GOODBYE BIG TESCO! 18th AUGUST 2018.

by Dave Roberts

Cheshire people don't waste words.

They'll disregard unimportant ones whenever possible and tell you they're 'going pub', 'going shop', 'going work'.

They don't even bother, as Yorkshire people do, to shorten the word 'the' to a token 't'.

So it's hardly surprising that what others might call something like 'the main Tesco Middlewich store', or the 'Tesco Superstore' was referred to by townspeople, in recent years at least, simply as 'Big Tesco'.

The name 'Big Tesco' came into use when the company took over the smaller convenience stores in Middlewich town centre and Warmingham Lane.

'Big Tesco' was only in existence for around nine years, but it left its mark and in that short time became something of a Middlewich institution.

As long ago as the 1960s plans had been mooted to build a supermarket in Middlewich; something which surrounding towns were also enthusiastically considering.

It was the Co-op which first came up with the idea for a Middlewich 'superstore' but the Middlewich Urban District Council - which was at that time almost indistinguishable from the Middlewich Chamber of Trade - resisted, in order to 'protect existing businesses'.

In the early 1970s the Co-op built their 'superstore' in the Bull Ring.

A relatively small part of this huge building is still in use as a Tesco Express convenience store, but most of it is empty.

The huge space at the rear of the premises was last used as workshops and storage space for Pineland Ltd, who also occupied the former Co-op Chemist's department to the right of the convenience store under the benevolent stewardship of 'Pineland George'.

So it wasn't until 1987 that Middlewich's first real supermarket was built by Gateway.


Southway in 1987. The Gateway Supermarket, later to be Somerfields and then 'Big Tesco' can be seen under construction in the background. You'll notice that there doesn't seem to be an entrance on this side of the supermarket as built. If anyone has photos of the premises in its early Gateway or Somerfield days, we'd love to see them. Other sites considered for our first 'real' supermarket were Middlewich Football Club and Chester Road, where the Lidl supermarket is now.


The history of Gateway and Somerfield, like the history of all supermarket chains, is complicated and convoluted. The original Gateway could trace its history back to 1875, and its chain of supermarkets began operations in 1960, mainly in the South of England. The company was very ambitious and, over the years, acquired such well-known names as KwikSave and FineFare. The name was changed to Somerfield in 1998. Gateway Middlewich opened in 1987 as our town's first proper supermarket.
We're grateful to Margaret Peterson who tells us that the opening date was either the 17th or 18th August that year. This would mean, rather fittingly, that the store was open under Gateway/Somerfield and Tesco for thirty-one years to the day.




In 1994 Gateway announced that all its stores would be re-branded as 'Somerfield', a name which originated as a Gateway 'own brand' label. The connection between Gateway and Somerfield can be clearly seen in this logo.



The familiar Somerfield brand as seen in Middlewich. Gateway Middlewich became Somerfield Middlewich in 1998.

In 2006 Somerfield began the process of 'rationalising' its network of stores, a move which involved the selling off of the Middlewich store..

A rare photograph of Somerfield's Middlewich store taken on the 2nd February 2009

when the store had been earmarked for closure.  (photo added 22nd Oct 2018) 

 The very last day of Somerfield, Middlewich, in March 2009. A comparison with the photo (below) of the Tesco staff on August 18th nine years later shows that many Somerfield staff moved over to the new store. In fact the refurbishment of the store and its re-opening as Tesco Middlewich was completed in a comparatively short time. Some of the existing equipment, such as freezers and fixtures and fittings, were re-used by Tesco. 

(Photo added 23rd Oct  2018). 

Many thanks to Joanne Shaw, Glenis Ollier, Janette Clutton and Paul Greenwood for information on this photo.                                  

The Somerfield stores were sold off to the Co-op and for a time it looked like that organisation might at last achieve its ambition of opening a real supermarket in the town. 

It was not to be. Instead, in  2009, Somerfield Middlewich became...




TESCO: A POTTED HISTORY
Jacob Cohen, the founder of Tesco, changed his name to Jack after encountering anti-Semitism during the first world war. He started in business in 1919 selling ex-NAAFI goods from a barrow. Very soon he had stalls in markets all over the East End of London, and a horse and cart to keep them all supplied with goods. In 1924 he began buying tea from the appropriately named T. E. Stockwell. The tea had to be given a brand name and one was created from Stockwell's initials and the first two letters of Jack's surname: T.E.S. CO. Soon Jack's enterprises became first covered market stalls, then shops, and then the very earliest supermarkets with the name Priceright. In 1931 Jack consolidated his businesses and started to compete with the Co-op, Sainsbury's and other established grocery names, using his TESCO brand as the name for the stores. It was at this time that Tesco's famous motto 'Pile It High, Sell It Cheap' was coined. By 1935 Tesco was a major contender in the grocery trade and by 1951 the 'Tesco' chain of supermarkets had started to appear.
- Information adapted from: 'How It All Began Up the High Street', by Maurice Baren. A fuller version of the founding of Tesco can be found in the book.

