Crewe Hall

File:Ranulph Crewe 2.jpg ]]

Crewe was the seat of the de Crewe (or de Criwa) family in the 12th and 13th centuries; they built a timber-framed manor house there in around 1170.Allen, p. 5Curran, pp. 2,5 The manor passed to the de Praers family of Barthomley in 1319 by the marriage of Johanna de Crewe to Richard de Praers.{{Citation |last1=Speake |first1=R. |last2=Speake |first2=J. |title=A comparison of Audley, Barthomley and Betley: their differences and similarities as revealed in three local studies |journal=Audley Historian |volume=2 |year=1996 |publisher=Audley and District Family History Society |url=http://www.acumenbooks.co.uk/audleynet/famhist/Journal%202/A%20comparison%20of%20Audley,%20Barthomley%20and%20Betley.htm |access-date=18 January 2009 |isbn=0-9529494-0-7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411151141/http://www.acumenbooks.co.uk/audleynet/famhist/Journal%202/A%20comparison%20of%20Audley%2C%20Barthomley%20and%20Betley.htm |archive-date=11 April 2009 }}Hinchliffe, p. 219 Later in the 14th century it passed to the Fouleshurst (or Foulehurst) family, who held the manor jointly with that of Barthomley until around 1575, when the estate was dispersed.{{citation |title = Revealing Cheshire's Past: Crewe Hall |url = http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH5788 |publisher = Cheshire County Council |access-date = 11 February 2009 |archive-date = 18 March 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120318233028/http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH5788 |url-status = dead }} Legal problems resulted in the lands being acquired by Sir Christopher Hatton, from whose heirs Sir Randolph Crewe (1559–1646) purchased an extensive estate including the manors of Crewe, Barthomley and Haslington in 1608 for over £6,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|6000|1608|r=-4}}|0}} today).{{Citation | last = Prest | first = Wilfrid | contribution = Crewe, Sir Randolph (bap. 1559, d. 1646) | date = September 2004 – January 2008 | title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | place = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6685 | access-date = 11 March 2008}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}

Born in nearby Nantwich, reputedly the son of a tanner, Sir Randolph (or Ranulph) had risen through the legal profession to become a judge, member of parliament and the parliamentary Speaker. His fortune derived from his successful practice in chancery and other London courts. He briefly served as Lord Chief Justice in 1625–26, but was dismissed by Charles I for his refusal to endorse a forced loan without the consent of parliament.Dore, p. 4 He divided his enforced retirement between his London house and the Crewe estate. In 1615, he commenced building a substantial hall at Crewe,Pevsner & Hubbard, pp. 191–194 either adjacent to the old house, which was by then in disrepair, or after demolishing it.Allen, p. 6Chambers, pp. 14–15 He later wrote that "it hath pleased God of his abundant goodness to reduce the house and Mannor of the name to the name againe."

File:Mrs Crewe (Thomas Gainsborough).jpg, by Thomas Gainsborough ]]

A few years after the hall's completion in 1636, Civil War broke out. Like most of the legal families of Cheshire, the Crewe family was parliamentarian, and the hall was used as a garrison.Dore, p. 20 In December 1643, royalist forces under the command of Lord Byron occupied the area as they surrounded Nantwich, a major parliamentarian stronghold early in the First Civil War which lay some {{convert|5|mi|km|sigfig=1}} to the south west. A contemporary diarist, Edward Burghall, vicar of nearby Acton, described the subsequent action: "The royalists laid siege to Crewe Hall, where they within the house slew sixty, and wounded many, on St. John's Day; but wanting victuals and ammunition, they were forced to yield it up the next day, and themselves, a hundred and thirty-six, became prisoners, stout and valiant soldiers, having quarter for life granted them."Burghall E. Providence Improved. Quoted in Ormerod G. History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, p. 433 (2nd edn) (Routledge; 1882) On 4 February 1644, shortly after the decisive parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Nantwich, the hall was retaken by Sir Thomas Fairfax's forces.Dore, pp. 23–39Burghall E. Providence Improved. Quoted in Ormerod G. History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, p. 435 (2nd edn) (Routledge; 1882)

Sir Randolph Crewe died a couple of years later, before the end of the First Civil War. His male line died out in 1684, and the hall passed to the Offley family by the marriage of Sir Randolph's great-granddaughter, Anne Crewe, to John Offley of Madeley Old Manor, Staffordshire. Their eldest son, also John (1681–1749), took the name Crewe in 1708.Burke J. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (Vol. 1), p. 310 (1832)Hall, S. C. The Baronial Halls, Picturesque Edifices, and Ancient Churches of England (Vol. III) (Chapman & Hall; 1845) The Offley–Crewe family was very wealthy at this time: John Offley Crewe's income at his death was estimated at £15,000 per year (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|15000|1749|r=-5}}|0}} today).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Both John Offley Crewe and his son John Crewe (1709–1752) served as members of parliament for Cheshire.Cruickshanks et al., pp. 3–4

File:Master Crewe by Joshua Reynolds.jpg as a child, by Sir Joshua Reynolds (Master Crewe as Henry VIII), c. 1775.]]

