All pages and materials herein © Henfield Shed 2017-2021 except as otherwise acknowledged, Website Design by Richard Lelliott, last updated 16 July 2021

Our generous sponsors enabled us to start from scratch in just a few months! In addition local support has been received. Our founding Steering Group, Trustees and Members would like to express our profound gratitude to them all.

Please explore the rest of our website by using the buttons at the top of each page.

Trustees

Our current Trustees are Neville De Moraes, Pete Gumbrell, Tim Perrin, Peter Tiplady and Bryan Shelden.

Please feel free to contact any of us should you have any queries or questions about The Henfield Shed.

Our current status is:

OPEN UNDER LIFTED COVID RESTRICTIONS from 19th July

Although Covid-19 hasn’t gone away and the pandemic is certainly  not over yet, from a Shed perspective, we will follow the latest decision from the Government and their advisers as they lift the current COVID restrictions on 19th July.  To this end, the Shed returns to 'normal' operation from Tuesday 20th July.  The Supervisor no longer has to ask the health questions and take everyone’s temperature on entry.  The 1 metre social distancing rule and the need to wear a face covering will no longer be mandatory and shedders can make their own drinks!  Having said this if any of our members or guests feel more comfortable adhering to the hands, face, space, fresh air rules when working inside the workshops and coffee shop, that will be absolutely fine.

Membership and other facts

We currently have a total of 26 fully paid up members. Since we were allowed back to the Shed on 12th April, we have run 36 sessions with 259 Shedders in attendance. There are 4 people ready to join after the change in restrictions on 19th July.

We have successfully completed 39 jobs to date, with 15 jobs still waiting to be started.  One thing that should be reiterated at this point is that the purpose of the Shed is not to be just a place of work. Although we have outstanding projects for the community, Shedders are under no pressure to work on one of these tasks. So, if all members fancy doing is coming in for coffee, a chat or to learn a new skill, then please come along when you can.

If you are interested in joining or rejoining the shed then please use the ‘Join Our Shed’ link at the top of the page, or simply visit the shed when it is open and have a chat with us.

During the first lockdown the Shed was deep cleaned and we made many NHS rainbows for the village. One of these found its way to New Zealand!

When we returned, things were slow for the first week then we were hit with our customers’ ‘inspiration’  from the re-runs of the Repair Shop! As a result we were inundated with requests to reupholster chairs/stools and multiple furniture repairs.

Shedders made wooden chopping blocks / boards, wooden steps, wine racks, too many hedgehog boxes to mention, wooden keepsake boxes, bespoke shelving, a Crib Board, a sink top repair and even a rustic egg box!

For the garden we made wheelbarrow planters, many raised bed planters, a log store, a wellington boot rack, the Shed stock item bird and bug boxes, a bird table, a gate repair and a mower house.

For the wider village community we were asked to take on three 'larger' jobs: these were to

• Create 10 seat circles, 2 tables and a cupboard for the Warren Playgroup woodland garden,
• Install the pump roof in the village car park and
• To make and fit new weather proofing for the Eastmead Cattery in Small Dole.

Kirsty Hayden, who runs Eastmead Cattery in Small Dole, was kind enough to send us the following testimonial:

I first read about the Henfield Shed in a local parish magazine and then happened to spot a lovely cat picture in the window of Southdown Galleries.  On enquiring and subsequently buying it I discovered that the clever chaps in the Henfield Shed had made it.  I run Eastmead Boarding Cattery in Small Dole and I needed to update some of my pens so that I could make them interchangeable.  

On chatting to Pete and the team it soon became apparent that they were willing to take on all sorts of challenges and they happily took on the project.  Since then they have replaced all my wooden ramps in the pens with white ones (far easier to clean) using recycled facia board panels and have recently designed and fitted some removable acrylic panels for the front of the cattery to help keep the winter wind and rain out.    All of these projects would have been difficult to find tradespeople to take on as they are fiddly and very time consuming.  Great people to work with and the camaraderie between them is lovely to see and very amusing to listen to their banter.

Well done Pete, Roger, Tony and the team!

In total we have completed 75 jobs post (first) lockdown which is fantastic and testament to the Shedders that come along week in week out. It should also be noted that with the exception of a couple of these jobs all were made with recycled wood, which in the current sustainable world we live in is a great use of timber that was bound for the tip.

Don’t forget we’ve established a FACEBOOK presence - it’s embedded below and if you click on it a new page/tab will open on your computer/device to allow you to explore it more. Of course if you are already a user of Facebook you can simply search for us there. (If your browser is set to reject cookies and tracking from some sites this may not work - sorry!)

The Shed is currently working alongside the Parish Council on the Henfield Trails initiative to deploy posts along the various walking routes  that have been identified across the HDC district. To aid this initiative, Roger kindly made the leaflet stands (above). These will be placed in local shops in order to publicise the trails.

And just to demonstrate the diversity of things we get asked to do - a Duck House was requested!

The Henfield Shed over the pandemic period

Whilst the series of lockdowns closed our workshop from time to time, some of the Shedders were able to continue to support the local community by doing small jobs in their own workshops and garages.

As the lockdowns have eased we have been as busy as the rules allowed, and as was mentioned have completed 39 jobs so far this year, with 15 (and rising) on the cards.

Some of our recent achievements can be seen in the photos below…

Have you seen any signs of Hedgehogs in your garden? We’ve made half a dozen Hedgehog Houses. Do get in touch if you think we could make something for you.  A rebuild of a cartwheel, restoration of a garden table and chairs, a pond house (like a duck house but for pumps and filters), Mushroom repair… the list goes on!

Much of the work we do is as a result of enquiries from local people or community organisations.  If you have a practical bit of work that you need help with then come and see us when the shed is open - usually Tuesday Wednesday and Friday mornings, behind Southdown Galleries in the High Street.   We’ll always give you an honest opinion as to whether we can help!

The Shed welcomes the High Sheriff of Sussex

The Henfield Shed was honoured to welcome Dr. Tim Fooks FRCP, the High Sheriff of Sussex when he visited The Shed in April. Dr Fooks’ interest in the Shed movement stems from his  understanding of the causes and effects of loneliness and isolation during his long career in General Practice and he chose to focus on the theme of ‘Safeguarding the Vulnerable’ during his term of office. The primary objective of the Henfield Shed is to promote social inclusion by preventing people from becoming socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.

During his visit, Dr Fooks was able to learn first-hand about how the Henfield Shed came about and  its involvement in the local community. He was given a tour of the workshop and was shown a number of articles produced or repaired by members of the Henfield Shed.

Because of the pandemic, personal visits by Dr Fooks have had to be severely curtailed during his year in office, so we were particularly honoured that he chose to visit The Henfield Shed . During his time with us, he was able to meet a number of members – albeit socially distanced – and to discuss with them their experiences of being a member of the Henfield Shed, and to learn from them, first hand, how membership has benefited them personally.

For those of you who don't know about the role of the High Sheriff, the office of Sheriff of Sussex was established before the Norman Conquest. The Office of Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative.