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Access Policy

Burton Constable Foundation - Access

Burton Constable, the home of the Constable family for over 700 years, is one of the most fascinating country houses to survive with its historic collections. This large Elizabethan mansion and its surrounding parkland is now a museum owned by the Burton Constable Foundation, a charity whose mission is to safeguard Burton Constable for future generations.

We are committed to improving access for all our visitors and are currently able to offer:

Car Parking

An area of our main visitor car park is reserved for Blue Badge holders. The surface is made of asphalt chippings so is not as easy to move around on as tarmac and it is not possible to mark out any designated bays.

The car park spaces are immediately adjacent to the ramped access into the admission desk, gift shop and tea room (Stables Kitchen).

There is an area in front of the main entrance to the Hall that is reserved for Blue Badge holders. This space is not available on some event days, so please check in advance of your visit. When the Burton Constable Company of Bowmen are shooting on the main lawns you will still be able to access the parking at the front of the Hall – you may just have to wait a short while for them to move the rope barrier for you to drive through.

The surface in front of the hall is loose gravel, so care will need to be taken when leaving your vehicle.

Toilet Facilities

An accessible toilet facility is available in the stable courtyard. This is accessed via a gravel path and across the stable courtyard, which has its original cobbled surface.

The Hall

There is ramped access through the main entrance to the Hall. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users. If you use a motorised-scooter we ask you to leave it outside the Hall and transfer into one of the wheelchairs we have available for hire (free of charge).

We have an audio induction loop at the reception desk in the Great Hall.

The first floor is access via an impressive staircase, consisting of eleven steps to the first landing, followed by a further eleven steps, then four steps and another four steps before you reach the first floor.

You return to the ground floor by a different staircase of fifteen steps to a half-landing followed by a further fourteen steps.

Most of the first floor is on the same level, other than the French Landing which is up a further ten steps.

If the stairs sound like more than you could manage, we do have a stair lift to give access to the first floor, but not to the bedrooms on the French Landing. In order to use this, you will need to weigh 17 stone or less, be able to get yourself into the stair lift and be able to operate the controls yourself. In case of emergency you would need to be able to get down the stairs. We do not have any evac chairs.

We do offer a reduced-price ticket for visitors who are unable to access the first floor – a 50% discount on the full admission price.

We have a virtual reality tour of the first floor of the hall, including some of the servants’ quarters not normally accessible to visitors, available for you to watch in the Great Hall.

In all of the rooms we provide folders of information about the house, its owners and the objects you can see in the rooms. The information is in large print format.

The Stables

The ground floor of the stables is accessible with care. The original cobbled surface in the first courtyard is very uneven. In the second courtyard a layer of concrete has been applied over the original surface so is much easier to negotiate.

There is a small step into most of the rooms leading off the stable courtyard.

Gift Shop

A ramp with a surface of resin-bonded gravel leads up to a glass outer door, not power assisted. There is a small vestibule with a further glass door, again not power assisted. From there you come into the gift shop and tea room, which is called the Stables Kitchen.

The gift shop acts as the main visitor reception point and admission desk. We have an audio induction loop at the reception desk.

Stables Kitchen

There is an audio induction loop at the Stables Kitchen counter. You place your order at the counter and the staff bring the food and drink to your table.

There are two round tables with central pedestals which are accessible for wheelchair users. There is level access within the Stables Kitchen. The exit door that leads to the Hall, grounds, stables and public toilets has a wooden ramp on the inside of the building and a concrete ramp on the outside but still has a small wooden threshold that can be a problem to negotiate in a wheelchair.

The Stables Kitchen is breast feeding friendly and happy to provide hot water for you to warm baby food and bottles.

Please ring in advance of your visit if there is anything else you need to know. We will be happy to help. Our phones are answered between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday. At all other times you can leave a message and we will get back to you.