Crowley's Crew

Click here to listen to a recording of the song by Roly Veitch 

Now Ambrose Crowley came up north

To make his iron works the best

At Sunderland it didn’t work

Winlaton's where he found his quest

Sir William Bowes provided funds

Or so they say he he likely did

In sixteen ninety then he came

To make his fame and fortune bid

Chorus - - -

Crowley's Crew, Crowley’s Crew

We're all blacksmiths through and through

Crowley's Crew, Crowley’s Crew 

We're all blacksmiths good and true

He brought from Belgium blacksmiths fine

To show the local lads their ways

Their locks and chains, their tools and nails

Were best in Europe, highest praise

And so 'The Factory' was born

Fifteen hundred men at work

Arranged in groups or squares they're called

Good wages paid so never shirk

He built a school, and then a church

A doctor came and just to add

For those now hurt, or ill or old

The pension paid was none too bad

Now Crowley's Crew the men were called

They fought for rights and common good

Beware if you should disagree

The men were tough, a brotherhood 

For countless years the work went on

Renowned and famed throughout the land

But all good things must end they say

And so the smithy's final hand

In nineteen sixty six it came

The hammer struck the final blow

The final link, the final chain

No longer does the fire glow