A CAST iron spiral staircase made by a Kidderminster company in the 19th century will be the centrepiece of a show garden at a major event next month.

The staircase, produced by F Bradley and Co, will feature as Paul Taylor recreates a notable Cornish garden for the Malvern Spring Gardening Show.

Garden designer Mr Taylor is building Room for a View, a valley garden inspired by Trebah,near Falmouth in Cornwall, for the show, which runs from May 9 to 12 at the Three Counties Showground.

The late 19th century staircase was found in a reclamation yard.

Interested in its provenance, Mr Taylor, of Alchemy Gardens, Storridge, near Malvern trawled the internet and now believes the artefact is the original staircase from the old Kidderminster Library, opened in 1894.

The library was demolished in the 1990s and its staircase went missing. No-one, it seemed, knew of its whereabouts, until now.

Mr Taylor said: “Cornwall’s Trebah garden is a personal favourite and is rated one of the finest gardens in the world. It is a sub-tropical paradise in a Cornish valley, which cascades down to a secluded beach on the Helford River.

I was looking for a centre-piece to give height to the design and the feeling of Trebah’s spectacular vista, which meanders downhill to the beach below.

“The staircase was the perfect find but it wasn’t until I took a closer look at the maker’s stamp and did a bit of research that I realised just what I was working with.

“Bradley & Co made two staircases - the other still stands at Kidderminster railway station. It is a beautiful piece of cast iron, which will enhance my garden, and I am pleased to be bringing a unique piece of county history back into the spotlight again.”

The Malvern Spring Gardening Show is likely to attract around 90,000 visitors.