Bridgin The Gap - Crewe

History

The Valley Brook is the largest stream running through Crewe, forming part of a network of around 80 km of watercourses. The brook begins near Talke and flows south through Crewe before eventually joining the River Weaver near Nantwich. As the brook passes through Queens Park it once flowed directly through the park’s ornamental lake. The lake was created in 1883, when a dam was built on the brook, flooding around two hectares of land. However, the stream carried large amounts of silt which gradually began to fill the lake. To solve the problem, the Crewe Corporation constructed an underground culvert in 1913, borrowing £2,980 to divert the brook beneath the lake instead of through it. The culvert is unusual because it was built as two separate tunnels that meet in the middle, with a bridge covering the joint. Diverting the river stopped the silt problem but caused another issue, the lake began losing water through evaporation and leaks. To refill it, engineers installed a worm screw pump (similar to an Archimedes screw) that lifts water from the culverted brook back into the lake when needed. The mechanism was built locally at the Crewe Works. More than 100 years later, both the culvert and the wormscrew system are still in use, quietly carrying the Valley Brook beneath the park while helping maintain one of Crewe’s most recognisable landmarks.