74-463: The UFO Files: The Inside Story of Real-Life Sightings , published by The National Archives in 2009, is an official history of British UFO reports. The author, David Clarke , is a senior lecturer in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University . The book forms part of an international programme of declassification of UFO documents . Clarke has worked at The National Archives as a consultant on this subject since 2008. This article about
148-497: A British intelligence agent had, on the orders of Winston Churchill , murdered Heinrich Himmler , the head of the Nazi SS , in 1945. The three documents had come to prominence after being revealed by author Martin Allen in his book Himmler's Secret War . Winsford 53°11′38″N 2°31′12″W / 53.194°N 2.520°W / 53.194; -2.520 Winsford is
222-508: A War Office warehouse in London, along with a multitude of other record sets, but incendiary bombs dropped on the warehouse in the Second World War started a fire in which most were destroyed. The surviving quartile were largely water or fire-damaged and thus acquired the colloquial name of the "Burnt Documents." As they were mostly too fragile for public access, they were put on microfilm with
296-668: A day's leisure boating, picknicking, and sightseeing. However, the Winsford Flashes were never developed as a public amenity, and their popularity soon fell into decline. Today, they are primarily enjoyed by the local community, and are used for sailing (Winsford Flash Sailing Club is based on the 90 acre (35 hectare) Bottom Flash ), fishing, and walking. They support a wide range of wildlife, with several species of migrant wildfowl, such as Canada geese , using them as an over-winter destination. St John's Church on Delamere Street dates from 1863 when Lord Delamere of Vale Royal commissioned
370-513: A fee of £3.50 per file, or through co-branded services called licensed Internet associates (LIA) as pay per view or part of their subscription service. On 22 April 2020, it was announced that a monthly quota of free downloads from Discovery would be made available to registered users, instead of £3.50 per downloaded file. As at August 2023 there are three licensing partners with Licensing Internet Associate agreements still in place: Ancestry.com , Findmypast and TheGenealogist . A reader's ticket
444-588: A hunting lodge or summer palace at Darnhall in Over parish. There was an enclosed area where deer and wild boar were kept to be hunted by the Earl and his guests. King Henry III annexed the title and its lands and spent time at Darnhall. In 1270 at the behest of his son, Henry III gave the estate to the Cistercians, who built Darnhall Abbey in 1274. However the land was not suitable for the grand scale of building envisaged, and
518-473: A main transmission station on Winsford Industrial Estate, which provides power to approximately 25,000 homes across the Winsford and Middlewich area. An aqueduct maintained by United Utilities runs from Lake Vyrnwy near Oswestry to the outskirts of Winsford, where a large pumping station on Woodford Lane West provides water to Winsford, Middlewich and southern Northwich. St Chad's Church , off Swanlow Lane,
592-400: A new church being built in the former hamlet of Wharton. Many of the buildings built in the 19th century were built using timber frame construction because of the risk of salt subsidence. Winsford Urban District Council came into being in 1894, administering the areas of Over and Wharton. By the Second World War , employment in the salt trade had declined as one company took control of all
666-513: A new platform with a simpler interface to ensure its availability. The National Register of Archives (NRA) is the central point for the collection and circulation of information about the content and nature of archival manuscripts relating to British history. It contains published and unpublished lists and catalogues describing archival collections in the UK and overseas: currently over 44,000 such catalogues are included. The register can be consulted in
740-508: A non-fiction book on UFOs is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This paranormal -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . The National Archives (United Kingdom) The National Archives ( TNA ; Welsh : Yr Archifau Cenedlaethol ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom . Its parent department is
814-516: A regional distribution centred on the northwest counties of Cheshire and Lancashire . The Winsford Flashes (Top Flash, Middle Flash, and Bottom Flash, the largest) are three lakes along the course of the River Weaver , extending over some 200 acres (80 hectares). They formed in the 19th century (cartographical evidence dates their formation to between 1845 and 1872), due to the subsidence of surface ground into underground voids. The voids were largely
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#1733085476696888-515: A sum of money from the past (from 1270) would be worth today and the spending power it would have commanded at the time. In September 2011, TNA's museum began using QRpedia codes, which can be scanned by smartphone users in order to retrieve information about exhibits from Misplaced Pages . TNA regularly posts blogs to its website. Posts cover a wide range of topics, from specific events and time periods to features on holdings in TNA, as well as information on
