Sawn sandstone staircase in a side passage

A narrow side passage turned into a staircase of banded sawn sandstone treads, between split-face sandstone cladding and a rubble sandstone wall.

This narrow side passage climbs from a paved landing beside the house to the garden above. The stair runs between the house wall, clad in split-face sandstone, and a rubble sandstone retaining wall topped with a hedge.

Each tread is a single piece of sawn sandstone with a slightly rounded nosing, and the strong banding in the stone runs across the whole flight. The landing at the bottom is paved with large pieces of the same sawn sandstone.

Where doors and windows sit in the split-face cladding, sawn sandstone reveals, heads and sills frame each opening, giving a crisp edge against the textured wall. Across the passage, the rough rubble wall gives an older, more rustic contrast to the clean sawn stone.