Spade House was the home of the science fiction writer

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port 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 and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, in southeast England.

History

H G Wells - Sandgate - Project Gutenberg eText 13715

The house was designed by

C.F.A. Voysey Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (28 May 1857 – 12 February 1941) was an English architect and furniture and textile designer. Voysey's early work was as a designer of wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings in a Arts and Crafts style and he ma ...

, 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 A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...

. Wells's two sons were born here, and while living at Spade House Wells wrote books including ''

Kipps ''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical ''H ...

'', ''

Tono-Bungay ''Tono-Bungay'' is a realist semiautobiographical novel written by H. G. Wells and first published in book form in 1909. It has been called "arguably his most artistic book". It had been serialised before book publication, both in the United ...

'' and ''

Ann Veronica ''Ann Veronica'' is a novel by H. G. Wells published in 1909. It describes the rebellion of Ann Veronica Stanley, "a young lady of nearly two-and-twenty", against her middle-class father's stern patriarchal rule. The novel dramatizes the contem ...

''. The house has been

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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, an ...

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.

References

External links

*
Complete H. G. Wells texts at Gutenberg
* 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 {{Kent-struct-stub