'Middlewich' is a
market town within the
Congleton borough of
Cheshire,
England. It is east of the city of
Chester, and northwest of
Sandbach, and has a total resident population of 13,101.
There has been a settlement at Middlewich since at least the time of the
Roman occupation. As a
wich town, Middlewich is an important location for the manufacture of
salt. The parish church for Middlewich is
St. Michael and All Angels, which dates back to the 12th century. In addition to the manufacture of salt, Middlewich has also been known for
Cheshire cheese. In the present day it is known for its canals and the
folk and boat festival.
Middlewich lies on the confluence of a number of natural and man-made features: the Rivers
Dane,
Croco and
Wheelock; the
Shropshire Union and
Trent and Mersey Canals; and the
A533,
A54 and
A530 roads.
In common with other towns within mid-Cheshire, the good
motorway and road links have seen a large influx of people in the last thirty years, doubling the population of Middlewich since 1970. Over the same period there has been a removal of manufacturing jobs in salt and textile manufacture, demonstrating that many residents of the town no longer work locally but live there because of other factors. During the last twenty years there have been moves to increase the volume of
tourism into the town, through events such as the annual
folk and boat festival, the Roman and Norman festivals, farmers markets and so on.
Governance
Civic history
At the time of the
Domesday survey Middlewich was in the
hundred of Middlewich but later it became part of the Northwich hundred, although a small part of the then large parish of Middlewich extended into the hundred of Eddisbury.
[1][2][3][4]
At the time of the
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition Middlewich was an
urban district, created following the
Local Government Act 1894.
[5] In 1974, as part of the
Local Government Act 1972, Middlewich Urban District was abolished and its territory passed into the borough of
Congleton.
[6]
Political representation
Currently there are three layers of local government with responsibility for Middlewich, the
country council, the
borough council and the town council. The town is represented by one MP,
Ann Winterton, the MP for
Congleton. Middlewich is split into two wards: Cledford and Kinderton.
[7][8]
Geography
Middlewich lies on the confluence of three rivers, the
Dane,
Croco and
Wheelock, and lies approximately 2½ miles from junction 18 of the
M6 motorway. The town sits on the main westward traffic route between the motorway and
Winsford, and for southbound motorway traffic heading for
Crewe. Middlewich also sits on a spur of the
Shropshire Union Canal, the main route of which joins
Wolverhampton with the
River Mersey at
Ellesmere Port, and the
Trent and Mersey Canal which joins the
Bridgewater Canal at
Preston Brook (which gave access to the River Mersey at
Runcorn) to the
River Trent in
Derbyshire.
The town sits in the Cheshire plain, a
boulder clay plain separating the hills of
North Wales and the
Peak District of
Derbyshire, formed following the retreat of
ice age glaciers. Middlewich lies on Upper Triassic Mercia
mudstone laid down with large salt deposits.
[9] Middlewich is bounded by two rivers, the Dane and Wheelock, and bisected by the River Croco. To the east of the Croco the ground rises steeply, with the old parish of
Kinderton being on high ground overlooking the town centre and parish church. Similarly to the west the ground rises away, however because of the greater number of buildings on this side of the river the view is more urban. The high ground in Kinderton is also the start of the ancient
Roman road of King Street, and the
Roman fort at Harbutt's field which has a dominating view of the river and the area of Roman salt workings.
The climate is generally
temperate with few extremes of temperature or weather. The mean average temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom as is the average amount of sunshine.
[10][11] The average annual rainfall is slightly below the average for the UK.
[12] There are few days when snow is lying on the ground, although there are a some days of air frost.
[13][14]
History
St Michael and All Angels, Middlewich, England (2005)
In the
Domesday Book Middlewich is spelt “Mildestvich”, and the termination “wic,” or “wyc,” in
Anglo-Saxon refers to a camp or station. It is also supposed that "Wich" or "Wych" refers to a
salt town, with Middlewich being the middle town between Northwich and Nantwich.
