LONDON, ENGLAND.- Corsets donated by Letchworth’s most "shapely" ladies will be on show at the launch of this year’s Heritage Open Days at the Spirella Building in Letchworth Garden City.  The magnificent Grade II* listed former factory, home of the famous Spirella corset, is among more than 2,500 properties all over the country opening for FREE as part of Heritage Open Days, co-ordinated by the Civic Trust with the support of English Heritage, from 12-15 September. This year a record number of more than 800,000 people are expected to participate.

Marilyn Monroe and Mae West were among Spirella’s famous customers and in its 1950’s heyday the factory was selling thousands of corsets a day and employing more than 2,000 people. Built in 1912, the Spirella Building underwent a major restoration project in the 1990’s and continues today as a thriving centre for local businesses.

Other properties taking part in Heritage Open Days include country houses, castles, follies, theatres, churches, factories and contemporary design classics - many of which are taking part for the first time. Everyone will get the opportunity to explore properties in their area – some are sites never usually open to the public, some are sites which usually charge for admission. Heritage Open Days also include a range of hands-on activities, walks and talks on architecture and culture, art collections, special exhibitions and concerts.

Eight Outreach Officers have been newly appointed by English Heritage to develop Heritage Open Days as a valuable resource for discovery, enjoyment and community activity. Led by the Head of Outreach, they will be working over the next year with diverse new audiences to encourage even more participation in Heritage Open Days and to broaden the range of buildings taking part in future.

Martin Bacon, Chief Executive of the Civic Trust, said: "Heritage Open Days provide an opportunity to see behind the façades of all sorts of buildings, and find out more about local and national architecture. It’s a fantastic event, run by a vast network of volunteers, and this year there are more people and properties participating than ever before. Hundreds of thousands of people will be out and about on Heritage Open Days weekend. It is an excellent way for people who care about their local area to learn something new about their heritage and culture."

Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "I am delighted that Heritage Open Days will reveal what lies behind even more of the country’s historic doors. Heritage Open Days are a huge success for our heritage and 2003 promises to be the biggest year yet, allowing everyone, wherever they live and whatever their background, to feel a part of the history of their area."

Highlights for 2003 include:

The magnificent Grade II* listed Spirella Building in Letchworth Garden City, home of the famous Spirella corset. Visitors will get a chance to tour the former corset factory which has been regenerated as a thriving business centre; The boardroom on the 9th floor of the Grade II* Martins Bank Building in Liverpool will open for the first time for Heritage Open Days. Built in 1932, this spectacular building, with its 1930s boardroom, is considered to be one of the finest examples of bank architecture in the UK; Stowe House, Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, visitors will get a rare opportunity to tour the principal interiors and a chance to see the completed restoration work of the magnificent colonnades; A rare chance to see inside Surrey House, Norwich, the headquarters of Norwich Union. The impressive entrance hall includes 40 marble columns that were reputedly designed for Westminster Cathedral; Reading Hindu and Community Centre, formerly a Methodist Church built in 1905, will feature "Interior Landscape" – a kinetic sound drawing by Max Eastley; Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park, Cremyll, Cornwall will be giving tours of the house and park including a special opening of the stables, dairy, sawmill and gunpowder stores; The Silk Museum in Macclesfield, Cheshire, a drop-in design workshop will be available with tours of the building and Paradise Mill; Adcote School for Girls, Shrewsbury, an important Grade I Tudor-style building designed by Norman Shaw and set within landscaped gardens will be open to visitors; Bristol Old Vic theatre will be giving demonstrations back and front-of-house on stage techniques, lighting, sound and wardrobe; The largest working windmill in Sussex, Shipley Windmill in Shipley, the TV "home" of Jonathan Creek will be open for tours; The Cloisters, Letchworth, a rarely opened property built between 1906 and 1908, under the auspices of the formidable Miss Annie Lawrence, as a centre for Theosophical Meditation dedicated to educating slum children, will be open for tours. The building has been the local Masonic lodge since the 1950s.