The Crooked House, Canterbury
The Crooked House in Canterbury is one of the most photographed historic building in the city.
The wonky structure is also known as Sir John Boys House, named in memory of Sir John Boys, an MP and the first recorder of Canterbury.
It’s also sometime called King's Gallery, or Old Kings Shop.
It’s a beautifully skewed 17th-century half-timbered building at the end of Palace Street, with projecting jetties onto Palace and King Streets.
The most noticeable feature is the slanted front door, which has had to be built with severely skewed corners to fit the door frame!
The colour of the door frequently changes, but as of today, it is painted red.
An internal chimney slipping gave the house its asymmetrical appearance.
Today, a steel frame keeps it in place, but the sight gives the building a dizzying effect.
The mismatched windows add to the whimsical charm, making the building a prime example of the city's rich architectural heritage.
Etched into the mantle of this interesting building is a quotation from Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield.
It says: "A very old house bulging over the road…leaning forward, trying to see who was passing on the narrow pavement below."
Like many old buildings in the city, the crooked house is built upwards - being smallest on the ground floor with each subsequent floor being built bigger.
In recent years, it has been a gallery, a bookshop, a school outfit shop, and an instrument shop.
Today, we believe, it's now used as a charity book shop.
This means that the public are able to enter the building, for free, and enjoy the beautiful interior.
According to KentLive, Charles Dickens, one of Kent's finest exports and the prolific writer, was known to spend time in Canterbury.
He would often stay at the Sun Hotel in Sun Street, which he also immortalised in David Copperfield.
He stayed at the Sun Hotel, which he also immortalised in David Copperfield.
In his novel, the titular character David Copperfield is educated in Canterbury and lives in the home of Agnes Wickfield.
It is to her house that Dickens attributes the features that now hang proudly above the bookshop today.
As mentioned, the building was named after Sir John Boys, who was a prominent local figure and mayor of Canterbury, renowned for his contribution to the city's growth and development.
Someone who recently visited the building left a positive reviews on TripAdvisor.
She said: “This has got to be the most picturesque book shop I have ever seen! The building leans to one side, as if it's about to sit down.
”Walking through such a tilted doorway is a surreal delight. There is a varied & extensive stock (music too!), and plenty of maps & guides for the local area.”
Another person added: “This road has a lot of historical buildings, especially the leaning doorway and the 12th century Conquest House.
”These buildings have been taken by lots of independent shops, including a zero waste food shop, bookshops, restaurants, a pub and jewellery makers.
”The shops do change fairly frequently, but this just ensures you stop by frequently to see what new things have opened!
”There is a cheese shop I have been meaning to try, and the art gallery always has something new in.”
If you’d like to visit this house in person, the address is: 28 Palace Street, Canterbury, Kent, England, CT1 2DZ.
Just up the road you will find Mercery Lane - another picturesque cobbled street that still retains its medieval width.
The architecture along Mercery Lane exudes an old-world charm, with its timber-framed structures adorned with colourful shopfronts and unique facades.
Some of the buildings on this historic street are Grade II listed, making them ‘of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it.’
It leads from the High Street, the spine of the city which is in fact Watling Street, to the Christ Church Gateway of Canterbury Cathedral, which dominates the little market place known as the Buttermarket.
Mercery Lane, like the even more famous The Shambles at York, retains its mediaeval width, and the upper floors of the timber framed houses on either side almost touch each other.
The houses on the West side were all part of the Chequers Inn, with its dormitory containing a hundred beds.
You can read more HERE in one of our previous articles.
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