Lacock access statement 2021

Background Lacock Abbey is located at the heart of Lacock village within its own woodland grounds. It is a quirky country home of various architectural styles, built upon the foundations of a former nunnery. Lacock is also home to the Fox Talbot Museum, which celebrates the achievements of former abbey resident, William Henry Fox Talbot, famous for his contributions to the invention of photography.

Contact details Address: Lacock Abbey, Lacock, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2LG Telephone: 01249 730459 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock

Reopening with social distancing measures in place The car park, abbey grounds, cloister and Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock have reopened in line with current government guidance, with social distancing measures in place. Visitors will be asked to comply with these measures to ensure their own safety, and the safety of Lacock’s staff: • The abbey grounds, cloister, Fox Talbot Museum and the first-floor abbey rooms are open for pre-booked visits only. • There is a signposted, one-way visitor route around the abbey grounds, cloister and Fox Talbot Museum. Please follow the signs. • There is a one-way route around the first-floor abbey rooms, managed by volunteer guides. More information on the abbey rooms is below. • Facilities and contact points are cleaned regularly throughout the day. This may mean that, for example, toilets may need to close temporarily while the cleaning is completed. • The Stables café is currently open offering a limited menu with a takeaway option and limited indoor and outdoor seating.

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• The High Street shop is open with a signposted one-way visitor route around the shop and limited numbers allowed inside at any one time. • In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering in most enclosed spaces, unless exempt. At Lacock these include the Stables café, High Street shop, Tithe Barn, Fox Talbot Museum, cloister and first-floor abbey rooms. Please bring one with you. • We are supporting the NHS track and trace programme inside the Stables café, Fox Talbot Museum and first-floor abbey rooms. More information is available onsite. • The greenhouse and Courtyard tea-room remain closed.

Points to note • There is reasonable mobile phone reception around most of the site, except very near to the abbey. • Assistance dogs are welcome across the site. A water bowl is available at visitor reception. • Accessible toilets are available in the abbey courtyard and by the Stables café (in the village). The toilet by the Stables café requires a RADAR key. • There are two areas of water within the abbey grounds: one is a small historic pond behind the abbey, the other is a river at the northern boundary of the woodland grounds (not currently part of the visitor route). • The one-way visitor route around the abbey grounds is mostly accessible to buggies and wheelchairs. The Rose Garden, orchard and pond paths are unsurfaced, and the route through the cloister includes steps, so alternative routes are clearly signposted to help you avoid these areas if you need to. • In case of an emergency, please call 999 and alert one of the members of staff at visitor reception so we can assist you. However, please note that we are unable to offer First Aid at this time. We recommend using the app what3words to help the emergency services find your exact location.

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Mobility scooter and wheelchair hire • There are 2 mobility scooters and 3 manual wheelchairs available to hire, for free, for your visit. You are also welcome to bring your own. • In order to guarantee that one is available for your visit, we strongly recommend booking your scooter or wheelchair in advance. • To book, phone Lacock’s visitor reception team on 01249 730459. • You are able to choose from a morning booking slot (10.30am – 1pm) or an afternoon slot (2 - 5.30pm). • On arrival at visitor reception, you will be trained on the use of your scooter or wheelchair and will be asked to sign a training form to show that you have understood the training. Training will be conducted in a socially distanced manner and your booking form will be securely destroyed once you have returned your scooter or wheelchair. • Hand sanitiser is available at visitor reception. • All mobility scooters and wheelchairs are cleaned every morning and every evening and between each use. • Hired mobility scooters and wheelchairs are for use in the abbey grounds only and must not be taken into the village. • Mobility scooters and wheelchairs cannot be taken into the cloister, due to the historic uneven floors, restricted space and steps. An alternative route is clearly signposted to help you avoid this area. • Mobility scooters cannot be taken into the Fox Talbot Museum, due to restricted space. Manual wheelchairs can be taken into the museum and there are 3 available to hire, for free, from visitor reception. • The one-way visitor route around the abbey grounds is mostly accessible but the Rose Garden, orchard and pond paths are unsurfaced, so alternative routes are clearly signposted to help you avoid these areas. You will also receive a route map with your mobility scooter or wheelchair hire.

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Arrival and parking facilities • There are brown direction signs from the A350 to the west of Lacock and the A342 to the east. The entrance is sign-posted and the car park is immediately off Hither Way. There are further signs in the car park to Blue Badge spaces. • Parking is available for cars, motorcycles and coaches. • The main car park surface is a mixture of tarmac, gravel and grass. The Blue Badge spaces are on a gravel / tarmac area. • There are 12 Blue Badge spaces in the Hither Way car park. These spaces are the shortest distance from visitor reception. • The distance from the nearest Blue Badge space in the car park to visitor reception is approximately 220 yards (200 metres). The journey is flat although visitors need to cross a public highway (Hither Way), via a pedestrian crossing. The rest of the walk is on a mixture of gravel and concrete surfaces. • There are many wooden posts of different heights throughout the pedestrian walk to prevent vehicle access. • Visitors with limited mobility may also park in the Blue Badge spaces in the Red Lion car park on Lacock High Street. There are 5 Blue Badge spaces in the Red Lion car park, 100 yards (90 metres) from visitor reception. The journey is flat although visitors need to cross a public highway (High Street), there is no pedestrian crossing. The walk is on concrete and tarmac surfaces. • There are two overflow car parks at the bottom of the Hither Way car park. These are agricultural grass fields and are only used during very busy periods and only during dry weather. • Alternative parking for visitors with limited mobility is available at special request. Please contact 01249 730459 for more information.

