Heritage Open Days 2026 | Potteries Heritage Society

Every year in September, places across the country throw open their doors to celebrate their heritage, community and history. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE. This year Heritage Open Days returns with a 10-day festival taking place from Friday 11th to Sunday 20th September. You can have free access to events and properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission or choose one of the many events that take place especially for the festival.

Colour Key

Here in Stoke-on-Trent, there will be the the usual chance to explore our fantastic heritage and enjoy a wide range of events and activities that bring local history and culture to life. This year the national theme is ‘Everyday Histories’, providing an opportunity to highlight the working lives of Potteries Folk and we will also draw attention to events that provide opportunities to visit our iconic Bottle Ovens.

The programme is co-ordinated nationally, by the National Trust and with support from players of the People's Postcard Lottery, and locally by The Heritage Network for Stoke-on-Trent, bringing together local hosts and heritage enthusiasts.

As events are still being developed, this page will be a work in progress until registration closes on 13th August. See our "At a Glance" guide below.

Colours indicate general location: Pink=Tunstall; Orange=Burslem; Yellow=Hanley & Etruria; Green=Stoke & Hartshill; Blue=Fenton; Purple=Longton & Trentham; Grey=Multiple Locations.

Themes: E=Everyday Histories B=Bottle Ovens P=Pre-booking required

The Festival - At a Glance

Click on the event titles for more information and booking. Clicking on the HODs logo on the bottom right of the event pages takes you further information and maps on the HODs site.

Fri 11 Sep	Exploring William Baker's Fenton 1000 E B P	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230	Inside the Church of Fenton 1100-1600	Exploring Fenton's Monuments and Stories 1300-1430 P	Salt, Pepper & Vinegar Bottle Ovens 1300-1600 B
Sat 12 Sep	Chatterley Whitfield Colliery Tours 1000-1600 P	Bethesda Chapel 1200-1400			Brilliant Bamboo Parklet - From Pottery to Bamboo 1300-1500 E
Sun 13 Sep	Chatterley Whitfield Colliery Tours 1000-1600 P	Ford Green Hall 1300-1530 E		Lost & Found: Josiah Clowes and the Norton Colliery Canal 1400 E P	Brilliant Bamboo Parklet - From Pottery to Bamboo 1200-1500 E
Mon 14 Sep	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230 E B		In the Footsteps of Palaeontologist John Ward 1400 E B P
Tue 15 Sep	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230 E B			Oliver's Mill: Past Lives, Future Stories 1600-1800 E B
Wed 16 Sep	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230 E B	Everyday Lives of Potteries People 1400 E	Middleport Pottery - 1940s Employment record cards 1000, 1115, 1200 & 1245 E B P	Our Time, Our Place, Our Heritage: Pottery People 1600-1900 E	The Potters Cathedral: St Mark's Church, Shelton 1630 & 1800 E
Thu 17 Sep	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230 E B	From Clay to Community: Discovering Everyday Histories 1200-1600 E B	Middleport Pottery - 1940s Employment record cards 1000, 1115, 1200 & 1245 E B P	Our Time, Our Place, Our Heritage: Pottery People 1100-1500 E	Former Stoke Works Guided Tours 1100 & 1300 P
Fri 18 Sep	Discover Moorcroft Pottery 1030-1630 - tours 1030 & 1230 E B	From Clay to Community: Discovering Everyday Histories 1000-1500 E B	Gladstone Pottery Museum 1000-1700 E B
Fri 18 Sep	Stoke Minster 1000-1400 E		Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station Guided Tours 1100, 1300 & 1500 P	Exploring Hanley's Monuments and Stories TBC
Sat 19 Sep	Arnold Bennett: Dudson Museum "Just Across the Road" 1000-1600 E B	From Clay to Community: Discovering Everyday Histories 1000-1400 E B	Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station Guided Tours 1100, 1300 & 1500 P	St Bartholomew's Church Norton-le-Moors 1100-1600 E	Bethesda Chapel 1200-1400
	Trentham Parish Church Open Doors 1100-1600 E		Hanley Park Heritage Event 1100-1400 E	Our Time, Our Place, Our Heritage: Clay workshop with BCB 1100-1600 E	Bronze Age Gold - The Ellastone 'Fastener' 1400
	Chatterley Whitfield Colliery Tours 1000-1600 P	Victorian Potter's Mill in Steam & Stationary Engines 1100-1630 B		Inside Etruria: Past, Present & Future 1100-1500	Our Lady & St Peter's Church 1000-1700
Sun 20 Sep	Chatterley Whitfield Colliery Tours 1000-1600 P	Victorian Potter's Mill in Steam & Classic Vehicles 1100-1630 B		Our Lady & St Peter's Church 1300-1700	The People who Moved The Earth 1100-1300 E B P

Alternatively, check out:

The HODS Diary

for Stoke-on-Trent

The HODs Events Directory

for Stoke-on-Trent

The Full HODs Directory

for the whole of England

Co-ordinated by the Heritage Network for Stoke-on-Trent.