1841.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



S7 



riser. In such case, hardlv l^s; lliaD an area of 20 by S feet, on th^ 

 level of the upper floor, would be sufficient for the stairciise, unless 

 there wer.- winders instead of quarter-spaces, or of a single half-space 

 between the two flights. The number of risers required is afe-ertained 

 by reducing the given altitude of ascent to iacbes, and dividing it by 

 the height of the risers: thus, taking the altitude as before (14 feet), 

 and the risers at 5 incli.-s, there must either be 33 risers a trifle nio.e 

 than 3 inches each, or 34 a trifle less. 



" Palladio, and others foUoving him, have laid it (<own that the 

 staircase ought to be seen immediately on entering a building; but it is 

 impossible to establish any positive rule for what must depend upon 

 particular circumstances, and this is by no means the best as a general 

 rule. Id a public building, or place where strangers go in and out 

 without inquiry, it may be desirable that the staircase should present 

 itself at once; but eertainlv this is not the case in private mansions. 

 On the contrary, it is in every respect better that the staircase should 

 be kept out of view until the' first vestibule lias been passed through, 

 and that it should be placed as remote from the entrance into the 

 house as the plan will adnii'., l)Qtli ifl onier that the approach to it 

 may be lengthened, and that, in case it has any architectural preten- 

 sions at all, it lUiiy strike the more by net coming into view at once. 

 At all events, only the lower part of the staircase — nu more than is 

 aufticient to indicate its situation— should be visible from the entrance, 

 otherwise it will be inconveniently "xposed ; and if there are doors to 

 several rooms on the upper landing, persons passing from one to the 

 other would be seen from the hall. It is, therefore, a great error to 

 place the staircase, as is sometimes done, in the first or entrance hall 

 of a mansion, because, in addition to the inconvenience just pointed 

 out, such hall must be made the height of bvo floors, and consequently, 

 if otherwise suitably proportioned to such height, it will be the most 

 spacious and loftiest room, and so far be attended by a degree of eflijct 

 which, instead of being afterwards increased or kept up, is greatly 

 diminished. Such arrangement also cuts off the commuuication above 

 between the rooms oo one side of the hall aj:d those ou the other, 

 except there is a gallery or continuation of the landing carried over 

 the entrance." 



"One of the most simple and effective yet least common arrange- 

 ments of a staircase, is that which may be described by the term 

 jir<nue ulaircam, the stairs being continued in a straight line, though 

 broken by apactn into a succession of flights, within what would else 

 be a level corridor or gallery, and occupying its entire wi Ith. There 

 is something particularly noble and majestic in a staircase of this kind, 

 for althougli it may be narrow, considered as a gallery, it looks unusu- 

 ally spacious ;is a staircase, the fi^hl itself being wider than those of j 

 staircases placed within a much larger area. Besides which, the 

 ■whole is more regularly disposed, and forms a more striking piece of 

 perspective. Still simple as such plan is in itself, it is by no means 

 adapted to general application, because, although it requires only 

 moderate width, it requires considerable length, short nights, and 

 ample spaces between them, and stairs with low risers and broad 

 treads ; otherwise the descent as viewed from above, being in a 

 straight line, looks precipitous, cr at least has no dignity of appear- 

 ance. Another circumstance which limits a staircase of this kind to 

 particular cases is, that in order for it to produce proper eflijct, the 

 ueight to be ascended should be very moderate, hardly more than 

 seven or eight feet ; for else the space at the foot of the stairs looks 

 confined, and the upper flights scarcely show themselves from that 

 station. Hence, though it may be referred to as an instance of an 

 avemie staircase, the one leading to the keep or round tower at 

 Windsor Castle is more remarkable than beautiful or grand, leaving 

 decoration out of the question ; the altitude ascended being so very 

 great. Sir John Soane has given some ideas of the kind in his designs 

 for a "Scala Kegia," — a favourite subject with him ; and hu executed 

 such a staircase, though upon a more limited scale, for the royal en- 

 trance to the House ol Loids. The width of that staircase is only l'> 

 feet, by 4y in extreme length, and the ascent 9 feet. Though not free 

 from little conceits, the whole has considerable elVect, as may be 

 judged from the perspective view of it in vol. 1. of the "Public Build- 

 ings of London," by W. H. Leeds, which also contains a longitudinal 

 section of it. The staircase of the Chamber of t'oers at Paris, designed 

 by Percier and PunLaine, is another example of the kind, upon a larger 

 scale, but not the very best, for the ascent is so great, that the columns 

 on its ai<le3, on the same level as the landing, look quite insignificant. 

