MURGY'S OFFICE BLOCK EARLY 2011

Photo: Paul Greenwood    All rights reserved

by Dave Roberts

In our journey around Middlewich and district over the last seven months  it's been difficult to avoid over use of the phrase 'end of an era'.
Well, here's the first of a series of photographs by local photographer Paul Greenwood which was taken at the start of 2011, just in time to catch the end of what must be considered another of those 'eras', the era of chemical production on most of  the Brenntag site.
Some people will remember it as the  Hays Chemicals or Albion Chemicals site, and before that as BP Chemicals, but it was, and is, known universally by Middlewich people, whatever its official name, as 'Murgy's'.
The Murgatroyd's site was officially in Elworth but a lot of people from Middlewich worked there, and for many years  the site depended for its brine supplies on the  pump in Brooks Lane, Middlewich, which once supplied brine to the company's nearby  open pan works, a flow being sent down the 'brine line' which ran, and still runs, alongside the Sandbach-Middlewich-Northwich railway.
The Brooks Lane brine pump itself is, as we have already seen, the subject of a preservation project spearheaded locally by Middlewich Town Council's Heritage Officer, Kerry Fletcher.

MURGATROYD'S BRINE PUMP NO 1

The story of the Murgatroyd's site is too complicated to relate here, but you can read all about it in this Catalyst PDF document which reproduces a publication written by George Twigg, formerly of the Salt Museum:

CATALYST - THE STORY OF MURGATROYDS

Talking of brine pumps, if you look carefully at the extreme right of Paul Greenwood's photo of the site's main office block, you can see another one which was on display at the entrance to the works up until its closure.
This pump has been placed in safe storage and there are plans to put it on display in Middlewich.
We believe that the electrical windings inside the pump were removed a while ago to deter copper wire thieves who also, until security was increased, caused havoc to the signalling on the nearby railway.
Brenntag still have a presence at the Middlewich end of the old Murgy's site where a combined heat and power station has been built, but most of the site is derelict and awaiting the inevitable housing estates to come.
At the Sandbach end of the site is Yew Tree Farm which still retains some beautiful old buildings and the remains of the old Murgatroyd's Social Club.
Incidentally, the rail link which once connected Murgatroyd's Works to the Middlewich branch line is still in place, although the sidings which lay alongside the works have been lifted. This link is fully signalled and just waiting for some enterprising firm to make use of it.
I have to declare an interest in Murgy's as my Uncle Dennis and Auntie Edie both worked there.
Update: Inexplicably, when I originally wrote this I neglected to give Dennis and Edie's surname which, I'm sure, will strike a chord with many. It's Broster.
Auntie Edie worked in the canteen. I'm not sure what, precisely, Uncle Dennis did.
But I do know that on one historic day in the 1960s he took his camera, loaded with colour slide film, to work and photographed the last steam hauled train to leave the site.
Now, I'd dearly love to lay my hands on those slides....
More from Paul's collection to come on 'A Middlewich Diary' in 2012.

Facebook Feedback:

Daniel Preston I remember Murgy's, of course. Over the turnover bridge, along by Murgy's and into the esses. One winter's day, 1967 (as far as I can recall) going to work, Foden's, on my motorbike I hit an icy patch in the esses. The back wheel started to drift, first one way, then the other; the bike weaving all over the place while I hung onto it. I thought I would surely come a cropper. Meanwhile, while I'm doing all I can to stay on two wheels, a motorist behind me is blaring away on his horn, as if to say, "Stop clownin' around, the public road is not the place to be stunting." Just as if I had any choice in the matter.

Erika Nicholson I work for a water company and we use Brenntag as a supplier.

Dave Roberts Hi Erika. Do you know what's on the Brenntag site at Elworth now? We know that part of it is a power station, but there seems to be more apparatus there than would be necessary just for a CPH station. 

Erika Nicholson The Elworth site is where we order from, so I assume they are in production of chemicals, although they mainly come from a site at Lutterworth. Elworth, I think is mainly offices, although they may produce some onsite.

Dave Roberts Thanks, Erika.

