Campaigner taking steps to restore historic city thoroughfare
£36,000 NEEDED TO REOPEN LONG STAIRS
A VOLUNTEER has launched a fundraising page to help restore one of Nottingham’s forgotten historical gems.
Since 2018, Janine Tanner, 49, has been the voluntary caretaker for a set of medieval steps just off High Pavement in the Lace Market, which many of the city’s residents, as well as tourists, are not aware of.
The steps, called the Long Stairs, are more than 500 years old and are the original steps which led from the lower part of the city to its upper part, with all the other steps that provided access demolished. The stairs have been closed to the public for the past 91 years, since 1933, due to being unsafe.
Ms Tanner has now launched a Just Giving page to raise the £36,000 needed for the repair of the stairs. She said: “We have proof that they are at least 500 years old so we really do need the support of people of Nottingham to come together and help us raise this money to restore them.
“Because of all the places that have gone, people say ‘I wish they hadn’t taken that away’ or ‘I wish that was still here.’ This is still here, the steps are here, and it is so important that we hang on to what part of history we have got in Nottingham.”
Ms Tanner has been trying to raise the money for the past six years and describes the process as being ‘slow,’ having managed to raise £4,000 so far. One of her fundraising initiatives includes taking groups out on day trips, with all proceeds going towards the restoration.
The Long Stairs Restoration Project was started in 2019.
The restoration work would see the upper flights of the stairs being secured as they’re currently ‘wobbling.’
Ms Tanner said: “We can’t allow people to come onto them because we don’t know how safe they are to walk on. As volunteers, we’re insured to work on them so we’re OK, but we need the whole flight to be made safer.”
Safety handrails will also need to be installed, while a low wall at the side of the steps will be made higher, protecting visitors from the 40-foot drop at the side. A cave located just off the steps would also be unbricked for the first time in decades.
Ms Tanner said: “We still have a long way to go and any donations that can come through Just Giving will be a massive help to us and will enable us to save part of Nottingham’s heritage, by restoring the Long Stairs, and opening them up to the public, so people can come and feel the history of this long forgotten walkway.”
The Nottingham Civic Society is supporting the campaign. Hilary Silvester, Chair of the society, explained that the stairs also need to receive more publicity. She said: “They need a bit more publicity as they are out of the way.
“With Broadmarsh being redeveloped, they might become a bit more of a feature in that part of the redevelopment area hopefully. It will be good to see them restored and we hope that will happen sometime in the future.”
The walkway, which was once a hotspot for crime, underwent a five-month cleaning process in 2018 by volunteers at Notts History - Honour Our Heritage, which Ms Tanner is part of. A plaque was installed in 2019 to mark Long Stairs’ location.
The plaque reads: “Long Stairs is a medieval thoroughfare, once linking the Narrow Marsh area to the summit of the cliff, 90 feet above it. It has a varied and fascinating history, and although public access is no longer possible, it remains a proud part of Nottingham’s heritage.”
Make a donation at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/longstairsrestorationproject