The Ascot

A two-flight curved staircase for a Queen Anne property in Ascot hand carved, bespoke from the first drawing to the final fit.

Robert Davies came to us with architect's drawings, a concept sketch and a reference to an existing staircase he admired. He knew the scale and the style he was after, a sweeping two-flight curved staircase befitting a new Queen Anne property in Ascot and he needed a team with the skills and the facility to deliver it. A local surveyor visited to take measurements, discuss the finer details, and confirm what the drawings had already suggested: this was going to be one of the more ambitious staircases we'd built.

Initial plans and 3D drawings went back to the client for comment. Robert wanted more curve at the bottom of the staircase, a more open, sweeping approach to the front door and the technical team worked through the revision with him before a final drawing and quotation was approved. It's a stage that might seem slow, but getting the geometry of a curved staircase exactly right before a single piece of timber is touched is what makes the difference between a staircase that flows and one that doesn't.

Manufacturing a staircase like The Ascot is a process that can't be hurried. It starts on the factory floor, where the full staircase is drawn out at actual scale, a practice that sounds old-fashioned and is entirely non-negotiable. Raw timber is ordered and processed through the machine shop. Curved formers are prepared for the stringers and the handrail, and the handrail itself is hand-carved by our craftsmen. The complete staircase is then assembled in the factory, checked in full, and taken apart again for delivery to site, where the fitting team spent approximately two weeks putting it back together, this time for good.

The result, once the decorators and carpet fitters had added their finishing touches, is a staircase that does exactly what Robert asked of it. A centrepiece for a genuinely impressive home, admired by everyone who sees it. Which, given the effort that went into building it, is exactly as it should be.