First published 23rd December 2011

Re-formatted and re-published 6th January 2019

FOLK, BOATS, SALT AND BISTO!

Tools used in the production of open pan and cut-lump salt

by David Roberts

This photograph from the 2011 FAB Festival illustrates another important aspect of our town's most hectic and exhilarating weekend.
From its earliest beginnings in 1990 the festival was seen not only as an important musical event and celebration of Middlewich's canal heritage but also as an opportunity to showcase the town's long and hitherto rather neglected history as one of the famous 'Cheshire Wiches'.
There can't be many British schoolchildren who weren't taught about Nantwich, Middlewich and Northwich and their tradition of salt-making stretching back to a time even before the Roman invasion, so that almost everyone would have heard of our town, even if many of them probably couldn't have told you exactly where it was.

Every year now, thanks to the sterling efforts of  Middlewich Town Council's Heritage Officer, Kerry Fletcher, and the work put in by many volunteers, including members of the Middlewich Heritage Society, the history of Middlewich is displayed and interpreted for the benefit of both townspeople and visitors.

Modern day Bisto Kids pose in front of the mural rescued from RHM Foods when the factory closed in 2009.

 See GONE,  BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - RHM

Festival visitors on the Narrowboat Sweden, formerly one of the fleet of boats used by Henry Seddon & Sons to bring in coal and export salt from their Wych House Lane and Pepper Street works along the Trent & Mersey Canal (the Wych House Lane works was situated  to the right of the boat on what is now known as the 'Salinae Field'. Part of the field can be seen above the boat's engine compartment.).
Sadly, since this photograph was taken, Sweden has been repainted in a livery representing a different period of her long life.

With the Town Bridge in the right background, Cliff's photo shows the scene at Town Wharf a few years ago (one of the wharf buildings is on the extreme left). The wharf and the immediately adjacent Salinae Field are really the point where the 'Folk & Boat' parts of the festival come together; concerts are staged on boats moored by the wharf and stalls and exhibition stands help tell the Middlewich story to Folkies and Boaties alike.
When the 'Gateway To Middlewich' scheme comes to fruition  this part of town will have become even more attractive and welcoming, not only at festival time but also throughout the rest of the year.
(Editor's note: We're still waiting! That line was from the original 2013 edition of this diary entry and in 2015 little has changed as far  as the wharf is concerned.)
UPDATE (JUNE 2018) It's now beginning to look like our long-awaited Town Wharf Scheme is not going to happen at all. Rumours are rife that the site has been sold and that the buildings will be flattened and housing built where they once stood. If this proves to be the case, this will be a tragedy for Middlewich and for those interested in the town's history.

...and just in case anyone might have forgotten how it all started back in 1990 here are the legendary MIDDLEWICH PADDIES who have appeared at all 25 Festivals through the years.

On the left is Graham Sivills, centre is Richard Devaney and on the right, Dave Thompson, formerly Folk & Boat Festival Artistic Director and now running the FAB Festival on behalf of the Town Council as Events Manager.

SEE ALSO: THE FIRST MIDDLEWICH FOLK & BOAT FESTIVAL 1990

Diary entry originally published 12th June 2013 under the title
FAB FESTIVAL 2013: PADDIES, BOATS, SALT AND BISTO...

The title was changed to 'FOLK, BOATS, SALT AND BISTO' in 2018 because in previous years, Facebook's algorithms had spotted the word 'Paddies' and decide that it was a politically incorrect 'pejorative term' God help us all.

Many thanks to CLIFF ASTLES for permission to use these photographs.

Facebook Feedback (11th June 2020):

Heritage Officer Kerry Kirwan writes:

All will be back on display by the end of the year (hopefully!)

First published as 'Paddies, Boats, Salt and Bisto' 12th June 2013

Re-published 7th June 2014

10th June 2015

17th June 2017

Title altered to Folk, Boats, Salt and Bisto' and re-published

11th June 2018

10th JUNE 2020

BEFORE THE MIDDLEWICH DIARY: MOANING ABOUT THE MOANERS

Here's one from May  2011. Just a little bit of early Folk & Boat Festival memorabilia (adapted from an ERF Training manual). The real interest lies in the Facebook comments, featuring members of the original festival's organising committee  turning the tables on all those woefully misinformed  Middlewich Moaners. The subsequent feedback, from 2018, shows that all those  dismal mutterings from the more stupid element of Middlewich society obviously still rankled...

