Visitors allowed entry into Upton House next week
VISITORS to Upton House and Gardens will be able to enter the historic building from next week, the National Trust has announced.
In July, the National Trust reopened seven of its 200 historic buildings across England and Northern Ireland that had been forced to close as part of the national lockdown in March.
And after that successful pilot, the charity has now confirmed that Upton House, located between Stratford and Banbury, will welcome back visitors for the first time in five months on Monday, 21st September.
This follows the successful reopening of Upton House's gardens on 22nd June.
Several new safety measures are in place to ensure visitors are socially distanced.
One-way systems and limited numbers inside the houses will ensure guests are spaced out while enhanced cleaning and hand sanitising stations will also be made available.
Upton House's reopening also sees the launch of Fashion in Paintings, an exploration of new perspectives on the art collection at the building.
Jenny Lister, curator of Fashion and Textiles at the V&A Museum, London, takes over the interpretation of 12 paintings.
Visitors can read Jenny’s insights as they walk around the collection from Monday.
Michele Waugh, visitor experience manager at Upton House and Gardens, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming visitors back inside the house.
"We’ve made some changes to help keep everyone safe, such as a one-way system and limited numbers inside so people have the space to maintain social distancing.
"This has also meant the smaller upper floor will remain closed, but the lower and ground floors will be open."
John Orna-Ornstein, the National Trust’s director of culture and engagement, added: “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.”
Upton House will be open every day between 11am and 3pm.
The National Trust will continue to operate an advanced booking system and tickets will grant joint access to the house and gardens.
All visitors, members and non-members, must book tickets in advance.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house-and-gardens/whats-onThis can be done via the website at
Due to limits on capacity as a result of social distancing, it may not be possible for everyone to access the house during their visit.