Plankbridge bespoke shepherds’ huts are carefully based on the proportions and structure of the Victorian originals, but with insulation and detailing usually seen on a modern timber frame house.  Plankbridge care deeply about quality and heritage, and with over 100 huts behind us we have the experience to build and deliver to the highest standard.

Founder Richard Lee, and Jake, Johnno, James and Phil's training and background (timber frame house building, log house construction etc. through to fine furniture making) adds up to around eighty years of hands-on professional woodworking experience.  Ben and Rikki have completed carpentry training courses and have a particularly good eye for quality and detail.  Andrew is very skilled on the metal work side and Jane has a very keen eye for the traditional detailing.

The Plankbridge hut, with one double glazed window, insulated with an oak floor, is £9450 plus VAT (£11,340 inc.)   There are many possible additions such as a wood burner (£695 plus VAT) and electrics (£333 plus VAT).

Terms; We have always asked for a £500 holding deposit at the time of order, 50% as work commences and the balance on delivery; a system that works really well.

The Plankbridge shepherd's hut is the result of twelve years of hut making experience and research.  As in the best quality huts of 100 years ago we carefully think about all of the details, from the hand - forged ironwork through to  the time capsule hidden beneath the floor. The unique Plankbridge handcrafted metal chassis is based on original designs of local firms such as Lott and Walne, Dorchester and Reeves of Bratton.  The solid 2 1/4" square axle section is machined at the ends to take the wheels, which is far stronger and more durable than a stub axle bolted to timber beam.   The chassis is  powder coated.  Our solid cast iron wheels, made in Somerset from our own patterns, are based on a particularly interesting spoke design we found whilst restoring a hut for a local customer.  The tongue and groove sub floor and joists are pressure treated for durability.

We can also offer a Heritage hut version, also based on Lott and Walne and Reeves huts, which has a floor frame made from Dorset grown durable Douglas fir, milled to size at a family run sawmill in mid Dorset. The heritage hut would be familiar to a Victorian shepherd; basic with a pine floor, simple door and exposed frame inside.

The Plankbridge hut frame is made from construction graded  Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified softwood from Scandinavia, seasoned and kiln dried for stability.  We assemble the frame using timber frame house building techniques. It is very strong, and weather proof, and is carefully designed to keep the interior a dry and healthy place to be.  The frame is clad in 9mm structural spruce ply, with a breather membrane under the corrugated cladding and vapour barrier behind the internal tongue and groove lining.  The walls are designed to breathe to the outside, with the corrugations of the cladding allowing air flow over the breather membrane.

The Plankbridge hut has a 75mm insulated cavity throughout, a development that any Victorian shepherd would have been glad of, had it been available then.  We have restored a few huts, a roadmens' steam roller living van in particular, which had a layer of felted horse hair in the roof; an early attempt at insulation.  We use Earthwool fleece as standard, a breathable carbon neutral insulation made from 80% recycled.bottles. 

The floor is solid character grade French oak (FSC certified as sustainably harvested), finished in flooring oil. We fit one cottage style window (FSC certified) as standard, and you are free to specify further windows and their position. The windows are double glazed which adds to the overall thermal and sound insulation properties. We fit the windows with lead flashing all around, dressed over the corrugated cladding for a weather tight seal.  The stable door is made from kiln dried, knot free Canadian Douglas Fir - a superb naturally durable timber.  The doors are then fitted with solid brass hinges, slotted screws (all dressed with the slots in a line), five lever mortise lock and a hand forged Suffolk latch.

We use mainly the traditional Farrow & Ball range of paints on the interior. Our specialist  Valtti exterior paint for the factory primed corrugated cladding is made in Finland, with our new 'Plankbridge green' being our standard colour.  The cladding can be finished in a very wide range of other colours. We use Valtti Opaque (and Valtti primer) on the exterior of the door and windows.

Viewing a Plankbridge shepherd's hut

You are very welcome to visit the workshop at Piddlehinton, near Dorchester, Dorset to see work in progress.  We also have a show hut at nearby Waterston.  We can recommend local accommodation if required, and local pubs for lunch.  We can sometimes arrange for you to view a Plankbridge hut near you if Dorset is too far to travel.

The inside of the 12' huts are 1.84m (6’) wide by 3.5m (11’6”) long. It is 2.3m (7’6”) to the highest point of the curved ceiling. A hut is surprisingly spacious.  We also do a 9' and 14' long hut.

Size variation

A shepherd's hut should be around 7'6" wide externally, including the wheels by 12' long.  They should certainly be no wider, as they were roughly cart width to negotiate gateways and farm tracks.  The character of a genuine shepherd's hut depends on these proportions.   The wheels on a genuine shepherd's hut must be set beyond the sides of the hut; if the wheels are under the sides of the hut it's not a shepherd's hut but a roadman's living van or something strange.  Old boys who know about such things will look at a hut with the wheels set underneath and say 'That's not a shepherd's hut.!'

To create extra width within a hut we often build into the wall cavity to create a longer bed length of 6'5".  The recessed area is then insulated with aluminium airtec insulation, at no extra cost.  We can also make the huts up to 14', which provides all the room needed for any use.  We also do a shorter 9' version, which works very well.  Please ask for further details.

You can specify additional features such as a bunk or double bed, electrical wiring or a fold away desk. The gentle glow and curl of smoke from a handmade wood burner, for example, brings a shepherd’s hut to life. Our usual woodburners are made by Jon Snow at Windysmithy, a craftsman blacksmith in Devon.  We have fitted other makes when asked, but the key thing is to go for as low a kW as possible, with 2.5 being more than enough. 

The option of double stable doors on the side creates our Riverkeeper’s hut.  A single door to the side, which suits some uses, is our Island Bothy design.

Any bespoke options can be quoted for; we have fitted Finnish saunas, kitchens and shower rooms.  Anything is possible.

Plankbridge HQ is based on a wetland nature reserve, and whatever we do thought is given to the potential impact on the environment.  On a wider scale we are supporting the RSPB. (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.)

We see it simply as common sense that only locally sourced and FSC materials are used in our huts.

We deliver using Landrover (with powerful winch) and specialist trailer. Our delivery team are very experienced having sited nearly 100 huts in a wide range of positions.  We have delivered as far as the French Alps (using a low loader) and throughout the UK.    Once positioned some form of hardstanding should be beneath the wheels, depending on the ground conditions, but railway sleepers, stone slabs and bricks have all been used succesfully.   Due to the high build quality of our huts we do not  offer flat pack versions for assembly on site.  A crane can easily be hired where access is limited.  The huts are fully steerable, and can be moved by one person on hard surfaces.

For previous restoration projects please see the restoration page of the website.  Our new build huts are built with completely new materials, from the wheels up.