History
lives here
“One of the world’s most photographed homes”
Country Life
“Britain’s wonkiest house”
Daily Mail
“A medieval house with a medieval lifestyle to match”
The Times
“Britain’s favourite fairytale house”
Britain Magazine
“Really worth checking it out - it’s amazing!”
BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine
600 years of History
Built in 1395 as part of a grand medieval house for a wealthy wool merchant, The Crooked House is said to be the inspiration for the old English nursery rhyme, There was a Crooked Man.
From King Richard II to Queen Elizabeth I, John Lennon to Harry Potter, The Crooked House has seen them all over the past 600 years and stands proud to tell the tale.
There was a crooked man,
he walked a crooked mile,
he found a crooked six-pence
upon a crooked stile;
he bought a crooked cat,
which caught a crooked mouse
and they all lived together
in a little Crooked House.
Old English nursery rhyme,
inspired by The Crooked House
Why is it Crooked?
The Crooked House wasn’t built crooked; the fairytale façade you see today is a quirk of history…
The Crooked House was originally built as part of a much larger house for a 14th century wool merchant. At the time, the little village of Lavenham was one of the richest places in England, thanks to the popular ‘Lavenham Blue’ cloth made here.
Newly rich, our wool merchant wanted a grand house quickly. So quickly that the wood he used to build it wasn’t given sufficient time to dry. As it dried, this timber-framed house twisted and contorted, resulting in a very strong but also very crooked house.
However, by the time this had happened, Lavenham’s wool industry was in decline. When weavers of more fashionable cloth moved to nearby Norwich and Colchester, Lavenham’s wool trade collapsed and the village fell into centuries of poverty. With no money to redevelop this ‘crooked’ building, the large house was divided up into smaller terraces.
The result is a rare survivor - The Crooked House you see today - wonderfully wonky and one of the world’s most photographed homes. Don’t you agree, it’s perfectly Crooked, just as it is?
Step inside and experience the magic…