962-563: A town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire , England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich . It grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the 18th century, allowing freight to be conveyed northwards to the Port of Runcorn on the River Mersey . The town of Winsford has an estimated population of 35,500 in 2024. Winsford
1036-451: Is "at the heart of information policy—setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information. This work helps inform today's decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow's permanent record." It has a number of key roles in information policy: The National Archives (and before it
1110-542: Is a database containing details of archival collections held in many different archive repositories in England and Wales. As of March 2008, there are no more plans to add additional collections to A2A due to lack of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the changing financial priorities of The National Archives, but existing entries can still be updated. The A2A database was transferred to The National Archives with
1184-414: Is a designated Grade II* listed building By St John's Church of England Primary School, on Delamere Street, is a rare (possibly unique) lock-up/monument built in the 19th century. The building is in the form of a stepped pyramid surmounted by a cross. The door to the lock-up is still visible but was blocked up in the 1970s. Many invented tales of buried treasure and secret passages are told about
1258-453: Is a largely unaltered timber framed farm, covered in white stucco probably during the reign of Queen Anne , including the date 1711. Blue Bell Inn by St Chad's Church, now also a children's nursery, is an exact replica of a medieval building that burned down in the 1960s. Winsford railway station , on the Liverpool to Birmingham main line , is one mile (1.5 km) east of the centre of
1332-557: Is based in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London . The building was opened in 1977 as an additional home for the public records, which were held in a building on Chancery Lane . The site was originally a World War I hospital, which was later used by several government departments. It is near to Kew Gardens Underground station . Until its closure in March 2008,
1406-484: Is composed of three sections: the department code of up to four letters, such as WO for the War Office ; a series or class number, for the "subcategory" or collection that the document comes from; and an individual document number. Documents can also be ordered several days in advance of a visit. Once a same-day document order has been placed, The National Archives aims to get it to the reader within 45 minutes (assuming it
1480-459: Is kept at Kew rather than at their second repository, "Deep Store" – a former salt mine in Cheshire: it can take 2–3 days for files to be retrieved from the latter). Special arrangements are in place for readers wishing to retrieve large groups of files as bulk orders placed in advance. As of 2011, some of the most popular documents had been digitised and were available to download from Discovery, for
1554-401: Is no aisle between them. A large handle on the end of each shelf allows them to be moved along tracks in the floor to create an aisle when needed. They are generally stored in acid-free folders or boxes. In the event of a fire The National Archives would be clearly unable to use sprinklers for fear of ruining its holdings, and so when the building is evacuated, argon gas is released into
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#17330854766961628-529: Is not needed to access digitised records. Whilst a visitor is on the premises, they can be accessed for free on a terminal, or via a wi-fi connection, where the paywall on the network has been disabled. Frequently accessed documents such as the Abdication Papers had originally been captured on microfilm , as were the aggregated service records for two million First World War soldiers. (See section further down.) As part of its digitisation programme, microfilm
1702-458: Is restricted to those persons with reader tickets, and there are rules on what can be taken in. Anybody aged 16 or over can access the original documents at the Kew site, after producing two acceptable proofs of identity and being issued a free reader's ticket. The reading rooms have terminals from which documents can be ordered up from secure storage areas by their reference number. The reference number
1776-470: Is served by Cheshire Police and forms part of Northwich Local Policing Unit. A small area in the south of the civil parish falls within the Weaver Valley Area of Special County Value. Winsford's climate is temperate with few extremes. The average temperature is slightly above the average for the United Kingdom, as is the average amount of sunshine. The average annual rainfall is slightly below
1850-502: Is split into three areas: Over on the western side of the River Weaver, Wharton on the eastern side, and Swanlow and Dene. Winsford consisted of three ancient parishes, St Chads, Over and Wharton, but in the 19th century these were combined. The name "Winsford" is of uncertain origin but is thought to derive from Wain's or Wynne's and ford , that is "Mr Wain's crossing point of the River Weaver ". The Norman Earls of Chester had
1924-592: Is the most well-known local historical landmark. One of the most popular local stories is that it was built in Over Square, but the devil was so angry at the people's use of it that he decided to fly off with it. The monks at Vale Royal Abbey were said to have seen him and rung the abbey bells so that it was dropped at its current location. In fact, its location is probably due to it having always belonged, along with its tithes , to St Mary's Convent in Chester . The church
