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A group of volunteers are planning to re-enact the ancient tradition of Ty Unnos ('a house in a night') which is how many homes on Shropshire’s Clee hills began. Locals will help create something that hasn't been made in nearly 200 years, just as neighbours helped each other back in the 18th and 19th centuries as families moved to the hills for work in the mines, quarries and ceramic industry.

These ‘squatter’s’ cottages were erected overnight following a tradition that this would secure a plot of land. If by dawn there was a fire in the hearth and smoke coming through the chimney, the family could occupy a piece of land as far as they could throw an axe in each direction.

These enclosures became plots where food could be grown and animals raised. Over time the cottages were improved and extended and the plots became gardens. The rights to resources on this common land are still tied to the hearth of each home. Residents of houses on the common are commoners and still manage this landscape; taking what they need to live and ensuring the land is healthy for the next generation.

This is part of the Common Treasury project exploring and celebrating the rich heritage of this unique landscape. With funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, the team have been investigating the remains of older buildings and digging in the archive. They have developed a design for their cottage which, like the originals, will be built from the materials the common land has to offer - timber, stone, clay, turf and bracken. Just one room with a squat chimney and earth floor.

Project lead Sue Burbidge said “This is a piece of experimental archaeology, and we will no doubt learn as others bring their experience to the project. So many people here live in homes which started this way. It's an ambitious idea, but with the right people, we stand a good chance of creating something which epitomises the spirit of the Clee hills."

The people who moved here brought little with them apart from their skills and energy and between them built a community. Today villagers of Cleeton St Mary have been gathering to build the components for this cottage house, just like people must have done in the past. They aim to raise the cottage on Saturday 14th November (weather permitting!) and light the all-important fire in the hearth.

The team invites anyone with practical skills or an interest in this kind of history to come and get involved. Locals have donated materials and traditional tools so the whole exercise is as authentic as possible.

www.cleetonstmary.uk