Southampton's heritage sites open for 10-day celebration

Southampton is about to hand over the keys to its oldest buildings. From Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September, the city takes part in Heritage Open Days, England's largest celebration of history and culture, run by volunteers under the theme 'Everyday Histories'. The best part is that every participating site is free to enter, though a few activities need booking ahead.

The obvious place to start is the Bargate on the High Street, a Grade I listed medieval gatehouse built around 1180 and officially known as the Bar Gate and Guildhall. It's widely considered the finest and most complex gateway in England, put together from flint and stone, with its embattled north front added around 1400. It's been a prison since the early 1400s and an air-raid shelter during the Second World War, and the famous lion sculptures were added in the 16th century and restored in 2020 and 2021. It opens 10am to 3pm on the weekends of 12-13 and 19-20 September, with the Southampton Archaeology Society exploring 'Everyday Histories' across both weeks and roof access sessions at 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. On the 19th and 20th, See Southampton adds the city's carriage-making history to the mix.

Down by the water, the Castle Vault and Castle Hall on Western Esplanade open 10am to 3pm on 19 and 20 September. The hall dates to the early 12th century, while the vault, built around 1180, once stored the King's wine and later served as a wartime air-raid shelter; at 56ft by 20ft, it's the largest vault in Southampton, with walls up to 10ft thick. Nearby, God's House Tower on Town Quay Road, a late 12th-century gatehouse that has been a gateway, a prison and now an arts and heritage venue, is open most days from 11 to 20 September, with free entry to 'The Stories Behind the Stones' and Kitt's 'While We Slumber' on display until 12 October. King John's Palace on Blue Anchor Lane, the best-preserved Norman domestic architecture in England, built in the 1170s and 1180s, is free to access through the gates with displays, and Southampton Historical Fencing puts on interactive historical fencing demonstrations there.

For something different, the Steamship Shieldhall at Western Docks opens 10am to 3pm on Sunday 13 September. A 1955 steamship and part of the National Historic Fleet, it's the largest steamship still in operation in the UK and Europe and one of the last piston-engine steamships ever built; pre-booked guided tours run from the deck down to the engine room, with refreshments in the saloon. The West Gate on Western Esplanade, the 14th-century route Henry V's army took to Agincourt in 1415 and the starting point for the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower in 1620, opens 10am to 3pm on 12-13 and 19-20 September with exhibitions on the Mayflower and Southampton's Second World War. And St Julien's Chapel on Winkle Street, founded around 1197 as a hospital for pilgrims to Canterbury and known as 'The French Church' for its use by French Protestants from the 16th century until 1939, is privately owned and opens on occasion.

The programme fills in around these sites: a musical trail of 18 spots within the medieval walls on 12 September, a free volunteer-led tour of the CWGC Netley Military Cemetery on the same day, the Verse in the Vault poetry festival at Quilter's Vault, and a look inside the Lord Mayor's Reception Room at the Civic Centre on 17 September. STGA runs guided walks on The Common, Parklands, churches, Bugle Street and Carlton Crescent at £10 a person, children free.