Dacorum

Properties and events in Dacorum

Before heading out for your Heritage Open Days visit, please check entries for last-minute changes.

Print selected events below

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Childhood Cinema Nostalgia with the BFI

Hemel Hempstead Library, The Forum, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, hp11dn
In person
Pre-booking required

Ever wondered what treasures are hidden within the British Film Institute's archives? Join us at Hemel Hempstead Library on Thursday 17th September 2026 at 7.15pm for a fascinating journey through some of Britain's most beloved films.

A Walk into the Past: Berkhamsted Place, Successor to the Castle

Junction of Castle Hill and Murray Road, Berkhamsted Place, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1HU
In person
Pre-booking required

A Walk in the Past: Berkhamsted Place A successor to the castle. Tour includes the surviving servants quarter, kitchen garden with Victorian vinery and the awesome Great Barn, the largest in Herts!

Abbot's Hill House and School

The Lodge, Abbots Hill, Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8RS
In person
Pre-booking required

A rare opportunity to visit the grand house built in the late 1830s by local papermaking magnate John Dickinson (1782-1869). The House stayed in the Dickinson family until 1912 when it became the home of Abbot’s Hill School.

Amersfort Garden Tour (Berkhamsted)

Amersfort Hall, The Common, Potten End, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2QF
In person
Pre-booking required

Amersfort, a fine Arts and Craft House and garden, designed by Ernest Willmott and planted by Gertrude Jekyll. Both house and garden are adapted to the surrounding landscape.

Berkhamsted Castle Guided Tour

Berkhamsted Castle, White Hill, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1LJ
In person
Pre-booking required

Free guided tour of the ruins of this fine motte and bailey castle, with many royal associations, led by experienced volunteers from Berkhamsted Castle Trust.

Berkhamsted Castle Guided Tour - Family Tour

Berkhamsted Castle, White Hill, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1LJ
In person
Pre-booking required

Free guided tour for families of the ruins of this fine motte and bailey castle, with many royal associations, led by experienced volunteers from Berkhamsted Castle Trust.

Berkhamsted Foundling Hospital - Memories of Childhood

Ashlyns School, Chesham Road, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3AH
In person
Pre-booking required

Former pupils of the Foundling Hospital will tell us what life was like for the children in Berkhamsted Foundling Hospital 1935-55. Walking around the present Ashlyns School they will recall memories and feelings of those days.

Berkhamsted HOD - A Radical Village - an exploration of Rebellion Dissent and non-conformity in Northchurch

Northchurch Social Centre, Bell Lane, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3RD
In person
Pre-booking required

A guided tour explaining how the people if Northchurch rebelled against the Church and State from the turbulent years of the English Civil War to the modern day.

Berkhamsted HOD 'A Walk Back in Time' - The town centre

Berkhamsted Castle, White Hill, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1LJ
In person
Pre-booking required

A guided tour of Berkhamsted's historic town centre, pointing out strategic places of interest.

Berkhamsted Railway Walk

Berkhamsted Railway Station, Station Road, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2AJ
In person
Pre-booking required

A trip down memory lane of Berkhamsted Railway.

Bourne End Heritage Walk

London Road, Bourne End, Hertfordshire, HP1 2RH
In person
Pre-booking required

A 2 hour walk through the Village and surrounding areas to discover how this small settlement developed from pre-Roman to modern times and how it has been shaped by its people and geography, including important road, canal and railway links.

Dacorum's Everyday Heroes

Berkhamsted Town Council, Civic Centre, 161 High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 3HD
In person
Pre-booking not required

A pop-up museum for the day at Berkhamsted Civic Centre shares some of the everyday heroes from around the borough of Dacorum.

Dirty work in Berkhamsted: from arsenic mixer to pesthouse keeper

Outside Aurum restaurant (previously the Gatsby), 97 High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2DG
In person
Pre-booking required

Jobs in Berkhamsted included the good, the bad and the ugly - from mixing arsenic, to whipping 'sturdy beggars', via running the pesthouse, catching dogs with tongs, and removing the body of the murdered school usher. Discover more with Dan Parry.

Everyday Histories, Forgotten Labours: a glimpse into the work of Berkhamsted's buried forebears

Rectory Lane Cemetery, Rectory Lane, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2DH
In person
Pre-booking preferred

A guided tour of the cemetery highlighting long-forgotten trades of Berkhamsted's forebears

Explore Hemel Hempstead's Oldest Building, St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3AE
In person
Pre-booking required

A rare opportunity to hear about and tour this 12th century church - a Grade I listed Norman building. Hemel Hempstead's oldest building.

Factory Tour & Talk at Kent Brushes

G B Kent & Son plc, London Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 9SA
In person
Pre-booking required

Step behind the scenes at Kent Brushes this Heritage Open Day. Learn about the company's rich history, from secret service brushes and Royal commissions and find out how their brushes are made within the factory. THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED

Frogmore Paper Mill

Frogmore Paper Mill visitor entrance, Durrants Hill Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 9RP
In person
Pre-booking required

Discover the world’s oldest mechanised paper mill, still making artisan papers in the heart of Hertfordshire. Explore our unique heritage site, where paper has been made since 1774 and the first paper machine was installed in 1803.

From Sphinxes to Songbirds: The Old Town Hall Victorian Poster Trail

The Old Town Hall, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3AE
In person
Pre-booking not required

Discover The Old Town Hall’s extraordinary 19th‑century past through its original theatrical posters. Explore magic, music, impersonation, and Victorian spectacle in a self‑guided trail revealing the performers who once wowed Hemel Hempstead.

Gadebridge Roman Villa and Baths, Hemel Hempstead

Galley Hill, Leighton Buzzard Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3LW
In person
Pre-booking required

Dr David Neal, the archaeologist who first excavated the Gadebridge Villa and Bath House following its discovery in the 1960s, provides a tour of the site and explains what lays under our feet.

Gadespring Watercress Beds

Old Fishery Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 2BN
In person
Pre-booking required

Discover the history of a once thriving local industry and tour the original watercress farm on the River Bulbourne. The site has been naturalised during the inactivity of the watercress farm and is now a wildlife habitat.