With autumn upon us, there are many heritage events to keep you entertained. Here are just some of what is happening in Nottinghamshire in October:

Wednesday 7th October: Head to the Lakeside Arts for their next heritage talk. 'Mustafa Barış Harmankaya, Culture and Tourism Expert and Archaeologist at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, will join in person, to discuss excavations at the remains of the Byzantine-era Church of St. Polyeuktos and Boukoleon Palace, sites set to become archaeological parks following their conservation work'. Tickets cost up to £4.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here. 

Friday 9th October: The National Civil War Centre will be hosting the talk 'Evening Talk: Tinker Fox and The Fight for the Midlands'. 'Join Professor Andrew Hopper, Professor of Local and Social History at the University of Oxford, for a fascinating exploration of the remarkable rise of John 'Tinker' Fox, one of the most formidable Parliamentarian commanders of the English Civil Wars. Following Prince Rupert's devastating assault on Birmingham, Fox seized his opportunity, becoming a key figure in a conflict fought not through grand battles, but through garrisons, raids and relentless skirmishes across the Midlands. This special event also includes the premiere of a brand-new short documentary film, bringing Fox's story and the realities of war in the region to life'. Tickets cost up to £10 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Saturday 10th October: Wollaton Hall and the Nottingham Civic Society will be hosting the illustrated talk 'Wollaton Hall - The Sale of the Century' at Nottingham Central Library.  Join them 'to uncover the fascinating history behind the sale of Wollaton Hall and Park to the Nottingham Corporation a century ago'. This event is free but booking is required. Book your place here.

Monday 12th October: Creswell Crags will be hosting the online talk ' Using palaeoproteomics & zooarchaeology to study Neaderthal canabalism'. Join Pauline Raymond (Collège de France) online to discover the scientific advancements being used in new research on Neanderthal cannibalism in France'. This event is free (donations suggested) but booking is required. Book your place here.

Friday 16th October: Head to Rufford Abbey for 'an immersive 1912 Titanic dining experience featuring interactive exhibits, dramatic storytelling, and a historic first-class dinner. Transport yourself back to April 1912 for an unforgettable, fully immersive evening in the Titanic’s lavish First Class Dining Suite. Guests are encouraged to dress in period attire or evening formal wear as Captain Smith and his first-class stewards welcome you aboard for a night of fine dining, history, and real human emotion'. Tickets cost £55 per person and booking is required. Click here for more information or to book your place. 

Above: Papplewick Pumping Station

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October: 'Papplewick’s hugely popular 1940s steam event returns for its seventeenth year' at Papplewick Pumping Station. The array of entertainment will involve re-enactors, trade stalls, and live entertainment as well as much more. Tickets cost up to £14.50 per person and booking is required, although you can buy tickets on the door at a higher price. Click here for more information or to book your place. 

Tuesday 20th October: Head to Mansfield Museum for the 'Heritage Talk: On Freedom's Wings - the Inside Story'. 'Experts from the Bomber County Gateway Trust take us on the journey from conception to completion. The talk includes the History of the Lancaster Bomber and the World War 2 airmen, how the project came about, the people behind the scenes, fascinating facts and figures, and what comes next? Visually appealing with video footage and archive material, this talk is for the curious about the story behind the sculpture'. This event is free but booking is required. Book your place here. 

 Wednesday 21st October: Head down to Worksop Library for the ' Heritage Talk - The Buildings Archaeologist: Discovering the Secrets of Nottinghamshire's Ancient Buildings. 'Visit any settlement in the land and there will be ancient buildings hidden in plain sight. Behind a Victorian façade is a Tudor house; beneath a Georgian frontage is a mediaeval cottage, or what is now a modern farm may once have been a castle. As Dr. James Wright will explain, buildings archaeology can offer us many clues for discovering the secrets of hidden historic houses'. Tickets cost up to £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Saturday 24th October: 'Southwell's best loved food and drink fair returns for its annual autumn slot at Southwell Minster' to celebrate the famous Bramley apple. 'Dozens of stallholders offering all manner of food and drink including pies, chocolates, jams, chutneys, pickles, sausages and much much more'. There is a suggested donation of £3 and booking is not required. Click here for more information.

Saturday 24th October: Also to celebrate the Bramley apple, Southwell Workhouse will be hosting the 'Bramley Apple Day'. 'Running alongside Southwell's famous Bramley Apple Festival, join for the return of the longest Apple Peel Challenge and the pauper choir!'. This event is free and booking is not required. Click here for more information.

Tuesday 27th October: Southwell Minster will be hosting the lecture 'English Language in early medieval Southwell'. Join Dr. Christine Rauer (University of St Andrews) to shine a light on medieval language and answer the question: What did English sound like in early medieval Southwell? his talk will give an overview of the Mercian dialect of Old English using text examples written at the time, including Beowulf, The Peterborough Chronicle, The Lord's Prayer and place-names from the Southwell area. It will be fascinating to see how close our own modern form of English is to the earliest East Midlands dialect. All welcome — no prior experience with medieval language required'. Tickets cost up to £7 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

This coming September will be very exciting for heritage lovers in Nottinghamshire with the return of Heritage Open Days’ annual community festival!

