Wordsworth's writing hut summer house

This marvellously evocative photo of William Wordsworth's writing hut at Rydal Mount was taken by friend of Shedworking photographer and writer Chris Routledge. Of equally high calibre is this guest post written exclusively for us by Kira Welland a PhD student at the University of Cumbria in Ambleside whose research (‘The spatial contexts of Rydal Mount and how these influence the influence the writings of Mary, Dorothy, and Dora Wordsworth’), explores the literary heritage and architectural history of Rydal Mount:

At the head of the Rydal Mount gardens sits a poet’s throne. This is the Summer House, a garden hut that holds gravitas far beyond its humble size. It was here that William Wordsworth (1770-1850) would compose his poetry. However, this quaint writing hut not only provided the location for poesy; it was also a source of inspiration.

Wordsworth lived at Rydal Mount from 1813 until his death in 1850, and he was responsible for defining the character of its gardens. The terraces, built to mimic walking in the fells, were largely landscaped by Wordsworth during the 1820s.

Connecting two of these terraces, it is likely Wordsworth built the Summer House around the same time. Certainly by 1826, Wordsworth wrote a poem on the prospect of being evicted from Rydal Mount, and intended to inscribe it on the door of the Summer House:

The Massy Ways, carried across these heights
By Roman perseverance, are destroyed, -
Or hidden underground, like sleeping worms.
How then to hope that Time will spare
This humble walk? Yet on the mountain’s side
A Poet’s hand first shaped it; and the steps
Of that same Bard – repeated to and fro
At morn, at noon, and under moonlight skies
Through the vicissitudes of many a year -
Forbade the weeds to creep o’er its grey line.
William Wordsworth, ‘The Massy Ways, carried across these heights’, lines 1-10. 

As the current structure differs slightly from Wordsworth’s day, the Summer House is now open on both sides to allow direct access from one terrace to another. Constructed from slate and previously lined with pinecones, it appears as an organic feature of the fellside, reflecting Wordsworth’s Romantic philosophy. With the doorways framing picturesque views towards Wansfell and Loughrigg, the little hut has big prospects, and it is easy to see how one could be enraptured in poesy from such a place.

The Summer House inspired compositions beyond those of its maker. Maria Jane Jewsbury (1800-1833) first visited Rydal Mount in 1825, and was captivated by the house and grounds. The resulting work ‘A Poet’s Home’ was published in The Literary Magnet in 1826, and featured the following lines referring to the Summer House:

Winding walk, and sheltered nook,
For student grave, and graver book;
Or a bird-like bower, perchance,
Fit for maiden and romance.
Maria Jane Jewsbury, ‘A Poet’s Home’, lines 9-12.

Jewsbury expresses the versatility of the Summer House, both in its purpose for Wordsworth’s philosophical ponderings, but also as a sanctuary. The ‘sheltered nook’ evokes a familial intimacy fitting for the small hut, particularly when paired with ideas of youth and romance in the following lines. Located at the highest point in the grounds yet shielded by magnificent trees, it is a paradoxical place: small, but grand; sheltered, but imposing; solemn, but whimsical.

Two hundred years later, the Summer House continues its contradictory existence. It encapsulates the sublimity of the Lake District’s landscape, simultaneously lofty and snug. The Summer House endures as a venue and source for creativity, captured in Chris Routledge’s recent photograph. To use Wordsworth’s own words, this hut prevails for “... those pure Minds that reverence the Muse”, and will hopefully continue to do so for generations to come.

For the past few years, Kira has worked as Rydal Mount’s House Guide and Administrator, and now works for the Wordsworth Conference Foundation. She is in the process of creating her own blog recording her research journey, and is also active on Instagram, Bluesky, and
LinkedIn.

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Rotating summerhouse

Regular readers know that the Shedworking editorial team loves nothing more than a revolving shedlike construction (though underground sheds run a close second). Here's a fabulous example from Scotts of Thrapston of its 2.4m Burghley model in a light grey Wood Ash finish with deocrative leaded windows that was built for Vicky Pugh in Devon who was after a summerhouse remembered from her youth. Other features include a copper finial, and a composite glass fibre roof which looks like slate, as wll as robust handles to rotate the base on nylon wheels which is all hidden by a timber skit

"We have found ourselves enjoying the summerhouse all year round even when the weather is not so good," she says. "It was lovely to sit out there when it snowed in December, and I like to hear the sound of rain on the roof too. My son says that he would like to sleep in it overnight."