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Toilets in the village • There are toilets in the village, by the Stables café in the Red Lion car park. To enable social distancing, a one-in, one-out system is in place. • The toilets include a wheelchair accessible toilet with emergency pull cord. This toilet requires a RADAR key. • Baby changing facilities are available.

Stables café • The Stables café is currently open offering a limited menu with a takeaway option and limited indoor and outdoor seating. • In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering inside the Stables café, unless exempt. Please bring one with you. • We are supporting the NHS track and trace programme. More information is available inside the café. • There are two metre floor markers inside the café to enable social distancing whilst queuing. • Hand sanitiser is available inside the café. • The entrance to the Stables café is across a gravelled area and up a shallow flagstone ramp. The door is propped open. • There is limited outdoor seating which is on shallow gravel. Some of this seating is undercover. • The floor surface inside is flat flagstone. • The counter is over 850mm high and clear plastic screens are in place to separate customers from the café staff. • A hearing loop is available. • The café exit is down a shallow non-slip slope. The door is propped open.

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High Street shop • The High Street shop is open with a signposted one- way visitor route around the shop and limited numbers allowed inside at any one time. • In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering inside the shop, unless exempt. Please bring one with you. • There are two metre floor markers outside the shop to enable social distancing whilst queuing. • The door to the shop is propped open. • Hand sanitiser is available just by the door. • A member of staff will be stood outside the shop to manage visitor numbers inside the shop. • The floor is a flat, slightly uneven, mixture of wood, tiles and vinyl. There are handrails for support up two small slopes leading to the top end of the shop. • The counter is 950mm high and a clear plastic screen is in place to separate customers from the shop staff. • A hearing loop is available.

Visitor reception • Visitor reception is on the lower level of a two-storey building also containing the Fox Talbot Museum, including

an upstairs gallery space. • In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering inside the visitor reception building, unless exempt. Please bring one with you. • Visitor reception is accessed via the main two glass doors, these are currently propped open. • There are painted white lines on the floor outside visitor reception to enable social distancing whilst queuing. • There is a very short incline into the building, with a small ‘lip’ at the top. 6

• The floor surface on the lower level is historic stone slabs. The surface is level but the slabs are uneven.

• To enable social distancing, a yellow ‘keep clear’ box is marked out inside the front door. When the desk is clear, waiting visitors will be asked to cross the yellow box. • A clear plastic screen is in place at the desk to separate customers from the reception staff. • Hand sanitiser is available inside the visitor reception building. • Pre-booked tickets and National Trust membership cards should be shown to the member of staff at the desk. • A hearing loop is currently available. • After speaking to the staff at the desk, visitors may choose to either enter the Fox Talbot Museum or exit the building to the abbey grounds. Both options involve following a one-way route with pink, white and blue bunting strung

between wooden stanchions as well as arrows and signs. • A map showing the one-way route around the abbey grounds is available to be photographed at visitor reception, or can be downloaded from Lacock’s website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock • Visitors exiting the abbey grounds do so through the visitor reception building by following the signposted and stanchioned one-way through the building and crossing the yellow ‘keep clear’ box inside the main doors when it is clear and

safe to do so.

Fox Talbot Museum • The Fox Talbot Museum is located inside the visitor reception building, as described above. • The upper level of the museum, which hosts changing exhibitions, may be closed in between exhibitions.

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• In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering inside the visitor reception building, including the Fox Talbot Museum, unless exempt. Please bring one with you. • We are supporting the NHS track and trace programme. More information is available inside the Fox Talbot Museum. • Mobility scooters cannot be taken into the Fox Talbot Museum, due to restricted space. Manual wheelchairs can be taken into the museum and there are 3 available to hire, for free, from visitor reception. • The floor surface on the lower level is historic stone slabs. The surface is level but the slabs are uneven. • To enable social distancing, a one-way route is in place around the Fox Talbot Museum. This is marked with pink, white and blue bunting strung between wooden stanchions as well as arrows and signs. • Lighting is provided by spotlights resulting in lower light levels in some areas. Heating is provided by under-floor heating. • There are 14 wooden stairs up to the upper level of the museum, with a small landing halfway and handrails on either side. Visitors are asked to keep left on the stairs to help with social distancing. • A wheelchair-accessible lift is also available to access the upper gallery of the museum. Please let a member of staff know if you would like to use the lift when you arrive so it can be cleaned between each use. • The floor surface of the upper level is wooden floorboards. • Visitors exiting the museum to the abbey grounds or the village do so by following the signposted and stanchioned one-way through the building and crossing the yellow ‘keep clear’ box inside the main doors when it is clear and safe to do so.

