With this cleverly converted tiny home in North Yorkshire, England, downsizing has never been so chic. Sunset Lodge, as it’s called, is one of a pair of gatehouses flanking the original drive to historic Grimston Park, a grade II-listed Georgian country house. At just 10 feet by 8 feet, conditions are snug, to say the least. Now on the market, the house is available for roughly the equivalent of $300,000 with Hunters Wetherby estate agents.
A gatehouse is a building that originally accompanied a fortified medieval building. Grimston Park, which is less than 200 years old, obviously didn’t need to have guards by the gate, but they’re a classy throwback built of limestone ashlar blocks, in this case, just like the main house. Interesting details to the exterior include the stepped roof and the kneeling figure of a knight on top. This refers to the motto of the Howden family who completely rebuilt the manor house in 1839. Traditus, non victus – “Yielded, not conquered.”
There are two teensy floors to the lodge, plus a mezzanine bedroom area. The lower ground floor is where the living room and kitchen are, with a nice conservatory roof and doors opening into a very private sunken terrace. There’s also a bedroom built into the original barrel-ceiling cellar.
And that’s about it. However, the location is superb, and the lodge comes with plenty of grassy lawn to enjoy in good weather. The main house itself is now divided into apartments.
The area has an interesting history. The land around Grimston Park has been almost continuously occupied since Roman times. In fact, there are two unexcavated Roman villas on the estate. The name Grimston comes from the Vikings, meaning “the tun (land) of Grim,” a common Viking name. In 1603, the Stanhope family entertained England’s James I on the premises, shortly before he arrived in London to be crowned king.
The new owner of Sunset Lodge will have to be someone who likes eccentric homes and has plenty of dosh to spend on a tiny place. Oh, and who really enjoys their own company.
