A place for everyone

We want to make Ushaw a place everyone feels they belong.

To do this we need to enable equal access across our site, starting with the Library Gallery. It is currently inaccessible to anyone using a wheelchair or pram, or with mobility impairments as 4 deep stone steps impede access.

Campaign

We are raising funds to purchase and install a platform lift. This modern platform lift will meet current safety regulations and have an easily used door function which will support independent use. We want to enable equal access and unaided visiting to our Library Gallery.

Please donate if you can and help us ensure that Ushaw is inclusive and accessible. Any money raised will be put towards increasing access to the special spaces at Ushaw.

We are incredibly grateful to the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, that gifted half the funds for this project.

The Library Gallery

The Library Gallery opened in 2024 and hosts three exhibitions a year, predominantly of work from our permanent collection. It's located in one of the 'common rooms' or play rooms that different year groups of students would use for homework, reading and downtime. The Library Gallery's exhibition programme is centred on our permanent collection. It's one of the only opportunities for people to engage with the range and depth of our collection as they were mainly acquired in the nineteenth century, for their appeal or historical significance, as teaching aids for the students. The age and significance of the collection means it requires special care and storage, and so the Library Gallery is one of the only ways to engage with it.

Accessibility

The majority of Ushaw's buildings were constructed in the 1800s they were never designed to accommodate wheelchairs, prams or mobility impairments. We have taken steps to make Ushaw accessible by offering an alternative step free entrance, and using ramps to scale single stairs throughout the Chapels.

This approach is not possible here as the depth of the four stone steps would require a ramp of dangerous steepness or impossible length.

Who We Are

Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens is a venue for heritage, culture and events with awe inspiring architecture, rich history and beautiful grounds. Established in 1808 as St Cuthbert’s College Ushaw, we are a former Catholic Seminary with 13 extraordinary chapels designed by Augustus Pugin and his descendants. Following the closure of the Seminary in 2011, Ushaw re-opened in 2015 as a heritage visitor attraction welcoming just over 7,000 people in its first year. We have grown the organisation and our impact with over 102,000 visitors a year.

We have a thriving programme of exhibitions and events to engage our audiences, including classic car shows, specialist plant & garden fairs, 1940s weekends and much more, we run a strong engagement programme with a wide variety of socially and environmentally conscious activities with a focus on arts and heritage. We care for extensive museum and library collections which feature in changing exhibitions alongside modern and contemporary art.

We also partner with local and regional community art groups to exhibit their work and promote the important role of art and culture in community cohesion and supporting mental health and wellbeing. Ushaw is supported by a large volunteering programme; over 661 volunteers contributed up to 19,000 hours of valued time in 2024.