Hertford House Stairs

“Is it possible to fall in love with a staircase?”, I once wondered in this blog. That I now write about another staircase worthy of adoration would suggest an answer in the affirmative. Yes, another beautiful stair I saw in the autumn, this time at Hertford House, located on London’s Manchester Square. It was once the townhouse of the Dukes of Manchester and then the Marquises of Hertford, and is now a tasteful gallery. Upon entering, one sees the most exquisitely apportioned and detailed stairs. It positively invites the visitor's ascension, to enjoy it and to acquaint oneself with it. And being a fine gallery in the world’s greatest city, there are more treasures atop so that the climb will always be worth it.

Jacob’s ‘ladder’ of Genesis 28:12 which hosted numerous angels was a picture of Christ, the stair to heaven. Whereas man builds crude towers to force his way in, God graciously sends down a stairway that we might ascend freely. Christ, the stairway to heaven to whom Jacob’s dream pointed, is lovelier and more beautiful than any human art; for having entered heaven by Him, one will find delights and treasures which our mortal tongues could only describe if they were lent the vocabulary of an angel.

Every day it seems I want to love him better,
Every day it seems I want to serve him more,
Every day I strive to climb the ladder faster,
Every effort brings me nearer Canaan’s shore.

O I’m climbing up the golden stair to Glory,
O I’m climbing with my golden crown before me,
I am climbing in the light,
I am climbing day and night,
I shall shout with all my might when I get there!
O I’m climbing up the golden stair to Glory,
O I’m climbing with my golden crown before me,
I am climbing in the light,
I am climbing day and night,
I am climbing up the golden stair!

O the joy of getting others to climb with me!
Lost, despairing, broken-hearted, all may come;
Calvary-love has made the stair a very wide one;
Sinners, lay your burden down and hasten home.

-Emma Booth Tucker