The Reeves of Bratton hut is progressing well, alongside our newbuild huts.  We stripped back some fairly recent hardboard internal cladding which revealed the original pitch pine boards.  Where the boards had shrunk someone, presumably a shepherd, had filled the boards with shredded newspaper.  We carefully opened this up to reveal articles from newspapers in 1917.  At the time of the first world war a shepherd was using the hut, and 'gapping up' the cladding after he had read the news.  We can assume that the hut was built in the early 1900's.  We have insulated the hut with airtec aluminium, laid a new oak floor and are fitting two oak handmade windows.

We are starting work on a restoration of a very good original Reeves hut, alongside our new build huts.  Made in Bratton, Wiltshire the hut was found on a farm in a nearby Wiltshire village, and our customer has asked us to add a new oak floor, re-line the inside and paint it.  Some of the ironwork needed straightening, such as the draw bar, but on the whole it is in pretty good condition.  There are also a few sympathetic additions to do, such as a couple of new oak windows and insulation, which will bring the hut up to date for use as a garden room.

We are really pleased to be supplying Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage HQ with shepherd's huts as accomodation for their guests.  We have been down there a couple of times for evening events and the food, and the setting, is fantastic.  Enjoying an evening event, followed by a night in a hut overlooking the farm as seen on the channel 4 programme, would be a night to remember.  We are supplying five huts initially, with a view to developing a River Cottage / Plankbridge hut next year.  Each hut will have a double bed and a woodburner, and they are currently taking bookings for August on the River Cottage website.  An exciting and proud development for us all at Plankbridge!

The latest two huts we have been working on, a Plankbridge and a Riverkeeper's, with the double doors on the side, both have interesting bed designs in them, so it's good to be doing some furniture making again.  Having such a good team means we can be raising the frames of the next hut whilst one of us does the final finishing off a hut before it's delivered.  One of the current huts is having an old fashioned looking built in bed with two large drawers under.  One drawer is to be pulled out for their Jack Russell to sleep in! The bed design is based on one in a Reeves hut we restored a couple of years ago.  I just have to finish the painted shutters and it's ready for delivery to the Cotswolds.

The other hut has a bed which can be set up, using a nesting blanket box arrangement, as a single bed or a double, or a bench seat during the day.  The seat is built into an arched recess in the wall with an oak lining.  This hut is going to be sited high on a hill, with far reaching views. The customer can set the bed up so they can lie in bed with the double doors open looking across a valley to the West.  The blanket box style means there is lots of storage too.  This hut is painted in two shades of Farrow & Ball yellow, with a white ceiling and oak skirtings.  It looks really smart, and there will be photos on our gallery section soon.

Plankbridge are featured in a very smart new book, 'My cool caravan'  by Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddon, with brilliant photos by Hilary Walker.  They came down last year and photographed an old Reeves shepherd's hut which we restored a while ago for a local estate, and our new build hut here at Waterston Springs.  It's an interesting book featuring all sorts of caravans, including Airstreams.