Booking for free talks and tours at York Unlocked Weekend 2023

The special event will open the doors free of charge to around 75 of the city’s most beautiful buildings and open spaces, which are often closed to the public on October 7th and 8th.

While there are many buildings that you can easily enter and enter, some events and tours require advance reservations.

The program includes a mix of new buildings and favorites from last year and extends to the suburbs of York and Bishopthorpe in 2023. The aim of the event is to help both residents and tourists discover hidden treasures and experience familiar places with new eyes.

The entrance to Bishopthorpe Palace in York (Image: York Unlocked)

New highlights include Bishopthorpe Palace, Archbishop’s Walled and Pleasure Garden, St Peters School, Terry’s Factory Clock Tower and former headquarters, Holgate Windmill, St Mary’s Tower and Minster Refectory. This year there is also an Architecture of the Ouse cruise in collaboration with City Cruises and The Big Draw in collaboration with York Army Museum.

Get a sheet and a sketchbook from the museum and sketch the buildings you saw. These will be included in a digital or physical museum exhibition. 2022 favorites are also back including the Assembly Rooms, Duncombe Place Masonic Lodge, Guildhall and King’s Manor.

Kathy M King, founder of York Unlocked, said: “York is blessed with a rich diversity of built gems and open spaces, all with amazing stories to tell. Maybe you’ve walked past it on your daily commute for years and wondered what’s behind the door, or you’re new to York and want to find out more about the city’s rich history.

This year there is also a special Architecture of the Ouse cruise in collaboration with City Cruises (Image: York Unlocked)

“This special event allows you to see familiar places with new eyes and explore these hidden gems in one fantastic weekend. Whether you’re an architecture buff and have a list of specific buildings, or you’re a family looking to see the city in a different light, York Unlocked is guaranteed to inspire, delight and fascinate.

“But act quickly – last year’s bookable events sold out within a few hours.”

York Unlocked 2023 follows an “extremely successful” first year, which saw an estimated 20,000 visits across over 60 buildings. Visitors came from York and surrounding regional cities such as Manchester, Durham, Liverpool and London, as well as from Australia and the USA.

The meeting rooms in York (Image: York Unlocked)

York Unlocked is a registered charity and the event is run entirely by a small team of volunteers, supported by the goodwill of the building owners and managers. The weekend was also made possible by kind funding from York BID, Two Ridings Community Trust, RIBA Yorkshire, the York Common Good Trust, the City of York, the UK Government and the Shared Prosperity Fund.