A 500-year-old house in Lincoln leans because of gravity. You can now stay in it.

From the top of Michaelgate in Lincoln, the Wonky House leans out over the cobbles as if it were mid-fall. It has stood at number 40 since the early 16th century. 1

The house opened for overnight stays in late September, after a £570,000 restoration, and its first guests have just left reviews. 2 The Airbnb listing takes two guests, in one bedroom, with the cathedral and the castle each a two-minute walk away. 1

The lean is the whole story. Heritage Lincolnshire's chief executive, Tracy Stringfellow, traced it to the house's position beside Steep Hill: "That's what gravity does." 3

The building was saved once before. In 1933 the city was clearing a row of terraced houses on Michaelgate, and as the work reached this one a builder saw timber framing behind the brick facade and stopped. 3 Heritage Lincolnshire counts the Wonky House, its neighbour The Harlequin and the houses beside them among the most photographed buildings in the Cathedral Quarter. 4

For years the house was let as a holiday home by the National Trust. The restoration returned 40-42 Michaelgate to two separate dwellings: number 40 is the one you can book, and number 42 will follow once its own works are finished. 2

The work cost £570,000, funded by £350,000 from the Architectural Heritage Fund, £110,000 from Historic England and £86,000 from the council. 25

Behind modern cement panels, deathwatch beetle had eaten deep into the frame. 2

The repairs replaced sash windows, renewed a dormer and added a brick buttress to hold the building on the slope. Some of the original 1500s timbers are still in place, and where windows had to be replaced, a Lincolnshire joiner made them using traditional skills. 3

The City of Lincoln Council owns the building and Heritage Lincolnshire, a conservation charity, leases and runs it. 23 Every booking pays for the charity's work on Lincolnshire's historic buildings. 6

Only two people have reviewed the Wonky House so far, and both stayed in the past week. 1

Maelys, a guest of seven years on the platform, called the house "absolutely wonderful… historic, cosy, clean and new," and singled out the host: "Tara is a great host — lovely, accommodating and thoughtful." She rated the stay above the maximum Airbnb allows. 1

Stephanie, who has used Airbnb for nine years, was practical about it: "Absolutely lovely place to stay and historic! Clean and comfortable." What she valued most was the position — the castle and cathedral on foot, and a bakery "pretty much on the doorstep." 1

Two five-star reviews say little yet about how the house holds up in a Lincoln winter or when the street outside is busy. 1

The rate depends on your dates. Airbnb and the property's own booking page both quote once dates are entered, so treat the price as date-dependent and let each site quote your nights. 16

Getting there is the first logistics problem. The house sits on a cobbled one-way hill; luggage can be dropped outside, cars go to Castle Car Park five minutes away at £10.70 for 24 hours, and on-street parking on Drury Lane is free from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. 1

Inside, the small print is light: self check-in from a key safe after 3 p.m., checkout before 10 a.m., two guests maximum, and pets are allowed. 1

The one caveat worth knowing before you book is the staircase. Stringfellow says the wonkiness is at its most obvious there, and the BBC's own advice is that you "may have to twist and bend to get up" it. 3 If you want to spend a night in a 16th-century house that gravity keeps bending, start with the listing. 1