Spade House, (now Wells House), is a large mansion overlooking Sandgate, near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, in southeast England. It was the home of the science fiction writer H. G. Wells from 1901 to 1909. Designed by C. F. A. Voysey, it is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The house was designed by C. F. A. Voysey, and extended in 1903. Voysey included a signature heart shape on the door of every home he designed, but Wells rejected this in favour of a spade. H.G. and Catherine Wells' two sons were born here, and while living at Spade House Wells wrote books including '' Kipps'', '' Tono-Bungay'' and '' Ann Veronica''. The house has been Grade II* listed on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

since March 1975. It is now occupied by the "Wells House" nursing home. At the entrance is an ornate nameplate and a blue plaque from the Sandgate Society, commemorating the link to Wells.

Gallery

Spade House drawings (2a).JPG, Vosey design H G Wells - Sandgate - Project Gutenberg eText 13715.png, Wells at Spade House, 1907 Spade House.jpg, Blue plaque commemorating Wells

References

External links

*
Complete H. G. Wells texts at Gutenberg
* {{cite book , last1=Boerst , first1=William , title=Time Machine: The Story of H. G. Wells , date=2000 , publisher=Morgan Reynolds , isbn=9781883846404 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mlfBFSrzgxUC , access-date=13 March 2021 , quote=Juvenile non-fction Arts and Crafts architecture in England Buildings by C.F.A. Voysey Country houses in Kent Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Kent H. G. Wells Houses completed in 1903 Folkestone and Hythe District