Pub & Bar News is sponsored by The Kitchen Porters Club
The Rose & Crown, located in Westhoughton in Bolton, officially reopened on Thursday 21st May following a transformational investment of £382,000. The pub is part of Proper Pubs, the award-winning community wet-led operator division of Admiral Taverns, which operates more than 200 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.
Inside, the pub has been completely transformed to include brand new flooring, fixtures, fittings and furniture throughout as well as updated decor – which has breathed a fresh lease of life into the pub. In addition, the pub has introduced new darts and pool areas in the lower bar.
Outside, The Rose & Crown hosts new covered areas to socialise, lighting and a children’s play area. The exterior decoration has also been refreshed with new paint and signage, that has created a welcoming first impression for customers.
The pub has a wide range of premium draught lager, stout and cider on offer including Madri, Fosters, Coors, Carling, Guinness, Murphy’s and Strongbow. The pub has also introduced an exciting cocktail menu, to ensure there is something for everyone.
Ray Lester, Operator of The Rose & Crown, said: “It’s been fantastic to take over the Rose & Crown, especially now that the refurbishment is complete. The pub looks amazing, and we’ve already welcomed so many people through the doors to experience the new space and everything else we have to offer. The support from the local community so far has been extraordinary, and seeing everyone come out to support us has been incredible. The success we’ve had already makes me very excited for everything the future holds.
Once again, I’d like to thank everyone at Proper Pubs for all their support throughout this journey, and I look forward to serving the community and making them proud!”
On top of the fantastic drinks selection, the operator has a busy schedule of entertainment lined up including regular live music, karaoke, quiz nights, pool teams, and darts teams. Ray also plans to support all aspects of community life by collecting food to donate to the local foodbank as well as raising money to have a lifesaving defibrillator installed. Going forward, he also hopes to support several local causes close to the community’s heart.
Matt Gurney, Operations Director for Proper Pubs, said: “It has been fantastic to welcome Ray to the Rose & Crown, and the opening weekend was a roaring success! On behalf of the entire Proper Pubs team, I would like to thank Ray for all his hard work and wish him the very best of luck – it’s great to have him on board.
Bringing people together and creating vibrant community hubs is at the heart of what we do, and we are so glad to see another successful community pub opening.”
Proper Pubs is always looking for ways to support its communities through an annual schedule of events and fundraising initiatives. This year over Easter it collected 21,619 easter eggs to donate to local charities and in 2025 operators collected 20,500 selection boxes to donate to local charities and communities in need for Christmas, as well as raising £80,255 for Admiral Taverns’ charity partner, Claire House Hospice.
Furthermore, last year, Proper Pubs also successfully donated enough food to local foodbanks across the UK to feed 1,300 people for a week and has also been recognised in the UK-wide defibrillator installation campaign which has already saved 11 lives.
In 2026, Proper Pubs was listed as a finalist in the Best Community Pub category at the Great British Publican Awards and was previously crowned Community Pub Operator at the Publican Awards in 2024.
Pub & Bar News is sponsored by The Kitchen Porters Club
