109-463: The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV is a British automobile produced by Rolls-Royce . Only eighteen were made between 1950 and 1956, sold only to buyers whom Rolls-Royce considered worthy of the distinction: the British royal family and heads of state. Sixteen are known to still exist in museums as well as in public and private collections. Rolls-Royce broke with their earlier decision to cease production of
218-803: A "five-shilling meal" at the Swan and Royal hotel in Clitheroe , Stanley Hooker and Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce agreed with Spencer Wilks of the Rover Car Company that Rolls-Royce would take over top secret work on the development of the jet engine. An exchange of assets followed with Rover and in the post- World War II period Rolls-Royce made significant advances in gas turbine engine design and manufacture. The Dart and Tyne turboprop engines were particularly important, enabling airlines to cut times for shorter journeys whilst jet airliners were introduced on longer services. The Dart engine
327-528: A Phantom IV. Nevertheless, a considerable number of coachbuilder's drawings exist of proposed Phantom IVs that never were built. A number of these are proposals by coachbuilders for chassis which in the event were bodied by other coachbuilders. Others were proposed but not built at all. Most are linked to a specific customer's name, such as the King Farouk , the Maharajas of Baroda and Mysore, as well as
436-756: A bored-out 6.3 litre eight-cylinder engine. Although the official Experimental Department name for this car was Comet, its scorching performance earned it the fond epithet Scalded Cat. This unit in particular would later play a key role in the decision of creating the Phantom IV. Indeed, the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh heard about the Bentley nicknamed Scalded Cat in 1948 and asked if he might test it out. He enjoyed this experimental car immensely and drove it for considerable distances. When he returned it, he apparently murmured about how nice it would be to have
545-568: A car with performance in the Royal Mews . On 15 November 1948, not long after Prince Philip had driven the aforementioned automobile, an order came through for a Rolls-Royce motor car for Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. They placed the order through The Car Mart, Ltd., RR official retailers in London. Such a vehicle would have to meet their official needs, which meant it must be a limousine. It would also have to have good performance, since
654-697: A decisive impulse to the existence of this model, as suggested by Martin Bennett in his book Rolls-Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years and the number 9 September 1990 of the British magazine Classic Cars . All these three historical vehicles have always been property of the Spanish Army and are still in ceremonial use for the Spanish royal family and for heads of state on official visit in Spain, using one of
763-647: A large railway junction and home to Crewe Works ; for many years, it was a major railway engineering facility for manufacturing and overhauling locomotives, but now much reduced in size. From 1946 until 2002, it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now exclusively produces Bentley motor cars. Crewe is 158 miles (254 km) northwest of London , 28 miles (45 km) south of Manchester city centre, and 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Liverpool city centre. The name derives from an Old Welsh word criu , meaning ' weir ' or 'crossing'. The earliest record
872-473: A new town there. The railway company built much of the early town itself in the 1840s and 1850s. Although the nascent town was in the township of Monks Coppenhall rather than the Crewe township, it was known as Crewe from the start. The modern town of Crewe was thus named after the railway station, rather than the other way round. In 1859 the township of Monks Coppenhall was made a local board district , giving
981-515: A presence in the park include Air Products , Barclays , and Fujitsu . The 12 acre Crewe Gates Industrial Estate is adjacent to Crewe Business Park, with smaller industry including the ice cream van manufacturer Whitby Morrison . The Weston Gate area has light industry and distribution. Marshfield Bank Employment Park is to the west of the town, and includes offices, manufacturing and distribution. There are industrial and light industrial units at Radway Green. The town has two small shopping centres:
1090-564: A section dedicated to Crewe news. The local radio station is The Cat broadcasting on 107.9FM from the Cheshire College South and West building covering the town along with Nantwich and other local settlements. Other radio stations that cover the area include Cheshire's Silk Radio from Macclesfield, Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire (formerly Signal 1) and Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire from Stoke-on-Trent and BBC Radio Stoke . Cheshire has adopted
1199-491: A weekly Mass in Polish ) and two Baptist . There is a museum dedicated to Primitive Methodism in the nearby village of Englesea-Brook . The Jacobean mansion Crewe Hall is located to the east of the town near Crewe Green . It is a grade I listed building, built in 1615–36 for Sir Randolph Crewe . Today, it is used as a hotel, restaurant and health club. There is a multiplex Odeon cinema on Phoenix Leisure Park on
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#17327916609511308-416: A yacht, Silver Ghost . Unofficially the press and public immediately picked up and used Silver Ghost for all the 40/50 cars made until the introduction of the 40/50 Phantom in 1925. The new 40/50 was responsible for Rolls-Royce's early reputation with over 6,000 built. Its chassis was used as a basis for the first British armoured car used in both world wars . Aero-engine manufacturing began in 1914 at
1417-550: Is Manchester Airport , which is 30 miles (48 km) away; Liverpool John Lennon Airport is 40 miles (64 km) away. Crewe Heritage Centre is located in the old LMS railway yard for Crewe railway station . The museum has three signal boxes and an extensive miniature railway with steam, diesel and electric traction. The most prominent exhibit of the museum is the British Rail Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train . The Grade II-listed Edwardian Lyceum Theatre
