The Front Door Key To This Handbuilt House Weighs 1.5 Kilos

All the details looked big and clunky. But actually, these features are delicate, the spaces are pretty. It’s snug, it’s light.” A three-bedroom home in Upnor, Kent, which was designed to look like a Tudor seafarer’s cottage, is on the market for £400,000  

The brainchild of a master carpenter, every inch of the home was crafted by hand out of local oak.

Walter Roberts, the carpenter and original owner, created a mammoth oak frame using authentic building techniques from the 1500s.

Roberts constructed the huge oak frame, using carpentry methods from the same period. The mullioned windows were hand-crafted, the wood panelling handmade, with the trees selected by Roberts himself. The bricks, slimmer than standard, were produced locally in Tudor style. The house has leaded light windows, ornate mouldings, stained glass windows: no detail was spared.

The historical features – including mullioned windows, stained glass, Tudor-style bricks, and carved oak doors – baffled neighbours, who couldn’t believe that the home was really constructed in 2004. 

“Sitting there in the sun — at all times of year you’re in the sun in that big window — it feels as though you’re outdoors. It’s tremendous, really,” says Richard. Befitting the imaginary sea captain for whom it was designed, there are “very good views of the river. From the top floor, you look down the River Medway to Chatham Dockyard, where the HMS Victory was built. The river is very present.”

Sadly, Roberts was unable to complete his labour of love due to financial struggles, but the couple he sold the house to – Richard and Anne Emerson – completed the project to the same traditional standards. 

Now, the Emersons are looking for the next buyers for this home. 

“I’d like to see it go to somebody who loves it as much as we do, who respects the sincerity of Walter’s purpose in building the thing,” said Richard Emerson. 

“To put in wardrobes with mirrored doors and double glazing would denature it so horrifically. It would be cruel, really.” 

But the time-travelling house will also pose a few practicality challenges for the new buyers. 

“Just after we bought it, [Roberts] presented us with the front door lock, which is enormous: about a foot across, and the key, which is about 10 inches long,” Richard Emerson said. 

“You can use it, but it’s not very practical to go to the supermarket – it weighs a kilo and a half. It would damage your handbag.” 

Luckily, he shared that the home also comes with a regular-sized key for everyday purposes. 

“I’d like to see it go to somebody who loves it as much as we do, who respects the sincerity of Walter’s purpose in building the thing. To put in wardrobes with mirrored doors and double glazing would denature it so horrifically. It would be cruel, really. Somebody who is prepared to adapt their lifestyle around the edges to the house would be ideal.”

Real estate agency Wards of Kent are in charge of the sale. The online listing states: “Although traditionally built this is a new terraced house, built for an imaginary Elizabethan sea captain […] Is there a seafarer out there looking for a landing?”

This Tasmanian manor house has a rich history.