‘Saving the Staircases’ is an essential project to address the urgent need to repair, conserve, strengthen, and protect the two staircases at Montacute House for the future.
Completed in 1601, Montacute House is a daring example of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design. The two arterial staircases at each end are vital to the architectural nature of the house, both in practical and structural terms.
The challenge
Until recently, visitors could pass through the same rooms used by the Phelips family in the early 17th century. The hundreds of years of footfall has taken its toll on the Hamstone, which the staircases are made from. This stone, quarried less than two miles away from the house, holds the stories of those who have walked on it but is vulnerable due to its’ soft and porous nature.
The treads and landings of the stairs are made from large pieces of expertly cut Hamstone and are built into the walls. Some of the treads are single pieces of stone at least 1.5m in length, others are made from two pieces of stone connected via toggle joints. The flights of steps are separated by landings that balance on the treads through joggle joints.
For at least one hundred years attempts have been made to support the staircases. However, wear has caused loss of stone in the treads and, significantly, in the toggle and joggle joints. This led to the South stairs being closed to visitors in 2018, followed by the North stairs in 2023.
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The solution
We have worked alongside many experts, including Historic England, to develop a long-term solution for the staircases; to make them safe and protect the stone for future use.
This solution is twofold. First, approximately 10% of each staircase will be supported on the underside with chamfered steel beams.
Second, to protect the soft stone treads and landings, the National Trust Specialist Craft team will make and install covers for each one. Every covering protection will be bespoke, as the 22 landings and 104 treads are all different. They will partly be made from oak from National Trust estates, felled during woodland management.
Blacksmiths are creating a unique fitting that will fix the protections to the treads and landings. The fittings are designed to prevent any further loss of stone during installation by using holes that already exist in the stone.
The covers will not encase stairs, with the stone upright of each tread still visible. The stairs will look and sound different in the future though, but this solution allows the stories of their past to be preserved.
Frequently asked questions
The project is primarily being funded by legacy gifts that have been left to the National Trust. Other fundraising streams are also being explored and utilised, such as philanthropy. Fundraising will also be taking place at Montacute House, so talk to one of team about how you can support.
There are hundreds of necessary and compelling projects across the National Trust every year, and the organisation is not able to fully fund them all. This is why most projects are funded through a mixture of internal and external sources.
The National Trust would like to sincerely thank all those who have left a gift in their will which has enabled this project to go ahead.
A fundraising campaign for 'Save the Staircases' is under way and we welcome support at any level. If you are visiting Montacute House, pick up the specially designed project pin badge from any till.
You can also donate online using the button above.
If you would like to discuss a larger gift, please contact Eli Baker, Philanthropy Consultant, at eli.baker@nationaltrust.org.uk or by phone at 07436 048139 for more information or to arrange a site visit.
We are also looking for volunteers for a new role, delivering short, scripted talks to visitors about the project. You do not need to know the history of Montacute House, you just need to like people. It is a great opportunity to gain experience, working alongside a friendly and supportive team.
The new volunteer role will begin in September, doing a day a week. We will train you and support you while you are volunteering with us. Apply via the National Trust volunteering website.
Practically they are vital because houses at this time did not have corridors (the one at Montacute House was added in 1787), instead people would flow through each of the rooms and floors via the staircases at either end. They are structurally vital because they were integral to the construction of the house so continue to be integral to its structure to this day.
Joggle joints are a specialised type of joint used in construction to interlock blocks together. Joggled joints often have a zigzag or jigsaw like pattern to them. These are found in the treads where the stones are interlocked. Toggle joints are the same, but they are where landings meet the treads.
The staircases are at risk of collapse if no action is taken. This project will preserve a landmark building, but also means that visitors can again experience Montacute House in its entirety. After all, it is the people moving through the house that make its stories come to life.
Fully opening the house will unlock future ambitions. It will create opportunities to tell different stories, to connect with a wider and more diverse audience, and to share inspiring views and experiences with everyone, for ever.
Listed Building Consent was received from the local authority on the 28 November 2025. Enabling works took place through December, and the construction phase commences on 6 January 2026. It is estimates that the work will take 12 months.
