National Trust reopens Knightshayes house
At the end of July, the National Trust reopened seven properties in England and Northern Ireland as part of a phased reopening of its 200 houses which were closed as part of the national lockdown in March. Knightshayes has now joined that list, opening its doors to the public after more than four months, with several new safety measures in place.
One-way systems and limited numbers inside will ensure that social distancing is possible, while enhanced cleaning and hand sanitising stations will be made available.
The House is open Tuesday - Saturday from 12 noon to 4pm with last admission at 3.30pm (the garden and parkland is open 10-5pm daily). Timed tickets for entry to the house will be available for collection each day from 12 noon.
Visits are limited to ensure social distancing and entry to the house is not guaranteed on the day you visit. In line with government guidance, you're required to wear a face covering in the house. Please bring one with you.
Regular visitors will also notice some changes to our exhibitions, including the removal of interactive displays and comment cards.
The latest round of properties to reopen have been specifically selected to operate within current government guidelines following the pilot scheme launched on July 13.
Since then hundreds of people have visited National Trust houses nationwide with more than 3.5 million visiting its parks and gardens, which were reopened from June 3 in England and Northern Ireland and from July 6 in Wales.
John Orna-Ornstein, the National Trust’s Director of Culture and Engagement says: “We have received some fantastic feedback since we started to reopen our places in July and are incredibly grateful for the patience and understanding that visitors and members have demonstrated as we start to welcome people back to our houses.
“This latest reopening is part of a process to open all of our properties safely and we will announce more in the coming weeks and months.
“Being able to share these beautiful places and their histories is what the National Trust is here for and we are truly excited to be able to open these houses and welcome people back.”
Kate Skinner, House and Collections Manager for Knightshayes, said: “We’re delighted to be able to welcome back visitors and volunteers into the house. We’ve made good use of the time that the house has been closed, deep cleaning and resting the collection. However, although the visit is different, with a one-way system and only the ground floor open it’s just wonderful to see people enjoying it again”
