[8][11][12] Born in nearby Nantwich, reputedly the son of a tanner, Sir Randolph (or Ranulph) had risen through the legal profession to become a judge, member of parliament and the parliamentary Speaker.

[17] In December 1643, royalist forces under the command of Lord Byron occupied the area as they surrounded Nantwich, a major parliamentarian stronghold early in the First Civil War which lay some 5 miles (8 km) to the south west.

[21][22] A prominent Whig politician, he was a lifelong friend and supporter of Charles James Fox;[24] his wife Frances Crewe (née Greville; 1748–1818) was a famous beauty and political hostess who gave lavish entertainments at the hall.

[12][28] The art collection included several family portraits and other works by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which were saved from the fire that gutted the building early in January 1866.

[40][43][47] Wellcome produced liquids, tablets, creams and antibiotic aerosols at the site; the hall itself was used for administration, but the stables block was rebuilt internally for use as laboratories and the industrial facilities were expanded.

[55] As depicted in a painting of around 1710, the original building was square with sides of around 100 feet (30 m), and featured gabled projecting bays and groups of octagonal chimney stacks.

The principal interiors of the old building were redecorated in neo-Classical style at this time, although the original layout with great hall, long gallery and drawing room was retained.

"[59] The second Lord Palmerston, visiting in the same year, wrote:[60] But now by taste and judgment plann'd, Throughout these scenes we find The work of Art's improving hand, With ancient splendour join'd.

He ... should not seek, by a clever imitation of bygone tricks of construction or design, to deceive the spectator as to the age of his own work, and so pass off the latter as something which it is not.Nikolaus Pevsner describes Barry's reconstruction as "an extremely sumptuous job.

"[5] Peter de Figueiredo and Julian Treuherz consider it his finest work, attributing his success to being "directed by the powerful character of the existing building.

He also reorganised the plan of the building, opening up Blore's central hall to create a two-storey atrium, as well as providing more ground-floor service rooms and generating twenty extra servants' bedrooms in an attic by modifying the roof.

The company installed central heating in around 1948, and later constructed an office extension on the north side of the house, which was demolished a few years after the building's conversion into an hotel.

A major stonework fall from the north gable during high winds in 1974 led Wellcome to carry out an extensive restoration programme to both the interior and the exterior, which was completed in 1979 at a cost of £500,000 (£3.2 million today).

[1][14] In the centre of the northern (garden) face is a large bow window, originally Jacobean, which illuminates the chapel; it has stone panels decorated with cartouches below arched stained glass lights.

[1] The western wing is dominated by a square tower of stone-dressed brick which rises two storeys above the roof and is capped by an ogee spirelet surrounded by four corner chimneys.

[1][4][14] To the east of the central hall is an accurate reconstruction by Barry of the original staircase, which Nikolaus Pevsner described as "one of the most ingeniously planned and ornately executed in the whole of Jacobean England.

The alabaster chimneypiece depicts the winged figure of Time rewarding Industry and punishing Sloth, symbolised by two boys, which is surmounted by a carved portrait of Sir Randolph Crewe.

The marble apse has alabaster carved heads of the prophets and evangelists by J. Birnie Philip, and the wall panelling features bronze medallions depicting biblical characters by the same artist.

[69] Its centrepiece, added by Edward Blore in around 1837, consists of an arched stone entrance flanked by pilasters, above which a clock tower rises from the first-floor level.

[69][70] The tower features twinned arrow-slit windows and clock faces with stone surrounds, and is topped by a bell chamber and ogee cupola with finials.

[69] The north and south sides of the quadrangle have large arched carriage openings beneath shaped gables; the keystones are carved with horse's heads.

It features two shaped gables, each decorated with a panel carved with Crewe Estate emblems, and a hexagonal central bay with a pyramidal roof which forms a porch.

[75][76] An early engraving shows a walled forecourt to the south of the original hall, with a large stone gateway carved with Sir Randolph Crewe's arms and motto.

[4][27][59][75] Repton's design included an ornamental lake of 23 hectares (57 acres) immediately north of the house, created by damming Engelsea Brook, which still runs through the park.

[4][82] Balustraded terraces were also constructed on the north and south sides of the hall, probably designed by E. M. Barry, and incorporating statues of lions, griffins and other heraldic beasts, echoing the interior staircase.

[1][4] Military usage during the Second World War, however, destroyed parts of the gardens; army buildings were erected near the house, and the area in front of the hall served as a parade ground and later was ploughed up to grow potatoes.

[56][85] The wall, of brick with stone dressings, features arcading and has piers surmounted with ogee caps carved to match the tiles of the main hall tower.

[88] The estate of 1804 included land or property in Barthomley, Burwardsley, Crewe, Crowton, Elton, Hale, Northrode, Rushton, Sandbach, Spurstow, Tattenhall, Warmingham and Weston in Cheshire, as well as Madeley in Staffordshire and Muxton in Shropshire.

[94][95] As of 2009, the Duchy of Lancaster is developing outbuildings at Crewe Hall Farm, including the two listed buildings, into leasehold offices totalling 27,850 square feet (2,590 m2).

[5] As of 2025, Crewe Hall is a hotel in the QHotels group, set in 8 acres (3.2 ha) of parkland, with a restaurant, brasserie, conference facilities, tennis courts and health club, including a gym, spa and swimming pool.