The sounds of sawing, pounding mallets and male banter echo out from an old barn in rural Shropshire. Inside, a mismatch of men have come together to make things with wood in their collective shed.
The shed, on the Sansaw farm estate, is one of thousands of “men’s sheds” worldwide. The Mensheds movement began in Australia with the aim of bringing men together to help improve their health and boost social inclusion, and now the idea is taking off in the UK.
It’s one simple solution to a big problem. It’s no secret that loneliness is a problem in an ageing population, but many don’t realise how much it disproportionately affects men. It’s more than simply feeling lonely – research shows that isolation can have huge knock-on effects on both mental and physical health.
A recent study linked loneliness and social isolation to a 30% increase in risk of stroke and heart disease, while another by Age UK found that almost a third of older men with health problems are lonely.
The volunteer-led Men in Sheds in Shropshire has been quietly setting up these sheds since 2012. Tony Wilson, a former hospital director who now runs the organisation, had often noticed how men would take longer to recover from illness than women, and was inspired after discovering similar projects in Australia.
“We’d tried various things to solve the problem,” he says. “I think that men don’t address problems directly and they have problems discussing their health. There’s an expression that men don’t talk face to face, they talk shoulder to shoulder. So the idea is that while they’re banging in nails, they’re more likely to talk.”
There are now four sheds in the county, each with between 18 and 26 members. The Sansaw group comprises former mechanics, optometrists and (cue laughter whenever it’s mentioned), an artificial inseminator of cattle. They come from all social classes, some married, and some with disabilities or long-term illnesses that prevent them from working.
Learning new skills is one reason why the men are attracted to the project. John Burgess, 81, a former engineer, is one of the oldest members and acts as secretary. “To be honest, I’m not lonely, but I gave it a go,” he says. “I do one day a week and like it. I’ve learned a lot.”
Gerard Neville, 67, has been a member for 18 months. He says: “I found it hard to retire. I come because it gets you out really. You get up at seven and there’s a long time till bed. You’ve got to fill it. My wife is pleased because it gets me out from under her feet.”
Neville’s experience isn’t unusual, according to Prof Steve Robertson, the co-director of the Centre for Men’s Health at Leeds Beckett University. “Men often lose identity when they stop working and have a bit of an existential crisis. They think: ‘If I’m not working, what is my role as a man?’ It’s why the sheds have been so important. They’ve given them a renewed sense of purpose, with the wellbeing and friendships that go with it.”
It is far from just being a chance to potter about: there’s a real sense of being involved and, crucially, valued in the community. The Sansaw shed team are regularly asked to build things such as church noticeboards and bus shelters, which they do in exchange for donations to their charity. Some volunteer at the Shrewsbury Autism Hub, teaching woodwork to young people, and recently took part in the BBC’s DIY SOS: The Big Build.
It goes deeper than playing with tools and giving wives some quiet time. On more than one occasion, Wilson has been approached by members feeling suicidal. And with men far likelier than women to kill themselves – 2014 figures show men accounting for 76% of UK suicides – Wilson believes that beyond the bravado, the sheds provide a good environment to bring up problems.
“We dealt with it. In a fairly manly way, but we still dealt with it. We also have guys moaning about aches and pains, so we say: ‘Well, go and see the bloody doctor then.’”
