Wollaton Hall

Over het museum

Wollaton Hall was built between 1580 and 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby, whose wealth came largely from coal mining. It is believed to be the work of the Elizabethan architect Robert Smythson and has been called the architectural sensation of its age. The building mixes late Elizabethan style with early Jacobean elements and is known for its rich decoration. Around 1801 the architect Jeffry Wyattville remodelled the interior.

The Willoughby family, later the Barons Middleton, owned the hall until the 1920s, when they came to feel it was too close to the growing industrial city. Nottingham Corporation bought the hall in 1925 and opened it as a museum in 1926. Since then it has housed the Natural History Museum, whose collections hold about 750,000 objects including fossils, zoology and botany specimens. In 2007 the hall reopened after two years of refurbishment, with the Prospect Room and the Tudor basement kitchens opened for guided tours.

The hall stands on a hill in Wollaton Park, a deer park of about 500 acres that also has formal gardens and play areas. The hall has also been used as a film location, appearing as Wayne Manor in The Dark Knight Rises, and the grounds host concerts and festivals. Today the hall is run by Nottingham City Council, and the outbuildings contain the separate Nottingham Industrial Museum.

Hoogtepunten

• Elizabethan mansion attributed to Robert Smythson
• Natural History Museum with about 750,000 objects
• Discovering Dinosaurs gallery
• Hidden History Tours of the Prospect Room, Tudor kitchens and Admiral’s Bath
• Deer park, formal gardens and Secret Walled Garden

Vaste collectie

• Natural History Museum – Zoology, geology and botany collections of about 750,000 objects, shown in the rooms of the Elizabethan hall.
• Discovering Dinosaurs – A recently opened gallery about dinosaurs within the Natural History Museum.

Opgericht

1926

Beheerder

Nottingham City Council

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

The hall and Natural History Museum ticket is valid for a year (“pay once, visit all year”). Car parking costs £5 on weekdays and £6 at weekends, and is free for Blue Badge holders. Coach parking costs £50. The Nottingham Museums full membership costs £144 for two adults and three children and covers Wollaton Hall, Newstead Abbey and Nottingham Castle.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The hall is not fully step-free, but all galleries and exhibitions on the ground and first floors can be reached by a platform lift and an internal lift. The front lift has a weight limit of 200 kg including the wheelchair, and heavier users are asked to use the doorbell at the West Entrance. Accessible toilets are in the courtyard and next to the 508 Café, and a Changing Places toilet is available if visitors bring their own sling and register at the Potting Shed shop, which holds the key. Manual wheelchairs can be borrowed at the Potting Shed shop, and induction loops are at each reception point. Blue Badge parking is free in all car parks and near the hall entrance. Tour routes include steps, so visitors with access needs should contact the team before booking. Quiet or autism-friendly sessions are held regularly. Assistance dogs are welcome in the hall, café, shops, park and gardens.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

Children under 16 enter free with a paying adult. There are play parks near the 508 Café and at Sutton Passey Crescent, outdoor trail and activity sheets for children, baby feeding and changing facilities, and seasonal events such as a workshop for under-sixes in the Secret Garden and half-term and Christmas programmes.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The sat nav postcode is NG8 2AE.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

Three cafés (508 Café, Courtyard Café and Deli) with indoor and outdoor seating and takeaway, and shops in the courtyard and in the hall. Dogs must be kept on leads in the park.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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