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Friday Finery: self-built hempcrete architecture studio

This week's entry in the Friday Finery slot is this remarkable garden office build by Commonbond Architects to be used by their own staff. With an internal floor area of 28m², it consists of two interconnecting rooms with a long table for working, and a snug. There's also a lavatory and storage area.

What makes it particularly interesting is that it's made from hempcrete as a test for using this environmentally-friendly breathable building material which also has splendid insulation properties. Moreover, as regular readers know, the Shedworking staff really love an underground build and this one is sunk one metre into the ground in order to make the flowerbeds align with the desktop which makes for a fine view. 

It's been shortlisted for the Architects Journal Small Projects 2024 award so you can vote for it here.

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Shou Sugi Bangers music studio

This is the tremendous exterior to the Shou Sugi Bangers music studio designed by Unknown Works, a charred and scalloped accoya music recording studio in Peckham, London, for a major London-based producer. As you know, we are suckers for anything remotely underground and this is semi-sunken. Here's what Unknown Works say about it:⁠

The building utilises a carefully designed set of CNC-milled larch panels, textured at both a macro and micro level, to create a variety of soundscapes across its facade; a reflection of the hyper controlled acoustic environment on the inside. A gradient of concave to smooth surfaces help either augment or mitigate the collection of sounds from the surrounding garden. ⁠
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Built as a 'room within a room', the interior of the studio is designed as a meditative space, naturally lit by a singular, acoustically attenuated oculus above. The room is 'tuned' by a series of acoustic baffles and bass traps that eliminate reverb and ensure a perfectly balanced audio environment. ⁠

Head over to dezeen for lots more marvellous photos of it by Lorenzo Zandri.

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Bat Wing Studio

 

Regular readers of Shedworking will know that the staff are very partial to an underground garden office. This build from architect Tom Parsons not only fulfils that delight but also offers a wonderful roofline. Here's how he describes it:

Completed garden office with a lightweight birch plywood ‘gull wing’ / ‘bat wing’ roof. Exposed concrete walls and floor dug into the hillside. Charred cladding and steel doors. A delight to flex some creativity, design and deliver with a brilliant team and visionary client.

Lots more photos at the link above.

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Garden office a key feature for people looking for quirky properties

More than a third of UK homebuyers are now seeking unique features and unusual shaped spaces, according to new research by TalkTalk. The most popular quirky things Brits would hope to find when looking for a new home are:

1. Period features (21%)
2. Garden office  (17%)
3. Outhouse (16%)
4. Underground levels (i.e. a basement) (13%)
5. Untraditional, renovated space in the home (12%)
6. Concealed rooms (10%)
7. Built in wall herb garden (9%)
8. Unusual layout e.g. unconventional floorplan, stairs in the middle of a room (9%)

Image courtesy Oeco Garden Rooms

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Mirrored garden office for sale

Our list of favourite garden office features includes a semi-underground build, ability to revolve, and room for a cider press. But that list also includes mirrored exterior and you now have a chance to buy your very own. 

Knight Frank is marketing a property in Surey (between Wotton-under-Edge and Tetbury) called The Round House. It's of major architectural importance, contains a world class music recording studio, seven bedrooms, and numerous outbuildings, among them in the garden a mirrored annexe - pictured above - which has been built into the side of a slope. The studio also comes with an en-suite shower room and attached garden store. And it can all be yours for just £5,950,000.

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How to extend your wifi to your garden office

Every so often the tech media run a piece on how to extend the wifi to your garden office to guarantee a decent speed and stability. But it's also useful to have the advice and experience of shedworkers on the ground and they provided their hive mind support to writer and broadcaster Greg Jenner when he asked for help on Twitter. You can read all the replies here but here is a selection of suggestions:

Sorry Greg, but cables for the win. Wifi is for people who don't understand that it's a backup for cables.