From Facebook, May 14th 2011

Now that festival fever is upon us once more, I thought I'd preserve this little piece of festival history. In the early years of MFAB we used to pin this on the doors of the various pub and club rooms we used for meetings. After a few years, the picture came closer and closer to the reality.

Facebook Feedback:

Ian Murfitt I remember many meetings like this one, the exception being the end of year financial meeting when we all stared at the floor, buttocks clenched, awaiting the pronouncement of the treasurer, whilst the rest of Middlewich muttered about what we did with the vast profits.


Stephen Dent What did we do with the vast profits? Oh, I remember now everyone in Middlewich made money except us!


Ian Murfitt Someone had a go at me last week about it. Working on that festival cost me a fortune, but Middlewich knows I was pocketing the vast profit, generated when they spent all weekend in a pub.


Dave Roberts Yes, we were all out of pocket running that festival. I recall the auditors telling us off because we didn't even claim all the expenses due to us. I'm afraid the new organising committee will have to put up with all the insinuations now. Personally, I've always felt that anyone making such accusations without even an iota of proof can go and...er...well, you know...


Stephen Dent Yes I feel sorry for the new organisers.

Editor's note: The references to the 'new organisers' comes about because 2011 was the year that the Town Council took over the running of the festival after it had run into financial difficulties. The 'new' name, 'Middlewich FAB Festival' dates from this time.

Facebook Feedback (May 2018)

When this little bit of Festival memorabilia was revived in May 2018, it attracted the following feedback:

Lizzie Rosenfield-Boyle Oh Dave I could tell some stories about meetings I’ve attended. And the hours I put in - and the sheer pleasure I experienced being a part of the team running said hugely successful festival.  And did I stand accused?! Of course I did ... yeah right. See you in the Bahamas!

Martin Rivers The old saying "no good deed goes unpunished".

Paul Williams In the early years we depended damn near entirely on John McAteer coming up with grants to kickstart the whole thing. It was certainly not going to pay for itself. Let alone let organisers put anything in their own pockets. It was always on a knife’s edge. People simply won’t believe you’ll give your time for nothing and there are enough dodgy accounting stories where that has been the case that they feel justified in their opinion. Not true of course. Community spirit abounds everywhere. Not least at the Middlewich FAB.

Dave Roberts Johnny Mac was, and remains, my all time hero. Most people will never know how much he did for this town with, as you say, pioneering work on the Folk festival and vast contributions of time and energy to help make the local football club what it is today. I always had the perfect, time-honoured phrase to use on those who'd sit and mutter into their pints, criticising the way the festival was run without, of course, ever volunteering to help in even the smallest way. It's 'Non-bowlers off the green'. Even the thickest knuckle-dragging member of the Keep Middlewich Miserable Campaign could understand what I meant, and it annoyed them no end. Which is always good, of course.

FOUNTAIN FIELDS SIGNS 1974 and 2011

by Dave Roberts

This was the sign which greeted visitors to the Fountain Fields recreation ground during the last days of the Middlewich UDC's existence in 1974. The recreation ground - or 'The Park' as most people call it* - had been serving the people of the town for twenty-two years at this point. I can't recall what the rest of the sign said, but it was one of those stern 'By Order Of The Council' announcements warning people against trying to enjoy themselves too much.

Notice the deadly spikes on the fence and gate. There was much dismay when these spikes were sawn off.

The general consensus of opinion was that anyone stupid enough to try to climb over such an obviously dangerous fence really had it coming.

In 1974 there was a little more to Fountain Fields than there is in the present day. At the top end, where the access road for Tesco's supermarket now runs, there was a putting green where in around 1966 I beat all comers in a St Michael's Players sports evening (I also thrashed them all at bowls, too)

*or even, time having moved on, 'Tesco Park'.

