John of Gaddesden's House is on the site of an ancient cottage that is likely to have been the birthplace of John of Gaddesden (1280-1361), a leading physician in medieval England who was probably the model for Chaucer's "Doctor of Physick" in The Canterbury Tales. The present house was built in the 15C. Since then it has been much altered and added to, though the chimney stacks are made of the original small, narrow red bricks.
Author: G Patterson