Living History Open House 2021 - Hastings Old Town Carnival Week

Living History Open House2021

Step through the wee door at 135 All Saints Street and journey back in time to a forgotten and truly magical world. This 16th century merchant’s house and one of the most complete Tudor houses in Hastings Old Town, which underwent a unique and extensive restoration programme to create the atmospheric dwelling you will see today. The owner, Alastair Hendy, has taken it back to how it may have looked when first built, carrying out major structural repairs throughout, meticulously restoring every surface and internal fixture – yet reinventing the dust of history. Also emphatically autobiographical, the house challenges the conventions of the traditional restoration make-over and Tudor interior, and looks beyond each room’s constraints and into its more conceptual and imaginative possibilities. The restoration has allowed it to breathe and, without trying to recreate a Tudor past, the rooms have been humbly furnished to reflect the character of the house. You will experience first hand this magical time capsule lit by candle light and be able to pick up a few tips on sensitive restoration along with some imaginative design solutions. It is through the poetry of his house Alastair shares this elusive world with you. This magical house lit by candle light, along with its secret garden filled with giant plants, is an experience like no other. Come and step into the pages of a Grimm’s Fairytale – you’ll be amazed. Old Town Mortuary The house also has some secrets of its own, for up until the 1950s the rear wing was used as an undertaker’s workshop, cadavers being stored in the adjoining cellar room. Two elderly Hastings fisherman have recently recounted their memories about when as boys they would come to The Wilderness - as the area behind upper All Saints Street was known then - and peer through the back windows of the house to spot the bodies laid out, then run away.