Shropshire company reviving traditional shepherds' huts

Thanks to cars and quad bikes farms seem smaller these days, and the wheeled huts are a far less common sight on hills around Shropshire, but now a new company has launched in the county to bring them back into use.

Ironbridge Original Huts will see new huts built by Dylan Hartley, who found fame on television in Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, the programme about the building of a Roman villa at Wroxeter.

And the new venture could lead to another appearance on the box, after the new business received an inquiry from the production team behind Channel Four programme Amazing Spaces with George Clarke.

"The Victorian shepherd's huts were mobile and were made by master craftsmen," said company boss Margaret Hudson. "In our case that craftsman is Dylan Hartley.

"They are made of solid wood, and have an iron chassis. They're good for keeping in a garden, and as they are wheeled if you want to move them about you can.

"Shepherd huts were once a familiar sight on the landscape in rural England, as places of shelter for shepherds during lambing, but due to modern farming methods their original use is no longer required.

"But Dylan has recreated their classic form and given them a new purpose."

The buildings are mobile – to an extent. Their traditional iron wheels mean that they can be moved about short distances, but can't be taken on the roads meaning that they don't provide a direct rival to the modern caravan.

But Mrs Hudson added that she hoped to be able to offer a portable paradise with the buildings.

"I was speaking to a hotelier last week who is interested in putting a few of the huts in their grounds for people to sit in after they have had a meal or a walk around the grounds," she said. "And people are interested in them for 'glamping' weekends.

"The show hut will include a log-burning stove, and eventually they can have under-floor heating."

The original shepherd's hut has a fascinating history and so it is fitting that they will be built in the Ironbridge Gorge, continuing the rich legacy of creativity in the birthplace of industry."

Ironbridge Original Huts is based in Jackfield Tile Museum, and will hold an official launch event next Saturday.