Gifts from the Holy Land, Crewe

Nowadays, the Crewe factory is known as a kind of ‘Holy Land’ for Bentley.
A book clearly tracing R-R/Bentley's postwar path to this legendary factory has been reprinted.

text:Hiromi TAKEDA
The R-R Crewe factory was built in rural Cheshire during World War II as a munitions factory for aircraft engines and other military equipment. After the war, the R-R/Bentley passenger automobile production base was relocated here from the pre-war Derby factory, and has produced many masterpieces since. Today, the factory has become a new Mecca for Bentley, and is producing the latest models for the world one after another, much to the delight of us ardent Bentley fans.
Rolls Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years traces, in 480 exquisite pages, the history of Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles as they came off the line at the Crewe factory. The book not only covers the technical specs, but also the high aesthetics that cannot be ignored in any discussion of R-R/Bentley. The history and evolution of the luxurious special coachwork bodies, and the traditionalist coachbuilders who crafted them, are all presented here, in elaborate detail, for the reader’s enjoyment.
Originally published by G.T. Foulis & Co. in 1995 and later revised by the current publisher, Haynes, in 1999, this is known as a lavish volume that has generated tremendous interest around the world. The third edition, published in 2011, has finally made its way to Japan, and it has now been revised to include more information on the history of the postwar Crewe factory, further cementing its reputation as a definitive resource on the subject.
The author, Martin Bennett, has been keenly – even obsessively – involved in the development of this book for more than 20 years, since before the first edition was published, in fact. It would be an understatement to describe the sheer amount and expansive scope of information that has resulted as ‘impressive’. As but one sign of Bennett’s unabashed yet endearing ‘geekiness’, he has dedicated chapters to the radiator mascots and instrument panel switchboards, those attractive features which have distinguished each successive Bentley since operations began at Crewe. It almost goes without saying that not everyone is qualified to write about Bentley. This task has always been and should always be the provenance of those who are truly enthusiastic about the marque and its legacy. The 20 years that have gone into this book stand as a remarkable testament to this principle.

Rolls Royce & Bentley: The Crewe Years
Author: Martin Benett
Publisher: HAYNES
480 pages / English

This is a revised version of an article that appeared in Flying B No 006 (2012). The information provided here was accurate at the time of publication.