Upstairs
Watching my aged mother-in-law, a few months before the end of her life, bravely tackling the two steps up to our front door, and seeing the immense effort this entailed, has made me think a little differently about steps. I’ve lived places four or five floors up without a lift, and thought little of it, but now I’m grateful that there are only two steps at our door and, although there are stairs up to our bedroom floor, they’re shallow and kind to the legs. The entrance to the house in my photograph is very different, and unusual. Those eight steps lead up to a front door that seems to be midway between the upper and lower floors, an eccentric arrangement for a house, but not uncommon in a public building such as a custom house, which this once was.
Aldeburgh, by the sea, would once have had use for a custom house, and this one is on the main street and not very far from the waterfront. Apart from those steps, the architecture of this early-19th century structure is very plain – just a panelled central door and those four large multi-pane windows, the one on the lower right provided with a second front door at a more practical level. Pantiles, typical of this region, make a roof that looks very much at home. But the simplicity, with that touch of the grandiose provided by the steps, must make for an agreeable house. And although it’s plain it’s easy to recognise: long live individualism!
Philip, I cannot see the point of the doorway halfway up the house, even if it was a custom house. What difference does that make? I'd be grateful if you could explain.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the answer to this interesting question, but this arrangement was a common one in customs houses and I THINK this might have reflected an arrangement that had the offices above, with external access, and the goods-handling area below.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the steps were to protect the occupants from a sudden onrush of immigrants!
ReplyDeleteI think anyone looking at that building would notice the puzzling steps before the charm of the building itself!
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All very weird looking. I can see that it might be helpful for controlling an unruly press of customers. But I don't know enough about the daily life of a customs house to know if that might be necessary. I assume the staircase continues upward for another 3 or 4 steps inside the door to a landing, or perhaps directly into the middle of the office...
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