Discover fascinating Living History Festivals at West Horsley Place in 2026

Travel through the years at West Horsley Place and experience living history, fabulous events and much more.

West Horsley Place invites you to step back through centuries of history this year with four living history festivals.

Lose yourself (or not, hopefully) in an immersive escape-room-style experience in Escape The Manor on Thursday 2 April 2026, solving clues and uncovering the hidden secrets of the past before time runs out. Fans of Ghosts can get spooked on a BBC Ghosts inspired guided tour on Tuesday 7 April – with multiple additional dates available – exploring the real Button House.

Put your best foot forward and have your dance card at the ready for the Starlit Soirée: Regency Ball on Friday 10 April. And Historians Day on Sunday 12 April will feature talks from Simon Jenkins, Gareth Russell and Daisy Dunn.

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The deep dive into our culture, heritage and nature continues with Regency Revels on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April, where you can mingle with costumed re-enactors, enjoy music and dancing, talks, crafts and family-friendly activities bringing the early 19th century to life.

Fans of the great outdoors can discover the estate during Bluebells and Badgers: Nature Day on Sunday 26 April, with guided walks and seasonal talks celebrating the natural world.

Following the popularity of their guided tours, including Nooks & Crannies Tours and Filming Favourites, West Horsley Place has introduced a brand-new guided experience for 2026: Tudor Traces.

This small-group tour invites visitors to explore the Manor House through a focused journey into its Tudor history, uncovering stories of royal connections, Tudor architecture and the lives lived within its walls during one of the most fascinating periods of the house’s past. Available to book on various dates — check the website for details.

Explore your creative side throughout the year with a range of hands-on workshops: try soap-making, discover Stories the House Could Tell at a creative writing workshop, join a Medicinal Plant and Foraging Walk, create moss-covered hanging houseplants in a Kokedama workshop, or try your hand at Art Deco pottery and Japanese bookbinding.

Later in the year, the living history celebrations continue with Hosting Henry VIII Tudor Festival in July, Saxon Saga Fire Festival in October and Crewe’s Christmas towards the end of November.

The Grade I listed medieval manor house and estate dates from 1425, and the West Horsley Place Trust aims to bring the house, gardens, 400-acre estate and outbuildings back into good repair to improve wellbeing through culture, heritage and nature.

For full details on all the events at the house and to book please visit westhorsleyplace.org.

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