[ The story of Bygone Middlewich, C F Lawrence, , , , , ]
In Whittaker's ''History of Manchester'' it is asserted that the
Cornovii took Kinderton as their capital,
[ however this is unlikely. It is probable that the Cornovii did inhabit Kinderton for its salt making potential.[15]]
[16]
The town was founded by the Romans as ''Salinae'' on account of the salt deposits around it, as it was one of their major sites of salt production. Middlewich lies across the King Street fault, which follows King Street and then continues roughly following Brooks Lane.[17] During this time the Romans built a fort at
Harbutts Field (),[18][19] and recent excavations to the south of the fort have found evidence of further Roman activity[20][21] including a well and part of a preserved Roman road. A further excavation in 2004 in Buckley's Field[22] has found further evidence of Roman occupation. A Roman road, King Street runs between Middlewich and nearby Northwich.
The Romans named Middlewich after saltworkings. Salt manufacture has remained the principal industry for the past 2,000 years and its presence has shaped the town's history and geography. Before the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the area which is now known as Middlewich is thought to have had one brine pit, between the River Croco and the current Lewin Street.[23] In the Domesday Book the area is described as being ''wasted'',
Gilbert de Venables became the first Baron of Kinderton shortly after the Norman Conquest, the title being conferred by Hugh Lupus.[25] A manor house was built to the east of the town and became the baronial seat of the Venables family. The title "Baron of Kinderton" is now vested in the Lord Vernon. A Jacobean screen in the church of St Michael and All Angels has the carved Venables coat of arms.
On the 13 March, 1643 (N.S.), during the English Civil War, the town was the scene for the First Battle of Middlewich, between the Parliamentarians, under Sir William Brereton, and the Royalist supporters of King Charles I of England, under Sir Thomas Aston [26]. The Second Battle of Middlewich took place on the 26 December 1643. In the battle around 200 Parliamentarians were killed, along with a number of Royalists under the command of Lord Byron.
Increase in the Population of Middlewich over the last 200 years
The figure to the right shows how the population of Middlewich rose through the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of this rise is attributable to a number of parishes being combined, for example parts of Newton were added to Middlewich in 1894, with Sutton having previously been added to Newton is 1892, however some must be due to increased industrialisation of the salt making process.
In the middle of the 19th century Middlewich is described as a town with principal works being the surrounding farming district, a silk factory, and the salt works in Kinderton and Newton.[27]
In 1887 the town is described as having an antique appearance, with its principal trade being salt, along with fruit and vegetables, and small silk and heavy cotton works. The town had one bank and one newspaper.[28] By 1911 the Encyclopædia Britannica mentions the existence of chemical works and manufacturing of condensed milk.
Unveiling of the cenotaph
In common with the rest of the United Kingdom, Middlewich suffered a decimation of its young male population during the First World War. The cenotaph near to the parish church () lists the names of 136 men who died in this conflict, representing around 10% of the male population of the town aged between 15 and 45 years. Forty two inhabitants of Middlewich lost their lives in the Second World War, with a further death in the Korean War. The Brunner Mond salt works in Brooks Lane also erected a cenotaph in memory of the 16 men from the works who fell in the First World War, and the two men from the works who fell in the Second World War ().[29]
The period between the First and Second World Wars and shortly after the Second World War saw extensive housebuilding within the town, with significant quantities of houses being built in the King Street area to the north, the area bounded between Nantwich Road and St. Anne's Road to the west, and especially Cledford to the south.
The 1970s commenced with the building of a new road, St. Michael's Way, which allowed traffic moving from east to west through the town to bypass the main shopping street, Wheelock Street. Along with the bypass there was significant remodelling of the town centre, with the old town hall and library being demolished. This bypass successfully eased the flow of traffic away from the main shopping street, but the joining of three major roads remains a bottleneck, which will be eased by a proposed eastern bypass.[30]
Since the early 1980s Middlewich has seen a significant quantity of new housing development, initially in the Sutton Lane and Hayhurst Avenue areas. New developments have recently been built on the sites of old salt workings to the south of the Roman Fort at Harbutt's Field, near to the Norman Baron's moated manor house at Kinderton Manor, on the site of the old railway station. One of the latest developments is on the old silk works next to the Big Lock public house.
In common with many local towns, for example Holmes Chapel, Northwich and Winsford people are attracted to the area because of good road links via the M6 and the relatively low price and availability of suitable building land.
