Stair Parts ref: SPF408 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF409 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF410 |
The plan of the standard town house allowed for little change in the position of the staircase during this period. The greatest development in stair parts is in the form of balusters and newel posts. Wood continues to be the chief material used and almost all staircases are now open-string, with a stepped profile rather than a straight one. The barley twist or carved balusters of the earlier Georgian period go out of fashion after 1760, replaced by simple tapering uprights, turned for a circular profile and planed for a square profile. The handrail is flatter and finishes in a smooth turned circle of wood; this tops a simple newel post. Tread-ends are similarly restrained and have often no more than a plain curve as decoration; the grandest were polished oak.
Acanthus leaves, wreaths and Greek key patterns abound. Robert Adam designed dramatic imperial staircases, which rise in a single cantilever flight from the entrance hall to a half landing, then divide into a double sweep.
Regency and Early 19th Century 1811-1837 Staircase Stair Parts
Stair Parts ref: SPF411 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF412 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF413 |
The staircase continued to be one of the great indications of status in a British house. The construction, workmanship and materials in stair parts conformed to fashion of the period. In the grandest houses the main flights of the staircase, cantilevered from the wall, with steps defined by a bold moulding or "nose" and the stair ends ornamented with a carved detail. Stair parts in stairs were provided with a graceful mahogany handrail, supported balusters.
The stairs of more modest houses (and the upper flights and secondary staircases of better houses) were of wood, similar to the austerely elegant type of the latter part of the 18th century. Generally of "open-string" construction, these have a handrail, usually of mahogany, which flows sinuously from top to bottom. The carved square-section balusters are placed two to a step. Ornamentation of the stair parts is usually confined to simple mouldings below the nosing and to turned detailing on the newel posts.
Federal and Empire 1780-1850 Staircase Stair Parts
Stair Parts ref: SPF414 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF415 |
Straight, and quarter-turn staircases were the common form in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The pattern books of William Pain and others introduced sweeping elliptical and circular main staircases to grander houses: these were often located in the projections of houses. In Neoclassical architecture the staircase and stair parts was a significant feature of the house.
In most houses simple stair parts being carved or turned or square carved spindle balusters supported a thin handrail; newels could be twisted or attenuated columns or tapering square posts. The motifs decorating the stair-ends were plainer than those of the Colonial period. In grander houses the balustrade would be mahogany or, less usually,
Revival houses occasionally had double staircases or generously proportioned single stairs which rose from the entrance hall and. separate servants' stairs led to the upper floors. Detailing generally was well-crafted but heavier: carved turned or tapered balusters and handrails were thicker and newels were heavily turned or carved and decorated with acanthus leaf scrolls.
British Victorian 1837-1901 Staircase Stair Parts
Stair Parts ref: SPF416 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF417 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF418 |
In large houses the staircase would often be "open well". Such stair with intricately worked stair parts and a polished mahogany handrail. By the late 19th century there was a large range of stair parts and balustrade to choose from. Stair treads are usually cantilevered.
American Victorian 1840-1910 Staircase Stair Parts
Stair Parts ref: SPF419 |
Stair Parts ref: SPF420 |
Much was done, particularly late in the 19th century, to exploit the architectural and decorative value of stairs. Until the mid-century central stair halls were typical. This changed with the freedom in planning introduced with the Gothic and Italianate Revivals. Stairs were located asymmetrically near the front door and usually near the principal parlour. Gothic and Italianate stairs tend to be a single flight from floor to floor. The carved stair parts were complex, carved on round turnings and the newels were turned, and carved faceted and chamfered. In simpler dwellings the newel could be the most elaborate piece of woodwork in the house.