The Wish Tower, Royal Hippodrome backstage tours and Towner's heritage store open free, 11 to 20 September. Every local event, with times and booking.
Sixteen free heritage events run in and around Eastbourne from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September, as part of Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture. Buildings that are normally shut, from the Wish Tower to the Royal Hippodrome’s backstage, open without charge.
Everything below comes from the festival’s own event listings, checked on 9 September. Most events are turn-up. Where booking is needed, the listing page carries the contact.
Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September
- Sir Charles Lucas and his heritage, at Lockwood, 2 Compton Place Road. Hourly sessions at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on both days, with portraits by Dobson, Lely, Reynolds and Lawrence. Booking preferred.
- The Wish Tower on King Edwards Parade opens for self-guided visits on Saturday, 12pm to 4pm. The Napoleonic Martello tower repeats that on Tuesday 15, Thursday 17 and Sunday 20, with pre-booked architectural tours at 12pm and 2pm on Monday 14 and Friday 18.
- A heritage walk through the Devonshire Quarter, Saturday 2pm. The Eastbourne Society’s walk starts at the Duke of Devonshire statue on the Western Lawns.
- Guided tour of Ocklynge Cemetery, Saturday 2.30pm to 4pm, led by local historian Kevin Gordon.
- Community open day at St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Willingdon Road, Saturday 10am to 4pm.
- Celebrating the life and art of James Owen, a talk at Towner, Saturday 11am. The local landscape artist’s great-great-grandson explores the family history. Booking preferred.
- The Latter-day Saint chapel on Furness Road opens Saturday 10am to 4pm, and again on Monday 14 and Saturday 19, with tours of the former school building.
- The Hermitage, the Grade II listed folly in Manor Gardens, opens Saturday 2pm to 4pm, and again on Saturday 19.
Sunday 13 to Thursday 17 September
- Polegate Windmill open day, Sunday 13, 10am to 3pm. The 208 year old windmill is at Park Croft in Polegate, about five miles north of the town centre.
- Chaseley, the 1893 South Cliff building that has housed a neurodisability charity since 1946, opens Tuesday 15, 2pm to 5pm. Booking preferred.
- Royal Hippodrome Theatre backstage tours, Wednesday 16 at 10.30am, 11.15am, 12pm and 12.45pm, repeated Saturday 19.
- Eastbourne Parish Church and Old Parsonage open day, Thursday 17, 9am to 4pm. The 12th century St Mary the Virgin in Old Town opens alongside its Tudor parsonage.
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September
- Eastbourne industry and commerce, Friday 18, 10.30am to 4pm at the Bridgemere Centre. How Roselands and St Anthony’s became the industrial heart of the Victorian resort.
- Eastbourne Heritage Collection open store, Saturday 19, 11am to 4pm. Towner opens the borough’s newly relocated heritage collections store at Rosebury Business Park.
- Eastbourne street furniture, Saturday 19, 2pm. A 90 minute walk from Holy Trinity Church hunting early street furniture on the town’s new Heritage List.
- Archives exhibition at St Mary the Virgin, Willingdon, Saturday 19, in the village north of the town. Displays on Willingdon, Ratton Manor and the First World War airship station, with a church history talk at 2.15pm.
- East of the Pier, Sunday 20, 2pm. A walk from the pier entrance through Seaside to the Redoubt and back.
What it means for you
- Everything is free. Heritage Open Days events carry no admission charge.
- Only the Wish Tower architectural tours require booking, on Monday 14 and Friday 18. A few others prefer it; check the linked listing.
- Two events are outside the town: the windmill in Polegate and the archives exhibition in Willingdon village.
The festival’s 2026 theme is Everyday Histories. For more on the town’s regular attractions, see things to do in Eastbourne.
Sources
- Heritage Open Days 2026 event search for Eastbourne, with each event’s own listing linked above
Have your say