A recommendation to visit Fortnum & Mason on your next trip to London? Not exactly a groundbreaking tip. Obviously, Fortnum’s is far from a hidden gem, but the upmarket department store (dating back to 1707, and famously known as the Queen’s grocer) is just the kind of quintessentially British institution that’s pure catnip to shoppers from all over. Even hardened Londoners can’t resist the odd browse among its colour-coordinated aisles and plush red carpets for hampers, jams, preserves and teas of every variety conceivable.
Newly unveiled at the historic Piccadilly flagship is the Escher-esque Double Helix Staircase. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s vision of the form, the three-storey staircase was recently opened by His Majesty King Charles III and is one of Fortnum’s most ambitious structural projects to date. Designed by acclaimed local architect Ben Pentreath, who called it both a ‘technical marvel and a deeply human piece of design’, the Double Helix Staircase marries precision engineering with ‘craft at the highest level’. Comprising some 3,000 hand-forged details, it was built in sections by a team of craftspeople in Sussex before being assembled in-store. The result? A striking centrepiece that allows visitors to ascend and descend at the same time without bumping into one another – and just one more reason to visit London’s most iconic shop.
Words: Gemma Billington
Gemma Billington is a London-based writer and editor
