Sevenoaks Men's Shed

Members

As "Members" of the Sevenoaks Shed  we meet up to enjoy woodwork, learn new skills and make useful things for the community and ourselves.

The Sevenoaks Shedders are based at a well-equipped workshop at the Abacus Furniture Project, Greatness Road, Sevenoaks. The members include people with experience in joinery who can pass their skills on and others who are still learning. Whilst we are associated to The Men's Shed Association that does not imply that Women are not welcome as members, they are more than welcome.

History

Starting in  2016 West Kent Housing Association partnered with Men's Shed, Kent division, to run the woodwork project at The Abacus warehouse in Sevenoaks. Originally The Shed was based in a very small workshop in Dunton Green which The Shedders soon outgrew. The move to The Abacus warehouse enabled the Shed to expand the number of members and, following a grant by the Royal Voluntary Service and ASDA,  to additionally purchase some larger woodworking machinery. Due to this history the Shed is sometimes referred to as The Dunton Green Shed.

The Men's Sheds Association was originally set up as a meeting place for retired men. This is followed research which found that men’s social and support networks usually revolve around work and when they retire this network can change or vanish completely, leading to social isolation and loneliness. The Sheds are set up across the country for a variety of activities including model making, gardening, carpentry, bike refurbishment and woodwork.

What is Men in Sheds?

The idea for the Men in Sheds project came from Australia. They identified a need for community groups aimed at older men to socialise and discuss wellbeing. Aiming to increase the overall health of older males, the Men in Sheds project was formed. Facing a similar need in the UK, we adopted the project and now there are over 500 sheds registered.

The ethos of the shed is not only a place to learn and share practical skills but more importantly provides a space for peer support and wellbeing. Members can come into the shed to have a chat, laugh and share stories over a cup of tea, work collectively or individually.

Meetings

The Sevenoaks Shed meets three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:30 and 13:00. We use a well equipped workshop located in the Abacus Furniture Project building on Greatness Lane.

Take part

If you would like to take part in the Sevenoaks Shed  project please click on Contact Us and send us a message. We will be in contact with you soon.

Our Products or Your projects

On the Products page you can see some of the things we have made and delivered to customers. If you are interested in obtaining one or more of our products or if you are interested in an item to be made according to your specifications? Please click on Contact Us and send us a message and we will be in contact very soon.