The Bellflower at Garstang back open after £1million refurbishment

The Bellflower is offering a new menu after being transformed inside. Pic: JW Lees.

The Bellflower pub in Garstang has reopened following a £1million refurbishment.

JW Lees bought the site from Marstons in September and it has been shut for eight weeks. The pub is part of the JW Lees Managed Pubs Division and will be run under direct management by JW Lees.

The Bellflower was opened in 1930 as The XL Hotel by Blackpool brewers Catterall and Swarbrick. In the 1960s it changed its name to The Chequered Flag and then to The Bellflower.

The dilapidated conservatory has been replaced with a new feature veranda to reference the original XL Hotel, while internally a new feature bar sits centrally in a fully refurbished space with comfortable areas dedicated to drinking, dining and shuffleboards.

The refurbishment has been undertaken with the JW Lees project team partnered with Myriad Contracts Group, EWH Consulting and Inventive Design Associates.

The pub offers a line up of JW Lees cask ales: Manchester Pale Ale and JW Lees Bitter. Lagers including local favourites Manchester Craft Lager, Original and Boilerhouse limited edition beers make up the range.

The new menus bring freshly prepared pub classics and the Sunday roasts come with bottomless Yorkshire puddings and gravy.

General manager John Treacy has moved to The Bellflower from the Boot and Shoe in Lancaster where he had been for three years.

The Bellflower has created 30 new full and part time roles in the team.

John said: “I’m proud and honoured to be taking the helm of this beautiful building. We hope to return The Bellflower to its former glory and bring a new lease of life to this lovely pub.”

William Lees-Jones, managing director of JW Lees, said: “We love The Bellflower already and it helps us to extend our reach into Lancashire and we think that it’s a pub that we can really add value to in terms of its offering.”

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