Convenience Heralds Death Knell For Stair Wells . . .

The one thing that stands out in heritage properties must be an elegant stair case.  I volunteer at one such property as a room steward and there is half a very ornate stair case going up from the side entrance of the house.  Strangely, the property was never designed to have the main staircase visible from the great hall.  Unlike so many big houses featured in romantic films or ‘upstairs-downstairs life’ serials that grab our attention now.  No, this house always had this spectaular self supporting canilever staircase up to the guest bedrooms but there isn’t another one coming down the other side.  There is a downward staircase but it is pretty plain and just functional.   At the top of the show stopping stairs, there are beautiful pieces of furniture just within sight.  A bureau and very antique chairs.   The whole scene is almost a setting from a tv drams.  We don’t have glorious stair cases in modern houses.  They seem to have been dispensed with and in fact, some modest homes are now installing small lifts from lounge to bedroom, so as not to have to worry about stairs at all.  A death knell sounding for the humble stair case!