49-525: Leftwich is a historic village, ward and southern suburb of Northwich in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire , England. The name, given as merely 'Wice' in the Domesday Book of 1086, is written 'Leftetewych' in a document of 1278 and derives from 'Leoftæt's wic' (Leoftæt being a woman's name). Leftwich was historically a manor and township in the parish of Davenham , comprising most of
98-466: A borough from around 1288, though there is no surviving borough charter. Northwich originally constituted an area of only 13 acres (53,000 m ) at the confluence of the Rivers Weaver and Dane. The much larger township of Witton cum Twambrooks lay to the east, Leftwich to the south, Castle Northwich to the south-west, and Winnington to the north-west. The manor of Northwich was granted to
147-417: A much wider economic base to medieval Northwich than just the salt trade. Documentary evidence also exists for a mill from 1332 onwards and there is evidence for more than one mill from 1343. Allied to the extraction of salt was a bulk chemical industry, which became concentrated at the three ICI sites at Winnington, Wallerscote and Lostock. The first industrially practical method for producing polythene
196-418: A network of cranes and rails to the produce limebeds . This was a dangerous alkaline substance and caused the landscape to be abandoned as unusable. In 1975 Marbury Country Park was the first area to be reclaimed from dereliction and has become a popular recreational area. In 1987 more land was reclaimed to form Furey Wood and over later years, Cheshire County Council 's Land Regeneration Unit reclaimed what
245-450: A place for making salt became a wych-house; Northwich was the most northern of the -wich towns in Cheshire. The existence of Northwich in the early medieval period is shown by its record in the Domesday Book of 1086: In the same Mildestuic hundred there was a third wich called Norwich [Northwich] and it was at farm for £8. There were the same laws and customs there as there were in
294-439: A pool, dance studios and a gym. The £80 million Barons Quay Development, a retail and leisure complex, opened in 2016 and has seen the creation of more than 300,000 square feet (28,000 m ) of shopping space, together with a large supermarket with a petrol filling station, cinema, restaurants, cafés, new public spaces, and car parking. As of January 2023 roughly half of the retail space remains empty. A major fire occurred at
343-469: A preservative and a condiment. Salt has been used in the production of Cheshire cheese and in the tanning industry, both industries being products of the dairy industry based on the Cheshire Plain around Nantwich. In the Domesday Book , Nantwich is recorded as having eight salt houses. The salt industry peaked in the late 16th century when there were 216 salt houses, but the industry ended in 1856 with
392-572: A set rent. The Cheshire archers were a body of élite soldiers noted for their skills with the longbow, who fought in many engagements in Britain and France in the Middle Ages. Battles at which there were sizeable numbers of Cheshire archers include Agincourt and Crécy ; many of these archers hailed from the Northwich Hundred. Richard II employed a bodyguard of these yeoman archers who came from
441-412: A solvent was used. Hot water was pumped through the mines that dissolved the salt and the resultant brine was pumped out and the salt extracted from the brine. This technique was known as wild brine pumping or natural brine pumping but weakened mines and led to land subsidence as mines collapsed. The collapse of a number of mines led to salt mining to move to Winsford . There are two chief museums of
490-539: Is between 15 and 35 metres (49 and 115 ft) above mean sea level. Northwich is surrounded by the following civil parishes , starting due north and proceeding in a clockwise direction: Anderton with Marbury , Marston , Wincham , Lostock Gralam , Rudheath , Davenham , Hartford , Weaverham , Barnton . Two rivers meet in the town centre, the Weaver and the Dane . The town is surrounded by undulating pasture . Subsidence and
539-518: Is celebrated in its museum , which is today in the old workhouse . In 1874, John Brunner and Ludwig Mond founded Brunner Mond in Winnington and started manufacturing soda ash using the Solvay ammonia-soda process. This process used salt as a main raw material. The chemical industry used the subsided land for the disposal of waste from the manufacture of soda-ash . The waste was transported through
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#1733085454454588-556: Is no surviving charter. The town still has a market today, which is earmarked for refurbishment as part of the Northwich Vision plans. The town's economy was dominated by the salt industry. However, a list of tolls for goods crossing over Northwich bridge in 1353 shows goods coming into the town, including a wide range of carcasses, fleeces, hides and skins, cloth, fish, alcoholic drinks, dairy products, building materials, household goods, metals and glass, and millstones. This indicates
637-497: Is now concentrated in Middlewich, in the manufacturer, British Salt , who sell under the name Saxa , and also through third parties e.g. supermarket own brands. Salt produced by British Salt in Middlewich has 57% of the UK market for salt used in cooking. The UK's largest rock salt ( halite ) mine is at Winsford . It is one of only three places where rock salt is commercially mined in
