Social History

Here we discuss the social history of the hall, landing and staircase. The Victorian or Edwardian hall was the most public face of the house; the perfect hall would have been spacious, with impressive décor, with room for a visitor to sit, a fireplace for warmth, and some screening to the rest of the house. In larger houses the hall was even used as a living room.

For the many smaller houses, not all of this was possible. Few houses had a hall large enough to use as a living space. A 'half-hall' i.e. a hall half the depth of the house, with the service rooms behind, was a typical layout. Edwardian houses had wider frontages so there was often more room for a useful hall.