Accessibility Guide for Hampton Court Palace

Welcome

Hampton Court Palace - managed by Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity - is in south-west London and has over 500 years of history to discover. The home of Henry VIII, his wives and children, the palace is the greatest and most authentic Tudor experience in the world.

But Hampton Court isn't just a Tudor Palace. Explore our Baroque Palace, built for William III and Mary II. Its spectacular views and decorative interiors provide a fascinating glimpse of Stuart and Georgian privilege.

The palace grounds and gardens are equally stunning. From the world famous maze and grape vine to the ornamental gardens, exploring outside is a magical treat too.

Level access

The main entrance has level access

There is level access from the main entrance to:

Pre-purchase desk in the Ticket Office Toilet Tiltyard Cafe Dining Table Palace Shop Henry VIII's Kitchens The Kitchen Garden The Formal Gardens

There is level access from the car park to:

Picnic Area

Access with steps

There are steps from the main entrance to:

Privy Kitchen Coffee Shop

Hearing

We have a hearing loop in

Some staff have disability awareness, BSL and Next Generation Text training.

Visual

Glass doors and full-height windows have contrast markings.

The walls and the doors have high colour contrast.

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

We have display information in audio, braille and large print.

General

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

Some staff have disability awareness training.

Getting here

Hampton Court Palace

East Molesey

Surrey

KT8 9AU

Travel by public transport

You can get to Hampton Court Palace by bus, train and boat or ferry.

There are two bus stops close by: Hampton Court Gardens (by the entrance to the gardens near the Maze on Hampton Court Road) and Hampton Court Palace (by Trophy Gate, near the Ticket Office). The bus stop is 0.2 miles / 0.3 km from Hampton Court Palace.

The nearest train station is Hampton Court Station. The train station is 0.3 miles / 0.5 km from Hampton Court Palace.

The nearest port is Turks Pier on the River Thames. The port is 0.2 miles / 0.3 km from Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace is in travelcard zone 6.

Parking

There is a car park on site which has nine disabled parking bays. Parking is currently free for blue badge holders; the cost is £1.60 per hour for those without a blue badge. All car parking bays are available on a first come first served basis and cannot be booked in advance.

Additional parking is available on Hampton Court Green - where there is a coach park as well as car park - and at Hampton Court train station.

Cars and taxis may pull in next to the Ticket Office to drop off if the car park is full. Minibuses and motorhomes too large to fit into the palace car park may do the same before going off-site to park in the coach bays on Hampton Court Green. Motorhomes and caravans should also use the coach bays on Hampton Court Green.

Disabled parking space at Hampton Court Palace

Arrival

Path to main entrance

From the street to the main entrance, there is level access.

The path is 2000mm wide, or more.

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.

The door is 2000mm wide.

The gate will be open whenever the palace is open. The approach is tarmac and bonded gravel but entry is straight onto cobbles once inside.

Getting around inside

Visual Impairment - General Information

We have contrast markings on all glass doors, contrast markings on all full-height windows and high colour contrast between walls and doorframes.

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

Lift

We have 1 lift.

You can get a lift to all floors.

Lift to the first floor

The lift door is 900mm wide.

The lift is 1370mm wide. The lift is 1600mm deep.

Lift users have to be accompanied by a member of staff as it opens into an area off the visitor routes which is normally locked. Please make your way to the East Gate and speak to the Warders there if you wish to use the lift to the first floor.

Ticket/ information desk

Pre-purchase desk in the Ticket Office

The desk has a low section.

The desk has an induction loop wired into it for hearing aid users. Although primarily there for people needing to collect pre-purchased or online tickets, it can also sell day tickets to anyone who enters the Ticket Office.

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

We have a designated quiet space.

We have performances with: British Sign Language interpreted.

We have display information in: audio, braille and large print.

First Floor State Apartments

Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There are seats.

Some videos have subtitles.

Although our displays don't have flashing lights, visitors are allowed to take personal photographs - which means there will often be camera flashes, and sometimes a lot of them.

Public toilet

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access.

There are five accessible toilets inside the palace and three more in the palace gardens. Two of the accessible toilets inside the palace (off Base Court) have a small lip at the entrance.

There is also an accessible toilet on the first floor near the Queen's Stairs.

The accessible toilet on the first floor

Shop

Palace Shop

From the main entrance to the shop, there is level access. The route through the shop is 800mm wide, or more.

The Palace Shop is opposite the Ticket Office, so visitors do not need an admission ticket to browse or shop in it.

Place to eat and drink

Privy Kitchen Coffee Shop

From the main entrance to the dining area, there are 2mm steps. There is no lift and no ramp.

To get to a table, there are no steps.

The route through the dining area is 800mm wide, or more.

There is no background music.

The table and plates have high colour contrast.

We cater for vegetarian and gluten free (celiacs) specific diets.

The Privy Kitchen offers soup, pies and sandwiches along with cake and crisps, and hot and cold drinks.

Place to eat and drink

Tiltyard Cafe

From the main entrance to the dining area, there is level access. To get to a table, there are no steps.

The route through the dining area is 800mm wide, or more.

There is no background music.

The table and plates have high colour contrast.

We cater for vegetarian and gluten free (celiacs) specific diets.

The Tiltyard Cafe offers hot meals and salads, as well as sandwiches, cakes and drinks (hot and cold).

Henry VIII's Kitchens

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access.

Most of the floor surfaces are cobbles and there are some very small rooms which can easily get congested. There is also a real fire in the final room (not between October 2017 - May 2018 due to maintenance work).

Getting around outside

The Kitchen Garden

From the main entrance to the gardens, there is level access.

The Kitchen Garden is a one acre vegetable garden. It has wide paths around the sides but narrow paths through the vegetable beds which can have plants spilling over them at the height of the growing season.

The Kitchen Garden, looking towards the palace

Picnic Area

From the car park to the picnic area, there is level access. You can bring your own food to the picnic area.

Visitors may picnic in any of the palace gardens. There are benches, deckchairs (summer months only) and some picnic tables, and visitors can sit on the grass.

The Formal Gardens

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. The entrance is 1500mm wide.

There are three gates from the East Front into the Formal Gardens. Visitors can also reach them from the Mantegna Gallery.

The Formal Gardens consist of the Great Fountain Garden, the Privy Garden, the Pond Gardens and the 20th Century Garden. The Great Vine and the Royal Tennis Court are also in the Formal Gardens.

Customer care support

Accessibility equipment

We provide wheelchairs.

There are seats in most rooms and we have a number of objects that can be handled.

For a list of more items, please go to https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/visit/accessibility/#gs.4PucqQ0.

Assistance dogs requiring the toilet should use the palace gardens, which surround the building on three sides.

Emergency evacuation procedures

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Our alarm system is a sounder but all visitors should follow the instructions of the Front-of-House Staff, who will be able to guide them to the nearest safe exit (as it is possible that an evacuation may be required and it isn't sounded).

All our accessible toilets have pull-cord alarms that link back to our Control Room, but they don't flash.

Customer care support

Some staff have disability awareness training.

Some staff have Next Generation Text training.

Some staff have BSL training.

We provide some additional services for visitors with disabilities to help them get the most from their visit but most require staff or volunteer assistance so must be pre-booked well in advance.

However, our guidebook is available in Braille and can be borrowed at any time from the Information Centre. We also have audio tours in versions suitable for partially sighted visitors.