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Culture, arts and heritage

Student artwork

Culture, arts and heritage

Culture is everywhere – in your surroundings, your routines and the places you explore. It’s also linked to improved health and wellbeing, so it’s worth making time for. From creative work on campus to historic landmarks, museums and world-class institutions nearby, your next cultural fix is never far away.

Culture on campus

At Herts, culture is woven into everyday campus life. Our public arts centre, UH Arts + Culture, delivers a year-round programme of exhibitions and performances, including regular concerts by the University’s resident orchestra de Havilland Philharmonic.

They also deliver Walk This Play – a free, immersive storytelling experience set across the University – and manage the Sculpture Walk, an outdoor trail that integrates artworks into key routes and social areas.

Alongside these, they curate the University’s Art Collection of over 500, diverse pieces placed across both campuses, offering different ways to experience creativity throughout your day.

Three pictures of faces

Heritage and historic landmarks

From Roman ruins and industrial gems to grand, stately homes, Hertfordshire is a treasure trove of historic sites and heritage landmarks.

Dating back to the 17th century and Queen Elizabeth I childhood home, Hatfield House offers incredible insight into British royal history, alongside spectacular gardens and woodland trails just a short walk from the Herts.

Knebworth House similarly combines historic architecture with beautiful gardens, plus some prehistoric fun in the form of a Dinosaur Trail. Keep an eye out for the many events – from music concerts to medieval jousting, motor shows and ghost tours – that take place in its extensive grounds.

For a different historical treat, head to the Frogmore Paper Mill in Hemel Hempstead to discover the story behind the birthplace of paper’s industrial revolution.

Hatfield House

Unmissable museums on your doorstep

Hertfordshire offers a rich mix of museums, each telling a different story about the area’s past and present.

In nearby St Albans, Verulamium Museum brings Roman Britain to life through mosaics, artefacts and the remains of one of the country’s largest ancient cities. St Albans Museum + Gallery complements this with exhibitions spanning 2,000 years of history alongside contemporary art.

Closer to Hatfield, Mill Green Museum and its working watermill reveal rural industry, while Hertford Museum explores local life through community stories and collections.

For something different, the de Havilland Aircraft Museum showcases the county’s aviation heritage, while Stevenage Museum and Ware Museum chart the development of local towns.

Together, these spaces offer a varied way to explore history and innovation beyond the campus.

Spitfire

London highlights

London’s cultural heavyweights more than live up to their reputation – and many are free to explore.

Step inside the British Museum and travel through two million years of human history, from Egyptian mummies to the Rosetta Stone. Across the river, Tate Modern reimagines a former power station as a vast gallery of bold contemporary art.

In South Kensington, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, Science Museum and Natural History Museum sit side by side, offering everything from art, design and innovation to a blue whale suspended in a soaring hall.

Add the National Gallery’s masterpieces overlooking Trafalgar Square, and the Design Museum’s focus on cutting-edge innovation, and you have a city where culture isn’t just world-class – it’s everywhere, and endlessly varied.

London buildings