Demographics
Middlewich has a relatively young population; the proportion of children (0-15) is 3% higher than the national average.[31][32] Households are larger than average, consistent with a younger population, with an average of 2.51 people per household,
Three-quarters of the 9,500 people between the ages of 16 and 74 are classed as "economically active", that is, either in full or part-time employment, or full time students.
Economy
Historically the major employers in Middlewich has been the salt industry and agriculture. Salt is still manufactured in the town at British Salt. The close proximity to the M6 motorway has led to the creation of a large distribution and employment park, with companies such as Tesco and ERF locating to the site. Approximately 300 people are employed at the Ideal Standard factory, which since 1937 has been making vitreous china sanitaryware.[33]
Middlewich town centre, unlike the centres of other local towns such as Northwich and Winsford, was not heavily remodelled as a shopping centre during the 1970s and consequently many of the original shops remain. This contrasts with, for example, Winsford, where the High Street was demolished and replaced by Winsford Shopping Centre. There are a number of shops on the shopping street of Wheelock Street, and on Lewin Street going out towards Sandbach. There is a Somerfield supermarket behind Wheelock Street, and also a Lidl supermarket near to the Cemetery on Chester Road.
The Roman theatre in the Bull Ring, Middlewich, England (2006)
Transport
Narrowboats just to the Northwich side of the Big Lock, Middlewich, England (2006)
Middlewich lies on the A533 linking it to Northwich and Runcorn in the north, and Sandbach to the south, the A54 linking it to Chester and Winsford to the west and Holmes Chapel and Buxton to the east, and A530 linking it to Crewe and Nantwich to the south.[34]
Middlewich lies on a railway branch line between Sandbach and Northwich, however the local station, which opened in 1868 was closed to passenger traffic in 1959, and has now been demolished.[35]
Following a petition in 1766, the Trent and Mersey Canal was diverted from its original course to provide transport to the town,[36] and now links with a branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. The link between the two canals, which was opened in 1833,[37] is actually a third canal known as the Wardle canal, and is the shortest canal in the United Kingdom.
Middlewich is 18.7 miles (30 km) from Manchester Airport and 26.1 miles (42 km) from Liverpool John Lennon Airport (by the shortest routes).
Communal facilities
Middlewich has a library in Lewin Street, which was built in the 1970s to replace the old library which was demolished to build St Michael's Way. The library has examples of finds from Middlewich's Roman past on display.[38]
Middlewich has had a town football club since at least 1902, with the current club Middlewich Town being formed in 1998. It plays in the Mid-Cheshire League. Middlewich also has a cricket club on Croxton Lane. There is a leisure centre [39] with facilities shared with the High School.
Middlewich is one of two large towns in the borough of Congleton which do not have a public swimming pool. The lack of this facility has been a moot point for a number of years, with various initiatives starting but failing to gain these facilities.[40]
Middlewich's hospital is Leighton Hospital near Crewe which is part of the Mid Cheshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
Primary care services are provided by the Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust. In Middlewich GP services are provided in two medical practices. There are two dental practices providing private dental care.[41]
Fountain Fields on Queen Street is a traditional town park, with a number of facilities including a bowling green, and has been owned by the council since 1926.[42]
Culture
A highly regarded folk and boat festival has been run in the town since 1990 (with a break for the foot and mouth epidemic).[43] During the festival folk artists play at a number of locations in the town, and it is estimated to bring in an extra 30,000 visitors to the town during the festival period, along with 400 narrowboats.
In addition to this annual event there have been a number of ad-hoc events, including the Middlewich Roman Festival in 2001. This Roman Festival led to a Heritage lottery fund grant which allowed the construction of a Roman theatre at the Bull Ring near to St Michaels and All Angels church. Since its construction this has regularly been used for other purposes, such as an open-air music stage and an ice-rink. Following the Roman festival in 2001, a further Roman festival was held in 2003 and a book about Roman Middlewich was written by the consultant archaeologist, who was awarded a MBE for services to archaeology for this work.[44][45]
In 2005 a Norman Festival,[46] was put on in the town. An Industrial Festival has been planned for 2007.[47] A series of arts and music events "@ the Bull Ring" was started in 2006.[48]
The local newspapers are the ''Middlewich Guardian'' and ''Middlewich Chronicle''. A radio station, Cheshire FM, was launched in 2007, covering the mid-Cheshire area including Middlewich.