Anne Crewe's great-grandson, John Crewe (1742–1829), was created the first Baron Crewe in 1806. A prominent Whig politician, he was a lifelong friend and supporter of Charles James Fox;{{Citation | last = Davis | first = R.W. | contribution = Crewe, John, first Baron Crewe (1742–1829) | year = 2004 | title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | place = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6691 | access-date = 12 March 2008}} his wife Frances Crewe (née Greville; 1748–1818) was a famous beauty and political hostess who gave lavish entertainments at the hall.{{Cite ODNB | last = Salmon | first = E. | contribution = Crewe, Frances Anne, Lady Crewe (bap. 1748, d. 1818) | year = 2004 | title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | place = Oxford | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/6690 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6690 | access-date = 12 March 2008}} The Crewes' social circle included many of the major figures of the day, and visitors to the hall during this period included politicians Fox and George Canning, philosopher Edmund Burke, playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, poet William Spencer, musicologist Charles Burney, and artists Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence.Hinchliffe, p. 307 John Crewe had the park landscaped and the hall extended, and also had the interior remodelled in the neo-Classical style then fashionable. Some forty years later, his grandson Hungerford Crewe (1812–94) went to considerable expense to have the interiors redecorated in a more sympathetic Jacobethan style.

The house was insured in 1857 for £10,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|10000|1857|r=-5}}|0}} today); the contents at that time included books and wines (insured for £2,250), mathematical and musical instruments (£250), and pictures (£1,000).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} The art collection included several family portraits and other works by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which were saved from the fire that gutted the building early in January 1866.{{Citation |last = Anon. |title = The Old Masters at the British Institution |newspaper = The Times |page = 5 |date = 11 June 1866}}{{Citation |last = Anon. |title = Destruction of Crewe-hall by fire |newspaper = The Times |page = 6 |date = 4 January 1866}} Extensive restoration work for Hungerford Crewe was completed in 1870.

File:Robert Crewe-Milnes portrait.jpg, by Walter Osborne ]]

Hungerford Crewe never married and on his death in 1894, the barony became extinct. The hall was inherited by his nephew, Robert Milnes, Baron Houghton (1858–1945), the son of Annabella Hungerford Crewe; he adopted the name Crewe, to become Crewe-Milnes.{{Cite ODNB | last = Davis | first = John | contribution = Milnes, Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-, marquess of Crewe (1858–1945) | date = September 2004 – January 2008 | title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | place = Oxford | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/32628 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32628 | access-date = 23 January 2009}} The Crewe title was revived as an earldom for him in 1895, and he later became the Marquess of Crewe. A Liberal politician and poet, Crewe-Milnes held several key Cabinet positions between 1905 and 1916, and was a trusted aide to Asquith.{{Citation |last = Anon. |title = Lord Crewe: A trusted Liberal statesman |newspaper = The Times |page = 6 |date = 21 June 1945}} He was also a friend of George V, and the King and Queen Mary stayed at the hall for three days in 1913, while touring the Staffordshire Potteries.{{Citation |last = Pope-Hennessy |first = James |author-link = James Pope-Hennessy |title = Lord Crewe, 1858–1945: The Likeness of a Liberal |publisher = Constable |year = 1955 |pages = 141–143}}{{Citation |last = Anon. |title = Royal visit to the Potteries. The Lancashire tour. Detailed programmes |newspaper = The Times |page = 10 |date = 18 April 1913}}

The Crewe-Milnes family left Crewe Hall in 1922, and the house stood empty until the Second World War.Gladden, p. 30 Crewe-Milnes offered the hall to Cheshire County Council as a gift in 1931, ostensibly because his heirs did not wish to live in the house.{{citation |title = 1936 – Letter to all farms and cottages from Lord Crewe |url = http://www.zen84337.zen.co.uk/Zen/Parish_Council/images/gt0009.jpg |publisher= Crewe Green Parish Council| access-date = 23 January 2009}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}} After the council's refusal, the majority of the estate was sold to the Duchy of Lancaster in 1936.{{citation |title = The Crewe and South Survey |url = http://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/output/page54.asp |publisher= The Duchy of Lancaster| access-date = 11 March 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071019101313/http://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/output/page54.asp |archive-date = 19 October 2007|url-status=dead}} His grandson, writer Quentin Crewe, described Crewe-Milnes as "both extravagant and poorly advised".

Early in the Second World War, Crewe Hall was used as a military training camp, repatriation camp for Dunkirk troops and a US army camp, becoming the gun operations headquarters for the north-west region in 1942. It housed a prisoner-of-war camp for German officers from 1943.Giese, O., 1994, Shooting the War, Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, {{ISBN|1557503079}}{{rp|252}}Gladden, pp. 30–31Ollerhead, p. 60{{citation |last = Thomas |first = Roger J.C. |title = Prisoner of war camps (1939–1948) | year = 2003 |url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/Prisoner_of_War_Camps.pdf |publisher= English Heritage| access-date = 12 February 2009}} The hall was leased as offices in 1946, becoming the headquarters of Calmic Limited (the company's name is an abbreviation of Cheshire and Lancashire Medical Industries Corporation), which moved from Lancashire to Crewe Hall in 1947.{{cite web |title=Company History |url=http://www.eurovent.com/company_history.htm |website=Eurovent |access-date=26 March 2021}} They eventually employed nearly 800 people at Crewe Hall.Tigwell, p. 55Gladden, p. 5 Calmic produced hygiene and medical products on the site including tablets, creams, analgesics and antibiotic aerosols; the company's brands included Calpol (launched in 1959 with the brand name likely a combination of 'Calmic' and 'paracetamol').{{cite news |last1=Kleeman |first1=Jenny |title=Why parents are addicted to Calpol |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/04/why-parents-are-addicted-to-calpol |access-date=26 March 2021 |work=The Guardian|location=London |date=4 June 2019}} Calmic constructed industrial facilities adjacent to the hall including a drying and filtration plant and pharmaceutical packaging unit.Gladden, pp. 12, 15, 25 After Wellcome's acquisition of Calmic in 1965, the hall served as the UK and Ireland headquarters of the Wellcome Foundation until the merger with Glaxo in 1995.Gladden, p. 21 Wellcome produced liquids, tablets, creams and antibiotic aerosols at the site; the hall itself was used for administration, but the stables block was rebuilt internally for use as laboratories and the industrial facilities were expanded.Gladden, pp. 24–25