In 2011 the main entrance into Fountain Fields was graced by this sign erected by the Congleton Borough Council which, unusually, decided to give due credit to its predecessor for creating this valuable amenity.

As can be seen, it tells all and sundry that Councillor F Buckley opened Fountain Fields in July 1952, though why they didn't have the common courtesy to wait another couple of months until after I'd been born is beyond me. 

The Town Council has some photos of the opening celebrations, and I hope to be able to bring them to the Middlewich Diary soon.

It would be quite fitting if  Cheshire East  erected another sign acknowledging that it was the CBC who erected the sign acknowledging the MUDC...

There is a possibility that Fountain Fields will, before too long, be back in local hands. It's one of the responsibilities  which could be handed back to the Town Council under new legislation.

Then it would be time for another new sign. I suggest one giving thanks to the CBC and Cheshire East for looking after the place for us, followed by 'We're Back Now.'

I've got many happy memories of Fountain Fields. I played tennis there with my brothers as a child and when I got my first job with the UDC in 1969 one of my duties was to toddle along there periodically with old Bertie Maddock and collect all the pennies people had paid to use the toilets and the putting green.

Fountain Fields is, and always has been, very popular and I'm very proud to say that a few years ago I was instrumental in helping foil a dastardly plot to close it and sell the land off for housing.

Consultations took place in late 2015/early 2016 on the way that Fountain Fields should be developed; money became available for a revamp of the area and people living nearby were asked what they would like to see happen.

By far the most popular suggestion was that we should return to the days when Fountain Fields was locked at night, in order to deter 'anti-social behaviour'.

Surely not too much to ask?

If they can put a man on the moon....

Fountain Fields in its 1960s heyday. Note that in those days in was not thought necessary even to fence off the bowling green.       Photo courtesy of Elaine Carlin

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that  the original MUDC sign says FOUNTAIN FIELD rather than FOUNTAIN FIELDS. 

I've never noticed that before. Nor have I ever heard anyone use the singular form of the name. Has anyone else?

And if you're wondering where Fountain Fields gets its name from, it seems that  in the 19th Century the area was a source of water for the town. There were three wells, feeding into two storage tanks, one of which was called 'The Fountain'. These tanks, in turn, fed water into the 'Town Spout'. We're grateful to the Middlewich Heritage Society for this information. 

Facebook Feedback (2016):

Geraldine Williams In my day a great gathering place for the town's Yoof. I still have nightmares about one piece of equipment called The American, a huge suspended see-saw, where the poor kids in the middle were at the mercy of the lads hanging off the end, which made it go as high as possible. Elf 'n' Safety?!!

Sylvia Burrows I hope they do spend money on it. I enjoyed taking my children there, and playing bowls on the green. There was also a small paddling pool at the back but, sadly, houses were built on it. Happy memories!

Maggie Garner I remember that sign!



First published 30th November 2011
Updated and re-published 26th April 2016
and 27th April 2018

THE MIDDLEWICH DIARY: FIVE YEARS ON

The Middlewich Diary celebrated its fifth birthday on the 11th June 2016.
The idea for the blog came from the interest generated after we posted several colour pictures of Middlewich on Facebook, starting in April 2011.

After a few weeks, and after many people had asked for more, we began to post the pictures on the now long-defunct 'Salt Town Site', the Salt Town Poets website. 

Facebook 21st April 2011

This proved to be very time-consuming and inefficient and we looked around for a better way of  publishing the photographs on the web.
At that time the Crewe.tv blog was very popular and several people got in touch to suggest that we created a blog along similar lines.
The original idea was to publish our faded and battered collection of colour slides, mostly taken during the years 1967-1972, but we soon realised that the blogging medium could be used for much more than that; it could be used to present photographs and articles about Middlewich and its history, as well as promoting what was happening in the town in the 21st century.

'A Middlewich Diary', as it was then called, at middlewichdiary.blogspot.com, got off to a bit of a shaky start:

 

But, as we got to grips with the relatively new concept of blogging, we soon got into our stride

and began to feature more and more photographs from our own collection and from other sources.