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• Visitors exiting the abbey grounds have the option to buy plants from the plant sales area outside visitor reception. This area is flat and gravelled.

One-way route around the abbey grounds • To enable social distancing, visitors are asked to keep left on the paths in the abbey grounds. • The main drive takes visitors from visitor reception to the Botanic Garden, it is flat and tarmacked. • There are a number of wooden benches along the drive and throughout the abbey grounds. Some have been moved back from the drive or path to enable social distancing and are reached across approximately 2 metres of grass. • The Botanic Garden is fully accessible with level gravelled paths. A one-way route is in place around the Botanic Garden to enable social distancing, please follow the arrows. • The greenhouse remains closed. • Paths through the grounds are level, with no steps or gates. Surfaces differ, but they are mainly gravel or compacted earth. • The one-way visitor route around the abbey grounds is mostly accessible to buggies and wheelchairs. The Rose Garden, orchard, Rockworks and pond paths are unsurfaced (grass and muddy tracks), so alternative routes are clearly signposted to help you avoid these areas if you need to.

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• There are two areas of water within the abbey grounds: one is a small historic pond behind the abbey, the other is a river at the northern boundary of the woodland grounds (not currently part of the visitor route). • The trees across the estate are checked throughout the year in line with tree management plans and health and safety guidance.

Cloister • Mobility scooters, wheelchairs and buggies cannot be taken into the cloister, due to the historic uneven floors, restricted space and steps. An alternative route is clearly signposted to help you avoid this area. • Light levels in the cloister can be low as this space is lit by natural lighting only. • The entrance to the cloister is via the Infirmary Passage. This area is gently but unevenly ramped with a modern access ramp into the cloister walks. • A one-way route is in place around the cloister and is clearly signposted. • Most of the rooms off the cloister walk are closed to enable social distancing. • The Chapterhouse is open and visitors are asked to keep left to enable social distancing. There are three steps down to the Chapterhouse and the floor is tiled. • The exit to the cloister is up two steps and on to a gravel path.

Courtyard • The abbey courtyard is accessed via a shallow concrete ramp. • The courtyard surface is gravelled and uneven. • There are a couple of wooden benches in the courtyard.

Toilets in the courtyard • The doors to the toilets in the abbey courtyard are propped open. To enable social distancing, there are separate queues for the men’s and women’s toilets and a one-in, one-out system is in place. 10

• A wheelchair accessible toilet is included, directly opposite the entrance door, with an emergency pull cord. • Baby changing facilities are available.

One-way route around the first-floor abbey rooms • The first-floor abbey rooms are open for limited numbers of visitor on a first- come, first-served basis. Entry is not guaranteed in your pre-booked ticket. • There is a one-way route around the first-floor abbey rooms, managed by volunteer guides. • Mobility scooters, wheelchairs and buggies cannot be taken into the first-floor abbey rooms, due to the historic uneven floors, restricted space and steps. • A touchscreen virtual tour of the first-floor abbey rooms is available on request. This is accessed via a movable modern access ramp in the cloister. More information on the cloister is above. For the purpose of accessing the virtual tour, manual wheelchairs may be taken into the cloister. A member of National Trust staff will be on hand to assist and to sanitise the virtual tour and accompanying chair (if required) between each use. • The first-floor abbey rooms are accessed via the stone steps at the front of the abbey building. Access is managed by a member of National Trust staff located at the base of the steps. • In line with government guidance, visitors are required to wear a face covering inside the first-floor abbey rooms, unless exempt. Please bring one with you. • We are supporting the NHS track and trace programme. More information is available with the member of staff at the base of the abbey steps. • Hand sanitiser is available with the member of staff at the base of the abbey steps, and inside the Great Hall. • There are 16 stone steps up to the double door into the Great Hall. This door is managed by a National Trust volunteer and can be opened to allow access up to 1.4m wide. • Floor levels inside the abbey vary around the first floor with a series of steps, mostly without handrails.

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• Floors surfaces along the one-way route of the first-floor abbey rooms include stone flags, wooden floorboards, carpets and rugs. • Most of the first-floor abbey rooms have soft furnishings that soften echoes, with the exception of the Short Lobby and Great Hall. • All of the corridors and doorways along the one-way route of the first-floor abbey rooms are at least 750mm wide. • All rooms have space to easily turn a manual wheelchair. • There are seats in every room that visitors can use. None of these seats have arm rests. National Trust volunteer guides are on hand to sanitise the seats between each use. • There are no visitor toilets in the abbey. The closest toilets are available in the abbey courtyard. More information on the courtyard toilets is above.

Tithe Barn • The Tithe Barn is accessed from the street down a wooden ramp. A one-way system is in place on the ramp to enable social distancing. • Inside the Tithe Barn has an earth floor and low-level lighting. • There is a raised step to the back section of the Tithe Barn.

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Map of Lacock

Courtyard toilets

Tithe Barn Visitor reception and Fox Talbot Museum

Entrance to Lacock village Lacock Abbey

Stables café

High Street shop Bus stops: Red Lion toilets route 234

Hither Way car park

One-way route around the abbey grounds

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