Tesco Middlewich, as it was in 2013.   Photo: Bill Armsden

It's fair to say that Middlewich took its new supermarket to its heart. It wasn't the biggest of supermarkets, and it wasn't the best situated. But the staff was friendly and welcoming and you could buy almost anything you wanted there.

It also had the advantage of sharing the town's only decent car-park with first Congleton Borough and then Cheshire East Councils.

And the nearby Fountain Fields park was soon dubbed 'Tesco Park' by a new generation.

In 2012, Tesco announced plans for a massive expansion of the Middlewich store and bought up a large area of land between the existing store, Southway, and Darlington Street. This plan would, for better or worse, have revolutionised shopping in Middlewich.



Only a year later the plans were abandoned.

BROKEN DREAMS

(A Middlewich Diary entry)

And things settled back into the usual routine, Tesco Middlewich carried on as it had since 2009, but this time with a simmering background of resentment locally as the property bought up by Tesco fell into rack and ruin. The resentment was aimed at the far away 'head office' of the company, never at the hard-working Middlewich staff.

One loss in particular was keenly felt by some locals, partly because of its history and picturesque appearance, and partly because it could be seen, gradually falling apart at the seams, right next to the entrance to Tesco.



Barclay House in Southway. Built, as its name suggests, as a residence for the manager of Barclay's Bank in nearby Wheelock Street.* Now the bank itself has closed, though the building which housed it survives. What will become of Barclay House?

*Not actually true, as explained by Mike Walton of Middlewich Heritage Society in the comments (below). The house wasn't built by Barclays, but pre-dates its use as the managers house by a good few years. In local history, as in so many things, nothing can be taken for granted, and research is always necessary.

And then, seemingly out of the blue, at the end of July 2018, Tesco announced that its main Middlewich store would be closing.

TESCO MIDDLEWICH TO CLOSE DOWN

A REPORT FROM THE



The news came as a total shock, to both staff and customers. The store seemed to be thriving and holding its own against local competitors. What were Tesco playing at?

Initial reports as to what might replace the store were a little confused. Some members of staff were under the impression that the building might be used for a 'hardware store'.

It has to be borne in mind that at this time Tesco were keeping their plans for a new chain of discount supermarkets called 'Jack's' (after the founder of the firm) very much under wraps, but several members of staff said they had been invited to apply for jobs at a new Middlewich store to replace Tesco.

The date for the closure of 'Big Tesco' was eventually announced as the 18th August.



The notice announcing the date of the closure and reminding people of the existence of Middlewich's two Tesco Express stores. Immediately after the closure of the main Tesco store, the Tesco Express in Wheelock Street amended its opening hours to 6am - 11pm in line with the Warmingham Lane store.

On the day of the closure we took a last look at 'Big Tesco'.



The sign on Queen Street/King Edward Street at the entrance to the access road to the car park and supermarket. This area was originally part of the Fountain Fields recreation ground - the putting green to be precise - and is also, as Harry Random has pointed out, close to the probable site of one of the water pumps which gave Fountain Fields its name.



The 'Pagoda' at the top of Southway and the steps giving pedestrian access to the supermarket from Wheelock Street. In 2015 this location was used as the venue for a National Town Crier competition organised by Devlin Hobson, Middlewich's own Crier. Highlights were broadcast by Granada TV on 'Granada Reports'. Look carefully and you may spot Mr Roberts looking bemused and obviously wondering what he was doing there. I was one of the judges, actually.

GRANADA REPORTS TOWN CRIER COMP REPORT (2015)


The 'tradesmen's entrance' to the store at the top end of Southway where deliveries were made via the nearby St Ann's Road. All the Tesco signs, inside and out, including this one, were removed on the day the store closed.



Strolling across the car park, we came upon this sign marking the exit onto St Ann's Road. A sign seen every day by one and all but, on this particular day, seeming rather poignant.



On the side of the store, on Southway, peeling paint on this sheet metal protecting a drainpipe, is the very last tiny reminder of the days when the supermarket belonged to Gateway and Somerfield.



This sign, along with a similar one on the front of the building was always left on all night and could be seen shining through the trees on Fountain Fields as a reminder that Tesco was still there. Like all the others, it was swiftly removed on the day of closure.



Such a familiar sight. It's hard to realise that it's now disappeared.



