Under the Thatch scoops Guardian ethical award

Congratulations to Under the Thatch which has won The Guardian's ethical award for travel 2007 and which has several gypsy caravans and showman's wagons among its accommodation choices. Here's what Richard Hammond, one of the judges who stayed in a gypsy caravan in south-west Ceredigion, said about the operator and the caravan:

"Inside, it's barely 6ft by 6ft. There's a small wood stove, several minuscule cupboards, and a double bed on a raised platform...The caravan is a "bow-top", with a roof like a barrel. To be precise, it's a Romany caravan or "vargo", built in 1924 and last used by travellers in the 70s...Like all Under the Thatch's properties, the caravan is run as a low impact, eco-friendly concern - there are compost and recycling facilities and local wood for the fire. The cottages were restored using lime rather than cement, oil-based paint and sheep's wool insulation; some have solar panels, others reed-bed sewage systems, wood-chip boilers and recycled furnishings."

Thatched garden office: James Davies

Regular readers will know that Shedworking is a sucker for some nice thatch. Above is a particularly lovely example of a thatched garden office by Devon-based Master Thatcher James Davies (there are more photos of the build at his site). James uses two types of reed for thatch, water reed and wheat. Also worth a look is The Garden Thatch Company though these would be a bit chilly in the snow (see below).

Box of Delights - Custom Roof Thatch

Ohio-based Custom Roof Thatch do just that, thatch anything, anywhere (in the US) including garden offices and other shedlike atmospheres. Lots of great examples on their web site.

The Hermitary

Whether you like it or not, shedworking and homeworking tends to be a fairly solitary occupation. A fantastic site for those who regard a bit of peace and quiet as, on the whole, a good thing is The Hermitary which has a wide range of articles, book reviews and links on the subject of hermits and solitude. There's also an interesting blog, Hermit's Thatch.

Jerome K Jerome's writing summerhouse for sale

Around the time of writing Three Men in a Boat (1889), the writer Jerome K Jerome bought this rather nice place, Goulds Grove (it also goes under the name of 'Troy'), a Grade II-listed Georgian house not far from Henley-on-Thames. This is where he lived and worked from 1895 to 1908, writing in the summerhouse which you can see at the middle left of your picture. In his autobiography he calls it "an old farmhouse on the hill above Wallingford".

The circular flint-and-thatch summerhouse was also used by Jerome's literary guests, the likes of H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle nipping in during frequent visits to scribble away.

It's on with Savills and you won't get any change out of £6 million if you want to make an offer, but to be fair it's a lovely home and does have a nice swimming pool (visible close to the summerhouse) and tennis court, not to mention two theatres built by Jerome.

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Dr Johnson: shedworker

 

 

Dr Samuel Johnson, he of dictionary fame, was also a shedworker, or to be more precise, a summerhouseworker. However, it was not actually his. 

 

In the last quarter of the 18th century, Johnson was a regular visitor to the Streatham Place home in London of brewing magnate Henry Thrale and his wife Hester. The extensive grounds were home to a rather secluded wooden thatched summerhouse and Johnson took a shine to it so much - he sat and read in it, and may also have written some of his book The Lives of Poets - that it was informally named after him. It's not clear when it was built, but a likely date is 1773. Pictured above is an image of it with Johnson inside hard at work by the 19th century artist William Clarkson Stanfield.

 

After the house was sole in 1825, the Thrales' daughter Susannah took it to her Ashgrove home in Knockholt, Kent. A plaque on the summerhouse, now lost, recorded that: "She erected it on rising ground in the very centre of the grove making all paths lead to it, and making the grove a kind of shrine to Dr Johnson’s memory." Sadly, it was rather neglected and fell into disrepair until it was bought by a Mr WH Wells in 1962 who donated it to Kenwood House where it was restored and re-erected in 1968.

Then tragedy. It burnt down in March 1991. However, using images of the original, London artist Alan Byrne spent more than two years constructing a replica - pictured below - in his back garden in Islington, slates replacing the thatch and with chestnut used for the main build.

Those interested in finding out more should read Shaun Traynor's article in The Author magazine, a piece by good friend of shedworking John 'Shedman' Davies for The Johnson Society about a visit to the replica, and a really thorough history of it by Donald N. Cook in The New Rambler.

