Ascot Shed is a community workshop; a space where locals engage in practical activities, learn and practise skills, share their experience & expertise, and socialise with like-minded people.
Established in 2021, we have attracted more than three dozen members and word is beginning to spread. But we're just getting started.
We've built ourselves a half-decent workshop for woodwork, and we're now using the donated machinery, tools and materials to renovate other parts of the building, improving the facilities and expanding our capabilities.
We have big plans for Ascot Shed, so we'll likely always be building or upgrading something. Our aim is to provide the broadest range of volunteer-run workshop facilities anywhere in the UK, eventually.
Some of the activities we're planning to accommodate:
If any of this sounds like your cup of tea, please get in touch and we'll arrange a time for you to visit. Or simply pop in if you're in the neighbourhood during the week.
We're entirely community-funded and have been fortunate to receive donations of tools and materials from local residents; Our whole garage clearance service is much appreciated by the recently bereaved. In the summer of '22 we recovered workbenches & racking from the old Heatherwood Hospital during decommission, and we have an ongoing arrangement with LOCK5 [link], one of the temporary event structure providers to Ascot Racecourse, where they give us their off-cuts before and used timber after Royal Ascot race week. This alone keeps us stocked with good wood all year and raises everyone's sustainability score in with the bargain. Nice!
If you have any tools, machines (working or not), industrial furniture or building materials going spare and would like them to be well used and much appreciated, please email Info@AscotShed.org [email link].
Whatever your reason for contacting us, please tell us a little about yourself and include a phone number so we can call you back. Thanks.
We'd be remiss if we didn't thank the Ascot Fire Brigade Trust [link] for their grant in 2022, which paid for our insurance, rather appropriately.
We're eager and ready for any support that local societies and businesses might wish to offer, however we have little need for volunteer manpower. We do that work ourselves.
Thank you for reading this far. We look forward to hearing from you.
We are located in a spacious building in the centre of Ascot, just off the High Street behind Tesco Express. The address is:
Surrey House, Course Road, Ascot, SL5 7HQ [map link].
We're open every weekday, between 10:00 and 17:30.
Any adult capable of navigating a semi-hazardous environment without supervision. It's essential that you're mature enough to understand the risks, and able-bodied enough not to pose a threat to your own safety or that of fellow members.
Yes and no. Our membership is almost entirely male and our focus is on providing a space for men predominantly. Not only are retired and out of work men a woefully under-served demographic, but men are generally more talkative when there are fewer women around.
That said, we named it Ascot Shed to let the door swing both ways. Members of the fairer sex are welcome to join and muck in with the gents, but should be aware that it's a fairly harsh environment; Cuts and bruises may spontaneously appear; Safety boots are strongly advised.
It's not just us though. Men's Sheds are a worldwide phenomenon.
The best place to learn about "Sheds" is the web site of the UKMSA, with which we are affiliated:
UK Men's Sheds Association [FAQ link].
Now you're all caught up. We'll be adding much more to this web site but we're having too much fun in the workshop to update it regularly.