Northwich is a Wich town in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain at the confluence of the River Weaver and River Dane. The area around it has been exploited for its salt pans since the Roman period, when the settlement was known as Condate.

The town has been severely affected by salt mining with subsidence being a large issue. However, recent investment in mine stabilisation is set to change the town with the 'Northwich Vision' providing a roadmap for a programme of development work into the future.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Local Government
5 Sport
6 Culture
- 6.1 Music
- 6.2 Literature
7 Transport
8 Buildings
9 Famous Northwichians
10 External links
11 References

[edit] Geography

Northwich is situated in the Cheshire Plain. Two rivers meet in the town centre, the Weaver and the Dane.

[edit] Demographics

The 2001 Census shows the population of Northwich to be 19,259<ref name="census>National Statistics Website</ref>.

[edit] History

[edit] Roman Northwich

During Roman times Northwich was known as Condate. There is archealogical evidence of a Roman auxiliary fort within the area of Castle dated to 70AD. This and other North West forts were built as the Romans moved north from their stronghold in Chester. The fort at Northwich is thought to have been built to due to the strategic river crossing of the Weaver and the presence of the brine springs.

Salt was very important in Roman society. 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.

The Romans used lead salt pans to extract the salt from the brine. Salt pans and 1st Century brine kilns have all been found around the roman fort.

Northwich can be identified through two contemporary Roman documents. The first of these is the Antonine Itinerary, a 3rd Century road map split into fourteen sections. Itinerary II is called "the route from the Vallum to the port of Rutupiae". It describes the route between Hadrian's Wall in northern England and Richborough on the Kent coast. The station Condate is listed 18 miles from Mamucium (now Manchester) and 20 miles from Deva (now Chester). Itinerary X is called "the route from Glannoventa to Mediolanum" and details the route between Ravenglass fort, Cumbria and Mediolanum (now Whitchurch, Shropshire). In this description Condate is described as 19 miles before the routes end at Whitchurch and, again, as 18 miles from Manchester.

The second document is the 7th Century Ravenna Cosmology. Again 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 Coritani tribe.

[edit] Salt Mining Rediscovered

The salt beds beneath Northwich were re-discovered in the 1670 by the local Smith-Barry family. The family were actually looking for coal when they accidentally discovered rock salt in the grounds of their house, Marbury Hall, Marbury, north of Northwich. Soon salt mining started again. This mining area is now known as Dairy House Meadow.

During the 19th century it became uneconomical to mine for the salt. Instead 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.

This subsidence affected the town and the surrounding landscape. For example collapses in 1880 formed Witton Flash as the River Weaver flowed into a huge hole caused by subsidence.

By removing underground salt, the salt industry caused huge areas of subsidence, and this 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 which could be jacked up to level the house with each change in the underlying ground.

The town's historical links with the salt industry is celebrated in its Salt Museum which is today located in the town's old workhouse.

[edit] Victorian Chemical Industry

It was in 1874 that John Brunner and Ludwig Mond started manufacturing soda ash using the solvay ammonia-soda process in Winnington. 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 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.

Brunner Mond later amalgated with three other chemical companies in 1926 to form Imperial Chemical Industries, better known as ICI, which was for many years one of Europe's leading chemical companies in both chemical production and research.

[edit] Reclamation

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 is now known as Anderton Nature Park, Witton Flash, Dairy House Meadows, Witton Mill Meadows, and Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes. Much of the funding for the creation of these public areas has been supplied from the North West Development Agency and now extends to approximately 323 hectares of public space.

[edit] Salt Mine Stabilisation

In February 2004 a £28 million programme to stabilise the abandoned salt mines underneath Northwich was begun<ref name="stable"> English Partnerships Website</ref>. The work was funded by the English Partnerships through its Land Stabilisation Programme, introduced to resolve issues associated with instable 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 was causing problems for the town centre.

When they were abandoned the mines were left with supporting salt pillars. Modern salt mining leaves around 30% of the salt to form the pillars but, because of the wild-brine pumping, the 19th century mines under Northwich were left with sometimes only 5% of the salt to form the pillars which has since been found to be inadequate. To provide additional support in the 1920s brine was used to flood the mines. However ground movement has been detected and has effectively ceased development in Northwich town centre.

The current stabilisation plan involves 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 PFA arrives by rail; the cement and salt by road. The grout is mixed at Brunner Mond, Winnington from where it is pumped via a pipeline into the mines through a series of boreholes around the town.

The removed brine is pumped in the opposite direction to Winnington and then taken by train to British Salt in Middlewich. Here the brine is put to use in many products such as water sofeners and road de-icers.

The project continues and is expected to finish in 2007.

[edit] Future

Following the stabilisation of the mines, Northwich is to be developed in line with the 'Vision for Northwich'<ref name="vision"> Northwich Vision Website</ref>. The vision, if completed, will see the old concrete County Council buildings and Magistrates Court demolished and replaced with more modern buildings.

