Yorkshire Heritage Summit 2026 comes to Barnsley

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 is hosted by Barnsley Civic.

Over sixty voluntary groups, from all over Yorkshire form the Yorkshire Society’s unique Heritage Guardian network. 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.    

This year’s summit organised by The Yorkshire Society in conjunction with Barnsley Council and Barnsley Civic Trust, will include two key elements. Firstly, the morning will feature a ticketed Yorkshire Heritage Symposium, with this year’s theme being Our Yorkshire Heritage, Our Yorkshire Future.  

Keynote speakers include:

Barnsley’s Heritage Action Zones – a creative and community engagement approach to heritage regeneration -  Tegwen Roberts – Heritage Development Manager – Wakefield Council 

How Yorkshire’s History and Cultural Heritage has made us who we are? – Professor Richard Morris - Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield

How Yorkshire’s Natural Heritage has made us who we are?  - Rachael Bice - CEO Yorkshire Wildlife Trust  

Then the afternoon will see a separate Yorkshire Heritage Exhibition opened by The Mayor of Barnsley, 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 the region’s heritage organisations as well as allowing voluntary heritage groups to network and exchange ideas.  

Barnsley Civic Trust will also be running guided walks throughout the day. 

“This is the perfect opportunity for all voluntary groups involved with protecting and celebrating Yorkshire’s regional and local heritage to get together to showcase their activities to each other and the wider public”, commented The Yorkshire Society’s CEO Phil Bell.   

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.” 

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

To find out more about the event, or for heritage organisations wishing to take a stand at the exhibition, please email heritage@theyorkshiresociety.org