57-638: The Alexandra Recreation Ground , also known as Nantwich Road , was a multi-sport venue in Crewe in England . Opened in 1877, it was the home ground of Crewe Alexandra for 19 years, and also hosted an FA Cup semi-final and the 1886-87 Welsh Cup final , both in 1887, and an England home match in 1888. The ground was opened in 1877 as the Royal Hotel Recreation Ground, and was used for athletics, cricket, cycle racing and football. An oval ground, it had
114-449: A specialist technology and arts academy, and St. Thomas More Catholic High School , specialising in mathematics and computing and modern foreign languages. Willaston, Cheshire East Willaston is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire , in north-west England . It had a population of 3,104 at the time of the 2011 census , up from 2,973 in 2001. Willaston
171-450: A darts and dominoes team and a ladies darts team. In summer 2013 the function room (available for hire) was refurbished. The village also has a fish and chip shop (Mick the chips) and hairdressing salons. Other local businesses provide employment, including Scanlans and SJB Steel; at the edge of the village is a farm shop, Cheerbrook, on Newcastle Road; a plant nursery and garden centre is located on Crewe Road. Willaston Primary School
228-647: A large railway junction and home to Crewe Works ; for many years, it was a major railway engineering facility for manufacturing and overhauling locomotives, but now much reduced in size. From 1946 until 2002, it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now exclusively produces Bentley motor cars. Crewe is 158 miles (254 km) northwest of London , 28 miles (45 km) south of Manchester city centre, and 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Liverpool city centre. The name derives from an Old Welsh word criu , meaning ' weir ' or 'crossing'. The earliest record
285-399: A much larger area than it does today, stretching from Newcastle Road and London Road, Nantwich in the south, along Millstone Lane and as far as the ancient grazing land of Beam Heath in the north. These boundaries did not change until 1936, when local government decided to transfer some of Willaston's land to the expanding communities of Nantwich and Stapeley . In 1553, the manor of Willaston
342-469: A new town there. The railway company built much of the early town itself in the 1840s and 1850s. Although the nascent town was in the township of Monks Coppenhall rather than the Crewe township, it was known as Crewe from the start. The modern town of Crewe was thus named after the railway station, rather than the other way round. In 1859 the township of Monks Coppenhall was made a local board district , giving
399-515: A presence in the park include Air Products , Barclays , and Fujitsu . The 12 acre Crewe Gates Industrial Estate is adjacent to Crewe Business Park, with smaller industry including the ice cream van manufacturer Whitby Morrison . The Weston Gate area has light industry and distribution. Marshfield Bank Employment Park is to the west of the town, and includes offices, manufacturing and distribution. There are industrial and light industrial units at Radway Green. The town has two small shopping centres:
456-554: A section dedicated to Crewe news. The local radio station is The Cat broadcasting on 107.9FM from the Cheshire College South and West building covering the town along with Nantwich and other local settlements. Other radio stations that cover the area include Cheshire's Silk Radio from Macclesfield, Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire (formerly Signal 1) and Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire from Stoke-on-Trent and BBC Radio Stoke . Cheshire has adopted
513-491: A social club, while an off-licence provides local produce and day to day goods. Another pub, The Peacock, is situated to the north-west of the village centre, on Crewe Road (the A534 ). Alongside The Peacock pub is a hotel operated by Premier Inn . The social club offers many social events ranging from a monthly kids disco to various tribute bands and acts. The club has two pool teams, a snooker team, two 7-a-side football teams,
570-462: A stand around 100 feet long on the western side and banking around the remainder of the pitch. To open the ground, Crewe Alexandra cricket club (established in September 1866 by employees of Crewe locomotive works, and named after Princess Alexandra ; the related Crewe Alexandra Athletic Club was founded in 1867) hosted an athletics festival, which raised £75 and subsequently became a prominent meeting in
627-487: A weekly Mass in Polish ) and two Baptist . There is a museum dedicated to Primitive Methodism in the nearby village of Englesea-Brook . The Jacobean mansion Crewe Hall is located to the east of the town near Crewe Green . It is a grade I listed building, built in 1615–36 for Sir Randolph Crewe . Today, it is used as a hotel, restaurant and health club. There is a multiplex Odeon cinema on Phoenix Leisure Park on
