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
    

PEPPER STREET, EARLY 1969

Another of our Instamatic memories, this time of Pepper Street in early 1969. To the right is, of course, Seddon's Salt Works, which had closed in 1967 and was awaiting demolition. An achingly familiar view for many of us and, even after 42 years it's hard to believe we'll never see it again. Why was the Salt Works in Pepper Street? Where else would you put it? If we had to describe the present day vantage point for this picture, we'd have to say it's taken from the middle of the dual carriage way, probably right in the middle of the junction with Wheelock Street and to the left of the 'amphitheatre'. The works site is, of course, now taken up by The Moorings. Around the corner was Seddon's offices (of which more later) and the row of cottages which still exists and includes Sherry Hill-Smith's house. What was behind the wall on the left? We know that a little further along, on that side of the road, were, among other things, the now-demolished cottages where the grass verge between Pepper Street and St Michael's Way stands, Powell's Clothing Factory and the telephone exchange.


This photo was first published on Facebook on 25th April 2011 and the original feedback is reproduced below:

• Geraldine Williams 
  
  
  
  

  Behind the wall was a rather grand house, set well back from the road, which in the 1950s was owned by the Griffiths family. I don't know whether there was some connection with Seddon's (manager's house?). The house was screened from the works by a row of wonderful trees - possibly limes - and as Pepper Street was our shortcut to school we used to love it in the Autumn when it was knee-high in leaves from these trees!

  
  

  
  
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  Dave Roberts Wonderful! There's an addition to our knowledge base for you. I didn't know about that particular property, and had more or less assumed that the land belonged to some of the businesses in Wheelock Street.
  
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  Colin Derek Appleton There was also a small P O W camp in Pepper Street housing German prisoners who were put to work in the salt works. This is not to be confused with the Italian P O W camp in Brooks Lane, the prisoners from which worked in Seddons' factory there.

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SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (3) 1974

Another view of the yard at Henry Seddon & Sons Pepper Street works in 1974. Just to the right of the salt warehouse on the left can be seen the company's offices, which were, as we have seen, close to the present day entrance to The Moorings.

See  also SEDDONS YARD PEPPER STREET (2)
SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (1)