Writing Hut of Henry Williamson

Henry Williamson’s writing hut was built by the author between 1929 and 1930. It is made from elm, oak, and slate and is a single-cell structure aligned east to west.

The exterior features a single-storey design with waney-edge cladding. The west elevation has an off-centre entrance door made of planks and muntins, which includes a peep hole and decorative metal strap hinges. Both the north and south elevations have a casement window, with the cill under the south window inscribed with the letter ‘W’. The east elevation has two ground floor casement windows, one of which is a later addition, and a thin casement window under the eave. A stone chimney stack rises from the north side of the half-hipped slate roof.

Inside, the hut has been preserved as it was when Williamson died in 1977, with his personal furniture and furnishings remaining in place, along with items of his clothing hanging from coat hooks at the entrance. Next to the door is a built-in corner cupboard, and opposite the door is a brick fireplace. Above the fireplace is a small mezzanine level where Williamson used to sleep, accessed via a trap door above a set of steps built into the fire surround. The underside of the trap door has two inscriptions: one appears to be initials reading ‘HW M IH AT’, and the other states ‘HIS TEARS ARE CLOUDS/ THESE MANY CENTURIES’. Another inscription on the underside of one of the timber tie beams reads ‘HW 1952’. There are additional shelves in the roof space, and the walls are adorned with dust jackets from many of his works, including The Dark Lantern, How Dear Is Life, and Donkey Boy, as well as newspaper cuttings and other articles of interest. The roof features an A-frame construction.

Henry Williamson’s studio from the 1940s, located to the north-west of the writing hut, is not included in the listing.