Winnie the Pooh’s house could be yours for this much

By Filipa Gaspar

A real-life "Pooh Corner" home, believed to be the birthplace of the famous bear Winnie, has had $100,000 slashed off its asking price.

The Grade II listed building was built in 1790 in Bristol's Clifton village.

It served as a tea shop for several decades, where it was frequented by children's author A.A. Milne and his friend, artist E.H. Shepard.

During one of their visits in the 1920s, it is believed Shepard first sketched the ideas of a “silly old bear” - inspired by Milne’s son Christopher’s teddy bear - and Winnie the Pooh was born.

Later on, in the 1930s, Shepard created his one and only oil painting of Winnie the Pooh.

He donated it to the tea shop where it was on proud display for many years, according to Haighs, the estate agents selling the house.

This led to locals calling the terraced property “Pooh Corner” - a nickname passed down through the generations.

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The two-bedroom terraced property in Clifton is still on the market and the price has gone down from $700,000 to $600,000.

The painting of Winnie the Pooh was kept in the tea shop until it closed in the 1950s - it was sold, but reappeared in a private collection in the 1970s and was then put up for auction in 2000.

Citizens of Winnipeg - a city in Canada - believe a soldier from their town inspired the bear’s name, so they banded together to bid more than $124,000 at a Sotheby’s auction to get their hands on the signed painting.

They say Milne named his iconic character after a Canadian black bear cub he took his son Christopher to see at London Zoo.

The bear - named Winnie - was the companion of a Winnipeg veterinarian Harry Colebourn, and his Canadian regiment during the First World War.

He had to leave the bear in London due to quarantine regulations.

A Haighs spokesperson said: “There are houses that have an interesting tale to tell, and this adorable Grade 2 Listed terrace is most definitely in that category!

“Nowadays, the house offers charm and character in abundance over four floors, with two bedrooms, two large reception rooms and a kitchen in the road-level ‘lower’ ground floor.”