Sensory Trigger Information

The main entrance is a medium-sized room with a front desk and a gift shop. The museum has many small rooms and corridors crowded with old furniture. It’s quite charming and atmospheric, but it could appear gloomy or dark to some people. Some rooms, such as Cold Kitchen, could appear darker than others. The House Body on the ground floor has a tall ceiling with a big window, creating a contrast of light and dark in the same space. In this room, you can see taxidermy heads of two deer and a boar. The first floor is reachable by two pairs of narrow staircases with a wooden rail handle. Corridors are narrow, and some rooms may appear small and crowded with furniture. Rooms have barrier ropes that shouldn’t be crossed. The wooden terrace on the first floor is less than 1 metre wide, with a wall on one side and a wooden fence on the other.

Bolling Hall Museum tends to be quiet, except during school visits and family programmes. On those days you may hear children laughing, crying, or talking. The toilets’ hand dryers can be loud. Most of the corridors and the House Body with high ceilings are echoing. The wooden floor in the upper level of the house could be creaky, and you might hear your or other visitors’ steps. If the barriers are crossed, a loud alarm will sound throughout. Ear defenders are available on request at the front desk. The museum is quietest one hour before closing, between 3 and 4 pm.

Bolling Hall is an old building with historical furniture. You could notice a heavy, dusty smell of old things. Especially in smaller rooms, it could appear slightly musty.

The floor on the entrance level is made of stone, partly carpeted, while the second and third levels are wooden floors, also partly carpeted. All floor surfaces might appear uneven and not perfectly straight. The second level can be reached by one wooden and one stone staircase, with a wide wooden rail handle. Steps could be worn out in some places. The museum features many hands-on activities, mini backpacks with toys and a fidget basket available on request. Some galleries may be colder than others (especially the Cold Kitchen).

The entrance is covered by the arch, and it could be less light there. If you are coming from the accessible entrance, through the conservatory, which is very bright, entering the museum reception hall could seem much darker. Some areas, especially the entrance hall, Bracewell Smith Hall, or Natural History Gallery, have high ceilings and are quite spacious, while some corridors on the first floor are narrow. Rocks and Fossils Gallery has a corner with glowing rocks that become dark as soon as someone enters. This exhibition has a sign before entering. Natural History gallery has cases with taxidermy animals, and a couple of them show dead animals or predators eating their prey. Steps to the first floor are carpeted and very wide. A big window on the staircase is filled with vividly coloured stained glass.

As our museum is popular among families, you may hear children laughing, crying, or talking -particularly during school visits or family programmes. The toilets’ hand dryers can be loud – you can also dry your hands with tissue paper. Some rooms, such as Bracewell Smith’s Hall, the entrance hall or the staircase, can be echoey. In the Natural History gallery, you could hear birdsong, as the case with birds has buttons to show how they sound. Ear defenders are available at the front desk on request.  The museum is quietest one hour before closing time, between 3 and 4 pm. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to know how busy the Museum is before your journey.

There are many hands-on sensory activities around the museum – a weaving station, foam rock building, sensory fidget backpacks, and much more. To find most of the hands-on activities, we recommend you take the “50 Things to Do” trail and follow it.