About Us
Pateley Shed is a registered charity: the Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed C.I.O. a Charitable Incorporated Organisation – No: 1184036; incorporated 19 June 2019.
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Well, that’s the legal bit, but we are really about having fun, making things, and building social connections while providing a “listening ear” should it be needed.
As such our workshop facilities and the friendships built through our activities provide a route to better health. This is very much in line with the “Five Ways to Well Being” programme - i.e., Connect, Learn, Be Active, Take Notice and Give - currently being promoted by Public Health England, the NHS, and several Mental Health charities and organizations.
The Men’s Shed Movement
Men’s Sheds started in Australia in the 1970s by some men wishing to help their Vietnam war veterans. There are now over 580 sheds operating in the UK with about a further 140 in development and it is estimated that some 14,064 families are benefitting through the Men’s Shed movement.
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Men typically find it more difficult to build social connections than women and rarely share personal concerns and worries. It is said that women talk face to face while men talk shoulder to shoulder! It is not the case for all men, but for many, when retirement or redundancy comes, it can feel like their personal identity and purpose are lost. Men’s Sheds can change all of that. Sheds typically attract older men, but many have younger members, and some are open to women as well.
Sheds are whatever the members want them to be - often they are not sheds at all. They can be empty offices, classrooms, warehouses, even old garages. Activities vary greatly, but you can usually find woodworking, metalworking, repairing & restoring things, even rebuilding cars and industrial engines, etc! Men’s Sheds are essentially work-shops where men go to make and repair things while at the same time making new friendships and developing support groups with like-minded people.
Our History
Having attended a seminar about Men’s Sheds in the summer of 2018 and promoting the idea at that year’s Nidderdale Show, a Steering Group held its first meeting in December 2018. Unable to find a suitable building, we again promoted the Shed at the Nidderdale Show 2019 hoping this time to find a site on which we could erect a large shed or shipping containers, but alas no such site was found.
During those two years as well as establishing the charity, the Steering Group completed small projects for the likes of Nidderdale Plus, Dacre & Hartwith Village Hall.
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Continuing to remain as active as possible despite the Covid-19 pandemic, as lockdown rules allowed we met either fortnightly over tea and bacon butties at the Tea Cups café or worked with the owner of Fish Pond Woods in Bewerley on several activities to help with woodland management.
In late 2020 we became aware of a possible building being available and in March 2021 we signed a three-year lease with North Yorkshire County Council for the use of their former Youth Centre behind St Cuthbert’s C of E Primary School in Pateley Bridge.
Having secured a venue, “Pateley Shed” has been fortunate in obtaining grants to develop the facilities into a well-equipped workshop. Up to now we have worked with, and been supported by, the Nidderdale Plus Community Hub, with help and grants from the NYCC Stronger Communities team, and have been successful in attracting additional funding from several local sources. Now the group has expanded, we can provide the management, equipment, and tools for projects where we can socialize and work, either individually or in teams, to make and or repair products and artifacts in a range of materials.
Going forward, other opportunities over the next three years could be working closely with the schools in Pateley Bridge and increasing the number of daytime sessions as demand warrants plus offering evening sessions to those who cannot attend during the daytime.
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We recently started a promotion campaign which has featured front-page articles in the Nidderdale Herald and also a video of our activities on Harrogate’s “Stray Ferret” news channel website.
As we grow we plan to become involved in community projects such as building things for other community groups and individuals in need, possibly helping to maintain green spaces and even restoring and maintaining village features, etc.
We are affiliated with the UK Men’s Shed Association which provides guidance, promotional resources, and a national forum for Sheds to support each other.
Our Workshop
Previously a pre-school nursery, our hut has undergone a major refurbishment inside and out. Thanks to many generous donations we have a large collection of hand tools while success in obtaining grants has enabled us to buy power tools and larger items that most of us could not afford or justify for our own personal use, such as a Bevel Mitre saw Band and Scroll saws, a Saw Table with its own Dust Extractor and a second-hand wood lathe with its original set of tools.
We also have a small range of personal protection items such as goggles, face masks, and ear defenders, although not Dust Coats or Overalls which are left to one’s personal preference.
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We also have a small kitchenette area where funding has allowed us to provide tea and toast-making facilities to enjoy whilst chatting with each other.