Workers lost no time on the day of closure in removing all the Tesco signs. Note how the individual lettering was removed from the signboards. Perhaps the boards themselves are to be recycled , either here or elsewhere? (Photo supplied No 1)


Just around the corner; the front elevation of the supermarket building. Are we imagining this, or did this sign wear the official Tesco party hat in the festive season?

(Image: W+K London)



A sense of place. Tesco left shoppers in no doubt as to just where their store was situated. It was little touches like this that helped make 'Big Tesco' part of the community.


The Tesco Middlewich signs were taken down, by all accounts before the last customer had even been served. To the left you can see that many of the shelves had, by this time, already been cleared. (Photo supplied No 2)


Stepping inside the store, we see this achingly familiar sight now, sadly, confined to history. The fruit and veg. aisles, with the bakery in the distance.


Bread, groceries and frozen foods. all part of 'Big Tesco', and now all gone.

Two familiar Tesco faces. The lady on the left is Christine Barker, who provides a link all the way back to the  Gateway Middlewich supermarket, where she started working in 1987, the year it opened. She stayed all through the Gateway, Somerfield and Tesco eras, a total of over 30 years. In fact it would have been 31 this November. Now, with the closure of Tesco, she's opted for a well-earned retirement. With her is another familiar face, Sheila Williams.

Shelley Standring writes:
This was Anne Dixon, she worked on Fresh and was very often our Store Greeter. She was a real character and we missed her lots when she retired and moved to Chorley in 2017. She's pictured with our store manager at the time Jonathon Sayward.

Like the 'Goodbye' sign on the edge of the car park the signs over the exit doors took on a new significance on the 18th August. Staff took the opportunity of posing for commemorative photos saying Goodbye. If this is your photo and you'd like us to acknowledge the fact, please let us know. The same goes for all the other photos marked 'photo supplied'.

Pictured above are:
(L to R) Front - Rosie Bickerton, Val Edgerton, Jayne Ellis, Katie Evans, Andrew Burgess.
Back: Jo Schofield, Adrian Moss, Chris Everall.
(Photo supplied no 3

Information supplied by Shelley Standring


Much the same photo, with the same people in different positions!

(Photo supplied, no 4)



Rosie Bickerton, Michael Sproston, Karen Fitzgerald.Michael worked on Grocery.

Information supplied by Shelley Standring.

(Photo supplied no 5)


Tesco staff clearly not wanting to be left on the shelf. 

(L to R) Jeanette Daynes, Shelly Standring, Karen Fitzgerald, Katie Evans, Rosie Bickerton.

Information supplied by Shelley Standring

(Photo supplied no 6)

Of course someone had to be the last customer on the 18th August, and that honour fell to Cath Murphy, who bought a bottle of pink gin. Note that even as this celebratory photo was being taken the store was being stripped of its identity. (Photo used with permission).

Cath writes:

'I was the last paying customer in Middlewich Tesco! Can't have a Saturday night without Pink Gin, especially as my daughters are visiting! Thank you to all the lovely staff at Tesco, and good luck for the future!'

With Cath (and her bottle) are (L to R) Abby Allan, Karen Fitzgerald, Rosie Bickerton and (back) Jo Schofield.

Information from Shelley Standring.


And so at 6pm on the 18th August 2018, the era of 'Big Tesco' came to an end and staff gathered together for one last 'team photo' (Photo supplied, no 7).



The people of Middlewich were upset, to say the least, at the loss of the main Tesco store in the town. They'd come to rely on the friendly and efficient service of the staff. Despite the constant moaning of a certain section of the community. Middlewich certainly isn't badly off when it comes to supermarkets. How many towns of this size can boast three medium sized supermarkets within walking distance of each other? Admittedly Wheelock Street - Middlewich's 'High Street' - has seen many changes in recent years as the advent of the internet sees the changeover from a retail to a service economy in such areas. The same can be said, of course, of High Streets throughout the land and this town is by no means unique in seeing former retail shops becoming hairdressers, fast food restaurants, building societies and estate-agents. So everyone was puzzled when what seemed to be a thriving supermarket disappeared from the scene almost overnight. Of course, as we've said before, Tesco's plans for a chain of 'Jack's' supermarkets was still very much under wraps at that time.