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#1732852816997684-542: Is Manchester Airport , which is 30 miles (48 km) away; Liverpool John Lennon Airport is 40 miles (64 km) away. Crewe Heritage Centre is located in the old LMS railway yard for Crewe railway station . The museum has three signal boxes and an extensive miniature railway with steam, diesel and electric traction. The most prominent exhibit of the museum is the British Rail Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train . The Grade II-listed Edwardian Lyceum Theatre
741-452: Is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire , England. The civil parish of Crewe had a population of 55,318 in the 2021 census . The larger Crewe built-up area, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston , Shavington cum Gresty and Wistaston , had a total population of 76,437 in 2021. Crewe is perhaps best known as
798-495: Is a five-minute walk from the shopping centre. It has a weekly footfall of approximately 100,000 visitors. A planned redevelopment of Crewe's town centre, including the current bus station and main shopping area, was abandoned because of "difficult economic conditions" during 2008. There were also plans to revamp the railway station which involved moving it to Basford . This was pending a public consultation by Network Rail scheduled for autumn 2008, but no such public consultation
855-451: Is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Nantwich town centre and 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Crewe town centre. It is approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) from junction 16 of the M6 motorway and 3 miles (4.8 km) from Crewe railway station . From 1974 to 2009 the borough council was Crewe and Nantwich . Since abolition on 1 April 2009, the civil parish has been administered by
912-545: Is in the Domesday Book , where it is written as Creu . The original settlement of Crewe lies to the east of the modern town. It was a township in the parish of Barthomley . The original settlement of Crewe later became known as Crewe Green to distinguish it from the newer town to its west. The town of Crewe owes its existence to Crewe railway station , which opened in 1837 on the Grand Junction Railway . When
969-506: Is in the centre of Crewe. It was built in 1911 and shows drama, ballet, opera, music, comedy and pantomime. The theatre was originally located on Heath Street from 1882. The Axis Arts Centre is on the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) campus in Crewe. It relocated from the university's Alsager Campus when it closed. The centre has a programme of touring new performance and visual art work. The Axis centre closed at
1026-598: Is located less than a mile from the town centre, although it was not incorporated into the then Borough of Crewe until 1937. It is one of the largest stations in the North West and is a major interchange station on the West Coast Main Line . It has 12 platforms in use. The station is served by several train operating companies : Crewe is on the A500 , A530 and A534 roads; it is located less than 5 miles (8 km) from
1083-646: Is located on Mike Heywood Green on Wistaston Road. The sign was gifted by the Willaston branch of the Women's Institute in November 1970. One of the major events in Willaston is the World Worm Charming Championships . It was started in 1980 by John Bailey and the first event was won with a total of 511 worms by Tom Shufflebotham - a record that stood until 2009. The event attracts many competitors from around
1140-546: Is on Pyms Lane to the west of town. As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at the site. The factory used to produce Rolls-Royce cars, until the licence for the brand transferred from Bentley's owners Volkswagen to rival BMW in 2003. There is a BAE Systems Land & Armaments factory in the village of Radway Green near Alsager , producing small arms ammunition for the British armed forces. The headquarters of Focus DIY , which went into administration in 2011,
1197-494: Is the only education establishment in the village. For children of pre-school age, there is an Ofsted registered playgroup in the village. A K6 telephone box in Wistaston Road has been in place since the late 1940s. Decommissioned by British Telecom in 2010, it was then purchased by Willaston Parish Council and turned into a book exchange, the 'book box'. A restoration was carried out in September 2019. The Willaston WI sign
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#17328528169971254-645: The Domesday survey of 1086, where is it referred to as Wilavestune, owned by a 'free man' named Ulviet. A few years after the Norman conquest the title passed to Willam Malbank. The manor of Wilvastune remained in the Malbank family for several generations before ownership transferred to the Chanu family in the 13th century. At this time, Willaston was a remote, sparsely populated community with no village centre. Nevertheless, it covered
1311-429: The M6 motorway . Bus services in Crewe are operated predominantly by D&G Bus ; their routes link the town with Congleton (route 42), Leighton Hospital (12), Macclesfield (38), Nantwich (84X) and Northwich (31/37). Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire runs route 84 to Chester and First Potteries operate a single service (route 3) running to Stoke-on-Trent, via Kidsgrove. The closest airport to Crewe
