“To the right of the Big House and the Abbey stands a small house, the so-called ‘hut.’ When the Polenov family settled in this estate, Polenov’s son, along with his village friends, built a hut on this spot where they played together. Following the example of other estates where huts were built for children’s play, Polenov also built this hut.”
Excursion through the park by O. V. Polenova, the artist’s daughter, 1970.
In the early years of living on the estate, there was a homemade hut built by Vasily Dmitrievich and his son Dmitry. Here, the children played with friends from Byokhovo and Strakhovo. When the cozy hut appeared, the older children would read in it while the younger ones played with dolls. “The hut was then equipped inside like a real Russian izba (cottage) with Khokhloma furniture: a table, benches, stools — everything was Khokhloma-style, and on the porch hung a handwashing pot with a spout, probably bought at the fair in Tarusa.” From the memories of E. A. Strunnikov, a friend of the Polenov family.
The children also had a small farm here: rabbits with their bunnies, ducks with ducklings, turkeys with poults, chickens with chicks, and a small children’s garden to the left of the road.
The ‘Khokhloma’ interior of the Children’s House is no longer there, but there are still many children: from spring to late autumn, wonderful masters of folk crafts work here and conduct workshops.