A unique and much-loved property known locally as “The Shop” has found a new chapter following its recent sale in Auction House South West’s livestream auction on March 25th.
Set on a parcel of land and centred around a simple shed with established residential use, the property is far from ordinary. It has served as a writing retreat for renowned author Catrina Davies, whose best-selling and prize-longlisted book Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed was inspired by her time living there.
Catrina originally moved into the shed during Cornwall’s housing crisis, after struggling to find a home. Her experience, captured in her deeply personal writing, resonated widely, with the book earning a longlisting for the Baillie Gifford Prize. Since then, she has relocated to a larger shed to accommodate her growing family, bringing “The Shop” to market.
A Standout Result
Offered with a guide price of £80,000 to £100,000 (plus fees), “The Shop” captured significant attention and sold for £155,000, more than £50,000 above the top end of its guide price.
The strong result reflects not only the property’s rarity, but also its story, character, and emotional appeal, something that clearly resonated with its new owner.
A Meaningful Purchase
We spoke to the successful buyer following the auction, who shared that the purchase was driven by both practical needs and a deeper personal connection to the story behind the property.
“We saw that it was coming up for auction on your website and had been looking for somewhere that we could use as a bolthole for when we come down to visit our daughters in Cornwall, who both live in caravans. We usually come down in our camper van so we wanted somewhere that could be ours and somewhere that could also increase our daughters’ living space as well.”
Rather than seeking a traditional second home, the buyer explained that the ethos behind the property played a key role in their decision.
“We didn’t want to buy a classic second home. The whole philosophy that Catrina writes about around young people in Cornwall who can’t afford to buy a home really resonated with our family’s situation as our daughters found themselves in a similar boat.”
Preserving the Spirit of "The Shop"
Looking ahead, the buyer is keen to retain the charm and identity of the original structure, while making thoughtful improvements to suit family life.
“There will be a point where we will be applying for planning permission. We’ll look to dismantle and rebuild something very much in the same type of structure. We know some local craftspeople who are going to help us re-build it, along with our daughters - as a kind of family project. We want to keep it as it is but just make it a tiny bit bigger so the whole family can fit in it easily. We always want to keep it as a little blue tin shed and we are all very excited!”
This careful balance of preserving the essence of the building while adapting it for modern use ensures that “The Shop” will continue to tell its story for years to come.
Auction Day Excitment
Despite their strong interest, the buyers admitted they never expected to secure the property, anticipating competition from developers.
“We loved the energy of it and the kind of build it is. I read Catrina’s book years ago, so it did all feel very meant to be. We never thought we would get it and thought that someone would outbid us. We never dreamt that we would be the highest bidders.”
Instead, the outcome came down to the finest of margins.
“Katie suggested we did a proxy bid, so there we were on auction day, watching live, holding our breaths. Had the person that was bidding against us gone one more thousand up, we would have lost it. I think it was meant to be in a funny way because it could have so easily gone to someone else.”
A New Chapter Begins
With its rich history and strong emotional connection to both its past and future owners, “The Shop” is a perfect example of how auction properties can offer far more than bricks and mortar.
As it transitions from a writer’s retreat into a family bolthole, its next chapter promises to be just as meaningful as the last.
