THE WARDLE CANAL AND ICI WORKS IN WINTER

 

Photo: Frank Smith/Bill Eaton

by David Roberts

Courtesy of Bill Eaton, here's a photo from the collection of the late Frank Smith of Ravenscroft showing the working days of the Wardle Canal, which links the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union to the Trent & Mersey.

These days it's very much a part of the canal network's new role as a part of the leisure industry and sees many boating tourists passing through as they negotiate the 'Cheshire Ring'.

To help you get your modern-day bearings; if Wardle Cottage wasn't there, you'd very likely be able to see the Kings Lock pub (and the Kings Lock itself) at that time dwarfed by the massive ICI limestone crushing machinery and buildings.

Wardle Cottage, to the right of the photo was, of course, the home of 'Auntie' Maureen Shaw.

The Middlewich Diary has a collection of articles and photos of Maureen and her lock. Here are links to a few of them.

MAUREEN AND HER LOCK

MAUREEN'S FUNERAL

MEMORIES OF A BOATWOMAN

WARDLE COTTAGE AND 'AUNTIE' MAUREEN

Frank's picture, though, shows Wardle lock and its environs in very different times. We've been trying to pinpoint the probable date of this photo and, because of something which Frank says in his own caption, we've been able to narrow it down to some time between 1929 and 1952.

We're wondering if the snow on the ground and the huge amount of ice in the canal, means that the scene pictured could possibly have been captured in 1947, a year which saw a very hard winter indeed and fits comfortably within our time-frame.

Here's Frank's caption, which he helpfully wrote on the back of the original photo:

Shropshire Union Canal, Middlewich

Looking East.

Sutton Wharf, Wardle Lock. The works in the background was ICI (formerly Brunner, Mond & Co). This closed in 1962.
The chimney served the finishing machines which 'roasted' the bicarbonate of soda at high temperature converting it into carbonate of soda.
The cloud of steam on the left of the picture is from the works shunting engine (not visible) named  Dalton.

We're very fortunate indeed that that little shunting engine chose the very moment that the shutter was pressed to release its steam into the atmosphere, because Frank's sharp eye and encyclopaedic knowledge has enabled us to show you just what that diminutive engine looked like, and something of its history.

Photo: I.R.S. Richmond Collection/Alan Wilkinson

This photo was borrowed from 'Railways Across Mid-Cheshire' by Alan Wilkinson (Foxline Publications. ISBN 1 - 870119-66-5)

Alan writes:

All ICI's Mid-Cheshire works were shunted by diminutive Borrows well tanks, Dalton and Moulton arrived from Kerr Stuart in 1929. Moulton was scrapped in 1957 while Dalton went to Winnington in 1952. Dalton is seen (here) in the mid-thirties. Northwich crews endured many vicissitudes when transferring such 'mini powers' between works over main line tracks!

(Dalton was named after John Dalton, 1766-1844, the chemist, physicist and meteorologist)

Diary entry first published 2nd January 2022

ICI MIDDLEWICH WORKS COMMEMORATIVE PHOTO 1962

ICI MIDDLEWICH WORKS in Brooks Lane. Photo courtesy of John Bailey/Bill Armsden. Reproduced with permission.

by Dave Roberts

This photograph of the ICI Works in Middlewich is dated 1962 and has been restored to near-mint condition by Bill Armsden, who writes:

This photograph, taken in 1962, is of the ICI Works which could be seen from Booth Lane and was located to the right of where the Kings Lock Pub is.

Pochins now sits where this works was.

I have cleaned up and enhanced the picture and it is now almost mint. It is hard to believe that just over 50 years ago this dominated the view from St Anns and Kitfield Avenues.

Do you remember it? I do.


Bill says that the photo has the year 1962 written on the back, and was one of many copies given out to workers at ICI Middlewich when the works closed in that year. 

This particular copy belongs to John Bailey, who now lives in Knutsford.*

I have a vague feeling that this photo may have been taken before 1962, as the buildings and apparatus on the site don't look exactly as I remember them at that time. Then again, I was only a youngster in 1962, so I may be mistaken. 

Does anyone know if this is indeed how the works looked in 1962?

Here's a different view of part of the works, courtesy of Bill Eaton

ICI DISTILLER BUILDING

And a late 1950s view of the SUC Middlewich Branch, also from Bill Armsden's collection, which includes a glimpse of the works.

CANAL SCENE FROM THE LATE 1950s

Many thanks to Bill and also to John Bailey* for allowing us to feature this historic photo.

UPDATE (4th March 2018)

From Australia, Bevan Goodall writes:

'Thanks, Dave, for making this photo available.

I left ICI Middlewich in 1960 to emigrate to Australia, so I didn't receive a copy. 

I remember working one freezing winter thirty-odd metres up the side of the distillation plant, installing some removable panels.

I had my billy-can of tea laced with rum sitting on a steam-pipe nearby.