In 1994, the Duchy of Lancaster sold the Crewe Hall buildings and the adjacent industrial site, which became Crewe Hall Enterprise Park.Gladden, p. 25 The Crewe Hall buildings remained empty after Wellcome moved out and were sold to a hotel developer in 1998; the hall became a 26-bedroom hotel the following year.Gladden, p. 26{{citation|title=Guardian series: Crewe Hall plan could bring jobs (20 April 2000) |url=http://archive.thisischeshire.co.uk/2000/4/20/223082.html |publisher=Newsquest Media Group |access-date=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409075226/http://archive.thisischeshire.co.uk/2000/4/20/223082.html |archive-date=9 April 2010 }} Several additional buildings in a modern style were constructed in the 21st century to extend the accommodation.{{citation |title = Council Meeting 19th March 2008: Board Report |url = http://www.crewe-nantwich.gov.uk/pdf/YC3823_Board_Report.pdf |publisher= Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council| access-date = 24 January 2009}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}

File:Crewe Hall c.1710.jpg

The Jacobean hall was built for Sir Randolph Crewe between 1615 and 1636. The architect of the original building is unknown, although some historians have concluded that its design was based on drawings by Inigo Jones.Britton, John, Brayley, Edward Wedlake. The Beauties of England and Wales (1801–1818). Discussed in Hinchliffe, p. 324Urban, p. 313 Although of a relatively conservative design, similar to that of Longleat from half a century earlier, the hall seems to have been considered progressive in provincial Cheshire. The historian Thomas Fuller wrote in 1662:

{{Blockquote|Sir Randal first brought the model of excellent building into these remoter parts; yea, brought London into Cheshire, in the loftiness, sightliness, and pleasantness of their structures.Fuller, p. 273}}

File:Crewe Hall engraving.jpg

Hearth-tax assessments of 1674 show the original hall to have been one of the largest houses in Cheshire, its 42 hearths being surpassed only by Cholmondeley House and Rocksavage, neither of which have survived. As depicted in a painting of around 1710, the original building was square with sides of around {{convert|100|ft|m|sigfig=2}}, and featured gabled projecting bays and groups of octagonal chimney stacks. Built around a central open courtyard, the interior had a great hall and long gallery; the main entrance led to a screens passage and the main staircase was in a small east hall.Hodson, p. 77 Externally, there was a walled forecourt and formal walled gardens; a range of separate service buildings was located to the west.Moss, pp. 346–348

File:Crewe Hall c.1818.jpg

The house remained unaltered for much of the 18th century, in contrast to most of the other principal seats in the county.Hodson, pp. 80–81 It was described in 1769 as "a square of very old date ... more to be admired now for its antiquity than elegance or conveniency."Quoted in Hodson, p. 80 Work was carried out during the 1780s and '90s for John Crewe (later the first Baron Crewe). A service wing to the west in a Jacobean revival style was added to the hall in 1780. The principal interiors of the old building were redecorated in neo-Classical style at this time, although the original layout with great hall, long gallery and drawing room was retained. Improvements were made to the wine cellars and bedrooms in 1783, and J. Cheney was employed to build a new attic staircase and seven bedrooms in 1796. Edmund Burke wrote in 1788, "I am vastly pleased with this place. We build no such houses in our time." The second Lord Palmerston, visiting in the same year, wrote:Quoted in Hinchliffe, p. 314; de Figueiredo & Treuherz, p. 67. The latter dates the poem after the Blore alterations

{{Blockquote|

But now by taste and judgment plann'd,

Throughout these scenes we find

The work of Art's improving hand,

With ancient splendour join'd.

}}

File:Crewe Hall Nash.jpg

The house was altered again in 1837–42 by Edward Blore for Hungerford Crewe. Blore replaced a local architect, George Latham, who had been commissioned in 1836. Many of Blore's working drawings survive in the Royal Institute of British Architects archive. He carried out decorative work to the interior in the Jacobethan style and made major changes to the plan of the ground floor, which included replacing the screens passage with an entrance hall and covering the central courtyard to create a single-storey central hall. He also fitted plate glass windows throughout and installed a warm-air heating system.Scard, p. 23 The total cost, including his work on estate buildings, was £30,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|30000|1836|r=-5}}|0}} today).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}