1526-457: Is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire , England. The civil parish of Crewe had a population of 55,318 in the 2021 census . The larger Crewe built-up area, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston , Shavington cum Gresty and Wistaston , had a total population of 76,437 in 2021. Crewe is perhaps best known as
1635-495: Is a five-minute walk from the shopping centre. It has a weekly footfall of approximately 100,000 visitors. A planned redevelopment of Crewe's town centre, including the current bus station and main shopping area, was abandoned because of "difficult economic conditions" during 2008. There were also plans to revamp the railway station which involved moving it to Basford . This was pending a public consultation by Network Rail scheduled for autumn 2008, but no such public consultation
1744-562: Is in the Domesday Book , where it is written as Creu . The original settlement of Crewe lies to the east of the modern town. It was a township in the parish of Barthomley . The original settlement of Crewe later became known as Crewe Green to distinguish it from the newer town to its west. The town of Crewe owes its existence to Crewe railway station , which opened in 1837 on the Grand Junction Railway . When
1853-520: Is in the centre of Crewe. It was built in 1911 and shows drama, ballet, opera, music, comedy and pantomime. The theatre was originally located on Heath Street from 1882. The Axis Arts Centre is on the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) campus in Crewe. It relocated from the university's Alsager Campus when it closed. The centre has a programme of touring new performance and visual art work. The Axis centre closed at
1962-617: Is located less than a mile from the town centre, although it was not incorporated into the then Borough of Crewe until 1937. It is one of the largest stations in the North West and is a major interchange station on the West Coast Main Line . It has 12 platforms in use. The station is served by several train operating companies : Crewe is on the A500 , A530 and A534 roads; it is located less than 5 miles (8 km) from
2071-496: Is on Pyms Lane to the west of town. As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at the site. The factory used to produce Rolls-Royce cars, until the licence for the brand transferred from Bentley's owners Volkswagen to rival BMW in 2003. There is a BAE Systems Land & Armaments factory in the village of Radway Green near Alsager , producing small arms ammunition for the British armed forces. The headquarters of Focus DIY , which went into administration in 2011,
2180-558: Is to be discontinued and replaced with another model having an 8-cylinder or other engine. However, a project had been initiated in 1937 to rein in the manufacturing costs of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley (acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1931) motor car chassis . This involved the development of a Rationalized Range of cars that shared as many common components of the chassis as possible. As implementation of this rationalization plan, several prototypes were made. One of these, chassis 30-G-VII,
2289-621: The Bentley 3½ Litre . Advertised as "the silent sports car" and very much in the Rolls-Royce mould, it was a private entry by Eddie Hall (but supported by Rolls-Royce) in the 1934, 1935 and 1936 RAC Tourist Trophy sports car races on the Ards Circuit , where it recorded the fastest average speed in each year (ahead of Lagondas and Bugattis). This helped the Sales Department as old Bentley customers had been inclined to doubt that
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#17327916609512398-498: The Hawker Siddeley Trident , BAC One-Eleven , Grumman Gulfstream II and Fokker F28 Fellowship . During the late 1950s and 1960s there was a significant rationalisation of all aspects of British aerospace and this included aero-engine manufacturers. In 1966 Rolls-Royce acquired Bristol Siddeley (which had resulted from the merger of Armstrong Siddeley and Bristol Aero Engines in 1959) and incorporated it as
2507-476: The M6 motorway . Bus services in Crewe are operated predominantly by D&G Bus ; their routes link the town with Congleton (route 42), Leighton Hospital (12), Macclesfield (38), Nantwich (84X) and Northwich (31/37). Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire runs route 84 to Chester and First Potteries operate a single service (route 3) running to Stoke-on-Trent, via Kidsgrove. The closest airport to Crewe
2616-702: The Meteor , was developed for the Cromwell tank . The Meteor's development completed in 1943 the same team at the Belper foundry restarted work on an eight-cylinder car engine widening its uses and it became the pattern for the British Army's B range of petrol engines for post war combat vehicles in particular in Alvis 's FV600 range, Daimler 's Ferret , Humber 's Hornet and Pig and Austin 's Champ . After
2725-710: The Ministry of Defence and used during World War II for the manufacture of Mosquito and Halifax aircraft. For a number of years, Rolls-Royce used the site for the manufacture of helicopter engines until the site closed in June 1993. The former Rolls-Royce factory at Watford is now known as the Leavesden Film Studios and has produced world-famous films, including the James Bond , Star Wars and Harry Potter series. The amalgamations and disappearances of
2834-664: The Rolls-Royce 10 hp , was unveiled at the Paris Salon in December 1904. Rolls-Royce Limited was formed on 15 March 1906, by which time it was apparent that new premises were required for production of cars. After considering sites in Manchester, Coventry , Bradford and Leicester , it was an offer from Derby 's council of cheap electricity that resulted in the decision to acquire a 12.7 acres (51,000 m ) site on
2943-473: The Rolls-Royce 30 hp . Initially designated the 40/50 hp, this was Rolls-Royce's first all-new model. In March 1908, Claude Johnson , Commercial Managing Director and sometimes described as the hyphen in Rolls-Royce , succeeded in persuading Royce and the other directors that Rolls-Royce should concentrate exclusively on the new model, and all the earlier models were duly discontinued. Johnson had an early example finished in silver and named, as if it were