Then, as now, we had an almost pathological need to explain ourselves, even finding it necessary to tell people what the grainy background of the blog was supposed to represent.

After a while 'A Middlewich Diary' had become 'The Middlewich Diary' - mostly because that's what everyone called it anyway.

By April 2012 the blog had become popular enough for us to be given one of the Town Council's 'Local Hero' Awards (forerunners of the 'Middlewich Oscars')

The Award was also made in recognition of work on the campaign to re-open the Middlewich Rail link to passengers.

We're planning a re-launch of the Middlewich Diary once all the hullabaloo of the FAB Festival is out of the way, and we're also hoping  to tackle the large backlog of photos and articles which a combination of circumstances has caused.
 We still have a lot to tell you about the history of our town and the way it is growing and developing (not always, it has to be said, to everyone's satisfaction) and we hope you'll stay with us for many years into the future.

In the meantime, let's take a look back to what we like to think of as the start of The Middlewich Diary Proper, five years ago.

Here's the first Diary 'entry'. A look at an iconic Middlewich building which once stood on the corner of Kinderton Street and King Street. Just the sight of this lovely old building is always sure to induce sighs of nostalgia from those who remember it.

Although we try to steer clear of the blatantly untrue 'Middlewich used to be lovely but now it's ruined' school of thought, no one can deny  that our town has never been the same since the sad demise of Moreton's Farmhouse.

MORETON'S FARMHOUSE 1970

TRANSPORT FESTIVAL BEST IN SHOW PHOTOS 2011

 If you own the copyright on this image, please let us know.

Photos supplied by Dave Thompson, Middlewich Town Council

MIDDLEWICH TRANSPORT FESTIVAL 2012

MIDDLEWICH ROSE FETE SAVED!

This Diary entry was originally published on June 28th 2012

MIDDLEWICH ROSE FETE SAVED!

Here's a link to the Middlewich Guardian's story on how a new committee got together with former organisers of the Rose Fete  to breathe new life into this much-cherished annual event:

ROSE FETE SAVED BY PARENTS

One of the organisers, Carole Moore, says, 'this is fabulous news for our town but now we need people to actually come forward to participate. No child or young person is excluded and we would love to hear from parents and children NOW to keep them 'in the loop' ready for the Rose Fete 2013.

We can't do it without you, so please get in touch and let's make next year the best one yet!!!

How amazing would it be to see all the children of Middlewich taking part in the parade?

And what an amazing memory it would be for them!

PLEASE get in touch and get involved!

If you contact us here at The Middlewich Diary, we'll put you in touch with the Rose Fete Organisers.

Does anyone have any photos of a lady who was Rose Queen in Middlewich in 1953?
Her name is Jean Sandbach, and she was the Grandma, or possibly even the Great-Grandma of one of the girls who entered the competition to become the 2012 Rose Queen in March.
Her parents would like to show her some photos, if any still exist.
If anyone can help it would be most appreciated. Please contact us here at The Middlewich Diary, and we'll pass the message on

Middlewich Rose Fete 2011

SEE ALSO: MIDDLEWICH ROSE FETE 2013

FLEA LANE BRIDGE 2011

A familiar sight to children, parents and grandparents on the daily trek to and from Middlewich Primary, St Mary's and Middlewich High School, our picture shows Flea Lane Bridge on the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch.
This is just one of many traditional 'hump-backed' canal bridges in the town.
In fact, to our knowledge, only two of them have been replaced by more modern structures - the bridge carrying Long Lane over the canal just a few yards east of this one in the late 1960s and, famously, the Town Bridge itself in 1931.
(The well-known, 'turnover bridge' on the Sandbach road, where the road switches from one side of the Trent & Mersey to the other, looks like a modern bridge, but in fact the original traditional canal bridge is still in place, hidden underneath the modern concrete and brick).
If you're not familiar with Flea Lane Bridge it may look from this angle as if the bridge leads to a dead end.
This, of course, is not the case.
For many years the bridge has been used only for pedestrians and the grey railings at the far side are there to ensure that only people on foot can get through to Eaton Drive.
When the bridge was first built it carried a track which ran from  Middlewich into the grounds of the Manor and was used by horses and carts carrying produce and other goods to and from the town.
The track continued toward the Manor on the alignment of the houses in the background.
The far grander carriage drive taking people to the Manor from Nantwich Road is a few yards to the west of this bridge on the other side of the aqueduct.
Until the new houses seen here were built the remains of a set of gates closing off the far end of the bridge were still to be seen.
Unsurprisingly the name 'Flea Lane' has fallen out of usage and seems only to be used in connection with this bridge, although the stretch of public footpath from the bridge to Manor Lane is still marked as such on Philips/Ordnance Survey maps.

