Le Gros Clark Building

There is no parking available outside the building. There are 6 parking spaces at the front of the nearby Sherrington Building. These are all standard size. There are also 2 accessible spaces outside the adjacent Burdon Sanderson Cardiac Science Centre which are approximately 260 m from the level entrance of Le Gros Clark. All of these spaces must be booked in advance; contact reception for more information: 01865 272 169 or reception@dpag.ox.ac.uk.

There is blue badge parking on Parks Road and Jowett Walk but neither of these are especially close. Oxford City Council have produced a useful Accessible Oxford Guide which includes a map of Blue Badge parking spaces in the city centre. The Blue Badge parking map is on page 11. Please click on the link below to view the Accessible Oxford Guide.

• Oxford Blue Badge parking map (PDF)

As you’re looking at the front of the building, the main entrance is on the right. There is a short flight of steps leading to 2 sets of manually operated double doors. The stairs are wide with a handrail to the left (ascending). There are no contrasting edgings on the stairs. The double doors lead into an entrance lobby and the reception office.

The accessible entrance is on the left – the path slopes gently downwards alongside the small grass area in front of the building. Because of this level change, the accessible entrance takes you into the basement (there is lift access to all floors of the building). The entrance here is secure and operated using a swipe card and PIN code. The large external door is powered - this takes you into an entrance lobby. You'll see double doors ahead of you - these are also powered. If visiting for the first time it is advisable to contact the department directly to discuss access arrangements. Regular users of the building will have their University cards added to the system and be provided with the PIN code.

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There is a small reception office directly ahead of you if you enter from the main (stepped) entrance. If coming from the accessible entrance you’ll need to use the passenger lift to come up to the ground floor to get to reception – turn left out of the lift and it will be ahead of you.

The receptionist sits behind a sliding glass window and is at eye level for wheelchair users. There is a small ledge here but no recessed knee space for wheelchair users.

There is not currently an induction loop installed at the reception desk.

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Accessible toilets

There is one accessible toilet in the building. This is in the basement next to the accessible entrance. There are handrails either side of the toilet and the sink but these do not contrast visually with the walls.

In addition there are ambulant accessible toilet cubicles in the male and female toilets on the ground and first floors.

Standard toilets

There are gender neutral toilets in the basement, ground floor,  second floor and third floor. 

There are male and female toilets on the ground floor and first floors.

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There is a main passenger lift connecting all floors of the building. At 90cm wide the entrance is wide enough for most wheelchairs.

The lift has tactile buttons (but no Braille), a voice announcement with induction loop (although this is relatively quiet), a visual display (although this is high up and not very clear). There is a mirror to help with manoeuvring when exiting.  There are no hand rails in the lift.

There is also a much larger lift in the building – this is not for general use but can be used for very large wheelchairs or mobility scooter if needed. The large lift is in a secure area of the building and serves the basement, ground floor and first floor only. 

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There are several staircases throughout the building.

The main stairs start by the main entrance and reception and go from the ground floor to the third floor.  There is a continuous handrail to the right (ascending) and contrasting strips on the stair edges.  

The secondary stairs are at the opposite end of the building. This also has a continuous handrail to the right (ascending) and contrasting strips on the stair edges. 

There are other smaller staircases throughout the building. Due to the age of the building some of these can be narrow and steep and not all have handrails. Most of the main areas of the building can be reached by the main staircases or passenger lift.

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Apart from the accessible entrance, all the other doors in the building are manually operated. Many doors are held open to improve access around the building.

Due to the age of the building, some of the doors are rather narrow.

Many doors have full height vision panels, some do not.

Below are some images to represent the mix.

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The double doors into the lecture theatre are narrow. One door is always held open but only has a clear width of 68cm; it may be necessary to open the other door as well. As the doors are rather awkward to use, some wheelchair users may need assistance.

The lecture theatre was constructed in the late 19th century and has very steep banked seating. The level access at the front and to the side of the lectern is small but will accommodate a wheelchair user. The stairs here are steep with no hand rails and no contrasting stair edgings.

There is not currently an infra-red hearing support system in place. 

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There is a common room in the basement. Manoeuvring space is a bit tight, although chairs and tables can be rearranged as needed. There is a mix of low coffee tables and chairs, and standard chairs and tables. There is level access to the common room from the accessible entrance and passenger lift.

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As there are level changes within floors of the building there are several ramps in place to accommodate this.

The basement has a ramp in between the accessible entrance and the lift. This slopes gently and is wide. There is no hand rail in place here. There are no visual indicators at the start and end of the ramp.

The ground floor has a ramp in the corridor connecting the left and main entrance and reception. This is steep by modern standards. There is a handrail to the left (ascending) and the ramp contrasts visually with the floor colour.

There is also a ramp in place on the third floor leading to research labs. This has a handrail to the left (ascending) and contrasting strips on the edge. There is a secure door at the top of the ramp and no level landing in front of this; this may be tricky for some wheelchair users to manage.

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There is an induction loop in place at the reception desk.

There is an infra-red hearing support system in place in the lecture theatre.