1867 buildings at Crewe Railway Station

These buildings form the historic heart of Crewe railway station, built in 1867 for the London and North Western Railway under the supervision of William Baker. They represent a significant example of Italianate railway architecture in cream and orange brick with terracotta detailing.

The listed structures comprise two linear platform buildings positioned south of Nantwich Road bridge, aligned north to south on separate platform islands. Two arcades stand on the western platform island: one extending north from the bridge, the other south from the south-west corner of the western platform building. Two flanking walls complete the ensemble, one screening the west side of platform 11, the other retaining the ground to the east of the station.

The Western Flanking Wall

This substantial wall, approximately six metres high, runs north from the south end of platform 11. Both faces display vivid polychrome brickwork with cream stock bricks laid in English bond (alternating courses of stretchers and headers). A stone-coped plinth supports the wall, which is topped by an entablature and parapet with flat stone copings.

Rusticated pilasters divide the wall into bays, each containing an arcade of three semi-circular brick arches—the central one slightly larger than its neighbours. A continuous terracotta dripmould runs above the arches, whose voussoirs are formed of alternating bands of cream and orange brick with a central blue course. Slimmer, plain pilasters support the arches, creating an effective rhythm. Cream brick panels fill the arches to impost level, recessed within orange brick surrounds. The brickwork follows a variable Flemish bond pattern, sometimes with two stretchers to one header per course, sometimes with paired headers separated by two or three stretchers. The entablature frieze is orange brick, with cream brackets spanning the full depth of the cornice.

The wall extends for six bays before being interrupted by the south footbridge, then continues for twelve more bays northward. The northernmost bay, now beneath the modern booking hall concourse, has lost its entablature. The three bays immediately south of this have lower brick panels, and sawn inner faces of the arcade capitals indicate they were once filled to this lower level. North of the Nantwich Road bridge abutments, the wall continues for eight more bays, curving to follow the railway track.

The Arcades

East of platform 11, an arcade runs north from the Nantwich Road bridge abutments for eight bays. This is a true arcade with no plinth between its pillars, though most bays have been infilled to form the east wall of a later flat-roofed building, which also conceals much of the arcade's west face.

An arcade running south from the south-west corner of the western platform building is similarly detailed. It is interrupted by the south footbridge, and south of this point some bays have been infilled with cream brick. The eastern face of this section, overlooking the ramp to the subway to Weston Road car park, is obscured by a later brick skin.

The Eastern Flanking Wall

This retaining wall has only its west elevation visible. It runs south from a point five bays north of the Crewe Arms, continuing for seven more bays to Nantwich Road bridge. The detailing matches the western screen wall, though the arches have been infilled with translucent sheet and the wall now has concrete copings.

South of the bridge, approximately 25 metres of plain cream brick in Flemish bond contains four blocked openings, truncated footbridge abutments, and a stone cornice of alternating recessed and projecting stones. Above this sits a modern cream brick and stone parapet. This section terminates in alternating red sandstone quoins.

Further south, the wall returns to the standard treatment described for the western wall, with these variations: the pilasters between bays continue above the entablature into a stone parapet; the arches are infilled with cream brick; and the central cream brick panels stand proud of the orange surround rather than being recessed. This section runs for eighteen bays. Midway along, the arcaded northern timber gable of the roof above platform 1 rests on the cornice, and from this point south the stone parapet gives way to a later blue engineered-brick parapet.

The Eastern Platform Building

The principal facade faces west and is mainly of cream brick and terracotta with some orange terracotta. It follows a similar regular rhythm to the screen walls, divided into bays each containing three arches. These arches are segmental rather than semi-circular, with frogged voussoirs featuring orange bands between them, and a keystone bearing a bearded face—the "Greybeards". Bays two, four and six (counting from the left) are recessed, with projecting bows in bays three and five. Bay eight has no arches.

In the flat bays, each arch contains an elaborate timber architrave with a large semi-circular central arch and smaller side arches, similar to the screen walls. Two slender cast-iron columns with Corinthian capitals support the centre of these architraves, with corbels at the jambs. The windows and doors are all timber replacements, and some window openings have been lowered for doors, though most retain their deep stone sills resting on the stone plinth.

An entablature similar to those of the flanking walls runs across the facade, supporting the train shed roof, which is also supported by columns on the platform island and at the trackside. This entablature is interrupted at the bows, which have flat roofs and a simpler, shallower modillion cornice. The bows have paired windows in each arch supported by a single central column, and lack the greybeard keystones.

At the north end, some door jambs have cast-iron protectors painted red. A granite drinking fountain commemorating Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee of 1863 is mounted in the wall, with a small semi-circular cast-iron trough below lettered "FOR YE DOGS".

At the right, the entablature returns along the south facade, which is otherwise largely blind and partially obscured by an attached retail kiosk. The east facade is also blind, with some intrusions of red and blue banded brick from the 1891 addition of a first floor and later alterations. The north facade contains plain doorways with stone wedge lintels and cast-iron jamb protectors. The building is splayed on the north-west corner, returning for a short length on the west underneath the north footbridge, north of the principal facade.

The Western Platform Building

The principal facade faces east and mirrors the eastern building, except that it is truncated north of the northernmost bow window. This building retains some timber sliding-sash windows. A retail kiosk obscures the three southernmost arches. The south facade is blind. The west facade continues the entablature of the arcade projecting south from the south-west corner, and contains three small square windows and three larger segmental-arched windows. The left-hand section was obscured at the time of inspection but appears to include a basement or subway stair protected by a stone plinth and railings. The north facade comprises a 20th-century retail frontage.

The interiors of both platform buildings are devoid of historic features and are not of special interest.