3052-558: The Royal Aircraft Factory asked Rolls-Royce to design a new 200 hp (150 kW) engine. Despite initial reluctance, they agreed, and during 1915, developed Rolls-Royce's first aero engine, the twelve-cylinder Eagle . This was quickly followed by the smaller six-cylinder Hawk , the 190 hp (140 kW) Falcon and, just before the end of the war, the larger 675 hp (503 kW) Condor . Throughout World War I, Rolls-Royce struggled to build aero engines in
3161-534: The comprehensive school model of secondary education, so all of the schools under its control cater for pupils of all levels of ability. Until the late 1970s Crewe had two grammar schools , Crewe Grammar School for Boys, now Ruskin High School and Crewe Grammar School for Girls, now the Oaks Academy (formerly Kings Grove School). The town's two other secondary schools are Sir William Stanier School ,
3270-666: The unitary authority , Cheshire East Council ; at parish level, since 4 April 2013, local matters have been dealt with by Crewe Town Council , which is based at 1 Chantry Court, Forge Street, Crewe, CW1 2DL. Crewe applied for City status as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours in 2022. The application was unsuccessful and Crewe remains a town. Like most of the United Kingdom, Crewe has an oceanic climate , with warm summers and cool winters and relatively little temperature change throughout
3379-493: The 1950s and 1960s left a small number of major airframe manufacturers based in only a few countries. The competition for the very large contracts to supply their engines grew intense. Expensive research and development became vital. Real profits came from the maintenance contracts which might peak a whole human generation later. By the 1980s it was said that each generation of aero engines cost around 10 times that of its parent. At this time Rolls-Royce employed 80,000 people and it
Rolls-Royce Phantom IV - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-404: The 1987 issue of shares to members of the public Rolls-Royce was by then one of only three enterprises outside USSR and China able to design develop and produce large gas turbine engines. At that time its engines were installed in the aircraft of more than 270 civil carriers and were used by 110 armed services and 700 operators of executive and corporate aircraft. In addition, its turbines powered
3597-538: The Americans Briggs Cunningham and James Melton . It is evident that certain customers outside of the Royalty and Heads of State category believed that a Phantom IV would be available for purchase. Just how, or if, the news was broken to those customers that the firm would not supply a chassis for their proposed cars, or why they opted for other models, is open to conjecture. In 1956 the model
3706-639: The Avro Manchester with its unreliable Rolls-Royce Vulture engines), Vickers Wellington (twin-engine); it also transformed the American North American P-51 Mustang into a competitor for the best fighter of its time, its engine a Merlin engine built by Packard under licence. Over 160,000 Merlin engines were produced, including over 30,000 by the Ford Motor Company at Trafford Park, Manchester. During
3815-594: The Bristol Siddeley division. Bristol Siddeley, with its principal factory at Filton , near Bristol , had a strong base in military engines, including the Olympus , Viper , Pegasus (vectored thrust) and Orpheus . They were also manufacturing the Olympus 593 Mk610 to be used in Concorde in collaboration with SNECMA. They also had a turbofan project with SNECMA. According to the prospectus published for
3924-459: The Government of Spain for three armoured cars for the use of Generalissimo Francisco Franco : two with limousine bodies and an open all-weather body; this one intended to replace a 1938 Hispano-Suiza J12 with Carrosserie Vanvooren body. While the Phantom IV model was not specified in the order, or even known outside the company at that time, it was decided that the best way to cope with
4033-754: The Minister of Defence), Sir St. John Elstub (managing director of Imperial Metal Industries ), and Sir Charles Elworthy (former Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Defence Staff ). The new aircraft with its three RB211 engines left USA for the first time and arrived in Paris on 1 June 1971. At Palmdale California the L-1011 received its US Federal Aviation Administration's certificate of airworthiness on 14 April 1972, nine months late. On
4142-716: The Park (previously held at Tatton Park in 2018) in Queens Park. The 2020 event, which had been due to take place on 12 September, was cancelled on 20 May, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. The weekly Crewe Chronicle and the daily Sentinel newspapers cover the town. Cheshire Live, an online news source that covers news across Cheshire, also has
4251-461: The Prince wished to drive it himself. The car would be the first Rolls-Royce in the stables. It was originally planned to be the only Phantom IV, a strictly one-off piece. Rolls-Royce, aware that Daimler had held the royal warrant to provide motor cars since 1900, was very keen to ensure that the car was the best there had ever been, and a great deal of hand work was lavished on the construction of
4360-584: The Second World War. The Experimental Department still continued there until the closure of Clan Foundry in 1950, when it was finally transferred to Crewe. It was also in the Experimental Department workshop at the Crewe factory where the remaining seventeen chassis were made. The very small numbers of the Phantom IV meant that building them with the other models would have been disruptive to the latters' production. The chassis 4AF2
4469-650: The Victoria Centre and the Market Centre. There are outdoor markets throughout the week. Grand Junction Retail Park is just outside the centre of town. Nantwich Road provides a wide range of secondary local shops, with a variety of small retailers and estate agents. The Market Centre is the largest shopping centre in Crewe. It is situated in the heart of the town centre with a few national retailers, including B&M , Poundstretcher and Peacocks . There are three large car parks nearby and Crewe bus station