Most of Blore's work to the main hall was destroyed in the fire of 1866. Hungerford Crewe is said to have asked Blore, then retired, to restore the building, but he declined. The restoration work was instead carried out by E. M. Barry, son of Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Palace of Westminster, and the contractors Cubitt & Co.;Gladden, p.29 it was completed in 1870, at a cost of £150,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|150000|1870|r=-5}}|0}} today).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}Allen, p. 36 In a lecture to the Royal Academy, Barry later outlined his strategy for the restoration:Barry EM. Lectures in Architecture (1881). Quoted in Robinson, p. 25; de Figueiredo & Treuherz, pp. 67–68; Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 193

{{Blockquote|The greatest care has been taken to recover the design of Sir Randolph for such of the work as it has been possible to restore ... although with less roughness of execution and uncouthness of detail, particularly in respect of the human figure. Such peculiarities cannot, I think, be properly repeated in a modern reconstruction ... it is not the part of the 19th century restorer to reproduce matters which at best were the weaknesses of his predecessors. He ... should not seek, by a clever imitation of bygone tricks of construction or design, to deceive the spectator as to the age of his own work, and so pass off the latter as something which it is not.}}

File:Crewe Hall (west).jpg's tower and Bower's extension]]

Nikolaus Pevsner describes Barry's reconstruction as "an extremely sumptuous job."Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 40 Peter de Figueiredo and Julian Treuherz consider it his finest work, attributing his success to being "directed by the powerful character of the existing building."de Figueiredo & Treuherz, p. 67 Barry's work is considered to be, in general, more elaborate and more regular than the original. For the restoration of the interior, he employed several of the leading artists and craftsmen of the time, who had previously worked on the Palace of Westminster. Barry's principal innovation was the addition of a tower to the west wing, which was required for water storage. Intended to unite the east and west wings of the hall, the effect is limited by the tower's Victorian design. He also reorganised the plan of the building, opening up Blore's central hall to create a two-storey atrium, as well as providing more ground-floor service rooms and generating twenty extra servants' bedrooms in an attic by modifying the roof.

Local architect Thomas Bower performed some alterations to the house for Robert Crewe-Milnes in 1896, including extending the service wing. Few changes to the hall itself occurred during Calmic's tenancy. The company installed central heating in around 1948, and later constructed an office extension on the north side of the house, which was demolished a few years after the building's conversion into an hotel.Gladden, pp. 5, 26 Calmic had undertaken only cosmetic maintenance work, and by the 1970s the fabric of the building was in poor repair. A major stonework fall from the north gable during high winds in 1974 led Wellcome to carry out an extensive restoration programme to both the interior and the exterior, which was completed in 1979 at a cost of £500,000 (£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|500000|1979|r=-5}}|0}} today).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}Gladden, p. 24

File:Crewe Hall (garden front).jpg

Crewe Hall is a grade-I-listed mansion located at {{gbmappingsmall|SJ733540}} in the civil parish of Crewe Green, ½ mile (1 km) from the edge of Crewe. The architecture historian Nikolaus Pevsner considered the main hall to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire, the other being Dorfold Hall at Acton. Constructed in red brick with stone dressings and a lead and slate roof, the hall has two storeys with attics and basements. The eastern half of the present building largely represents the original Jacobean hall. The exterior survived the fire of 1866 and the majority of the diapered brickwork is original, although some of the stonework of the porch and the tops of the gables was renewed by E. M. Barry.Robinson, pp. 25–26

The south (front) face of the eastern wing has seven bays, with a balustraded parapet at eaves level. The central bay is set forward to form a stone centrepiece around the arched main entrance, which is flanked by fluted Ionic columns. Immediately above the entrance are doubled tapering pilasters flanking a three-light window, all surmounted by a large cartouche decorated with strapwork. On the first floor of the central bay is a triple-mullion window, and above the parapet is a coat of arms. Flanking the centrepiece are two bays with diapered brickwork and single-mullion windows. The two ends of the south face are also set forward; they have canted, triple-mullion bay windows and are surmounted above the parapet by shaped gables with attic windows. All the main windows of this face are double transomed.

File:Crewe Hall (east bdg detail).jpg

The east face of the eastern wing has four bays with canted bay windows, shaped end gables and a central cartouche. In the centre of the northern (garden) face is a large bow window, originally Jacobean, which illuminates the chapel; it has stone panels decorated with cartouches below arched stained glass lights.Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 23 This face otherwise reverses the main façade, with the addition of mezzanine windows.

The western half of the building is stepped forward (southwards) by two bays from the original building. Originally the service wing, it is plainer than the eastern building and dates from the Georgian era. Though using Georgian proportions, it was built in an early Jacobean revival style which has been heightened by subsequent alterations, particularly the addition of a central gable. The main part of the south (front) face has seven bays, with a balustraded parapet running along the entire façade at eaves level. In the centre of the five east bays is a canted bay window beneath a shaped gable; the flanking bays have single-mullion, double-transomed windows. The two west bays are set backwards and have a central oriel window on the first floor with two single-mullion, double-transomed windows on the ground floor.

The western wing is dominated by a square tower of stone-dressed brick which rises two storeys above the roof and is capped by an ogee spirelet surrounded by four corner chimneys. Designed by Barry in the High Victorian style, it was added after the fire. A slender bell tower also rises from the west wing. At the rear is a loggia with a vaulted ceiling supported by Tuscan columns. The western end of this wing is a single-storey extension by Thomas Bower dating from 1896.

