Shed of the week - Edwardian charm

Welcome to the thirst shed of the week entry for 2008.

Elaine Willett has a plot on the Hungerhill allotment site in Nottingham - reportedly the oldest such allotments/community gardens in Europe, and a grade 2* listed site. She writes:

One of the features that made me fall in love with my plot (despite the thicket of brambles) is this little house, complete with tumble-down greenhouse.

Elaine, you lucky, lucky thing! The summerhouse - which admittedly is perhaps a little too grand to be called a shed - looks utterly charming and potentially very useful. How wonderful to have a mini greenhouse, even if it does need some TLC, and I have visions of toasting marshmallows in the little grate of an evening. Elaine continues:

I have grand plans for the greenhouse section, which will be ship-shape and Bristol fashion by spring next year, but I simply love the charm of the run-down little house, with its giant doors that open up to let the outside in.  It's also been a complete life-saver over winter - my trusty partner and I spent many snowy weeks in February chopping down the years of bramble growth across our plots and the fireplace is a splendid place to warm up and have a cuppa. 

Elaine even has photographs of an Edwardian family who worked her very plot - talk about bringing history to life! If you are interested in the history of Hungerhills allotments, there's more info on the St Anns Allotment site, plus some interesting photos, including one of the summerhouses.  There are some ambitious plans to restore and revive the site, which is wonderful to hear.

If you would like to see your shed as the next shed of the week, just drop me an email with a pic or two and details of what, why, where and so forth. I'll pick my favourites to feature here on Horticultural.

And finally, and I've been meaning to perform a large hat-tip to the uber-shed site of the web, Readersheds.co.uk. It's a far more ambitious effort than my modest shed of the week endeavour, and is definitely worth visiting if you are a confirmed sheddie (or should that be sheddite?).

Comments

[James]

Have you seen the gardens and brick summerhouses at Hill Close, Warwick
http://www.hillclosegardens.com/

[unclewilco]

Thanks for the mention Jane..

But nothing in my honest shedpion is "too grand to be called a shed" or on the other hand too humble either (see you can't win with us at readersheds!)

wilco