Castle Drogo 
The successful One Hut Full launch
One Hut Full was launched at Exeter Cathedral in February 2015.
We had two rams inside the cathedral and ewes outside by the hut. Thank you to Paula Wolton our project lead who has worked tirelessly to make OHF happen, to Clare Butcher, Phil Coaker, Mark Dufall and Clyde Coaker for taking sheep and to all the others who helped to make it so successful.
The One Hut Full project celebrated the rich traditions of farming on Dartmoor, using as a starting point the Whiteface Dartmoor sheep, a breed which epitomises the moor and its heritage. Our intention was to involve, inspire and enthuse everyone about life on the moor, past, present and future, from the local resident to the visitor, school children to graduates, rural to urban communities. The project recorded traditional hill farming as practiced on Dartmoor in living memory, before this knowledge is lost in a rapidly changing agricultural scene and ageing farming community. Through the Whiteface Dartmoor, so symbolic of Dartmoor, we continue to provide a greater understanding of Dartmoor as a working cultural landscape of enormous heritage value, and provide a springboard for the future development of sheep farming and especially wool-based manufacture.
The project was based on both an oral history and a photographic and document archive, used to create a highly innovative touring exhibition and associated workshop activities, contained within a mobile shepherd’s hut. Reflecting the excitement and interest the project generated, the hut travelled far afield taking the story of Dartmoor and its sheep to a wide audience.
The project was developed and refined over 18 months by the WFDSBA council, together with a range of interested organisations and individuals, and was fully supported by the society membership, which includes many key Dartmoor farmers. In particular, we consulted and developed partnerships with the following:
- Dartmoor National Park Authority
- The National Trust (Castle Drogo, Dartmoor)
- The Museum of Dartmoor Life (Okehampton)
- Devon Heritage Education Group (DHEG)
- British Wool Marketing Board
- Campaign for Wool
- West Devon Community and Voluntary Services
- Okehampton Primary School
- Devon County Records Office (Exeter)
- Butterfield Ironworks
- commercial artisan spinners, twine makers and tanners.
If you have any questions please contact Paula Wolton, One Hut Full Project Manager.
