Tag: Crewe Works

Queen’s Park, Crewe

  • First opened in 1888
  • Was gifted to the town by London and North Western Railway
  • It is a grade 2 listed park containing graded the clock tower and 2 partly wooden houses which are additionally listed

Queens Park, Crewe has been altered very little since the 1880’s, it for this reason and others that it is a grade 2* listed park.

The park was designed by the chief medical engineer of London and North Western Railway, F.W Webb and Edward Kemp; one of the era’s leading landscape designers,  works include Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, Birkenhead and Grosvenor Park, Chester.

In July, 1887 Queens Park was dedicated to mark the joint occasion of the of the Queens jubilee and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Grand Junction Railway. The park was gifted to the people of Crewe by London and North Western Railway and was officially opened in June 1888.

The park cost £10,000 to buy the land and build the park, this would represent £1.2 million in today’s prices. Before the park was build the land was primarily fields and once contained sewage works.

The park has had 3 prominant park keepers since 1888, the first keeper, George Latimer who managed the park for a total of 18 years. Secondly, there was Mr Morgan, who had a vast knowledge of plants and trees and was and still is responsible for much of the shrubbery and trees that were planted in the park. Finally the was H.W Probert who as an act to commemorate the coronation in 1937 laid the foundations for Coronation Walk.

In his later years F.W Webb became the twice mayor of Crewe and was a major benefactor who the Webb Orphanage which was named in his honor.

All the men mentioned in this article have all got streets named after them, as a in memoriam for the park and the work the did for the Crewe area.

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Town fear that the wall will come tumbling down

The Crewe Works boundary wall
  • The wall has been there since the early 20th century
  • Much of the history of Crewe can be represented by the wall
  • If a new planning proposal get permission to build houses all the wall will be demolished.

The old Crewe Works boundary wall that sits on West Street stretches just over 200 metres and towers at 11 metres tall. The wall was built in the early 20th century. Crewe Works at its height employed over 20,000 people, due to the vast expanse of the work much of the landscape was and is still shaped by the railway.

The boundary wall has faced planning proposals in the past and each time they have been fought off or not been granted. However, with the need to build more houses. The current plan offers to build 263 dwellings.

Due to the local feelings over the wall there has been a wide outcry from some of the local population over the cleansing of the history that they see as so valuable. It not completely one sided though, one local resident who didn’t want to be named told me that that all blocks most of the sunlight coming into their home and that it isn’t nice to look at. My understanding is that is not the universal opinion of the residents of West Street or the surrounding community.

Boundary wall
Standing 11 metres tall the Crewe Works boundary wall

One of the main reasons this wall is important to Crewe is not just to do with the dominance of Crewe Works but also that it represents the effort of the Crewe people during the war when engines were made for the RAF and a representation when generation of families all work together in the Works and those who never returned after the war.

Local film makers Jason Davidson and Peter Roch have produced a short 2 minute film which goes into great detail about the boundary wall and also on the History Channel’s Short Film Maker of the Year award.

The planning application as alluded above would need the wall to be demolished, one of the main issues that local residents have with this is that fact that during the war it is rumoured and asserted by Crewe Town Council that camouflage was used during the war to disguise the area. It is that fact combined with the fact so much of the history was produced here which is why this is some emotive.

As this is an active planning case you can view the full proposal at the Cheshire East planning page and if there is an update on the case there will be an update on this page