1998-614: The Civil Pages project on behalf of the Cabinet Office, operating as an online directory for the civil service, facilitating working together and providing a means of sharing knowledge securely between government departments. In January 2011 The National Archives, in conjunction with historian Nick Barratt and smartphone applications development studio RevelMob, developed its first Old Money iPhone app, which uses historic price data from documents held at The National Archives to see what
2072-745: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . It is the official national archive of the UK Government and for England and Wales; and "guardian of some of the nation's most iconic documents, dating back more than 1,000 years." There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland ) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland ). TNA
2146-652: The Family Records Centre in Islington was run jointly by The National Archives and the General Register Office . The National Archives has an additional office in Norwich , which is primarily for former OPSI staff. There is also an additional record storage facility (DeepStore ) in the worked-out parts of Winsford Rock Salt Mine , Winsford , Cheshire . The National Archives was created in 2003 by combining
2220-693: The Port of Liverpool . That trade ended in the 1780s when the Trent and Mersey Canal opened and carried the goods through Middlewich , bypassing Winsford. The canalised River Weaver was the inspiration for the Duke of Bridgewater's canals, and later the engineer for the Weaver Navigation , Edwin Leader Williams, designed and built the Manchester Ship Canal . Railways came relatively early to Winsford, with
2294-679: The Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission and is a non-ministerial department reporting to the Minister of State for digital policy. On 31 October 2006, The National Archives merged with the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), which itself also contained His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) which was previously a part of the Cabinet Office . The name remained The National Archives . TNA claims it
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2368-564: The River Weaver to go ahead which allowed sea-going vessels to reach Winsford from the port of Liverpool . At first, this was the closest that barges carrying china clay from Cornwall could get to the Potteries district of north Staffordshire . Locally produced salt was also transported to the Potteries, for use in the manufacture of salt-glazed stoneware. Finished ceramics from the Potteries were brought back to Winsford, for export through
2442-529: The Wellcome Library , TNA has made hospital records available via the Hospital Records Database. The Hospital Records Database has not been updated since 2012, and there are no current updates occurring as of 2018. The Manorial Documents Register includes records relating to manors located in England and Wales. Digitization of the records is on-going as of 2018. The National Archives operates
2516-560: The Ancestry website from 2008 onwards. These are archive series WO 364. For several years beforehand, the future transfer of the records was being talked about. In February 2021 the Ministry of Defence commenced transferring 9.7 million military records for individuals with a discharge date before 31 December 1963 to The National Archives UK, it's largest record transfer in the history of the organization. The first batch of records were added to
2590-632: The Discovery catalogue in April 2022. Since then, these records can be physically consulted in the invigilation room. A minimum of four business days advance notice is currently required when ordering these records, which are currently held offsite. In March 2023, Ancestry announced that it had won a contract to digitize over 3 million British Army service records, which it would release from 2024 through 2029. The documents are stored on mobile shelving – double-sided shelves, which are pushed together so that there
2664-533: The National Archives reading room and the index used to be searchable as an online database on the National Archives web site. The information is collected in a variety of ways. TNA is sent hard-copy catalogues from archive repositories holding records relating to British history. These are kept in the reading room at The National Archives and indexed in the online database. TNA conducts an annual survey of archive repositories and records all new accessions, and
2738-444: The National Archives, but those held in other archive repositories. Instead, since 2014, it has been possible for users of Discovery to add metadata tags to catalogue items. This has become the new means by which members of the user community can contribute via crowdsourcing . The National Archives also hosts several databases on types of records including hospital records; migration records; and manorial records. Working with
2812-606: The PRO. Since 2008, TNA has also hosted the former UK Statute Law Database, now known as legislation.gov.uk , and since 2022 has hosted a case law database for decisions from superior courts of record since 2003, called Find Case Law . The department is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth ; a minister in His Majesty's Government. The National Archives