MYSTERY PHOTO #2 - SOUTHWAY, AUTUMN 2011

Photo: Salt Town Productions 

Can you identify this attractive little corner of Middlewich?

Clue: Quite a few people have seen through my little subterfuge...

Well, of course, everyone saw through it. The photo should really look like this:

Photo Salt Town Productions

It's just that, when I looked at the picture which was actually taken this Autumn and shows Southway, close to the entrance to Tesco's delivery yard, it had a vaguely Edwardian feel to it which I thought could be enhanced by the sepia look. But nobody could really be fooled by the obviously 21st century brick paving, the steel lamp post to the left, or the Tesco Supermarket plant room on the right. Worth a try through.

This view, and many others we've become used to over the last few years, will be obliterated for ever if Tesco's plans for a massive new 35,000 sq ft. store come to fruition. The plans were recommended for acceptance by Middlewich Town Council in late December 2011

CHRISTMAS FAYRE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM CLIFF ASTLES

Father Christmas stops off for a rest in Middlewich during the run-up to Christmas and finds himself looking down the lens of Cliff Astles' camera.
Cliff was on hand, as always, when Santa and his reindeer came to town, and you can take a look at the resulting photo album here:

SANTA'S REINDEER COME TO TOWN

Cliff's site has many albums of photos of Middlewich and further afield and is well worth browsing through. Here's a link to the main page:

CLIFF ASTLES' PHOTO SITE

Facebook feedback
Chris Koons I remember when my dad (David Sant) was Santa at the Christmas fair. I took my little sister down to see 'Santa' and when we finally got to the front of the line, she pointed at him and squealed, "THAT'S MY DAD!!!"  He'd forgot to take his signet rings off...

CHRISTMAS IN MIDDLEWICH 2011 - WHEELOCK STREET ON DECEMBER 2nd

A picture to make many an exiled Middlewicher long for home. This is the scene in Wheelock Street on the evening of December 2nd, with the Christmas lights now in place for the festive season
The Christmas Fayre got off to a  successful and, by all accounts, eventful start and many people will be staying out and heading for the newly re-opened White Bear, looking very inviting in all its newly-restored splendour on the right. To the right of the pub, by the way, are the two shops we made famous earlier this year. The one with the green windows right next to the restored White Bear will forever more be known as Sharon's Cafe. Well, it will to us.
Underneath the White Bear sign and in the distance we can see the distinctive facade of the old Alhambra Cinema, which is now a very popular Chinese restaurant.
On the opposite side of the road, looking cheerful and welcoming in the December night, are the Kandi Steakhouse (now Chimichangos Mexican Restaurant) and adjacent Choklat Bar.

