page_title: Dorchester House
section_title: The grand central staircase
hierarchical_section_title: Dorchester House / The grand central staircase
caption_attribution_description: English: Grand staircase at Dorchester House, London
context_page_description: Dorchester House was a mansion in Park Lane, London, built in 1853 by Robert Stayner Holford. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for the present Dorchester Hotel.
context_section_description: Dorchester House was one of the more palatial buildings in London at the turn of the twentieth century and was frequently mentioned in publications of the time. The staircase (see picture at right) was a notable feature that received much praise. Guy Cadogan Rothery in his book Staircases and Garden Steps said.
  "The staircase itself is of marble and the steps having broad treads, moderate nosings and very low risers. A flight runs parallel to one side of the gallery to the angle of the wall where there is a landing, and then another flight parallel to the other side to the first floor, with an intermediate landing supported on small open arches. The balustrade is of marble with a broad flat handrail and dwarf pillars with swelling bases"
  The Magazine of Art described it in the following terms.
  "This staircase is one of the most beautiful and interesting portions of house, I shall describe more minutely below. It is noticeable now, as giving a key to the external appearance of the whole. Round three sides of it on the east, south and west the principal rooms are grouped; and the simplicity of the arrangement has enabled the architect to obtain an external effect of considerable grace and dignity."
  The magazine illustrated its description of the staircase with a very detailed drawing (see picture left).
caption: The grand central staircase of Dorchester House
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