Of the 400 sites that English Heritage looks after, more than 240 are unstaffed and open to the public at all reasonable times. Free Sites Unlocked is a new English Heritage project seeking to improve the interpretation of these free sites. We are also improving our webpages by providing more information on the history of our sites and suggestions for further reading.

Baconsthorpe Castle

The extensive ruins of Baconsthorpe Castle, a moated and fortified 15th century manor house, are a testament to the rise and fall of a prominent Norfolk family, the Heydons.

Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle, located two miles south of Dorchester, is the largest and most complex Iron Age hillfort in Britain. The vast multiple ramparts enclose an area the size of 50 football pitches, and the hillfort was once home to several hundred people.

Netley Abbey

Netley Abbey is the most complete surviving Cistercian monastery in southern England, with many of the monastic buildings and almost all of the walls of the 13th century church still standing.

Silbury Hill

Largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe - read about the major conservation project.

Titchfield Abbey

The ruins of an abbey founded by the bishop of Winchester in the 13th century that once belonged to a community of Premonstratensian canons. Suppressed by Henry VIII in 1527, it was converted into a fashionable mansion in the 16th century.

Houghton House

The ruin of this 17th century mansion built for Mary, Dowager Countess of Pembroke, is located eight miles from Bedford. Built in a fascinating mixture of Jacobean and Classical styles, its surviving architectural features include two loggias, possibly designed by Inigo Jones.

Feedback

For comments relating to the Free Sites Unlocked project, please e-mail freesites@english-heritage.org.uk.

New Guidebooks

The new series Heritage Unlocked aims to encourage visitors to explore some of our lesser-known sites. It includes features on the region's history, culture and character, as well as a concise but informative entry on each site, all fully illustrated in colour. There are 7 books, covering the following regions of

London and the South East
North West
Yorkshire and the North East;
Bristol Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
East of England
The Midlands

Order your copy from the online bookshop

New Graphic Panels

A number of new graphic panels are being installed at sites across the country each year. Last year, the following sites received new interpretation:

Maiden Castle
Nunney Castle
Winchester Palace
Weeting Castle
Thetford Priory
Countess Pillar
Old Oswestry Hillfort
Mitchell’s Fold
Houghton House
Derwentcote Steel Furnace

Free Sites Questionnaire

This brand new project needs you! We need to know whether you enjoyed the audio guides and would like to see more of them in the future. By filling in our questionnaire we can assess their popularity and how we can improve them.

Free Downloadable Tours

As part of Free Sites Unlocked we are trialling downloadable audio tours. Tours are now available for:

The tours last 7-8 minutes and can be downloaded free of charge from our website onto any MP3 player or saved on a CD. They are designed to be listened to while you explore the site.

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