Access for People with Disabilities

The Museum is an open air museum set in the heart of the Sussex countryside. The exhibits are a range of historic vernacular buildings rescued from Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire, which have been re-erected on our 40-acre site.

The reference numbers in brackets relate to the map shown above.  Click on the number for details of the building.

Visitors with Mobility Problems

The site is set on sloping ground, with steep slopes in places. Access around the site is on rural surfaces, mainly rolled or loose chippings, in keeping with the nature of the site and buildings. Some roads and paths are cobbled and their surfaces may cause some difficulty for visitors who use a wheelchair or have impaired mobility.

We suggest that, if possible, visitors using wheelchairs should use those with wide tyres as this makes access easier and smoother. The use of a powered wheelchair or four-wheeled mobility scooter allows access to the majority of the open areas of the site.

The introductory exhibition in Hambrook Barn (2) has level access, as does Court Barn (39), which contains exhibitions on leadwork, masonry and glazing. The Petersfield brick drying shed (34), with its exhibition on historic brickwork, and the pugmill (33) and smithy (37) have level access. All of these buildings are situated around the lower picnic area of the Museum, near the lake.

Access to the counter area of the cafe and the indoor seating area in the hall from Sole Street (43) is without steps but uneven.

Further out on the site, the displays on farms and farmstead, and regional geology and land use, in the cattle shed from Redvins Farm, Goodwood (16) have level entry. A few of the other buildings are inaccessible to those who need to use a wheelchair at all times because of high thresholds in the doorways. The following buildings have single step and raised threshold entry to the ground floor : Whittaker's Cottages (5), Poplar Cottage (7).

The following buildings have internal staircases to the upper floors: Whittaker's Cottages (5), Poplar Cottage (7), Bayleaf Farmhouse (12), Pendean Farmhouse (17), Titchfield Market Hall (24), Watermill from Lurgashall (41) and North Cray (27).  Each of these contains an album of photos showing the upper storey of the building.

The toilet block by the Museum entrance has a separate wheelchair accessible toilet with level access. The toilet block behind the market square also has a separate wheelchair accessible toilet. The toilet block near Bayleaf Farmstead has level access but no separate wheelchair accessible toilet.

To enter or exit the site on the level, there is an automatic gate into the Museum from the car park, actuated by a code number which is obtainable from the ticket office. An area of car park opposite the ticket office has three spaces for Orange Badge parking. 

Vehicles carrying people with limited mobility are permitted to drive to the middle of the site on a special route.  Please call first at the ticket office for a vehicle pass, you will then be directed to the most appropriate route.  Please do NOT drive straight on to the site.

For visitors wishing to join the daily 1.30pm Gridshell tour we can, by prior arrangement, provide direct access by car to the Gridshell building.  Please contact  01243 811363 or email office@wealddown.co.uk

We are currently working hard to improve the road surfaces and access to our buildings and exhibits. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact the Museum Director on 01243 811363.