1368-522: The comprehensive school model of secondary education, so all of the schools under its control cater for pupils of all levels of ability. Until the late 1970s Crewe had two grammar schools , Crewe Grammar School for Boys, now Ruskin High School and Crewe Grammar School for Girls, now the Oaks Academy (formerly Kings Grove School). The town's two other secondary schools are Sir William Stanier School ,
1425-527: The unitary authority of Cheshire East . Willaston Parish Council was established in 1894 and is the first tier of local government for Willaston. It is responsible for the management of the Lettie Spencer playing field, the war memorial on Colleys Lane, the village allotments on Crewe Road, the Spinney off Coppice Road, and Mike Heywood Green. The council is made up of 12 members from two wards who represent
1482-647: The unitary authority , Cheshire East Council ; at parish level, since 4 April 2013, local matters have been dealt with by Crewe Town Council , which is based at 1 Chantry Court, Forge Street, Crewe, CW1 2DL. Crewe applied for City status as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours in 2022. The application was unsuccessful and Crewe remains a town. Like most of the United Kingdom, Crewe has an oceanic climate , with warm summers and cool winters and relatively little temperature change throughout
1539-524: The Northern athletics calendar. In August 1877, the cricket club formed a football division. In July 1878, the ground hosted a cricket match between a team from Crewe and an Australia XI , during the inaugural first-class tour of England by a representative overseas side. The visitors won by 99 runs. In the 1886–87 season the ground was the venue of the FA Cup semi-final between Aston Villa and Rangers , with
1596-694: The Park (previously held at Tatton Park in 2018) in Queens Park. The 2020 event, which had been due to take place on 12 September, was cancelled on 20 May, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. The weekly Crewe Chronicle and the daily Sentinel newspapers cover the town. Cheshire Live, an online news source that covers news across Cheshire, also has
1653-636: The Victoria Centre and the Market Centre. There are outdoor markets throughout the week. Grand Junction Retail Park is just outside the centre of town. Nantwich Road provides a wide range of secondary local shops, with a variety of small retailers and estate agents. The Market Centre is the largest shopping centre in Crewe. It is situated in the heart of the town centre with a few national retailers, including B&M , Poundstretcher and Peacocks . There are three large car parks nearby and Crewe bus station
1710-509: The attendance of 7,000 probably being the ground record. On 16 April 1887 the ground was used for the Welsh Cup final between Chirk and Davenham . An attendance of 1,500 witnessed Chirk win 2–1. On 4 February 1888 the ground hosted the opening match of the 1887–88 British Home Championship , which saw England beat Wales 5–1. In 1891, the Crewe Alexandra football club split away from
1767-640: The chances of promotion depend upon subserviency to the Tory political demands of the Management, they have created a state of political serfdom in the works." In December 1889, Liberal statesman William Ewart Gladstone wrote a letter to the Chronicle condemning the company's behaviour in the town. The railway provided an endowment towards the building and upkeep of Christ Church. Until 1897 its vicar, non-conformist ministers and schoolteachers received concessionary passes,
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1824-473: The cricket club, becoming founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892; the first Football League match played at the ground was on 10 September 1892 when Crewe defeated Grimsby Town 1–0 in front of 2,000 spectators. The last match at the ground was played on 28 March 1896, with Liverpool's 7–0 win on the day also being Crewe's record home defeat at the ground. However, it
1881-473: The edge of the town centre, as well as a Mecca bingo hall and a Tenpin bowling alley. Queens Park is the town's main park; £6.5 million was spent on its restoration in 2010. It features walkways, a children's play area, crown green bowling, putting, a boating lake, grassed areas, memorials and a café. Jubilee Gardens are in Hightown and there is also a park on Westminster Street. In 2019, Crewe hosted Pride in
1938-521: The editor of the Crewe Chronicle published charges against Webb, saying "That through the action, direct and indirect, of Tory railway officialism, the political life of Crewe is cramped and hindered beyond recognition". In November 1889, Crewe Town Council debated a motion which accused LNWR managers of working with Crewe Tories "to crush Liberalism altogether out of the town": "... by intimidation and persecution of your Liberal workmen, and by making
1995-632: The end of the spring 2019 season with the withdrawal of MMU from the Crewe campus. The Box on Pedley Street is the town's main local music venue. Both the Lyceum Theatre and the Axis Arts Centre feature galleries. The private Livingroom art gallery is on Prince Albert Street. The town's main library is on Prince Albert Square, opposite the Municipal Buildings. Crewe has six Anglican churches, three Methodist , one Roman Catholic (which has
