Heritage Open Day

Heritage Open Day in St Ives Cambridgeshire 2026

Saturday 12th September 10am-4pm

Heritage Open Day (HOD) in St Ives Cambridgeshire is part of the nation’s annual celebration of its amazing history and culture. It’s your opportunity to see inside some of the wonderful old buildings in our town and learn about their interesting history. This article highlights the buildings and nature reserve that will be open to visitors, and you can download a map which shows all the HOD locations by clicking on the “HOD Map” link below.

HOD Map

Medieval Bridge & Chapel
Open 10:00-16:00
Celebrating 600 years

The Norris Museum
Open 10:00-16:00

Activities for Children:
11:00-15:00

Holt Island Nature Reserve
Open 10:00-16:00

Guided tour at 11.00 and at 14.00, no booking necessary.

Masonic Hall
Open 10:00-16:00

On Saturday 12th September 2025 look for the Heritage Open Day signs around the town centre and St Ives Civic Society team members wearing bright pink HOD sashes. They will have the programme of events and can assist you in planning your route. Guides will be present at the venues to provide information about its history.

Methodist Church
Open 10:00-16:00

Activities for Children

Town Hall
Open 10:00-14:00

Free Church
Open 10:00-15:30

 Activity for Children and Knitted Bible Stories

This year, three new short self-guided architectural tours of the centre of St Ives are available, offering information about the town’s history and development. Each tour includes a written guide describing notable buildings and features, as well as a map for navigation. To access the tours, click on the Tour Map link below and download the materials.

Tour Map

Sacred Heart Church
Open 10:30-15:30

Under 10 minutes’ walk from town centre

Prayer and Education Centre

Open 10:00-16:00

Parish Church
Open 10:00-16:00

Faizane E Madina Jamia Masjid Mosque

Open 10:00-16:00

Ladies are encouraged to wear head coverings

St Ives has taken part in Heritage Open Day for many years and events are organised to coincide with the town’s Old Riverport Jazz & Blues Festival which is free to attend and will be held from 10th -13th September 2026.

More details on the Festival can be found at stivescambridgeshire.co.uk

At the 2023 Heritage Open Day Christine Phillpotts, Civic Society Chair (far left in the photo) presented HOD certificates to participating venues.

(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.

It’s all free of charge so do come along and wander around our lovely medieval market town on 13th September 2025.

To find out more about national Heritage Open Day 2025 see https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/