Accessibility

Bentley Priory Museum is located in Stanmore, North West London. It is accessible by car, with free parking on site, or by public transport.

Please note that the Museum is within a residential estate. A friendly concierge team will open the entrance gates to the Bentley Priory estate for you on your arrival.

The concierge office is on the left hand side of the road close to the black iron entrance gates. Once through the gates, follow the road down and at the mini roundabout follow the road or pavement to the left. The Museum is situated on the right hand side in the large, yellow Mansion House. There is a large cedar tree and a Spitfire and a Hurricane replica aircraft on the lawn in front of the house.

 

Admission is free for carers/companions.

Accessible Parking

There is plenty of free car-parking on site. The car-park is a 2 minute walk from the Museum’s entrance. There are 5 accessible parking spaces directly outside the Museum for blue-badge holders.

The Museum

The main entrance door is not automatic. If you require assistance please ring the bell.

The reception area has two steps up to it. There is a step free route which the volunteer stewards will be able to show you. The remaining gallery areas are step free.

The Museum is located over two floors. All the exhibition galleries are on the Ground Floor, and the café, toilets, temporary exhibition gallery and entrance to the garden are on the Lower Ground Floor. There is the option of a lift or stairs to move between floors.

The floor is mainly tiled with wooden floors in the exhibition galleries.

There is seating throughout the gallery spaces.

The Museum is well lit. There is one exhibition gallery, the Filter Room, which has its shutters closed and so is quite dark. There is also background audio playing on a loop. There are room stewards on hand should you need assistance.

Shop

The shop area is situated in front of the reception desk and purchases are made at reception. Items are marked with prices.

Café

The café is on the lower ground floor and can be accessed by stairs or by lift. There is a range of hot and cold snacks available.

There is a covered picnic area on-site for those wishing to bring their own food and drink.

Toilets

All public toilets are located on the lower ground floor and can be accessed by stairs or by lift.

There is one unisex accessible toilet with an emergency pull cord.

There are men’s and women’s toilets with baby change areas.

The Museum does not have a Changing Places toilet. The closest is at Harrow College, HA3 6RR or South Oxhey Leisure Centre, WD19 7AX.

Gardens

The gardens can be accessed through the café. There is step free access to the lower level of the garden.

There is seating available throughout.

Wheelchair Users

The Museum is entirely step-free.

There are two wheelchairs available at the Museum which can be borrowed.

All door openings are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. The paths in the garden are gravel with a special membrane which supports wheelchair use.

Access for partially sighted and blind visitors

To listen to the audio description of this information press the play button which you will find below each heading. The play button can also be used to pause the audio. This button is followed by the elapsed and remaining time, and a further button to mute the audio and control volume.

Getting to the Museum

Bentley Priory Museum is located in Stanmore, North West London. It is accessible by car, with free parking on site, or by public transport.

Please note that the Museum is within a residential estate. A friendly concierge team will open the entrance gates to the Bentley Priory estate for you on your arrival. The concierge office is on the left hand side of the road close to the black iron entrance gates. Once through the gates, follow the road down and at the mini roundabout follow the road or pavement to the left. The Museum is situated on the right hand side in the large, yellow Mansion House. There is a large cedar tree and a Spitfire and a Hurricane replica aircraft on the lawn in front of the house.

Travelling to the Museum

Listen to the audio described instructions or please visit our How To Find Us page.

Entrance to the Museum

Bentley Priory is a Grade II* listed Mansion House. It is a large, grand house, three storeys high with a light golden yellow façade. The architecture is distinctly Georgian, illustrated in the exterior through classical columns, large sash windows and stone balustrades.

The museum exhibition galleries are housed on the ground floor which is step free and wheelchair accessible. Access to the garden and the café, toilets, learning centre and temporary exhibition space are located on the Lower Ground Floor, accessible by lift or stairs.

The entrance to the Museum is located at the front of the Mansion House, through large double white painted wooden doors located in a covered porch area. The entrance is opposite a grass area with a replica, to scale Spitfire and replica Hurricane aircraft.

The Museum reception is situated at the far end of the entrance hall, straight in front of you. The entrance hall itself is a large rectangular space with a high vaulted ceiling. There are two, large colourful stained glass windows on both the left and right hand side depicting a Spitfire and Hurricane, and scrambling aircrew. They represent Bentley Priory’s important Battle of Britain history.

The entrance floor is stone and there are classical columns lining the left and right hand sides. Continuing straight ahead, you will reach two steps leading up to the reception desk. There is also a step free route to the reception desk, through the door to the right. If you take the step free route, after turning right, turn left at the lift and follow the corridor around into the Abercorn Room exhibition gallery. Pass diagonally left through the room, past the circular table in the centre through the doorway and you will arrive at reception.

The Museum has a team of enthusiastic volunteers who man the reception area and galleries and are at hand to assist visitors at all times and answer any questions you might have.

Audio Guide

The Museum has an adult and a children’s audio described tour which are available free of charge. If you are interested in an audio described tour, handsets are available from the Museum’s Reception Desk. The museum volunteers will be able to set up the equipment and show you how to use it. The Museum uses the ATS Micro handset, with the option of using the inbuilt speaker or headphones. You can use your own headphones or we can provide some.

The adult tour lasts approximately 45 minutes, with an additional optional 20 minutes, and the children’s tour lasts approximately 35 minutes. During both tours you will have the option of an additional 10 minute audio-visual film. The equipment accommodates two sets of headphones, or it can be listened to through the speaker on the handset.

Other

Guide Dogs are welcome, and water is available for your Guide Dog on request from the Café on the Lower Ground Floor.

All toilet facilities, including an accessible toilet, are available on the Lower Ground Floor.

The Museum runs live audio described tours. Please check our What’s On page for upcoming events.

We have also recorded audio descriptions for 36 objects from the Museum’s incredible collection, which are available on the Collection page.

A large print and a Braille Museum guide are available to support your visit. They include numerous large print/tactile images of key obejcts.

Access for hard of hearing or deaf visitors

Our 10 minute Audio Visual film on the role of Bentley Priory during the Battle of Britain and the importance of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding’s leadership is subtitled. The short films on radar and the Observer Corps in the Ballroom gallery are also subtitled.

We will shortly make the scripts of the audio on the telephone sound-posts around the galleries available in the Museum.

Hearing dogs are welcome and there is a water bowl available.

Assistance Dogs

The Museum welcomes trained assistance dogs. Please ensure your dog wears the appropriate tabard and is kept with you at all times.

There is a water bowl available.

If you plan to visit with an assistance animal other than a dog, please get in touch before your visit to ensure we can meet your requirements.

Quiet Times

The Museum is quietest and less busy at 10am when it opens. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.

Local accessible taxi numbers

Wheelchair Taxis – 07519 055741

Watford United Taxis – 01923 252525

Please contact us on 020 8950 5526 or [email protected] if you would like to discuss any access considerations before your visit to the Museum.