities include guided tours of Christchurch Mansion Museum and the Wolsey’s Ipswich exhibition at The Hold, and a talk on the hidden stories of the town’s medieval churches.

Lowestoft has gone to town with a huge variety of offerings including an 1880s themed weekend, the East Anglia Transport Museum, an All Our Yesterdays photo exhibition, and Lowestoft Maritime Museum.

For more information and details of all events go to heritageopendays.org.uk/search

heritageopendays.org.uk/search