$Pontefract Museum$ Pontefract Museum

Information for blind and partially sighted visitors

Entering Pontefract Museum

Pontefract Museum is in its own dedicated building. There is level access into the building and throughout.

The main entrance is through a pair of non-automatic doors. There is a bell by the main entrance on the right-hand side if you need help opening the doors.

Moving around Pontefract Museum

Pontefract Museum is level access throughout. The foyer floor is from 1904 and made of small smooth mosaic tiles. The main gallery floors are made out of parquet flooring (smooth wooden tiles).

There is an initial entrance foyer to the museum. The main gallery is through a set of double doors on your left. These are a little heavy. There will be a member of staff in the welcome space to help you open the doors if you need it.

You can reach the temporary exhibition gallery from two places. One is the single door at the back of the main gallery. The second is directly from the foyer.

If you turn right from the foyer and go down the corridor, you will find the accessible toilet on your left and the Reference Room on your right. At the end of the corridor is the Glass Room. The doors to the Reference Room and the Glass Room are usually kept propped open.

Most of our Visitor Experience Assistants have attended Visual Impairment Training and Sighted Guided Training. All of our staff will be happy to help you get the most from your visit.

Pontefract Art Club exhibition

The Pontefract Art Club exhibition is fully level access. It is wheelchair and pushchair accessible.

The exhibition is in the special exhibition gallery. This space can be accessed by a door from the entrance foyer and a door at the back of the main gallery. These are both single manual doors. They are wide enough to fit wheelchairs through. Please ask a member of staff if you need help opening the doors.

The exhibition space is a rectangular room with smooth parquet flooring. The artworks are fixed to the walls at varying heights. Most of the artworks are framed and glazed. Some of the glass is slightly reflective.

In the middle of the gallery, there is a waist-height activity unit with surfaces at two different heights. There is a range of tactile and sensory resources on this unit.

There are also two wooden benches in the middle of the gallery next to the unit.

There is ample wheelchair access around each of these central structures.

Audio visual elements

There are no audio or video elements in the Pontefract Art Club exhibition. Some audio may bleed into the special exhibition gallery if a visitor has pressed play on a video in the main gallery.

Hands-on elements

In the Pontefract Art Club gallery there is an activity unit in the middle of the gallery. This contains a range of tactile and sensory resources that you can use to help you explore the artworks.

PenFriends audio description guide

We have an audio description guide for the main gallery. The audio descriptions are accessed using one of our PenFriend devices. You tap the coloured stickers in a handheld booklet. The PenFriend then reads the description aloud. You can also plug headphones into the PenFriend device. You can use our headphones or bring your own.

The audio description guide describes and provides more information about a range of star objects on display. It also guides you around the main gallery space.

Ask our friendly Visitor Experience Assistants at the entrance for a PenFriend audio description guide. They can show you how to use it if you need help.

Hands-on elements

There are lots of hands-on elements in Pontefract Museum.

There is a dressing up box near the Civil Wars display.

There is a raised impression of a Civil War coin from the Ackworth Hoard that you can touch and make a rubbing of.

There is a rocking horse that you can touch and ride if you are able.

There is also a toy market stall.

Lighting

Some of our exhibition spaces have low light levels to protect the delicate objects on display. This includes the Pontefract Art Club exhibition.

Audio elements

There are audio elements in parts of the exhibition spaces.

Main gallery: There is a film about the Hermitage in the medieval display. There is a screen with 5 short films in the ‘No place like home’ section.

Glass room: There is an AV screen with 3 films. All of these films are operated by push buttons. There are no headphones and audio plays out into the gallery.