PLANKBRIDGE SHEPHERD’S HUTS Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies
T
he days have stretched a little longer but the hills are still steeped in a cold, soaking mist. Pity the shepherd out in the field who would once have had to endure lambing season alone but for his flock and dog. At night he would shelter from the elements in a humble, mobile hut, equipped only with a pot belly stove and bunk of straw from where he might watch over an orphaned lamb; a drop of dark ale fortifying them both. I am on my way to meet Richard Lee, master maker and purveyor of modern-day shepherd’s huts, at Carter’s Barn Farm, nestled in the hills above the Piddle Valley. His business, Plankbridge, was one of the first to build the huts from scratch and he is still as enthusiastic about their classic design now as he was when he and his partner Jane Dennison started making them. Admittedly, some of the bespoke huts crafted by Richard and his team today are more akin to miniature boutique hotels than the humble shelters that inspired them. >
66 | Sherborne Times | February 2021