686-742: Is now known as Anderton Nature Park, Witton Flash, Dairy House Meadows, Witton Mill Meadows, and Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes. The area now extends to approximately 800 acres (323 ha) of public space known as Northwich Community Woodlands . In February 2004 a £28 million programme to stabilise the abandoned salt mines underneath Northwich was begun. The work was funded by the English Partnerships through its Land Stabilisation Programme, introduced to resolve issues associated with unstable mines around England. The four mines identified for work were Baron's Quay, Witton Bank, Neumann's and Penny's Lane. These mines were chosen because their subsidence
735-575: Is the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography . This document refers to Condate between the entries for Salinae (now Middlewich , Cheshire) and Ratae (now Leicester , Leicestershire ), at the time the capital of the Corieltauvi tribe . The Romans' interest in the Northwich area is thought to be due to the strategic river crossing and the location of the salt brines . Salt was very important in Roman society;
784-530: The English Civil War , Northwich was fortified and garrisoned by Sir William Brereton for the Parliamentarians . The salt beds beneath Northwich were re-discovered in the 1670s by employees of the local Smith-Barry family. The Smith-Barrys were looking for coal, but instead discovered rock salt , in the grounds of the family home, Marbury Hall (since demolished) to the north of Northwich. During
833-514: The Macclesfield Hundred and the forest districts of Cheshire. That salt production continued throughout the centuries and can be seen through John Leland 's description of the town in 1540: Northwich is a pratie market town but fowle, and by the Salters houses be great stakes of smaul cloven wood, to seethe the salt water that thei make white salt of. Between 1642 and 1643, during
882-463: The 13th century there were approximately 100 "wich houses" packed around the town's two brine pits. By 1908 there were nine industrial scale salt manufacturers in the town, with a number of open pan salt works close to the Trent and Mersey Canal . The origins of the settlement at Nantwich date to Roman times when salt from Nantwich was used by the Roman garrisons at Chester and Stoke-on-Trent as both
931-407: The 19th century it became uneconomical to mine for the salt. Instead hot water was pumped through the mines, which dissolved the salt. The resultant brine was pumped out and the salt extracted from the brine. This technique weakened the mines and led to land subsidence as they collapsed. Subsidence affected the town and the surrounding landscape. For example, collapses in 1880 formed Witton Flash as
980-540: The 2001 Census, Northwich had 13,928 people aged between 16 and 74. Of these, 8,908 (64.0%) people were categorised as economically active; 4,268 (30.6%) were economically inactive; 455 (3.3%) were unemployed. The town hosts a number of large annual events including a music festival, a river festival and a Pina Colada festival. Salt in Cheshire Cheshire is a county in North West England . Rock salt
1029-455: The Cheshire West and Chester (Northwich and Winsford Locality) which has an estimated 2021 population of 107,000. Northwich and its urban area make up 63,000, Winsford makes up around 34,100 and the remaining 10,000 are the surrounding rural areas of the locality Northwich has been described as having a market since at least 1535, when it was described as a market town by Leland, but there
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#17330854544541078-641: The Northwich Outdoor Market on 3 January 2020. The Market's remains were quickly demolished and so far there are no plans to rebuild it. At the time of the Domesday survey (1086) Northwich was in the hundred of Middlewich, but by the 14th century it had become part of the Northwich hundred . This probably happened during the reorganisation of the Hundreds in the 12th century. Northwich has been described as
1127-459: The River Weaver flowed into a huge hole caused by subsidence. Subsidence also allegedly accounts for many old timber-framed houses in the town centre, which were better able to withstand the movement of the ground. Some houses were built on a base of steel girders that could be jacked up to level the house with each change in the underlying ground. The town's historical link with the salt industry
1176-545: The Roman word salarium , linked employment, salt and soldiers, but the exact link is unclear. It is also theorised that this is the basis for the modern word salary . Another theory is that the word soldier itself comes from the Latin sal dare (to give salt). See History of salt for further details . There is archaeological evidence of a Roman auxiliary fort within the area of Northwich now known as "Castle" dated to AD 70. This and other northwestern forts were built as
1225-506: The Romans built a fort at Harbutts Field (SJ70216696), to the north of the town and recent excavations to the south of the fort have found evidence of further Roman activity including a well and part of a preserved Roman road . Salt manufacture has remained one of the principal employers in Middlewich for most of the past 2,000 years. Salt making is mentioned in the Domesday Book , and by
