Susan's Frost-Proof Teapot Nest Box
Susan's Frost-Proof Teapot Nest Box
🐝 Gives wild bees a safe nesting home
🌸 3× more pollination than honeybees
🪵 Solid, untreated cedar — built to last
☔ Copper roof keeps tunnels dry
🌿 Chemical-free, natural materials only
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Susan's Frost-Proof Teapot Nest Box
Painted by hand in a garden shed in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent
Susan Bradshaw, 73, painted teapots in the Potteries for 41 years. A tremor in her painting hand is ending her work — these are the last 86 teapot nest boxes she will ever make.
“I spent 41 years painting teapots for people’s tables. The best one I ever made has never held a drop of tea — just five sparrow eggs. I’d like these last ones up on fences before the first frost.”
Susan Bradshaw · Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent
What comes in the box
Frost-proof resin, painted by hand
Wooden, with a pointed rain roof
The robin’s little feeding table
Every part wrapped by Susan
What makes Susan’s teapot special
Cast in tough resin, not china. It does not soak up water, so frost cannot split it — it stays whole through a British winter.
Upstairs, a dry, closed space for sleeping and nesting. Downstairs, an open cup for food. Two jobs in one.
Robins struggle with hanging feeders. They like a flat, open place to eat — the cup and saucer on the ledge are exactly that.
The pointed roof reaches out over the door, so rain runs past the opening instead of into it.
The back board sits flat against a fence, wall or tree. Two screws and it is up — no pole needed.
The gold line around the door is Susan’s signature from 41 years in Burslem. Painted by hand, so no two teapots are exactly alike.
“Most bird boxes are plain wooden boxes, and many hang empty for years. This one combines a sheltered, dry space up top with an open feeding spot below — and robins in particular struggle with hanging feeders. Put it up in autumn, at about head height, near a bit of cover, and the birds will find it.”
Margaret Ellison · Garden wildlife adviser · Shropshire
Perfect for
Why Susan’s teapot lasts
- Frost-proof body. Resin does not crack in hard frost like real china does.
- Rain roof. The roof overhang keeps the door and the inside dry.
- Removable cup. Lift the cup out to clean and refill it in seconds.
- Solid mounting. The flat back board screws firmly to fence, wall or tree.
- Checked one by one. Every teapot is inspected and wrapped by Susan before it leaves.
If your teapot doesn’t win you over, one email to info@cedarandtinco.com is enough. Susan would rather have it back than have it sit in a cupboard.
Please note the size. The teapot nest box is about 25 cm tall, 12 cm wide and 11 cm deep — the teapot itself is about the size of a small teapot for one. Best hung at head height in a quiet spot with a bush or hedge nearby. Screws not included.
Product details
| Contents | 1 painted teapot, wooden back board with roof and ledge, cup & saucer |
| Size | Approx. 25 cm tall × 12 cm wide × 11 cm deep (9.8 × 4.7 × 4.3 in) |
| Material | Frost-proof resin teapot, painted by hand; painted wooden back board and roof |
| Colours | Pale blue teapot with flowers and gold rim; teal roof and back board; white cup |
| For | Small garden birds — sparrows and wrens inside, robins at the cup |
| Mounting | Fence, wall, shed or tree, about head height |
| Care | Empty and clean once a year in late autumn; rinse the cup regularly |
| Made by | Susan Bradshaw, Burslem — final collection, 86 remaining |