Rolls-Royce Phantom IV - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-472: The bank would withdraw its overdraft facility on which Rolls-Royce depended at that time. Nevertheless, believing that war was likely to be short-lived the directors initially decided not to seek government work making aero engines. However, this position was quickly reversed and Rolls-Royce was persuaded by the War Office to manufacture fifty air-cooled V8 engines under licence from Renault . Meanwhile,
4687-531: The cars; the brigadier in charge of the garage praised them and said they were used frequently. The speedometers only showed less than 2,000 km but "they were taken by train and only driven for the actual inspections and processions". Without intending it, the Government of Spain's triple order in October 1948, along with the later Princess Elizabeth and Duke's commission in November that year, helped to give
4796-655: The chances of promotion depend upon subserviency to the Tory political demands of the Management, they have created a state of political serfdom in the works." In December 1889, Liberal statesman William Ewart Gladstone wrote a letter to the Chronicle condemning the company's behaviour in the town. The railway provided an endowment towards the building and upkeep of Christ Church. Until 1897 its vicar, non-conformist ministers and schoolteachers received concessionary passes,
4905-463: The chassis. The board members had earlier considered making a replacement for the pre-war Phantom III, but they were wary that such a large and expensive car might not have a market in the weak post-war economy. Design and production of the first chassis of the new model was not at the Crewe factory, but at the experimental Clan Foundry at Belper , which had been the home of the motor car branch during
5014-417: The colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black; because the red sometimes clashed with the coachwork colour selected by clients, and not as a mark of respect for the death of Royce later that year as is commonly stated. The British government built a shadow factory in Crewe in 1938 for Rolls-Royce where they could build their Merlin and Griffon aero engines. Car production
5123-457: The company to "Rolls-Royce plc", the British government sold it to the public in a share offering . Rolls-Royce plc still owns and operates Rolls-Royce's principal business, although, since 2003, it is technically a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc , a listed holding company . Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business in 1884. He made his first car, a two-cylinder Royce 10, in his Manchester factory in 1904. Henry Royce
5232-595: The core business but sold the holdings in British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) almost immediately and transferred ownership of the profitable but now financially insignificant car division to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited , which it sold to Vickers in 1980. Rolls-Royce obtained consent to drop the '1971' distinction from its company name in 1977, at which point it became known once again as "Rolls-Royce Limited". The Rolls-Royce business remained nationalised until 1987 when, after having renamed
5341-500: The couple, it was painted Valentine green (deep green with a slight blue secondary hue) with red belt-line striping. The limousine became an official state car of the United Kingdom upon Princess Elizabeth's accession to the throne in 1952; as such, it was repainted in the sovereign's colour scheme of royal claret and black. This car remains in the Royal Mews and is still used occasionally for royal and state events. For example, it
5450-451: The day the chairman of Lockeed said "...we know that in airline service it (RB211) will prove itself to be one of the leading power plants in aviation history". The first airliner was delivered to Eastern Air Lines on 5 April 1972 but it had been beaten in the race to production by McDonnell Douglas 's DC-10 . Rolls-Royce Motors Limited was incorporated on 25 April 1971, two and a half months after Rolls-Royce fell into receivership. Under
5559-461: The development and manufacturing of engines for military and commercial aircraft. In the late 1960s, Rolls-Royce was adversely affected by the mismanaged development of its advanced RB211 jet engine and consequent cost over-runs, though it ultimately proved a great success. In 1971, the owners were obliged to liquidate their business. The useful portions were bought by a new government-owned company named "Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited", which continued
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#17327916609515668-478: The edge of the town centre, as well as a Mecca bingo hall and a Tenpin bowling alley. Queens Park is the town's main park; £6.5 million was spent on its restoration in 2010. It features walkways, a children's play area, crown green bowling, putting, a boating lake, grassed areas, memorials and a café. Jubilee Gardens are in Hightown and there is also a park on Westminster Street. In 2019, Crewe hosted Pride in
5777-528: The editor of the Crewe Chronicle published charges against Webb, saying "That through the action, direct and indirect, of Tory railway officialism, the political life of Crewe is cramped and hindered beyond recognition". In November 1889, Crewe Town Council debated a motion which accused LNWR managers of working with Crewe Tories "to crush Liberalism altogether out of the town": "... by intimidation and persecution of your Liberal workmen, and by making
5886-656: The end of the spring 2019 season with the withdrawal of MMU from the Crewe campus. The Box on Pedley Street is the town's main local music venue. Both the Lyceum Theatre and the Axis Arts Centre feature galleries. The private Livingroom art gallery is on Prince Albert Street. The town's main library is on Prince Albert Square, opposite the Municipal Buildings. Crewe has six Anglican churches, three Methodist , one Roman Catholic (which has
5995-507: The first car being completed on January 17, 1921, that being a Silver Ghost with a documented chassis price of US$ 11,750 ($ 200,715 in 2023 dollars ). When the factory closed in 1931, 2,944 total vehicles had been produced. It was located at the former American Wire Wheel factory on Hendee Street, with the administration offices at 54 Waltham Ave. Springfield was the earlier location for the Duryea Motor Wagon Company ,