Harry Sandbach, the foreman - a lovely guy - was in the habit of helping himself to a drink when he came around to inspect what was going on.

He had a sip of my tea.

After a 'what the heck!' it didn't take him long to have another one!

Of course that wouldn't happen today with the current 'Health & Safety' regime...'



Many thanks to Bevan for this story, and how nice that he was able to get hold of his copy of the commemorative  photo of the works, albeit electronically, 58 years on -Ed.

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* Sadly, since this diary entry was first published, John has passed away. -Ed

Bill Armsden writes:

'My dear friend John Bailey sadly passed away suddenly in September last year from a massive heart attack. It was always his intention to make a private video of 'his Middlewich' as he was Middlewich born and bred.
Sadly, that will never happen but we can thank him for the 8mm film shot in his car during the late 1960's whilst he travelled from St Annes Avenue through to Chester Zoo. The Middlewich Diary was given a copy of that film and John was very happy to do that.'

We were very sorry to hear of John's passing. Here's the link to that precious film -Ed

GLIMPSES OF MIDDLEWICH AND WINSFORD IN THE 60s

Please note that this film is temporarily unavailable, due to a technical problem. We hope to have the link restored very soon -Ed.

First published 28th February 2014
Re-published 28th February 2018
and 27th July 2018

Links repaired. Entry re-published 26th February 2021

Re-published 2nd September 2021

BRUNNER MOND/MURGATROYD'S CHEMICAL WORKS EARLY 20th CENTURY

We believe this image to be out of copyright. If you own the copyright, or know who does, please let us know

by Dave Roberts

As regular readers of the Middlewich Diary will know, our main problem when dealing with old photographs lies in finding something like an accurate date for each one. It's important because only by establishing the period in which a photograph was taken can we know what we're looking at.

On the other hand, the Middlewich Diary is not a historical treatise in any way, and our on-line format gives us the great luxury of being able to change and augment each Diary entry as new information comes to light.

So we're hoping that someone might be able to help us with the date of this particular photo.

The chemical works shown here will be recognised by many long standing Middlewich residents (although the buildings and industrial equipment on the site changed considerably over the years). 

It was originally opened by Murgatroyd's, at the time known as the Murgatroyd's  Ammonia-Soda and Salt Syndicate but later, in 1949, to become Murgatroyd's Salt & Chemical Company, just ahead of the opening of their new works at Elworth.

Murgatroyd's were owners of the adjacent salt works (out of shot to the left and between this works and the railway line).

The works suffered from the start from severe competition from Brunner Mond, who eventually took it over. Does anyone know the year of that takeover?

By the time of  its closure in 1962, the works was run by  ICI  but, throughout its life was always generally known as the Mid-Cheshire Works or Mid-Cheshire Alkali Works.

We think it likely that the above photograph was taken during the works' time as Brunner Mond, in the early twentieth century, but it's just possible that it might still have been  under Murgatroyd's ownership at the time. 

If you've seen this photograph before and can enlighten us, we'd be delighted, as always, to hear from you.

One clue may be that on page 127 of Allan Earl's Middlewich 1900-1950 (Cheshire Country Publishing 1994) there is a picture of this works taken from a different angle - possibly from what is now the Booth Lane children's playground between the ends of St Ann's and Kitfield Avenues - and the buildings and equipment look to be very much the same as in our photo. The picture is described in the book as being of Brunner Mond Works. Without going into all the complicated technicalities, Murgatroyd's processes differed from those used by Brunner Mond and it follows that the equipment used would also be different so it's possible that someone with real knowledge of such equipment might be able to tell the difference.

On the extreme right (of our photo), minding its own business, is the Kings Lock pub, and centre left is the start of that arm of the Trent & Mersey Canal which, in the present day, serves one of the local boatyards.

The part of the  chemical works site shown here is now home to Pochin Ltd and the land to the south covered by railway sidings in Chemical Works days was the home to ERF Service between 1971 and 2000.

SEE ALSO: ICI WORKS 1960s

ICI WORKS, EARLY-MID 1960s

This murky scene of industrial dereliction shows the old ICI Middlewich works in the process of being dismantled in the early to mid 60s. The works closed in 1962 and the demolition seems to be in a fairly advanced state, so the photo, taken by Jack Stanier, probably dates from around 1964-5. The large building in the middle of the shot was retained by Pochin Ltd when they took over part of this site in the late 60s, as were many other buildings on the site. At least one survives today, running along 'Road Beta' and adjoining the wrought iron works gates which still also survive largely intact. The other end of the site, filled with railway sidings in ICI days, was completely cleared and became home to ERF's Service Centre in 1971. The old ERF buildings also still exist but have been reclad and are anonymous and nondescript in their present guise. The structure to the right was part of the works' limestone crushing plant and to the right of that, out of shot, was (and still is) the King's Lock pub. If you look closely at the slide you may also be able to pick out the cast iron canal signpost which directed boats to Chester via the SUC Middlewich Branch