Tucked away behind a row of terraced houses in Westhoughton a new kind of bakery has popped up with ‘heavenly’ homemade treats
06:09, 20 Apr 2026
The honesty shed opened in March and sells freshly baked cakes(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Drive through the centre of Westhoughton and there’s plenty of places to stop for a brew and bite to eat. In fact, along some of its main thoroughfares of Market Street and Church Street you’ll find a number of coffee shops, cafes and bakeries.
The likes of Hive Bakehouse, Thyme for Tea and Provence Food Hall can all be found along this stretch, but just outside this cornucopia of baked good premises something quite different – but equally delicious – has popped up.
A shed in someone’s back garden isn’t where you might expect to find the town’s latest bakery but it’s here that Jade Bible is serving up home-baked cookies, brownies and traybakes to the community.
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At the back of her terraced house on Lord Street the gate is left open on weekends for visitors to drop by her honesty bake shed. Inside the decorated cabinet those dropping by will find her bakes for the week, which she whips up inside her house and then packages up for people to buy.
Bible Bakes operates is run by Jade Bible and open at weekends(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
As well as the colourful trays packed with sweet treats, the small shed houses a cash box and card reader. As it’s an honesty box and not attended by Jade at all times, when it comes to paying a lot of it is down to trust.
“I opened Westhoughton’s very first honesty bake shed in early March – a small, self-service shed where customers can pop by, choose their bakes, and pay honestly,” says Jade.
Bible Bakes is a small self-serve bake shed, where customers can pop by, choose their bakes, and pay honestly(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“Since launching, the response has been incredible, with the local community showing amazing support. It’s been lovely to see how something so simple has brought people together.
Jade, who calls herself a hobby baker, works full time but is currently on maternity leave and decided to use some of the extra time to give something back to the community. After encouragement from friends and family who raved about her cakes, she took the plunge.
Jade Bible started the bake shed during her maternity leave(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“I saw the idea for a bake shed on social media, and there are quite a lot of Facebook groups online for them; it also kept coming up in my feed. I liked the idea of not having to be there all the time, and could just do the social media aspect.
“I live in a mid-terrace house so it’s just in my back garden and I’ve put a sign out and a video on social media showing the route around the back to the garden. I open the back gate on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and there’s instructions on what to do and what’s in there to buy. I open around 10am and then close it up about 9pm depending on what’s left.”
Jade bakes cookie pies, brownies and other traybakes for the bake shed(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
While some of her friends have called for her to introduce banana bread into regular rotation, for now Jade is sticking to six to seven bakes a weekend. Cookie pies are proving particularly popular and if they’re a bit low over the weekend, Jade tops them up.
This weekend, those wanting to try the new bake shed will be able to choose from Mint Aero brownies (£4), caramel cookie pie (£3.80), school cake (£3), white chocolate and raspberry blondies (£3), S’more cookie bars (£3) and cornflake tart blondies (£3).
This weekend’s selection includes a cornflake tart blondie(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“I mainly do the cookie pies and the brownies are quite large which gives people the chance to split them – but most don’t,” laughs Jade.
While she started baking when she was a child with the help of her mum, maternity leave has given Jade the chance to revive her hobby, practice and refine her skills. “Having the feedback from people has been great too, it’s really rewarding.”
Bible’s Bakes is open on weekends(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
While she’s only been up and running for just six weeks, Jade has had a lot of support from the local community, and hasn’t yet had any issues with payment with people paying the full amount listed either in cash or via the card machine in the shed.
“When I’ve been down to check I’ve never been down on money and I don’t have any issues with the pricing. The only disaster I had was with Storm Dave which knocked the shed over, but it’s back up and running now.”
As well as blondies and brownies, Jade also makes treats such as school cake(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Since Jade started Bible Bakes, two more honesty bake sheds have also opened up nearby, showing there’s a real appreciation and appetite for these small but mighty bakery hubs. For now, Jade is enjoying baking for her community and working out what she’ll do when her maternity leave ends.
“I am planning to carry on, as I’ve had such a good response, but I will just have to see how I juggle it. Maybe I’ll do fewer days or leave Friday and just go to Saturday and Sunday but I would like to keep it going.”
Bible’s Bakes is located in the Back Garden of 7 Lord Street, Westhoughton, BL5 3SE. It is currently open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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