A KNUTSFORD grandmother who spent eight years building an environmentally friendly allotment shed using prehistoric building methods has unveiled her masterpiece.

Sally Bennett learned how to make ancient cob bricks from subsoil clay, sand, and straw, which have to be treaded for half-an-hour before being hand-formed into building blocks.

The going was slow for years, but after retiring earlier than planned in December 2023, the 69-year-old suddenly had much more time to devote to the process.

On Saturday, June 15, Sally held an unveiling at her Sparrow Lane allotment for family, friends, and her fellow allotmenteers. 

She said she wanted the day to be ‘a bit of a thank you’ to all those who’ve helped her with the project over the years, especially with the hard work of treading all the bricks. 

“I can laugh about it now, but there were moments went I was in a little bit of despair,” the grandmother-of-five said.

She shed takes pride of place on Sally's Sparrow Lane allotmentShe shed takes pride of place on Sally's Sparrow Lane allotment (Image: Henry Stimpson)

“My inspiration was a cob building course I took down in Suffolk with my daughter and son-in-law.

“When you do these things, you get full of enthusiasm for it, and I decided I wanted to build myself a cob house. It’s just such an environmentally good thing, and thermally efficient.

“I soon realised a house was probably too much for a first project, but I also needed a new shed on the allotment. I asked the committee and nobody objected, and it all started form there.

“My son helped me build the foundations, which are normal house bricks we got from skips, and the walls are of my own hand-formed bricks, which are made of clay, sand, and straw.

“You have to tread it for half-an-hour until you get the proper mixture, and it can only be done in the summer when there’s no chance of a frost.

“With other life commitments, including grandchildren down in Devon, it’s taken me eight years, but I got there in the end.

“The roof is wooden, covered with a pool liner, and the plan is to make it a green roof.

“At the end of the day, it’s just a shed, but it's going to be a great place to hide from the rain.”

Sally was asked whether built her shed build has put a dent in her ambition to build her own cob house at some point in the future.

“At the rate I build, I don’t think I’ll have time,” she said.

“But I certainly wouldn’t be put off buying a cob house because I now have the skills to maintain it.”