A North Wales care home and its unlikely link to movie star Russell Crowe

Wales Online

03-07-2025

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A North Wales care home once belonged to the family of film star Russell Crowe. Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, who run the Pendine Park care organisation, were researching the history of Hillbury House in Wrexham when they uncovered is surprise link to the Gladiator star.
They have now launched a search to find any long lost relatives of the Crowe family to help them mark two important milestones.
It's Pendine's 40th anniversary this year while Hillbury is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a care home that was originally opened by the Catholic Order of the Sisters of Nazareth. It became part of the Pendine organisation in 2003.
The house itself, a red brick Victorian villa, was originally built in 1864 for a wealthy local businessman, John Bury.
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Fast forward nearly a century and it was bought by Russell Crowe's great uncle, Frank Crowe, who ran a successful fruit and veg company called Crofruit.
(Image: Mandy Jones)
Mario and Gill found the link with the Crowe family when they were studying the deeds for Hillbury while researching the history of the property for their anniversary celebrations. The document signed by Frank Crowe on May 31, 1954, reveals he paid £6,000 for the property.
Mario said: 'We were amazed to find the connection Russell Crowe and did a bit of research. It seems Russell's great grandparents, Fred and Kezia, emigrated to Canada in June 1925 along with 12 of their 13 children.
'His grandfather, John, stayed behind to run Crofruit. He was also a member of Grove Park School's water polo team. His older brother, Frank, returned from Canada in 1927 to help John run the business.
'It seems that John decided to emigrate himself, to New Zealand where he married and had two children, David and Alex, Russell's father. The family later moved to Australia when Russell was still a child. However, Frank stayed put in Wrexham and had a family of his own and bought Hillbury in 1954.
(Image: Mandy Jones)
'The Crowes lived there until 1965 when they sold Hillbury for £12,500 to the Sisters of Nazareth who established a care home there, with Frank more than doubling his money and making a tidy profit in the process.'
Gill Kreft added: 'We knew that when Wrexham's football club was taken over by a couple of other Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Russell announced his connection with Wrexham on social media, saying that his family came from here.
'He's clearly proud to be associated with Wrexham and rightly so, it's a fantastic place and now it's got a great football team again.
'If he's ever back watching Wrexham at the Racecourse, we'll try make sure he comes to visit his family's home.
'We're also hoping that some of the long lost Crowe relatives might get in touch so we can invite them to a special celebration at Hillbury.'
News of the Crowe connection has delighted Cindy Clutton, the manager of both Hillbury and Gwern Alyn next door which became Pendine's first care home in 1985.
Cindy said: 'It was a total surprise when I heard about the link with Russell Crowe because you never think that anybody that famous would be connected to Hillbury.
'It would be really nice if he could come and visit – we'd delighted if he came to Wrexham to retrace his family roots. He'd be more than welcome – we'd give him a cup of tea and a Welsh Cake.
'When he's a bit older, and perhaps needs a bit of help, there's always a warm Welsh welcome for him here.
'Wrexham has got a lot of stars these days thanks to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney taking over the football club but there's nobody bigger than Russell. They've all really put Wrexham on the map. It's really exciting.'
Mario and Gill opened Gwern Alyn after struggling to find suitable accommodation for their grandparents.
Now, four decades later, the couple operate nine care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon, with 440 beds and more than 860 employees.
Any relatives of the Crowe family who are interested in visiting Hillbury should contact Pendine Park by emailing Ceidiog Hughes at [e-mail] or ringing him on 07958 497592 .
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