Station Condition Survey & Township Heritage Survey

Property: Crewe Railway Station & Township

Project: Condition & Significance Assessments, ahead of a national
infrastructure project

Service: Heritage Condition Survey of the Station Buildings and 1km
Township Heritage Survey

Completed by Nicholas Kelly of Allcott Heritage

Property Designation: The study area included 68 heritage assets, including 15 listed buildings, 10 locally listed buildings and 43 other heritage assets including archaeological remains.

Significance:  The township of Crewe, developing largely around the early railway, later sitting at the juncture of 6 historic railways is of international significance, not only in its surviving historic context, but also the significant survival of its early buildings and remains, illustrating both early railway town development and employer paternalism.

The township today represents one of the best early railway town survivals in the UK.

Issues & Operational Needs Arising & Addressed:

The survey aims were to provide baseline data within the study area to inform the development of subsequent infrastructure proposals, allowing an objective balance of the sensitive conservation, commercial & operational needs and aspirations.

From the outset, given the project scale, the survey was designed to satisfy any prospective heritage/environmental impact assessment criteria/requirements.

Bespoke assessment models, based on current NPPF guidance and conservation best practice criteria were developed to allow assessments of buildings/sites, streetscape/setting, condition, significance & potential in line with current listed building and archaeological monument evaluation criteria. Assessments of known/potential significance were based on both online data and site surveys, appraised both within the township context & in the context of early railway developments.

Further reviews included comparative analysis with other contemporary railway towns, and a review of significance against extant heritage protection designations.

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