2052-648: The expansion of the neighbouring railway station. It is now the site of the Rail House office building, a car park and part of the modern Gresty Road stadium. With support from prominent local railway engineer Francis Webb , a new cricket ground, encircled by a cycling and athletics track, was provided in a new stadium to the north, off Earle Street, in 1898. The new venue was also later used for speedway racing by Crewe Kings . Crewe Alexandra moved to its modern-day location, immediately adjacent to Gresty Road, in 1906. Crewe Crewe ( / k r uː / )
2109-581: The grazing of livestock. The Sneyd family were absentee landlords but they owned most of the lands in Willaston from 1533 to the late 19th century. The medieval moated site of the Chanu family was lost during the construction of the Nantwich by-pass in 1989. It was situated to the south-east of the Old Willaston Board School on land now owned by Cheerbrook Farm. The village centre of Willaston has two public houses (The Lamb and The Nag's Head) and
2166-458: The interests of all Willaston residents. The Parish Council is a planning consultee and author of the Willaston neighbourhood plan which informs local planning decisions. Willaston falls in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich , which has been represented by Connor Naismith since the 2024 General Election . Willaston is believed to have taken its name from an ancient farmstead known as Wiglaf's tun. Like other English villages,
2223-431: The name has been changed many times over the centuries. This is due to the neighbouring parish of Wistaston having a similar sounding name. To add confusion, Willaston was once ecclesiastically divided between the neighbouring communities of Nantwich and Wybunbury . Whilst there are at least two other villages called Willaston, the earliest documentary evidence relating to Willaston in this part of Cheshire can be found in
2280-413: The neighbouring parish of Crewe rather than the borough of Crewe until 1936. The borough boundary was significantly enlarged in 1936 to absorb the parish of Church Coppenhall and parts of several other neighbouring parishes, including the area of Crewe parish around the railway station. The reduced Crewe parish to the east of the town formally changed its name to Crewe Green in 1984. During World War II
2337-406: The route for the railway was being planned, alternative routes and locations for the main station in this area were considered; Winsford , 7 miles (11 km) to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, as had local landowners in neighbouring Nantwich , 4 miles (6 km) away. The company then settled on the route through Crewe and the station was built in fields near Crewe Hall . The station
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2394-449: The school having been established in 1842. The company provided a doctor's surgery with a scheme of health insurance. A gasworks was built and the works water supply was adapted to provide drinking water and a public baths . The railway also opened a cheese market in 1854 and a clothing factory for John Compton who provided the company uniforms, while McCorquodale of Liverpool set up a printing works. The railway station remained part of
2451-623: The site of a transport hub for the Phase 2a High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line, which received royal assent in 2021 with planned completion in 2027. The plan included a new HS2 railway station, surrounded by a commercial hub providing 37,000 jobs and 7,000 homes by 2043. However on 4 October 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the cancellation of this phase of the HS2 development at the Conservative Party Conference . Crewe railway station
2508-474: The site once occupied by the works has been sold and is now occupied by a supermarket, leisure park, and a large new health centre. There is still an electric locomotive maintenance depot to the north of the railway station, operated by DB Cargo UK . The diesel locomotive maintenance depot , having closed in 2003, reopened in 2015 as a maintenance facility for Locomotive Services Limited , having undergone major structural repairs. The Bentley car factory
2565-476: The somewhat unusual states of affairs: "The place which is Crewe is not Crewe, and the place which is not Crewe is Crewe." The population expanded rapidly to reach 40,000 by 1871. In 1877 the Crewe local board district was incorporated to become a municipal borough . The town has a large park, Queen's Park (laid out by engineer Francis Webb ), the land for which was donated by the London and North Western Railway ,
2622-408: The strategic presence of the railways and Rolls-Royce engineering works (turned over to producing aircraft engines) made Crewe a target for enemy air raids, and it was in the flight path to Liverpool . The borough lost 35 civilians to these, the worst raid was on 29 August 1940 when some 50 houses were destroyed, close to the station. Crewe crater on Mars is named after the town of Crewe. Crewe
