Bentley Priory Museum, Mansion House Drive, Stanmore, HA7 3FB Paid entry

Details

Accessibility

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/visit-us/access/

"There are 4 accessible parking spaces directly outside of the Museum for blue-badge holders.

Bentley Priory Museum is located in Stanmore, North West London. It is accessible by car, with free parking on site, or by public transport.

Please note that the Museum is within a residential estate. A friendly concierge team will open the entrance gates to the Bentley Priory estate for you on your arrival.

The concierge office is on the left hand side of the road close to the black iron entrance gates. Once through the gates, follow the road down and at the mini roundabout follow the road or pavement to the left. The Museum is situated on the right hand side in the large, yellow Mansion House. There is a large cedar tree and a Spitfire and a Hurricane replica aircraft on the lawn in front of the house.

Admission is free for carers/companions.

Accessible Parking:

There is plenty of free car-parking on site. The car-park is a 2 minute walk from the Museum’s entrance. There are 5 accessible parking spaces directly outside the Museum for blue-badge holders.

The Museum: The Spitfire and Hurricane Gate Guardians outside Bentley Priory Museum 

Entrance to Bentley Priory Museum: The main entrance door is not automatic. If you require assistance please ring the bell.

The reception area has two steps up to it. There is a step free route which the volunteer stewards will be able to show you. The remaining gallery areas are step free.

The Museum is located over two floors. All the exhibition galleries are on the Ground Floor, and the café, toilets, temporary exhibition gallery and entrance to the garden are on the Lower Ground Floor. There is the option of a lift or stairs to move between floors.

The floor is mainly tiled with wooden floors in the exhibition galleries. There is seating throughout the gallery spaces.

The Museum is well lit. There is one exhibition gallery, the Filter Room, which has its shutters closed and so is quite dark. There is also background audio playing on a loop. There are room stewards on hand should you need assistance.

Shop:

The shop area is situated in front of the reception desk and purchases are made at reception. Items are marked with prices.

Café: 

The café is on the lower ground floor and can be accessed by stairs or by lift. There is a range of hot and cold snacks available.

There is a covered picnic area on-site for those wishing to bring their own food and drink.

Toilets:

All public toilets are located on the lower ground floor and can be accessed by stairs or by lift.

There is one unisex accessible toilet with an emergency pull cord.

There are men’s and women’s toilets with baby change areas.

The Museum does not have a Changing Places toilet. The closest is at Harrow College, HA3 6RR or South Oxhey Leisure Centre, WD19 7AX.

Gardens:

The gardens can be accessed through the café. There is step free access to the lower level of the garden. There is seating available throughout.

Wheelchair Users: The Museum is entirely step-free.

There are two wheelchairs available at the Museum which can be borrowed.

All door openings are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. The paths in the garden are gravel with a special membrane which supports wheelchair use.

Access for partially sighted and blind visitors

To listen to the audio description of this information press the play button which you will find below each heading. The play button can also be used to pause the audio. This button is followed by the elapsed and remaining time, and a further button to mute the audio and control volume.

Getting to the Museum:

Bentley Priory Museum is located in Stanmore, North West London. It is accessible by car, with free parking on site, or by public transport.

Please note that the Museum is within a residential estate. A friendly concierge team will open the entrance gates to the Bentley Priory estate for you on your arrival. The concierge office is on the left hand side of the road close to the black iron entrance gates. Once through the gates, follow the road down and at the mini roundabout follow the road or pavement to the left. The Museum is situated on the right hand side in the large, yellow Mansion House. There is a large cedar tree and a Spitfire and a Hurricane replica aircraft on the lawn in front of the house.

Bentley Priory is a Grade II* listed Mansion House. It is a large, grand house, three storeys high with a light golden yellow façade. The architecture is distinctly Georgian, illustrated in the exterior through classical columns, large sash windows and stone balustrades.

The museum exhibition galleries are housed on the ground floor which is step free and wheelchair accessible. Access to the garden and the café, toilets, learning centre and temporary exhibition space are located on the Lower Ground Floor, accessible by lift or stairs.

The entrance to the Museum is located at the front of the Mansion House, through large double white painted wooden doors located in a covered porch area. The entrance is opposite a grass area with a replica, to scale Spitfire and replica Hurricane aircraft.

The Museum reception is situated at the far end of the entrance hall, straight in front of you. The entrance hall itself is a large rectangular space with a high vaulted ceiling. There are two, large colourful stained glass windows on both the left and right hand side depicting a Spitfire and Hurricane, and scrambling aircrew. They represent Bentley Priory’s important Battle of Britain history.

