Whilst you’ll often find me over here waxing lyrical about London having the biggest and best of things, I am a firm believer of the whole ‘good things come in small packages’ thing. And so today, I come bearing one of the teeny-tiniest gems in London’s jam-packed treasure trove.
Ostler’s Hut
Amongst the hustle and the bustle of London’s legal district sits one of the city’s littlest landmarks in the form of Ostler’s Hut. This historic hut is tucked away in Lincoln’s Court (one of the four ‘Inns of Court’ that can be found in the capital) and is considered to be London’s smallest listed building.
The rather unassuming structure is thought to have been built in 1860 as a resting place for the court’s ostler. Back in the 19th century, the ostler was responsible for looking after the horses of the lawyers and visitors of Lincoln’s Court. And the hut was constructed to give the ostler a space to rest his weary legs. The Grade II listed building was briefly used as the inn’s internal post office, but is now mainly used as a storage space.
Measuring in at just 13-feet by 10-feet, it certainly puts forward a fairly convincing case for being the city’s smallest listed building. But it is a subject that’s still very much up for debate. Some people believe Trafalgar Square’s small-but-mighty police station to be the littlest listed building in London, and others think that the title belongs to the rather unique phone-box prototype that’s perched at the entrance of Burlington House.
đź“ŤYou’ll find the Ostler’s Hut at 10 Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn, WC2A 3SU.
🚇 The nearest stations are Holborn and Chancery Lane.
