The Loretto chapel was built for some nuns running a school. It is supposed to be modelled on the Sainte-Chapelle but only someone who had never been near the Sainte-Chappelle could think there was any resemblance; maybe in the shape of one of the columns.
The nuns needed a staircase to the choir loft but could not design one that did not take up most of the space in the nave. they made a novena for guidance to their patron Saint, Joseph the Carpenter. On the nith and final day of the Novena a stranger turned up. He was a carpenter whose ony tools were a #t-square, a hammer and tubs to soak the wood. He made the spiral staircase and left without payment.
The staircase has no central support and is freestanding unattached to any walls, its full weight rests on the final tread. It was originally built without a railing the bannister being added some years later.
The chapel was de-consecrated and sold and is now run as a private museum and wedding venue.
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