Community / Ertie the trow settles into new home in Burra
The small hillside house is the work of local craft business Trowie Knowe – but visits will be by appointment only
A TROWIE house – complete with bed, fiddle and teacups – which has been built into the side of a hill is arousing interest in Burra.
The quaint wooden Trowie Knowe also contains framed pictures, a pipe and some ornaments.
It is the work of Burra based business Trowie Knowe Crafts, with the house set to be used in the future as a location for people to pick up orders from.
The but and ben house, which measures 80cm high and 150cm wide, will also soon be available for people just to come by for a visit and shop at the crafters’ ‘Trow Fridge’.
The structure itself and the furniture inside were made out of reclaimed wood.
But Trowie Knowe Crafts’ Leanne Hutchison, who specialises in folklore inspired creations like trow characters and needled-felted ‘Scobbins’, has reminded people that visits will be by appointment only.
Parking is limited in the area and there also needs to be time to get the site ready for visitors.
“We’ve been joking about building a Trowie Knowe house ever since summer 2015,” Hutchison explained.
“We actually sketched out plans for it at our first ever stall as Trowie Knowe, at an event in the Symbister Hall. We just never got around to it though, until this year.
“It came about a bit unexpectedly this year. We had been aware of something strange going on in our yard for a while. Things were being moved around. Our tools were always disappearing and wood was disappearing. It was all very bizarre. Anyway, it turned out to be Ertie the trow.
“We met him for the first time back in April. He told us he was planning to build a house there, and that he had been borrowing our tools to work on it. We decided it was best to just give him a hand with the build. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of a trow!”
Hutchison said there is still some work to do, but it is nearly ready for visitors.
“Visits will be by appointment only, as it’s limited parking space and also we need to prepare for visitors,” she added.
“This involves mainly unlocking and stocking up the Trow Fridge, which we set up as a mini shop selling our Trows and other handmade items. Also unlocking the Trowie Knowe door so that you can take a look inside. We have quite a few projects going on up there so it might need tidied up a bit for visitors too.
“We have lots more planned for the site. There will be a donation jar for folk that don’t want to buy anything. Any donations will go towards further development of the Trowie Knowe and the surrounding area.”
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