Bell pull

The staff staircase links the three main floors of the house behind closed doors, to conceal the movements of servants going about the work of the house. Carrying cleaning equipment, laundry, fireplace supplies, and other mundane or unpleasant materials were the duties of the household staff, and were kept out of sight of the family’s spaces as much as possible. The staircase rises directly from the kitchen and continues to the staff bedrooms on the third floor.

This wool needlepoint bell pull in the second floor hall is still attached to its bell mechanism, which rings in the kichen dowstairs to discreetly summon the servants for assistance. The bellpull hangs just outside the door which conceals the back service passage and staff staircase.