Club Visit to Tudor House in Hastings

Tudor House Visit 3 May 2015

On Sunday 3 May, dodging the raindrops, a small group of Rotarians were treated to a trip back in time – atour of the “Tudor House” in All Saints Street Hastings led by Alastair Hendy. As well as being the owner of the house, Alastair has been personally involved in its restoration, from mock-Georgian town house, to its original 15th century appearance.

Alastair opens the house about four times a year, so this really was a rare chance to look around. He explained that not all of the restoration had been aiming to recreate what the Tudors did – they would have been delighted to enjoy the benefits of under-floor heating in the dining room, which sits below the level of All Saints Street and was suffering from a lot of damp problems when Alastair moved in. Having lifted the authentic flagstones to insert a waterproof membrane, in the hope of stopping the rising damp, he thought he may as well have a little luxury so added under-floor heating before replacing the original flagstones, so it still has the look of a Wolf Hall set but without the need for the thick period costumes.

His aim has been to create a feeling of history, with a strong nod in the direction of the builders of the original parts of the house, but without being slavishly addicted to correct historical detail.

We were treated to a tour lasting well over an hour and Alastair was happy to answer all our questions – he was even happy to share his experiences with the builders who worked on the project and the costs incurred. We could not have asked for more.