The Gladiator - A True History of Garden Sheds
Was the Gladiator range of Sheds the 2nd Secured By Design-approved garden shed?
The Gladiator shed - Designed by Chris Raby 2003
The Centurion shed was a groundbreaking piece of shed design..... no one can doubt that - it really was a game changer.... this product represented a turning point in the history of Asgard Garden sheds. Our Centurion Garden Shed range was the first Police Preferred Specification Garden shed in Britain (so we believe), and we think the Gladiator was the next one. We still don’t think there are any other approved garden sheds out there at the time of writing (?). Many other manufacturers claim to be approved, but look closely, and it's the locks that are approved, not the shed. The difference is, our SHEDs are tested and don't require additional 3rd party locks, that's what makes Asgard sheds unique. https://www.asgardsss.co.uk/fully_tested
Why did we design the Gladiator Secured By Design Shed?
Simple, the Centurion shed was an instant success, so we made a wider version, the Gladiator. Another huge step forward in shed design, the same great design as the Centurion, just wider! The Gladiator design is now almost 20 years old.
See one of our Gladiator Sheds Here
The Gladiator is Asgard through and through, 100% conceived, designed, and made by Asgard.
The original idea and design was thought up by yet another one of our long-term designers, Chris Raby. Chris has been with Asgard and sister company Flexiform for 30 years, and can be credited with dozens of Asgard product designs.
“The Centurion was a game-changer. The Gladiator was the next step. I designed this quite quickly, and we launched it to the general market. It was an instant success. We had the range fully certified, and I think the number of certifications speaks for itself. All our sheds are designed in a clever way, around our existing machinery, making these original sheds unique to us. Obviously, a few decades on, there are now plenty of copycats around” - Chris - Asgard
Original Garden Shed Design
The Gladiator design (in 2026) is over 20 years old, still looking like new, with the same locks, hinges, and panels from the day of manufacture. The Gladiator range has been designed to be extendable. Thanks to our extension modules, you can just keep adding sections... the shed gets bigger and bigger. All the Gladiator sheds have ventilation built into the design, reducing shed condensation - the true holy grail of shed design.
The Gladiator Shed Range - Storage for life
We have not really changed from that original design 20 plus years ago; it was so good. In the last few years, we upgraded the hinges to stainless steel for extra longevity, and over the years, we have varied the paint texture a little and used more environmentally friendly processes. We only use the cleanest materials and processes in our manufacturing plant.
A Design classic?
It's hard to believe this classic shed design is now over 20 years old. I remember going to the insurance testing (I am in the video at the back). It was a great experience. The shed was built by our own installation team in a huge warehouse. Then we stood back and a guy who, from memory, was about 10ft tall and went at the shed with knives and hammers, and metal bars. The good news is he didn't get in! An amazing piece of design and manufacturing - Stuart - Asgard
Asgard Accredited and approved Metal Garden Storage.
The Gladiator range of sheds is one of our Police Preferred specification sheds. Super tough and featuring enhanced security features such as 5-point locking. Reinforced doors and shrouded lock mechanisms. As with all our approved sheds, this is Loss Prevention Tested, Secured By Design, Insurance Approved, and Locksmiths Approved.
Asgard is ISO14001 approved (quality audited), with industry-beating feedback of 4.4 on Trustpilot, and a Customer Concerns rate of less than 0.1% PA
Asgard continues to design original and exciting storage products as the market leader that other manufacturers aspire to be.
