Step into a Fairytale
“One of the world’s most photographed homes”
Country Life
“Britain’s favourite fairytale house”
Britain Magazine
“A medieval house with a medieval lifestyle to match”
The Times
600 years of History
Built in 1395 as part of a grand medieval house for a wealthy wool merchant, The Crooked House has a remarkable story to tell.
From weavers and witches to kings and queens, The Crooked House is home to a real-life fairytale, vividly brought to life by its current custodians, the Crooked Men.
Experience the magic yourself with theatrical house tours, immersive Black tie Dinners, souvenirs and gifts.
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 England’s richest wool town, thanks to the popular ‘Lavenham Blue’ cloth made here.
Newly wealthy, our wool merchant wanted a grand house quickly. So quickly that the wood he used to build it wasn’t fully seasoned. 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…