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 drop us an email telling us a little about yourself and why you'd like to join us.
May 2025 Membership Applications Update!
Normally, the first step would be to book you in for a tour of the workshop, but due to admin overwhelm and a lack of availability we've had to put a temporary hold on booking requests.
Please don't let our popularity discourage you from enquiring. We'll get back to you eventually and let you know when we're open to new memberships again.
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, who give us their 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 giving us grants to cover our insurance costs every year so far.
The Old Fire Station in Ascot High Street, built in 1902, was paid for by the community and that legacy of 'just-in-case' protection lives on still.
We're grateful 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.
We are always on the lookout for a 'forever home' if you should happen to have a spare building or some land available, or know someone who might be willing to support us in that way. We make great tenants and excellent neighbours.
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 10:30 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 mostly male and our focus is on providing a space for men predominantly. Retired and out of work men are a woefully under-served demographic, and men generally are more talkative when they're not afraid to say what's on their mind.
That said, we named it Ascot Shed because members of the fairer sex are very welcome to join and muck in with the gents, so long as they're aware that it's a fairly harsh environment; Cuts and bruises may spontaneously appear; Safety boots are essential.
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.