SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (1) 1974

 Here's a slide from 1974 which shows just how close to the town centre the Pepper Street works of Henry Seddon actually came. The building to the right is part of the loading bays where salt would be put onto a horse and cart and taken to Middlewich Station which was only a matter of half a mile or so away at the top of Kinderton Street. We are, of course, looking out onto Lower Street, which by this time had become part of St Michael's Way..

First published on Facebook on 23rd May 2011. The original feedback is below

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    Geraldine Williams My husband was one of the gang of lads who clung onto the back of the cart hitching a lift up to St Mary's School on King Street. The driver never spoke or looked over his shoulder to acknowledge that they were there but simply flicked his whip backwards so that they would let go.....!!!!
    

    23 May at 10:55 · 
    
    
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    Geraldine Williams Apparently the driver's name was George Capper but the horse's name is unknown....!!!! haha
    

    23 May at 11:28 · 
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    Dave Roberts Perhaps he was named 'Henry' after the boss? 
    

    23 May at 19:25 · 
    
    
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    Dave Roberts Returning to Seddon's horse and cart; this was kept at Chadwick Fields, the home of the Seddon Family. There's a description of how the salt was transported in 'Tales of Wych & Water', the CD which I compiled and edited for Middlewich Vision a couple of years ago. I'll look it out.
    

    23 May at 19:30 · 
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    Dave Roberts 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Here we go: I got the basic story right, but some details wrong. Just goes to show you should always go back to the source...'There used to be a bloke called Charlie Capper that had two shire horses up at Chadwick Fields, where Mr Roland Seddon lived, and they used to come down every day and pick the cart up at Pepper Street, then they used to load this common salt,as they called it, onto the truck and then they used to run it up to the railway station and there they had railway vans which were for the lump salt and the open trucks were for this common salt. There's be two or three blokes at the railway yard who'd chuck it into the railway waggons and this is how they got rid of all this common salt' (From 'Tales of Wych & Water')

    
    

    23 May at 21:11 · 
     See also: SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (2) 1974
    SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (3) 1974
    

COTTAGES IN PEPPER STREET, 1969

This shot was taken in 1969 on the bend where Pepper Street curves round to become Webbs Lane. The brick wall on the extreme left might still exist, but I'm not sure. Behind it is a row of cottages which do still exist and are now all that remains of Pepper Street. To the right of the wall can be seen a small section of Seddon's Pepper Street Works, which closed a couple of years earlier but were still largely intact at this time. The entrance to The Moorings is approximately in this position today.

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    The row of salt workers' cottages shown here were demolished when St Michael's Way was built, and they were replaced by the grass verge which now divides Pepper Street from the dual carriageway. Out of shot to the right was the telephone exchange in its own compound and set a long way back from the road, reflected by the fact that it is now marooned on the opposite side of St Michael's Way. It has also been greatly enlarged and festooned with aerials.
    
    
    This photo was first published on Facebook on 18th April 2011. The original Facebook feedback is below:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    • Sherry Hill-Smith the wall no longer exists - at least not as a wall in that place - who knows, some one may have used many of the reclaimed bricks to build a wall somewhere else? but that's my house!!!! third door down (I'm still claiming it as I'm still on the lease} =oP
      

      18 April at 20:10 · 
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      Sherry Hill-Smith It doesn't look right tho
      

      18 April at 20:14 · 
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      Dave Roberts Ah Sherry, I fear that you are once again facing in the wrong direction. See my comment on your Google Earth pic. All good fun, though, innit?
      

      18 April at 21:11 · 
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      Dave Roberts Aha! Hold the front page! I see where a bit of the confusion may have come from. What I describe as a 'row of cottages' (out of sight behind that brick wall and still there today) would more accurately be described as a 'row of houses', and it is one of these to which Sherry refers. Stick with us folks, plenty more photos to come, along, I'm sure, with plenty more confusion.
      

      18 April at 21:21 · 
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      Sherry Hill-Smith lol! a regular roller coaster of fun it is
      

      18 April at 21:25 · 
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      Dave Roberts After a personal recce, we can confirm that the little bit of wall on the left must have  bitten the dust years ago.
      
      
      

      
      

      

      Photo: Google Earth Streetview

      The photo above was added by Sherry Hill Smith who lived for a time in Pepper Street - ed.

      
      

      
      
      
      
      

      Sherry Hill-Smith: almost the same vantage point

      18 April ·  · 

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          Dave Roberts Oh dear. I do believe you've done it again. My 1969 picture was taken from the other end of Pepper Street and facing in the other direction(i.e towards the town centre). The cottages in my picture were where the grass verge is on the left of your picture.
          

          18 April at 21:04 · 
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          Sherry Hill-Smith Jeeez - should I just give up Dave?
          

          18 April at 21:37 · 
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          Dave Roberts No! your comments and enthusiasm are very much appreciated. And, as we've seen, it only takes a bit of explanation to put things right. So don't go beating yourself up, it's all just good fun. Very interesting,too.
          

          18 April at 21:48 ·  ·  1 person