Famous locals provide inspiration for new Shrewsbury care home

A local resident has won a competition to name the suites at a brand-new care home in Shrewsbury.    

Sophie Rawlings chose the names of three iconic locals for her winning entry to name the suites at Care UK’s Oxbow Manor care home, on Oteley Road, due to open in January 2022. 

 

The competition called for the people who know the town best, its residents, to share suggestions which had cultural or historical reference to the local area. 

Oxbow Manor is divided into suites, each comprising a number of bedrooms and a lounge for residents. This encourages the creation of tight-knit communities within the home and provides space for group activities and time spent socialising.

The suites have been named Jebb, after Eglantyne Jebb, who co-founded Save the Children; Darwin in honour of the famous naturalist and author of On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin; and Brookes as a nod to William Penny Brookes, a surgeon who founded the Wenlock Olympian Games, which inspired the modern Olympic Games. 

Bev Kennard, Construction Project Manager at Care UK, said: “The  naming of the suites within a home is one of the key milestones ahead of opening, so it was important to involve the community in the decision. All of the names put forward were of a very high quality, but we felt using the names of illustrious Salopians was original and really rooted the home in the local area. 

“We’re so grateful to everyone that made suggestions and to Sophie for coming up with the winning names.” 

Sophie said: “There are many Shrewsbury-born people to be proud of, all of whom have inspiring stories – so suggesting to name the suites after them felt like a true reflection of the history of the region within the home. I was thrilled to find out I’d won the home naming competition, and I’m looking forward to visiting Oxbow Manor once complete later next year.” 

Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, the new care home, which is set to open in February 2022, will incorporate space for hobby and leisure activities, and feature its own cinema, café and hair salon. 

For information about Oxbow Manor, please visit careuk.com/oxbow-manor.