2886-710: The Public Record Office) has long had a role of oversight and leadership for the entire archives sector and archives profession in the UK, including local government and non-governmental archives. Under the Public Records Act 1958 it is responsible for overseeing the appropriate custody of certain non-governmental public records in England and Wales . Under the 2003 Historical Manuscripts Commission Warrant it has responsibility for investigating and reporting on non-governmental records and archives of all kinds throughout
2960-445: The River Weaver was needed. A new source was discovered in Winsford, leading to the development of a salt industry along the course of the River Weaver, where many factories were established. As a result, a new town developed within 1 mi (2 km) 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
3034-540: The United Kingdom. In October 2011, when the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council was wound up, TNA took over its responsibilities in respect of archives in England, including providing information and advice to ministers on archives policy. The National Archives now sees this part of its role as being "to enhance the 'archival health of the nation'". The National Archives is His Majesty's Government's official archive, "containing 1000 years of history from Domesday Book to
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3108-572: The Winsford Churches Together, which includes: The town has a non-league football team, Winsford United , which plays in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. The Blues (after the colour of their shirts) play at Barton Stadium. Neville Southall once played for the club. In March 2019 Winsford was chosen for the site of the £70m Cheshire FA Centre of Excellence, which will be
3182-538: The accession lists are also available on TNA's website. Information is also obtained from surveys and guides to archival collections, and other publications. The Register includes name indexes to its contents (covering corporate names, personal names, family names, and place names); but not subject or thematic indexes . Where the catalogues are themselves available online the indexes provide direct electronic links; but many still exist in hard copy only (often as unpublished " grey literature "), and it remains necessary for
3256-460: The aid of the Heritage Lottery Fund . This activity commenced in 1996 and concluded in 2003. They were converted to digital image files and were made available on the Ancestry website from 2008 onwards. These are archive series WO 363. Some service record papers were held elsewhere by the Ministry of Pensions, and were unaffected by the warehouse fire. These records were also microfilmed, and duly converted to digital files and were made available on
3330-640: The air-tight repositories. The National Archives also provides services to help users in their research and also find collections beyond those it holds. The National Archives's education web page is a free online resource for teaching and learning history, aimed at teachers and students. Users can select time periods they are interested in, from the medieval era to the present day. Each time period contains sub-topics with various materials that can be used as teaching tools for teachers. Resources for students focus primarily on tips for research and writing using archival materials. Access to Archives (also known as A2A)
3404-428: The archive's operations. The "Archives Media Player" section holds videos and podcasts created and posted by TNA. Videos and audio are not posted as regularly as TNA's blog. Archives Inspire was a strategy document that set out the goals and priorities of the organisation over four years, from 2015 onwards. Our plans 2019–23 Our plans 2023–27 Between 2005 and 2011, over 1500 files had been reported missing from
3478-595: The archives. Notable items reported missing during this period included correspondence from Winston Churchill and documents from the courts of several monarchies. Around 800 of these records have since been recovered, and the archives has reported that they believe most are misplaced rather than permanently lost. In 2017, the archives again received attention when it was reported that around 1000 files had been removed – in part or whole – by government officials and reported as missing when not returned. In response to concerns stated by politicians and historians about management of
3552-462: The area between Winsford and Northwich . A worked-out part of the mine is operated by DeepStore Ltd., a records management company offering a secure storage facility. Confidential government files, hospital patient records, historic archives belonging to The National Archives , and business data are stored in the mine, where the dry and stable atmosphere provides ideal conditions for long-term document storage. Supermarkets Asda and Aldi are in
3626-487: The average for the United Kingdom. On an annual basis there are few days when snow lies on the ground, although there are some days of air frost. The United Kingdom's largest rock salt (halite) mine is in Winsford . It is one of only three places where rock salt is commercially mined in the United Kingdom, the others being at Boulby Mine , North Yorkshire, and Kilroot , near Carrickfergus , Northern Ireland. Rock salt
3700-401: The collection, the archives stressed that the number of missing files is quite small in proportion to the entire holdings of the repository – about 0.01% – and that, as of 2017, its loss rate was only around 100 documents, annually. In June 2005, journalist Ben Fenton of The Daily Telegraph received an email from a colleague asking him to investigate documents held at TNA that alleged that
