The Cloth Hall, Kent

Recently we went to Kent with my mom. It was the weekend when it snowed really heavily. Kent was badly affected. But we called the highway and they said the roads are cleared. On the way to the car our porter said 'Going to Kent? You're very brave. Goodluck!'. That gave me the chills for a bit but we went anyway...

Alhamdulillah we arrived safely. Everything was covered in snow, white and foggy. It looked magical. Especially the cottage we were staying in...well it's hardly a cottage..a mansion perhaps? There were 6 rooms altogether but we only rented 2 rooms. Luckily the other rooms are empty so we had the house to ourselves. And the house, what a treat. It was built in the 1450s! almost 600 years old house! I certainly have never seen a 600 year old house..let alone have the chance to stay in one.

It had 3 sitting rooms. this was one of them. We spent most of our time here, because this living room is on the first floor, right next to our bedroom. Notice the original wooden beams on the walls and ceilings.

It was just the perfect place to sit and knit...and stare and the beautiful wooden beams...The house must've been made for a very rich man 600 years ago...it's huge, full of little sections, secret pathways and hallways. Do you see the little door next to the fireplace? Every door has this clever little contraption. Every time you some into a room, the door swings close and locks itself. Then when you go out, there's another clever little trick to 'unlock' the door. Genius! Nothing like our modern doors...

Here's the living room on the ground floor...with a huge working fireplace...

This is the dining room. I'm thinking we should get a table like this one when we have 8 children..hehe...

the kitchen

The view of the house from outside..it comes with 8 acres of land as well...cantik sgt...

except for the caretaker who was awful ( malas nak citer pasal dia ni, I already made a complaint about her) we had an awesome time there...will definitely want to go again...(if they change the caretaker). The other house in the small village are historical as well...really charming place..

p/s:ernie i bet you would love this place.

edited to add: I forgot a fascinating fact about this place. The house is called Cloth Hall because in the olden days it belonged to a cloth merchant. He used to store his wool in an outside barn...I can just imagine all the wool spinning and weaving probably went on there as well...which makes knitting there especially meaningful...