crewe green, then known as crewe, was originally a township within the ancient parish of barthomley. in the 12th and 13th centuries, it was the seat of the de crewe (or de criwa) family. the manor passed to the de praers family of barthomley by the marriage of johanna de crewe to richard de praers in 1319. later in the 14th century it passed to the fouleshurst (or foulehurst) family, who held the manor jointly with barthomley until around 1575. sir randolph crewe purchased the manor in 1608, and it was held by various branches of the crewe family until 1936, when most of the land was sold to the duchy of lancaster. the present crewe hall was built for sir randolph and dates from 1615–36.