3774-556: The county town of Chester to Winsford. Currently there are two layers of local government with responsibility for Winsford, Cheshire West and Chester Council , and the town council. There used to be three tiers, however Vale Royal Borough Council and Cheshire County Council were abolished on 31 March 2009. The town falls within the Eddisbury constituency in Parliament, and has been represented by Edward Timpson since 2019. Winsford
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#17330854766963848-468: The cross but none are true. The nearby street name of Saxon Crossway was invented by the Borough Council in the 1960s. The real Saxon cross is preserved at St Chad's Church. The Winsford Flashes are the town's most notable geographical feature. In referring to them as the "Cheshire Broads", a comparison is made with the better-known Norfolk Broads . "Flash" is an English dialect word for "lake", with
3922-499: The late 1960s and 1970s with its designation as an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952 to take excess 'overspill' population from Liverpool. This saw the development of two new industrial areas on both sides of the town, new estates of council and private housing and a new shopping centre with a library, sports centre, civic hall and doctors' surgeries. But the town's population did not grow as much as planned, so
3996-580: The locals were not cooperative, so the monks left Darnhall to found Vale Royal Abbey in Whitegate in 1281. A charter to hold a Wednesday market and an annual fair at Over was granted on 24 November 1280 by Edward I to the Abbot and convent of Vale Royal Abbey. From this charter can be traced the origins of the market that is still held in the town. Winsford began to significantly expand after 1721, when parliament gave permission for locks and other improvements on
4070-534: The nearest motorway link, with the A54 connecting the town to it. The nearest airports are Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport . The town has a bus network with buses to Crewe and Northwich. Fourteen schools in Winsford work together as part of the Winsford Education Partnership where they share resources and co-ordinate planning. All the following churches in Winsford are members of
4144-548: The new civic buildings were too large for the population. Vale Royal Borough Council was formed in 1974, covering Winsford, Northwich and a large rural area of mid-Cheshire. In 1991, the council moved its main office from Northwich to a purpose-built headquarters in Winsford, which since April 2009 has been used by its successor authority Cheshire West and Chester Council . The same building also houses Winsford Town Council . Since then both Cheshire Fire Service (in 1997) and Cheshire Police (in 2003) have moved headquarters from
4218-651: The new home of the England Women's Football Team . It will also act as a training base for European teams playing in Liverpool and Manchester. The development was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. In October 2020 the Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his support for the development to go ahead; planning applications are expected to be submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council in spring 2021 with
4292-494: The online catalogue of the holdings of TNA. Entrance to The National Archives is free. The Research and Enquiries Room on the first floor contains a large number of desktop computer terminals. In addition, it is possible to bring your own device and to access wi-fi. Close by are the shelves of the reference library. Elsewhere on the first floor and the second floor are the reading room and map room, for conventional and oversized documents respectively. Access to these reading rooms
4366-556: The opening of Winsford station on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837. In his guide to the line, pushed that year, Arthur Freeling wrote: There is so little worth attention in this village, that it is not even noticed in Parliamentary Population Returns. 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
4440-417: The original from damage. In extreme circumstances, such as where the black and white image of the original was on microfilm, then was transferred to a digital file, and resultant image decay has rendered the finer points illegible, an original document can be retrieved. It will be clearly stated in the catalogue entry if the record has not been digitised. Over six million sets of these papers were stored in
4514-415: The present", with records from parchment and paper scrolls through to digital files and archived websites . The material held at Kew includes the following: There is also a museum, which displays key documents such as Domesday Book and has exhibitions on various topics using material from the collections. The collections held by the National Archives can be searched using Discovery , the name given to
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#17330854766964588-580: The researcher to visit either TNA or the specific repository in order to consult them. A separate National Register of Archives for Scotland is maintained at the National Archives of Scotland , but its contents are duplicated within the NRA at Kew. ARCHON Directory is a database of contact details for archive repositories in the UK and institutions elsewhere in the world which have substantial collections of manuscripts relating to British history. Your Archives
