The story of a former munitions factory turned family bakery

This week we look at the business that was situated in another of Brunner Mond’s munitions factories.

The one at Gadbrook, Rudheath, was also used in the manufacture of TNT. Fortunately, there was no explosion as there was at Silvertown.

However, some women who worked with the explosives suffered from orange/yellow coloured skin caused by mixing the TNT and cordite by hand, which is what they did. Four hundred women in the country suffered from the work, 100 fatally.

The most severe cases were caused by a liver disease called toxic jaundice.

But forward now to using the Gadbrook Munitions factory after the war. (The Gad Brook being the stream on the edge of the land).

The old Broadhurst bakery with its vans (Paul Hurley) (Image: Paul Hurley)

Mr and Mrs William Broadhurst manufactured cakes in Warrington.

The Broadhurst family had a history of baking going back into the 1800s, but by 1928 William and his wife were searching for new premises.

They settled on the old munitions factory at Gadbrook, Rudheath, which with its 23-acre site, was ideal for converting to a bakery.

Their sons Sidney, Herbert and Henry were involved in the business, as were other relatives; it was a true family affair. The company was named Broadhurst & Co (Gadbrook) Ltd.

It was later also known as Cheshire’s Garden Bakery, and its products included cakes, biscuits, and later pies.

Paul Hurley (Image: Paul Hurley)

The business was an immediate success under the initial leadership of William Broadhurst, and by the start of WWII, Broadhurst and Co (Gadbrook) Ltd employed around 500 people.

They supplied their products around the North of England and North Wales while supplying the armed forces with cakes and biscuits, aiding the war effort.

Later with a fleet of vans in their caramel and cream livery.

Through the years, the company had a reputation for looking after its staff. Plenty of land was put to good use by providing a football and cricket pitch.

All sorts of sports, both indoors and out, were provided. In the late 1960s, the company opened a social club in the canteen block; they were assisted in this by Greenall Whitley brewers.

An early Broadhurst van (Paul Hurley) (Image: Paul Hurley)

A bar was provided in a room suitable for social events. It was called The Gadbrook Social and was run by two employees, Les Boney and Doug Hayes, with help from three other members, brothers Tommy, Colin, and Cyril Leather.

I believe the Broadhurst FC is still in existence and has been since the bakery was first opened.

The end came in the late 1970s when the company was taken over by Adams Foods, who closed the factory in 1987.

The land has now been re-developed as the Gadbrook Park Development.