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Accessibility Guide for The Novium Museum & Chichester Tourist Information Centre

Contact for accessibility enquiries: Emma Stubbington

email addressthenovium@chichester.gov.uk phone number01243 775888 websitewww.thenovium.org
The Novium Museum's logo

Guide last updated: 4 January 2022

  • At a glance
  • Getting here
  • Arrival
  • Getting around inside
  • Getting around outside
  • Customer care support
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Welcome

Built over the remains of a Roman bath house, The Novium Museum is Chichester District's award-winning museum located in the heart of Chichester City Centre. 

Set over 3 floors, our exhibitions tell the story of Chichester District over the past 500,000 years from our ground floor Roman Gallery, centred around the breathtaking archaeological remains of the Roman bath house, to an exciting range of touring and temporary exhibitions on our top floor. 

Chichester Tourist Information Centre is based within the Novium Museum, and our qualified Front of House staff can offer visitors and local residents accomodation bookings, ticket sales, information on the local area.

The Novium Museum RIBA award winning building against a clear blue sky
  • Level access icon Level Access
  • Hearing icon Hearing
  • Visual icon Visual
  • General icon General

Level access

The main entrance has level access.

There is level access from the main entrance to:

Museum & TIC front deskChichester Box Office DeskGround FloorThe Novium Museum Shop

Hearing

The fire alarm has flashing lights.
We have a hearing loop in The hearing loop is available from the front desk.
Some staff have disability awareness training.

Visual

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.
We have display information in large print.
We have information in large print.

General

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.
There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.
Some staff have disability awareness training.
We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Getting here

The Novium Museum
Tower Street
Chichester
PO19 1QH

Travel by public transport

You can get to The Novium Museum & Chichester Tourist Information Centre by bus and train.
The nearest bus stop is outside the Chichester Cathedral on West Street, which is a 2 minute walk to the museum. The bus stop is 0.1 miles / 0.2 km from The Novium Museum & Chichester Tourist Information Centre.
The nearest train station is Chichester Station. The train station is 0.5 miles / 0.8 km from The Novium Museum & Chichester Tourist Information Centre.

Travel by taxi

You can get a taxi with Starline Taxi by calling 01243 531666. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
You can get a taxi with Alfa Taxis by calling 07888 239287. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
You can get a taxi with Premier Cars by calling 01243 779366. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Parking

There is a drop-off point at the main entrance. The drop-off point does not have a dropped kerb.

There is a ramp at the drop-off point in front of our entrance, but we have been advised by wheelchair users that the kerb can be difficult to navigate, and that space to manoeuvre is tight.

Photo of ramp outside the pavement leading to the entrance of The Novium Museum Photo shows a wheelchair user coming up the ramp from the road to the pavement outside The Novium Museum.

Arrival

Path to main entrance

From the street to the main entrance, there is level access.
The path is 1150mm wide, or more.

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.
The door is 1670mm wide.
The main door is side hung and automatic.
Photo of the front entrance to The Novium Museum

Getting around inside

Visual Impairment - General Information

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

Lift

We have 1 lift.
You can get a lift to all floors.

Lift to all floors

The lift door is 2000mm wide.
The lift is 2000mm wide. The lift is 2200mm deep.
The lift says the floor number at each floor.
The lift buttons have raised numbers or letters.
The lift shows the floor number, at each floor.
We have a large lift allowing full accessibility to every floor of the museum. The lift can accommodate up to 2850 kg in weight.
Photo showing large lift allowing access to all floors at The Novium Museum

Ticket/ information desk

Chichester Box Office Desk

From the main entrance to the desk, there is level access. The desk has a low section.
Photo showing Chichester Box Office ticket desk

Things to See and Do

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.
We have display information in: large print.

Museum & TIC front desk

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There are seats.
There is a hearing loop.
Videos have subtitles.
Image shows the front desk area of The Novium Museum

Public toilet

Ground Floor

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.
From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access. The toilet door is 910mm wide.
The direction of transfer onto the toilet is to the left.
There is 1510mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 475mm high. The toilets have handrails.

Accessible toilets are located on the ground floor and top (2nd) floor of the museum.

The door to the accessible toilet on the ground floor is fairly heavy, however the door to the accessible toilet on the 2nd floor is easy to pull open.

Changing tables are located on the ground floor, in both the mens and womens cubicles. The changing tables are large and sturdy, and carry a weight limit of 50lbs.

Photo showing the spacious accessible toilet on the ground floor of The Novium Museum Photo showing the changing table on the ground floor of The Novium Museum

Shop

The Novium Museum Shop

From the main entrance to the shop, there is level access. The door is 1670mm wide.
The route through the shop is 800mm wide, or more.

The shop does have a central display, comprising of two 'stair' shaped units joined together in a large 'L' shape. There is an unobstructed route for wheelchair users, and should any merchandise be out of reach a staff member will be happy to assist.

Image shows the shop area of The Novium Museum

Getting around outside

Customer care support

Accessibility equipment

We provide wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are free.
We have a hearing loop in The hearing loop is available from the front desk.
We have an area to charge mobility scooters and battery powered wheelchairs.

Should a mobility scooter or battery powered wheelchair need charging, please speak to the staff at the front desk who will be able show you the closest charging point.

You can hire mobility equipment from ShopMobility by calling 07932 802778.

Emergency evacuation procedures

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.
The fire alarm has flashing lights.

Upon activation of the fire alarm, red flashing lights will come on.

We have GEEPs in place for the safe evacuation of disabled visitors, should it be required.

Our fire escapes are fitted with Evac chairs, which staff are trained in using.

Customer care support

Some staff have disability awareness training.
We have information in large print.
We have other services for people with accessibility requirements.

We hold relaxed SEN sessions for some of our larger exhibitions aimed at people with autism and other needs, as well as their families and carers. During these sessions, background noise will be turned off and capacity in the exhibition gallery limited. The rest of the museum may remain open as usual. For more information and upcoming sessions, please visit our website: www.thenovium.org/whatson 

Guide info
Any information, comments and views made available to users via this Accessibility Guide are provided directly from third party business operators. VisitEngland and VisitScotland do not endorse or validate this information. Any reliance on this Accessibility Guide is at your own risk. This guide is not intended to be a substitute for users making their own checks, inquiries and investigations directly with the business operators prior to making any booking or visiting the venue.
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