Christine Phillpotts, Civic Society Chair (far left in the photo) presented HoD certificates in 2023.

(L-R) Ellen Kemp for The Sacred Heart church, Claire Hardy for the Norris Museum, Martin Collier for All Saints Parish Church, Gordon Cox for the Masonic Lodge, Jill Burt for Holt Island, HOD organiser Jane Amaral, and Mary Gatehouse for the Methodist Church.

Heritage Open Day (HoD) is a national event which encourages historic and architecturally interesting venues to open their doors to the public. It provides a festival pack of banners, sashes and literature to participating town coordinators, who organise their event to suit their local events calendar. St Ives Civic Society co-ordinates this event for the town and liaises with the many venues that take part.

St Ives has taken part in for many years and traditionally times it to coincide with the town’s Jazz and Blues Festival in September when the town fills with visitors. In 2023, we showed our appreciation to the venues who took part by awarding them certificates jointly from HOD and the Civic Society on a suitably sunny day in the beautiful gardens of the Norris Museum.