Hannah Glasse

Heritage Open Days unlocks Northumberland’s culinary secrets

Once again Northumberland will be celebrating its heritage and culture as part of the annual Heritage Open Days festival. 
 
From September 10-19 almost 90 FREE events will be held at venues across the county, allowing visitors to get a behind the scenes look at some hidden places or discovering a new experience. 
 
For Berwick this year’s events are extra special as the town marks its 30th anniversary of being part of the Heritage Open Days festival. Joining in 1991, Berwick was the first town in England to be involved in the initiative. 
 
This year’s theme for the festival is Edible England with many of the events exploring the past, present and future of England’s culinary heritage and culture. 
 
In Northumberland it’s an opportunity to discover the story of 18th century Northumbrian cookery writer Hannah Glasse. Northumberland Archives has teamed up with November Club and the Forum Cinema, Hexham on two unique events. 
 
On Saturday, September 11 and 18 at 11.30am they will present three short films celebrating her life and her book, the most successful cookbook of all time, 'The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'. 
 
On Sunday, September 12 at 7pm, Northumberland Archives will be hosting a virtual event on the life of Hannah, you’ll also be able to watch two of the three films and find out more about what inspired this exciting project. 
 
At Hexham Library there will be a special Edible England display including historical cookery books and family recipes books which residents have shared. People are being encouraged to add their own family recipes to the display for future generations. 
 
In Berwick events will be taking place from Sept 10th-19th including heritage walks around the town, virtual talks and photographic exhibitions. Northumberland Archives will once again be hosting a number of events including a look at the early history of Tweedmouth and a tour of Georgian Berwick.  
 
Northumberland Archives will also be hosting a special “Behind the Scenes” Tour of the archives centre. The virtual tour is on Tuesday, September 14th at 12.30pm. This is followed by a virtual presentation of “Food in the Archives” which will uncover food related items in the archives collection, on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm. 
 
For more information on all the events go to www.heritageopendays.org.uk  
For events in Berwick go to www.berwickhods.org.uk  
To book the Northumberland Archives’ events go to Eventbrite and search for Northumberland Archives. 
To book the events at the Forum Cinema go to https://forumhexham.com/ForumHexham.dll/WhatsOn?Film=14274838  
 
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