Yorkshire Heritage Summit In Barnsley Will Be Biggest Yet

Yorkshire’s popular annual gathering of heritage organisations will take place on Wednesday 25 March in the historic South Yorkshire town of Barnsley. The summit, hosted by Barnsley Civic looks set to be the biggest yet in terms of attendees at the morning Symposium and Exhibitors at the afternoons Yorkshire Heritage Exhibition. 

This year’s summit organised by The Yorkshire Society in conjunction with Barnsley Council and Barnsley Civic Trust, will include two key elements. In the morning 10am – 12 noon, there will be the Yorkshire Heritage Symposium.  

This year’s theme is “Our Yorkshire Heritage, Our Yorkshire Future” with guest speakers presenting their thoughts on subjects such as How Yorkshire’s heritage has made us who we are?  

Keynote speakers include:  

Professor Richard Morris – Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield  

Rachael Bice – CEO Yorkshire Wildlife Trust  

Tegwen Roberts – Heritage Development Manager – Wakefield Council  

The afternoon will see a separate Yorkshire Heritage Exhibition at Barnsley Civic to be opened by The Mayor of Barnsley and running between 1pm-4pm. This free-to-attend event will be open to the general public, who will be able to come and meet a number of Yorkshire’s regional and local heritage organisations as well as allowing voluntary heritage groups to network and exchange ideas.  

Barnsley Civic Trust will also be running free guided walks at 11am and 2pm on the day. 

Cllr Robin Franklin, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “We are excited for Barnsley to host this year’s Yorkshire Heritage Summit and showcase our unique culture and heritage. We’re sure that visitors to the summit will enjoy our incredible town centre, as well as the diverse range of cultural organisations we have on our doorstep.” 

The annual Summit is an opportunity for voluntary groups, large and small, to come together and share new ideas, as well as giving the general public an opportunity to meet organisations and hear about their work. It is already expected that with the interest already shown in the event that the numbers attending this year’s Yorkshire Heritage Exhibition will break previous records! 

A last few tickets for the Yorkshire Heritage Symposium can be purchased for just £7.50 from https://theyorkshiresociety.org/event/yorkshire-heritage-summit-2026/ 

Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust are delighted to be participating in the exhibition, alongside our colleagues from Barnsley Museums.