hidden stairs

Bunkers, shelters and other buildings
warringtonrhino
Posts: 476
Joined: Sat 18 Feb, 2012 2:31 pm

hidden stairs

Post by warringtonrhino »

Several years ago I had to survey some adjoining properties in Leeds.
I am not sure exactly where they were, but we were very near the Eagle Tavern .
The properties were3 storey, but initially we could not see the means of getting upstairs.
On the party wall there was a fire/oven with double full height cupboards on either side.
The cupboard on the outside wall had air vents so we assumed it was the food pantry.
The cupboard on the inside wall had a stone sink and timber draining board.
We noticed a crude stair/ladder which could be accessed by standing on the draining board.
This gave access to the first floor, and there was a more conventional stair up to the second floor.
Of the 6 properties, 4 had shops on the ground floor, one had a bakery oven and one seemed to be a 3 storey house.
All had Jewish artefacts, but they had been empty for several years.
I have done sketches illustrating the secret stair.
Do you think the stair was done to save money, or to conceal the upper floors?
Attachments
hiddenstair 2.jpg
hiddenstair 2.jpg (78.36 KiB) Viewed 2959 times
hidden stair.jpg
hidden stair.jpg (78.47 KiB) Viewed 2959 times

j.c.d.
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Re: hidden stairs

Post by j.c.d. »

Very interesting, were the properties on the town side of the Eagle Pub ?

warringtonrhino
Posts: 476
Joined: Sat 18 Feb, 2012 2:31 pm

Re: hidden stairs

Post by warringtonrhino »

I was employed by Samuel Smiths Brewery, and set up a small 'office' in the tavern.
From memory the buildings we surveyed were within 1/4mile of the pub, towards Leeds.
Sorry I cannot be more specific, but working close to beer pumps made me loose my memory :D

j.c.d.
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Joined: Mon 27 Jan, 2014 4:54 pm

Re: hidden stairs

Post by j.c.d. »

In the late 50s I worked for a carpet firm in North Street and we had a string of shops above and below the Eagle pub. one was No.. 148 and then going down to the Pub was a Jewish grocers / Deli then Hymie Bloombergs bakery (with Bagels quite out of this world), then a tailoring firm, a couple more I can't remember before the Eagle whch at that time , like the White Stag were pubs that were really not very well frequented, maybe the property you referred to with the ovens was Hymies bakery,

LS1
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Joined: Mon 23 Jul, 2007 8:30 am

Re: hidden stairs

Post by LS1 »

Could it be in the part of the Eagle that was once the tailors? If you look at the Eagle face on, the right hand bottom part was once a separate shop. Please see the attached picture. (link below)
http://www.leodis.org/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

warringtonrhino
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Joined: Sat 18 Feb, 2012 2:31 pm

Re: hidden stairs

Post by warringtonrhino »

They might have been part of the Eagle.

We surveyed several buildings and they were all adjacent.
I think the properties were to be sold for the land,so we didn't have to take many details.

Does anyone have a view on why the stairs were hidden?

LS1
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Joined: Mon 23 Jul, 2007 8:30 am

Re: hidden stairs

Post by LS1 »

warringtonrhino wrote:They might have been part of the Eagle.

We surveyed several buildings and they were all adjacent.
I think the properties were to be sold for the land,so we didn't have to take many details.

Does anyone have a view on why the stairs were hidden?
Unless it was just a really bad design as a lot of the hastily constructed, badly planned buildings round there were.

Omegaman
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Re: hidden stairs

Post by Omegaman »

I reckon the stairs originally went to floor level and the bottom few steps were removed to allow construction of the sink or draining board.
The shop may have had no need to use or access the upper floors.

Just my 2 penn'orth.
If it aint broke.........Break it!

j.c.d.
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Joined: Mon 27 Jan, 2014 4:54 pm

Re: hidden stairs

Post by j.c.d. »

The Company I worked for in North Street had about 10 corner shops around that area and only some of them had access to the upper floors. they were originally small business premises with the owner living upstairs but I guess in later years the stairs were removed to make more space on the ground floor as they became "lock up shops".

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liits
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Re: hidden stairs

Post by liits »

Are you sure that the "stairs" were actually stairs, and not just the way that the chimney stack was built to reduce it in width from double width [to include fireplace and oven at first floor [and possible at ground floor too] to single width as it passed through the second floor.
My supposition is this.
Full building.jpg
Full building.jpg (1.12 MiB) Viewed 2741 times
On the ground floor [had it originally been two rooms with a fireplace in each [as indicated by the red line] or did it have, as the room above had , a fireplace and an oven?] a double width chimney breast.
On the first floor, as you have illustrated, a double width chimney in a single room with a fireplace and oven, the alcoves to either side being enclosed in cupboards, one with a sink.
On the second floor, a single, full width room with a reduced width chimney breast and single fireplace.
Here is the guesswork part, I reckon that either;
the stair-head you have shown at the second floor level was not as the building was originally built and that it had been “let in” to the floor at a later date.
Or........ the stair-head you have shown at the second floor level was not as the building was originally built and that it had been “let in” to the floor at a later date as a result of the building being partitioned. i.e, the building had been divided into two buildings and that this was the only way of gaining access to a room whose original staircase was at the opposite end to the chimney but would now be behind a dividing wall.
hiddenstair 2.jpg
hiddenstair 2.jpg (653.47 KiB) Viewed 2741 times
I've cheated with the pic and added the partition wall but removed the stair-head and sink.

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