Care home · Bury St Edmunds
The Willows
Illustrative photo, not of The Willows- Address
- Corders Farm, Bury Road, Lawshall, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 4PJ
- Run by
- Extrafriend Limited (2 services)
- Service
- Residential care home
- Beds
- 25 (registered with CQC)
- Registered with CQC
- January 2011 (15 years)
- Registered manager
- Teresa Marie Strudwick
- Company check
- Active, trading since 1995 (31 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 03066550)
- Last CQC check
- 14 Feb 2020
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,310–£1,600 a week for residential care. Estimated from prices published locally; not a quote. How we estimate
CQC regulated activities: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
Full report at cqc.org.uk · CQC location ID 1-107340693
About this home
The Willows is a CQC-registered residential care home in Bury St Edmunds, run by Extrafriend Limited. It is registered to support adults of all ages.
At its most recent rating, CQC judged it Good overall (February 2020).
What CQC's inspectors reported
- People were happy living at The Willows and with the care they received.
- Staff were kind, considerate and treated people with respect and dignity.
- People and relatives told us there were sufficient staff available to meet their needs in a timely manner.
- We received some mixed feedback from staff about this.
Inspected 17 January 2020; report published 14 February 2020; supporting 25 people at the time. Taken from CQC's own findings (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.
The Willows over the years
The Willows has been registered with CQC since January 2011, about 15 years.
CQC has published 3 overall ratings for it (2015–2020), starting at Good and staying Good every time.
The rating is 6 years old. CQC decides when to return based on risk, so age alone is not a warning sign; still, ask who the manager is now.
6 reports have been published for this location, most recently on 14 February 2020.
Around Bury St Edmunds
There is 1 other care home within 3 miles, 0 of them rated Good or Outstanding; the nearest is Lark View, 2.6 miles away.
11 of the 13 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Chadacre ward, classed by ONS as smaller rural (further from a major town or city), among the 50% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB.
Few everyday amenities are within a short walk, so visitors will mostly come by car; the nearest bus stop is under 0.5 miles away.
Likely fees
We estimate The Willows at £1,310–£1,600 a week for residential care, based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £68k–£83k.
Ask what notice is given before a fee increase and what triggers one.
With savings below £23,250, Suffolk Council may contribute once it has carried out a free needs assessment.
The company behind The Willows
The Willows is run by Extrafriend Limited (company 03066550), incorporated in 1995, 15 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 3 active directors and there is no insolvency history.
Its registered business activity is residential care for older and disabled people.
Extrafriend Limited runs 2 CQC-registered services across 2 council areas; 2 of the 2 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (100%), against 83% for the same mix of services across England.
How its rating has changed
- May 2015
- Sep 2017
- Feb 2020
- Today Rating 6 years old
The location's rating record from CQC, from first to latest.
CQC reports
- CQC inspection report 14 February 2020
- CQC inspection report 28 September 2017
- CQC inspection report 20 May 2015
- Inspection report 6 June 2014
- Inspection report 11 October 2013
- Inspection report 12 January 2013
Food hygiene
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from an inspection on 14 August 2026 by Babergh. Ask how special diets are handled and whether residents can eat when they like.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "Willows Residential Home"). Open Government Licence.
The neighbourhood
- Ward
- Chadacre
- Council
- Suffolk County Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- South Suffolk
- Integrated care board
- NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board
- ONS area type
- Smaller rural, further from a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 50% least deprived areas in England
See the wider area · Directions · Base map © OpenStreetMap
Local amenities
- Bus stop 440 m (5 min walk) · 2 stops within 600 m
Nearest of each type, measured in a straight line using OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). If a resident uses a wheelchair or frame, check the route itself.
Ward, NHS area and deprivation from ONS and NHS postcode data (postcodes.io, Open Government Licence).
The five key questions
- Safe134 of 172 in Suffolk
- Effective152 of 172 in Suffolk
- Caring145 of 172 in Suffolk
- Responsive137 of 172 in Suffolk
- Well-led110 of 172 in Suffolk
CQC key question ratings, published 14 February 2020. Under each rating: how many care homes in Suffolk share it.
Who the service is registered for
From the CQC register; ask how each need is met in practice.
The ratings in context
All five areas CQC looks at are rated Good for The Willows: no single area stands out above or below the rest.
For leadership (Well-led), it shares its Good rating with 109 of the 171 other care homes in Suffolk that CQC has rated.
Family reviews
Be the first to review The Willows. Your experience helps other families choose.
Reviews come from people who used the service or their families, verified by email. They sit alongside, not instead of, CQC ratings, and providers cannot take them down. How reviews work.
Frequently asked about The Willows
- How much does care from The Willows cost?
- We don't have published prices from The Willows yet. Ask for a written quote that includes weekend and bank holiday rates.
- Is The Willows rated well for safety?
- The five CQC areas: Safe: Good; Effective: Good; Caring: Good; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Good. Safe and Well-led tend to say most about day-to-day reliability.
- How many beds does The Willows have?
- The Willows is registered for up to 25 residents. Ask about current vacancies and whether rooms have en-suite facilities.
- Which provider runs The Willows?
- CQC lists Extrafriend Limited as the provider responsible for The Willows.
- Is The Willows registered for dementia care?
- It is not registered with dementia as a specialism, so confirm with the provider whether it can meet that need.
- How recent is The Willows's CQC rating?
- The rating now shown was published on 14 February 2020, 6 years ago. Ask what has changed since then, for example in management or staffing.
- What type of care does The Willows provide?
- The Willows is registered for residential homes. Ask which of these it provides at the moment.
- Where is The Willows based?
- It is at Corders Farm, Bury Road, Lawshall, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 4PJ.
- Is The Willows a registered provider?
- Yes: CQC lists it as a care home under location ID 1-107340693 and was rated Good overall in February 2020.
In Suffolk
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Source: the CQC register as of Oct 2026 (Open Government Licence v3.0), with our own analysis. Anything marked "in the provider's own words" comes from the provider. The Care Panel does not provide care.