1274-508: The Romans moved north from their stronghold in Chester. The association with salt continues in the etymology of Northwich. The "wich" (or wych) suffix applies to other towns in the area: Middlewich, Nantwich and Leftwich . This is considered to have been derived from the Norse , wic , for bay, and is associated with the more traditional method of obtaining salt by evaporating sea water. Therefore,
1323-517: The Stanley family, later Earls of Derby in 1484, and stayed in the family's hands until the late 18th century. A local board was founded on 26 June 1863 after the Local Government Act 1858 and it purchased the manor from Arthur Heywood Esq. in 1871. In 1875, the local boards for Northwich and Witton cum Twambrooks were amalgamated, and the resultant district was further extended in 1880 to include
1372-537: The Urban District Council of Northwich with a new district (later borough) council: Vale Royal . Vale Royal covered areas previously covered by Northwich UDC (Urban District Council), Northwich RDC (Rural District Council), Winsford UDC and parts of Runcorn RDC. Northwich Town Council now has the powers of a parish council and is now made up of five main districts of Leftwich, Northwich, Castle, Winnington and Witton. In 2018 Northwich Town Council won 'Council of
1421-580: The Year' at the NALC Star Council Awards. The current Town Clerk of Northwich Town Council is Chris Shaw. Vale Royal Borough Council was abolished on 1 April 2009, and Northwich now falls within the new unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester . Between 1885 and 1983 Northwich gave its name to a parliamentary constituency . Northwich was also split between the Tatton and Eddisbury constituencies until
1470-517: The area between the rivers Weaver and Dane . As well as encompassing the area around Davenham parish church, Leftwich also extended slightly to the north of the River Dane, including the site of the former Northwich Memorial Hall . In 1866 Leftwich became a separate civil parish . In 1894 the northern half of Leftwich, which since 1880 had formed part of the Northwich Local Board district,
1519-433: The average household size 2.62, an increase on 2001. The adjacent civil parishes of Anderton with Marbury , Barnton , Davenham , Hartford , Kingsmead , Lostock Gralam , Rudheath , Weaverham and Wincham are in part built up, giving a total population of 53,391 in 2011 considered to use the facilities of Northwich town centre. The population of Northwich is estimated at around 63,000 in 2021, The town forms part of
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1568-442: The ceremonial county of Cheshire , England . It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain , at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane . The town is about 18 miles (29 km) east of Chester , 15 miles (24 km) south of Warrington , and 19 miles (31 km) south of Manchester . The population of the civil parish was 20,924 in 2021 and the wider built-up area (which also covers parts of several other civil parishes)
1617-521: The closure of the last salt house. Similarly the last tannery closed in 1974, but the clothing industry remains important to the area. From the 1830s, salt became important to Winsford , partly because the salt mines under Northwich had begun to collapse and another source of salt near the River Weaver was needed. A new source was discovered in Winsford, leading to the development of a salt industry along
1666-501: The collapse of underground saltworks has created flashes and there are also local meres – for example, to the north is Budworth Mere and to the north-east is Pick Mere . The population of Northwich in 1664 has been estimated as 560. The population of Northwich over the last 200 years has been: The 2011 Census shows the population of Northwich civil parish to be 19,924. This was composed of 9,878 (49.6%) males and 10,046 (50.4%) females. There were 8,808 households. This makes
1715-406: The course of the River Weaver , where many factories were established. By 1897, Winsford had become the largest producer of salt in Britain. As a result, a new town developed within a mile of the old Borough of Over which had been focused on Delamere Street. Most of the early development took place on the other side of the river, with new housing, shops, pubs, chapels and a new church being built in
1764-659: The formation of Weaver Vale for the 1997 general election. The seat is currently held by Mike Amesbury (Labour). The town coat of arms features the Latin motto "Sal est Vita" meaning "Salt is Life" , which can be seen on the town's crest of arms. The town is twinned with Dole in France. Northwich is situated in the Cheshire Plain at coordinates h 53°15′20″N 2°31′20″W / 53.25556°N 2.52222°W / 53.25556; -2.52222 (53.255, −2.522). The town
1813-423: The former hamlet of Wharton . As the wind usually blew the smoke away from Over, it became the place for the wealthier inhabitants to live. However, people who worked on the barges and other people working in Winsford started to develop along the old Over Lane (now High Street). The old borough tried to remain separate but had been connected by the 1860s. The manufacture of white salt for food and allied industries
