VISITORS to the UK’s smallest house say it’s too tiny and they could barely spend half an hour in there.
The wee home stands just 122 inches tall, is 72 inches wide, and only has specially made furniture – because that’s all that will fit through its door.
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The Smallest House in Great Britain, which recently had its first makeover in 400 years, is open to tourists from March until October.
The Conwy, North Wales, home attracts more than 50,000 visitors a year – but not all of them are pleased with the attraction.
Shocked reviewers have recently gone online to complain about the size of the compact property.
One person wrote: “Couldn’t spend more than half an hour there.”
Another gave the property a one-star review, and expressed disappointment at the absence of a “kitchen or bathroom”.
One visitor said they were shocked to find “a very small house”.
While another labelled it a “small extension” and was sure that no one had actually ever lived there.
One person complained there wasn’t enough space to turn around.
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But, the comments made another visitor chuckle.
They wrote: “Makes me laugh that other reviews say it small!
“It’s the smallest house in the UK – how big are your houses?”
Another fan wrote: “Worth sticking your head in… to make you appreciate what you have at home.
“Great piece of history that needs to be kept.”
And that’s exactly what one family has done for the past 130 years – passed the property down each generation.
Jan Tyley is the current owner and great, great-granddaughter of Robert Jones, who saved the home from demolition when it was deemed too small for someone to live in.
Makes me laugh that other reviews say it small! It’s the smallest house in the UK.
Reviewer
Writing online, Jan said: “Just because it lacks the mod cons by current standards does not mean that it was not lived in.
“In the 18th and 19th centuries it was not at all uncommon for poorer accommodation not to have either a bathroom or kitchen, with residents using communal toilet facilities and cooking over an open fire.
“The Smallest House is simply preserved as a testament to how simply some people had to live in years gone by.”
The house is rumoured to be so small that the last tenant – a 6ft 3in fisherman – would poke his feet out of the window as he slept.
He called the tiny house home until 1900 when it was declared unfit for habitation.
Jan’s grandfather Robert saved the property from being knocked down by measuring small houses across the UK to check if his was the tiniest.
It was found to be the smallest and was inducted into the Guinness Book of Records in the early 1920s.
Previously, there was just enough room for a single bed, a fireplace and a coal bunker – but now the owner has also squeezed in a sofa.
The seat was made by firm that creates furniture for awkward spaces, and was delivered flat-pack in a box and assembled inside the house.
Jan previously said she was “amazed” they managed to get the sofa into the downstairs room – which is the lounge, kitchen and bathroom.
She said at the time: “We have people from all over the world coming to visit, and I’m delighted we can add another chapter to the house’s story – the year the house got its first ever sofa!”
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