— TheEggmaster (@theeggmaster) September 15, 2021

Genuine answer if I was doing this is use a cable. https://t.co/naqNMKEfmi

— Skip Survey 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ (@JonMarkDeane) September 14, 2021

Starlink, Greg. I went from 3mbps where I live to (fluctuating but so worth it) 260mbps …

— Jon Holmes (@jonholmes1) September 14, 2021

You mentioned that cabling underground is problematic. I wonder if a mesh network might be the best answer. I am using Google WiFi and it feel far more superior to my Netgear WiFi extender. Get a router with 2 points. 1 point in kitchen. 1 point in garden office.

— Tony B (@Saltbar) September 15, 2021

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Claire & Tom’s garden studio

A joyous garden office studio in Walthamstow, London, for young couple Claire and Tom by Zminkowska De Boise Architects, used in particular to work from home by Claire, a clinical neuropsychologist, but also by Tom, a building services designer. Regular readers of Shedworking know that the stuff love any kind of underground build and this studio is sunk several steps below ground level to fit perfectly into its surroundings.

The timber-framed garden office itself is clad in dark green steel cladding sheets, with a lacquered oak door and yellow powder-coated aluminium window (with matching hammock), all giving a deliberate old fashioned mixed media feel. The floor is blue terrazzo-patterned sheet rubber, while the walls and ceiling are lined with oiled birch plywood. Other features include a sedum roof, built-in flower bed, patio, and low level walls.

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The importance of the garden office commute

 

We've often talked about the 30 second garden office commute here on Shedworking so we were interested to read in the Wall Street Journal (£) that people are developing fake commutes because they miss the routine. Here's a snippet:

It can be a walk around the block. It can be a stop at your local coffee pickup counter or your favorite drive-thru. Many workers have replaced their pre-coronavirus commutes with allotted time around work shifts where they break away from what can be the monotony of working from home, also known as the pretend or "fake commute." One woman told the Wall Street Journal she missed having a "clear dividing line in her weekday." Researchers recommend this practice as a means to fend off burnout.

Shedworking believes this is one of the important things to consider when shedworking, that although you don't have to fight your way through traffic jams or a crowded underground, it's still good to start the working day with a ceremonial commute. While it’s not usually the highlight of the day, it does at least effectively mark the border between home and work. So instead of cracking straight into it after breakfast, nip outside and have a brief wander. Not too long, this is merely taking the air and getting yourself in work mode, not exercise. It’s your 30 second commute.

The Guardian has an interesting gallery of articles about how the pandemic has affected commuting in the UK.

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Slightly underground garden office for an illustrator

A marvellous garden office in London by Shacklewell Architects for illustrator Ann Kronheimer who became a shedworker after working from a small room in her flat. This also underlines that you don't have to own an enormous garden to build a garden studio. Regular readers of Shedworking know that the staff is particularly interested in underground garden offices and this is an example in action with a floor level deliberately designed to be sunk lower than the garden - it means the top of Ann's desk inside is the same height as the garden outside.

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Shacks By The Shore

If you are based in the Brighton area, look out for the opening on Saturday of Rockwater Hove's Shacks by the Shore, a new shedlike restaurant, takeaway and community hub on the Western Esplanade of the seafront. There will be six beach-hut style "shacks" (installation photo top, artist's impressions above) in the former Venue pub location included the Fish Shack with seafood from local fishmongers Fish Galore. As well as locally-sourced food and drink (e.g. West Sussex-based Craft House Coffee and Rockwater Lager), there will be various fitness/wellness facilities supplied by local operators including Underground Gym and Uber Mummies. --------------------------------------

Wednesday’s posts are sponsored by Norwegian Log Buildings  - Log cabins and garden buildings for a better quality of life. Click here for more details.

Garden office underground

We're suckers for two features of garden offices in particular at Shedworking HQ, ones that rotate and ones that are underground. Here's a marvellous design from Brazilian designer Igor Leal (more images at his Instagram page) - the garden office is buried into the garden and accessed via a staircase, but in a twist, it's the front not the back garden so putting it underground gives you all the advantages of shedworking without altering the look of the front of the house.

It's 44m2 and includes a kitchen, lavatory (which makes use of an outside system of catching rainwater), and outside area as well as a work area. It's a timber, concrete block, and aluminium build, with the garden lawn doubling up as the roof of the garden office.

