Province celebrates European Heritage open days

If you would you like to see where the Northern Ireland Secretary of State puts his feet up, have a ‘nosey’ behind the doors of a stately home or stand in the dock at Crumlin Road Courthouse, then this weekend’s European Heritage Open Days are your chance.

Organised by the DOE’s Environment and Heritage Service the European Heritage Open Days will this year provide members of the public with the chance to see behind the doors of 160 buildings throughout the province.

The open days on Saturday September 8 and Sunday September 9 allow visitors to view the houses free of charge. Included are private houses, public buildings, gardens, churches, ancient monuments and ancestral piles. Guided walks in historic towns and villages across Northern Ireland are also for a part of the programme.

So if your interest is in nuns or the Orange Order then why not visit Saint Mary’s Dominican Convent in Belfast or Brownlow House in Lurgan. For the first time Parliament Buildings will be open to the general public. Lord Dunleath will also throw open the doors to his stately home, Ballywalter Park, a location used for feature films Divorcing Jack and Puckoon.

Launching the Open Days at Lord Dunleath’s stately home Minister of the Environment Sam Foster said: “The European Heritage Open Days this weekend will give us the chance to stop, observe and enjoy our built heritage. The number of people who take up this unique opportunity year after year with such enthusiasm shows just how popular the ‘open doors’ concept is.

“It also demonstrates a growing awareness of the contribution that fine buildings make to the quality of our environment.

“The two open days are for everybody, young and old, individuals or organised groups. If you participated last year, you will know already that the weekend offers a unique opportunity to visit behind doors that are frequently closed – if you’re joining in for the first time, there is sure to be a building to interest and surprise you”.

Brochures with full details of buildings, including short descriptions and directions, are available from libraries and Tourist Information Centres throughout Northern Ireland and details can also be found online at www.ehsni.gov.uk. (SP)