The aptly-named Crooked House, with its upper storey and gable sloping dramatically to the left, is one of the oldest timber framed buildings in the former wool and cloth town of Lavenham, in Suffolk, England, UK. It was built in the High Street around 1395, in the reign of King Richard II, as part of a medieval hall house. The house is said to have inspired the old nursery rhyme starting: "There was a crooked man, he walked a crooked mile ....".
Lavenham, Suffolk, England, UK: the English nursery rhyme, "There was a crooked man ...", may refer to someone who once lived in The Crooked House, an iconic timber framed dwelling with a dramatically left-leaning, lopsided upper storey and gable. The full verse ... "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." ... is traditionally linked to Lavenham, although a rival source is Anglo-Scottish history and the Stuart monarchy. Here, the 'crooked man' is Scottish soldier and 'Covenanter' Sir Alexander Leslie, the 'crooked stile' an alliance between English and Scottish parliaments, and living 'together in a little crooked house' refers to England and Scotland having to put aside their differences because they shared a border. Whatever the source, the Crooked House is one of Lavenham's most picturesque properties. It was built circa 1395 as part of a medieval hall house, probably for a wealthy wool merchant, and covers three addresses: nos. 7-9 High Street. The wool and cloth trade made Lavenham one of England's richest towns, paying more tax than cities such as Lincoln and York. The size and grandeur of buildings such as its church and the Guildhall of Corpus Christi show Lavenham's prosperity in the 15th and 16th centuries, and it still has well over 300 buildings of architectural and historic importance. Ironically, this is partly because the town fell on hard times after its weavers moved to Colchester. Residents could no longer keep up with architectural trends, and in Georgian and Victorian times, few could afford new house fronts.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Lavenham, Suffolk, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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