Eco-buildings join West Berks heritage trails

Shaw House is one of the buildings that will be offering visitors the opportunity to explore its rich and varied history.
During the two days, the public will have access to its rooms, exhibitions, family activities, outdoor games and the café in the old kitchen.
Inglewood House, Kintbury, will also be giving a behind-the-scenes tour yesterday (Thursday) and today, when visitors can learn more about the building that has been a private home, a De La Salle monastery and a luxury spa. They will also be able to enjoy a walk within its extensive grounds.
Over in Cold Ash, the re-built St Finians School, St Mark’s Church and Fisher Room, St Gabriel’s convent chapel and gardens, The Cold Ash Centre grounds and Mini-Farm will be open.
This is the first time the village has taken part in the Heritage Open Days.
As part of the event, people will be able to discover which wartime British prime minister honeymooned in the village and also more about Britain’s first aerial photographers who lived in the village.
There will be activities for children, including an opportunity to meet the animals at the Cold Ash Mini-Farm, search for ‘mice’ in St Mark’s Church, take part in a trail and quiz and view the artwork at St Finian’s School.
This year’s open days will also offer the chance to check out West Berkshire’s eco-credentials.
From today until Sunday, six buildings incorporating a variety of renewable energy technologies, including bio-mass heating systems, photovoltaics and solar thermal systems, will be showing their unique features.
These include Flint Cottage, Brightwalton, which is a four- bedroom zero-carbon house, The Living Rainforest, Hampstead Norreys, which has a commercial 220kW biomass heating system for its tropical glasshouses, Curridge Primary School with its biomass boiler, the Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre which has a teaching room built using sustainable materials, eco-house Bunker Farm, Newbury, and St George’s Church, Wash Common, which is working towards becoming carbon neutral.
The Heritage Open Days, established and organised by English Heritage, are taking place across the UK at castles and city halls, private homes and woodland walks, celebrating England’s rich cultural history and local architectural jewels.
For all opening times and dates, visit www.heritageopendays.org.uk
For photographs and reports from Heritage Open Days see next week’s Newbury Weekly News.