6104-719: The government's request. The first model, the Rolls-Royce Eagle, entered production in 1915. Two Eagles powered Alcock and Brown 's first non-stop trans-Atlantic crossing by aeroplane mounted on their converted Vickers Vimy bomber. In 1921, Rolls-Royce opened a new factory in Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States to help meet a three-year backlog demand where a further 1,703 "Springfield Ghosts" and 1,241 Phantoms were built. This factory, called Rolls-Royce of America, Inc., operated for 10 years, with
6213-528: The huge additional weight would be to build the three cars as Phantom IVs, rather than over-burden the Silver Wraith chassis. Especially since the Foreign Office suggested that Crewe could not turn down the order. The passengers were to be immune from a Mauser bullet fired at ten paces, so W. A. Robotham recommended a body from Mulliner's of Chiswick, which "had many satisfied customers among
6322-512: The kneeling version of the Spirit of Ecstasy , which had been unveiled in 1934 and used in various other models. In July 1938, Rolls-Royce had to publish in the motoring press an announcement denying that the Phantom III fabrication would be interrupted. The following was published on 19 July 1938 in the British magazine The Motor : The company wish to deny the rumour that the Phantom III
6431-489: The left Limousine, 7-seater No. 5036 Design 7181 The vehicle on the right Cabriolet No. 4945 Design 7183 Limousine, Sedanca de Ville No. 9750 Design 8293 Repainted: Red Repainted: Dark Green (Light Green pinstripe) (2015) Cabriolet Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce Limited was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by
6540-540: The location where the first American gasoline-powered vehicle was built. Bodies for American assembly were supplied by Brewster & Co. in Long Island City, New York . After the First World War, Rolls-Royce successfully avoided attempts to encourage British car manufacturers to merge. Faced with falling sales of the 40/50 Silver Ghost in short-lived but deep postwar slumps Rolls-Royce introduced
6649-442: The more unpopular rulers of the world". A mission to Mulliner's of Army officers required glass one and three quarters of an inch thick and armour plate. The armour plate was to be almost half an inch thick, and the large floor area required would make the completed weight of the cars over three and a half tons, which would overstress the wheels and gearbox on Spain's main roads. Some years later when holidaying there, Robotham inspected
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#17327916609516758-402: The naval vessels of 25 different nations. Over 175 industrial customers operated Rolls-Royce gas turbines for power generation, gas and oil pumping and other industrial purposes. Its single most important customer was the United Kingdom's government. In the preceding five years about 70 per cent of production went outside the United Kingdom. Leavesden Aerodrome , Watford was originally owned by
6867-413: The neighbouring parish of Crewe rather than the borough of Crewe until 1936. The borough boundary was significantly enlarged in 1936 to absorb the parish of Church Coppenhall and parts of several other neighbouring parishes, including the area of Crewe parish around the railway station. The reduced Crewe parish to the east of the town formally changed its name to Crewe Green in 1984. During World War II
6976-419: The new Crewe Bentley could out-perform its famous predecessors. Immediately after World War II (when fully-tooled pressed-steel cars were produced in the factory, rather than chassis sent to a coachbuilder for a custom-built body ) until 2002, standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars were usually nearly identical – Bentleys were badge engineered ; only the radiator grille and minor details differed. In 1933,
7085-528: The ownership of the receiver, it began to trade in April 1971 – manufacturing motor cars, diesel and petrol engines, coachwork and other items previously made by Rolls-Royce's motor car and diesel divisions and Mulliner Park Ward. It continued to take on precision engineering work on sub-contracts. In June 1971, it acquired all the business and assets used by the motor car and diesel divisions of Rolls-Royce and Mulliner Park Ward. Rolls-Royce Motors' permitted uses of
7194-560: The partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce . Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes , they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world" The business was incorporated as "Rolls-Royce Limited" in 1906, and a new factory in Derby was opened in 1908. The First World War brought the company into manufacturing aero-engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940, and they entered production in 1944. Rolls-Royce has since built an enduring reputation for
7303-634: The plant to be shut down. The continuing support of the trade creditors was also achieved by the receiver in spite of threats to demand immediate payments in full and to withdraw supplies. The first asset sold was British Aircraft Corporation bought equally by Vickers and GEC. The receiver floated Rolls-Royce Motors in 1973. The new owner, Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited, had among its board members Lord Cole (a former chairman of Unilever), Sir Arnold Weinstock (managing director of GEC), Hugh Conway (managing director Rolls-Royce Gas Turbines), Dr Stanley Hooker (Rolls-Royce Bristol), Sir William Cook (an adviser to
7412-677: The prestige of Rolls-Royce was achieved. H. J. Mulliner Limousine, 7-seater No. 5034 Design 7162 Rear: Grey cloth State Car , Royal Mews , London, 2022 Park Ward Pick-Up Truck No. Unknown Design Unknown United Kingdom, 1963 H. J. Mulliner Cabriolet No. 5077 Design 7205 Hong Kong? 2014 H. J. Mulliner Limousine, 6 light saloon No. 5153 Design 720 Italy, 2023 Limousine No. 9663 Design 8292 Unknown, 1960s Hooper Limousine, 7-seater No. 9719 Design 8307 Repainted: Black Ion Țiriac , Romania, 2022 Limousine, 5-seater No. 5035 Design 7181 The vehicle on
