Crewe
This article is about Crewe in England. There is also Crewe, Virginia.
Crewe is a large town in south Cheshire, in the north west of England. It is the major town in the Borough and Parliamentary Constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. In 1991 its population was 63,400.
Crewe is perhaps best known for its association with the railway industry, being a major junction and once home to a bustling railway works, and from 1946 to 2002 it was the home of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor car production - from the end of 2002 Rolls-Royce production ceased at Crewe while the Pyms' Lane factory now exclusively produces Bentley motor cars.
Crewe only came to prominence in the 1830s, when the Grand Junction Railway company built its maintenance works there (known in the surrounding area simply as Crewe Works), having been thwarted by local landowners from its original plan to locate four miles away in Nantwich. GJR chief engineer Joseph Locke helped lay out the town. From a population of 70 in 1831, the town exploded to 40,000 in 1871. The town has a large park, Queens Park, which is a product of 1880s railway politics - the London and North Western Railway bought the land and donated it to the town as a park in order to prevent the Great Western Railway from building a railway line through it.
Crewe Works is now (2004) largely owned by Bombardier, who bought the previous occupier ADtranz in 2001. At its height, Crewe Works employed over 20,000 people; now less than 1,000 are on-site, with further cutbacks or closure possible. Current work is largely focused on general maintenance, and the inspection of seriously damaged stock.
Crewe Railway station is about a mile from the town centre. It has 12 platforms in use and enjoys a direct service to London (2/hour, about 2 hours), Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff and many other cities. It has a buffet and newsagent.
Crewe's sporting claim to fame is that it is home to Crewe Alexandra F.C., for a long time one of English football's perpetual under-achievers, though during the late 20th century the club enjoyed something of a renaissance under the management of Dario Gradi, reaching the First Division for five seasons from 1997-2002, being relegated to the Second Division in the 2002-03 season but being promoted back to the First Division after only one season.
Crewe crater on Mars is named after the town of Crewe.
