In Hastings’ Old Town, at 59 All Saints Street is a wonky, Grade II-listed medieval building with black and white half-timbering.
Its second storey, jutting out over the first, slopes vertiginously to the left.
It looks a little bit like a Quentin Blake drawing, with all its expressive black lines – which is somewhat uncanny, because it was the artist’s home for 50 years. And now, the house is for sale with The Unique Property Company for £950,000.
Dating back to around 1450, the “extraordinary” property was built as a Wealden Hall — a timber-framed house for a yeoman — and altered in the 16th century, when the staircases, chimneys and the window glazing were added. At the time, it would have stood in expansive grounds, and been considered a grand property.
“The house was constructed before domestic staircases, glazed windows or fireplaces,” explain the agents. “The entrance 'hall' would have been open to what was then a thatched roof: the kippered roof beams still on show on the top floor attest to this.
"The room which is now a lovely dining area would have been the place where the animals of the house were kept, with only a small dais or step to separate them from the living areas of the family.”
During the 19th century, the property provided accommodation for travellers, later becoming a lodging house under the name Merry Christmas Beer House.
More than a century later, the writer and artist Sir Quentin Blake —famous for his illustrations of Roald Dahl’s books— lived and worked in the house alongside his London home from 1972 until 2022.
“I went [to Hastings] years ago. I didn’t mean to and I bought a house there,” Blake told Aspect Country in 2017. “It’s medieval practically. I’ve come to love it. There are fishing boats at the end of the road…I visit frequently. The sea is a constant; a strong presence in my work.”
Blake, now 91, sold the property in 2022 to its current owners, who undertook a thorough restoration of the house. They treated the property’s previous damp problem, installed new plumbing, repainted, restored some of the woodwork, updated the electrics, repaired the chimneys, roof and windows, and put in a lock and alarm system.
The space once used by Blake as a studio was turned into a dressing area, while the garden was landscaped to create two terraces.
“The work that's been undertaken by the current owners means that the house will probably continue to stand for several more hundred years,” say The Unique Property Company. “[It] is certainly totally sound for the foreseeable future in the hands of owners who appreciate that an historic home needs to be lived in and loved.”
The house is close to Hastings' pebble beach and, according to The Unique Property Company, is “probably the finest and most well-preserved property on the street.”
Today, the house covers 2,712 sq ft over three storeys, with the kitchen and three reception rooms downstairs and five bedrooms across the two floors above.
The house retains its historical feel, with exposed wooden beams, wooden floors, casement windows and wonky lines. Many of the house’s internal walls are still decorated with their original Elizabethan plastering, known as pargeting, while the front door —thought to be the one first installed in the 15th century— still stands.
“It really is a remarkable and lovely home - so much history there, yet really comfortable to live in,” says agent Madelaine Cooper.
“It's also a home which will connect you to the UK's domestic history in each discovery of how light falls in a particularly pleasing way or a step is worn and slopes because a million feet have trodden on it before you. The house will bring pleasure which just can't be found in a modern home.”
