Slots cut just under 20 mm — wide enough for a Peacock or a Comma to crawl in with folded wings, too narrow for sparrows and blue tits looking for a roost.
Final run from Wendy's workshop • In 14 active carts • 27 left
Wendy's Handmade Butterfly House
Wendy's Handmade Butterfly House
Ships within 2–3 days
30-day money-back guarantee
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Hand-built by Wendy Scammell
★★★★★
4.8 (310+)
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Wendy's Handmade Butterfly House
Regular price
€34,95
Regular price
€34,95
Sale price
€50,95
Unit price
per
Hand-built in a Purbeck stone workshop — Langton Matravers, Dorset
Wendy Scammell, 76. Twenty-nine summers at the bench, more than 2,400 houses. This is the last collection — 57 left, and no more will be made.
“People buy a butterfly house, hang it up — and nothing ever comes. It’s nearly always the house.”
— Wendy Scammell, Isle of PurbeckWhat arrives in the box
🏠The HouseTeardrop, scorched pine
💧The Puddling DishMetal dish on a curved ledge
🧵Jute RopeWith steel clip, ready to hang
✍Wendy’s NoteHandwritten, every order
Why this one gets used when the rest stay empty
Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Brimstone sleep through the British winter as adults. From October they need somewhere narrow, dark and dry.
Derek Scammell’s teardrop, taken from the line of a boat. It spreads the wind evenly — no spinning, no knocking, no strain on the hook.
Butterflies take minerals from damp sand. Entomologists call it puddling. Almost no butterfly house sold in Britain has it.
Untreated natural timber. No stain, no varnish, no paint. A chemical smell reads as danger to a butterfly.
The back opens without tools. Brush it out once a year in April, after the sleepers have gone, top up the sand. No mould, no damp.
“Four of our most familiar garden butterflies spend the winter as adults, and the dry, sheltered crevices they rely on are exactly what tidy modern gardens have lost. A shelter with the right slot width, untreated timber and a damp spot for puddling gives them one more place to try. Goodwill is not what is missing in British gardens — most of what is sold simply is not built with the butterfly in mind.”
Dr Rachel Norris Entomologist, Bournemouth UniversityWell suited to
🌳 Back gardens
🍎 Orchards & fruit trees
🌼 Wildlife-friendly borders
🎁 Gifts for gardeners
👥 Grandparents & grandchildren
🎓 School nature projects
🏡 Cottage gardens
🏛 Patios & allotments
What you are actually getting
- Hand-built, not moulded. Every house cut, sanded and fitted by one pair of hands in a Dorset stone workshop.
- Calibrated, not decorative. Slot width, dish and timber all come from twenty-nine summers of watching what works.
- Made for British weather. Solid timber walls and a sheltered interior keep the wet and the wind out through the winter.
- Cleanable. Tool-free back panel — the reason these last decades instead of a season.
- Finite. 57 houses remain. Derek’s jigs are not going with her. There will be no reorder.
30-day returns, no questions
Hang it up and see what happens. If you are not happy, send it back — no fuss, no questions asked.
A note on handmade: grain, scorch pattern and colour vary from house to house. No two come out the same, and yours will not look identical to the photographs. That is rather the point.
Product details
| Material | Untreated natural pine, lightly scorched surface |
| Finish | No stain, no varnish, no paint |
| Shape | Teardrop “hull line” profile (wind-stable) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 21 cm high × 14 cm wide |
| Entry slots | Three vertical slots, just under 20 mm wide |
| Puddling dish | Round metal dish on a curved ledge — fill with damp sand |
| Mounting | Jute rope with steel clip included |
| Best time to hang | Late September to October, sheltered from prevailing wind |
| Care | Brush out once a year in April, top up the sand |
| Made by | Wendy Scammell, Langton Matravers, Dorset |
| Remaining stock | 57 houses — final collection |
The Last Winter
The Last Winter
A note from the workshop:
Wendy Scammell has built butterfly houses in an old stonemason's workshop at the bottom of her garden in Langton Matravers, on the Isle of Purbeck, since 1997 — more than 2,400 of them, every one on the jigs her late husband Derek, a Poole boatbuilder, made for her in 1996. The teardrop is his: the line of a hull, drawn upside down. Arthritis at the base of both thumbs means the last millimetre of each slot no longer comes out true, and in November Wendy moves to her son's in Shrewsbury. The jigs are not going with her. 57 houses are left on the bench — when those are gone, there are no more.
Free UK Shipping
Free UK Shipping
Free tracked shipping across the UK
- Delivery time: 3–5 business days
- Every house is hand-packed in kraft paper with a handwritten note from Wendy
- Approx. 21 cm high × 14 cm wide; three entry slots just under 20 mm
- Round metal puddling dish on the curved ledge — fill with damp sand
- Jute rope with steel clip included; hangs from any branch, bracket or hook
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@backroad-goods.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (UK time). Whether it’s about your order, where to hang it, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it up, give it a few weeks, and if it isn’t right for your garden, email info@backroad-goods.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and UK shipping is free.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Wendy cuts every house from untreated natural pine on the jigs her husband Derek made in 1996 out of his boatbuilding moulds — which is where the teardrop hull line comes from. The three slots are cut just under 20 mm, the surface is lightly scorched rather than painted or varnished, and the curved ledge takes a round metal dish for damp sand. The back opens without tools for a once-a-year clean. No two are identical.