File:Crewe Hall Staircase 1877.png

The interior of Crewe Hall contains a mixture of original Jacobean work, faithful reproductions of the original Jacobean designs (which in some cases had been recorded), and work in the High Victorian style designed by Barry. The entrance hall in the east wing was remodelled by both Edward Blore and Barry. It is panelled in oak and contains a marble chimneypiece with Tuscan columns featuring the Crewe arms. It opens via a columned screen into the central hall, which was an open courtyard in the Jacobean house. Roofed by Blore at the first-floor level, Barry converted the space into an atrium featuring cloisters around the walls, with a wooden gallery over them at the mezzanine level and a tunnel-vaulted first-floor gallery above. The floor is paved with a pattern of coloured marbles and the first-floor gallery corridors have stained glass panels. The atrium has a hammerbeam roof supported by columns at the gallery level. To the east of the central hall is an accurate reconstruction by Barry of the original staircase, which Nikolaus Pevsner described as "one of the most ingeniously planned and ornately executed in the whole of Jacobean England." Heavily carved, the newels feature heraldic animals, which were originally gilded and painted.

File:Crewe Hall Dining Room 1877.png

To the east of the entrance lies the dining room, which was formerly the Jacobean great hall. The room least damaged by the fire, it was restored by Barry to its 17th-century appearance, with facsimiles of the original ceiling and carved wooden screen. It contains an overmantel featuring a relief of Plenty, considered to be original, and a large stone chimneypiece, which is believed to be the only surviving work by Blore on the interior. The oak parlour, in the south west, contains a large wooden Jacobean overmantel, featuring Green Men carving. The Jacobean carving here and in the dining room is noticeably cruder than the Victorian work. The carved parlour is another reproduction by Barry of the original. Panelled in oak, it has a plaster frieze of the Elements, Graces and Virtues. The alabaster chimneypiece depicts the winged figure of Time rewarding Industry and punishing Sloth, symbolised by two boys, which is surmounted by a carved portrait of Sir Randolph Crewe.

File:Crewe Hall.jpg

A small chapel lies to the north of the central hall. Originally rather austere, it was lavishly decorated by Barry in the High Victorian style. There is much elaborate wood carving, with the altar rail featuring angels and the benches poppyheads. The marble apse has alabaster carved heads of the prophets and evangelists by J. Birnie Philip, and the wall panelling features bronze medallions depicting biblical characters by the same artist. The ornate choir gallery, reached from the central hall's mezzanine gallery, contains the family pew. The stained glass and wall murals are by Clayton and Bell, and the painting and stencilling are by J. G. Crace.

The suite of state rooms on the first floor of the east wing contains the long gallery, library, drawing room (great chamber), small drawing room and two bedrooms. All date originally from the Jacobean mansion, but are likely to have been significantly altered by John Crewe and then extensively reworked by Blore in neo-Jacobean style. They were restored to Barry's designs, usually with little attempt to reproduce the Jacobean appearance, probably because records of most of the original designs were lacking. Crace performed much of the decoration work in these rooms. All the state rooms contain elaborate plasterwork and stone chimneypieces, often flanked with Corinthian columns or pilasters.

File:Crewe Hall 6.jpg

The long gallery, along the north side, has a chimneypiece in coloured marbles with busts by Henry Weekes depicting Sir Randolph Crewe and Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew, Bishop of Durham. The library, above the carved parlour, contains statuettes of book lovers by Philip and a frieze of scenes from literature by J. Mabey. The drawing room has a facsimile of the Jacobean ceiling, which had been recorded by architect William Burn. Identical in pattern to one at the Reindeer Inn in Banbury, of which the Victoria and Albert Museum has a plaster cast, it was presumably originally the work of the same craftsman.{{NHLE |num= 1369571|desc= No.47 (The Reindeer Inn) and No.48 (Ann Elizabeth Health Foods)|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} One of the state bedrooms has another survivor of the fire, a Jacobean stone fireplace with a plaster overmantel relief depicting Cain and Abel.

File:Crewe Hall stables.jpg's centrepiece]]

The former stables, in red brick with a tiled roof, were completed around 1636 and are contemporary with the Jacobean mansion; they are listed at grade II*. They form a quadrangle immediately to the west of the hall, enclosing a rectangular courtyard. The main east face of the quadrangle stands at right angles to the front of the house; it has nine bays of two storeys and an attic.{{NHLE |num= 1138667|desc= Former Stables at Crewe Hall|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} Its centrepiece, added by Edward Blore in around 1837, consists of an arched stone entrance flanked by pilasters, above which a clock tower rises from the first-floor level.Pevsner & Hubbard, pp. 194–195 The tower features twinned arrow-slit windows and clock faces with stone surrounds, and is topped by a bell chamber and ogee cupola with finials. In addition to the centrepiece, the east face has four bays which are set forward and have shaped gables topped with finials. The north and south ends of this east building also have shaped gables.

File:Crewe Hall carriage arch.jpg

The north and south sides of the quadrangle have large arched carriage openings beneath shaped gables; the keystones are carved with horse's heads. The walls within the carriageway opening are decorated with bands of blue brick. The east, north and south faces are all finished with an openwork brick parapet with a stone coping. The west building has twelve arched openings accessed from the courtyard. The main storeys of the quadrangle mainly have three-light, stone-dressed mullion windows, with two-light windows at the attic level. All the roofs have tall octagonal chimneys and feature decorative ridge tiles. The interior of the stables block was rebuilt during the building's conversion to its present use of laboratories and offices.

