Hungerford Repair Café

About Us

Hungerford Repair Café is a free community event where we repair damaged or faulty household items.

Here you'll find volunteers, tools and materials to help you make repairs on clothes, furniture, electrical and electronic goods, garden tools and toys. Our volunteers will turn their hands to many things, including items of sentimental value.

Visitor at Repair Café

A visitor brings a broken item and together with a volunteer they start to repair it.

Coffee at Repair Café

Visitors enjoying a cup of coffee and a chat.

We throw away vast amounts of stuff, even things that could get a new life after a simple repair. But many people are put off repairing things because modern technology looks baffling. Here are some of the ways that Repair Cafés are helping:

Our volunteers are the kind of people who will have a go at fixing their own things before throwing them out and we will do our best to help you do the same.

Contact Us

You can contact us by sending an email to hungerfordrepaircafe@gmail.com.

More Information

Hungerford Repair Café is currently run every 2 months, usually on the third Saturday of the month from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm in the Croft Hall in Hungerford. The Croft Hall is located at the end of Croft Road near the community health centre and St Lawrence's church. Parking is limited, so if you wish to bring a large item, please drop this off at the hall and find parking at the nearby Church Street car park.

Next Repair Café:

Saturday 18 January

10am-12:30pm
in Croft Hall

These are the dates for Hungerford Repair Café in 2025:

When you arrive, you will be welcomed by our reception team who will ask you to complete a repair form. This is used to record some basic details about the item being repaired and helps us to report useful statistics about what we do. For example, we will weigh the item to give us some data about how much material might otherwise have been sent to landfill or other waste management sites. Our reports are sent to Newbury Weekly News, the Adviser, Penny Post and local social media sites.

If we are busy we may not be able to help as soon as you arrive, but you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit and chat with others while you wait. Repairs and refreshments are free; we are funded solely by donations from happy customers.

When a repairer becomes available you will be directed to take your item and repair form to their repair station. You are encouraged to help with the repair if you can, or to watch and learn how the volunteer works on your item. This way we can pass on the knowledge and skills for everyone to embrace a repairing culture.

Of course, not all jobs are suitable for home repair. In this case we can usually recommend a local repair service that has the time and expertise to help you out.

Frequently Asked Questions

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  1. What can I bring to the Repair Café?

    You can bring any household item that you can carry in.

    Please make sure your item is in a fit state to work on; dirty items or items containing food or drink should be cleaned beforehand.

    We do not accept large or heavy appliances, petrol driven machines or microwave ovens; these and certain other items require professional repair services.

    If you wish to check, please email us at hungerfordrepaircafe@gmail.com.

  2. How many items can I bring in for repair?

    We ask that you bring just one item to be repaired at a time.

    If you have several items we will ask you to decide which to register first so that other people are not kept waiting. When that item has been seen and checked out, you can then return to reception to register your next item. The only exception is for knife and blade sharpening; you make take up to three blades at a time.

  3. Can I leave an item to be repaired and return later to collect it?

    Our aim is to help you gain the knowledge and skill to repair your household things yourself.

    It is also a community event providing a way for people to meet and talk about how to repair things. For this reason, we prefer that you stay with the volunteer to help and learn from the process.

  4. Can I bring children or dogs into the hall?

    We ask that children of primary school age or younger are supervised by an adult.

    Dogs, other than assistance dogs, are not permitted in the hall. This is to avoid possible accidents with repair equipment and power leads.

  5. What happens if it turns out that the repair may take a long time?

    Repairs that take a long time make it hard for us to share our time fairly with others who may be waiting. The volunteer will discuss possible options with you before embarking on complex repairs. They may (at their own discretion) offer to work on your item at home, or they may suggest the work requires specialist attention.

  6. What if a spare part is needed to complete a repair?

    If you contact us before bringing in your item, we may be able to advise you on purchasing spare parts to bring in with the item.

    If the volunteer finds that they need a replacement part during their work, they will try to find out where you can obtain the part so that you can bring the item and spare part back to the next session.