Stockport's free Heritage Open Days run 12 to 20 September. Abney Hall and the Stockport Stroll are full, St Martin's is cancelled, and ten need no booking.

Fourteen free events open across the Stockport borough between Saturday 12 and Sunday 20 September, as Heritage Open Days returns. Two of them are already full, and a third has been cancelled.

Stockport Council announced the programme on 3 September and picked out three events to promote. One of the three, the Stockport Stroll, has since sold out. The checks below were made on Sunday 7 September against each organiser’s own booking page.

What has changed since the council’s announcement

  • The Heritage Open Day Stockport Stroll is sold out. The guided walk runs on Saturday 12 September from Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery to Stockroom. Its Eventbrite page shows tickets sold out.
  • Abney Hall is fully booked on both days. The hall is in Cheadle, about two and a half miles west of the town centre. Cheadle Civic Society’s Agatha Christie page labels the Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September house tours “Fully Booked!”.
  • St Martin’s at 125 is cancelled. The festival listing for the church on Crescent Park, about a mile west of the town centre, now records its Saturday 12 September opening as “Cancelled”.

Of the fourteen events still going ahead, ten need no booking at all. You turn up during the opening hours below.

Day by day

Saturday 12 September, seven events

  • Stockport Garrick Theatre, Exchange Street. Backstage tours on the half hour from 10.30 to 12.00 and 13.30 to 15.00, plus a history presentation. No booking.
  • St Peter’s Parish Church, St Peter’s Square. Open 13.00 to 16.00, guided tour at 14.00, with a display on the church’s history and research into three local men named on its Second World War memorial. No booking.
  • St George’s Church, Buxton Road, Davenport. Open 10.00 to 16.00. Tower tours are booked on the day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Children under seven are not allowed on the tower tour, and the stairs are steep.
  • Richard Roberts Archive, Unit 14, Adswood Industrial Estate. Open 10.00 to 16.30, last admission 16.00, with illustrated talks at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00 on how twentieth-century products were advertised. No booking, but the listing caps numbers at six.
  • St John the Baptist Church, Heaton Mersey. Open 11.00 to 15.00, marking 176 years of the church and the history of the village. No booking.
  • Hatting Bites at Hat Works, Wellington Mill. Free short tours at 10.00 and 13.30. Booking required.
  • The Stockport Stroll, from the War Memorial Art Gallery. Sold out.

Sunday 13 September, one event

  • St John the Baptist Church, Heaton Mersey, opens again from 12.30 to 14.30. No booking.

Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September, one event each

  • Stockport Town Hall tours, Edward Street. Tuesday at 14.00 and 18.00, Wednesday at 10.30 and 16.30. Each tour lasts about 90 minutes and is capped at 25 people. Booking required.

Saturday 19 September, five events

  • Cheadle Masjid, 377 Wilmslow Road, Heald Green, about four miles south west of the town centre. Visit My Mosque Day, 11.00 to 16.00, open to people of all faiths and none. No booking, but numbers are capped at 20 and visitors are asked to dress modestly and remove shoes in some areas.
  • The Stockport Riots of 1852, St Peter’s Church. A 45 minute talk at 14.00 from Stockport Heritage Trust, capacity 100. No booking.
  • Everyday Baptisms, St Alban’s Church, Offerton Lane. Open 10.00 to 16.00. No booking.
  • Hatting Bites at Hat Works. A second pair of sessions at 10.00 and 13.30. Booking required.
  • Abney Hall, Cheadle. Fully booked.

Sunday 20 September, three events

  • Avro Heritage Museum, Woodford Aerodrome, Chester Road, about five miles south of the town centre. Open 10.00 to 16.00. No booking.
  • Our Lady and the Apostles, 39 Shaw Heath. Open 13.00 to 16.00. The listing describes the grade II listed church’s granite pillars, Arts and Crafts fretwork and Margaret Rope window, and notes a car park on site and a two minute walk from Stockport station.
  • Abney Hall, Cheadle. Fully booked.

There is nothing in the Stockport programme on Friday 11, Monday 14, Thursday 17 or Friday 18 September, even though the national festival runs from 11 to 20 September.

Bar chart of Heritage Open Days events in the Stockport borough by date: seven on 12 September, one on 13 September, one each on 15 and 16 September, five on 19 September and three on 20 September.
Stockport's programme is heavily weighted to the two Saturdays.

The two you can still book

Hatting Bites at Hat Works. Free, and still on sale through the Stockport Museums Eventbrite page when we checked on 7 September. The festival listing gives a booking cut-off of 16.00 on 12 September and says places can also be booked in person at Hat Works, Thursday to Saturday, 10.00 to 16.00, or by phone on 0161 474 2399. It asks anyone who cannot attend to cancel so the place passes to the next person on the waiting list.

Stockport Town Hall. Bookings are taken only by calling Stockport Events on 0161 474 3451 or emailing conference.events@stockport.gov.uk, so there is no public page showing how many places are left. Bookings opened on 1 September. The tour takes in the Devil’s Head and the Wedding Cake, and function rooms used as filming locations for Peaky Blinders, Brassic, The Bay and BBC Question Time. Arrive ten minutes early and check in at the Edward Street entrance. There is an accessible entrance on Lacy Street with three blue badge bays, which cannot be reserved.

Cllr Dan Oliver, cabinet member for communities, culture and public protection, said in the council’s announcement that the events “are free and offer a unique chance to connect with our borough’s rich heritage”.

What it means for you

If you were counting on the two events the council led with, you need a new plan. The good news is that the bulk of the programme was never bookable in the first place, and those ten events are the ones most likely to still have room on the day.

A few practical points:

  • The Saturday 12 September cluster is walkable. St Peter’s, the Garrick and Hat Works are all within the town centre, and the Merseyway car park off St Petersgate is the closest parking to St Peter’s. Our guide to parking in Stockport covers the charges and time limits.
  • Check for roadworks before you drive to the outlying venues at Woodford, Heald Green and Cheadle. See Stockport roadworks and travel.
  • The festival asks visitors to check each entry for last-minute changes before setting out, which is exactly how the St Martin’s cancellation appeared.
  • Looking for more than one weekend of it? Our roundup of things to do in Stockport runs year round.

Sources