Medieval Middlewich - Middlewich, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The area around Middlewich has a long history of salt mining and trading including the period when the town was a Roman settlement.

The Trent and Mersey Canal which runs through the town facilitated the transport of salt.

This sign is near to St Michael and all Angels church and concentrates on the history of Middlewich in the Medieval period.

1 TALES OF WYCH AND WATER TRAIL
Medieval Middlewich

The early Roman settlement was located in the King Street area, on the east bank of the River Croco, little evidence survives for the later Roman period. During Anglo-Saxon times the settlement was at Newton, west of the river; the earlier settlement had become part of Kinderton Manor. Middlewich's name came from its location between the other two important salt producing places of Nantwich and Northwich. The manor of Newton is recorded as having a priest at Domesday in 1086. The Domesday entry concerns itself with salt taxation, and values Middlewich highly at £8. This revenue produced a high return in medieval and alter times, but the increasingly unpopular salt tax led to its abandonment in 1825. The manor of Middlewich belonged to the Crown until 1844 in Queen Victoria's reign when the manorial rights were sold to James France of Bostock.

By the 13th century Middlewich had Borough status. Many trades operated westwards along Wheelock Street, as well as in the market area, the "King's Mexon" on the north side of the Bullring. Middlewich houses would have been thatched with wattle and daub walls accommodating about 120 families. Some of these houses had a s shutter on the ground floor which could be let down with ropes and used as a stall on market days. A great fire destroyed the town in 1281.

Lewin Street was the medieval road south and the area between this and the river contained the salt-works known as wych-houses. These either belonged to gentry or freemen who were given a grant to boil salt and worked franchises by family-run businesses, with 75 salt pans in the 13th century and 646 by 1605. The wych-houses themselves were wooden structures, open on one or two sides with pans on brick or sandstone supports. The pans were made of lead and were repaired constantly, which gave Leadsmithy Street its name. There were usually six pans to each wych-house. There were six brine pits named in medieval documents, and these carried brine to the wych houses along timber troughs. Salt working was strictly controlled by local regulations, and production was only allowed during limited seasons so that value was maintained.

St Michael and all Angels church was built in the fourteenth century although there are remains dating from the twelfth century. Building continued through the next two centuries by the creation of three additions, the Tower, Lady Chapel, and Kinderton Chapel.

Did you Know?
Many of the larger houses and shops in Middlewich were built soon after the cutting of the Trent and Mersey canal in the late 1770s and building of the railway in 1868.

After the construction of the bridge and by-pass only a few examples of these houses survive.

In the Medieval period there were three main townships, Middlewich, Newton-by-Middlewich and Kinderton.

Type of Historic Marker: Standalone metal board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Middlewich Canal & Salt town project Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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