The winner of shed of the year 2012 – is the pub shed “Woodhenge” owned by John Plumridge

It’s with great pleasure I announce the winner of Shed of the year 2012 – Wood Henge owned by John Plumridge from Shrewsbury.

It was a such great example of the passion that the sheddies have and it’s amazing that John just started with a pagoda in this garden and has built his shed up from nothing into a great space for friends and family – John mainly used recycled wood from a shut down garden centre to make the majority of the

its a brilliant use of space and shows that with some time and lots of effort you can create the prefect escape down the bottom of the garden.

I loved how he has turned the walls inside into a feature showing off all the empty beer bottles that he and the many visitors to Woodhenge have consumed over the past four years.

John tells me he’s not finished yet – so I look forward to seeing the additions and no idea what he’s going to to with his other sheds (yes he has lots)

 Feel free to use the photos online but please link back here.

This years competition was the toughest yet as all the finalists had so much going for them all and many unique ways of using their sheds.

Many thanks to all the sheddies who have worked hard this year and have campaigned to get their sheds noticed.

From our Sponsors Cuprinol.

From more than 2,000 creative garden dens, the winner of the highest shed accolade has been announced. John Plumridge from Shrewsbury will be raising a glass in his pub shed as it is crowned the winner of the 2012 Shed of the Year competition sponsored by Cuprinol.

The humble garden shed has offered Brits a sanctuary from the stresses of family life for decades, but now this Shropshire sheddie has taken the concept to new heights with his quaintly named Woodhenge Pub Shed. Spending over four years converting his beloved shed, John completed it with a beer bottle collection of over 500 real ales and 110 ciders, all on display for local sheddies who often pop by for a swift pint.

John Plumridge,  “When I was told I’d won the competition, I was absolutely thrilled. Normally I’m a very chatty and jovial person but I did find myself lost for words and I must confess to having “shed” a tear. I’ve been working on “Woodhenge” for around four years now and have enjoyed every minute of it. I can’t even hazard a guess at the cost involved but it’s a great venue for our family and friends to party in and the good thing is we haven’t got too far to get home.”

This worthy winner has been announced to launch the start of National Shed Week (2nd – 8th July). In preparation for this sought after accolade, shed obsessed Brits up and down the country have spent the last year restoring, renovating and patiently pottering in preparation for the annual celebration of their garden getaways. And all in the hope of taking home the grand prize of £1000 cash and shed loads of products from sponsors Cuprinol, but more importantly, the honour of being crowned the nation’s best shed.

The Shed of the year judges – ‘Head Sheddie’ and creator of the competition Uncle Wilco, property guru and shed fan Sarah Beeny, world famous author & sheddie Neil Gaiman,  author and creator of Shedworking Alex Johnson, and 2011 winner Jon Earl – picked from the most creative, innovative and barmy entries.

Sarah Beeny “Shed of the Year is a great inspiration and clearly encourages people to get creative with their sheds. I am really happy that a pub shed has won after I created my own Kings Head pub shed for Cuprinol, which is currently on display in Rufford Park in Nottingham. Hopefully others will be inspired to create their own sheddy haven too.”

John’s pub shed which won the pub shed category went on to beat off stiff competition from the winners of the seven other competition categories including Normal, Eco, Garden Office, Cabin/Summerhouse, Workshop/Studio, Unique, Pub and Tardis. Entries included homage to Dr Who’s Tardis, a floating shed, mini post office museum and an eco friendly solar shed.

Kathryn Ledson, Cuprinol Marketing Manager, comments: “This years Shed of the Year competition has seen some of the quirkiest entries ever, proving that the humble shed is no longer just a convenient storage solution and is now an important addition to the home. Cuprinol’s recent celebrity sheddies, Vic Reeves, Sarah Beeny, Joanne Harris, Alex Johnson and Christian O’Connell, have proven to be true inspirations as entries have flooded in from budding sheddies across the nation. We are proud to award the prize to this worthy winner who has created something which is fast becoming a British institution – a pub at the end of your garden.”

With over 15 million shed owners in the UK2 it’s no surprise that Cuprinol has seen shed loads of entries from up and down the country. Those in London submitted the most shed entries (63) followed by 42 sheddies in Kent then those in Lancashire and Essex with 35 shed entries each.

And it was the Garden Office category which proved the very popular this year seeing more than 125 entries – perhaps not surprisingly as 29 per cent of people now admit to using their favourite outdoor hideout as a place to work.

So if you think your garden retreat has what it takes to be crowned Shed of the Year, why not submit your entry from August for the 2013 competition at readershed.co.uk!

Top 3 sheds

1st Woodhenge John[ Henry] Plumridge,A garden in Shrewsbury

2nd The Water Shed Geoff Hill, Smuggler’s Cove, Aberdyfi – Gwynedd

3rd  The Stencil Shed –  “Syd” – Malmesbury, Wiltshire

I will later in the week post the top ten in each category as I know you sheddies like to see how you did.