House Tour
Oak Staircase
The architect C E Kempe made the present Oak Staircase out of James Wyatt's 18th-century stairs in 1894, just
in time for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York (later George V and Queen Mary). Kempe removed the stone
flight of steps which had risen to first-floor level then divided and returned to the upper floor of the south
wing in two flights, opened up the window bay and lined the walls with oak panelling.
Mrs Meynell Ingram intended to evoke the spirit of the Jacobean age by having the newel posts copied from a
genuine staircase at Slaugham Place (now in Lewes Town Hall), and the plasterwork underneath the stairs reproduced
in miniature from the design of the Long Gallery ceiling at Hatfield, the house of her friend, Lord Salisbury who
was Prime Minister at this date. She also had a copy made of the famous 'Rainbow' portrait of Queen Elizabeth,
the original of which was also at Hatfield.
Gallery Passage
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