 

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Raffles Garden Buildings: thatching

Andrew and David Raffle specialise in the dying art of designing new and restoring historic summerhouses and garden structures with thatched roofs. This means working with moss and heather as well as more wellknown rustic materials. Their site is marvellous, particularly the picture gallery here and features articles on an interesting range of projects including:
* The Heather House at Florence Court, County Fermanagh, home to the Earls of Enniskillen, for the National Trust
* The reconstruction of the 18th century Witches Hut at Hestercombe Gardens (pictured above)
* A new hermitage in the Wilderness Garden at Elton Hall in Cambridgeshire
* The Moss House in the Spring Gardens, Belvoir Castle (pictured below)
* Gettting hold of 6,000 clean knuckle bones to repair Knuckle bone Arbour, Castle Ashby

According to an article in Country Life, both brothers served apprenticeships as thatchers in Derbyshire, but in 1983 they decided to specialise in building and restoring rustic huts. The article continues:

"After much historical research, they embarked on designing their own. 'We thatch with heather, straw or reed, and we use timber which still has the bark on it,' says David Raffle. 'Some people ask us to put in a hidden door, so we build in a bit of curved wood which can act as a door handle, opening into a secret storage space behind.'"

I also particularly like their chicken shed, pictured below.

Shed of the Year finalists announced

The longlist finalists for each category in the Shed of the Year 2014 have been announced on Shedblog and a fine selection they are. In the garden office entry, we particularly like Jamie Dix's Little Thatch but the other finalists are also well worth checking out
Rapod Garden Office - Toni Keers's shedworking atmosphere features a unique type of cladding
The Poki Shed - Huw Grantham's recycled/upcycled garden office has a VW camper bench seat
Denison Garden Studio - a present for the owner’s mothers 50^th birthday.

They'll all have to go some to beat the teapot though... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Children need sheds too - Spindle Cottage

Spindle Cottage is a rather lovely self catering Holiday Cottage on the Mendip Hills which also opens as part of the National Gardens Scheme charity. It also features three spectacular children's playsheds as they explain:

First is Ruth’s Cottage, gothic in style with a tiny cast iron stove, wooden table, chairs and a dresser. Tom’s Lodge is an Elizabethan thatch cottage, with a tiny stair case to the upper room. Lastly you will find Charlotte’s Post Office, a Victorian shop. Filled with fruit and vegetables, cakes and tins, a little cash till and a post box.

Via Malvernmeet on Twitter


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Friday Eye Candy - Live Life Outdoors

Live Life Outdoors are not technically garden office suppliers but their handmade 3.7m diameter thatched hardwood gazebos would be pleasant spots for some minor shedworking. The thatch should last 15 years in the UK and naturally is fully waterproof. Optional extras include benches, hexagonal tables and curtains/screens.

Shed holidays

Under the Thatch is a self-catering holiday operator specialising in unique locations in Wales. Not only do they offer a range of marvellous properties including gypsy caravans, log cabins and even a converted railway carriage, they use profits from the business to help rescue other historic buildings at risk and aim to run an eco-friendly business.

Thatched garden offices

If you've a yen for a thatched garden office then it's definitely well worth taking a look at The Little Thatched Company. While their portfolio of buildings and bespoke work covers a wide range, they are definitely targeting the shedworking market with several garden office possibilities in three main sizes. All have an oak frame structure and come with exposed beams, decent insulation and Fired Earth paint colours of your choice. They also offer non-thatch roof options like cedar shingle and handmade clay tiles. Happily, they are also entered in Shed of the Year so please do go and vote for them via the link - it would be great to see a thatched shed on the podium this year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Shire cottages

New Zealand-based Shire Cottage describes their design as "the ultimate garden ornament" but also argue that it would be ideal not only as a playhouse or occasional sleep out but also as a shed. Measuring 2.1m x 2.5m, it has a particularly traditional feel to the roof - marine plywood covered with brushwood thatch over Onduline corrugated bitumen - and very pleasing round and half moon windows. Sadly it's not insulated so winter shedworking would be a problem. Delivery throughout New Zealand.Thanks to John Chapman for the alert.
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