Large interest in small house House for sale - quite small

THE TERM "bijou" has been banned from estate agents' blurb under the Property Misdescriptions Act, but Thimble Hall must certainly be one of the most "compact" homes ever to come on the market.

The one up, one down, cottage in the Peak District, certainly lives up to the definition of "small" and with rooms just the width of outstretched arms is said to be Britain's smallest detached house.

Despite its proportions the 200-year-old property built of stone and situated in the picture postcard village of Youlgreave, in Derbyshire, once housed a family of eight.

It is to be auctioned on Wednesday where it is expected to fetch between pounds 5,000 and pounds 15,000.

Compared with the prices for similar properties in London, the lucky buyer might have a bargain on their hands. Two years ago someone bought a 15ft by 8ft broom cupboard in Sloane Avenue for pounds 65,000, leaving behind two disappointed would-be buyers. For his money he got a living area, a bathroom, a fitted wardrobe and a half-fitted kitchen but it was a still a terrace.

Thimble Hall, which has only one "mod con" is apparently attracting a lot of interest from prospective buyers who are attracted by the prospect of a forecourt and rear parking space.

Inside the ground floor has exposed beams and a fireplace. The upstairs room, with a ceiling only 5ft 8ins high, is reached by a fixed wooden ladder.

After the family moved out it became an antique shop, a cobblers and then a store unit. Now its present owner, a farmer, is selling up.

Mark Bramall, the manager of the estate agency acting for the owner, said there had been tremendous interest in the house. "People fancy it as a bachelor pad or a studio."