Canvey Island’s 400-Year-Old Mystery: Tiny Ceilings, Eight Sides & Evil Spirits!
Discover the secrets of Canvey Island’s famous Dutch Cottage! Over 400 years old, this quirky octagonal building has surprisingly low ceilings, a fascinating flooring mystery, and a spooky theory about keeping evil spirits at bay!
Did you Know? that dating back to around 1618, Canvey Island’s famous Dutch Cottage is over 400 years old and the ground-floor ceiling is just 5ft 3in high!
People were generally shorter back then, with the average man standing around 5ft 5in to 5ft 7in, so even in 1618, plenty of people would have needed to duck!
But there’s a fascinating theory behind those low ceilings.
It’s said that the original floor was made from beaten earth and shells, and over the centuries, new floors were laid on top of the old ones. As many as five layers of flooring gradually raised the floor level, reducing the headroom.
And there’s another mystery!
Why was the cottage built with eight sides?
One theory is that its unusual octagonal shape helped it withstand Canvey’s fierce winds. Another, rather spooky explanation, is that the design prevented evil spirits from hiding in corners, Spooky eh!
