Heritage Open Days: Doncaster's historic Sand House to be brought to life once more

Three events are planned as part of Heritage Open Days 2022 including walks and talks explaining the history of the fascinating building, now demolished and beneath the Balby Bridge flats area.

There will be guided walks of the area where the Sand House once stood on Sunday 11 September. The walks, at 11am and repeated at 2pm, will be led by Richard Bell, Chair of Trustees of The Sand House Charity and a direct descendant of the man who created the Sand House.

On Monday 12 September at 2pm, Richard will present an illustrated talk entitled “The Sand House… in their own words”.

This new talk makes extensive use of audio and video recordings of people who had first-hand experience of the Victorian marvel going back over a century.

The talk takes place at the Danum Gallery, Library and Museum, in Doncaster.

The house was carved from solid rock in the 1850s, in a small quarry just south of Doncaster city centre.

It also had a network of tunnels connected to it.

Although the house was destroyed around 1938, local people still remember the tunnels, many of which survived until the 1980s. Some of them were decorated with wonderful carvings, including one of a full-size elephant.

Places on all three events must be pre-booked , as attendance is limited for safety reasons. Please phone Richard Bell on 07777 688438 to book a place.

The 90-minute walks and 60-minute talk are all free of charge, but donations to support the work of The Sand House Charity are greatly appreciated.

Find out more at www.thesandhouse.org.uk.

Speaking about the forthcoming events, Richard Bell said “The Sand House and its tunnels may have disappeared, but our charity is keeping their story very much alive.

"On the guided walks we show people many clues to their former existence. We also use maps and old photographs to show what the area was once like. During the illustrated talk we hear not only from people who played in the tunnels in the 1940s, but also from someone who lived in the Sand House decades before that”.