01) middlewich, a potted history
One of the oldest of Cheshire’s towns, and possibly amongst its smallest, but just what makes Middlewich – Middlewich?
Visually, much is still Victorian and Edwardian… see Wheelock Street shopfronts, terraces and villa homes. Well worth peering up at is the Victoria Building exterior. Its remarkable frieze represents a noble tribute to industry. Undeniably distinctive are the inland waterways. Not one but two canals ensured the town’s place on the pioneering transport network. The Trent & Mersey put in its appearance in the late 18th century, whilst the Shropshire Union(Middlewich Branch) joined it in the early 19th. Middlewich became a key junction and goods-handling depot. Famous faces associated with this transformative shift in the fortunes of the town were James Brindley, Josiah Wedgwood, and Thomas Telford. That old warehouse on the wharf may have become derelict , but passing narrowboats animate the Middlewich scene daily – colourful reminders of a former commerce.
Already been and gone well before the Canal Age were the Normans. Their influx from the 12th century gave Middlewich its own aristocracy – by the very Normandy name of Venables. Then came a long line of medieval Barons of Kinderton whose mark in the landscape was made in the form of a hunting park (yes, traces remain). The architecturally impressive Parish Church, in a much simpler style, was founded about this time, and again the Barons’ high status is to be found there too. It was the Normans’ arrival that got the ‘new town’ going (including the layout of the main shopping street). Hence we have ‘Newton’ by the side of the ancient brine springs, or wych.
Yet before even that, the town cherishes its origin-story to the advancing Romans. Without their relatively brief but noticeable presence in the shape of military camp and fort, precious archaeological findings, salt-trading, and of course all-important route-ways in and out, there’d be no Harbutt’s Field. This Scheduled Monument pinpoints their legacy almost twenty centuries later.
A working Salt Town at heart, but really Middlewich is so much broader in two thousand years of varied settlement. And why does it matter? Because we are here now – and part of this continuum. Best of all, so much of the local past can be tracked down and experienced today. It’s a great place to rove around, stop and observe, and follow up on whatever historical ‘mysteries’ might appeal.
02) Wharf and Warehouse
Stalls, stands, traders … the annual Folk & Boat Festival is an enormously popular public occasion, and helps showcase our town and its waterways. Is ‘doing business’ especially new though, on our local section of the Trent & Mersey? Not really.
Picture Town Wharf. Not now… but as a proudly modern development in its 19th century heyday. Noisy and busy it is spread out just below the more tranquil Parish Church. Middlewich warranted its own Canal Office and agents on this substantial transhipping wharf ‘near the principal street’. Haulage cranes dominated the towpath, moving goods under the supervising eye of Thomas Pointon, first wharfinger to occupy the on-site cottage. In 1850, with that typical air of formality, the trades directory announced ‘commodious warehouses’ recently ‘erected for the transmission and reception of merchandise’. Almost genteel!
Businesses soon clustered around to take advantage of commercial opportunities. Need bricks and tiles for building? Town Wharf. Lime, or coal? There too. Of course, pubs were squeezed in, including The Navigation whose aptly-named premises stood right by the original, alarmingly narrow, canal bridge. By 1874 trades included a boat builder and timber dealer.
A handy innovation at this time was James Cockshott’s ‘fly boat’. This convenience provided an express service from Middlewich ‘to and from Derby daily’. And it wasn’t all heavy duty shopping. During the Great War, ladies would find a dressmaker’s shop down at Canal (Town) Wharf - incongruously near that of a less glamorous ‘sack and bag dealer’.
Today’s far quieter, emptier Town Wharf site is overlooked – still by Leadsmithy and Kinderton Streets - but also in terms of its important former commercial role. The wharfinger’s cottage and main warehouse lie in limbo. The toll office which completed this important little triangle however was demolished just twenty years ago.
Those early Victorian and Edwardian traders may have vanished, but new ones spring up on the canalside each June. And something Town Wharf probably never had even once a year - fabulous entertainment that helps keep the waterways alive in Middlewich.
