Press Centre

Westminster Abbey to launch unique braille-guided Touch Tour

Summary: Launch of touch tour at Westminster Abbey for blind and partially sighted people.

• Notes for editors

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Westminster Abbey is to launch a self-guided Braille Touch Tour – believed to be the first guide in the UK that allows blind and partially sighted visitors complete independence within such an historic monument.

Touch Tour participants will have the opportunity to touch and feel parts of the Abbey dating back nearly 1,000 years.

The tour – which has been endorsed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) - will go live on 21 April 2008 and, for the first time, will allow blind and partially sighted people to guide themselves round one of the country’s most famous and historic landmarks without the need for a guide. A copy of the tour is also available in large print.

For blind and partially sighted people, this represents a major step towards independence, as it allows them to take the tour alone and unguided if they wish, without the need for pre-booking or special requests. Alternatively, they can bring a friend with them or be guided by one of the Abbey’s staff.

Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, Canon of Westminster, hopes the project will take forward the Abbey’s aims to provide better facilities and access for disabled people, while bringing the Abbey to life in a totally new way for blind and partially sighted visitors.

Canon Hedges said: “This tour allows our blind and partially sighted visitors to really experience the Abbey in a unique and fulfilling way, getting close to history in a way which other historic and famous landmarks can’t always offer.

“We know Westminster Abbey is visually awe-inspiring, but it also has many areas which are brought alive by touch and we think this experience will be very memorable for blind and partially sighted people. The audio tour, Braille Touch Tour and the help of our vergers, marshals and volunteers combine to give blind and partially sighted visitors an unforgettable and unique experience alongside our other visitors.”

Ray Hazan, President of St Dunstan’s, the national charity providing lifelong support and rehabilitation to blind and partially sighted ex-service personnel, was blinded in Northern Ireland in 1973. Ray ‘road tested’ the tour for the Abbey and said: "Touching the monuments, the stone and the marble, and hearing the story behind their creation, is to feel the very history that created our nation. It is an emotional experience.

"The Touch Tour has opened up a whole new insight into the history of the Abbey, and the history of our nation, for blind and partially sighted people."

The Abbey already provides braille literature, but is hoping this unique and pioneering braille-guided touch tour will allow even greater access to the historic Abbey for blind and partially sighted people.

Sue King, Tactile Images, Maps and Signage Consultant with RNIB, said: “This tour represents an extremely positive step forward from a blind or partially sighted person's perspective as they can decide what they are doing themselves and are not reliant on being guided as part of a larger group. This gives them independence and allows them to take the tour at their own pace. I congratulate the Abbey on its inclusive stance.”

The Touch Tour takes visitors through the Abbey, starting near The Sanctuary and the Cosmati pavement, explores the Quire, through the Chapels of St Michael, St John the Baptist and St Paul, Henry VII’s Chapel past the Coronation Chair, Poets’ Corner, the South Quire aisle and the Nave before finishing in the West Cloister.

The Abbey, which welcomes many disabled visitors every year, is thought to be the first historic place of worship of its kind to offer this type of tour, and has worked closely with RNIB to ensure it offers an effective and usable service. It has also worked closely with its Conservator and Surveyor of the Fabric to make sure delicate parts of the Abbey are not damaged during the tour.

[End of press release]

Notes for editors

For more information or interviews, please contact Lucy Ferguson at Razor on 01869 353 800 or email lucy.ferguson@razor-pr.com.

For further information on St Dunstan’s, or to speak to a spokesperson, please contact Laura Mitchell, PR Officer, St Dunstan’s on 020 7616 8367 or 07872 840 117, or email laura.mitchell@st-dunstans.org.uk.

Westminster Abbey is a living Church, part of the Church of England: a House of God, where almighty God is worshipped daily, continuing a 1000 year tradition in this place. Every day of the year (except Good Friday and Holy Saturday) the Eucharist is celebrated at 8.00 a.m. Almost every day the Abbey’s world-famous choir sings one or more of the daily services.

Westminster Abbey is the House of Kings, where the coronation of Kings and Queens has taken place since 1066, and where many of the Kings and Queens of England and of the United Kingdom are buried. Principal among them is St Edward the Confessor, King of England from 1042 to 1066, whose shrine is at the heart of the Abbey Church. Beside and around them are buried or memorialised many of the great men and women from almost every century of these islands’ history: statesmen and politicians, lawyers, warriors, clerics, writers, artists, musicians. Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar, whose Dean & Chapter is directly answerable to the Sovereign.

The Abbey’s Mission is

• To serve Almighty God as a ‘school of the Lord’s service’ by offering divine worship daily and publicly;
• To serve the Sovereign by daily prayer and by a ready response to requests made by or on behalf of Her Majesty;
• To serve the nation by fostering the place of true religion within national life, maintaining a close relationship with members of the House of Commons and House of Lords and with others in representative positions;
• To serve pilgrims and all other visitors and to maintain a tradition of hospitality.

Content author: pressoffice@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 01/05/2008 14:33