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Oval Hall The Oval Hallway at Stockeld Park is one of James Paine's Masterpieces. It is the centre piece of the whole design. The Palladian Villa, a design which Paine developed for the new generation of 18th Century English country gentlemen, was more domestic in scale and more suited to family life. All the main rooms lead off a central hall. The earlier design of stately home (e.g. Beningbrough) had a formal processional design from anteroom to grand salon. The great sweep off the staircase leads the eye to the central ornamented dome in the roof. To create a sense of lightness and space the stairs are cantilevered into the walls, held in place by the weight of the building itself. The staircase has ironwork balustrades, which are almost certainly by Thomas Wagg of London, transported by sea and barge to, perhaps, Tadcaster and on by carrier. Wagg was responsible for the ironwork at both Nostell Priory and the Doncaster Assembly Rooms. The curved doors are made of pine which would have been steamed and rolled over a period of 2-3 months to achieve the required shape to fit the Oval Hall. Oval Hall | Cantilever staircase | Grand Hall | Dome |
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