NOW & THEN: SOUTHWAY AND TESCO ENTRANCE 1960s and 2011

This posting should be read with reference to this one in which we were looking at part of the site of the current Tesco supermarket and car park as it was in (we think) the 1960s.
Obviously the best way of comparing a scene from the past with its modern-day counterpart is to take a 'now' picture to put alongside the 'then' shot, but this is not always as easy as it might appear.
This is a case in point.
Short of knocking down the Tesco Supermarket, there is no way an exact present-day equivalent of the 1960s shot can be taken, and this is the best I could do. I've cropped and enlarged part of the original black & white shot to try to make the two pictures a little easier to compare.
On the extreme left of both shots is Barclay House, struggling to be seen through the trees in the old shot, but in the new picture seeming almost engulfed by the luxuriant foliage which forms part of the landscaping of the current Tesco car park.
The two windows at the end of the block of shops along Southway can be seen in both photos (in actual fact the block in question is, traditionally, part of Wheelock Street - Southway was, until the 70s, just the name for the footpath between Wheelock Street and St Ann's Road. This posting shows how things were at the start of that decade) At one time these windows were partly masked by the roof of the wooden 'industrial' building which stood at the end of the block, and when this was removed and replaced by the modern lower-roofed building which houses the hairdressers and florists shops, those windows were fully revealed.
And I have to say that I think my assertion that the trees in the 'then' shot are in the same spot as the Tesco entrance 'pagoda' was absolutely spot on.

Facebook Feedback:
Paul Greenwood The two windows at the end of the building to the right of the image are my bedroom windows now!!

WHITE BEAR RE-OPENING DATE ANNOUNCED!

We're reliably informed that this once rundown hostelry will, after extensive  refurbishment, be re-opening for business on Friday 25th November at lunchtime. There's also a possibility of a  preview on Thursday evening.
Everyone concerned is to be congratulated on the superb restoration of this Middlewich landmark.

MORETON'S FARMHOUSE 1970 (THE FIRST MIDDLEWICH DIARY ENTRY)

Pool Head Farm, Kinderton Street. Home of the Moreton family and a lovely old building full to the brim with grandfather clocks and other ancient curiosities. If you want to picture exactly where this house was, stand on the front doorstep of The Boar's Head and look up the road to where the new houses have been built on the old station yard. Pool Head farmhouse was roughly in the middle of the road. The pool itself has also gone - filled in, flattened and built on. It once provided water to power the corn mill (now 'Town Bridge Motors') and was fed, via a little mill stream which also  supplied water to the water tower at Middlewich Station and then ran under King Street in a culvert. The pool drained into the River Croco. Behind the tree on the left, we can just make out the rear of a large billboard, companion to the one at the foot of the railway bridge.

(This is a slightly expanded version of the first of the 'Middlewich Collection' to be published on Facebook on 13th April 2011)

Here's how that entry looked:

Facebook Feedback (from original publication of this photo on the 13th April 2011:

Sherry Hill-Smith: Up the road? You mean the new houses on King Street, across from the Factory Outlet shop - or towards the Masonic Lodge, down that way? The houses across from the industrial estate where SpanSet sits?

Dave Roberts: Yes, looking up towards the junction of Kinderton and King Streets. Kinderton Street was a lot narrower then with a row of shops and houses across from the Boar's Head and on the land where the Factory Shop now stands

Stephen Dent: Very interesting. It's not quite in the position I thought it was.

Dave Roberts: Another way of looking at it is this: At the very end of King Street is a traffic island. The farmhouse was situated round about there.

Jonathan Williams: We lived in one of the houses on the same side of Kinderton Street as the Boar's Head, where the Factory Shop is. It stood right on the edge of Kinderton Street. Mum and Dad moved there when they married fifty years ago. We lived there until around 1967/8 when the chimney imploded and the houses were knocked down (I think) as part of the road-widening scheme. The parking area outside the Boar's Head is the original line of Kinderton Street.

Sherry Hill-Smith: Ahhh! I'm with you now!

Dave Roberts: Yes, sorry Sherry, that 'in the middle of the road' bit probably misled you. Jonathan - yes, I can remember there being houses on that side of Kinderton Street, including one very tall house with a flight of steps up to the front door.

Jonathan Williams: 'Our House, in the middle of Our Street...Madness, they call it Madness...!'

Geraldine Williams: (19th April 2011) That was probably ours, Dave. Number 18 was a 3-storey building and I understand it was used as a telephone exchange at some point. It adjoined what used to be Clewes' Bakery. The Jordan family lived there before us. We were re-housed in Alexandra Road as part of the road-widening plans.

.

This was the first of the 'Middlewich' collection of photos to be published on Facebook on 13th April 2011, and the first Middlewich Diary entry on the 10th June 2011 (revised and re-published 27th June 2011