December 2017
The Visit
Finally got round to doing this one on a cold and damp December morning, I visited by myself and spent about an hour in the building. There isn't really anything special about this one, except maybe the J Spencer & Co overhead crane that still survives in the main shed. The building has been pretty much gutted apart from a small bricked off section that is still live, but this can only be accessed via a locked door outside the building. From the state of the building it doesn't look like it will be here for much longer with several sections of the room missing which has allowed sections of the building to flood.
History
The Crewe Corporation Electricity Works was built in the early 1900’s, using steam engines to drive the DC generators which were in use until the late 1950's. Gradually the town was upgraded from DC to AC. The DC network was retained until all properties received their AC supply. Following this the machinery was cleared out and the building became the district stores, until relocation in 1967 to a new building on Macon Way.
The main building is made up of two large sheds with the rear shed being a later addition, the original shed was constructed out of red brick with purple brick patterning. The original shed also features a semi-circular tile insert over the main entrance, the building still houses the original hand operated crane. The coal for the boilers was originally drawn by horse and cart from the nearby Thomas Street coal yard, with the coal being deposited into a chute near to the riverbank, with a feed from the river itself being used to cool the water supply to the plant.
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Cheers For Looking
