Thornfield Museum Reopens Its Upper Galleries to Everyone

Thornfield Museum occupies a converted 19th-century warehouse, and a structural survey found the building's original timber frame couldn't support a conventional elevator shaft without major reinforcement work the museum's budget didn't allow for.

The museum instead fitted a compact platform lift at the base of its existing mezzanine stairs, preserving the exposed timber and brick that define the space while opening the upper gallery to wheelchair users for the first time.

Since installation, the upper gallery — previously skipped on most accessible tour routes — is now included by default, and the museum reports a noticeable rise in repeat visits from local accessibility groups.