Bradford-on-Avon Mens Shed Annual Report 2024-25
This is the first Annual Report of the Bradfordon-Avon Mens Shed since it was registered as a charity (registration number 1210539) by the Charity Commission for England and Wales on the 17th October 2024.
The idea for a Mens Shed was first suggested by two of the Town Councillors, Jennie Parker and Katie Vigar, who collected a few of us and got us visiting existing Sheds and looking for sites. We looked at quite a few, then were offered two within the Spencer Moulton Social Club site on Trowbridge Road at the south end of town. They were made of badly spalling concrete, had asbestos roofs, and had been abandoned to the storage of anything unwanted for some years; but the location was great.
Our first meeting, to find out who was interested, was on the 25th July 2019 at the Swan Hotel in the centre of town. Soon the Shed was formally constituted as a Charitable Unincorporated Organisation at a second meeting on the 22nd August, and the Shed grew from that point on. One member suggested we all put in £5 each as a starter fund, we got some basic documents together, a constitution and other agreements, found a treasurer in September, and applied for grants to the Wiltshire County Community Fund (£2,000) and the Town Council.
Once we had some funds we started the epic task of clearing the two Sheds. The tins of old paint, antique mowing machines, crates of beer
glasses and disco speakers (to mention only the recognisable items) went mostly to the skip. The discovery of a large inspection pit full of mostly water was a surprise, but we eventually cleared the interior space and were able to start remodelling. There is no heating, so an inner shell was built in the smaller shed, packed with insulation and painted. We re-wired throughout with our own service board and, eventually, meter. The holes in the roof have been incrementally patched, and, with the ingenious use of A-frames, pulleys, and shouting, the small Shed was wrenched into a vertical position, stabilised, and non-leaking doors installed.
The work continued in a segregated way through the pandemic, meeting by the new Zoom and by the end of that time we were ready to open. We now have around 25 regular members, some of whom are women.
The Mens Shed movement started in Australia where their motto “Shoulder to shoulder but not eye to eye” sums up the philosophy. Mens Sheds are about the idea that men need a place to just be themselves, natter to other chaps, and perhaps do something creative and/or useful at the same time. Regular users are likely to be older men who feel the need to be doing something alongside other grown-ups. But anyone over 18 is welcome, and there are currently three sessions each week, each of which has a different feel.
Having fun is the key element, and probably tea-drinking should be near the top of the list. But most Sheds would expect to do some woodwork, making bird-boxes for instance or maybe wood-turning, but it really depends on
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what users want and what equipment and materials we can put together to make it happen. Generally now the small Shed is used for more personal bench based projects and the large Shed mainly for the larger community constructions.
Peter Eveleigh.
In April we lost our chairman, Peter Eveleigh, to cancer. He was our chairman from the start and more than anyone else, it was his drive and enthusiasm that got the project moving, and our ancient sheds down at the football ground discovered, financed, renovated, and equipped.
He had been a tank commander and was still willing to tackle the considerable challenges head-on. Many people helped to create the Shed, often co-operatively, but Peter was at the forefront of it all with his ideas and plans. It has become an institution in the town and is part of his legacy.
As individuals, Peter would always come and help with advice and possibly the loan of his impossibly sharp tools, even when it meant leaving his beloved lathe. And he was always good for a chat and a story. We will miss him. We do miss him.
Projects
The Mens Shed is now a well integrated and acknowledged presence within this small Town and as such we have been asked to take on a series of community projects. Most of the public notice-boards around town have been cleaned, repaired and re-varnished by us at some point and we have so far constructed and installed three book-swap cabinets in different neighbourhoods of the town. Not forgetting the A-frame for the Bradford Preservation Trust’s signage and, ecumenically, weaving together the willow frame for the Green Man who parades around our streets at his huge annual pagan festival of music and dance.
This year we re-built about 10 benches and we have also done a number of projects for the Town football club who are on the same site with us. This included timber cladding on their Tea Hut, installing the Tannoy, mounting their flags, and creating a Match Day Ball stand. We made a mud kitchen for one of the recently renovated council play areas, and a rather long new sign for the Bradford on Avon Bowls & Croquet Club. Currently we are working on some superfluous pews from Christ Church.
We charge for materials when we cannot use re-cycled ones, and usually also get a small donation, though we are careful to make sure we are not taking work away from local tradesmen. There is almost always a backlog of large and small projects and it means that those who have no project of their own at present can take part in a team one. It is a source of great satisfaction as members that there are items around the Town which we can take pride in and which add to our positive local image.
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Community events.
Since 2021 we have had a stall at the Christmas lights switch on, which is a delightful and very well attended event in the gardens down by the town bridge. This gives us an opportunity to raise funds by selling things we have made and to talk to strangers about what we do. This can lead to new members or requests for projects.
This year we also had a stall at the Easter Duck Race when hundreds of sponsored plastic ducks are released from the bridge into the river. This was less successful for fund raising as we had no chocolate items, but did give us the opportunity to talk to people and spread the word: wives promised to send their husbands.
Running the Shed
Shed members vary considerably in their skill sets. Some have a lifetime of workshop experience and, now retired and put out to grass, they are able to pass on those skills to those of us who are mere hobbyists and also, probably more importantly, are able to advise on proper workshop management.
We have a recently formed Machines Group who check and maintain our power tools. We have bandsaws, scroll saws, table saws, chop saws, mitre saws, pillar drills, a mortice drill, a planer thicknesser , lathes and sanders. These are regularly checked and members are trained in their safe use and further assistance given depending on the individual’s level of anxiety. This is considerably empowering for the majority who therefore get safe access to and training in using machines we could never realistically have at home.
