As the region prepares to take part in this month’s Heritage Open Days festival, we find out what some of Cambridgeshire’s historic and cultural sites mean to the community
Image: Mike Selby
For ten days each September, historic sites and buildings, museums and cultural venues across England – many of which are rarely, if ever, open to the public – welcome us in to discover their fascinating secrets and stories through free entry, tours, talks and other initiatives.
It’s all thanks to the Heritage Open Days festival, which has been celebrating the country’s rich culture and history through free, community-led programmes since 1994.
Taking place from 11 to 20 September this year, there’s a wealth of heritage to discover in our region: visit Chatteris Museum after hours, discover the history of the unique Cold War-era military bunker at Alconbury Weald, explore the evocative Flag Fen Archaeology Park (which some of you may remember archaeologist Francis Pryor MBE discussing in the January issue of Cambridge Edition), take advantage of a rare opportunity to see inside the medieval gatehouse at the old Benedictine abbey of Ramsey, and much more.
Open Cambridge 2026 (part of the wider national festival) revealed its full programme of events in August, with exclusive-access tours, exhibitions and talks ready to reveal the extraordinary stories that are woven through our city streets and surrounding areas. From archaeological dig discoveries at Wandlebury Hillfort to wartime connections honoured at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial – plus a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the Grade I listed Senate House – there’s something to satisfy all cultural curiosities.
One thing that is always palpable during this festival is the passion that people have for our local heritage sites and the stories behind them. So, turning this year’s Heritage Open Days theme of ‘everyday histories’ (with a focus on exploring the daily lives of our ancestors) on its head, we wondered: what does our heritage mean to today’s Cambridgeshire residents, for whom these places are a precious part of their daily lives? Here, three local history lovers share their stories…
Learn about Heritage Open Days and view this year’s programme of events at heritageopendays.org.uk and opencambridge.cam.ac.uk
The Old Library, St John’s College
By Tanya Kirk
I’ve been the librarian at St John’s since 2024, but fell in love with its Old Library years earlier on a visit to the college.
It’s a room with tremendous presence, relatively unchanged since it was built in the 1620s. The layout reminds me a little of a historic church, which is not at all surprising as it was funded by the Bishop of Lincoln, a former student.
The beautiful dark-oak bookcases, decorated with botanical carvings, run perpendicularly up the room either side of the central aisle, and the far end is a vast oriel window facing west. For 200 years, the room would have been flooded with light from the setting sun. In the 1830s, the college built New Court across the river and some of the light was blocked, but there is a trade-off: an unexpected perspective on the Bridge of Sighs through the beautifully irregular handmade glass panes.
Of course, this is no longer the college’s student library, and that’s a good thing – the heating is Victorian, the lighting in winter is poor (huge gothic windows can only admit so much natural light in a Cambridge November, and it was wisely decided that putting in visible light fittings would ruin it) and, most crucially, there’s no seating to speak of – former students and fellows stood at lecterns to consult the books.
But what books they are. The Old Library houses incredible treasures: a tenth-century Irish psalter; a beautifully illuminated prayer book that belonged to the college’s foundress, Lady Margaret Beaufort; the first manual on swimming to be published in Europe (1587); letters written by Audrey Hepburn, Spike Milligan and EM Forster to the designer and photographer Cecil Beaton – as well as artefacts including Wordsworth’s breakfast cup.
The Old Library has stood for 400 years, but I am only the tenth person to hold the title of librarian. There is a real weight of responsibility that comes with the custodianship of this magical space and its wonderful collections, and with navigating the challenges of preserving them. The Old Library feels timeless and I hope that it will endure for centuries to come.
See for yourself
The Old Library at St John’s College will be hosting a special exhibition on 19 September as part of Open Cambridge 2026. Find out more about the library at joh.cam.ac.uk/research/library/old-library
Festival Theatre
By Kuladipa
This year is the centenary of the opening of the Festival Theatre, which forms part of the Cambridge Buddhist Centre on Newmarket Road. Its roots, however, go back to medieval times when minstrels, players and performers entertained merchants and visitors at the annual fair on Stourbridge Common. From enclosures at the fair, bigger and more elaborate buildings were erected until the Theatre Barnwell was built on its current site in 1814.
Since then, with the main structure today much as it was over two centuries ago, it has gone through several manifestations. In 1878, the theatre was auctioned off to become an evangelist Mission Hall, and in 1920 it was used as a club for local underprivileged boys run by King’s College. It was in 1926, though, that it was transformed into the Festival Theatre: a home for experimental, avant-garde drama, running parallel to the cutting-edge, challenging theatre happening across Europe.
During World War II, troops that were evacuated from Dunkirk were then entertained there. After the war, it was acquired by the Arts Theatre Cambridge as a workshop and wardrobe space. The Cambridge Buddhist Centre has been based there since 1998.
When I go into the theatre, I can feel echoes of all these periods. In the first half of the 19th century, the locals from Barnwell up in the ‘gods’, laughing, cheering and jeering and the smell of oil lamps. Charles Dickens giving readings and many of the finest actors of that era performing. The hymns and preachers resounding in the packed mission hall. The experimental plays of the 1920s, with actors who went on to become Hollywood stars, and Shakespeare performed on roller skates. And in the 21st century, the chanting of Buddhists and this old theatre witnessing people stepping out into a new life.
See for yourself
The Cambridge Buddhist Centre Open Day is on 12 September, offering historic tours of the Festival Theatre and taster sessions for some of the activities it offers. Find out more at cambridgebuddhistcentre.com/openday26
DON’T MISS!
To mark the Festival Theatre’s centenary, on 28 November the In Situ: theatre company will be performing a piece entitled 1926, which will bring out some of the history of this very special building.
Wimpole Hall
By Hilary Wilson
Throughout my four years at Wimpole as visitor experience manager – and particularly since taking on responsibility for the house – I have come to appreciate the many hands that have left their design imprint on Wimpole Hall.
One set of hands that come to mind in particular are those of architect Sir John Soane, whose work and imagination can be seen across the Hall and even on the Farm.
I am always interested in the human behind the history, and I love that John Soane first met the future 3rd Earl of Hardwicke when they were young men enjoying the Grand Tour of Europe.
Soane clearly made quite the impression on the then Philip Yorke, who included this in a message to his uncle, the 2nd Earl, regarding the ‘perfection’ of Doric temples: “An English architect by the name of Soane, who is an ingenious young man now studying in Rome, accompanied us thither and measured the buildings.”
It doesn’t require a huge leap of the imagination to see that, when Philip came into his inheritance, the two quickly colluded on bringing elements of what they had seen on their Grand Tours to Wimpole.
Most striking is the Yellow Drawing Room, which required Soane to effectively insert a huge room into the house, knocking together ground and first-floor rooms and taking out attic bedrooms to accommodate the domed barrel vault in the roof. Much of the decoration seems to echo what was being unearthed in Rome when Soane and Yorke were there.
Beyond this gorgeous room, Soane also introduced the Bath House, an indoor plunge pool reminiscent of Roman baths; reorganised rooms that ran through the centre of the house; brought light and glamour even to service staircases; and created a delightfully ornate extension to the Gibbs Book Room. And this is all before we start on how he transformed Home Farm.
When you next find yourself visiting Wimpole Estate, I hope this gives you a small introduction to an important part of its story.
See for yourself
Find out more about visiting Wimpole Estate – including the special Harv’Fest event that takes place there from 12 to 13 September – at nationaltrust.org.uk/wimpole