The Emperor’s New Door

This property dating from around 1590 is now a community hub and cafe, but once upon a time it provided an overnight stop for the Russian Emperor Peter the Great on his way to review the fleet at Portsmouth. At 6 foot 8 inches he was very self-conscious about his height and so ordered that the doorway be raised to make him look smaller when he alighted from his coach. Originally part of the premier coaching inn for the town, Charles II and Samuel Pepys also stayed here. 
Here endeth today’s history lesson.