Places of interest
The principal landmark in Middlewich is the parish church of St Michael and All Angels. Other landmarks include: the Roman Theatre built on the Bull Ring on the site of the old town hall and library; the Victoria building on Lewin Street, which have been offices for the town council since 1900; and the town bridge, which replaced an earlier bridge and was opened in 1931.
Religion
St Michael and All Angels church and the Kings Arms public house, Middlewich, England (2006)
Parts of the Anglican parish church, St. Michael and All Angels, date back to the Normans, although the majority was built during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[50] The church was the site of fierce fighting in the first and
second Battles of Middlewich during the English Civil War.
Middlewich Methodist Church was built in 2000 in Booth Lane, replacing the earlier chapel in Lewin Street.[51]
Middlewich United Reformed Church () was founded in 1797, with the current church (the second on this site) in Queen Street being built in 1870,[ Middlewich, 900 - 1900, , A.L., Earl, , 1990, ] and completed in 1871. The church celebrated it bicentenary in 1997 with the publication of a history of the church ''Two Hundred Years (not out)''[52][53]
Catholic masses were held in a cottage near to the cemetery from 1848 until the building of the first Catholic church in the town in Wych House Lane in 1864. This church was enlarged to include the first Catholic school in the town in 1869.
Middlewich Community Church () is a relatively new Pentecostal church located in the former social club for the Brunner Mond works in Brooks Lane.
Education
In the mid-nineteenth century the children of the town were schooled in three schools:
Currently there are seven schools in Middlewich, one Infant, one Junior, four Primary schools and one Secondary school. Cledford Infant and Nursery [55] and Cledford Junior schools primarily serve children from the south of the town.[56] Middlewich Primary School caters for children from the older, northerly, part of the town,[57] whilst St Mary's Catholic Primary School receives Catholic children from the town.[58] Until recently St Mary's school had the distinction of occupying the oldest building for any of the towns schools, with the keystone being laid in 1899 by Col. France-Hayhurst, however the school has now moved and the original building has become a parish centre, so that the oldest school buildings are now in the secondary school. Work began on the original buildings for the Secondary school, Middlewich High School, in 1906,[59] with later additions improving the teaching areas and providing a sports hall which can also be used by the wider community. The school opened on 1st November 1906.
The remaining two primary schools, Byley Primary School and Wimboldsley Community Primary School serve children from outside the immediate bounds of the town.[60]
Notable residents
Notable residents of Middlewich include the theologians John Hulse (1708 - 1790) who founded the Hulsean lectures at Cambridge University, and Theophilus Lindsey (1723 O.S. - 1808) who inspired the Feathers Tavern Petition against clerical subscription to the thirty-nine articles, and so helped start one of the most profound debates within the Church of England in the 18th century.[61]
Elizabeth Ashbridge, an 18th century Quaker minister, was also born in the town.
The English Civil War general Sir William Brereton suffered his only major defeat at the Second Battle of Middlewich in 1643.
On a more local level the France-Hayhurst family were local landowners responsible for the development of the model village at Bostock, and Charles Frederick Lawrence (1873 - 1940) was a local antiquarian who documented much of the early history of Middlewich, and also discovered a Neolithic stone celt whilst digging in the town.[ Memories of Middlewich, , Mary, Barry, , 1972, ]
John Wright Oakes (1820 - 1887) was a landscape painter who exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.
