Our story & history
MensCraft grew out of a simple but powerful idea: that men and boys benefit from spaces where they can talk honestly and openly, develop or deepen skills, understand their rights and responsibilities, and support one another through the changes and challenges of life.
31.10.2006
Our roots can be traced to a meeting of Norfolk-based men with experience of working with men and boys, and a desire to create an organisation focussed exclusively on supporting them. The seed of an idea from which MensCraft grew was planted on this date.
2007: MensCraft launches
Founded by four Norfolk-based men with wide-ranging experience and interest in men’s work, MensCraft initially operated as an unincorporated association. Some of our earliest work included a rites-of-passage weekend for teenage boys, developed in response to single mothers highlighting the lack of positive male role models and meaningful transitions for young men moving from childhood into adulthood.
2010: Early development & incorporation
As the work grew, the need for a formal structure became apparent. In 2010, MensCraft incorporated as a Community Interest Company (CIC). This status allowed the organisation to trade as a social enterprise, ensuring any surplus income was reinvested directly into work with men and boys.
Much of this early work focused on fatherhood, delivered through close collaboration with children’s centres across the county. This laid the foundations for what would later become our Dads Onside programme. Alongside this, we established a year-long befriending and mentoring programme for boys without a father figure at home, combining volunteer mentorship with rites-of-passage work.
2013: Establishing Norwich's first Men’s Shed
A major milestone in our history was the establishment of the first Norwich Men’s Shed in 2013. Following a feasibility study funded by an Awards for All grant, MensCraft set up one of the first Men’s Sheds in the whole of the UK at a site on Pitt Street.
This project reflected our commitment to practical, community-based spaces where men could make friends and share skills. The Shed proved so successful that, by 2017, it had grown enough to “fledge” from MensCraft, becoming an independent charity in its own right. It is now one of more than 30 Sheds across Norfolk, and things have come full circle: as of 2025, MensCraft is working in partnership with the UK Men’s Shed Association (UKMSA) and the Norfolk Sheds Network to provide development support for Men’s Sheds throughout the county.
2017: The Pit Stop
Building on the success of the Shed, MensCraft began developing the concept of dedicated drop-in spaces. This work evolved into the Pit Stop model.
Using the metaphor of a “pit crew,” these informal, welcoming spaces allow men to pull in and “tune up” their wellbeing in a friendly, informal setting. Men can attend without referral for conversation, support, connection and more. We now run Pit Stops in 13 locations across Norfolk and Waveney.
2018: Prevention & Positive Activities
As awareness grew around the national crisis of male suicide, MensCraft developed a non-clinical programme for men experiencing hopelessness or suicidal thoughts: the Prevention & Positive Activies Programme – a commissioned service funded primarily by Norfolk County Council and a significant milestone for MensCraft: recognition that we provided a vital part of the mental health landscape in Norfolk.
In 2023, we changed the name of our suicide prevention programme to The Contact Service and secured another five-years of funding from NCC.
2020: Becoming a charity
To support our further growth and secure the organisation’s long-term future, MensCraft transitioned from a CIC to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on March 16, 2020. This new status enabled access to a wider range of charitable trusts and grants, strengthening our ability to serve men across the county.
2023: Maddermarket Theatre partnership and “The Dojo"
After a very happy decade at our Pitt Street base in Norwich, we took up residence at 6, The Cottage, St. John’s Alley – part of the Maddermarket Theatre estate – in December 2023.
Following a period of extensive grant-funded renovation, we opened The Dojo – the adjacent event and activity space – in April 2024. It quickly become a warm and welcoming space, home to our Norwich Pit Stops and all manor of other events and activities, including the Baton of Hope in September 2025.
This was an accelerated period of growth for the MensCraft, culminating in the need to relocate to new premises.
2026: Bishopgate and beyond
MensCraft moved to 35 Bishopgate, Norwich in January 2026. We are a still-growing team of full- and part-time staff, alongside sessional “associates” and volunteers.
Our work spans fatherhood, suicide prevention, youth work, creative and therapeutic programmes for men and boys across Norfolk and Waveney. While much has changed since those early conversations, our core purpose remains the same: happier, healthier men.