subject: Shepherds Huts Are The New Designer Garden Accessory! [print this page] Just how often do we observe items which grew to be outdated and forgotten from the past all of a sudden grow to be fashionable once more.The relationship between style and time never ceases to surprise me.
One particular such object that has come to be a wanted designer accessory today in the UK is the shepherds hut. Not surprisingly, many people tend not to know what a shepherds hut is, yet a rising number of rich people are getting familiar with them and are acquiring them as designer items for their home gardens.
Aesthetically the genuine huts were not that attractive to the eye. They were constructed to be practical, to provide warmth and cover from the weather for shepherds who needed to tend to their flocks. Yet currently, reconditioned or new shepherds huts tend to be a little more satisfying on the eye.
Historically, back in the nineteenth century, shepherd huts were brought in to farms so that shepherds could be in close proximity to their flocks whenever required, such as in the early spring at lambing time. The huts in simple form were just wooden sheds on wheels.
Prior to modern fertilizers came along, farmers would use their flocks of sheep to fertilise their fields by natural means. It was simpler to move their flocks from field to field, than it was to cart their farm yard manure around. For that reason as the sheep moved from field to field, so did the need for the shepherd to do the same, and as a result that is why their huts were designed on wheels. A hut was basically a mobile home for shepherds.
During the lambing season, the shepherd would spend the early spring days and nights residing in his hut with his sheep, watching his expectant ewes to ensure they were not distressed.
The hut would have windows to all sides for him to watch through, and would make use of stable doors for access. The hut itself would have a corrugated roof on top of a solid wooden frame, sat on four big wheels for transportation.
Inside the shepherd would have a basic bed and a cast iron stove for heating, preparing food and boiling hot water. It may have been basic, but it offered comfort and warmth through those chilly springtime nights.
Nowadays, with their painted exteriors, solid oak floors and decorated interiors, modern shepherds huts have come to be a must have accessory for the upmarket garden. They are utilised as playhouses, offices and even getaway homes. It would seem the only folks who don't want them is shepherds!
I imagine part of their fascination is they allow us to take a journey back to times gone by, times that although hard were simple and worry free. Whenever you are sat in your shepherds hut while in the peace of your garden, with just a book for company, what could possibly be more enjoyable?
