Essential Hotels > England > Cheshire > Crewe

Known for its prominent railway heritage Crewe is a town in the southern part of Cheshire that acts as a much-used connecting point for the nation’s train passengers. The town is situated in the mid-west of England, a stone’s throw to the west of the M6, with junctions 16 and 17 leading into the east of Crewe from the south and north respectively. Not only does Crewe have a train-based history, it has also played an industrial role in years gone by, with the Rolls Royce car factory planted in the town from 1946-2002 and the Pyms Lane Bentley car factory still positioned in the town.

Crewe is set near to the county boundary with Staffordshire and so is near to the towns of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Today something like 70,000 people live in Crewe with a number finding employment at Crewe Business Park and the other factories in the region. Of course, the railway industry has been a major part of the economy over the years and so has offered plenty of jobs, even drawing employees to the area.

Although the railway system has a lesser role than it once had it still plays its part in maintenance and inspection. Despite the mention of Creu in the 1086 Domesday Book, modern day Crewe wasn’t planned out until the middle of the 19th century in an effort to coincide with the existing progression in the train economy. In the 1830s the Grand Junction Railway decided on Crewe as the site for a station; before then Crewe had been a small village, but this change sparked a period of healthy expansion. Next, in 1840, the Crewe Works engineering facility was built and from this time on the town continued to lead the way in the railway world. Train lines enter and leave this small settlement from the north, south, north-east, south-east, north-west and south-west, with many train users stopping off in the town while connecting to other parts of the UK.

Even if Crewe’s attractions are few and far between there are a few places to visit and areas of note. Among them are the Lyceum Theatre, the Market Centre and the Crewe Heritage Centre in the town centre. Further, Queen’s Park is a beautiful setting on the western edge of the town while Crewe Hall is a striking Jacobean mansion that is now used as a hotel.