Internal Features (Eighteenth Century)

Stair Parts Fig. 274 Two Examples of Lead Cisterns

Stair Parts Fig. 275 The Staircase, King Weston, Gloucestershire

THE internal decoration of houses of the seventeenth century has already been described, and incidentally a considerable number of examples have been given of the treatment of later houses; but it is desirable to treat the subject a little more fully than has been possible in former chapters.

In entering an eighteenth-century house the visitor found himself in a large vestibule or hall-not the old-fashioned hall of the early seventeenth century, which was itself one of the principal living-rooms, but a hall which was merely a vestibule or ante-room leading to the living-rooms. Sometimes it had a fireplace, but sometimes not ; in either case it was not regarded as a room for constant use. In houses of the middle size it con­tained the staircase, and the same held good in many of larger size ; but in the largest the hall was frequently the most striking apartment in the house, as for instance at Houghton ( Stair Parts Fig. 174) and Prior Park (Stair Parts Fig. 182).

The staircases (stair parts) were always handsomely treated. As a rule they were of wood, but a few instances occur of marble steps and balustrades, and of stone steps with iron balustrades. The typical English staircase is of wood, with stair parts turned wood balusters. For a short time during the seventeenth century foliated balus­trades had been the fashion (see Figs. 80-82), but towards its close the turned baluster reasserted itself. Massive handrails and solid strings were still retained, as in the example from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Fig. 277); and many examples of simple staircases of this type are to be found in the Temple, London, and the surrounding neighbourhood.

STAIRCASES (Stair Parts)

Stair Parts Fig. 276 Staircase at Boughton House Northamptonshire

An important development in design occurred when the old-fashioned solid string was abandoned, and the balusters rested upon the steps themselves. This change took place about the beginning of the eighteenth century, and there is an early example at King's Weston, in Gloucestershire (Stair Parts Fig. 275). The steps are very deep from back to front, so much so that each step overlaps the second one above it. The nosings are carried along the end of every step and returned back to the wall under the step above ; the bottom edge of this is finished with a moulding which returns and rests on the nosing of the step below. A very similar treatment is adopted at Boughton House, in Northamptonshire (Stair Parts Fig. 276), but here the edge of the soffit has a moulding like the nosing, but reversed the junction of the two is masked by a wood block. These blocks are all painted with arms of the Montagus and their alliances, which prompted Horace Wal­pole to inquire whether  the chief staircase at Boughton was intended for the " descent of the Montagus." Another point to be noticed in the King's Weston example is that the two bottom steps are carried out sideways beyond the others and rounded off with a bold sweep, and that the handrail is wreathed round instead of finishing against a large newel. This is a treatment which only became possible on the abandonment of the old­fashioned newels and strings.

Stair Parts Fig. 277 Staircase at Ashmolean Oxford

Stair Parts Fig. 278 Staircase in a House In Queen Street Salisbury

Stair Parts Fig. 279 Staircase at Melon Constable Norfolk

A variation of the treatment adopted at Boughton may be seen in an old house in Salisbury ( Stair Parts Fig. 278), where the nosings are still carried back some distance, but are supported by carved brackets. It will be seen that the old stout newels have been  replaced by small columns slightly larger than the balusters, and that the handrail is continuous, being bent upwards in a ramp where it has suddenly to attain a higher level. It is curved at the bottom in a large sweep similar to those at Kings Weston. At Melton Constable (Stair Parts Fig. 279) the same ideas are adopted, but here the risers of the stairs are panelled. It is clear from this that no stair carpets were contemplated, a point which is emphasised elsewhere by the fact that the landings and treads were often inlaid with different woods cut into patterns. Most of the staircases of the time were broad and of easy gradient, the balusters were short, and were either turned in graceful outlines or were twisted as at Melton Constable. At Denham Place, in Buckinghamshire (Fig. 280), the effect is quite satisfactory, although the stairs are narrower and steeper than usual, and the balusters are longer. This effect is obtained by the care bestowed upon the proportion and outline of the balusters.