Secondhand London

Repair cafés in London and when they meet

Volunteers bent over a trestle table taking apart white plastic appliances with screwdrivers, a tray of drill bits in front
Photo: Karen Blakeman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

These are London repair cafés and community repair sessions that meet on a regular pattern, with volunteers who help you fix a broken lamp, toaster, jacket or bike for free. Each one was checked against its organiser's own page, and only groups still meeting in autumn 2026 made the cut. Checked October 2026.

East and north London

Hackney Fixing Factory, Hackney Central

Where: 4 Dispensary Lane, E8 1FT. Two minutes' walk from Hackney Central station.
Open: Community Repair every Saturday, 11am to 2pm.
Good for: portable electrical appliances such as kettles, toasters, lamps, hoovers, hairdryers, radios and games consoles.
Book: not required, but you can reserve a slot through the Fixing Factory site.

Run by The Restart Project as a permanent workshop rather than a pop-up, so it meets every week. It doesn't take white goods, microwaves, laptops, phones, tablets, TVs, monitors, printers, e-bikes or e-scooters. The space is step-free but small.

Forest Fixers, Walthamstow

Where: Forest Recycling Project, 2C Bakers Avenue, E17 9AW. About 12 minutes' walk from Leyton Midland Road, or a short walk from the Bakers Arms buses.
Open: Repair Café on Sunday mornings, 10am to 1pm, roughly once a month. Next sessions Sunday 25 October and Sunday 29 November.
Good for: small electricals such as toasters, lamps and radios.

Forest Fixers asks you to arrive at least 90 minutes before the end so there's time for your repair. No booking, no microwaves. The group also runs Monday evening repair clubs, mostly aimed at volunteer fixers.

Haringey Fixers, Muswell Hill

Where: Muswell Hill Methodist Church, 28 Pages Lane, N10 1PP. The 234 bus stops outside.
Open: fourth Saturday of the month, 2pm to 5pm, except December.
Good for: small household appliances, clothes and textiles, phones, laptops and audio kit, bikes, furniture and garden tools.
Book: free, through Eventbrite.

Run by Muswell Hill Sustainability Group with Haringey Fixers, and one of six monthly sessions in the borough, with others in Hornsey, Highgate, Turnpike Lane and Tottenham.

West and north-west London

Kensal Rise Repair Café, Kensal Rise

Where: St Martin's Church, 132 to 134 Mortimer Road, NW10 5QN. Kensal Rise station.
Open: first Saturday of the month, 10.30am to 1pm, with some breaks over holidays. Next session Saturday 7 November.
Good for: small electricals, clothes mending and hemming, jewellery, bike punctures and brakes, furniture, toys and computers.

The widest range on this list, according to its event listing. No booking, just drop in. Textile menders do repairs, not alterations.

Kilburn Repair Club, Kilburn

Where: St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Fordwych Road, NW2 3TN. Kilburn station.
Open: Monday evenings, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, usually twice a month. Next dates Monday 2 November and Monday 16 November.
Good for: small electricals and laptops.

An evening option for anyone who works weekends. Sessions occasionally move to other local venues, so check the group page for the date you plan to go.

Victoria Fixing Factory, Victoria

Where: Victoria Library, 160 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9UD. Victoria station.
Open: Community Repair every Saturday, 10am to 1pm.
Good for: portable electrical appliances, from lamps to toasters.
Book: not required, repairs are first come, first served. A guaranteed slot can be reserved online.

The newer, more central sister site to Hackney, with the same rules on what it can't fix. Level access and an accessible toilet. Details on the Fixing Factory site.

South London

Repair Café Lambeth, Brixton

Where: We Are 336, 336 Brixton Road, SW9 7AA. Between Brixton and Stockwell stations.
Open: first Saturday of the month, 10am to 1pm. Next session Saturday 7 November.
Good for: household electricals, computers, and textiles including clothes and toys.

Arrive by noon to allow for the wait. One item per person or family, and a voluntary donation is welcome. The October session was held at Lambeth Town Hall instead, so check the café's site for the venue before setting off.

Repair Café Nunhead, Nunhead

Where: The Green Community Centre, Nunhead Green, SE15 3QQ. Nunhead station.
Open: last Saturday of the month, 1pm to 4pm. Next session Saturday 31 October.
Good for: clothes, small household electricals, computers, phones, stereos, vacuum cleaners, small furniture and toys.

Walk-in, first come, first served, one item each. Repair Café Nunhead won't take microwaves, electric blankets or convection heaters, and its menders don't do alterations. Free, with donations going towards room hire and tools.

Wimbledon Repair Café, Wimbledon

Where: St Mark's Church Hall, Compton Road, SW19 7QD. Wimbledon station.
Open: last Saturday of the month, 10.30am to 12.30pm. Next session Saturday 31 October.
Good for: small electricals, clothes and textiles, household objects, bikes and simple mechanical items.
Book: walk-ins welcome, but pre-registering your item speeds things up.

Run by Merton Friends of the Earth with Sustainable Merton and St Mark's church. The shortest session here at two hours, so turn up early.

A volunteer at a sewing machine mending a garment while another woman holds up a blue floral fabric beside a black Singer hand-crank machine

Karen Blakeman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Before you go

  • Bring only what you can carry. Nunhead and Lambeth say anything you can carry on your own from home. Fridge freezers and other white goods are out everywhere, and almost every group refuses microwaves.
  • Bring everything it needs to work. Forest Fixers asks for bulbs, chargers and leads so the item can be tested, and suggests charging it and backing up any data first.
  • Check for a CE or UKCA mark. The Fixing Factories need one on the body of an electrical item before they can legally repair it.
  • Plan to stay. You sit with the fixer and do as much of the repair as you can yourself. The Fixing Factories say allow at least 45 minutes, and Community Repair doesn't take drop-offs. Hackney runs separate drop-off sessions that you book.
  • It's free, parts aren't. Repairs cost nothing, and a donation is welcome. Under the Repair Café house rules, new parts such as plugs and fuses are paid for separately, and nothing is guaranteed.
  • One item at a time. If you've brought two, expect to rejoin the queue for the second.