Ever wonder why most staircases in medieval castles were built to be
extremely narrow and spiraling in a clockwise direction? Since
medieval castles were built mainly as fortifications, staircases were
designed to make it extremely difficult for enemy combatants to fight
their way up.

Since most soldiers were right-handed, they would need to round each
curve of the inner wall before attempting to strike, inevitably
exposing themselves in the process. The clockwise spiral staircase
also allowed the defenders to use the inner wall as a partial shield
and easily allow them to swing their weapon without being hindered by
the curvature of the outer wall.

The stairs were also intentionally poorly lit and built to be uneven,
making it even more difficult for the attackers to gain any sort of
balance or momentum during their fight up to capture the castle.

https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1699126739077632278

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On Wed, 06 Sep 2023 20:34:03 -0500, JAB <[email protected]d> wrote:

Ever wonder why most staircases in medieval castles were built to be >extremely narrow and spiraling in a clockwise direction?

Dispelling Some Myths: Spiral Staircases
Updated: Aug 22, 2021
...
...
Guilty of believing that spiral staircases always twist clockwise, it
is time to dispel that particular myth. So, here is James' account of
one of the ten myths associated with mediaeval buildings, and the
(often more interesting) realities hiding behind them.


https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-spiral-staircases

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On 9/6/2023 10:11 PM, JAB wrote:

On Wed, 06 Sep 2023 20:34:03 -0500, JAB<[email protected]d> wrote:

Ever wonder why most staircases in medieval castles were built to be
extremely narrow and spiraling in a clockwise direction?

Dispelling Some Myths: Spiral Staircases

I know that spiral staircases were popular in firehouses, so the horses
pulling the carts didn't wander up the stairs.

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On Fri, 08 Sep 2023 19:02:38 -0400, Michael Trew
<[email protected]> wrote:

I know that spiral staircases were popular in firehouses, so the horses >pulling the carts didn't wander up the stairs.

These new, more efficient, higher water capacity trucks were pulled by
horses. While the horses were stabled downstairs with the engines, the
firemen slept and cooked upstairs. Horses would follow the food smells
and climb the stairs. To prevent the horses from doing this, the
firemen installed spiral staircases.

https://www.redzone.co/2016/09/09/spiral-staircases-fire-poles/

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On 9/8/2023 7:44 PM, JAB wrote:

On Fri, 08 Sep 2023 19:02:38 -0400, Michael Trew
<[email protected]> wrote:

I know that spiral staircases were popular in firehouses, so the horses
pulling the carts didn't wander up the stairs.

These new, more efficient, higher water capacity trucks were pulled by horses. While the horses were stabled downstairs with the engines, the firemen slept and cooked upstairs. Horses would follow the food smells
and climb the stairs. To prevent the horses from doing this, the
firemen installed spiral staircases.

https://www.redzone.co/2016/09/09/spiral-staircases-fire-poles/

Our central fire station in downtown East Liverpool was built over 90
years ago, I believe. I'd imagine that they still have a fire pole and
spiral staircase, but I couldn't say if either were still used. I've
always wanted to try one of those fire poles... perhaps I should
befriend a firefighter, LOL.

Ooh, I found pictures:

http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/CentralFirestation.htm

It appears that the fire pole is present, but not in use. No spiral stairs.

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