Unique people's history festival in Rochdale to celebrate 25 years of Heritage Open Days

The Time Machine Rochdale celebrating 25 years of Heritage Open Days

Heritage Open Days, the UK’s biggest grassroots festival of history and culture, celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019, with a specially commissioned new event in Rochdale town centre.

The Time Machine will take place in the town’s conservation area of Toad Lane, the birthplace of the Co-operative movement.

Through a series of interactive, fun activities, visitors will be invited to share their own stories in an antiques roadshow-style memories amnesty on 1 and 2 June, in the Pioneers Museum, St Mary in the Baum church and The Baum pub.

Heritage Open Days Manager, Annabelle Thorpe explains: "Rochdale’s Time Machine is a pilot event which showcases all that’s fantastic about Heritage Open Days, and how the festival brings people together from all sectors of a town.

"What started in 1994 as a weekend when the public could access historic buildings that were usually closed, has evolved into a vibrant, colourful celebration of over 5,500 locally-curated events.

“Heritage Open Days is now a multi-faceted festival running across ten days, with walks, talks, openings, spoken word events and many ways of telling the stories that make our towns, villages and landscapes unique."

Lots of local organisations, clubs and societies are involved in the Rochdale event, which will include an opportunity for people to bring along their own photos, archives and artefacts, create a large scale piece of community bunting using scrapbooking techniques and watch rare local footage from the Pathé film archive in a mobile vintage cinema. There will also be an area focusing on the future of the town and the recent multi-million investment areas.

Paul Ambrose from Rochdale BID says: "The Time Machine is a great event for Rochdale because there’s so much we can still learn from local people that will add to our rich history. It’s also an opportunity for visitors to help shape the future of the town which has undergone incredible transformation, particularly the exciting plans for the Town Hall."

Later in the year, venues across Rochdale will be taking part in the main Heritage Open Days festival, with events including a special programme of Restoration and Revival activities at Rochdale Town Hall, as part of the multi-million-pound development funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The event takes place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June 2019 between 11.00am and 4.00pm each day. The event is free and open to all.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/60670/events-in-rochdale/time-machine-rochdale-the-peoples-festival

Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture; in 2018, over 5,500 events welcomed more than three million visitors across the country. Every single event is free, including access to many sites that usually charge for admission.