7521-473: The quantities required by the War Office . However, with the exception of Brazil Straker in Bristol, Rolls-Royce resisted pressure to license production to other manufacturers, fearing that the engines' much admired quality and reliability would risk being compromised. Instead the Derby factory was extended to enable Rolls-Royce to increase its own production rates. By the late 1920s, aero engines made up most of Rolls-Royce's business. Henry Royce's last design
7630-403: The range of diesel engines included: In 1907, Charles Rolls, whose interests had turned increasingly to flying, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Royce and the other directors to design an aero engine. When World War I broke out in August 1914, Rolls-Royce (and many others) were taken by surprise. As a manufacturer of luxury cars, Rolls-Royce was immediately vulnerable, and Claude Johnson thought
7739-434: The recognition Rolls-Royce had no resources left and it voluntarily entered receivership 4 February 1971. There were said to have been acrimonious telephone conversations between US president Richard Nixon and the British prime minister Edward Heath but these were subsequently denied. Responding to questions as to how the situation could have arisen the chief executive advised that in their calculations they were guided by
7848-664: The remaining capital of Park Ward Limited which, since 1936, in conjunction with Rolls-Royce had been building short production runs of all-metal saloon bodies on Bentley chassis. In 1959, Rolls-Royce bought coachbuilder H J Mulliner and the two businesses were put together as H J Mulliner Park Ward. Luxury cars did not fit with the new mood of post-war austerity. After starting design and development of what became their C series diesel engine range in 1948, Rolls-Royce began to produce diesel engines in 1951. By 1955, it provided diesel engines for automotive, railway, industrial, earth-moving and marine use. Sentinel (Shrewsbury) Limited
7957-406: The route for the railway was being planned, alternative routes and locations for the main station in this area were considered; Winsford , 7 miles (11 km) to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, as had local landowners in neighbouring Nantwich , 4 miles (6 km) away. The company then settled on the route through Crewe and the station was built in fields near Crewe Hall . The station
8066-500: The sale. However the government would not fix a purchase price for the assets until the situation became clearer because without a continuing business many of them might be worthless. In the meantime the government would use the assets to continue the activities of the aero-engine, marine and industrial gas turbine and small engine divisions that were important to national defence, the collective programmes with other countries and to many air forces and civil airlines. A new company (1971)
8175-449: The school having been established in 1842. The company provided a doctor's surgery with a scheme of health insurance. A gasworks was built and the works water supply was adapted to provide drinking water and a public baths . The railway also opened a cheese market in 1854 and a clothing factory for John Compton who provided the company uniforms, while McCorquodale of Liverpool set up a printing works. The railway station remained part of
8284-528: The series of "big" Rolls-Royce Phantoms after the end of World War II. The Phantom IV chassis differed from those of the shorter, production post-War models, the Silver Wraith and the Bentley Mark VI ; apart from a larger size and an engine with increased capacity and power, they have an additional cross-member at the centre of the cruciform bracing and 10-stud road wheel mountings. The engine
8393-642: The site of a transport hub for the Phase 2a High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line, which received royal assent in 2021 with planned completion in 2027. The plan included a new HS2 railway station, surrounded by a commercial hub providing 37,000 jobs and 7,000 homes by 2043. However on 4 October 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the cancellation of this phase of the HS2 development at the Conservative Party Conference . Crewe railway station
8502-474: The site once occupied by the works has been sold and is now occupied by a supermarket, leisure park, and a large new health centre. There is still an electric locomotive maintenance depot to the north of the railway station, operated by DB Cargo UK . The diesel locomotive maintenance depot , having closed in 2003, reopened in 2015 as a maintenance facility for Locomotive Services Limited , having undergone major structural repairs. The Bentley car factory
8611-523: The small sports/racing car maker and potential rival, after the latter's finances failed to weather the onset of the Great Depression . Rolls-Royce stopped production of the new Bentley 8 Litre , which was threatening sales of their current Phantom, disposed of remaining Bentley assets and using just the Bentley name and its repute. After two years of development Rolls-Royce introduced a new and quite different ultra-civilised medium-size Bentley,
8720-561: The smaller, affordable Twenty in 1922, effectively ending the one-model policy followed since 1908. The new 40/50 hp Phantom replaced the Silver Ghost in 1925. The Phantom III, introduced in 1936, was the last large pre-war model. A strictly limited production of Phantoms for heads of state recommenced in 1950 and continued until the Phantom VI ended production in the late 1980s. In 1931, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley ,
8829-480: The somewhat unusual states of affairs: "The place which is Crewe is not Crewe, and the place which is not Crewe is Crewe." The population expanded rapidly to reach 40,000 by 1871. In 1877 the Crewe local board district was incorporated to become a municipal borough . The town has a large park, Queen's Park (laid out by engineer Francis Webb ), the land for which was donated by the London and North Western Railway ,
