Meeting the 2 Masters of the Humble Shed: A Visit to The Turner House, Penarth

There are sheds, and then there are Sheds (with a capital S). We all know the difference. One is a place to store a rusty lawnmower; the other is a sanctuary, an archive, a museum of the self.

For over 25 years , I’ve been scouring the internet for the latter—championing the eccentric, the dedicated, and the downright obsessive members of our shed community. But it’s a rare and special pleasure when the digital world bleeds into reality.

Yesterday (Friday 16th Jab), I had the absolute privilege of walking 10 minutes from my flat to visit The Turner House, in my adopted home town of Penarth, for their latest exhibition, aptly titled SHEDS. While the artwork on the walls was spectacular, the real highlight was finally shaking hands with two men I have admired from afar for years: photographer Jon Pountney and illustrator Lee John Phillips.

A Decade in the Making

It feels surreal to say it, but I first covered Lee John Phillips’ work on this very blog more than ten years ago. Back then, he was just embarking on what seemed like a delightfully mad impossible mission: The Shed Project.

For those who missed it (or perhaps weren’t reading blogs in 2016), Lee’s project is the definition of “shed dedication.” After his grandfather, Handel Jones, passed away, Lee inherited his shed. But this wasn’t just a clearance job. It was a mausoleum of screws, rivets, tools, and tobacco tins, meticulously sorted by a man who threw nothing away.

Lee decided to honour Handel’s memory by drawing every single item in that shed. And I mean every item. From the smallest washer to the largest saw, each object is illustrated with the same level of detail and respect. There are estimated to be over 100,000 items. To date, he has drawn nearly 9,000 of them. Seeing these illustrations in the flesh at The Turner House—rows upon rows of rivets and pliers, ghostly yet hyper-real—brings home the sheer scale of his undertaking. It is a lifelong endeavour, a love letter in ink to the generation that “made do and mended.”

The Human Side of the Shed

Complementing Lee’s microscopic focus is the work of Jon Pountney. If Lee looks at the atoms of the shed, Jon looks at the atmosphere.

Jon is a photographer who understands that a shed is nothing without the location it is in and . His work in this exhibition captures the “social history” of these spaces across Wales.

Meeting Jon was a delight. He sees the “shed feeling”—the mix of solitude and connection to the past. His photos remind us that whether it’s a potting shed, an engine shed, or a lean-to, these spaces are theatres for our private lives. They are where we go to think, to create, and to be ourselves.

Walking around the gallery, chatting with Lee and Jon, I was struck by how important exhibitions like this are. Usually, sheds are hidden away at the bottom of the garden (or entries in Shed of the year), seen only by the owner and the spiders. SHEDS drags these private worlds into the light.

It validates what we at Shed of the year have known for years: that a shed is never just a shed. It’s a story.

For Lee, the shed is an archive to be catalogued. For Jon, it’s a stage to be documented. And for us? It’s a reminder that our hobbies, our collections, and our little wooden refuges matter.

If you are anywhere near Penarth between now and February 22nd, you simply must go. It’s not often you get to see the soul of the shed enthusiast laid bare with such artistic integrity. Plus, entry is free—leaving you plenty of change for a cup of tea (or a new packet of screws).

Exhibition Details:

• What: SHEDS by Jon Pountney & Lee John Phillips
• Where: The Turner House, Plymouth Road, Penarth, CF64 3DH
• When: 15th Jan – 22nd Feb 2026
• Admission: Free

1. Sheds. By Jon Pountney & Lee John Phillips – The Turner House

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