Rhubarb House, Hertfordshire

Rhubarb House is a Budget shed owned by Sheddie Jack Grove.

Location: Allotment, Hertfordshire

Entered into Shed of the Year: 2026

Main material: Wood

Cost: £250 to £499

Popular descriptions and keywords for this shed include:

Allotment Ecohaven Budget

All photos are copyright sheddie Jack Grove Edit your shed

Shed Features

This shed, located next to the River Purwell, a small river in Hitchin, is a major part of our family’s life. It’s my workshop but also a kitchen away from home where we cook meals (mainly noodles on a Tilly stove but sometimes homegrown veg), while my two children use it to play games (it’s been a make-believe hospital, a restaurant, a school, in their minds) while I cultivate my allotment. It’s called Rhubarb House as it was built next to massive rhubarb patch (that I’ve relocated now) but this name maybe captures something of the chaotic madcap fun that this place has witnessed.

Located on the edge of town – overlooked by derelict wheat silos but within touching distance of the countryside – it allows total immersion in nature, while I can also enjoy the bustle and community spirit of the allotment.

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Other Shed info

This shed was built almost entirely with recycled materials over a year, with considerable time spent locating wood, windows and other features from skips across Hitchin. A few features were bought second-hand on the local market, with the only significant expenditure on chipboard for the floor and roof (which I couldn’t scavenge), roofing materials and screws (hundreds were used, so spend about £50 on these in total). Overall cost is less than £400.

Paint was leftovers bought from the market. Luckily I was able to borrow a van for all this as I don’t have a car and many materials transported to the allotment via bike. Basically, it represents at least 100 hours of work, probably more, though I enjoyed the hard graft which often lasted until it was almost dark.