adamiamelia

my babies

Friday, December 17, 2010

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...

9 comments:

Ernie Khairina said...

SUPERLOVE! omg

hehe.. eh, have you watched a movie 'Holiday'? It looks like the same mansion.

I can't wait.

Hada Masayu said...

wow aida!!!i definitely love this place!!will surely search 1 in malaysia, hehe..

Nurhafizah Fauzi said...

aida, aku pegi Greyfield Farm tu pun dah rasa best sgt, this one looks much more bigger and so English!

Like Like

nanin said...

Like Like Like...!

and

Jeles Jeles Jels....!


huhuu...

yaya said...

bestnyeeeee rumah ni, the best part is BIG House :)

aidafiqs adamia said...

ernie,
holiday? you mean the one with Kate Winslet? that one was a small english cottage kan?

hada,
this mansion actually belong to a Malaysian holiday time-share company..

fizah,
greyfield is more the cozy English cottage farm..pun charming juga..

nanin,
ala bukan rumah kitorg pun.. :)

yaya,
mmg best...

SarahxHannah said...

Salam Aida. I'm Kak Lin. Found your blog by chance when googling Cloth Hall. Going there tomorrow, staying for 2 nites. We are going with 2 other families and we've booked all 6 rooms. We live in the North East, therefore quite a long drive! Problem is, my 2-year-old is not feeling too well so wasn't sure if it's worth the trip. Can you tell us more about the place esp the caretaker? What about cooking? We saw the pic of the kitchen but was told not self-catering. Could you clarify this pls?

I love your blog :D! I've just given up working a few months ago and rediscovered my love for sewing and decided to have a go at making bags (never made them before). I made a few oilcloth bags (ala2 Cath Kidston tu) for sewing class and immediately got orders, mostly for xmas presents.

We also went to a knitting & stitching show last month, looking for bag-making materials. My 9-yr-old, Sarah, dragged me along to one of the stalls to learn knitting with her and we are hooked! I already know how to crochet but haven't done it in a long time. I managed to teach Sarah the basics and she's now busy making granny squares (25 at last count!) for a blanket. Great way to keep her occupied for the hols...

Are you on etsy yet? Try checking out folksy, the uk version of etsy, too. It's smaller, therefore you are less likely to get lost in it, and limited to uk resident sellers only.

Alamak, sorry! Panjang pulak tulis. I'll be in touch again if it's ok with you. so much to talk about and ask you eg fabric, yarn etc.

aidafiqs adamia said...

Salam Kak Lin,
Cloth Hall is really gorgeous. I keep admiring the house the whole time..so charming. But the caretaker..oh God..every word that comes out of her mouth is intended to insult you, it seemed. My uncle stayed there before and got the same treatment. The kitchen is there but she said it's only for heating up your food, not for cooking (she checked our purchases, spied on how many eggs we had, then asked 'where are your eggs?did you cook??' padahal eggs kitorg dlm peti ais..tak masak pun....just an example of her behaviour)but anyway i still think the house is worth visiting..it is a gem.

oh gosh i love cath kidston (just went shopping for fabric on sale there yesterday!)

alamak gotta go mia is crying. but contact me at aidafiqs@yahoo.com ok

Anonymous said...

Hi there - found your blog when I googled "Cloth Hall Kent". We are staying there for a week in July this year (with our 2 kids) and were told that there are 2 double beds in the room we booked. Betulke ni? Also, how was the bathroom facilities? Many thanks, Sharon

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