The Apple House, a small red-brick building to the west of the stables quadrangle, also dates from around 1636, and can be seen in a painting of Crewe Hall from around 1710. Originally a dovecote, it is used as a storehouse.{{NHLE |num= 1138668|desc= The Apple House|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}}{{citation |title = Revealing Cheshire's Past: The Applehouse, Crewe Park Hall |url = http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9963 |publisher = Cheshire County Council |access-date = 10 February 2009 |archive-date = 18 March 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120318232956/http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9963 |url-status = dead }} Built on an octagonal plan with two storeys, it has two oval windows with stone surrounds. The lower entrance has a stone semicircular arch; a second doorway is located at first-floor height. The pyramidal tiled roof is topped by a glazed lantern with a lead cap. The building is listed at grade II.

File:Crewe Hall Gatelodge (Weston Rd).jpg

The park has two gate lodges; both are listed at grade II. The northern lodge at Slaughter Hill is by Blore and dates from 1847. In red brick with darker-brick diapering, stone dressings and a slate roof, it has a T-shaped plan with a single storey, and is Jacobean in style. It features two shaped gables, each decorated with a panel carved with Crewe Estate emblems, and a hexagonal central bay with a pyramidal roof which forms a porch.{{NHLE |num= 1138675|desc= North Lodge to Crewe Hall Park|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} The Elizabethan-style Weston or Golden Gates Lodge to the south of the house dates from before 1865 and is attributed to William Eden Nesfield, although it is not typical of his style. In red brick with blue-brick zig–zag diapering, ashlar dressings and a slate roof, the lodge has two storeys, with a projecting canted bay to the road face. The driveway face has an ashlar panel with a shield bearing the Crewe family coat of arms.{{NHLE |num= 1137196|desc= Golden Gates Lodge and entrance screen|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}}

File:Crewe Hall park 1840.jpg's ornamental lake]]

The National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens lists {{convert|497|acre|ha|sigfig=3}} of the gardens and surrounding parkland at grade II.{{citation|url=http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/index2.php?option=com_parksandgardens&task=site&id=988&preview=1&Itemid=292 |title=Parks & Gardens UK: Crewe Hall, Crewe, Cheshire, England |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Parks & Gardens Data Services Ltd, University of York |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215112540/http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/index2.php?option=com_parksandgardens&task=site&id=988&preview=1&Itemid=292 |archive-date=15 February 2012 }} An early engraving shows a walled forecourt to the south of the original hall, with a large stone gateway carved with Sir Randolph Crewe's arms and motto. The forecourt had terraces, balustrades and a path decorated with diamond patterns. As depicted in a painting of around 1710, the grounds were laid out in extensive formal walled pleasure gardens with parterres.

During the 18th century, the park was landscaped in a more naturalistic style for John Crewe (later the first Baron Crewe) by Lancelot Brown (before 1768), William Emes (1768–71), and Humphry Repton and John Webb (1791).Gladden, p. 28 Repton's design included an ornamental lake of {{convert|23|ha|acre|sigfig=2}} immediately north of the house, created by damming Engelsea Brook, which still runs through the park. He also created new approaches to the house. The lake drained away in 1941 when a dam burst, and the area is now planted with poplars.{{citation |url=http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9173 |title=Revealing Cheshire's Past: Crewe Hall Lake |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Cheshire County Council |archive-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318233008/http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9173 |url-status=dead }} A stone statue of Neptune with a reclining female, originally located on the banks of the lake, now stands in woodland; it dates from the early 19th century.{{NHLE |num= 1138670|desc= Statue of Neptune, Crewe Green|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} A boathouse, originally at the head of the lake, was in need of restoration in 2007.Hinchliffe, p. 308{{Citation | title = Land at Crewe Hall Hotel, Crewe Hall, Weston Road, Crewe (P06/1220)| date = 22 January 2007 | url = http://www.crewe-nantwich.gov.uk/pdf/YC3824_Item_1_P06-1220_Crewe_Hall.pdf |publisher=Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council | access-date = 16 February 2009}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}} A Temple of Peace formerly stood on the north shore of the lake, but was demolished some time after 1892.{{citation |url=http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9174 |title=Revealing Cheshire's Past: Temple of Peace, Crewe Hall Park |access-date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Cheshire County Council |archive-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318233018/http://rcp.cheshire.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MCH9174 |url-status=dead }} Much of the parkland is now covered with mixed woodland, including Rookery Wood and Temple of Peace Wood.{{citation |url=http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=373159&n=353981&mpp=2&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.RPG&hLayer=&hField=&hValue= |title=Interactive Mapping: Crewe Hall |access-date=15 March 2008 |publisher=Cheshire County Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123102757/http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=373159&n=353981&mpp=2&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.RPG&hLayer=&hField=&hValue= |archive-date=23 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}

File:Nesfield parterre (Crewe Hall).jpg plan for the north parterre]]

