48-706: The Crewe Arms Hotel is a leisure facility in Nantwich Road, Crewe , Cheshire , next to Crewe railway station . It was for nearly 70 years the meeting place of Cheshire County Council . The hotel was originally built as the station hotel for the Grand Junction Railway in 1837 and passed into the ownership of the London and North Western Railway on its formation in 1846. After Prince Albert acquired an interest in Balmoral Castle in 1848, Queen Victoria became
96-409: A specialist technology and arts academy, and St. Thomas More Catholic High School , specialising in mathematics and computing and modern foreign languages. Barthomley Barthomley is a village and ancient parish, and is now a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire , England. According to the 2001 and the 2011 census' the parish had
144-609: A convenient meeting place for Cheshire County Council and it continued to host council meetings until County Hall on Castle Drive in Chester was completed in 1957. The hotel then came into the ownership of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1922. Following nationalisation of the railways it became part of the portfolio of the British Transport Hotels in January 1948. It was acquired by Embassy Hotels in 1969 and, after
192-469: 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
240-521: A period of ownership by Jarvis Hotels, it was bought by Grant Moon, a catering entrepreneur. It changed hands again, passing into the ownership of Harpreet Singh in 2008 and of Silverton Global in 2013: Silverton Global subsequently re-branded it as a Best Western Hotel . Crewe Crewe ( / k r uː / ) is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire , England. The civil parish of Crewe had
288-572: A population of 202. The village is situated near junction 16 of the M6 motorway and by the border with Staffordshire . It is about three miles south-west of Alsager . The hamlet of Radway Green , location of a Royal Ordnance Factory , is within the parish, north-east of the village of Barthomley and just outside Alsager . There was a railway station in Radway Green, on the Crewe to Derby Line , as well as
336-479: 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 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
384-515: 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:
432-520: A regular visitor to the Crewe Arms Hotel when she stayed overnight on her journey to her summer holidays in Scotland. An underground tunnel was built to enable her to move freely and in privacy to and from the station which was to the immediate west of the hotel. The hotel was substantially rebuilt in 1880 to a design which involved a symmetrical main frontage with eight bays facing onto Nantwich Road;
480-554: 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
528-475: A station reserved for the factory at Millway. However, both of these are now closed. Radway Green and Barthomley station closed to goods traffic on 7 June 1964, followed by its closure to passengers on 7 November 1966. Barthomley was an ancient parish within Cheshire. It contained five townships: Alsager , Balterley , Barthomley itself, Crewe , and Haslington . Of these, Balterley township and (now) civil parish
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#1732858132296576-487: 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
624-542: 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
672-495: 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
720-481: 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
768-506: 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
816-505: Is largely concerned with the Barthomley massacre. There was also a medieval Knights Hospitaller Chapel at Barthomley. It was located behind the White Lion public house and over the brook, where in the past a field named 'Chapel Field' existed. Pevsner describes Barthomley as "[a] pretty village, with a number of black and white houses and cottages, C17..., but mostly C19, and built for
864-598: 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
912-546: 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,
960-536: The Crewe estate ". The village has two main landmarks: the White Lion public house and the parish church of St Bertoline , which are close together in the centre. The White Lion is a half-timbered, thatched building dated 1614. It is a Grade II* listed building, and included in CAMRA 's register of Historic Pub Interiors. Barthomley is thought to be the only church in England dedicated to St Bertoline. Its earliest feature
1008-429: 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
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#17328581322961056-522: 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 ,
1104-647: 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
1152-694: 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
1200-680: The Staffordshire part lay in North Pirehill hundred, Newcastle under Lyme Poor Law Union and Rural Sanitary District. Later on, the modern civil parish (now entirely in Cheshire) was part of Nantwich Rural District . During the English Civil War St Bertoline's Church was the location of a notorious massacre of at least 12 pro-Parliamentarian prisoners by Royalist troops. The fantasy novel Red Shift , by Alan Garner ,
1248-636: 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
1296-524: The central section of two bays, which slightly projected forward, featured an entrance on the ground floor, two windows on each of the first floor and second floor and a large and distinctive entablature supporting the coat of arms of the Barons Crewe at roof level. Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888 , which established county councils in every county, the hotel became
1344-640: 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,
1392-473: 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
1440-521: 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
1488-632: 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
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1536-413: 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
1584-406: 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
1632-449: 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
1680-623: 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
1728-474: 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
1776-428: 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 ,
1824-408: 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
1872-492: 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
1920-412: 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
1968-670: 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,
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2016-503: 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
2064-433: 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
2112-458: Was and is entirely in the neighbouring county of Staffordshire , and Crewe was later renamed Crewe Green to avoid confusion with the neighbouring unparished borough and railway town . All five townships were made separate civil parishes in 1866. The Cheshire part of the ancient parish lay within Nantwich Hundred , Nantwich Poor Law Union , and Nantwich Rural Sanitary District , whilst
2160-493: 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
2208-504: 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
2256-463: 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
2304-500: 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
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