The Port Men in Sheds

At the beginning of 2024, I participated in a nationwide photography competition with the name and theme ‘Community’. This competition was hosted by the Photo North Festival, of which I became a top 10 finalist out of over 800 contestants. In response to the competition brief about ‘community’, I photographed a group based in Ellesmere Port, called The Port Men in Sheds.

Close-up of elderly hands measuring a piece of wood with a wooden ruler on a workbench.
An elderly man woodworking at a workbench in a workshop, smiling, with wood shavings on the table, wearing a blue jacket, hat, and glasses around his neck.
A person wearing a protective helmet and camouflage jacket is welding metal on a wooden workbench, with sparks flying around.
A worker in blue overalls labeled 'Jetstream' is cleaning a door frame, standing on a white cloth, inside a building with emergency exit signs above the doorway.
Group of men standing in front of a sign that reads 'The Port Men in Sheds' at a community center.
Photograph of a house with a tree in the front yard, taken during autumn. The house has a unique design with brick walls, blue doors, and windows with bars. There are fallen leaves on the gravel driveway and some greenery around.
A person woodworking using a hand plane on a wooden workbench with wood shavings around.
A senior man wearing a blue cap with a kangaroo logo, a dark jacket, and glasses hanging around his neck, smiling indoors.
Close-up of an elderly man with white hair and blue eyes, wearing a navy blue sweater, standing outdoors with a brick wall and tree trunks in the background.
A man sitting on a black chair outside a building with a brick wall, next to a window with a CCTV sign, a notice board with flyers, and signs on the door indicating directions to the sheds at Ellesmere Port.
Two elderly men are removing a green metal fence panel from a concrete wall on a street, one man wearing a blue vest with a logo, the other wearing a black jacket and red gloves.
An elderly man with white hair standing in a workshop, wearing a green jacket and standing next to a woodworking machine.

The Port Men in Sheds (TPMiS) is a charity that originally started as a project by Age UK in 2010 and then became its own charity in September 2020. It is a place for men from all over the North West to build things, chat, make music, and much more. This is to help them socialise, deal with issues in their personal lives or for a bit of fun.

I got the opportunity to be able to see the beginning of the new building for their community. They had no choice but to sell their last building and find a new place due to high monthly costs. The new building only costs them £1 a year, with the trust in them to keep it going. After I saw them renovating the building, I wanted to show the community, building a place together, for their community to thrive.

In the images I chose, it shows a range of portraits, found images of the building originally, the building being renovated by the men there, as well as a group photograph. These images are all interconnected by how they show the men who attend this group and how they are all working together to build their new community building. From spending time with them, it is clear to see that it’s more than just a community group, it’s a family and brotherhood. To find out more about The Port Men in Sheds, follow the links at the bottom of this page.

The Port Men in Sheds

Website: https://www.theportmeninsheds.org.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePortMIS/?locale=en_GB