Formal gardens were laid out around the house by W. A. Nesfield in around 1840–50 for Hungerford Crewe. Nesfield's design included statuary, gravelled walks and elaborate parterres realised using low box hedges and coloured minerals.Bisgrove, p. 21 Balustraded terraces were also constructed on the north and south sides of the hall, probably designed by E. M. Barry, and incorporating statues of lions, griffins and other heraldic beasts, echoing the interior staircase. Military usage during the Second World War, however, destroyed parts of the gardens; army buildings were erected near the house, and the area in front of the hall served as a parade ground and later was ploughed up to grow potatoes.Gladden, pp. 6, 26 The grounds were further neglected while the house was used as offices, and little has survived except the terraces, gates and statues. In 2009, English Heritage placed the hall on the Heritage at Risk Register as highly vulnerable, considering that the historic character of the gardens and park is compromised by recent developments to the hotel complex, in particular the conference centre, spa and associated parking area.{{citation |title = Heritage at Risk Register 2009 |url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/HAR_Register_North_West_2009/northwest-2009-har-register.pdf/ |publisher= English Heritage| access-date = 28 April 2010}}

File:Crewe Hall gates.jpg ]]

The entrance gates and wall separating the gardens from the park and farmland date from 1878 and are listed at grade II.{{NHLE |num= 1138669|desc= Gates, piers and wall at north end of Crewe Hall Drive|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} The wrought-iron gates are by Cubitt & Co., and were exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. Two outer single gates and a double inner gate are supported by four sandstone piers. The outer pair of gate piers are capped by a bud-shaped device supported on scrolls; the inner pair are surmounted by a griffin and a lion, mirroring the statuary of the hall's terraces. The lower gate sections of lyre-like panels with leaf and spearhead motifs are topped with Jacobean-style arched panels. The ornate gate overthrows include shields and emblems capped with crowns, sheaves and sickles. The inner gates bear the inscription Quid retribuam domino ("What can I render to the Lord?"), while the outer gates bear the date. The wall, of brick with stone dressings, features arcading and has piers surmounted with ogee caps carved to match the tiles of the main hall tower. A further feature of the gardens to survive is a grade-II-listed sundial dating from the early 19th century, which stands to the rear of the house.{{NHLE |num= 1330083|desc= Sundial at rear of Crewe Hall|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}}

The original estate purchased by Sir Randolph Crewe in 1608 included the manors of Crewe, Barthomley and Haslington and cost over £6,000. Lands from the Offley estate in Staffordshire and the Done estate in Cheshire were acquired by marriage and inheritance in the late 17th and early 18th centuries,de Figueiredo & Treuherz, p. 278 and in common with the other great Cheshire estates, the estate flourished during the 18th century.Hodson, p. 72 The estate of 1804 included land or property in Barthomley, Burwardsley, Crewe, Crowton, Elton, Hale, Northrode, Rushton, Sandbach, Spurstow, Tattenhall, Warmingham and Weston in Cheshire, as well as Madeley in Staffordshire and Muxton in Shropshire.Scard, p. 19 The predominant land use was dairy farming, but the estate also included some arable land;Scard, p. 72 tenancies ranged from crofts of 1 or 2 acres (less than a hectare) to large farms of over {{convert|300|acre|ha|sigfig=2}}.Scard, pp. 19, 60, 79 The gardens, park and home farm occupied {{convert|583|acre|ha|sigfig=3}}. Hungerford Crewe was the fifth greatest landowner in the county in 1871, with a total of {{convert|10148|acre|ha|sigfig=4}}.Crosby, p. 87 The majority of the Crewe estate was sold by Robert Crewe-Milnes to the Duchy of Lancaster in 1936.

File:Stowford Cottage, nr Crewe.jpg

Crewe Hall Farmhouse, the estate's home farm, stands on the edge of the grounds, ¼ mile to the south east of the hall; it dates from around 1702 and is listed at grade II. In brown brick with a slate roof, it has two storeys and five bays to the front.{{NHLE |num= 1330084|desc= Crewe Hall Farm House|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} Two of the adjacent farm buildings, dating from 1883 to 1884, are also listed.{{NHLE |num= 1330085|desc= Farm buildings 10 m east of Crewe Hall Farm House|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}}{{NHLE |num= 1138671|desc= Farm buildings 40 m north of Crewe Hall Farm House|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} As of 2009, the Duchy of Lancaster is developing outbuildings at Crewe Hall Farm, including the two listed buildings, into leasehold offices totalling {{convert|27850|sqft|m2|sigfig=3}}.{{citation |title = Crewe Hall Farm: The Development |url = http://www.crewehallfarm.co.uk/development.asp |publisher= Maple Grove Developments| access-date = 22 January 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080614163941/http://www.crewehallfarm.co.uk/development.asp |archive-date = 14 June 2008|url-status=dead}}{{citation |title = Report and accounts of the Duchy of Lancaster for the year ended 31 March 2007 |url = http://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/files/pdf/Parliamentary%20Accounts%202007.pdf |publisher= Duchy of Lancaster| access-date = 15 March 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071020025550/http://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/files/pdf/Parliamentary%20Accounts%202007.pdf |archive-date = 20 October 2007|url-status=dead}}

Several estate cottages near Weston Lodge were designed by W. E. Nesfield between 1860 and 1866, and are among his earliest works. They include Stowford and Magnolia Cottages (1864–65), which Nikolaus Pevsner describes as "cheerful and just a little Kate Greenaway",{{NHLE |num= 1330152|desc= Stowford and Magnolia Cottages|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} Smithy Cottage (around 1865){{NHLE |num= 1137182|desc= Smithy and Smithy Cottage|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} and Fir Tree Cottage (1865),{{NHLE |num= 1138478|desc= Firtree Cottage|access-date= 29 July 2012|fewer-links=x |mode=cs2}} all listed at grade II, as well as a half-timbered farmhouse on Weston Road. Rather than either the Jacobean mansion or its High Victorian interiors, their style derives from buildings of the Home Counties, with tile hanging, incised pargetting, half-hipped gables and high chimneys. Pevsner credits Nesfield with introducing these features to Cheshire.

