Monument record 2468/1/28 - Site of Buildings/Workshops of the LNWR, West Street, Crewe

<1> Lanpro (Norwich), 2018, Archaeological Building Recording (Level 2): Land off West Street, Crewe, R4269 (Client Report). SCH8623.

A building and photographic survey was undertaken in 2018 of a group of five twentieth century railway buildings associated with the London and North West Railway, occupying the western end of Crewe Railway Works, adjacent to West Street. The survey work was undertaken in advance of demolition of the buildings and redevelopment of the site.

The survey has identified that Buildings 1 and 3 appear to have incorporated structural elements relating to the earliest railway buildings on site, constructed at the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth century. The position of window openings in the south wall of Building 1, and in the north and south walls of Building 3, seem to mirror two stand-alone buildings shown on a railway developmental plan dating to 1903. It is highly likely, therefore, that Building 2 is a later infill structure constructed between Buildings 1 and 3 to the north and south at some point during the 1910s or 1920s. By 1927, another railway plan shows that Buildings 1, 2 and 3 had been extended westwards, and Buildings 4 and 5 constructed to the south, increasing the capacity of the works and infilling the plot of land up to West Street. This occurred as part of a substantial expansion to the railway works, following the take-over of the site by the London Midland & Scottish Railway in 1923. The 1927 plan labels Buildings 1, 2 and 3 as 'Fitting and Machine Shop' and 'Erecting Shop North', Building 4 as 'Erecting Shop South', and Building 5 as 'Machine Shop'.

The change from the use of cast-iron columns to support the roof structures in Buildings 1 and 3 to steel stanchions in Buildings 4 and 5 shows a transition to modern construction methods; using lightweight steel frames allowed buildings to be constructed wider and taller, creating greater capacity and flexibility of space.
The roof covering across the site is clearly modern and later interventions, such as the creation of modern office blocks, have altered the original character of the buildings. However, some original elements were still present at time of survey, such as the railway lines shown entering ‘Erecting Shop North’ (Building 3) on the 1903 plan. Also, a large transverser mechanism in Building 5 was constructed in the 1970s; an earlier transverser, no longer present, was positioned further to the east which accounts for a gap in the south wall of Building 3 and also a corresponding gap in Building 4.

<2> Lanpro (Norwich), 2020, Archaeological Building Recording (Level 2): Land off West Street, Crewe (Updated January 2020), R4429 (Client Report). SCH8868.

An updated (January 2020) version of report SCH8623 (source 1).