A PAIR of tiny sedan chair houses have smashed their auction estimate to sell for more per square foot than the lavish mansions nearby.

The single-room properties in Bath were built by world famous architect John Wood the Elder for sedan chairmen to wait in-between jobs.

Both are Grade II Listed but they have just 100sq/ft of space - making them around one-ninth the size of a typical English home.

Despite being smaller than a single garage, there was huge interest in the historic buildings when they were sold by Savills Auctions on Monday.

The buildings, which were owned by Bath and North East Somerset Council, had a guide price of just £25,000.

However one sold for £78,000 and the other was bought for £81,000.

This worked out at around £800 per square foot - almost double the price of a detached Georgian mansion in the picturesque city.

The most expensive houses in Bath, which come with large gardens and grand entertaining rooms, cost around £500 per sq/ft.

One of the properties is let out to a barber while the other is vacant.

Paul Mooney, director at Savills Auctions, said: "We had lots of interest and expected them to do well.

"They are unique and whoever has bought them will be able to enjoy them for the coming years.

"With quirky properties like this, auction is the best place to sell because you could have ten estate agents given ten different values.

"It was a good result for us and it is good news for the council. They were sold in a public forum and the money goes back into the local borough."

Sedan chairs, which were named after the town of Sedan in France, came to England in the early 16th century.

As Bath expanded, drawing the wealthy, the sedan chair became the mode of transport of choice for fashionable and well-dressed men and women looking to travel around the city's increasingly congested and filthy streets.

Sedan chairmen would be able to get from place-to-place quicker the traditional carriages.

In-between jobs, the chairmen drink and gamble in sedan chair houses.

The lodges in Bath, near The Circus and Assembly Rooms in the city centre, are thought to be the last remaining pair in the UK.

They were designated Grade II listed buildings in 1950 and were heavily restored in the 1970s.