In 1820 Crewe was a village of 70 inhabitants with Crewe Hall inhabited by Lord Crewe (1812-1894) and his family in the centre. In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway line from Birmingham and Wolverhampton to Warrington crossed Lord Crewe’s estate, with the station named in his honour. By 1871 the population had increased to over 40.000 largely due to the Grand Junction Railway building its locomotive works in the town.

Wesleyan: Preaching began at Mr Galley’s farm house in Wistaston in 1835 and then in 1842 in a saw pit near Mill Street. A temporary preaching place was opened by Dr Beaumont in 1843. When Mr Richard Dutton built his home the services were transferred there and the society was placed on the Nantwich Circuit plan. A few years later a school/chapel was opened in Mill Street for nonconformists in the area. Eventually the other denominations built their own chapels leaving the Wesleyans to continue worshipping in the building. A new chapel, Trinity, was built on the site in 1848-49. With the rapid growth of the town, additional chapels were built at Warmingham Road (1868), Hightown (1868), and North Street (1869), with Day and Sunday Schools in Mill Street and Hightown (1869). Crewe became a separate circuit in 1869 and Trinity chapel was rebuilt in 1877, to a design by G.B. Ford of Burslem, with new school premises added in 1909.

Primitive Methodists In 1843 Crewe was missioned by two preachers from Nantwich. Later Thomas Wood also a Nantwich local preacher began to preach in Crewe. A society was formed and they held the services in a cottage tenanted by Ralph Poole in Market Street. In 1846 a chapel was built on the corner of Market Street and Victoria Street. Soon there was need of a larger chapel. Land in Heath Street was bought from Samuel Heath (1816-1882) and his cousin Martin Heath (1810-1887). The foundation stone of the chapel was laid on 5 September 1854 by Mr Richard Dutton of Stanthorne Hall, Middlewich followed by Mr Samuel Heath who laid the foundation stone for the schools. A new chapel was opened on 25 July 1866 and was later known as the Wedgwood Memorial Chapel, in honour of John Wedgwood (1788-1869). Samuel Heath celebrated his 50th birthday in 1866 by giving the land and donating the building costs of a school chapel in Ramsbottom Street. This building was replaced by a larger chapel, the Heath Memorial Chapel, opened on 10 July 1875. Other Primitive Methodist Chapels were built as the town began to develop. These were Wesley Street (Hope Primitive Methodist), September 1863; Mill Street, July 1865; Henry Street, 1880, Bradfield Road Mission Room 1899.

Independent Methodists. In 1869 James Slack (1833-1883), an engineer who came from Manchester to Crewe for employment, met with a few friends in a room in Market Street belonging to the Crewe Cooperative Society. Mathew Darlington was the first preacher to the group. In 1871 the Independent Methodists rented then later bought the former Baptist chapel on the corner of Oak Street and Bowling Green street. Some years later the trustees sold the chapel and moved into rooms owned by the Co-operative Society in Co-operative Street. By 1901 the accommodation in the Co-operative Rooms were too small for the growing congregation so a scheme was devised to build a church. On 21 August 1909 the foundation stones were laid for a church and schools in Flag Land and Bridle Road. The church opened in early 1910.

The Methodist New Connexion had a chapel in Edleston Road, opened in 1881, and the Wesleyan Methodist Association (later UMFC) worshipped in Earle Street from 1843, then in Market Terrace (1863) and then in Hightown (Heathfield UMFC, 1883).

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
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