THE PARTS OF A MANOR HOUSE
Chapter VII - Stairways
There is not a great deal to tell about stairways, except that in early days, when solars and bedrooms began to be placed above the rooms on the ground floor, these upper chambers were frequently built by stairways built outside the wall. External stairways were at one time very common in both small manor houses and cottages, and they generally had a little roof over them. The first inside stairways were in the form of strong ladders, and such were used for many years in castles a well as in houses.
In Norman days the newel stairway was introduced, and in many castles this was carried from the floor right up to the top of the building, so that all the various rooms could be reached by it. As a rule, but not always, this kind of stairway was built of stone, the steps being placed around a central pillar, or newel, as you will see by the illustration of one of these stairways at Clenstone Manor House, Dorset. This shows exactly how the steps were placed in position. The great advantage of this kind of stairway was the small amount of space it occupied. Another very good example of a newel stair is that in the Tower of London, one of the few large fortresses built in the lifetime of the Conqueror. Many old church towers have similar stairways that lead to the belfries within them.
In Norman days the newel stairway was introduced, and in many castles this was carried from the floor right up to the top of the building, so that all the various rooms could be reached by it. As a rule, but not always, this kind of stairway was built of stone, the steps being placed around a central pillar, or newel, as you will see by the illustration of one of these stairways at Clenstone Manor House, Dorset. This shows exactly how the steps were placed in position. The great advantage of this kind of stairway was the small amount of space it occupied. Another very good example of a newel stair is that in the Tower of London, one of the few large fortresses built in the lifetime of the Conqueror. Many old church towers have similar stairways that lead to the belfries within them.
Although what we call straight-flight stairways of stone were placed outside houses in Norman times, it was not until the days of Elizabeth that they were brought inside. The illustration is of a very interesting example, the earliest we have, a Beccles, in Suffolk. The steps here consist of massive blocks of oak, the ends of which are let into the solid wall. As rooms became larger stairways became more numerous, and when the steps were boarded up at the sides, the result was a real stair-case, a flight of steps enclosed at one or both sides in a case. It was during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. that some of the most magnificent staircases were made, as the one illustrated at Aston Hall.