The history of The Crooked House of Windsor, begins in 1592, with the construction of ‘Market Cross House’ on the edge of Windsor’s market square.
For almost 100 years, it lived a rather uneventful existence, until 1687, when the council ordered the building to be torn down in order to make room for the neighbouring Guildhall.
What followed next was some primetime seventeenth-century legal drama over land rights, in which the council was rebuked for destroying Market Cross House, and ordered to rebuild it just the way it was.
The local council decided the best way to put the whole escapade behind them, would be to rebuild as quickly and as cheaply as possible – a decision which gave The Crooked House its famed lean.
Building with unseasoned green oak, rather than a sturdier wood, meant that once the wood dried out, it buckled rather noticeably, and eventually hardened into the haphazard shape you see today.
The Crooked House of Windsor has been a butcher’s shop, a brewery, and an antique shop.
For a time, it was known as the oldest tea house in England, but it’s currently serving as the London outpost of upmarket jewellery retailer Jersey Pearl.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about The Crooked House of Windsor, can be found in the basement.
Rumour has it that a secret passage connects the building with Windsor Castle – allegedly one that let Charles II sneak out to meet his mistress, Nell Gwynn.
Though some believe the passage was actually used to transport goods from the market to the Windsor Castle kitchens, stories of forbidden love and debauchery are more exciting!
When The Crooked House of Windsor last went on sale in 2015, the asking price was a cool £1.5 million!
£1.5 million for a house, that looks like a stiff breeze could blow it down, any second!!
