00:00We've got some history news for you now, there might be a clue on the screen, rather wonky.
00:04Is it our cameras or is it wonky? That's the question.
00:07I think anybody who's been to Canterbury before will know this place.
00:11It's iconic, very close to the cathedral, looks like it's going to fall down but it's not.
00:16It's now a bookshop but it's known as the Crooked House.
00:20We're going to give you a bit of the backstory of the building now.
00:24We've been speaking with a historian, you can read plenty more about this over on Kent Online.
00:29It's known as the Crooked House, it was built in 1617, apparently didn't become quite so crooked until around 1850
00:37when the chimney wasn't aligned properly and they removed it causing the house to start leaning.
00:43There's even been some historical figures linked to the building like Charles Dickens, Pocahontas
00:49and some believe it's referenced in David Copperfield where he mentions a house that's bulging over the road in Canterbury.
00:57It's most likely going to be that one, isn't it?
00:59Now it's a second hand bookshop, as you said Bartholomew, for the homeless charity Catching Lives.
01:04Second most pictured structure in the city, any guesses for the number one?
01:08The cathedral, I would guess. It's an interesting one.
01:12I used to actually live very close to here and so I would often walk by when I'm going to get my milk or my bread in the morning.
01:18The amount of people that would stop and take a picture, it was a daily thing that you would see.
01:26You'd get lots of visitors, lots of people that come from overseas to see Canterbury, lots of groups of school children.
01:32So you'd hear all the different languages, all the different ways of saying, oh wow, that house looks incredible.
01:38Well, we've got an expert but I don't think we need one if we've got you sat here.
01:42No, no, that's probably the limit as I saw it today.
01:45Let's hear from a Canterbury historian, Trevor Gardner, on exactly what the crooked house is all about.
01:52Well, it's a very good story. The central chimney breast was demolished for whatever reason.
02:01There was some structural damage to it and unfortunately in 1850 it started to fall down.
02:06The building itself started to lean and they removed the chimney breast and they built a steel collar around that
02:14and there's a steel collar around the house itself as well.
02:17So it's a very stable house now but it was a structural problem and it's been rectified.
02:23But that was about 1850 this took place and ever since it's held its shape, despite the fact that the door looks wonky,
02:32but that's just been made to look that way.
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