Looker Hut 

In response to the need for a recovery strategy, Art in Romney Marsh has acquired a heritage Kent Looker hut located at St George’s churchyard in Ivychurch and at St Mary the Virgin St Mary in the Marsh.

The Looker is the name given to a shepherd who lived and worked on the marsh when sheep farming was the dominant activity and (official) economy. The difference being that Lookers cared for the sheep of more than one owner whereas shepherds were employed by a single owner. We have restored our wooden hut which would have been mobile as it is a horse-drawn version. We are planning to use the hut as an office, information point and in the future want it to be returned to its original purpose, to become a temporary dwelling. We want the hut to offer artists the chance to spend time on Romney Marsh to develop their work and be inspired by the local landscapes.

We have maintained the original features of the hut so that it can be seen as an authentic local heritage object that can be enjoyed by everyone that visits it. We are hopeful that it will become an important part of our transition from lockdown and will enable us to return to providing public events that follow current health and safety socially distanced guidelines.