Falinge church is highlight at this year's Heritage Open Days

A Falinge church which has been compared to the setting for the best selling novel The Da Vinci Code will be among the highlights at this year's Heritage Open Days.

The masonic features which characterise St Edmund's Church have led to comparisons with the medieval Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, the setting for Dan's Brown's novel, The Da Vinci code.

Now locals and visitors can explore this hidden gem during the Heritage Open Day weekend from 12-15 September.

Heritage Open Days is a national event celebrating England's architecture and culture. It offers free access to buildings which are usually closed to the public or charge admission. A total of 31 local buildings across the borough will be available to explore with tours, events and activities also on offer. Other new additions this year include the Wardle village heritage experience.

Visitors can also find out all about Rochdale's untold stories by participating in a Heritage Trail which sets off from Touchstones Rochdale on Saturday 14 September from 2pm-3.30pm. This can be booked on 01706 924928.

Staying in Rochdale town centre, a year after its extensive refurbishment, the Pioneers' Museum, which opened for its doors for the first time at last year's event, has a full programme of activities to take locals back to our borough's cooperative roots.

Visitors can enjoy a tour of the original Pioneers graves at Rochdale Cemetery or find out all about the history of the building in which the museum is housed from its birth as a woollen warehouse to the present day.

Wardle will also take on a whole new character as its heritage event gets underway, with the former Wardle Urban District Council Offices, opened in 1936, playing host to curious visitors. Artefacts from the period will also be on display alongside documents relating to the former Wardle Carnegie library. An exhibition by the Wardle and Smallbridge History group will complete the experience.

Favourite sites opening again this year include the Regal Moon. Visitors will be able to glimpse the Wetherspoons pub in its former life as the Regal cinema, with the circle and upper floors open to the public for a one-off peek. Guided tours of the Grade I Listed gothic town hall will also be available for those who would like to find out more about Rochdale's civic masterpiece.

Councillor Jacquie Beswick, Cabinet member for Place and Regeneration at Rochdale Borough Council, said: "Last year's Heritage Open Days attracted record breaking numbers to our borough, with 3,600 people coming to explore our past. With exciting new additions like St Edmunds Church on the programme, we're expecting this year to be even bigger and better."

Julian Jefferson, Head of Link4Life Arts and Heritage service, added: "The fantastic heritage offer we have in Rochdale is hard to beat. We're really excited about this year's programme, which will give locals the chance to explore our better known historical buildings as well as hidden gems in unlikely places."

Organised by volunteers and supported by the Heritage Open Days National Partnership, Rochdale Borough Council, Link4Life and the Middleton Heritage and Conservation Group, Heritage Open Days is England's biggest and most popular cultural event.