An eloquent exploration of the creative, reflective and innovative space of the shed via some of the UK’s most stunning landscapes.
Shed Heaven is a poignant tour around Britain’s quirkiest outdoor structures – the sheds, summer houses, huts and dens that have inspired some of the country’s most prominent names in art, literature and science.
A Place For Everything makes for a perfect opener, covering the gardener’s shed at the National Trust’s Hidcote Manor, a former packing shed used during the daffodil harvests in Devon’s Tamar Valley, and the magnificent boat sheds made out of redundant fishing boats on Holy Island, Northumberland.
As a keen writer, I was particularly interested in the section on creative spaces, including George Bernard Shaw’s fascinating Hertfordshire shed, which could be rotated throughout the day to make the most of the sun. The entry on Virginia Woolf ’s writing shed at Monk’s House in East Sussex, provides a thoughtful insight into how the prolific writer spent her creative time, and we also get a glimpse inside the shed in St Ives, Cornwall, in which the artist Barbara Hepworth liked to take a nap. The following section, The Inside Out, introduces some of the UK’s most beautiful beach huts, bird hides and coastguard’s huts, alongside commentary on their historical significance.
To finish, it seems pertinent to draw on the book’s introduction, where Anna Groves cites the definition of shed as found in Chambers Dictionary: a structure for storage or shelter. In plain terms, this is indeed the purpose of a shed. However, with many of us having spent more time in our homes, gardens and even sheds during the global pandemic of the past year, we can appreciate the need for a tranquil space for reflection and inspiration. I’d like to think that this book will encourage readers to view the shed as a safe, creative environment in which to shelter from an uncertain world, surrounded by the beauty of the garden.