As of 2025, Crewe Hall is a hotel in the QHotels group, set in {{convert|8|acre|ha}} of parkland, with a restaurant, brasserie, conference facilities, tennis courts and health club, including a gym, spa and swimming pool. There are 117 bedrooms, of which 26 are located in the old building.{{citation |title = Crewe Hall |url = http://www.crewehallcheshire.co.uk/ |publisher= QHotels Group| access-date = 11 March 2008}} The hall is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies.{{citation |title=Approved Premises index |url=https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/register-office/ceremony-venues/approved_premises_index/approved_premises_index.aspx |publisher= Cheshire East Council |date=28 October 2024 |access-date=26 January 2025}} The hall and park are not otherwise open to the public. The Duchy of Lancaster retains ownership of a large area of the Crewe estate, which is mainly managed as dairy farms and woodland, with some commercial development near Crewe and at Crewe Hall Farm.

{{portal|Cheshire}}

• Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire East
• Listed buildings in Crewe Green

{{reflist}}

• Allen, Michael, ed. (2006). An English Lady in Paris: The Diary of Frances Anne Crewe 1786 (St Leonards: Oxford-Stockley) ({{ISBN|0-9552490-0-7}}) and ({{ISBN|978-0-9552490-2-0}} pbk edition, 2011)
• Bisgrove, Richard (2008). William Robinson: The Wild Gardener (London: Frances Lincoln) ({{ISBN|0-7112-2542-7}})
• Chambers, Susan (2007). Crewe – A History (Chichester: Phillimore) ({{ISBN|978-1-86077-472-0}})
• Crosby, Alan (1996). A History of Cheshire (Chichester: Phillimore) ({{ISBN|0-85033-932-4}})
• Cruickshanks, Eveline; Handley, Stuart & Hayton, D.W. (2002). The House of Commons, 1690–1715 (Volume V) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) ({{ISBN|0-521-77221-4}})
• Curran, Howard; Gilsenan, Michael; Owen, Bernard & Owen, Joy (1984). Change at Crewe (Chester: Cheshire Libraries) ({{ISBN|0-904532-08-9}})
• de Figueiredo, Peter & Treuherz, Julian (1988). Cheshire Country Houses (Chichester: Phillimore) ({{ISBN|0-85033-655-4}})
• Dore, R.N. (1966) The Civil Wars in Cheshire (A History of Cheshire, Vol. 8; series editor: J.J. Bagley) (Chester: Cheshire Community Council)
• Fuller, Thomas (1840). [https://books.google.com/books?id=y-IDAAAAQAAJ The History of the Worthies of England (Vol. 1)] (London: Thomas Tegg), retrieved on 11 March 2008
• Gladden, Ray (2005). Calmic at Crewe Hall (Crewe: Medica Packaging)
• Hinchliffe, Edward (1856). [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=wgkNAAAAYAAJ Barthomley: In Letters from a Former Rector to his Eldest Son] (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans), retrieved on 25 January 2009
• Hodson, J. Howard (1978). Cheshire, 1660–1780: Restoration to Industrial Revolution (A History of Cheshire, Vol. 9; series editor: J.J. Bagley) (Chester: Cheshire Community Council) ({{ISBN|0-903119-10-2}})
• Moss, Fletcher (1910). The Fifth Book of Pilgrimages to Old Homes (Didsbury: F. Moss)
• Pevsner, Nikolaus & Hubbard, Edward (1971). The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books) ({{ISBN|0-14-071042-6}})
• Ollerhead, Peter (2008). Crewe: History and Guide (Stroud: The History Press) ({{ISBN|978-0-7524-4654-7}})
• Robinson, John Martin (1991). A Guide to the Country Houses of the North-West (London: Constable) ({{ISBN|0-09-469920-8}})
• Scard, Geoffrey (1981). Squire and Tenant: Life in Rural Cheshire, 1760–1900 (A History of Cheshire, Vol. 10; series editor: J.J. Bagley) (Chester: Cheshire Community Council) ({{ISBN|0-903119-12-9}})
• Tigwell, Rosalind E. (1985). Cheshire in the Twentieth Century (A History of Cheshire, Vol. 12; series editor: J.J. Bagley) (Chester: Cheshire Community Council) ({{ISBN|0-903119-15-3}})
• Urban, Sylvanus (1866). [https://books.google.com/books?id=A_kIAAAAIAAJ Crewe Hall, with an illustration.] The Gentleman's Magazine, NS I: 308–317, retrieved on 18 January 2009

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Category:Grade I listed houses

Category:Hotels in Cheshire

Category:Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire

Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire

Category:Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire

Category:Country houses in Cheshire

Category:Parks and open spaces in Cheshire

Category:World War II prisoner-of-war camps in England

Category:Houses completed in 1636

Category:Houses completed in 1870

Category:Edward Blore buildings

Category:Buildings and structures in Crewe

Category:1636 establishments in England

Category:Country house hotels

Category:Edward Middleton Barry buildings

Category:Gardens by Humphry Repton

Category:Gardens by Capability Brown