A care home for Greater Manchester’s military veterans has welcomed its residents back after a £12.5 million redevelopment.
Broughton House in Salford has cared for more than 8,000 veterans since it opened to the ex-service community over 100 years ago back in 1916, but the original home was demolished in 2020 to make way for the site to be transformed into the UK’s first-ever veteran care village.
And that impressive £12.5 million project has now officially been completed.
Following the demolition of the original home, the Broughton House site has now been transformed into a modern complex that features a 64-bed care home and six retirement apartments, with photos of the impressive revamp shared online.
Not only that, but the Stoller Wing of the newly-built care home – which has been named in honour of north west businessman and philanthropist Sir Norman Stoller, who donated £4 million to the project – also has a wide array of new facilities, including a gym, a hairdressing and barber’s salon, and a restaurant and bar for the residents.
The new wing is said to pay homage to Broughton House’s rich history.
Broughton House has cared for more than 8,000 veterans since opening back in 1916 / Credit: Broughton HouseThe Stoller Wing also has a museum that’s filled with memorabilia / Credit: Broughton House (via Lee Boswell Photography)
Within the new Stoller Wing, there is also a dedicated museum that’s filled with fascinating stories of former residents, rare war medals, and historic memorabilia, which is all designed to “keep the memories of the fallen well and truly alive”.
Refurbishments have also happened in the Jellicoe Wing – which is named after WWI hero Viscount Sir John Jellicoe, who opened the original Broughton House building – and it now has two 16-bedroom households.
The wing also houses our Armed Forces Support Hub, and the six retirement apartments.
Broughton House says the Armed Forces Support Hub focuses on providing welfare support and counselling for ex-service people of all ages living in the local community, as many veterans see their mental health deteriorate during their transition back to civilian life.
The care village has now welcomed its residents back after the £12.5 million redevelopment / Credit: Broughton HouseThe site has now been transformed into the UK’s first-ever veteran care village / Credit: Broughton House (via Lee Boswell Photography)
Derrick Corfield – a WWII veteran and Broughton House resident – said: “The new care village is ideal for people like myself who have been living alone, as it puts us back into that bigger family again [and] it’s a place that celebrates our history, and understands the things we have done in our lives and been a part of.
“I’m really enjoying the activities, especially the history club, so it will be nice to welcome more veterans to the new care village.”
Broughton House says the new complex has been designed with the purpose of “offering trailblazing provision” for the north west’s ageing armed forces community.
Chief executive Karen Miller said the new amenities provide residents with greater opportunities to be more active and sociable than what many other traditional care homes offer, and helps them to “reignite the camaraderie” they became accustomed to during their time in the armed forces.
“It is immensely pleasing to reach the milestone of seeing our new Veteran Care Village completed,” Karen concluded.
Local brewery J.W. Lees is helping bring back Manchester’s beloved Boddingtons beer
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester, it’s time to rejoice in the return of a cask king, as Boddingtons is coming back in a big way and local brewery J.W. Lees is helping spearhead the revival.
The famous ‘Cream of Manchester’ has slowly dripped away over the decades, being found in fewer places by the year, though some holdouts have remained.
Fortunately, those who are truly passionate about Boddingtons and their love for the delicious golden ale haven’t waned over the years, helping keep it alive in the few Manc pubs still serving it.
But now, thanks to the native brewers, beer brand and pub chain, this is just the beginning of a fresh start. By’eck – it’s back…
They’re hoping to make sights like this a thing of the past.More of this, please.Credit: The Manc Eats
Teaming up with the global Budweiser Brewing Group (BBG), which will now oversee the resurrection of the modern-day ‘Boddies’, J.W. Lees will be bringing the cask ale back to the masses.
Just in time for cosy, autumnal nights in the pub, no less.
Planning to reintroduce it in their pubs across the region, before hopefully taking on the North West and beyond, they’re promising to make it “smoother, creamier, and brewed closer to home than ever before.”
It seems fitting that Lees (founded in 1828) should be entrusted with one of our oldest beers in Boddingtons, which dates back to 1778 and went on to become not just one of the biggest beer brands in the UK but also one of the first to be canned and mass-produced on the shelves across the country.
To toast the return and impending supremacy of Boddies, J.W. Lees Albert Square pub, Founder’s Hall – which replaced the old Duttons when it opened last year – is even hosting a party to celebrate its comeback on Friday, 12 September.
This isn’t just a reboot; the new and improved Boddies brand comes with a new 4.0% ABV recipe, looking to join the lineup of premium British ales.
William Lees-Jones, Managing Director J.W. Lees, said: “When I joined JW Lees in 1994, Boddingtons was ‘The Cream of Manchester’ and we were in awe of their position in leading the cask beer revolution.
“We are planning to put Boddingtons back where it rightly deserves to be as one of the leading premium UK cask beers, particularly in our heartland of the North West.
“We also look forward to working with Budweiser Brewing Group with their portfolio of market-leading lagers and premium packaged beers in our pubs.”
Keep an eye out for Boddingtons arriving in selected pubs and get ready to raise a glass to the ‘Cream of Manchester’s grand return.
Knight has traded in the foggy streets of Birmingham for the back alleys and stately mansions of Dublin – as well as its world-renowned brewery, of course – as House of Guinness is set to whisk audiences back to the 1860s, where the powerful and debaucherous titular Guinness family is ‘on the precipice of greatness’.
Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the eight-part series explores an epic story inspired by one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties, and begins immediately after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness.
The story follows the far-reaching impact of Sir Guinness’s will on the fate of his four adult children, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness.
House of Guinness will air on Netflix later this month / Credit: Ben Blackall (via Netflix)
The four Guinness siblings are played by actors Anthony Boyle (Arthur), Louis Partridge (Edward), Emily Fairn (Anne), and Fionn O’Shea (Ben).
Audiences get to watch the Guinnesses experience ‘ecstatic highs’ and heartbreaking lows’ as they work to live up to their birthright of black gold.
The newly-released trailer gives intrigued viewers the chance to see the talented ensemble cast in action, and marvel at the set designs that are like stepping back in time to the 1860s.
Production and filming for House of Guinness commenced from summer 2024 onwards, and some very well-known Greater Manchester places were used as filming locations, such as the Northern Quarter, and Stockport‘s legendary Underbanks.
From the creator of Peaky Blinders, HOUSE OF GUINNESS premieres September 25. Starring Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, Fionn O’Shea, and James Norton.
The head of the Guinness brewery is dead. Now his children must navigate power, rebellion and scandal…or risk… pic.twitter.com/QzpLNzA842
Mansions in Cheshire and Liverpool were also used as filming locations for the show.
“It’s the extraordinary story of a family who happens to be the inheritors of the biggest brewery in the world,” creator Steven Knight told Netflix.
“They’re young and are given the task of taking on this incredibly successful brand. The first priority is – don’t screw it up. And the second priority is to make Guinness even bigger.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th May 2022 
