Every community has a story worth telling. Heritage and history events bring those stories to life, connecting people with the places they live and the people who came before them. Whether you are organising a guided walk, a local history talk, an exhibition of old photographs, or an open day at a historic building, these events generate deep engagement and genuine community pride.
Types of heritage events
Heritage events take many forms, and the best ones combine several elements:
- Guided walks -- Walking tours of historic streets, buildings, battlefields, or landscapes. Low cost to run and popular with all ages
- Talks and lectures -- Presentations by local historians, archaeologists, or community members. Work well in village halls, libraries, and community centres
- Exhibitions -- Displays of photographs, documents, artefacts, and memories. Can be physical or digital
- Open days -- Access to historic buildings, gardens, or sites that are not normally open to the public
- Re-enactments and living history -- Costumed interpreters bringing history to life. Particularly appealing to families
- Oral history projects -- Recording the memories of older residents. Can be combined with a listening event or exhibition
- Heritage trails -- Self-guided routes with information boards or a printed leaflet
Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture, taking place every September. Thousands of venues open their doors for free, and communities across the country organise heritage events. Registering your event with Heritage Open Days (heritageopendays.org.uk) gives you access to their national publicity, their website listing, and their branding.
Participation is free and open to any organisation or community group. Events must be free to attend. Heritage Open Days provides resources, advice, and promotional materials to help you run your event. It is an excellent framework for a first-time heritage event because the national campaign does much of the promotional work for you.
Similar programmes exist in Scotland (Doors Open Days) and Wales (Open Doors).
Working with local archives and historians
Your local county record office or archive service holds a wealth of material about your area: maps, photographs, census records, parish registers, business records, and personal papers. Many archives have outreach officers who are keen to support community heritage projects and can help you access relevant material.
Local history societies are another valuable resource. Most towns and many villages have an active history group whose members have detailed knowledge of the area and may be willing to lead walks, give talks, or lend material for exhibitions. Contact them early in your planning.
Museums, both local authority and independent, may be willing to lend items or provide expert support. University history departments sometimes have students looking for community engagement projects.
Planning a guided heritage walk
Guided walks are one of the simplest and most effective heritage event formats. The essentials:
- Route -- Plan a route of 1 to 2 miles that takes 60 to 90 minutes including stops. Recce the route beforehand, checking for hazards, accessibility, and interesting stopping points
- Content -- Research the history of each stopping point. Prepare notes but do not read from a script. The best guided walks feel like a conversation, not a lecture
- Props -- Laminated photographs, maps, or documents held up at stopping points bring the history to life. People engage more with visual material than spoken words alone
- Group size -- 15 to 25 people is ideal for a walking tour. Larger groups struggle to hear and slow down. If demand is high, run multiple tours
- Accessibility -- Note the terrain and any steps or slopes. Communicate accessibility information in advance so people can make informed decisions
Charge a small fee of £3 to £8 per person, or run the walk for free if it is part of a wider event or supported by funding. Advance booking through a ticketing platform helps you manage numbers and ensure the group is not too large. For ideas on ticketing heritage events, see our guide on planning your first event.
Organising a local history exhibition
A community history exhibition can be as simple as a display of old photographs in the village hall or as ambitious as a curated show in a pop-up gallery. The process is similar:
- Choose a theme or time period (e.g., "Our High Street Through the Ages" or "Life During the Second World War")
- Put out a call for material: photographs, documents, objects, and memories from local residents
- Scan or photograph all borrowed items and return originals promptly (or display copies and keep originals safe)
- Write clear, engaging captions for every item displayed
- Design a logical layout that tells a story from start to finish
Combine physical displays with interactive elements. A memory table where visitors can write their own recollections on cards creates engagement and generates new material. A listening station with recorded oral histories adds depth.
Funding heritage events
Heritage events can access specific funding streams:
- National Lottery Heritage Fund -- Offers grants from £3,000 to £10,000 (and above) for community heritage projects
- Arts Council England -- Funds projects with a cultural or creative heritage element
- Historic England -- Provides grants and advice for projects involving historic buildings and sites
- Local councils -- Many parish and town councils have small grants for community heritage activities
- Heritage Lottery Fund community grants -- Specifically designed for projects that help people explore their heritage
When applying for heritage funding, emphasise community participation and the sharing of heritage with new audiences. Funders want to see projects that involve people, not just projects about old buildings.
Promotion
Heritage events appeal to a wide audience, from dedicated history enthusiasts to families looking for something interesting to do at the weekend. Promote through local press (heritage stories are popular with local newspapers), community social media, libraries, tourist information centres, and heritage event listings.
If your event is part of Heritage Open Days or a similar programme, use their branding and submit your listing to their website. National coverage from these programmes can bring visitors from outside your immediate area. For more on promoting community events effectively, see our guide on promoting events on a budget.
Making history accessible
The best heritage events make history feel relevant and personal. Avoid jargon and academic language. Focus on human stories rather than dates and facts. Let people touch, hold, and interact with history where possible. Connect past events to present-day life: "This building was once a workhouse; today it is the community centre where we are standing."
Include the stories of ordinary people, not just notable figures. The daily life of a Victorian factory worker, the experience of an evacuee child, or the memories of a local shopkeeper are often more engaging than grand historical narratives. Heritage is everyone's story.
