Bar Hibby's scoops Pub Shed of the Year 2026 title

Wolverhampton Wanderers-themed pub shed Bar Hibby's in Rugeley has won the 2026 Pub Shed of the Year organised once again by Two Fat Blokes Bar Signs and Ngage Radio.

Owned by Tina and Rich Hibbs who built it in 2018, the 20ftx10ft Staffordshire shed is decorated with a huge collection of Wolves memorabilia and is used by all the family for relaxing and parties as well as Christmas lunch. Last year's winner Cognito's owned by Glen Gandy from Willenhall also had a Wolves theme.

Other features include an outdoor play area,  beer garden, Pac-Man arcade machine, large screen television, bar with lager and cider on draught, and traditional pub benches and tables. 

The two runners-up in the competition which attracted 1,088 entries were The Mucky Pub in Wakefield and The Pampered Chicken in Emsworth.

Next year's competition will see all six previous winners pitted against each other.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

Scottish Royal summerhouse conservation completed

A Bavarian-style rustic summerhouse built in the mid-19th century as a wedding gift for the Princess Marie of Baden has reopened following the National Trust for Scotland’s conservation works at Brodick Castle, Garden & Country Park.

A striking feature on the coastline of the Isle of Arran, the restored summerhouse is the grandest, and the only surviving, of four summerhouses built for Princess Marie in the gardens of Brodick Castle following her marriage to William the 11th Duke of Hamilton. 

The summerhouse is built into the sandstone rockface and offers spectacular views over Brodick Bay. It is a listed building, described by Historic Environment Scotland as a “rare and outstanding example of an elaborately decorated summerhouse situated within a designed picturesque landscape."

“The princess was a vibrant socialite who mingled with the highest ranks of European society, hosting them among her exceptional gardens," said Laura Baillie, the National Trust for Scotland's Conservation Building Surveyor for the South & West region. “She had a close relationship with her cousin Louis-Napolean Bonaparte, hosting him several times at Brodick Castle.”

Conservation works on the summerhouse included maintenance of the rhododendron stem decoration, replacement of heritage glass in the windows, the addition of latches on the windows, and repairs to the slate facetted roof. Plans are underway to repair the original interior ceiling, which is decorated with pinecones, the work of Bavarian craftsmen. Joinery works were carried out by local TF Joinery and decoration works have been completed by local painter Homes by Holmes.

Along with the other three summerhouses, the Bavarian summerhouse provided a resting place along the ‘Romantic Walks’ created by Princess Marie through the woodlands between 1843 and 1863, in collaboration with her friend, the artist George Hering. Today, the summerhouse can be reached from Brodick Castle by way of a circular walk that passes the walled garden, pond and summerhouse, before heading back to the castle.

Photos copyright Alan MacAteer Photo.

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Shedworking on holiday

 

The Shedworking staff has scarpered to the beach for a few days rest, relaxation, and rereading of The Philosophy of Sheds, published by the British Library and available at all good bookshops. See you again next week.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

The Philosophy of Sheds goes international

A nice story about the importance of sheds to a happy life written by my former colleague from Yorkshire Evening Press days Helen Rowe now at AFP press agency gives my latest book The Philosophy of Sheds a nice name check with some quotes by me about the joy of sheds - the piece has been published all over the world including Malaysia and Luxembourg. You can try it in English here https://www.yahoo.com/.../british-eccentrics-push-humble... or in French here https://www.laprovence.com/.../royaume-uni-loin-de-la...

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

 

Friday Finery: The Thomas Gainsborough Garden

 

This week's finery was the marvellous Hipped Garden Studio from Malvern Garden Buildings that appeared last month at the inaugural RHS Flower Show at Sandringham in The Thomas Gainsborough Garden designed by Frederic Whyte. 

This was built as a north-facing artist's studio and finished in a gentle green-grey shade with a soft yellow interior that was very simply furnished, and also featured specially commissioned diptych paintings by artist Kate Giles celebrating the garden as well as handcrafted furniture by Otis of O B Luxton.

You can see it in the excellent video below from about the 14:50 mark, but look out also for the excellent shedlike atmospheres featured in the show too in the other gardens. 

 

 

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Outdoor teenager den garden room

To celebrate A level results day, here is a 4m x 2m Canopy Room model from Modern Garden Rooms which is used as a den for the Surrey client's teenagers. Features include French doors, two 0.5m sidelights with top opening windows, and a knotty grade cedar cladding on the rear of the building facing against the fence to help keep costs down.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

EcoNeo low carbon summerhouse

 

This is a tremendous summerhouse from Cophenhagen-based SAGA Space Architects (who design some very shedlike space buildings too).

They call it the EcoNeo house and it measures 35 m², catering for a family of 6, and includes this year's must-have shed feature, a sauna. It is made entirely out of biogenic material, with exterior oak shingles cladding, and inside a mixture of plywood, Douglas fir, birch, and OSB panels. 

There are lots of eco-friendly elements to the build and some lovely photos of it too (click link above to take a look) but understandably they are particularly proud of its carbon footprint. Here's what they say on the subject:

The average size of a new summerhouse in Denmark is 93.6m², with an average emission of 9.5 kg CO2 per m² per year. By comparison, EcoNeo is only 35m², reducing its overall footprint by approximately 60% through size alone. Combined with its use of biogenic materials, efficient systems, smart environmental controls, and renewable energy support, EcoNeo achieves an estimated footprint of 175 kg CO2 per year, compared to approximately 883.5 kg CO2 per year for an average newly built Danish summerhouse. This represents an estimated reduction of around 80%.

Marvellous photo by Edi Cliff 

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios