Smallest House in Great Britain
A tiny red cottage on Conwy quay, recognised as the smallest house in Great Britain, with a living area downstairs and a bedroom above.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Smallest House in Great Britain stands on the quayside in Conwy, at the foot of the town walls. It was built as an infill property. Two rows of cottages had been put up on the quay, each starting from one of the town wall towers at either end of Lower Gate Street, and because both rows were built up to the central tower, a gap was left between them. As housing was short, a builder saw that a front wall and a roof were all that was needed to create another house, with the side walls and the back (the tower) already in place.
The house measures just 72 inches across, 122 inches high and 120 inches deep. It holds a bedroom upstairs and a living area downstairs, with very basic cooking facilities and a water tap behind the stairs. Census entries show that single people and couples lived there during the nineteenth century, among them a painter, a master mariner, a coachman and a fisherman.
In 1891 the house was bought for £20 by Robert Jones, a local landowner and fisherman, together with a sitting tenant who was also called Robert Jones. In 1900 the local corporation declared the house and neighbouring cottages unfit to live in, and the tenant left. To save the property from demolition, the owner toured the country with Roger Dawson, editor of the North Wales Weekly News, measuring other small houses, and the Guinness Book of Records later confirmed its status as the smallest house in Great Britain. The corporation then agreed it could open as a tourist attraction. It has remained in the family of Robert Jones ever since.
Highlights
- Recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest house in Great Britain
- Downstairs living area and upstairs bedroom
- Bright red house on Conwy quay beside the town walls
- Copy of the 1891 sale document displayed inside
Permanent exhibition
- The Smallest House in Great Britain – The nineteenth-century cottage with a bedroom upstairs and a living area downstairs, shown as it might have been lived in before 1900.
- Operated by
- The Smallest House Ltd
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £1.50 |
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| Children & teens | £1Price for children under 16. |
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
The house is on the quayside in Conwy and is hard to miss because of its bright red colour.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | The house is small, with a living area downstairs and a bedroom upstairs, so a visit is short. |
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