Morpeth’s heritage will be in the spotlight at a range free events and building openings from Thursday, September 17 to Sunday, September 20.

Part of the national Heritage Open Days programme, experience hands-on bell-ringing, guided tours of the civic treasures, history walks, a lecture by the Collingwood Society, poetry and piping at the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum, and special open sessions at local churches and halls including the Boys’ Brigade and Masonic Lodge.

The Friday and Saturday daytimes see Four* Anniversaries and a Funeral (*at least!), Morpeth Antiquarian Society’s annual local history exhibition of pictures and items in the Town Hall.

The funeral reference is to the 300th anniversary of the death of the building’s architect Sir John Vanbrugh, marked with other 2026 anniversaries including 150 years of the YMCA, centenaries of Morpeth Bowling Club and 4th Morpeth Scouts, 75 years since the Clock Tower’s Festival of Britain revamp, local hero Jim Alder’s Commonwealth marathon win 60 years ago and the founding of the Antiquarian group 80 years back.

The Morpeth Antiquarian Society exhibition and the fringe event will take place in Morpeth Town Hall.

placeholder image — The Morpeth Antiquarian Society exhibition and the fringe event will take place in Morpeth Town Hall.

There are refreshments, children’s activities, a book stall and a raffle to raise funds for the Antiquarian museum store.

There is an extra wine-tasting fringe event on the Friday evening (not strictly part of the festival as this has a ticket charge) at the Town Hall giving a fascinating glimpse of the links between Northumberland’s history and many drinks from across the world.

Over 18s can discover just how many drinks relate to Northumbrian heritage – for instance, a clue about the red wine stains sported by Admiral Collingwood on his waistcoat – and which foreign drinks were favoured by the town’s much-travelled Tudor herbalist William Turner.

Tickets for the fringe event, from 6.30pm to 9pm, are on sale in advance from Grape and Grain on Bridge Street.

Turner features in one of two new books on sale at the exhibition: Morpeth in the Time of William Turner by Marie Addyman; the other is John Bibby’s The History of Westgate House, available along with the Antiquarians’ earlier publications.

For the four-day programme, co-ordinated by the volunteers at Greater Morpeth Development Trust, pick up a leaflet at the Chantry TIC or search “Morpeth” on the Heritage Open Days website.

There is also a chance on the Saturday to see the archives at King Edward VI School. Contact the school for more information.