2679-492: The successor to the GJR. It has been suggested that their motivation was to prevent the rival Great Western Railway building a station on the site, but the available evidence indicates otherwise. Webb took a great interest in local politics and was "the most influential individual in the town". "Described just before his retirement as 'the King of Crewe', Webb came to exercise control over
2736-412: The town its first form of local government. The district's name was changed from Monks Coppenhall to Crewe in 1869. Townships were redefined as civil parishes in 1866, and whilst the local board district was renamed in 1869 the civil parish was not. As such, there was a Crewe district which contained the parish of Monks Coppenhall, but did not contain the parish of Crewe. An old, local riddle describes
2793-670: The working lives of over 18,000 men - one third of the total LNWR workforce. Over half these lived in Crewe, around 8,000 being employed at the locomotive works. Several recreational and sporting organisations were a direct result of Webb's influence and others received benefit from his support." These included the LNWR Cricket Club (established in 1850) and the Crewe Alexandra Athletic Club (established in 1867). However, Webb's influence allegedly also extended to intimidation of Liberal Party sympathisers. In September 1885,
2850-517: The world, from the US to Australia. Celebrities that have taken part include Ben Fogle and Bob Carolgees ; in 2008 contestants Paddy McGuinness and Rory McGrath filmed a slot for the series Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure . The 2008 championship was won by Mike and Claire Gaukroger with a total of 125 worms; the trophy for the heaviest worm went to Ray O'Grady and Steve Plant (4.6g). In 2009, in particularly good conditions, three teams broke
2907-452: The year. The railways still play a part in local industry at Crewe Works , which carries out train maintenance and inspection. It has been owned by Alstom since 2021. At its height, the site employed over 20,000 people, but by 2005 fewer than 1,000 remained, with a further 270 redundancies announced in November of that year. Currently Alstom employs 6000 people across the UK and Ireland. Much of
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#17328528169972964-721: Was bought by Richard Sneyd, Recorder of Chester. The Sneyd family lived at Keele Hall in Staffordshire and were the major landowners in Willaston until the middle of the 19th century. Although Willaston had a number of farmsteads in the Middle Ages, most of the surrounding landscape was uncultivated. However, this began to change as more common land fell into private ownership during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The process (known as 'enclosure') brought major changes to rural communities like Willaston, as individual plots of land were fenced off and used for arable farming, meadows and
3021-493: Was described by author Alan Garner in his novel Red Shift as "the ultimate reality". Crewe was mentioned in 1984 as the setting of the 19th episode The Flying Kipper , in the first series of Thomas & Friends . Crewe is within the United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich . Crewe is within the ceremonial county of Cheshire . Since April 2009 Crewe has been administered by
3078-504: Was done. The plan was abandoned and maintenance work was carried out on the current station instead. Cheshire East Council developed a new regeneration master plan for Crewe, which included the opening of a new Lifestyle Centre, with a new swimming pool, gym and library. After a £3 million refurbishment, the Crewe Market Hall re-opened its doors on 19 May 2021, the start of many new developments in Crewe. Crewe had been planned as
3135-463: Was in the town. Off-licence chain Bargain Booze is also Crewe-based. It was bought-out in 2018 by Sir Anwar Pervez ' conglomerate Bestway for £7m, putting drinks retailing alongside its Manchester-based Well Pharmacy . Several business parks around the town host light industry and offices. Crewe Business Park is a 67-acre site with offices, research and IT manufacturing. Major corporations with
3192-500: Was in the township of Crewe, but the land north-west of the station was in the neighbouring township of Monks Coppenhall, which formed part of the parish of Coppenhall . The company built its main locomotive works to the north of Crewe railway station, and a " railway colony " soon started developing in the area north-west of the station. In 1840 Joseph Locke , chief engineer of the Grand Junction Railway, produced plans for
3249-574: Was not Crewe's last home league match of the season, which was played at the Vicarage in the nearby town of Sandbach . Crewe were voted out of the Football League at the end of the 1895–96 season , and subsequently played at several different grounds (including Edleston Road and Old Sheds Field) until returning to the area to play at the original football ground east of Gresty Road in 1897. The Alexandra Recreation Ground closed in 1898 to provide land for
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