J.E. Smalley
03) Springs, Salt, and Staying Power
Head south out of Middlewich by the canalside to see a familiar feature – a craggy mountain
or two of salt under dry cover. This ‘white stuff’ has been a driver of the local economy since
antiquity. By no means is it exclusive to here though. Salt deposits are widely distributed in
Cheshire. Nevertheless this town remains one of this county’s oldest because of them.
Exceptional continuity, certainly. Salt springs around the Middlewich and Northwich area
were already known well before the Romans arrived. That’s nearly two thousand years ago.
Those early industrialists set about properly exploiting the benefits - a Latin name salinae
meaning saltworks was applied to the district. Other sites too were used: at Leftwich, close to
Crewe at Shavington, and nearby at Tetton and Moston. However as they were later
abandoned this latter group never developed into successful salt towns.
The famed Cheshire wyches obviously did.
Making up the third is Nantwich - not, as could be expected, the ‘south’ saltworks but once
the ‘renowned’ one. Purity and whiteness of the salt there was considered special. That not-
so-mysterious wich/wych element simply derives from the Saxon word for a trading
settlement, ‘wic’. Commerce was important. In medieval times a network of saltways
radiated from these towns to markets across the country. Medius Vicus – i.e. Middlewich -
was at its heart.
On occasions fortunes wobbled. Local salt production faced most unwelcome competition in
the 15 th century – from sea salt. Out of France’s western coasts came shipments of a poorer
grade… but selling for only half the price. In the 1700’s the balance changed again. This
ancient wych-in-the-middle became a centre on a brand new map – lucrative canal routes.
The river Weaver meanwhile was also made navigable for larger vessels. Transport
advantages like that helped ensure Winsford would soon have its day.
Some localities have managed to retain their salt-associated names. Nantwich’s Wood Street
refers to stored timber used to fuel the fires whilst here Wych House Lane recalls long-
vanished salthouses. Expressions sometimes pass into the language. For example, to seethe
with rage suggests someone is ‘fuming’. A wonderful local connection exists with Lewin
Street, once smoke-laden as it had both a Great and a Little ‘Seth’ to help boil all that brine!
For Middlewich, the fact that salt and identity are fused is crystal-clear. Its sheer staying
power alone is extraordinary!
© JE Smalley 2025
04) Canal Systems - Very Well Connected
Trent & Mersey… Shropshire Union (Middlewich Branch). Two features that spell ‘Middlewich’. Actually, there’s a third. Wardle Canal. Only a matter of a few yards long, but a highly necessary connecting stretch. And connections are what canals are all about.
A bit of context?
Our local canals were created because of a wide, wide vision: to join up principal rivers – Thames, Mersey, Severn and Trent – and therefore key ports of London, Bristol, Hull, Liverpool and Manchester. Together these would form lucrative chains of commerce across the country. Not, however, that Middlewich was originally intended to be a link!
Interventions by salt producers in the district - and the highly influential Josiah Wedgwood - ensured Middlewich did get included. Hence, in the late 1700’s this little inland town eventually found itself on what was styled ‘the Grand Cross’.
So here, in the form of the Trent & Mersey, we have the early type of meandering ‘contour canal’ developed by the inspired James Brindley, whilst the Shropshire Union showcases the improved version - i.e. straighter and faster - brought in by Thomas Telford. Why? Because by then canals had to compete with new steam train technology.
Complicating the historical picture is the sheer number of name changes applied to these artificial thoroughfares. They were decided by the numerous canal companies themselves, and subsequent mergers undergone. Further re-naming occurred when combining with the up-and-coming railways. At first the ‘New Cut’ was called the Chester & Ellesmere. The T&M? Grand Trunk.
But did it really all kick off in the 18th century? Pre-dating it were assorted inventions. Take the familiar ‘pound lock’ - a holding chamber with gate at each end, rather than one simple barrier across a river. Medieval Bruges (in modern day Belgium) had these pound locks in 1400. And well before their appearance in Europe, they were being used in 10th century China. A really smart improvement though was made by someone very famous. ‘Mitre’ lock gates refers to a pair angled at 45 degrees to give greatly increased strength. Plenty can be seen locally. This clever design is the product of Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci.
Canals span both time and space. Globally, many canal zones are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Middlewich’s inland waterways are firmly part of these fascinating and scenic landscapes. We’re lucky to be connected.
© JE Smalley 2025