8938-549: The southern edge of that city. The new factory was largely designed by Royce, and production began in early 1908, with a formal opening on 9 July 1908 by Sir John Montagu . The investment in the new company required further capital to be raised, and on 6 December 1906, £100,000 of new shares were offered to the public . In 1907, Rolls-Royce bought out C.S. Rolls & Co. The non-motor car interests of Royce Ltd. continued to operate separately. During 1906 Royce had been developing an improved six-cylinder model with more power than
9047-408: The strategic presence of the railways and Rolls-Royce engineering works (turned over to producing aircraft engines) made Crewe a target for enemy air raids, and it was in the flight path to Liverpool . The borough lost 35 civilians to these, the worst raid was on 29 August 1940 when some 50 houses were destroyed, close to the station. Crewe crater on Mars is named after the town of Crewe. Crewe
9156-407: The success of their estimates in the launching of their Spey engine. Had the government simply nationalised Rolls-Royce it would have been unable to avoid the obligations to Lockheed. The situation was handled in the usual manner with the assets being sold for cash, in this case to the government, leaving the massive liabilities to be dealt with by Rolls-Royce Limited using the funds realised by
9265-499: The successor to the GJR. It has been suggested that their motivation was to prevent the rival Great Western Railway building a station on the site, but the available evidence indicates otherwise. Webb took a great interest in local politics and was "the most influential individual in the town". "Described just before his retirement as 'the King of Crewe', Webb came to exercise control over
9374-412: The town its first form of local government. The district's name was changed from Monks Coppenhall to Crewe in 1869. Townships were redefined as civil parishes in 1866, and whilst the local board district was renamed in 1869 the civil parish was not. As such, there was a Crewe district which contained the parish of Monks Coppenhall, but did not contain the parish of Crewe. An old, local riddle describes
9483-425: The two limousines. It is not known exactly when the "Royalty and Heads of State only" policy was decided, nor indeed whether in fact there was such an explicit company policy. It is known though, that a boardroom decision was reached that it would be impractical to attempt to build more than three Phantom IVs per year. It is also clear that no private customer other than royalty and heads of state ever took delivery of
9592-414: The various Rolls-Royce trade marks were very precisely defined. At the end of 1972, Rolls-Royce Motors employees in the United Kingdom numbered 5,855 in the car division and 2,311 in the diesel division, for a total of 8,166 people. In May 1973, the business was sold to Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings Limited in preparation for its public flotation . Crewe Crewe ( / k r uː / )
9701-468: The war most Rolls-Royce flight testing of engines was carried out from Hucknall Aerodrome . The Merlin crossed over into military land-vehicle use as the Meteor powering the Centurion tank among others. Many Meteor engines used engine blocks and parts that failed requirements for high performance engines, but were suitable for use in the derated 480 kW (640 hp) Meteor. In December 1942, over
9810-479: The war, in 1946, Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production moved to Crewe where they began to assemble complete Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars with body pressings made by the Pressed Steel Company (see W. A. Robotham ). Previously they had built only the chassis, leaving the bodies to specialist coach-builders. In 1939, Rolls-Royce brought one of the specialist coachbuilders completely in-house by buying
9919-690: The working lives of over 18,000 men - one third of the total LNWR workforce. Over half these lived in Crewe, around 8,000 being employed at the locomotive works. Several recreational and sporting organisations were a direct result of Webb's influence and others received benefit from his support." These included the LNWR Cricket Club (established in 1850) and the Crewe Alexandra Athletic Club (established in 1867). However, Webb's influence allegedly also extended to intimidation of Liberal Party sympathisers. In September 1885,
10028-455: The year. The railways still play a part in local industry at Crewe Works , which carries out train maintenance and inspection. It has been owned by Alstom since 2021. At its height, the site employed over 20,000 people, but by 2005 fewer than 1,000 remained, with a further 270 redundancies announced in November of that year. Currently Alstom employs 6000 people across the UK and Ireland. Much of
10137-603: Was Britain's 14th largest company in terms of manpower. It was generally known that problems had recently arisen requiring government support of the RB211 programme as one outcome of intense financial competition with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric for the original RB211 contract. In the new year of 1971 financial problems caused largely by development of this new RB211 turbofan engine designed and developed for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation 's new L-1011 TriStar led, after several government-provided cash subsidies, to
10246-569: Was a derivative of the 8-cylinder rationalized B range of petrol engines (formed by four, six and straight eight). Specifically it was a refined version of a B80, the last three of a B81, both used in military and commercial vehicles. The IV is the only Rolls-Royce motorcar to be fitted with a straight-8 engine, which was powerful but could also run long distances at a very low speed, an important feature for ceremonial and parade cars. All examples of this exclusive series were bodied by independent coachbuilders , and most of their bonnets surmounted by
10355-435: Was bought in 1956. Sentinel made machine tools and industrial locomotives. Rolls-Royce took over Sentinel's Shrewsbury factory for diesel engine production and all its diesel work was transferred there. West Riding manufacturer of diesel shunting locomotives, Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Limited , was added to the group in 1963. In 1973, when Shrewsbury activities were put under the umbrella of new owner, Rolls-Royce Motors,
