The story of The Crooked House in Lavenham, Suffolk

Alex Khalil-Martin recounts the history of The Crooked House, Lavenham and details recent work and vital future plans for its on-going repair.

There was a Crooked Man… and his story started here. 

Built in 1395, The Crooked House in Lavenham, Suffolk, is said to be the inspiration for the old English nursery rhyme, ‘There was a Crooked Man’. Today, it is home to two ‘Crooked Men’ – my husband Oli and I, following our move here in 2021.  

The Crooked House today, with Alex and Oli Khalil-Martin. Photo credit: James Davidson.

It all began back in December 2018, before I’d even met Oli, when I was on a day-trip from London to Lavenham, Britain’s best-preserved medieval village. While exploring the winding streets, I stumbled upon The Crooked House, which was a tearoom at the time. Its wonderfully wonky façade, cheery orange hue and warm glow through the windows drew me inside… and I fell in love. Like stepping into a fairytale, this ancient house captured my imagination and right then, I made a promise to myself to come back and live here one day. Of course, this was pure fantasy. With a busy job and life in London, living in a quaint country village was a remote dream for later life. But fast forward two years and life in lockdown London was very different.  

It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that Oli and I met, online. Over hours of video calls, we discussed our hopes and plans for a life together, with the mutual dream of making a home in an ancient place. Remarkably, the dream house then came up for sale: The Crooked House.  

The Crooked Men, husbands Alex and Oli Khalil-Martin. Photo credit: James Davidson.

“It’s perfect for us,” said Oli, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Within five months of getting to know each other we had an offer accepted and this magical 14th century house was our new home. ‘New’ is the wrong word. There’s nothing new about this 600-year-old house and that’s why we love it.  

The surviving wing of a Medieval Hall House, The Crooked House was built for a rich wool merchant, as the wool trade rapidly made little Lavenham one of the wealthiest places in England. Indeed, in the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries, the small village of Lavenham paid more tax than the cities of Lincoln and York, all thanks to the popular ‘Lavenham Blue’ cloth produced here. What today is The Crooked House would originally have been the Hall House’s kitchen and pantry, with a weavers’ workshop upstairs – the beating heart of Lavenham’s prosperity. 

An ancient door in The Crooked House. Photo credit: James Davidson.

But if our wool merchant was so rich, why is his house crooked? The Crooked House is the embodiment of Lavenham’s story. As the wool money poured in, our merchant wanted a grand house so quickly that the wood he used to build it wasn’t given sufficient time to be fully seasoned. As it dried out once constructed, this timber framed house twisted and contorted, resulting in a very strong but also very crooked house. However, by the time this happened, Lavenham’s wool industry was in dramatic decline. Fashionable weavers moved to nearby Colchester and once-prosperous Lavenham fell into centuries of decline. With no money to rebuild, the Hall House was divided into several dwellings, creating the wonderfully wonky Crooked House we see today. 
 
We are passionate about preserving and protecting this magical place that we’re lucky enough to call home. Fortunately, the house was significantly repaired in the 1980s, with the original medieval layout sensitively re-instated, alongside structural repairs to the roof. Throughout this work, traditional materials and techniques were used, which respected the building’s age and historic significance. Since moving here, our primary objective has been to continue this approach, with careful, gentle repairs, helped by Lavenham’s army of expert traditional craftspeople.  

Roof repairs in the 1980s. Photo credit: Mike Hodges.

We have furnished and decorated the house to reflect its 600-year story. A salvaged early 16th century oak overmantel, antique furniture, tapestry wall hangings and Elizabethan ironmongery bring to life the glory days of Lavenham’s wool wealth. Elsewhere in the house, thin plank doors, worn elm floorboards and bullseye glass windowpanes reflect Lavenham’s impoverished years, when life in this once grand house was crowded and harsh.  

Letting these layers of history live is crucial. Yes, we love The Crooked House’s Tudor heyday (we’ve even had Tudor costumes made, which keep us remarkably warm in winter) but its whole 600-year story – with all the highs and lows – is important to us.  

The Crooked House today, with Alex and Oli Khalil-Martin, its current custodians. Photo credit: James Davidson.

The Crooked House’s most recent ‘low’ was the 1960s, when the building’s back wall was covered in concrete render. At the time, this was thought to be protective, but in reality, the render is trapping in moisture and causing the house’s ancient oak frame to rot. Our next major repair project is to remove this render and replace it with traditional lime plaster. We’re raising the funds through a series of supper clubs, house tours, events and experiences, connecting our passion for sharing this ancient place with our desire to protect and preserve it for future generations.  

Our ‘Crooked Club’ black tie dinners, tours and ‘Crooked Life’ experiences have brought together a wonderful community of people from around the world – all enjoying this historic house and helping secure its future. We’re hugely appreciative of everyone’s support and love meeting so many interesting people in the process. For us, this is our home for life, and we couldn’t have found a more perfect place. 

There was a Crooked House, and it is very, very loved.   

Find out more at crookedhouselavenham.com and on Instagram @crookedhouselavenham.