The wider property (garden, estate, café and shop) will remain open during construction.
It is anticipated that most of the ground floor of the house (the Great Hall, Dining Room, Parlour and Drawing Room) will remain open whilst the work is carried out. It may be that the whole house will have to close for periods of time, for example, if excessive noise is being made. The Lower Clifton Maybank corridor will be closed whilst the work is being carried out, so that all access to the staircases is contained.
There is some interpretation about the project available in the South Porter's Lodge and in the Drawing Room, which is also acting as a temporary store for some collection items. There will also be specially dedicated ‘Saving the Staircases’ volunteers to talk to visitors, who will be able to share a 360-degree virtual tour of the ground floor for those who cannot access it.
The Lower Clifton Maybank corridor will be closed whilst the work is being carried out, so that all access to the staircases is contained. Normally, the step-free ramp access to Montacute House is via the West door on the Lower Clifton Maybank corridor.
Alternative arrangements have been investigated and expert advice sought, however, it was concluded that it was not possible to provide ramp access through other entrances.
Other means of exploring the ground floor of the house are being provided during this period. For example, volunteers have been specially recruited to talk to people about the project. Tablets with a 360º experience of the rooms on the ground floors are being provided, so people can have a virtual tour. Visitors can also join the volunteer-led Elizabethan Welcome tours about the house and its history that take place twice a day (weekdays, subject to weather and volunteer availability).
Project updates
Aug 2023
Aug 2023
A project has been in the pipeline since 2018, when the South stairs was closed, to address the fact that both staircases have deteriorated due to hundreds of years of wear and tear. It was paused due to the Covid pandemic.
As a result of the closure of the South stairs, the additional two-way footfall on the North stairs was having a cumulative impact. Therefore, it was advised that access to these stairs is closely controlled.
National Trust conservation staff and agreed third parties continue to access the first and second floors, when necessary, whilst adhering to the strict guidance that has been issued.
The conservation team have been spending time ‘putting the upper floors to bed’. This involves deep cleaning the historic interiors from top to bottom and then checking and cleaning the furniture and furnishings. Once this is done, the objects are covered up to protect them from dust accumulation and exposure to light.
Oct 2023
Oct 2023
Given the long-term nature of the project some lenders, including the National Portrait Gallery, moved their collection items back to their own stores or for display elsewhere.
Nov 2023
Nov 2023
Due to its exceptional special architectural and historic interest, Montacute House is a Grade 1 listed building. The team engaged with Historic England, including their structural engineers, to find an appropriate structural solution for both staircases.
Jan 2024
Jan 2024
A Conservation Condition Report was carried out by conservation accredited architects. This survey looks at the fabric of the whole building and makes expert recommendations about its care. It is carried out on a cyclical basis for all National Trust properties but has been useful at this time to understand the condition of the staircase and the urgency of the repair.
The survey from the Conservation Condition Report was received in February, and reviewed by a Quantity Surveyor. It, along with other reports and surveys, fed into discussions on the structural solution for the staircases. These were then developed and worked through with Historic England’s Structural Engineer. The solution will continue to be refined over the coming months.
Apr 2024
Apr 2024
To help refine the structural solution for the staircases, dynamic load testing took place in April 2024. The test involves simulating the effects of a dynamic load on a material. In this case, it simulated the effect of footsteps on the treads and landings. This type of testing is not often carried out on stone steps, but the results will provide a clearer picture of vulnerabilities within the staircases.
Jul 2024
Levelling up on the South Staircase
One of the aims of the project is to ensure protections are in place to prevent future wear of the stone. What that ‘future protection’ looks like is still being researched and tested. However, the South stairs present an additional complication—they are very uneven. The difference in depth is as much as 50mm in places.
In May and June, the project architects worked on proposed solutions to even up the treads and landings. In July, the National Trust Specialist Craft team started testing these. Work continues, so we will keep you up to date with progress. Any solution will have to be approved by English Heritage and the local authorities.
Sep 2024
Sep 2024
Using the results from the tests and investigations over the summer months, the project architects and structural engineers have been refining the solution to support and protect the staircases.
