We decorate hallways, stairs and landings in Boughton, a village in NN2 about 3.4 miles north of Northampton town centre. The work ranges from tight, turning stairs under low ceilings in 17th and 18th century stone cottages to the open stairwells of Buckton Fields houses built since 2015.
Turning stairs and low ceilings in the stone cottages
Boughton’s historic cottages on Church Street, Butcher’s Lane and Humfrey Lane were mostly built to house people who worked for Boughton Hall, and their stairs were fitted into very little space. The appraisal’s example is 7 Butcher’s Lane, a mid-17th century thatched cottage with a dog-leg stair and low ceilings. That shape changes how the job is done. A standard stair platform often will not fit, so we work from a combination ladder set on different treads with boards spanning short distances, and protect the walls we lean against.
Walls in these houses are frequently lime plaster on stone, uneven and out of square. A crisp cut-in line at the ceiling looks wrong on a wall that waves, so we follow the wall rather than a straight edge. Lime plaster also needs to breathe, so we suggest breathable emulsions or clay or lime-based paints on the stair walls, rather than vinyl finishes that can trap moisture and blister.
Front doors that open onto the road
The appraisal notes that front entrances on the old cottages are shallow, often with no porch, and open almost straight onto the highway. On Church Street there is a continuous building line and doors close to the traffic. In practice the hall is also the porch: mud, grit and damp come straight in, and the bottom metre of wall and the first few stair risers take the knocks.
For these halls we put the hard-wearing finish where the wear actually is. A scrubbable matt on the lower walls, a tough satin or eggshell on the stair stringers and spindles, and a floor-paint or varnish option on painted treads if you have them. While we work, that front door is still the way most people come and go, so we leave a clear, sheeted path and keep the stair usable each evening.
Buckton Fields: tall stairwells and a first full redecoration
Houses in Buckton Fields went up in phases from 2015, with Taylor Wimpey starting Phase 3 in 2022. New-build hallways like these are typically a different shape: straight flights, a taller wall over the stairs and a landing that runs past the bedroom doors. Here we use an adjustable stair platform and staging to reach the head of the stairwell safely.
The first time a new-build hall is properly decorated, there is usually some making good to do. Common faults are hairline cracks where ceiling meets wall, nail pops in plasterboard, and gaps along skirtings and stair strings as the timber shrinks. The table sets out how we approach each house type.
| Old core cottage | Buckton Fields house | |
|---|---|---|
| Access kit | Combination ladder and short boards | Stair platform and staging |
| Wall surface | Uneven lime plaster | Plasterboard, often with settlement cracks |
| Wall paint | Breathable emulsion or mineral paint | Durable, wipeable matt |
| Woodwork | Old softwood, many paint layers | MDF and pre-primed doors |
Listed interiors and old wall surfaces
There are 26 listed structures in the parish. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, and some interiors hold surprises: the list entry for 7 Butcher’s Lane mentions a reputed wall painting inside. If you own a listed cottage and are unsure what lies under the current paint, we will stop and talk before stripping anything. Painting over sound modern emulsion in a similar finish is usually straightforward. Removing old layers, or changing the type of finish on historic plaster, is something to check with the conservation officer first.
The general method we use for any stairwell, from access equipment to the order of work, is set out on the main hallway, stairs and landing decorating page. For the rest of what we cover in the village, see the Boughton page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
