What is/was a "coffin niche"? 

I believe I once heard it was, (circa ?1700's to 1800's) a small hole
3'x3'x3'in wall in indoor starcase. Coffin was brought to deceased,
(rather then dead to coffin, (not socially/ethically//religious
proper) who
usually died in bedroom upstairs.

Coffin w/ body was then taken downstairs. Landing (switchback) was
usually to tight to turn coffin. So Coffin was backed into hole and
then had enough room to take down remaining stairs. [Then sometimes
set up in
pallor to "watch"/stay up w/ the deceased for I think 3 days(?)].
(When not in use for coffin, hole was used for decortive niche, like a
vase, or bust.

But I cannot find any data to confirm my belief. HELP! Is data above,
true or false?

signed Bob aka YBnermal 05-01-2002

Hi Bob,

You asked for proof of a coffin niche". I found several mentions to
confirm your belief.

Three general mentions:

"On the staircase you can see what is called a "coffin corner," a
niche cut into the wall just above the first landing. These corners
were built to enable people to carry large, bulky coffins down the
stairs, because most people in the 1800s died in their homes before
hospitals became frequent."

Found at:
http://www.sci.edu/sleepyweasel/weasel2k/george.html

"One builder was a coffin maker and the stairway contains a typical
niche for turning the coffin when it was taken downstairs after a
death. The niche now contains a statue as was true of such practical
niches in Victorian times."

Found at:
http://www.avmcyber.com/mdinns/fredrick.html

A new house based on a Victorian design has one:
http://www.arborviewcompanies.com/Development.html

Doing a Google image search for "coffin corner" found this site:
http://www.akastairs.com

which has two images with the phrase "coffin corner" in their
filename, although neither image appears to show a niche, and there is
no other mention of it within their site. They are professional stair
builders, so perhaps you could use the contact form at their site and
ask them.

Keywords:
niche downstairs coffin
"coffin corner"

Thanks for asking such an interesting question!
robertskelton-ga