10464-452: Was built under the code-name Nabha and when completed was dispatched to Mulliner on 20 July 1949 for erection of the body. Mulliner had previously submitted their design for review and approval by the Duke of Edinburgh, and the coachbuilder’s proposal drawing was accepted. Prince Philip visited the workshops more than once while it was being built. The body took almost a year to build and the car
10573-505: Was described by author Alan Garner in his novel Red Shift as "the ultimate reality". Crewe was mentioned in 1984 as the setting of the 19th episode The Flying Kipper , in the first series of Thomas & Friends . Crewe is within the United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich . Crewe is within the ceremonial county of Cheshire . Since April 2009 Crewe has been administered by
10682-461: Was discontinued, by that time appropriate bodies for state use had been built on Silver Wraiths , which worked well for the factory, making dedicated Phantom IV production no longer necessary. In 1952 the cost of the Phantom IV chassis was $ 10,000 (£3,500) and with a limousine body, $ 20,000 (£7,000), a huge price premium but perhaps still not enough to allow a profit on the small number built (eighteen made, seventeen sold). However, its role of expanding
10791-512: Was done. The plan was abandoned and maintenance work was carried out on the current station instead. Cheshire East Council developed a new regeneration master plan for Crewe, which included the opening of a new Lifestyle Centre, with a new swimming pool, gym and library. After a £3 million refurbishment, the Crewe Market Hall re-opened its doors on 19 May 2021, the start of many new developments in Crewe. Crewe had been planned as
10900-578: Was finally delivered to The Car Mart on 6 July 1950, after some 230 miles of testing by Rolls-Royce at the Motor Industry Research Association facilities and on the road. Its delivery was accompanied by a public announcement stating the Phantom IV had been "designed to the special order of Their Royal Highnesses, the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh". As the car was privately owned when delivered to
11009-414: Was fitted with a large Park Ward seven-seater limousine body and was called Silver Wraith 80, then Silver Phantom, though it soon became known as Big Bertha. This was the genesis of the Phantom IV. Likewise, in 1939 and before the starting of hostilities , another straight-eight powered experimental automobile tested during and after World War II was a special Bentley Mark V , chassis 11-B-V, fitted with
11118-470: Was in the town. Off-licence chain Bargain Booze is also Crewe-based. It was bought-out in 2018 by Sir Anwar Pervez ' conglomerate Bestway for £7m, putting drinks retailing alongside its Manchester-based Well Pharmacy . Several business parks around the town host light industry and offices. Crewe Business Park is a 67-acre site with offices, research and IT manufacturing. Major corporations with
11227-510: Was in the township of Crewe, but the land north-west of the station was in the neighbouring township of Monks Coppenhall, which formed part of the parish of Coppenhall . The company built its main locomotive works to the north of Crewe railway station, and a " railway colony " soon started developing in the area north-west of the station. In 1840 Joseph Locke , chief engineer of the Grand Junction Railway, produced plans for
11336-555: Was incorporated that May to purchase substantially the whole of the undertakings and assets of the four divisions of Rolls-Royce connected with gas turbine engines. The original company, Rolls-Royce Limited, was placed in liquidation on 4 October 1971. Asking their own government for support Lockheed warned that a switch to either Pratt & Whitney or General Electric engines would delay production by an extra six months and might force Lockheed into bankruptcy. The receiver negotiated with Lockheed which consented to waive damages allowing
11445-673: Was introduced to Charles Rolls at the Midland Hotel, Manchester on 4 May of that year. Rolls was proprietor of an early motor car dealership, C.S. Rolls & Co. in Fulham . In spite of his preference for three- or four-cylinder cars, Rolls was impressed with the Royce 10, and in a subsequent agreement on 23 December 1904 agreed to take all the cars Royce could make. There would be four models: All would be badged as Rolls-Royces and be sold exclusively by Rolls. The first Rolls-Royce car,
11554-658: Was moved there in 1946 for space to construct bodies and to leave space for aero engines at Derby. The site was bought from the government in 1973. It is now Bentley Crewe . In 1940, a contract was signed with the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan, for the production of Merlin aero-engines for World War II in the USA. Production focused on aero engines but a variant of the Merlin engine, known as
11663-658: Was the Merlin aero engine, which was first flown in prototype form in 1935, although he had died in 1933. This was developed from the R engine, which had powered a record-breaking Supermarine S.6B seaplane to almost 400 mph (640 km/h) in the 1931 Schneider Trophy . The Merlin was a powerful supercharged V12 engine and was fitted into many World War II aircraft: the British Hawker Hurricane , Supermarine Spitfire , de Havilland Mosquito (twin-engine), Avro Lancaster (four-engine) (a development of
11772-502: Was used at the wedding of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine Middleton in 2011 to carry Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall , from Clarence House to Westminster Abbey . In 2018, it brought Meghan Markle to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , for her wedding to Prince Harry . In 2022, it transported the new king, Charles III , and Queen Camilla from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall and RAF Northolt . On 18 October 1948, Crewe received an order from
11881-665: Was used in Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy , Avro 748 , Fokker F27 Friendship , Handley Page Herald and Vickers Viscount aircraft, whilst the more powerful Tyne powered the Breguet Atlantique , Transall C-160 , Short Belfast , and Vickers Vanguard , and the SR.N4 hovercraft . Many of these turboprops are still in service. Amongst the jet engines of this period was the RB163 Spey , which powers
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