HERITAGE OPEN DAY
BUILDING WAINSGATE
Stories, food, and futures in the making
SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 11-5PM
A Day to Explore, Create & Connect
Come spend the day at Wainsgate – eating, chatting, wandering, and getting involved.
Our beautiful old chapel will be buzzing with life: a relaxed café serving delicious food and cake, corners to sit and talk, and spaces to simply soak up the atmosphere.
Throughout the day you can dip in and out of hands-on workshops and activities: make architectural rubbings and models with artist Hannah Honeywill, imagine Wainsgate’s future with architect Bernadette Bone, step into the landscape with historian Paul Knights, or watch (and maybe join) Winston Plowes creating land art in the graveyard.
There’ll be tours led by our young ambassadors, new QR code trails and slideshows revealing hidden details, and stories of the restoration work underway. Photos, recordings, and displays will bring Wainsgate’s past and present into focus – while conversations and creations point toward its future.
It’s as much about hanging out together as it is about discovery – eating, talking, making, remembering, and imagining in the company of others.
WORKSHOPS & WANDERING
Why not dive a little deeper into Wainsgate’s story by signing up for one (or more) of our hands-on workshops? Led by artists and experts, these sessions are a chance to get creative, learn new skills, and see the chapel and its surroundings from fresh perspectives. Places are limited to 15 per workshop, so booking is strongly advised. Please note that all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Hannah Honeywill - Making New From Old
Join artist Hannah Honeywill for a hands-on, creative workshop that reimagines Wainsgate’s history.
We’ll explore the chapel’s textured stones, carved wood, and weathered surfaces, taking rubbings that capture the marks of centuries of change. These will be folded into paper “bricks” of different shapes and sizes, before being assembled into a sculptural installation inspired by dry stone walling.
A chance to transform old traces into something new, together. No experience needed – just curiosity and the joy of making.
More about Hannah HERE
Winston Plowes – Land Art in the Graveyard
Join poet and artist Winston Plowes, our open-air artist in residence, for a playful workshop in Wainsgate’s graveyard.
Each session begins with a short talk and a glimpse of Winston’s own work, before you’re invited to make your own small “land art snapshots” using whatever the season provides – leaves, stones, twigs, petals.
A simple, uplifting way to notice the beauty of nature and leave gentle, temporary marks of your own. All materials provided.
More about Winston HERE
Bernadette Bone - Drawing Possible Futures
Conservation Architect Bernadette Bone invites you to imagine Wainsgate’s future. After a short tour of the building – guided by architectural plans that reveal its spaces – you’ll be invited to sketch your own ideas.
What could these rooms become? How might the chapel continue to evolve?
This relaxed, interactive session is about dreaming possibilities and putting them on paper, whether or not you’ve ever drawn a plan before.
More about Bernadette HERE
Paul Knights – Walking Wainsgate’s Landscape
Step out with Paul Knights on a gentle walk that places Wainsgate within its wider landscape.
Together we’ll visit long-abandoned quarries that once supplied the chapel’s stone, trace the old lanes once walked by its congregation, and explore how this extraordinary building belongs between valley and moor.
A thoughtful journey into the setting that has always shaped Wainsgate’s story.
More about Paul HERE
Food, Full Bellies & Happy Hearts
At Wainsgate, food is part of the welcome – lovingly cooked by local enthusiasts and guest cooks, it’s about full bellies and happy hearts, and this event will be no different (menu announcements soon!) – and of course, there will be cake, thanks to Wainsgate’s legendary army of bakers.
All served up in the new Assembly Room space