1862-545: The grounds of their house, Marbury Hall , Marbury , north of Northwich with salt extraction starting shortly afterwards. Salt was also extracted in the area immediately north east of Northwich, including the villages of Marston (including the Lion Salt Works ) and Wincham (including the New Cheshire Salt Works ). In the 19th century it became uneconomical to mine salt, and so solvent extraction using water as
1911-528: The industry in the Northwich area, the most recent addition being the Lion Salt Works museum. The Salt Museum of Thomas Ward and John Brunner was founded in the 19th century and is now housed in the Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse . Following the Roman invasion, Middlewich was named Salinae on account of the salt deposits around it, as it was one of their major sites of salt production. During this time
1960-467: The other wiches and the king and the earl similarly divided the renders. ... All the other customs in these wiches are the same. This was waste when (Earl) Hugh received it; it is now worth 35s. The manor of Northwich belonged to the Earls of Chester until 1237 when the family line died out. Subsequently, Northwich became a royal manor and was given to a noble family to collect tolls in exchange for
2009-639: The same name , mostly in France ; in Northwich's case, it lies at the junction of the rivers Dane and Weaver . Northwich can be identified through two contemporary Roman documents. The first of these is the Antonine Itinerary , a 3rd-century road map split into 14 sections. Two of these sections, or Itinerary, mention Condate: Route II ("the route from the Wall to the port of Rutupiae ") and Route X ("the route from Glannoventa to Mediolanum "). The second document
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2058-440: The strategic river crossing of the Weaver and the presence of the brine springs. The Romans used lead salt pans to extract the salt from the brine. Salt pans and first-century brine kilns have both been found around the Roman fort. The salt beds beneath Northwich were re-discovered in the 1670 by employees of the local Smith-Barry family. The family were actually looking for coal when they accidentally discovered rock salt in
2107-474: The whole of Castle Northwich and parts of Hartford , Winnington and Leftwich. On 10 September 1894 these areas were united as the civil parish of Northwich, served by Northwich Urban District Council. The town was further enlarged in 1936 by the addition of parts of Winnington, Lostock Gralam , Barnton , Leftwich and Rudheath , and again in 1955 when parts of Davenham , Hartford, Rudheath and Whatcroft were added. The Local Government Act 1972 replaced
2156-473: Was 50,531. The area around Northwich has been exploited for its salt pans since Roman times , when the settlement was known as Condate . The town had been severely affected by salt mining, and subsidence has historically been a significant problem. Mine stabilisation work was completed in 2007. During Roman times , Northwich was known as Condate, thought to be a Latinisation of a Brittonic name meaning "Confluence". There are several other sites of
2205-656: Was accidentally discovered at the Winnington Laboratory in 1933. Bakers Frank Roberts & Sons have been associated with the town since 1887 and continues to be based near the town at Rudheath on the A556 . Two of Frank Roberts & Sons's three main business divisions, Roberts Bakery and The Little Treats Co, are based in Northwich and Aldred's The Bakers, is in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. There are many contemporary major employers in nearby Rudheath and Hartford . Based on
2254-416: Was added to the civil parish and urban district of Northwich. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Davenham, Hartford and Northwich; however, most of the same area was subsequently annexed to Northwich in 1955, following the post-war construction of a large housing estate at Leftwich Green by Northwich Urban District Council. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1021. From 1974 to 2009 it
2303-416: Was causing problems for the town centre. The stabilisation plan involved removing millions of litres of brine from the four mines and replacing it with a mixture of pulverised fuel ash (PFA), cement and salt. The project was completed in late 2007. The old Magistrates Court and Memorial Hall have been demolished and been replaced by Memorial Court, a £12.5 million cultural and leisure centre, which offers
2352-495: Was in Vale Royal district. The village has two schools: Leftwich Community Primary School and The County High School, Leftwich . Leftwich is to the east of Kingsmead and to the north of Davenham . This Cheshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Northwich Northwich is a market and port town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester in
2401-540: Was laid down in this region some 220 million years ago, during the Triassic period. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt marshes across what is today the Cheshire Basin . As the marshes evaporated, deep deposits of rock salt were formed. A settlement, Condate , was built during Roman times at the current location of Northwich . It is believed that the Romans built this settlement due to
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