Peek Inside 10 Downing Street with the Open House ballot

Open House weekend returns 21-22 September 2019 with hundreds of fascinating buildings opening their doors to the public all over London. New additions this year include a family house with a slide in Hackney (children’s heaven?!), the Victorian Clitterhouse Farm that’s being restored thanks to crowdfunding, a very cosy-looking Hafren Barge in Islington, talks at the East End Women’s Museum set to open in Barking in 2021. There’s also a focus on Savile Row this year, where Open House has teamed up with five renowned tailoring houses including Cad and The Dandy & Richard Anderson that you can visit on Saturday 21st September.

Barge life in Islington

Peruse the guide at leisure and plan your weekend ahead – all buildings are free to enter but some need to be booked ahead. Those you need to book include the exciting program of walking tours (In Ziggy’s Footsteps – a walking tour of David Bowie’s Beckenham anyone?), historic buildings like The London Library and The Old Bailey, artist houses including Van Gogh’s house in Lambeth and Turner’s home in Richmond as well as gin distilleries, chapels, synagogs, office towers and more.

Kieran Timberlake – the US embassy

And then there are a few buildings where entry is granted by ballot only. These include 10 Downing Street, The Shard, the BT Tower, the new US embassy in Battersea, New Scotland Yard and Bloomberg’s European HQ in the City. Enter your name into the hat before 9 September here to be in with a chance of  getting in.

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