The entrance floor is stone and there are classical columns lining the left and right hand sides. Continuing straight ahead, you will reach two steps leading up to the reception desk. There is also a step free route to the reception desk, through the door to the right. If you take the step free route, after turning right, turn left at the lift and follow the corridor around into the Abercorn Room exhibition gallery. Pass diagonally left through the room, past the circular table in the centre through the doorway and you will arrive at reception.

The Museum has a team of enthusiastic volunteers who man the reception area and galleries and are at hand to assist visitors at all times and answer any questions you might have.

The Museum has an adult and a children’s audio described tour which are available free of charge. If you are interested in an audio described tour, handsets are available from the Museum’s Reception Desk. The museum volunteers will be able to set up the equipment and show you how to use it. The Museum uses the ATS Micro handset, with the option of using the inbuilt speaker or headphones. You can use your own headphones or we can provide some.

The adult tour lasts approximately 45 minutes, with an additional optional 20 minutes, and the children’s tour lasts approximately 35 minutes. During both tours you will have the option of an additional 10 minute audio-visual film. The equipment accommodates two sets of headphones, or it can be listened to through the speaker on the handset.

Guide Dogs are welcome, and water is available for your Guide Dog on request from the Café on the Lower Ground Floor.

All toilet facilities, including an accessible toilet, are available on the Lower Ground Floor.

The Museum runs live audio described tours. Please check our What’s On page for upcoming events.

We have also recorded audio descriptions for 36 objects from the Museum’s incredible collection, which are available on the Collection page.

A large print and a Braille Museum guide are available to support your visit. They include numerous large print/tactile images of key obejcts.

Access for hard of hearing or deaf visitors:

Our 10 minute Audio Visual film on the role of Bentley Priory during the Battle of Britain and the importance of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding’s leadership is subtitled. The short films on radar and the Observer Corps in the Ballroom gallery are also subtitled.

We will shortly make the scripts of the audio on the telephone sound-posts around the galleries available in the Museum.

Hearing dogs are welcome and there is a water bowl available.

Assistance Dogs

The Museum welcomes trained assistance dogs. Please ensure your dog wears the appropriate tabard and is kept with you at all times. There is a water bowl available.

If you plan to visit with an assistance animal other than a dog, please get in touch before your visit to ensure we can meet your requirements.

Quiet Times: The Museum is quietest and less busy at 10am when it opens. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.

Local accessible taxi numbers: 

Wheelchair Taxis – 07519 055741

Watford United Taxis – 01923 252525

Please contact us on 020 8950 5526 or enquiries@bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk if you would like to discuss any access considerations before your visit to the Museum."

Brief description

Bentley Priory Museum is a Registered Charity: 1115243

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Priory

"Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow. In the Second World War, Bentley Priory was the headquarters of RAF Fighter Command, and it remained in RAF hands in various roles until 2008.

As of 2013, the site has been sold to a developer and plans to convert some of the building to luxury apartments and build new houses have been approved and construction commenced. The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust has secured part of the building to be used as a museum and memorial dedicated to those who served in the RAF. The estate and house was purchased in 2011 by developers City and County in conjunction with Barratt Homes who planned to develop it into luxury housing.[12][13]

In 2013 an appeal was launched to turn the priory house into a museum commemorating its role in the Battle of Britain.[14] The Bentley Priory Museum was formally opened to the public in September 2013 by Charles III, then Prince of Wales.[15] It commenced full public access in January 2014, managed by The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust.[16] The grounds are now Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[17]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bentley_Priory

"RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. The Royal Air Force station closed its operations on 30 May 2008, with all units relocating to new accommodation at RAF Northolt, a few miles away.

The station incorporated Bentley Priory, which was originally built in 1766. Since its closure, the Officers' Mess has converted into the Bentley Priory Museum with exhibits focusing on the house's role in the Battle of Britain. The grounds have been redeveloped as a private residential housing estate.

RAF Bentley Priory was latterly home to the Defence Aviation Safety Centre, Air Historical Branch (AHB) and RAF Ceremonial. As there was no enduring operational use for RAF Bentley Priory, however, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released the site as part of its Greater London estate consolidation project, Project MoDEL (Ministry of Defence Estates London).[25]

Project MoDEL is making a major contribution to the consolidation of the Defence Estate in Greater London through the delivery of three key outputs: the development of an integrated 'core site' at RAF Northolt; the re-location of the London-based units; and the disposal of surplus sites. Accordingly, DASC, AHB and RAF Ceremonial relocated to RAF Northolt in 2008 following the completion of their new accommodation. A total of £180 million GBP ($295 million US in 2008) of the £300 million GBP released from Project MoDEL has been re-invested back into RAF Northolt.[26]

