Crewe Arms Hotel
| Crewe Arms Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Crewe Arms Hotel | |
  Crewe Arms Hotel Location within Cheshire | |
| General information | |
| Address | Crewe, Cheshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°05′25″N 2°25′58″W / 53.0902°N 2.4328°W |
| Completed | 1837 |
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.
History
[edit]The hotel was originally built as the station hotel for the Grand Junction Railway in 1837[1] and passed into the ownership of the London and North Western Railway on its formation in 1846.[2] After Prince Albert acquired an interest in Balmoral Castle in 1848,[3] Queen Victoria became a regular visitor to the Crewe Arms Hotel when she stayed overnight on her journey to her summer holidays in Scotland.[1] 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.[1][4][5]
The hotel was substantially rebuilt in 1880[6] 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.[7]
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[8] and it continued to host council meetings until County Hall on Castle Drive in Chester was completed in 1957.[9]
The hotel then came into the ownership of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1922.[10] Following nationalisation of the railways it became part of the portfolio of the British Transport Hotels in January 1948.[11] It was acquired by Embassy Hotels in 1969 and, after a period of ownership by Jarvis Hotels,[12] it was bought by Grant Moon, a catering entrepreneur.[13] It changed hands again, passing into the ownership of Harpreet Singh in 2008[14] and of Silverton Global in 2013:[15] Silverton Global subsequently re-branded it as a Best Western Hotel.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Where Queen Victoria stayed: visiting Crewe's pioneering railway hotel". Past in the Present. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ Steel, Wilfred L. (2011). Chapter V. 1846. The London And North-Western Railway–Its Constitution–First Report–And First Meeting. pp. 132–150. doi:10.1680/thotlanwr.52352.0005. ISBN 978-0-7277-5235-2.
- ^ Millar, Delia (1985). Queen Victoria's life in the Scottish Highlands: depicted by her watercolour artists. London: Philip Wilson. p. 40. ISBN 0-85667-194-0.
- ^ "Did guest catch a glimpse of the ghostly Grey Lady at 'haunted' South Cheshire hotel? Watch this video to decide for yourself". Stone on Trent Live. 30 October 2018.
- ^ Chesshyre, Tom (1 May 2020). "All aboard". The Critic.
- ^ Historic England. "1867 buildings at Crewe Railway Station (1436435)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Crewe Railways - Photo Gallery". BBC. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "County Council Archives". National Archives. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "National Railway Museum Files" (PDF). Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ Carter, Oliver (1990). An illustrated history of British Railway Hotels: 1838-1983. St Michael's: Silver Link Publishing. ISBN 0-947971-36-X.
- ^ "Jarvis puts Cheshire hotel on market". The Caterer. 1 February 2002. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "New era for landmark Shropshire hotel". Shropshire Star. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "Staffordshire hotelier buys landmark Crewe hotel". The Caterer. 1 May 2008.
- ^ "Crewe Arms hotel fetches £1 million". The Business Desk. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ "Crewe Arms Hotel". Conferences.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2019.