At the bottom of the garden is the revolving hut, originally Charlotte Shaw's summer house, but which was annexed by Shaw and where he found the peace he needed to write.
The hut is built with castors that fit on a circular track so it could be moved around to improve the light or change the view. Revolving huts were quite fashionable in the early 20th century, and the company that provided this one, Strawson's, is still trading. Many major works were written here.
Since it had electricity Shaw used an electric heater and visited daily in all weathers. The hut even had a telephone connection to the house.
The reflection shows in the glass what Shaw could see while, looking into the hut, visitors can see the spartan surroundings in which he wrote Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion and many others.
The good thing about this outdoor work room was that the staff at the house could say with complete truth, 'Mr Shaw is out' and so keep intrusions at bay.
Nancy Astor once banged on the door, saying:
"Come out of there, you old fool. You've written enough nonsense in your life!"
His last secretary, Miss Blanche Patch said, "He loved his red ink, paste pot and paper clips...
The alarm clock was set each day to remind him when it was time for lunch. He never took any notice of it."
"He used to go down to his little wooden hut to work regularly every day till his last year or so - where he went when it was fine, or when he was in the mood"
(Fred Drury the assistant gardener)
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