4662-512: The result of brine extraction, in which rock salt deposits were dissolved and washed out by water. As the ground slumped into the voids, the River Weaver widened at each point, until lakes were made where arable land had once been. From the late 19th century, Winsford Flashes became popular with working class day-trippers from the nearby industrial centres of Manchester and the Staffordshire Potteries . Visitors came in large numbers for
4736-416: The salt works and introduced methods of manufacture that needed much less labour. Slum clearance started in the 1930s and, by the 1950s three new housing estates had been built on both sides of the river to replace sub-standard homes. However, even in the 1960s, Winsford could be described as "one long line of mainly terraced houses from the station to Salterswall". The town experienced a major expansion in
4810-701: The town and sells to packaging businesses as well as retail and post offices. BT have a large employment base in the town. The Winsford telephone exchange is a main handover point and provides fibre broadband services to Winsford, Moulton, Whitegate, Tarporley , Middlewich , Sandbach , Holmes Chapel , Lower Withington and Sandiway . It also provides the main critical national infrastructure circuits to Cheshire Constabulary HQ, plus hospitals in Leighton , Macclesfield , Chester , Warrington and Halton , as well as numerous telephone masts, schools and doctors' surgeries across Cheshire. The National Grid also have
4884-480: The town centre, Morrisons , Home Bargains and Co-op are in Wharton and Tesco is in Over. There are branches of various national chain stores. The shopping centre is a 1970s design, with retail units and a multistorey car park subsequently added. In 2018 Winsford Cross Shopping Centre was bought by Cheshire West and Chester council for approximately £20 million. The Jiffy Bag has traditionally been manufactured in
4958-459: The town, in Wharton. The town at one time had two other railway stations: Winsford and Over , on a branch from the Mid-Cheshire Line near Cuddington , and Over and Wharton , on a branch from the Liverpool to Birmingham line . Winsford was the location of a fatal railway accident in 1948 and a further, non-fatal, accident in 1999 . The M6 motorway at junction 18 at Middlewich is
5032-675: The young Sandiway architect John Douglas to build it as a memorial to his deceased wife. This is the tallest building on the highest part of Over, so the spire can be seen for miles around. The Brunner Guildhall, which now houses the Citizens Advice Bureau, was built in the late 19th century. It is a two-storey building built in Flemish Gothic style, and carries the date 1899. It was built by Sir John Tomlinson Brunner, who gave it to Winsford Urban District Council, to be used for Trade and Friendly Societies, and other public purposes. It
5106-630: Was a wiki for the National Archives on-line community which was launched in May 2007; it was closed for editing on 30 September 2012 in preparation of archiving on the Government web archive. The contributions were made by users to give additional information to that which is available on the other services provided by the National Archives, including the catalogue, research guides, documentonline and National Register of Archive. Your Archives encouraged users to create articles not only about historical records held by
5180-422: Was eliminated, and replaced by digital files, some of which were free to download. Researchers are encouraged to check Discovery first, to see if they can get what they want online, via the portal or a third party provider. If a document is available online, The National Archives's policy is to encourage people to use the digital copy (surrogate) and not the original, even if they come to Kew, in order to protect
5254-413: Was formerly four separate organisations: the Public Record Office (PRO), the Historical Manuscripts Commission , the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) and His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified, and documents held by the institution thus continue to be cited by many scholars as part of
5328-472: Was given its name by the chairman of the council in recognition of Brunner's generosity. Parts of the Knights Grange pub, Grange Lane, which was once a farmhouse and belonged to Vale Royal Abbey, were built in the 17th century. Littler Grange, now a children's nursery, is the best remaining half-timber building in Winsford, including sloping floors on part of the first floor. Dawk House on Swanlow Lane
5402-579: Was laid down in this part of North West England 220 million years ago, during the Triassic geological period. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt lakes across what is today the Cheshire Basin . As the lakes evaporated, deep deposits of rock salt were formed. Extraction began at Winsford in the 17th century. At first it was used only as salt licks for animals, and to strengthen weak brine . In 1844 Winsford Rock Salt Mine
5476-538: Was opened, and is claimed by its operator, Salt Union Ltd., to be "Britain's oldest working mine". Salt Union Ltd. is part of the US-owned group of companies Compass Minerals . Today, rock salt is quarried from a depth of more than 150 metres, producing salt (commonly known as "grit") for use as a de-icing agent on roads. The mine produces one million tonnes of rock salt annually, and has a network of over 160 mi (260 km) of tunnels over several square miles underneath
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