Union Farm (part of Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse), Beetley Meadows, Dereham NR20 4DR
13 September
10:00 – 16:00
Free event
Free exhibition entry, Natural Fibres panel, Meet the Artist, and more…
Heritage Open Days is an annual nationwide festival of heritage and community, celebrated through stories retold, traditions unearthed, cherished rituals shared, ancestors’ histories explored, and new connections forged. Sites across the country will welcome thousands of visitors to events taking place between 11 and 20 September 2026.
We are delighted that The Clean Blue of Linen will journey crowds in Norfolk through the once-instinctive stages of flax production, near-eroded from local memory by the turning tides of time, as part of Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse’s Heritage Open Day offering on 13 September.
Reflecting Norfolk’s own textile past, Helen and Charlie’s story of flax revival in Northern Ireland pairs beautifully with Gressenhall’s exhibits and tales of rural life in years gone by.
On Mallon Farm in County Tyrone, Helen Keys and Charlie Mallon are again growing the “wee blue blossoms” that once characterised the island’s complexion. Nurtured as part of a patchwork of potatoes, grass and oats, the flax is sown with an antique fiddle, grown chemical-free, gathered by hand, retted in rainwater, scutched on a restored turbine, and threaded into local supply chains.
Gressenhall’s fields are following a similar path of heritage resurgence through their on-site Flax and Fleece Project. Drawing on the growing local appetite for sustainable textile production and past traditions not yet forgotten, the site’s free entry for Heritage Open Day will offer visitors wonderful opportunities to immerse themselves more deeply in these stories.
11:00 – 12:15 | Chapel | Collaboration, Innovation, Resilience: The Gifts of Growing Natural Fibres
Hear from The Clean Blue of Linen‘s protagonists, Helen Keys and Charlie Mallon, alongside an incredible lineup of their affectionate allies from the world of natural fibre production, including: Juliet Boyce of Gressenhall’s Flax and Fleece project; Co-founder of Fantasy Fibre Mill and creator of open-source textile machinery, Nick Evans.
14:00 – 15:00 | Meet the Artist and Farmers Drop-In
Photographer Yvette Monahan spent a season documenting the revival of nature-friendly flax for fibre on Mallon Farm in Northern Ireland. In addition to the intricate processes of flax production – each carefully, beautifully documented – Yvette’s time with Helen and Charlie taught her to see life differently: “The most profound lesson I have learned at Mallon Farm is the transformative power of personal passion in creating change”.
Yvette, Helen, and Charlie welcome questions about their experiences and work, and their involvement in We Feed The World.
10:00 – 16:00 | Seed Sovereignty Drop-In
As with all things wrapped up in the regeneration of our food, farming, and ecosystems, regrowing the flax industry in a decentralised way starts with the sharing of seeds and their stories. The Gaia Foundation‘s Seed Sovereignty Programme is working with a blossoming network of seed guardians and flax enthusiasts to strengthen this work.
Convene with others and meet members of the team at our Seed Sovereignty drop-in table, open all day.
10:00 – 16:00 | Flax and Fleece Project Demonstrations
Juliet Boyce has been growing flax for fibre at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse since 2023, where it is processed on-site alongside Norfolk Horn fleece as part of the Flax and Fleece Project. Local volunteers are threaded through each stage of the textile production; many of these processes will be featured in live demonstrations for visitors throughout the day.
For more details about Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse’s Heritage Open Day, visit their website – no booking required (assistance dogs only).
We look forward to sharing this exciting day with friends old and new from Norfolk and beyond.