New housing developments continue to appear around Northwich, often with the demolition of recreational facilities, which Northwich has very few of ^{[citation needed]}. A few years ago, the Drill Field, the world's oldest football ground was demolished to make way for more houses.

[edit] Local Government

The Local Government Act 1972 replaced The Urban District Council of Northwich with a new district (now borough) council, Vale Royal. Vale Royal covers 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.

The town coat of arms features the Latin motto "Sal est Vita" meaning "Salt is Life".

Northwich is twinned with the town of Dole in France.

[edit] Sport

Northwich is the home of two non-league football teams, Northwich Victoria and Witton Albion, and two Rugby Union sides Northwich RUFC and Winnington Park.

The Thundersprint [1] motorcycling event is held every May Bank Holiday in Northwich. This event attracts over 130,000 people over the two days, and claims to be the world's biggest street bike party.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Music

Northwich has a rich musical history, with a number of locals being part of bands such as Placebo and the Fast Food Rockers. Most notable however are the Charlatans, who've had consistent chart success for 14 years and formed in Northwich. The Weaverdale cafe in the town centre was used on the front of their 1999 singles compilation "Melting Pot" and Pickmere lake features on the cover of their 2004 album "Up At The Lake".

Over the August Bank Holiday Weekend Northwich Festival [2] is held at Moss Farm Sports Complex. Featuring 4 days of music and sport with the main attraction for the Monday being the UK Strongman-North Competition [3].

[edit] Literature

Northwich has its own fictional hero in the form of the ultimate ghost-hunter, James Boag-Munroe. The creation is the work of local Horror author Stuart Neild. The first novel, titled A Haunted Man, features Boag-Munroe's adventures in the haunted salt mines that run underneath Northwich, combining fact with supernatural fiction. More novels are on the way featuring Northwich and other North West locations as the backdrops to the novels. A Hollywood film and television series is also in development based on the books<ref name="neild">BBC Stoke</ref>.

[edit] Transport

The key historical mode of transport is water. Not only are there the two rivers, but also the Trent and Mersey Canal passes the town.

The A556 acts as a bypass to the town to the south and provides access to the M6 motorway at Junction 19. Northwich is also signposted from the M56 motorway to the north of the town via the A559.

Northwich railway station is on the Mid-Cheshire line between Chester to Manchester. There are also stations within close vicinity at Greenbank, also on the Mid-Cheshire line, and Hartford (on the West Coast Main Line).

[edit] Buildings

Two swing bridges, Hayhurst Bridge (built in 1898) and Town Bridge (built in 1899), cross the Weaver at Northwich. The bridges are the first electrically powered swing bridges in the world and were built on floating pontoons to conteract the mine subsidence. They were designed by Colonel John Saner.

A floating hotel is moored near the confluence of the two rivers.

[edit] Famous Northwichians

All of the following allegedly either are from or lived in Northwich at some point in their lives:

Tim Burgess of The Charlatans
Paula Radcliffe, Marathon Runner
Matthew Kelly, TV Presenter
Adam Rickett, Former Coronation Street Actor
Pete Waterman, Record Producer and Pop Idol Judge
Gary Barlow, Former Take That Singer
Stuart Neild, Horror Author
Bob Carolgees, Former Kids TV Presenter

Mike Whitlow, Former Leeds United & Leicester City Defender
Michael Oakes, Former Aston Villa Goalkeeper
Andy Oakes, Walsall FC, former Derby County, Goalkeeper
Dean Saunders, Former Aston Villa & Wales Striker
Tony Dorigo, Former Leeds United & England Defender
Sue Townsend, Author
Steve Hewitt of Placebo
Lucy Meggett of The Fast Food Rockers
Tim Kash, MTV Presenter
Neil Hamilton & Christine Hamilton, The former was MP for Tatton, the latter a TV "personality"
Dewi Morris, Former England Rugby Union Player
John Greenway, MP for Ryedale
Alan McInally, former professional footballer and now Sky Sports football analyst
Andy Morrison, former professional footballer and now Worcester City F.C. coach

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Ceremonial county of Cheshire [[Image:\|40px]]
Unitary authorities:	Halton • Warrington
Boroughs/Districts:	City of Chester • Congleton • Crewe and Nantwich • Ellesmere Port and Neston • Macclesfield • Vale Royal
Cities/Towns:	Alderley Edge • Alsager • Bollington • Chester • Congleton • Crewe • Ellesmere Port • Frodsham • Knutsford • Lymm • Macclesfield • Middlewich • Nantwich • Neston • Northwich • Poynton • Runcorn • Sandbach • Warrington • Widnes • Wilmslow • Winsford See also: List of civil parishes in Cheshire

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Categories: Articles to be merged since September 2006 | Articles with unsourced statements | Towns in Cheshire

Northwich

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