Railway cottage residents get onboard information project

Proud residents of Crewe’s historic railway cottages are planning to unveil information boards telling the story of their unique homes.

Railway Cottages Residents Association, representing people living in Dorfold, Betley and Tollitt Streets, is currently working on a set of four permanent interpretation boards about the railway cottages and the residents who have lived in them.

The terraced houses were built by the Grand Junction Railway Company in 1845 and are the last remaining examples of their design in Crewe.

Built to house railway workers, the 49 red brick cottages were once earmarked for demolition to make way for a car park but remain as a testament to townspeople who fought to save their beloved corner of Crewe.

Grade II listed, the dwellings were designed by John Cunningham, the architect who created Liverpool Lime Street Station, and were part of John Locke’s original town layout for the Grand Junction Railway Company.

In 2024, the association undertook the renovation of a 300ft long border by the cottages to improve the habitat for wildlife and increase the biodiversity by introducing plants which provide nectar, food sources and homes for different species.

Residents Association (RA) chairman Kevin Edwards, who has lived on Dorfold Street for 40 years said: “These cottages are an important part of Crewe’s railway heritage and we want everyone to know their history.

“Having information boards about the cottages and the individuals who lived in them has been a long term aspiration for the RA.

“They were identified as a potential project in the first meeting of the RA on the 5 June 2018. Last year we obtained permission from Cheshire East Council and Crewe Town Council awarded a grant for the boards to celebrate the 180 anniversary of the completion of the cottages in 1846.

“Graphic artists were given a design brief and invited to submit concept proposals from which the RA committee awarded Lucy Garner the commission.”

A draft design will be presented to the association later this month.