Copyright (c) 2013 Mathew Jenkins
Staircases of the winding newel type, narrow and steep in gradient and devoid of ornament, continued in use during the fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth centuries. There was, however, no development of the newel stair, as in France, of wide, stately, and intricate construction; and with the introduction of the wooden construction, the stair became the joiner's, not the mason's province, and developed on lines of its own. There is, as Mr Gotch observed, "no intermediate type between the stone spiral and the straight flight of wood," and it is difficult to imagine a possible intermediary.
It was not until the latter part of the sixteenth century that spacious and convenient staircases were constructed, and Eastbury House near Barking, which was built in 1572, only possesses two newel staircases of the early type, with treads of solid oak. The new spacious staircase of the last years of the sixteenth century fitted a square chamber, which as a tower is often a noticeable exterior feature. Its short straight flights are usually worked round a central well, though they are sometimes carried round a solid rectangular block of masonry. Dispensing with the support of the parallel walls, the stair had to be provided for safety with a handrail on its unenclosed side. The stairs were let into strings, which were framed into newels which supported the whole framework.
In such a staircase the easy flights were broken by landings or half-paces, and Wootton recommends that the half-paces be well distributed "at competent distances for reposing on the way." Such a system of short flights implies a small staircase hall, since the flights extend only from wall to half-pace. The breadth of the stair was, according to Wootton, not only to avoid encounters, but to "gratify the beholder." Over the foot of the first flight and across the staircase hall is sometimes thrown an arcade, as at Great Wigsell and at Knole, which adds dignity to the approach.
Occasionally carried up to support the landing overhead. Arches were some­ these continuous newels, thus enclosing the staircase well, and this at Burton Agnes and Audley End. When free, the newel post was handrail, and finished with a shaped top, or with carved or turned were sometimes little more than knobs or balls, but in the great and pedestals made their appearance.
In addition, newels were sometimes completed below by a pendant or drop, following much the same lines as the finials inverted. Human figures as finials were frequent in great houses. At Albyns the square moulded terminals are surmounted by female figures, representing the various virtues and the arts that female embodied. At Cromwell House, Highgate, the newels support finely-carved figures of soldiers which appear to date from about 1635. At Bacon's house, formerly standing at Gorham­bury, there was, according to Aubrey, a "delicate staircase of wood which was curiously carved, and on the post of every interstice was some pretty figure, as a grave divine with his book and spectacles, a mendicant friar, and not one twice." Sir Henry Slingsby, in describing his staircase at Red House, Yorkshire, writes that " upon every post a crest is set of one of my especial friends, and of my brothers-in-law ; and upon that post that bears up the half-pace that leads into the painted chamber there sits a blackamoor give light to the staircase."
There were various devices for filling in the space for balustrade between the newels, of which the turned baluster, ornamented by grooved or incised lines, was one of the most popular. Another device was balusters shaped from flat pieces of wood, or a series of arches springing from columns and raking upwards with the stair's ascent, or openwork panels, carved in strapwork designs, as at Aston Hall and in the early stair leading to the Masters' Lodge at Clare College, Cambridge. The most elaborate examples of this strapwork balustrading are Albyns, Aston Hall, and Crewe Hall,' built about 1620-25, and the brewery staircase, Norwich; and this method of filling developed during the reign of Charles I. into a modified strap­work, to which interest is given by the inclusion of cartouches and trophies of arms, such as we find in the staircase at Aldermaston (dating from 1636), and at Cromwell House, Highgate. The carved enrichment of staircases is in the typical flat English carving in low relief, but rustication of the newels and balustrade in imitation of stone­work is met with. Many staircases at present plain were probably painted, and traces of colour are still visible on a staircase at Aston Bury.
In a few instances, as for example at the Hospital of the Blessed Trinity, Guildford, Haddon Hall, Hatfield, Slyfield, and at Oakwell Hall, the original gate placed across the stairs to prevent the dogs from roaming beyond the ground floors has been preserved, and is a curious detail illustrative of the manners of the time
----------------------------------------------------
For a free e-book on Stair parts and staircases history with images. Please go to http://www.periodfurniture-carved.co.uk/
EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=307248
No comments:
Post a Comment