FIVE historic Newton Abbot buildings are opening to the public as part of a national celebration of British heritage.

Newton Abbot Town Hall, the Masonic Hall, Manor House, St Leonard's Tower and Forde House will all be open tomorrow and Sunday.

A newcomer to the event this year is Newton Abbot Town Hall, a handsome stuccoed Victorian villa in Devon Square.

As well as the council chamber and fine staircase, visitors will be able to see the bell and footplate from HMS Beagle, forever associated with Charles Darwin. It will be open tomorrow 2-4pm.

The Manor House, Wolborough Street, home to the Mid-Devon Advertiser, will also be open tomorrow, from 10am to 4pm. Built in 1534, its foundations are thought to go back even further to the 13th or 14th century.

Visitors will be able to see the 17th century ground floor fireplace with its distinctive black-and-white tile decoration known as sgraffito. Also of interest is the first floor 17th century decorative plaster ceiling.

The Masonic Hall, Devon Square, built in 1867, will be open tomorrow from 10.30am until 2.30pm. It was thanks to a chance encounter between a lodge member, urban district councillor Parker, and Passmore Edwards, that Newton Abbot got its library.

St Leonard's Tower, one of Newton Abbot's most venerable buildings, will be open tomorrow, 10am-1pm. It was first mentioned in documents around 1315 but could be even older.

Grade I listed Old Forde House, is open on Sunday, 10am-4pm, with tours morning and afternoon. It was built in 1610, seven years after the death of Elizabeth I, but like many manor houses of the time was built in the shape of an E.

Once its grounds extended to Decoy, but its now considerably shrunken grounds include a newly refurbished privy.

LOCAL historian Michael Martyn will be conducting guided tours of Forde House, Newton Abbot, on Sunday. The tours will take place at approximately 11am and 2pm.