A final dinner was held for the Battle of Britain veterans in July 2007 to celebrate the role of the building and those who worked in it in preventing Hitler's planned air invasion of Britain in 1940.[27] The sunset ceremony was carried out by the Queen's Colour Squadron and there was a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and a Eurofighter Typhoon. The salute was taken by the Station Commander Squadron Leader Phil Reid, the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy and Air Commodore (Ret) Pete Brothers, Chairman of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association.[27]

The final closure Sunset ceremony took place on 30 May 2008, when the RAF ensign was lowered at RAF Bentley Priory for the last time.[28] The station officially closed the following day, and all remaining lodger units moved to RAF Northolt.[29]

The former Bentley Priory Officers' Mess, which became the Bentley Priory Museum in September 2013,[30] includes the original office of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding (later Lord Dowding), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain, preserved with its original furniture. Other Battle of Britain historic artefacts are kept in the Museum, including one of the few remaining Battle of Britain Lace Panels.[31]

Other items in the Museum include a number of "trophies" taken by the Royal Air Force from the Luftwaffe at the end of World War II, including an eagle statue and a bust of Hermann Göring.[32]

The Officers' Mess was also notable for the number of Royal Portraits hanging in the building; there were two of HM The Queen, one in the Dining Room as a young woman and a second that hung in the Ladies' Room that was commissioned and paid for by the Royal Observer Corps to mark their 50th Jubilee Year, painted at Bentley Priory depicting Her Majesty in her ROC Commandant in Chief regalia and with a background of the Italian Gardens. There was also a portrait of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh (dressed in a flying suit, hanging in the Dining Room on the wall facing the Queen), one of George VI (in RAF No 1 uniform wearing a 'chip bag' and wings, which hangs in the Abercorn Bar) and one of The Queen Mother (gifted to the Mess by the Queen Mother after she paid for refurbishment following the fire).[33]"

Address

Bentley Priory Museum, Mansion House Drive, Stanmore, HA7 3FB

Email

enquiries@bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk

Phone

020 8950 5526

Website

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/learning/

Directions

"Bentley Priory Museum is located in Stanmore, North West London. It is accessible by car, with free parking on site, or by public transport.

Use postcode  HA7 3HT for Sat Navs. This will bring you to the gates of Bentley Priory Estate.

There is plenty of free car-parking on site. The car-park is a 2 minute walk from the Museum’s entrance.

There are 4 accessible parking spaces directly outside of the Museum for blue-badge holders.

Travelling by coach: There are 3 coach parking spaces within the Museum car-park. You are welcome to drop off & pick up your group directly outside the Museum before parking the coach in the car-park.

Travelling by bicycle: Bicycle racks are available in the Museum car-park."

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/visit-us/opening-hours-admission/

Transport

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/visit-us/how-to-find-us/

2024: "By Tube:

Stanmore Tube Station on the Jubilee Line is the nearest tube station to the Museum. The Museum is a 10 minute bus journey or a 50 minute walk from Stanmore Station. The 142 bus picks up outside the Stanmore Station in the direction of Watford Junction. The nearest stop to the Museum is ‘Heathbourne Road.’

Edgware Station on the Northern Line is a short bus ride away. Bus 142, in the direction of Watford Junction, from bus stop F (located at the Bus Station adjacent to the Underground).

From Harrow & Wealdstone tube station on the Bakerloo line, get a bus 258 at bus stop N and get off at Common Road bus stop.

Overground/Rail:

London Overground at Bushey Station is a short bus journey away as is Watford Junction (National Rail).

Bus:

Bus 142 runs near the entrance every 11/14 minutes. It picks up at Brent Cross, Colindale, Edgware, Stanmore, Bushey and Watford Junction.

Bus 258 connects Bushey with Harrow and Wealdstone Underground (Bakerloo line)

The nearest stops for the Museum are Heathbourne Road (Bus 142) and Common Road (Bus 258). The bus stops are a 7-10 minute walk to the Museum."

Amenities

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/

https://bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk/visit-us/eating-drinking/

"Our vintage Café is the perfect place to have refreshments and lunch during your visit.

Our menu includes handmade sandwiches, hot soups and seasonal specials, as well as a range of delicious cakes and snacks.

Our vintage Café overlooks the beautiful Italian Gardens.  The Café’s outdoor seating area is perfect during warmer weather.

The Café opens at 10.00, with last orders taken 45 minutes before the Museum closes.

Please note, the Museum’s vintage Café is open only to Museum visitors, including those with Annual Membership. 

Please let us know of any dietary considerations. All our food is prepared in a kitchen where nuts, gluten and other known allergens maybe present. If you tell us of an allergen issue your food will be prepared in a separate area of the kitchen with separate utensils."