Nominated by Lucy Jones
For anybody with property aspirations the The smallest house in Britain on the quayside at Conwy is a must see building. As house prices continue to dominate the conversation at dinner parties, and new buyers learn that the estate agent term “deceptively spacious” depends on how easy you are to deceive, it is salutary to discover how little living space some people have considered essential. The Smallest House in Britain is just 3.05 metres (10ft 2in) high, 1.8 metres (6ft) wide and 2.54metres (8 ft 4ins) from front to back.
The house dates back to the 19th century and although it is currently painted red, old photographs show that it was originally white. It is squeezed in between the town walls and its more substantial neighbour. Inside it is a one up, one down with, as estate agents would say, a period staircase, dark wooden panelling, but no room here for even a compact luxury bathroom.
It would not have met modern day building regulations in other respects; with the ceilings far from reaching the recommended 2.1 metres (6ft 8ins), it is not possible even for short people to stand upright. Sometimes it is said of old buildings with low ceilings, “ah but people were shorter in those days,” while that may be generally true; it was not in this case. The house used to be owned by Robert Jones, a fisherman, who is reputed to have been well over 6ft tall.
He must have considered that what it lacked in spaciousness it gained in convenience to his work – no long commute to his boat, views of Conwy Bay, and, just maybe, proximity to the Liverpool Arms.
Must See Buildings of Britain is an occasional series on Britain’s most remarkable buildings. Not only the stately homes, palaces and monuments that are part of every tourist itinerary but buildings that are simply worth seeing. Some are well known – although not necessarily for their architecture. Some are less well known – undiscovered gems that are worth a look. Some will take several hours to visit properly; others are not open to the public but merit a few minutes to look at the from the outside.
Must See Buildings has a sister column, Beastly Buildings, which looks at those buildings we all love to hate
If you know a building you think we should cover, email the editor, charlotte@donowdo.com