People visit or contact us with requests for help or sometimes just advice, and we are often
offered the contents of people’s own sheds before they order the skip. This can be a useful source of tools and materials. We also ran a couple of outreach courses recently for members of the public who wanted to learn at a really basic level the different ways to use power tools to fix things to walls.
Work on improving the workshops continue; more shelving and tool displays on the walls. We’ve also improved the way we bring power to the benches. The wood-turning area has been improved with storage for suitable timber, such as cherry. Equipment generally is regularly tested and maintained, and the power tools are PAT tested and checked to see that they are safely set up. Health & Safety is a major concern and each member has a training record to record how much they have had.
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Membership.
We have an annual membership fee of £15 and then £1 per session. We allow adults to visit as guests to see if they would like to join because it is a lot easier to understand once they see and hear it. In practice people also drop in occasionally for advice or to commission a project, or to offer us tools or materials.
can demonstrate competence. There's usually someone to help. We hope to look after members but we are not carers.
It's mostly woodwork, but we are open to ideas. Some people prefer to be allocated a role in one of the community projects - often sanding or painting, but skills develop.
We stop for a chat, or at least a mumble, at 11:00 for half an hour or so. That's more or less compulsory as blokeish communication is part of our reason for being, but people can drop in whenever we are open.
Future plans.
There are probably more benches on the way for the Town Council and who knows what else. Come and see.
Tuesdays are busy and probably more interesting, Thursdays have lots of free space. Mondays are something in between. The gates are open from about 09:00 until around 13:00 and usually our sign will be out on the wall of our smaller shed, visible from the road.
Health and Safety is an issue and is a potential deal breaker on membership. We have a straightforward Code of Conduct policy. Members must be safe in themselves but also wear reasonably stout sensible shoes and practical clothing. They also need to resolve issues over hanging items such as long hair or jewellery as in any workshop. We can provide masks, ear defenders and similar PPE. We would like to think we are an inclusive group, and hope to be friendly and helpful, but the Sheds both contain potentially dangerous tools and machines and members will not be allowed to use any of the powered stuff in particular until they have had instruction and
Contact details:
We are a member of the UK Mens Sheds Association, or, locally:
Find us at the Bradford Town Football Ground 188 Trowbridge Road, BA15 1EX.
We are usually there on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 09:00 to 12:30 so you can just drop in, or:
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๏ boa. mens.shed@gmail.com
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๏ 07861 418194 - leave a message
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๏ ask for details at the Town Council.
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| Bradford-On-Avon Mens Shed Annual Accounts | Registered Charity Number 1210539 |
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| 2024-25 - Year to 30 September | 2023 - 2024 | |||||
| Bank £ | Cash £ | £ | Bank £ | Cash £ | ||
| Opening Balances | ||||||
| Lloyds Treasurer Account | 3,729.07 | 1,558.70 | ||||
| Council Grant 22-23 | 95.31 | 687.04 | ||||
| Cash Float | 38.70 | 38.70 | ||||
| INCOME - CASH | ||||||
| Session donations | 736.50 | 658.00 | ||||
| Annual Membership | 85.00 | 70.00 | ||||
| Car boot/market sales | 574.10 | 463.00 | ||||
| Repairs & Courses | 85.00 | 229.00 | ||||
| Donations Products | 79.00 | 190.00 | ||||
| 1,598.30 | 1,648.70 | |||||
| INCOME - BANK | ||||||
| Annual Membership | 181.25 | 459.00 | ||||
| Cash to bank | 1,551.00 | 1,610.00 | ||||
| Council Grants | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||
| Community Projects | 1,619.46 | |||||
| Repairs & Refurb | 50.00 | 2,160.00 | ||||
| Car boot/ Market sales | 241.92 | 582.40 | ||||
| Sponsorship | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||
| Donations Products | 101.00 | 803.46 | ||||
| TOTAL INCOME | 7,569.01 | 7,860.60 | ||||
| EXPENDITURE - CASH | ||||||
| Tools | 14.70 | |||||
| Cash to Bank | 1,541.00 | 1,610.00 | ||||
| Stationery | 5.75 | 0.00 | ||||
| Products | 10.70 | 0.00 | ||||
| Market pitch | 15.00 | 0.00 | ||||
| OperatingCosts | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||
| 1,587.15 | 1,610.00 | |||||
| EXPENDITURE- BANK | ||||||
| Bank Transfer Instant Access (Reserve) | 2,000.00 | - | ||||
| Market Products & Training | 147.48 | 23.50 | ||||
| From Grant- Sponsorship | 13.00 | 591.73 | ||||
| Community Projects | 909.77 | 256.83 | ||||
| Machinery & Tools | 168.27 | 0.00 | ||||
| H&S /Shed Consumables | 244.40 | 0.00 | ||||
| Operating Costs | 1,320.82 | 1,554.98 | ||||
| Insurance | 452.57 | 514.44 | ||||
| Repairs & Refurb | 0.00 | 1,094.74 | ||||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | 3,256.31 | 4,036.22 | ||||
| Closing Balances | ||||||
| Instant Access (Reserve) Deposit | 2,000.00 | |||||
| Instant Access (Reserve) Interest | 8.64 | |||||
| Treasurer Account | 2,312.70 | |||||
| Unpresented cheques | ||||||
| Cash | 11.15 | 38.70 | ||||
| Total Lloyds Bank Accounts | 4,321.34 | 3,824.38 | ||||
| Total Cash Box | 11.15 | 38.70 | ||||
| Assets (Tools & Machinery) for Charity use |
5,389.00 | 7,005.00 | ||||
| Signed | Approval Date / |
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| Martin Pickbourne | ||||||
| Treasurer | ||||||
| Trustee | ||||||
| Signed | Approval Date / |
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| Andrew Shipley | ||||||
| Chairman | ||||||
| Trustee |