If you would like further information or would like to get involved with this exciting initiative please contact Nick Wedgwood or Bruce Mayhew at info@hungerford-shed.co.uk.
June 2025 news
It was agreed at the 2 June meeting of Hungerford Town Council that wrapping up the final details of the agreement for the Hungerford Men’s Shed to be granted a sub-lease for, and to make alterations to, the Croft Field building would be delegated to the Clerk, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor to decide. Onjce these have been agreed, we’ll have further news on when the work is likely to start.
April 2025 news
Come and have a chat to one of our team onsite at the next Artisan Market in Croft Field on Sunday 13 April. The term Men’s shed might sound exclusive but the opposite is true; we welcome women and anyone over 18. The name reflects that we are under the umbrella of the UK Men’s shed association with a nationwide membership of over 900 clubs and aprox 30,000 members: click here for more information. The Hungerford Men’s Shed looks forward to serving the community.
March 2025 news
“On Saturday 22 February the Hungerford Men’s Shed had a presentation on the steps of the Town hall with examples of projects kindly lent by Calne Men’s Shed and Newbury’s Fairclose Men’s Shed, with whom we are in close collaboration along with the newly formed Lambourn Shed. Also we are supported by The Berkshire Bodgers from the Association of Pole-lathe Turners and Green Woodworkers, who demonstrated the art draw knife carving on a shaving horse.
“We were blessed this time with fair weather and had a good response from passing visitors with many wishing to join the newly formed club. We should be signing our lease agreement shortly and hope to be in a position to convert the Croft field site by the end of May and be up and running by the summer.
“There will be a member of our team onsite at the next Artisan Market in Croft Field on Sunday 13 April. The term Men’s shed might sound exclusive but the opposite is true; we welcome women and anyone over 18. The name reflects that we are under the umbrella of the UK Mens shed association with a nationwide membership of over 900 clubs and aprox 30,000 members: click here for more information. The Hungerford Men’s Shed looks forward to serving the community.”
January 2025 news
Sadly we had to cancel the promotion on the Town Hall Steps on 7 December due to Storm Darragh. We are planning to have another presentation on the Town Hall steps from 10am to 1pm on Saturday 22 February by which time we should have all our plans for the Croft Field Site finalised.
We continue to get generous donations of tools and very positive responses from locals so we would like to thank the community for their ongoing support.
November 2024 news
The Hungerford Community Shed continues to make good progress. At present we are waiting on the Hungerford Town Council to draw up an agreement on the conversion and conditions for the use of the building at the end of the Croft ield building. Once this agreement is ratified and the design of the conversion is agreed, we will be proceeding to carry out the work ourselves to convert the building into a state of the art communal workshop.
In the meantime we have had many generous donations of tools from many local people including an almost new metal lathe and a brand-new mitre saw.
On Saturday 7 December from 9 am until 1 pm, we will be having a launch publicity event on the steps of the Town Hall with displays of items created by other Men’s Sheds. Everyone is welcome to come and ask questions and if you wish to join our new Hungerford community Shed you can be amongst our founding members.
October 2024 news
Very exciting news that we have confirmation from Hungerford Town Council for permission in principle to convert the brick gazebo at the end of the Croft Field Centre into a community shed, subject to a contract which would encompass such issues as parking and the terms of reversion.
September 2024 news
The committee for the Hungerford Shed did a short presentation to Hungerford Town Council at the monthly meeting on Monday evening and we were well received by the councillors. (Please click here to see a report of this.)
A brief history and outline of the benefits of “Men’s Sheds” was provided and a proposal on possible sites was put to the HTC and we will be putting forward a more formal proposal before the next Town Council Meeting for them to consider.
There will be a presentation to the Hungerford U3A at the Town Hall on Tuesday 10 September at 10:30am at which an Ambassador to the UK Men’s Sheds Association will be present to answer questions.
“Shoulder to Shoulder we aim to create a space that contributes to a healthier and happier community”: 0r in the words of Mark Twain: “The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer someone else up.”
August 2024 news
Progress in establishing the Hungerford Community Shed, or Hungerford Shed for short, is going well. We now have a strong foundation committee of seven local residents with a broad variety of skills. Some of the committee attended the annual general meeting of the UK Men’s Shed association in Worcester in July to help us formulate a plan for going forward, and we are now a recognised member of the UKMSA.
Having visited fourteen potential Shed sites, we have narrowed down to three, and we will be making presentations to the Town Council and Town & Manor to help us secure a suitable location. We will also be collaborating with other local organisations and businesses in the Town. Everyone involved to this point is convinced of the enormous health benefits resulting from the formation of a Community Shed which has been proven by the 1100 established Men’s Sheds around the country and the testimony of some 30,000 shedders.
Also the resulting cost savings to the NHS and social services. Sheds make a significant contribution to the well-being of all their members. Not all Shedders suffered from loneliness and isolation before joining a Shed. However, all Shedders felt a deeper sense of connection with others and with their local community as a result of being a member of a Shed. Creative people are happy people; communal shoulder to shoulder creativity should lead to healthier minds and a happier community.
July 2024 news
The Hungerford Community Shed has a newly formed committee of local residents of Hungerford, and is now affiliated with the UK Men’s Shed association. We are in the process of finding a suitable location. We are talking to local authorities and busineses, as well as liaising with the other established Men’s Community Sheds in the surrounding towns. We are open to new members over the age 18 of any gender who would like to help us establish this very worthwhile community project and to any local businesses that may wish to confirm their social responsibility commitment and help in any way they can.
The purpose of the Hungerford Community Shed is to encourage people to come together to make, repair and repurpose items, supporting projects in their local communities and to promote the preservation and protection of local residents’ good health, improving wellbeing, reducing loneliness and combatting social isolation, in particular but not limited for those who are retired, unemployed or have health problems through the provision of facilities for hobbies, recreation or other leisure time occupations including practical interests, skills sharing, the learning of new skills. Thus benefitting the community as a whole.
The slogan for men’s sheds is “Shoulder To Shoulder”, shortened from “Men don’t talk face to face, they talk shoulder to shoulder”. The best way to make lasting friendships is to share creative activities together. “Sheds” have been proven to save lives. Many health centres now refer patients to local “Sheds”.
The Hungerford Shed will be whatever its members want it to be and will have a very democratic constitution. Ideally we envision a spacious workshop consisting of a full range of woodworking tools, including table saw, band saws, pillar drills, lathes, routers, scroll saws and a full range of hand tools. And if space permits a metal lathe and milling machine and a range of metal working tools plus an electronics section. We aim not to compete with local trades but rather to collaborate with them for mutual benefit and the benefit of the environment through recycling and repurposing.
The Hungerford Community Shed will be committed to take health and safety seriously and to adopt a discipline of standard operating procedures and practices that have evolved from the experience of the thousands of successful sheds around the world and to have several members who are trained First Aiders.
How to get involved
If you would like further information or would like to get involved please contact Nick Wedgwood at nickwedg@gmail.com or Bruce Mayhew at bruce@brucemayhew.co.uk.
