Flint House is in Harbour Street in Broadstairs and can be clearly seen from the harbour and the main beach, Viking Bay. It sits proudly just below Bleak House which is famous as the holiday home of Charles Dickens.
This part of the Kentish coast is famous for its white cliffs – everyone remembers ‘The White Cliffs Of Dover’ sung by Vera Lynn during the second world war. As you walk along the beaches and stare up at the white cliffs, you can clearly see the bands of flint within the chalk. As the cliff gets washed away the flints accumulate on the beaches. As the name suggests, Flint House is made of flint taken from the beach and ‘knapped’; that is to say broken to reveal a flat internal surface. In the 18th Century, flint was a cheap building material and easy to obtain, nowadays it is more expensive and you are no longer allowed to simply take it from the beach!
Flint House was built in 1720 when the two shipwright families of Broadstairs joined forces. Mary Culmer married Joseph Wright and Flint House was built for their marital home. This was a clever move because from the bedroom windows Joseph could see the jetty – where the boats were being built. He could do a body count and make sure that his workers were keeping themselves busy! The house has five floors including a mezzanine. It is situated on a hill so you can come in through the front door, go down two flights of stairs into the kitchen and still be able to open the back door onto Harbour Street.
The studio is large and offers plenty of natural light. We try to keep the number of people on each course to a minimum, this gives you more individual time with the course tutor and more space to work in.
All of the recommended accommodation on our list is within a short walk from Flint House, as are many bars and restaurants where you will be able to recharge your batteries at the end of each day.
