Heritage Open Day - The Lives and Deaths of Old Buildings

Dr Michael Shapland is at the Brighton Dome on Sunday 20 September, giving a talk called The Lives and Deaths of Old Buildings in the Concert Hall. It's part of this year's Heritage Open Day, which runs from 10am to 4pm across the venue, and Shapland's session sits right in the middle of it, from 11am to 12pm.

This year's Heritage Open Day is built around the people who've worked at the Dome over more than two centuries. It's a long list that stretches from stable hands and wartime nurses to stage technicians, performers and record promoters. The day's programme of exhibitions, talks and sneak peeks opens up the building's history and its current restoration, and there's a new exhibition drawing on archive material and photographs, including portraits of current staff.

One of the highlights is the venue's pipe organ, built in 1936, which still accompanies silent comedy films. Shapland's talk fits into that mix of old and new: he's spent the last twelve years visiting and recording a wide range of historic buildings, and he'll be drawing on local examples to share what he's found. He's also got some new material to share, including a recent discovery relating to Oscar Wilde and Brighton's Royal Albion Hotel.

If you're heading in for the talk, you've got the rest of the day to work around it. The whole Heritage Open Day runs from 10am to 4pm, so you can catch the exhibitions and the organ before or after. Shapland's talk is in the Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Church Street, BN1 1UD, from 11am to 12pm on Sunday 20 September, and entry is free.