Photograph of the original full-width Stone Staircase and pointed arches installed by Rateau, seen from the Inner Hall. Two torcheres of Rateau’s design stand between the arches.
Although the staircase was brand new when photographed, the treads had an uneven finish to give the impression that they had been worn down over many centuries of use. The staircase was altered to its present form in the 1950s to create a new entrance to the Yellow Drawing Room to the left.
Another copy at PH5/56. See P3/40/4/61 for torchere design drawing.
The photographs in series PH15 were formerly part of an album presented by Rateau to Olive Wilson Filmer on 10 May 1930 to mark the end of his work at Leeds Castle. Notes in the Leeds Castle archive catalogue indicate that there were originally two albums, which over time were broken up and the contents mixed up or dispersed.
