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Captivated by the mysterious beauty of a tilted gravestone, Jeanne Pope has discovered an unexpected connection with a Victorian cook. Unravelling Philadelphia’s past raised more questions than answers though, and highlights how every life has a valuable story to tell.

Inspirational stories and step by step guides to kick start your research from Findmypast.

Beatrix Potter is beloved as an author but how much do you know of her as Beatrix Heelis, the farmer? Step into her clogs and discover the land and the animals she loved. Plus some of the people she couldn’t have done it all without.

Curtain up, and let’s welcome into the spotlight three brilliant entertainers who defied gender conventions. The popular male impersonator who became Britain’s highest earning woman. The Colonel who created a sideshow out of speculation about their marriage. The elegant ventriloquist with a matcho working class alter ego. Sit back and enjoy as Showtown in Blackpool introduce us to these stories of working lives that don’t revolve around a desk!

Inspiration, top tips and special offers to help you explore daily working life through the ages.

In Georgian England a London merchant saw the opportunities of industry in the North. Settling in Cheshire he built Daresbury Hall for his family, from which a web of stories can be unravelled. Heatherfield Heritage have been digging in to the records to follow the threads of these everyday histories and share some of them with us here - but watch out for more over the festival in September!

New Year is a time for lists, resolutions and honours; so reflecting on last year and thinking about what highlights lie ahead, we’ve come up with an alternative Honours list. To get you thinking about what catches attention, here are some events that proved firm favourites for the team and media in 2025.

Guidance on how to register and amend your event/s.

Two Marys and an Anne – meet the real women behind characters hovering in the margins of some of our most beloved books. As we celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday and prepare to explore the history of daily working lives for next year’s festival, Kathleen Palmer, curator of a fascinating exhibition, introduces us to the roles of housekeeper, governess and milliner in Georgian era England.

Snowflakes made of diamonds and a room made of seashells! Delve into the history of some of the National Trust's treasured collections before the return of the popular BBC series this Christmas.

The biggest and best festival yet was delivered by our growing, and increasingly diverse community. With the help of new micro-grants and partnerships over 5,879 events were organised offering people more places to visit and stories to explore than ever before.

Holding open days for the community has become a vital part of this school’s year. Inviting people in to explore this historic building and its archive has helped overturn local perceptions and led to joyful reunions for past pupils. On little to no budget, working in partnership by providing a venue for others to run creative activities adds extra interest, further builds community links, and this year, may have inspired a new career for one young visitor!

Rosa May Billinghurst was a formidable woman and celebrated suffragette. Being partially paralysed by polio as a child was no bar to her activism, indeed she used her adapted tricycle to advantage at protests. Rosa’s story was part of an exhibition on the history of disability activism the Pankhurst Museum researched for our festival this year. To share this important work more widely we’ve invited them to give a taster of Rosa’s story and the history uncovered.

The Intact Centre have been using creativity to engage people through Heritage Open Days since 2019. They programme different activities to attract new people, and strengthen their local community links; encouraging them to explore the wildlife on site and highlighting the work the team do.

One of Surrey’s oldest private homes has been opening for the festival for over 30 years. Embracing new challenges and opportunities they have grown their offer across a 10 acre site (including a working forge). Participating has inspired further research into the site’s history and brought the community together as well as helped attract new visitors.