It is a bespoke solution that has taken many factors into account, including the unique nature of the staircases and the fact the treads and landing are all slightly different to each other.
The solution involves providing structural support to the treads and landings from underneath, and structural protection from above. Protecting the top of the steps will prevent further wear of the stone, and especially the joints critical to maintaining the integrity of the staircases.
Further work to develop and test the solution is underway, in consultation with Historic England.
Nov 2024
Nov 2024
The solution for repairing the staircases continues to be developed in consultation with Historic England.
Dec 2024 to Jun 2025
Dec 2024 to Jun 2025
During this period extensive consultations took place with Historic England and their Advisory Committee, as well as the Society for Protection for Ancient Buildings and a number of conservation specialists.
The has allowed the solution to be refined so that is sensitive to historic context of Montacute House.
Jul 2025
Jul 2025
Listed building consent was submitted to the local authority,
Listed building consent is a type of planning control that protects buildings of special architectural or historical interest. It is required when any alterations, extensions, or demolitions are made to a listed building that affects it character or appearance.
The local authority, in this case Somerset Council, is the body that considers whether to grant or refuse LBC. It is advised the process takes between eight and ten weeks, however, this can vary.
Nov 2025
Nov 2025
On 28 November Listed Building Consent was received from Somerset Council.
Whilst waiting for the consent, the project moved through the next stage of the National Trust internal governance process. A tender process was also carried out to find a contractor who would be able to install the steel beams underneath the treads and landings.
Dec 2025
Dec 2025
The contractor who will be installing the steel beams was appointed. Daedalus Conservation has previously worked on major National Trust projects including at Cliveden and Castle Drogo.
The Collections & House team have been carrying out enabling works prior to the construction phase beginning. Collection items have been moved from the Lower Clifton Maybank Corridor, with some items going into store and some being displayed in the Drawing Room. Dust protections are being installed to protect the fabric of the building as well. Some elements of this work could have taken place prior to receiving Listed Building Consent but this would have meant more areas of the ground floor being closed to visitors, which we wished to avoid for as long as possible.
Jan 2026
Jan 2026
Construction work for the Saving the Staircases project began in January 2026, marking an exciting step forward.
The specialist contractors, Daedalus Conservation, arrived at the beginning of the month, with their compound set up in part of the overflow car park.
To allow safe access for the team, the West Door is serving as the contractors’ entrance. As a result, heras fencing has been installed outside, and the Lower Clifton Maybank Corridor on the ground floor is currently closed.
Inside the house, extensive dust and surface protection has been put in place to safeguard the corridor as scaffolding was erected on the South Stairs. Creating this scaffold was one of the project’s more complex challenges, due to the narrowness of the staircase and the delicate nature of the landings it rests on.
Feb 2026
Feb 2026
February saw steady progress, with important investigative work helping to shape the next stages of the project.
Part of that was to remove the plaster work around the window lintels on the South staircase to assess their strength as these timber beams need to be able to support the new steelwork beams designed to stabilise the landings. The good news was that the lintels are strong enough to carry the new steels, allowing us to proceed.
It was also discovered that the original 17th-century builders used green, undried timber for the lintels, which has since shrunk. This caused the Hamstone blocks above to settle slightly—a natural change over four centuries. While not a structural concern, it explains why the landings have been affected as they lost support on one side. However, this movement does provide the space needed to install new steel supports, and the stones can be carefully returned to their original position.
The contractors, Daedalus Conservation, then created full‑size plywood templates of the new steel components. These allowed us to test the fit precisely before they are manufactured offsite.
Mar 2026
Mar 2026
March was a busy month for the Saving the Staircases project, although much of the work was taking place away from Montacute House itself.
Early in the month, the Project Manager visited the Brockhampton Estate in Herefordshire, where the oak for the new step and landing protections is being sourced. This oak was felled three years ago as part of Brockhampton’s countryside management programme and has been air-drying outdoors in rough-cut form ever since. While three years may sound sufficient, the timber still retained a high moisture content. Using it at this stage could have caused movement or twisting over time. To prevent this, the large timbers were cut down further and then slow-dried in a kiln, ensuring the wood will remain stable once installed as protective covers.
