Beverley Men In Sheds was founded in October 2018 and is based at Oldroyd’s Corner in Woodmansey Garden Centre.
The Shedders, as members are known, are located in a former growing greenhouse at the rear of the garden centre and have been since July 2019.
On moving in, they were faced with a 200sq-yard area with a compacted earth floor covered by a weed suppressing membrane and two exterior walls comprised of metal and glass.
Hard work by the members, with support from Humber & Wolds Rural Community Council, Groundwork North and Tesco, enabled them to build their first version of the Shed.
This initial layout was completed, just, by the end of 2019 and Shedders were looking forward to the New Year.
By the end of February 2020, Beverley Men In Sheds had 31 members, or about to sign up.
Then, like the rest of the world, it was hit by COVID-19.
The Men in Sheds movement began back in Australia and New Zealand and reached the UK in 2013.
Now, there are around 600 Sheds and 13,000 members across the UK.
Sheds are similar to garden sheds – a place to pursue practical interests at leisure, to practice skills and enjoy making and mending.
The difference is that garden sheds and their activities are often solitary in nature while Men’s Sheds are the opposite.
They’re about social connections and friendship building, sharing skills and knowledge and a lot of laughter.
Activities in Sheds vary greatly, but you can usually find woodworking, metalworking, repairing and restoring, electronics, model building or even car building in a typical Shed.
Sheds typically attract older men, but many have younger members and women too.
Whatever the activity, the essence of a Shed is not a building, but the connections and relationships between its members.
Sheds are about meeting like-minded people and having someone to share your worries with.
They are about having fun, sharing skills and knowledge and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and belonging.
As a by-product of all of that, they reduce isolation and feelings of loneliness, they allow men to deal with mental health challenges more easily and remain independent, they rebuild communities and, in many cases, they save men’s lives. Men’s Sheds are vital.
To find out more about Beverley Men In Sheds, visit Oldroyd’s Corner, Woodmansey Garden Centre, Hull Road, Woodmansey, HU17 0RS.
Alternatively, find them on Facebook (Beverley Men In Sheds) or visit the website beverleymeninsheds.org
