The House
The Silver Staircase
Prior to the
First World War it used to take three men three
weeks to dismantle, polish and re-assemble the
balustrade. Subsequently, it had not been cleaned
at all, and by 1980 the whole staircase looked like
the end panel at the top of the stairs, when a
couple from Edinburgh gallantly volunteered to
restore it to its former glory.
The cantilevered marble stairs were inspired by Madame de
Pompadour’s staircase at the Petit Trianon,
Versailles. The balustrade is silver plated and the
rail solid brass. The pattern is a swirling
Vitruvian scroll motif used for ironwork all over
the house including the iron grilles outside the
dining-room. Its magnificent sparkle is
maintained by a team of volunteers who polish
it three times a year.
The First Floor
The width and classical columns make the upper
corridor very elegant. The door to the right at
the top of the stairs, leads to the bachelors’ wing
where single gentlemen guests slept, segregated by Edwardian social rules. The arched edroom
doors give a further note of refinement to an
area of the house normally left plain. The carpet
is the original.
The North Bedroom
Decorated in
turquoise with crimson damask curtains, is at the
far end of the next passage. As in all the rooms,
two tasselled bell-pulls beside the bed are
marked either ‘up’ or ‘down’. ‘Up’ called a maid
from the top floor, where all the female staff
lived; ‘down’, a manservant from the basement.
The North Dressing-Room next
door houses a collection of samplers from the
mid-eighteenth century onwards, which was
bought as a collection when the house was being
furnished. Field-Marshall Earl Haig of
World War I fame, slept here in 1927.
In the Portico Bedroom the giltwood suite, upholstered with tapestry, is in the style of Louis XVI. Wall brackets, fireplaces and even bell-levers are inset with Wedgwood plaques. The glassfronted wardrobe was built especially for this room to reflect the light and help brighten the room. It is, however, very unflattering to the figure!
It is worth remembering that the lift was only installed in 1960, and, prior to this, everything – from coal to food and tableware – had to be carried up the Back Stairs by servants of whom Sir James and Lady Miller employed twenty-two. Today the house is looked after by a team of three dedicated part-time ladies.
