BARCLAY HOUSE, SOUTHWAY 2012

by Dave Roberts

A crying shame. Paul Greenwood's photograph shows us Barclay House on the lower part of Southway, close to the shops on the approach to the Tesco Supermarket.
This once beautiful house and garden has fallen victim to planning blight, as have all the properties between Southway and Darlington Street, pending a decision by Tesco on what they plan to do with their existing store and the land they have acquired for its enlargement.
Barclay House is a particularly sad loss. It's a true Victorian gem retaining, as the estate agents would say, many original features including beautiful stained glass in the doorway, now hidden away behind ugly steel shutters designed to keep vandals  away.
That 'To Let' sign by the way, does not refer to Barclay House, but to a 'Deli & Sandwich Bar' - presumably the one in Wheelock Street owned by Johnny McAlinden until his recent untimely death,
It's not clear whether Barclay House will be available to let, although other property in the area has been, indicating that an announcement by Tesco on what they propose to do with the land may not be imminent.

Barclay House in happier days (STP photo)

UPDATE (MAY 2020): Barclay House was finally demolished on the 21st May 2020.

We're grateful to Amy Murray for permission to use her photos of the demolition.

Photo: Amy Murray

Photo: Amy Murray

The end of Barclay House was long, drawn-out and heartbreaking. After many years of dereliction and decay work began on clearing the whole site early in 2020. Progress was very slow and ground to a complete halt when the Covid-19 outbreak meant that work on all such sites was suspended for several weeks. 
Finally, on the 21st May,  the long-awaited bulldozers moved in.
Although Barclay House took its name from the fact that it was the residence of the manager of the nearby bank, we're told that the house actually predated the bank itself.

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Editor's Note: The plight of poor old Barclay House struck a chord with many. It seems to have been everyone's dream house (including mine) over the years and to see it in such reduced circumstances is like seeing an old friend in trouble. Below is the feedback generated by the Facebook link to this entry:

Kath Walklate I used to look at that house over 58 years ago and wish I lived in it

Dave Roberts Yes. I've always loved the look of it, and I know many others have too. It's such a pity to see it as it is now.

Kath Walklate We used to come out of the pictures, which cost ninepence, and get a sixpenny mixed (chips and peas) and walk up 'picture alley'.

Geraldine Williams And everyone used to call at the little sweet shop just to the right of Southway to stock up before the film started! Was the proprietor a Mrs Atkinson?

Kath Walklate I'm not sure, Geraldine. I only recall Torchy. You didn't dare make a noise or he would throw you out!

Geraldine Williams I didn't know about Torchy, but I think he was mentioned in a Diary entry about Southway and how the kids tried to get into the cinema by the rear door and so avoid paying. He sounds like quite a character! Was he from Middlewich, and does anyone know his real name?

Kath Walklate I'll ask my older sister. She might know.

Susan Nugent I remember little Nora and her husband Arthur living in Barclay House. She might have been small, but you never crossed her! She was a good laugh when she worked at the Lily Works!

Geraldine Williams Yes, I remember Little Nora. I wonder what the history of the house is? You'd assume it was originally built for the Bank Manager at Barclays, but the name might just be a coincidence.

Gemma Blower I cannot believe you've featured this! I went past the other day and saw this house for the first time, and it's bugging me who owned it and why they're not doing anything with it. It's a beautiful house!

Wendy Johnson We went in one day when we were considering buying a choccy labrador. A lovely old house. What a shame it will be bulldozed to make way for Tesco!

Rachel Humphreys I totally agree, Wendy. Such a shame. And I bet the owners weren't so happy about the location of the current Tesco supermarket when it was first built. A beautiful house.

Michelle Woodcock I have always loved that house. A proper double-fronted dolls house! It's a disgrace to bulldoze such a beauty.

First published 27th June 2012. Updated and republished 21st May 2020, the day that Barclay House finally fell to the bulldozers.

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.

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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