The Sessile Oak Workshop at Sunnymede

From our beginning in 2006, we worked from a neighbour's shed. Whilst dry and well equipped, and a great leg up, the need for a more spacious workshop quickly became clear - one purpose designed and built for green oak framing. An overgrown space to one side of the yard at Sunnymede was plotted out and various design options pondered, settling upon a structure measuring 10m wide by 5m deep by 4.2m to apex. This would be split ⅔ main working bay, wide enough to accommodate a large frame on trestles, plus ⅓ office and store.

Naturally, it would be made from green oak.

Over the winter into 2008, the site was cleared, excavated and footings laid. 8½ tonnes of timber arrived from the sawmill in early spring and we set to work in the elements straight away, making use of large, curved timbers wherever possible to create pleasing shapes, as well as a structure able to withstand the stongest gales. We worked into the summer, through a succession of side frames, trusses, floor and roof frames, until the whole frame was ready to erect. With the help of a local haulage contractor's hiab, the structure went up without a hitch in a single day with time left over for celebratory beers in the evening.

Then came the task of fitting out. The coated sheet roof went on first, giving us a dry working area, then studwork was fitted within the oak frame to carry internal lining, insulation and external cladding. We continued to undertake small commissions in the covered main bay throughout and the workspace quickly grew in our fondness. Gradually, the tasks focused ever more on internal fittings until our new workshop was finished and ready to use for larger projects.