Gallery
See also
★ First Battle of Middlewich
★ Second Battle of Middlewich
★ Middlewich folk and boat festival
★ Middlewich High School
★ History of salt in Middlewich
★ History of Middlewich
★ St. Michael and All Angels, Middlewich
★ Wardle Canal
References
1. The Victoria History of the County of Chester. Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Ango-Saxon, and Domesday, , B. E., Harris, Oxford University Press, ,
2. Translation of Great Domesday Book Folio 267r
3. The Victoria History of the County of Chester. Volume 2., , B. E., Harris, Oxford University Press, ,
4. Middlewich
5. Middleton (page 417)
6. Congleton District Profile 2003
7. Ward Map
8. The current ward of Cledford actually includes much of the historic township of Kinderton
9. Weaver and Dane Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy, Consultation Document The Environment Agency
10. Met. Office:Average annual mean temperature. Accessed 15 April 2007
11. Met. Office:Average annual sunshine. Accessed 15 April 2007
12. Met. Office:Average annual rainfall. Accessed 15 April 2007
13. Met. Office:Days of snow lying. Accessed 15 April 2007
14. Met. Office:Days of air frost. Accessed 15 April 2007
15. 'Congleton', A Topographical Dictionary of England, Institute of Historical Research, , , , ,
16. The Celtic Tribes of Britain - The Cornovii
17. 19th-20th century Middlewich George Twigg
18. Roman Fort Minor Salt-Working Settlement
19. Fieldwork 1999
20.
Fieldwork 2000
21.
Fieldwork 2001
22. Roman dig - update
23. Middlewich 900-1900, , A.L., Earl, , 1990,
24. Cheshire and the Domesday Book
25. Kinderton-cum-Hulme, 1850
26. Sir Thomas Aston
27. Middlewich 1850
28. Gazetteer of the British Isles, , John, Bartholomew, , 1887,
29. 15 of the 16 names from the First World War are duplicated on the town cenotaph, as are both from the Second World War. The one not occurring on the town cenotaph is Arthur Harrison.
30. Middlewich Eastern Bypass (Southern Section)
31. Census Area Profile
32. National Statistics Online
33. SOLIDS RECOVERY REDUCES COSTS AND MINIMISES WASTE
34. Ordnance Survey, ''Landranger'' 118 map
35. Campaigners roll off on a nostalgic journey
36. Middlewich 900-1900, , A.L., Earl, , 1990,
37. Late Georgian and Victorian Chester 1762-1914 The economy, 1762-1840: the demise of old Chester
38. Middlewich Library
39. Middlewich Leisure Centre
40. Lost cash found thanks to Guardian
41. Local Search Results for CW10
42. Massive boost for town's park life
43. Middlewich Folk and Boat Festical 2006
44. Roman Middlewich: A Story of Roman and Briton in Mid-Cheshire, T J Strickland and Graham Sumner, , , , ,
45. Awards
46. Norman Middlewich
47. Memories would be captured on CD for posterity
48. What's On
49. Middlewich in Times Past, P.J. Andrews and R.M. Williams, , , , 1981,
50. About the Church
51. Last services at old building
52. Middlewich URC
53. Two Hundred Years (not out) - The history of Queen Street Church, Middlewich (Congregational/United Reformed) 1797-1997, E.Birchall and R.Clewes, , , , 1997,
54. Salinae Day Care Centre
55. Cledford Infant School
56. Cledford Junior School
57. Middlewich Primary School
58. St Mary's Catholic Primary School
59. School is 100 not out
60. Wimboldsley Community Primary School
61. About Theophilus Lindsey
Further reading
# ''Memories of Middlewich'', Mary Barry, ISBN 978-0854270323
# ''Roman Middlewich: A Story of Roman and Briton in Mid-Cheshire''. T.J. Strickland, Graham Sumner, 2001, Roman Middlewich Project, ISBN 978-0954118600
# ''Middlewich, 900-1900'', A L Earl, 1990, Ravenscroft Publication, ISBN 978-1873139011
# ''Middlewich, 1900-1950'', A.L. Earl, 1994, Cheshire Country Publishing, ISBN 978-0949001108
# ''Middlewich (Images of England Series)'', B J Curzon, P Hurley, 2005, NPI Media Group, ISBN 978-0752435206
# ''Picturesque Cheshire, Chester & the Welsh Border'', T. A. Coward, 1903
# ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'', John Bartholomew. 1887
# ''Bygone Middlewich'', Charles Frederick Lawrence, 1905 (reprinted 1936)
External links
;Historical links
★ Middlewich town council site on Roman Middlewich
★ Salinae
★ Salt making towns in Cheshire
;Other links
★ Congleton Borough Council's Middlewich page
★ Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival
★ CW10 Residents Community Action Group
★ Middlewich Community Church
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