March also saw progress on the steelwork needed to support certain steps and landings. Steel beams were fabricated at a specialist manufacturing facility near Stockbridge. Using the wooden templates, the beams were produced in sections and then welded together – rather like a heavy-duty version of flat-pack furniture. The finished beams were galvanised to protect them from corrosion and will be painted once they have been installed on site.
Apr 2026
Apr 2026
Work on the Saving the Staircases project continued steadily throughout April. The manufacturing of the new steel beams for the South Staircases carried on off site, while back at the house, specialists from Daedalus were focused on repairing areas of the historic plasterwork.
Installing the new supports
Midway through the month marked an important milestone, as the steel beams were delivered and installation began. This stage has helped us better understand how the building was originally constructed — and, as is often the case with historic houses, it brought a few surprises.
While some walls, particularly the central ashlar (finely cut stone) columns, are made from solid stone, other areas are not as uniform as they appear. As drilling began, the team discovered that parts of the walls contain far more loose rubble between stone layers than expected.
To protect the fragile plasterwork and avoid vibrations that could damage these less solid areas, the team switched to core drilling, a more controlled method. Although this process removes slightly more material than standard drilling, our design team quickly developed a solution that allows the fixings to work effectively while minimising impact on the historic fabric. This approach takes a little more time, but ensures the building is treated with the care it needs.
Creating bespoke step coverings
At the same time, the South West Specialist Craft team has been hard at work preparing protective coverings for the staircases. In total, this involves 104 steps and 22 landings across the two staircases.
Each step requires a completely bespoke solution. The process begins with crafting a set of wedges for every tread — typically five per step — to ensure the surface is level and safe to walk on. Every wedge is individually shaped, carefully measured and numbered so it fits exactly in the right place.
This detailed process is also helping us better understand the wear on the staircases. Variations in wedge depth reveal where centuries of footfall have had the greatest impact — something that isn’t always visible to the eye alone.
Before moving to the next stage, each wedge is tested for stability to ensure it won’t rock or shift. A layer of cork is then added to the base of the wedge, providing a protective cushion between the oak and the historic stone beneath.
May 2026
May 2026
May marked a real milestone for the Saving the Staircases project – a moment to pause, reflect and celebrate how far the project has come.
One of the most significant achievements this month was the installation of the steel supports underneath the South Staircase. While the process took slightly longer than anticipated – and revealed even more about the historic fabric of the house along the way – the result is a staircase that is now stronger than it has ever been.
Installing the steels was no small feat. Working in extremely tight spaces, the team had to manoeuvre heavy materials with precision and care. Once in position, the supports were put through rigorous weight testing to ensure they could safely accommodate visitor traffic. Those first few minutes of testing felt long, but the results were exactly what we hoped for – everything passed with flying colours.
Equally impressive is the attention to detail in the finishing work. The ‘making-good’ and mortar repairs around the new insertions have been carried out so sensitively that you would hardly know any work had taken place.
The arrival of the oak
Alongside the structural progress, the month of May also saw the delivery of the oak for the new staircase elements – a significant moment in the project timeline.
The timber was brought up to the Long Gallery, where it is currently acclimatising. Before arriving at Montacute House, the oak was kiln-dried to around 8% moisture content. However, for floorboards to perform well in situ, they need to have a slightly higher moisture content than this. By allowing the wood to gradually absorb the natural humidity of the house, we can reduce the risk of movement and ensure longevity once installed. This process requires some management. The Specialist Crafts team are regularly turning the boards to make sure they adjust evenly, avoiding any imbalance in moisture absorption.
At the same time, work continues on the finely crafted wedges that will ensure each step cover sits perfectly level. These small but crucial components highlight the level of precision required – every step is effectively a bespoke piece, designed to fit the building exactly.
Explore the garden of Montacute House throughout the seasons. See the yew trees, affectionately known as ‘wibbly wobbly’ hedges, or take a few moments of tranquillity in the Orangery.
