25th August 2016
Interested in the heritage of your local green space and looking for a free day out to suit the whole family? As England’s largest grass roots heritage festival involving over 40,000 volunteers and 5,000 events, Heritage Open Days (8-11th September 2016) is your chance to see and explore some hidden gems that might not otherwise be open to the public.
To mark this years’ Heritage Open Days festival, the Land Trust invite you to explore some of the historically significant treasures on our sites.
The historic pit building at Pleasley Pit, Mansfield is a scheduled ancient monument which is managed, with the support of the Land Trust, by local community group the Pleasley Pit Trust. With a wealth of mining memorabilia on display, the pit provides a vital link to the past that will give future generations an idea of how their ancestors worked. During the annual Open Weekend, taking place this year from 10am – 4pm on the 10th & 11th September, visitors will be given the opportunity to view the restored winding engines and ancilliary equipment associated with the mining history of the site and surrounding coal field areas, all free of charge. Stalls and exhibits from local charities and groups with connections to mining and local heritage and the adjacent country park and nature reserve will also be in attendance with the opportunity to take part in guided walks around the surrounding site.
Before opening to the public in May 1993 Davy Down in Essex had a long history of farming, dating back to at least 1730. The Land Trust took on the management of Davy Down in 2015, and work in partnership with Essex & Suffolk Water and the Davy Down Trust to manage the site which houses the dominant Stifford Pumping Station buildings, built around 1926-27 to house large diesel engines which provided the power to extract water from a 42m deep borehole in the chalk below. Water is still abstracted from there today using a modern electric pump and visitors will have the chance to find out more from Essex & Suffolk Water during guided tours of both the Pumping Stations and Filter House on Sunday 11th September between 12 – 5pm. Wildlife safaris and pond dipping for adults and children alike will also be taking place, all free of charge.
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