Greater Manchester's newest listed building - a granny's garden shed

Greater Manchester has a new listed building - a brick shed in a granny’s back yard.

The outhouse in a terraced street in Denton has been given Grade II listed status by English Heritage, placing it on a par with other local treasures including Manchester’s Central Library and Free Trade Hall.

The shed, bought by pensioner Lilian Robinson and her late husband, Maurice, for a three-figure sum in the 1980s, is believed to be the only known surviving example of a largely intact, two-storey planking shop and bow garret - a workshop used by Denton’s prosperous hatting industry in the 19th century.

It has been listed by conservation experts after MP, Andrew Gwynne, and local historians uncovered its rare history.

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In pictures: Shed in Denton and 10 more listed buildings

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Mrs Robinson, 74, a lollipop lady, said: “It’s very nice news. I’ve not been into history before but I am now. It’s quite exciting to know that you’ve got something like that in your back garden when you thought it was just an ordinary shed.

“I knew nothing of it until Andrew came knocking on my door last year with a historian and asked to have a look. I gave them a key and when I returned an hour later from my shift they were still there.”

The building at 66a Market Street is believed to be the bow garret of hatter, William Turner, who lived at nearby Hope Cottage on South Street, now Stockport Road.

The bowing process, which involved the cleaning of the fur, would have taken place upstairs where the light was better.

The planking process, where fur hoods were boiled in a kettle of water and acid - triggering the term ‘mad hatter’ - would have been carried out on the ground floor of the two storey shed.

Mr and Mrs Robinson moved into their home around 30 years ago and bought the outbuilding, where Mrs Robinson stores her husband’s old tools and lawnmower, from a local landowner.

Local historian, Margaret Smethurst, who helped to identify the shed’s past, explained: “I’d seen the building and thought that’s what it probably was so I looked for the earliest records I could find and saw a structure on the 1841 Ordinance Survey map near to Hope Cottage.

“I looked at the census and saw that a journeyman hatter lived there with apprentices and his family so that indicated it was a working place and allowed me to make the link with the outhouse at Market Street which has all the features of a bow garret.”

At its peak, Denton and neighbouring Stockport were the centre of Edwardian Britain’s hatting industry. By 1840, thousands of felt hats were being produced there each week. Denton became known for better quality hats made from beaver and rabbit fur which would have been processed in Mrs Robinson’s bow garret.

Nick Bridgland, of English Heritage, said: “We are delighted that local history groups got in touch and brought this hidden treasure to our attention. It is the last surviving evidence of a major industry and is incredibly important for our nation’s history. It is also a great example of how listing doesn’t just recognise beauty, but also those modest buildings which shed light on our past.”

Andrew Gwynne said: “It was in small sheds like this that our town’s fortunes changed. I’m grateful to English Heritage for recognising just how important this small building is.”

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