The Smallest House in Britain
10 Lower Gate Street in Conwy, in the shadow of the town wall, is believed to be the smallest house in Britain. Built around 1600, this house is only 72 inches wide, 122 inches high.
It seems that house building started at both ends of the street, when they reached the middle there was a small gap which was filled with a small house.
The last tenant, Mr Robert Jones, lived in the house for fifteen years. Mr Jones who worked as a mussel fisherman in Conwy moved out of the house after it, along with others in the street, was declared unfit for human habitation in 1900.
Some time later the houses numbered 1-9 (to the left of the smallest house) were demolished.
I visited the house in March 2010. The house, which is not open all year, had only reopened to visitors the day before. A very pleasant lady in traditional Welsh costume was very helpful and answered all the questions I had about the house.
The entrance fee was a modest one pound. There are some mementos and very interesting guide books about the house and Conwy for sale.
If you are travelling by train, it is important to know that Conwy is a request stop. It is necessary to inform the guard on the train that you want to get off at Conwy station. If you are catching a train at Conwy, you will need to raise your arm to get the drivers attention.
I scanned the photograph at the top of the page from a glass negative; if you would like a print please contact me.
The Union flag is flying from the top window, possibly because Queen Victoria had just died. Queen Victoria who gave her name to an important era in British history died peacefully in January 1901.
King Edward VII inherited the crown at a time when the British empire covered one-fifth of the world’s surface.
The admission price shown on the sign above the door is one old penny (there were 240 pennies in a pre-decimal pound).
