About
Staircase House is a remarkable medieval merchant's townhouse in the heart of Stockport's historic Market Place, preserved and interpreted to reveal seven centuries of continuous domestic occupation. Opened as a museum in 2005 following painstaking restoration, the house takes its name from its most extraordinary feature: a seventeenth-century cage-newel staircase that is among the finest examples of Jacobean carpentry anywhere in England.
The building's origins lie in the medieval period, with the earliest phases of construction dating to around 1460. The house grew and was modified by successive owners across the centuries, with each phase leaving traces in the fabric: medieval timber-framing, Elizabethan panelling, Jacobean plasterwork, Georgian sash windows, and Victorian fittings that together make the building a uniquely complete record of English domestic architecture and life.
The museum's approach is innovative and engaging. Rather than presenting static period rooms, Staircase House uses atmospheric reconstruction to evoke life as it was actually lived within the building during different periods of its history. Visitors move through rooms furnished and interpreted to represent specific moments in time — a medieval merchant's household, a Jacobean gentleman's parlour, a Georgian kitchen, and a Victorian parlour — each populated with reproduction objects and interpreted through the voices and stories of the real people who lived here.
The cage-newel staircase that gives the house its name dates from the early seventeenth century and is a structural and decorative tour de force. Its newel posts are formed as cage-like frames rather than solid uprights, creating an intricate lattice of timber through which the staircase rises to the upper floors. This design, rare in England and extraordinarily well-preserved at Staircase House, demonstrates the exceptional skill of Jacobean joiners and the ambitions of the house's early seventeenth-century owners.
The museum is free to enter and forms part of Stockport's remarkable cluster of heritage attractions alongside the Air Raid Shelters and Hat Works. It is managed by Stockport Council and staffed by knowledgeable guides who bring the building's layered history to life for visitors of all ages.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
💡 Visitor Tips
- Ask for a guided tour from the staff on arrival — they bring the building's history to life with fascinating stories.
- The cage-newel staircase is the star attraction — take time to examine its intricate joinery closely.
- The building is small, so allow yourself to take it slowly and absorb the atmosphere of each period room.
- Combine your visit with the Air Raid Shelters (5 minutes' walk) and Hat Works for a full day of Stockport heritage.
- Free entry means you can return on another day — repeat visits reveal new details.
- Check whether costumed interpretation is scheduled — these special sessions add greatly to the experience.
- The Market Place outside has a traditional market on several days of the week — time your visit to coincide.
- Wear comfortable shoes as the stairs and floors are authentic historic surfaces — uneven in places.
Highlights
Discover the unique exhibits and collections at this museum.
Collections
Staircase House's primary collection is the building itself and its architectural fabric, supplemented by reproduction period furnishings and objects used in the atmospheric room reconstructions. Original finds from the building's archaeological investigation are displayed in context throughout the house.
The museum holds associated archival material documenting the building's history and its occupants, including wills, inventories, and documentary references from the fifteenth century onwards.
Medieval Merchant's Hall
Reconstruction of the original hall and domestic spaces of the mid-fifteenth-century merchant's house.
📍 Ground floor
The Jacobean House
Parlour, chamber, and service rooms as they might have appeared in the early seventeenth century, featuring the cage-newel staircase.
📍 Ground and first floor
Georgian and Victorian Rooms
Reconstructed domestic spaces illustrating the changing life of the house from the eighteenth to the late nineteenth century.
📍 Upper floors
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.