[08
NOV 00] COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE PROMOTIONS NEWS
Heritage Weekend Leaves Crowds Begging For More
History
lovers visiting this year’s Heritage Open Day have proclaimed
the event a huge success, saying it just gets better every year.
More
than 800 people who toured the historic building of Coventry
over a weekend in September filled in a survey to give their
thoughts on the offerings.
A
staggering 98 per cent of people rated the event, sponsored by
CWN, either “good” or “excellent” and 97 per cent said
they would definitely come back again.
Just
one person said they wouldn’t come back next year.
BLUE COAT
SCHOOL
The
most popular building visited over the weekend was the former
Blue Coat School in Priory Row, closely followed by Drapers
Hall, St Mary’s Hall and the Cathedral tower and Bishop Haigh
chapel.
DRAPERS HALL
Most
visitors - 88 per cent - came from Coventry, but Heritage weekenders
attended the event from Lancashire to Surrey to Lincolnshire and
Northern Ireland. The furthest visitors came from Canada and the
USA.
Particular
praise went to the tour guides, entertainment from period
performers and information leaflets.
The
main criticisms were that people wanted longer opening hours and
more frequent heritage events.
The
building people would most like to see open next year is
Whitefriars.
Event
Co-ordinator Hilary Hopker, from Coventry and Warwickshire
Promotions, said:
"More
people came to this year's Heritage Weekend than last year and
we had many comments from visitors about how they feel the
event is getting better year upon year.
“The
views of the public are very important to us and are essential
for planning future events. The survey clearly shows that we are in the main giving
visitors what they want and we want to continue doing
that."
The
winner of the Herbert Cox Print, drawn from those who completed
the survey, is Mrs M L Harrington from Allesley Park, Coventry.
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