The future of Britain’s smallest house is in doubt (Picture: Getty Images/The Smallest House Ltd)
The smallest house in Britain has been standing strong for around 400 years – but it’s now at risk of becoming inaccessible or even destroyed altogether.
With its iconic red front wall and tiny floor space measuring just 6ft by 10ft, the 16th century property in Conwy, North Wales, has long been a popular tourist attraction.
It had been lived in up until May 1900 and local fisherman Robert Jones was the last person to occupy the house near the Conwy Castle walls.
He was 6ft 3in tall (basically a giant in those days) and would’ve taken up a large area of the diddy home, which crams in a living area and miniscule upstairs bedroom.
However, the future of the riverfront house is under threat due to the increased chance of flooding along the street as a result of climate change.
A new report found the grade II listed building to be one of many heritage sites across Wales in danger, according to flood risk mapping.
Jan Tyley owns the Smallest House in Great Britain, which has previously been affected by flooding, and she conceded there is only a ‘limited amount we can do’ to save the building.
The Smallest House in Great Britain, in Conwy, North Wales is one of a number of heritage sites at risk across the country (Picture: Getty Images)
‘But there is a lot the council can do in terms of protecting those buildings and protecting the quay front itself,’ she told Sky News.
‘I also know that their finances are very stretched, sadly. It’s a difficult conundrum that everyone finds themselves in, I think.
‘The whole of Conwy Valley, as far as I understand it, the water levels fluctuate quite substantially, which increases the threat for everybody.’
The house has been in Ms Tyley’s family since 1891 and she said it’s been a ‘privilege’ to own it.
She also added that she is ‘merely a custodian’ who will ‘pass it onto the next generation’ and ‘keep it there for everybody who wants to come and see it’.
The house has been affected by flooding in the past (Picture: The Smallest House Ltd)
But the clock may be ticking for the house after research carried out by Dr Lana St Leger at Cardiff Metropolitan University uncovered some alarming concerns.
More than 30,000 cultural sites in Wales were analysed and 12% of them, including the smallest house in Britain, fall within river flood zones.
And the report found that some of the buildings assessed could be ‘damaged, disappear, altered, become unsafe or inaccessible’.
‘We need to appreciate now what impact climate change has and will have on cultural and heritage assets in Wales,’ the report says.
It’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area (Picture: The Travel Library/REX/Shutterstock)
It lies on the riverfront and the effects of climate change have put its future at risk (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Through adverse impacts of rising sea levels and shifting patterns in extreme weather, the toll this has on cultural heritage sites is visible.’
Dr St Leger told Sky News: ‘The important message from the report is that there are current threats to heritage and cultural sites in Wales.
‘But it also highlights the importance of listening to community voices for planning for climate change.’
A spokesman for the Welsh government said it recognises the threat posed by climate change to historic sites across the country and is ‘actively working’ on the issue.
On a lighter note, people visiting the house last year actually complained that it was ‘too small’…
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