Bespoke Victorian Spiral for a Grade I listed Chapel

Located beside Oxford’s lively Deer Park, Brasenose College Chapel is a key centre for the University of Oxford’s vibrant Christian community. The chapel’s seventeenth-century architecture is a blend of Gothic, Neoclassical, and Baroque influences. As part of recent restoration work on the chapel’s organ, we worked with Lee/Fitzgerald Architects to design and manufacture a bespoke spiral staircase which reflects the chapel’s rich architectural history and will allow simpler maintenance of the organ.

The elevated organ provides a decorative focal point within the chapel. Due to the building’s Grade I listed status, the staircase design needed to be carefully considered to complement the building’s architecture. The presence of burial sites in the area below the staircase meant that the fixings also needed to be carefully considered. Through our experience working on conservation projects, we were able to overcome these challenges and adapt one of our trusted Victorian Spiral Stair designs to provide a cost-effective solution which met the specific requirements of the chapel’s protected status.

A Bespoke Solution

Lee/Fitzgerald Architects first contacted us after an online search led them to our website. Through our discussions with Tim Lee, the lead designer and coordinating architect for the project, we were able to develop a design based on our Victorian Spiral Staircase range with the addition of a specially commissioned fascia developed from a reference image from another staircase in the chapel. This approach allowed us to create a staircase that fits seamlessly within the space and was acceptable to the conservation officers, whilst also allowing us to use our existing Victorian treads and spindle designs – greatly limiting costs and timescales.

We developed the designs using our computer-aided design (CAD) software. This enabled the design to be easily visualised and adjusted before work began on manufacturing. Ascending in a clockwise rotation, the staircase spans a height of 4.49 meters over 21 treads along with a landing plate.

To suit the period of the chapel and meet the conservation requirements, the staircase was designed with just a single spindle per tread. This design is not possible on most of our staircases as UK Building Regulations require that no gaps in the staircase be wider than 100 mm.

Overcoming Unique Challenges

In addition to the aesthetic considerations, installing the staircase in a historic space posed some practical challenges. The foundation design had to accommodate archaeological complexities, and there were limited options to connect with the existing structure. Positioning the staircase discreetly alongside the historic screen, while structurally securing it to the fabric, left only a single viable location – tightly situated between listed funerary monuments and historic paintings.

Preparing the foundation for installation also posed its own set of challenges. Archaeological excavations revealed burial sites beneath, meaning the support could not be anchored directly to the ground. Instead, we incorporated a steel cantilever bracket into the design that would be bolted to the mass stone foundation wall of the structure, just above burial level, leaving the chapel’s installation team with as simple a task as possible.

Manufacturing the Staircase

With these challenges addressed and the design finalised, work could then start on manufacturing the staircase. Our Staffordshire foundry has full pattern making capabilities and the team were able to take the CAD designs to develop the custom moulds for the fascia and produce these along with the other staircase components. These pieces were then delivered to our workshop here in Derbyshire where they were finished, and each fascia was welded in place. As with all our projects, the team them completed a test build of the staircase to ensure everything was spot on. The pieces were then powder coated black in our specialist facility before being sent on to the site in Oxford for installation.

A Grand Addition

Once installed, the staircase seamlessly merged with the chapel’s history. Tim Lee explained there were numerous remarks that the staircase “looks as if it has always been there”, standing as a testament to the product’s quality.

Tim also emphasised, “What began as quite a complicated project, had a very satisfactory outcome. I was particularly impressed by the precision of the installation guide, the speed of erection, and the quality of the finished product. British Spirals & Castings’ expertise, user-friendly approach, and straightforward attitude across the organisation truly made this project a success.”

If you are an architect with a client looking to have a bespoke staircase, or a homeowner interested in one of your own, you can visit our gallery and submit a quote or get in touch via phone or email.