The festival, which has been running for over 25 years in the UK, provides individuals with the chance to get involved in heritage through exclusive local events. This festival contributes to the European Heritage Days in which 50 signatory states celebrate diversity, culture, and heritage every September.

Heritage Open Days aims to celebrate heritage and community by organising talks, workshops, and tours of historical sites. All the events in this festival are free. This includes rare visits to selected sites that normally ask for an entry fee.

Heritage Open Days aims to celebrate heritage and community by organising talks, workshops, and tours of historical sites. All the events in this festival are free. This includes rare visits to selected sites that normally ask for an entry fee. Sites included in this festival are Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Newstead Abbey, the Adams Building, and the Workhouse and Infirmary. Visit the Heritage Open Days website for the full list. 

Running from Friday 11th until Sunday 20th September, there are over 80 exciting events happening in the Nottinghamshire area. 

Above: Newstead Abbey House

Here are just some of the events we’re excited about:

- Saturday 12th September: Heritage Building Skills Demonstration and Participation, Newark Market Place, Newark. 'A number of experts will demonstrate the skills and techniques required to maintain and repair historic buildings, including some who have recently worked on Newark Castle, including archaeologists. There will be the chance to get hands on with some of these skills and there will be stalls around the demonstration area related to the experts and the groups involved'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Saturday 12th September: Everyday Histories - The Miners Stories, Bassetlaw Museum, Retford. 'Discover the rich heritage of the local mining community at Bassetlaw Museum, where the everyday lives of miners are brought vividly to life. Explore a fascinating display of original mining artefacts from the museum’s collection, many closely linked to the powerful personal stories featured in the book. Get hands-on with history through our engaging handling collection and experience what life was really like down the pits. Don’t miss: A captivating talk by NCC's Janine Buckley at 11am, delving into the incredible role of pit ponies who worked side-by-side with miners underground'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Saturday 12th September: Hidden Treasures, The Saracen's Head, Southwell. 'There will be an exhibition of artefacts discovered by archaeologists in and around Southwell that are not on view anywhere else. This is a free exhibition run by Southwell Community Archaeology Group that will be held in The Saracens Head, in the centre of town. Archaeologists will be there to answer any questions; members of the public can also bring along any small finds they have for us to help identify them. There will be some Roman pottery for people to handle and work done by our Southwell Young Archaeologists' Club. There will be an opportunity to see the famous Elizabethan wall paintings that decorate two of the rooms in The Saracens Head'. Booking is not required, except to see the wall paintings which will can be booked at the event only. Visit the event page for more information here.

- Saturday 12th September: Mill Waters Festival, Sutton Lawn, Sutton-in-Ashfield. 'Celebrate nature and heritage at Mill Waters, with traditional crafts, vintage tennis, bowls and model boats, historic photos and films, book launch for 'Mills of the River Maun', traditional games, tours, live performances, music and more!'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Tuesday 15th September: Tuxford Traditional Building Tour and Skills Demonstration Day, Tuxford. 'Tours of the timber-framed cottage currently being repaired using traditional craft skills. Demonstrations of traditional building skills including hot lime, hemp lime plastering, daub/clay plasters and sash window restoration'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Wednesday 16th September: Behind the Scenes at the Museum, The Resource Centre, Newark. 'A rare opportunity to look behind the scenes at the museum’s reserve collection. Join our friendly curator to explore thousands of years of Newark’s history through the 90,000 objects held at the Resource Centre. Lift the curtains on our hidden art collection and look closely at objects from stone-age hand axes to a Victorian prison door'. Booking is required, visit the event page for booking information here.

- Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th September: Cricketer & Stockinger: A Display Exploring the Relationship between Cricket and Framework Knitting in Nottinghamshire, Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum, Ruddington. 'A free display at the Framework Knitters Museum exploring the fascinating relationship between cricket and framework knitting'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Saturday 19th September: CWGC Tours - Mansfield (Nottingham Road) Cemetery, Mansfield. 'The tour will be a circular route looking at war graves from the First World War and learning about the history of the cemetery Memorial cross. On this tour refreshments will be available after the tour as The Friends of Mansfield Cemetery will be hosting an event in support of Heritage Open Days'. Booking is required, visit the event page for booking information here.

- Sunday 20th September: Beeston Civic Society - Blue Plaques Tour, Beeston. 'Take a fresh look at Beeston’s blue plaques on a guided tour led by members of the original Blue Plaque group responsible for their installation. The tour will bring individual lives back into view and show how the places we pass every day relate to people who worked, lived, created, campaigned and contributed to the town'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

- Sunday 20th September: Explore Gedling House, Gedling, Nottingham. 'Come and visit Gedling House a Grade II listed Georgian mansion, now a Buddhist meditation Centre. Enjoy the lovely building and grounds - there will be history talks, displays, meditation taster sessions, refreshments and stalls'. Booking is not required, visit the event page for more information here.

To find out about all the events being offered in Nottinghamshire, including dates and booking information, please visit the Heritage Open Days website. Make sure to search your local area for events near you!

Please be aware that free entry to some heritage sites is only on specific set days and some events may require booking.