Staircase Restoration For Listed Building in London’s Tin Pan Alley

We were recently hired by a main contractor to work on the restoration of a listed building in London’s famous Denmark Street which is also known as “Tin Pan Alley”. This was a commercial customer who needed help in restoring and replacing parts of an existing staircase for a 17th Century structure. This included stabilising and levelling the stairs over four floors.

The staircases were a carriage beam design. This is where the treads and risers are formed on 2 or 3 timbers that run between the floors and landings. The stairs had barley twist spindles which confirmed the stairs were completely in keeping with the age of the properties.

The staircases had moved with the building over the years resulting in the treads being out of level by up to 75mm in places. We were able to level the staircases without disturbing the newel posts, strings and spindles, this required some very careful and time-consuming practices.

We also utilised Plywood gussets and glue blocks in order to connect the treats and the risers to the carriage beams, which helps to stop deflection. We repaired 80% of the treads. The other 20% were replaced

The tread of the step is the part that people step on to climb the stairs. The riser is the part of the step that adds height. Both these parts are crucial to the stairs being able to function normally. We made sure that they were in peak working condition by the time we were finished.

The basement staircase also required repairs. These featured simple square newel and stick balusters. However, from the ground floor and above, these stairs featured a moulded closed string with barley-twist balusters. Some of the balusters were missing or damaged. Utilising our many years of combined experience, we were able to recreate new balusters to match the existing design in every detail.

Edward Whiteley ARB of Ian Chalk Architects had this to say about our work:

“We are satisfied with all other works as observed on site. Paul, thanks again for the work – great to see stair repaired and preserved for the future.”

If you would like to learn any more information about our restoration of the stairs within this 17th Century listed building situated in Tin Pan Alley – get in touch with us!

Denmark Street – Tin Pan Alley

There are many famous streets in London, and Denmark Street is one of them. Situated near the West End, this road was developed in the late 17th Century and is named after Prince George of Denmark. As of the 1950s, this street has become synonymous with pop music in Britain being referred to Tin Pan Alley.

This is because of the numerous amounts of music producers, recording studios and music shops that were based there. To commemorate how important this place is to the music industry, it was awarded one of London’s famous blue plaques.

Before being associated with music, this was a residential street. However, businesses began to take over in the 19th Century. Metalwork was once the widespread trade – however music publishers then took over. In the 60s this was once again replaced by recording studios and music shops.

The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Elton John are among the famous faces who have been associated with Tin Pan Alley. Parts of this street are listed to protect the history behind the buildings. This is why we were brought in to repair the staircases that needed to be looked after.

Restoration By Professional Joiners

If you’re looking for professional joinery work either as a residential or commercial customer, we here at Nightingale Joinery are the perfect choice for you. We believe in making the impossible, possible. We were proud to be a part of restoring Tin Pan Alley’s history and essentially becoming part of the history ourselves.

Our team are dedicated to creating bespoke and innovative timber installations that may seem impossible. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today!

Staircase Restoration Prices, London