Lewes Heritage Open Days 2026

Friday 11th – Sunday 13th September 2026

Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public, or charge for admission.

The Friends of Lewes has played a key part in ensuring the success of the Heritage Open Days event, taking on the lead role from 2011 onward.

The national HOD theme this year is ‘Working life through the ages’ and offers free access to eighteen historic Lewes buildings plus seven guided walks. Advance booking, where required, opens on Thursday 20th August 2026 at 9am. ( N.B The event links below will not work until this date)

Lewes House, at 32 High Street, Lewes is the meeting point for most guided walks. It will be open on Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm with exhibitions by the Friends of Lewes, and the Lewes History Group, and refreshments in the garden. An opportunity not to be missed!

Lewes Heritage Open Days are organised by the Friends of Lewes –

https://friends-of-lewes.org.uk/membership/

↑ Click on the images above to enlarge for details of open buildings and walks and use the left/right arrrow keys to switch between the two images. ↑

Details are also on the National Heritage Open Days website

How to book for Heritage Open Days events, 11th to 13th September 2026

You do not need to book for many of the building openings, though you may have to wait at busy times. Please be patient or come back later, as numbers may be restricted for safety reasons.

You can book the following venues and walks free of charge by clicking on the appropriate link to the Eventbrite website. You will need to set up a user name and password if you have not booked through Eventbrite before. Booking opens on Thursday 20th August 2026 at 9am and closes the day before the event.

For venue tours and walks which happen more than once, you will be able to select the day/time you want during the booking process. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email, but you do not need to print out the email to attend the event.

Please let us know if you cannot come to an event you have booked, so that we can give the place to someone else. You can change or cancel your booking by logging in to Eventbrite and following the instructions to edit your order. If you have any difficulty, contact us on leweshod@gmail.com.

Venues where you need to book (available from 20th August)

Hugh Rae shop

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tour-of-hugh-rae-shop-tickets-1995317043991

Harveys Brewery

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harveys-brewery-tour-tickets-1995317110189

Walks where you need to book (available from 20th August)

Ironworks of Lewes walk

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ironworks-of-lewes-walk-tickets-1995319152297

Building pre-1914 Lewes walk

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-pre-1914-lewes-tickets-1995319999832

Flintman walk

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flintman-walk-tickets-1995319234543