Crewe Arms Hotel

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.

1. History

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 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; 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 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 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.

1. References

Nearby Places View Menu

Crewe railway station

Crewe railway station serves the railway town of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world. It is a major junction on the West Coast Main Line and serves as a rail gateway for North West England. It is 158 miles (254 km) north of London Euston and 243 miles (391 km) south of Glasgow Central. It is located at the point where the lines to Manchester Piccadilly and North Wales diverge from this route; it is the last major station before the branch to Liverpool Lime Street diverges. It is also served by lines to Stoke-on-Trent and Shrewsbury. Crewe station has twelve platforms and a modern passenger entrance containing a bookshop and ticket office. Passengers access the platforms via a footbridge, stairs and lifts. The platform buildings, which date from the 19th century, contain two bookshops, bars, buffets and waiting rooms. The last major expenditure on the station took place in 1984-1985 when the track layout was remodelled and the station facilities were updated.

Landmark Train

274 m

Alexandra Recreation Ground

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.

Park

Crewe North Junction signal box

Crewe North Junction signal box is signal box with a Westinghouse All Electric Style 'L' lever frame which was commissioned, along with Crewe South Junction signal box (which also had a Westinghouse Style 'L' frame), on 29 March 1940 as part of a resignalling project at Crewe railway station. It saw continued use until 19 July 1985 when it was decommissioned for a redesign of Crewe station and its track layout and signalling.

Industrial Landmark

Gresty Road

Gresty Road, also known as the Alexandra Stadium and currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It is the home ground of Crewe Alexandra and has an all-seated capacity of 10,153.

Landmark Soccer