 That at Covent Garden Theatre also bflongs to the same class, 

 although it differs from the preceding in being extended in the upper 

 part, by the lamling being continued along its sides as a gallery divided 

 from it by columns ; the ascent is about lU feet, in two flights. The 

 National Gallery, ag.iin, ;iiVordi instances nf a diflereiit modification of 

 the same arrangeineut, half the ascent being by an external flight in 



the vestibule, the remainder by another within the corridor leading 

 from it; and though not exactly suited for such a building, the idea 

 is pleasing in iUelf, and vfould produce a striking effect io one of less 

 pretension. 



"In public ediiices or large mansions, whatever be the plan of the 

 principal stairriise, it is generally tramhtd, that is, there is first a 

 wide central flight, and then two other narrower on»s brandling off 

 from it, one on each side, either at right angles to it, or as return 

 flights parallel to it : and it is hardly necetsary to observe th.it in all 

 such staircases \.\\e/<Mit-»pact» are large, and that there are no winders. 

 The staircase at Goldsmiths' Hall, which is parted off from the ves- 

 tibule bv a glazed screen, is an example of more than ordinary splen- 

 dour, being lighted by a dome. The branching flights at right angles 

 to the first, lead to a landing on each side, which his a double screen of 

 Corinthian columns, so that the view across from side to side. In the upper 

 part, is unusnally rich. At Buckingham Palace, there is first a very 

 wide flight, entered from between columns, branching off right and 

 let in curved flights, the cage, which is about 3i> by 2'j feet, being 

 curved ellipticalTy on those sides or ends. In tliis example, the slaira 

 rest upon a graduated podium or wall enclosing the space imnii'diately 

 b-ueuth, which serves as a private passage behind ; a mode frequently 

 adopted in similar cases, being one which contributes to nolidity and 

 ntbleness of appearance, and prevents that mass of shadow beneath 

 the stairs which gives a gloom to the lower |)art of the staircase." 



« * » ¥ 



"The staircase of the Fitzwilltam Museum, Cambridg.', rlaims 

 notice, not only on account of the richness of the general design, but 

 of some peculiarities i i its arrangement Strictly speaking, however, 

 this example can bar ly be given as that of a staircase, according to 

 the usual meaning of the term, the stairs being mere flights of steps 

 in the entrance-hall. Tliat in the centre is a broad descending one, 

 leading down to the libraries, which are on a lower level than the ball; 

 and on each side of it b a rather narrower ascending flight to the 

 spacious landing carried around three sides of the hall, and serving as 

 a statue gallery. Though the lower area is only 32 by 2l) feet, con- 

 sequently that of the floor very much less, owing to the space occupied 

 bv the flights of steps, tliat of the upper part on the level of the 

 landing is i>S by 44 feet, the landing itself being about 17 feet wide. 

 In some degree similar in plan, although very diflerent in design, is 

 the hall at Holkham, the seat of the Earl of Leicester, which lias a 

 noble flight of steps within a recess or tribune, enclosed by columns, 

 which are continued along the sides of the hall. 



"The grand staircase of the Reform Club-house, London, is an 



example, somewhat unusual in this country, though common enough in 



Italy, of w hat may be called an tiiclvstd staircase ; the flights are shut 



up between walls, and consequently there is no open ml, nor can the 



whole be seen at one view. A plan of this kind, therefore, differs 



from the avenue staircase, merely in not being carried straightforward, 



but either returning in a parallel flight from tlie half-space or first 



I landing, or having the second flight at right angles with the first. The 



I last is the case at the Reform Club-house, where the staircase consists 



, of three enclosed flights, the last being a return one to the fir«t, and 



' landing upon the gallery around the upper part of the inner hall or 



saloon. That at Burleigh, too, is similarly planned. The same mode 



may be adopted for circular or semicircular as well as rectangiilar 



plans ; and one advantage attending it is, that, while the ascent itself 



is as spacious and commodious as if the whole were entirely upen^ 



there may be a secondary staircase for servants, shut up within the 



larger one." 



' * « » * 



' " The architectural effect of a staircase will greatly depend upon the 

 mode of lighting it. Where it is carried up only une floor, the beiC 

 mode is to light it entirely from above, either through a dome or 

 lantern in the ceiling, or by making Wie upper part of the walls just 



'. beneath the ceiling a continued lantern. If there are windows on the 



' landings of the several flights, the ellect will be iinproveil by their 

 being hlled with stained glass, especially if toward* a back court; or, 



[ if a conservator)' can be carried out on the level of the first lamling, so 

 as to show itself through glazed folding-doors, a very pleasing and 

 cheerful eflect is obtained, even though tlie conservatory itself should 

 be hardly more than a glazed viraiida. .■\s to material, slone is greatly 

 preferable to wood for stairs, if only on account of greater security in 

 c.uie of fire ; in lieu of stoue, cast-iron ni.iy Iw employeil. M.irble is 

 very rarely used for sUiirs in this country, and whenever it is, it should 

 be left unpolished on the I read*, or it would be dangerous to descend 

 them. The siuue remark applies to st^iirs of wainscot, unless they are 

 carpeted nearly tlitir entire width." 