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Semi-underground garden office design

We're always on the lookout for two kind of garden office designs in particular here on Shedworking, garden offices that rotate or are built underground. Here is one for the latter file from London-based Shape Architecture. Here's how they describe it:

The entrance to the office pavilion would be north-facing. Sketches of the idea developed a space with a high ceiling height supplemented with a lowered subterranean entrance. At the front would be a series of large windows that look back up the garden; ventilated at the top; which would allow lots of natural light in as well as views across the garden. There would also be a feature staircase to a glass panelled mezzanine level which could be used for meetings and offers another perspective and experience. This mezzanine level would be supported on one corner with a slanted column.

It also features a green sedum roof, long skylight, and a cantilevered desk at the ground floor on the same level as the garden which would be marvellous. Looking forward to seeing how this one works out beyond the drawing board. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional buildings.

Underground studio in the woods

Regular readers of Shedworking will know that the staff has a penchant for underground builds. Here is a marvellous one in Veneto, Italy, from architects Traverso Vighy, which they call the Bosco Retreat. The 9-square-metre build in the Berici Hills near Vicenza is used as a small studio for reading and stargazing. According to Giovanni Traverso from Studio Traverso-Vighy:

"The main idea was to leave the surrounding woodland completely untouched and to construct a nice room with sufficient illumination provided by natural light in the wintertime and enough shade during the summer. The dwelling is rather small, but the light and the tall windows convey the feeling of a larger space where you can really feel immersed in nature. The big window frames look as though they're dug into the ground - the glass reaches the surface of the soil - and the view of the leaves conveys the impression the tree is actually inside the room."

Lots more images of it at their site here.

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Shed Box of Delights: Underground beach hut

Regular readers will know that we are very keen on underground microarchitecture here at Shedworking and here's a jolly example of the genre put together by inventor and film-maker Colin Furze. He has also worked on an underground bunker in his back garden. --------------------------------------------------------

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Long commutes up by a third

 Shedworkers who enjoy a 30 second commute will be interested to hear that the number of employees with daily commutes of two hours or more has shot up by nearly a third over the past five years, according to new analysis published today by the TUC to mark Work Wise UK’s Commute Smart Week.

The analysis shows that in 2015 3.7 million workers had daily commutes of two hours or longer – an increase of 900,000 since 2010 (2.8 million). In 2015 one in seven UK employees (14%) travelled two hours or more each day to and from work, compared to one in nine in 2010 (11%).

UK workers spent 10 hours extra, on average, commuting in 2015 than they did in 2010. This is the equivalent of an extra 2.7 minutes per day. Men still account for the majority (61%) of those who make work journeys of two hours or more. However, women (+35%) have experienced a sharper rise in long commuting since 2010 than men (+29%).
 
Workers in Northern Ireland (+57%) have experienced the biggest rise in long commuting, followed by the South East (+37%) and the West Midlands (+27%). London (930,000) has the highest number of employees who make long commutes, followed by the South East (623,000) and the East of England (409,000).
 The TUC believes the increase in travelling times may be explained by:

• stagnant wages combined with soaring rents and high house prices leaving many workers unable to move to areas closer to their jobs;
• the lack of investment in roads and railways increasing journey times. The UK is bottom of an OECD league table on transport infrastructure spending.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “None of us like spending ages getting to and from work. Long commutes eat into our family time and can be bad for our working lives too. Employers cannot turn a blind eye to this problem. More home and flexible-working would allow people to cut their commutes and save money.”

Work Wise UK Chief Executive Phil Flaxton said: “Long commutes have become a part of the UK’s working culture. The excessive time spent commuting is one of the main factors contributing to work-life balance problems. Not only is the amount of time commuting an issue, the 9 to 5 culture with its peak travel times generates congestion on railways, underground and road networks and as a consequence, increases stress for commuters." --------------------------------------------------------

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Underground garden office

Though not exactly sweeping the nation, there are more underground garden offices than you might imagine. Here's a particularly fine example by Trew Turner and Bea Heslop in Haringey, London (the link has some great images of the building work in progress) where the building is half-buried and the roof used as a garden. It is a blockwork build with a Wayney edge Oak board exterior and here's what the designers say about it all:

"The green roof drains using a modern system and fills a large water butt that can be used via a tap into the Belfast sink. Additional rainwater trickles through the French Drains around the building and works its way into the double sump pump system. The bi-fold doors open to enlarge the space and make for a great work environment when the client is restoring furniture. Rooflights shine into the studio and make sure it's never a gloomy space, despite being part basement."

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