Once the closure had been announced the people of Middlewich began to drop off thank you cards and letters in appreciation of the staff at 'Big Tesco'.
(Photo supplied, no 8)



More Thank You cards and letters of appreciation (Photo supplied, no 9)



Tesco's 'Bags of Help' scheme was very popular in Middlewich. Customers were given blue plastic tokens every time they shopped at the store and dropped them through a slot into the box of their choice. Tesco then made grants to the most popular applicants. Middlewich people were sometimes inclined to get a bit uppity when the organisations they were 'voting' on seemed to have no connection with the town. They would, wouldn't they? No doubt exactly the same thing happened in other towns. But, as the organisers were continually at pains to point out, there were times when no Middlewich organisations applied for the grants, despite high profile publicity inviting  them to do so. The photo shows the choices available in August 2017. The money for the grants was raised through the sale of 5p carrier bags in store.
________________________________________________

The remaining photos in this Middlewich Diary entry show Tesco Middlewich staff socialising and supporting various charity events in Middlewich and further afield.
We're including them in order to put together as complete a record as we can of 'Big Tesco' and its staff for posterity.

Along with several of the photos above they were passed on to us by Rosie Bickerton.

We'd love to have more information on these photos, to put names to faces, and to credit the photographers where possible.

If you can help, please get in touch, quoting the 'photo supplied' number.

Our contact details can be found at the top of the right hand column.



Dressed as minions for 'Onesie Day' are:

(L to R) Back: Andy Bennion, Chris Everall, Trevor Robinson.
Front: Hannah Fraser, Janette Clutton, Pam Devine.

Information from Shelley Standring.

 (Photo supplied no 10)


Tesco staff fundraising for a good cause. The lady in the blue check shirt is Janette Clutton, and Chris Everall is holding the bucket.  Community 'Champion' Lesley Birchall is bottom right.  But who are the others, and what cause were they collecting for? If you can help, please get in touch.
(Photo supplied, no 11)



The staff of 'Big Tesco' were always keen to dress up for special occasions, such as Christmas, Easter, even the World Cup! Obviously this time they're celebrating Halloween. 

Pictured are: (L to R)
Front: Jayne Ellis, Shannon McClelland, Helen Marshall, Lesley Birchall, Karen Fitzgerald.
Back: Janette Clutton (behind the mask) and Shelley Standring.
 (Photo supplied, no 12)


Halloween again! 

(L to R) Hannah Fraser, Julie Stone, Jeanette Daynes, 
Hayley Mbarki, Chelsea Dykes.(Photo supplied, no 13).


Familiar faces. Who are the Tesco team supporting? Is it Cancer research? And where are they (or where are they going to?) Is this, perhaps, part of the 'Race For Life'? (Photo supplied, no 14)


This looks like the same occasion.
(L to R) Jo Latham, Angela Breland, Karen Fitzgerald, Rosie Bickerton.
(Photo supplied, no 15)


Tesco staff supporting what looks like the same good cause, this time, by the look of it, outside the store itself.  (Photo supplied, no 16)


Come in number 847, your time's up! Obviously a photo from the same occasion, as no 847 and quite a few of the others are on both photos. Who are they supporting, with the help of Nivea? To us, it looks like the Race For life once more.
(Photo supplied, no 17)


Valentine's Day at Tesco.

Holding single red roses are:
(L to R) Sharon ?*, Dee Warren, Val Edgerton, Helen Marshall, Jeanette Daynes, Karen Fitzgerald, Jayne Ellis, Rosie Bickerton.
* Can anyone supply the missing surname?

(Photo supplied, no 18)


Christmas party, held in the Tesco staff canteen on the 9th December 2015.

Shelley Standring writes:

'Each year the managers of the store would cook a three-course Christmas meal for all the staff in the store. They did a brilliant job!'
 (Photo supplied, no 19)

_______________________________________________

So there we are. If you can help with details of any of the 'supplied photos' or if you have additional photos and/or memories you think belong here, please contact us.

This Diary entry will be added to and amended as we receive new material and information

Thanks to everyone who helped us put this feature together, including Rosie Bickerton and Shelley Standring.

We wish the very best of luck to all the former staff and management of Tesco Middlewich and we hope this Diary entry will help ensure that nearly ten years of 'Big Tesco' won't ever be forgotten.

Dave Roberts
Editor,
1st October 2018


'... a few tears whilst reading this and looking at the pictures.
Tesco's closing has certainly left a big hole in our lives.

We were Team Middlewich, a family, a place where people came and knew they would see someone they knew.

A real community store.

Thank you for writing this xx'

-Shelley Standring

Our special Middlewich Diary masthead for October 2018

.

Originally published 1st October 2018.

Updated and re-published 22nd October 2018

Re-published

18th August 2019 (First anniversary of the closure)

18th August 2021 (Third anniversary)

WARDLE LOCK COTTAGE and 'AUNTIE' MAUREEN

(THIS DIARY ENTRY WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED on 19/02/2012)

Wardle Lock Cottage is, as its name suggests, situated at Wardle Lock at the very end of the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal.
In fact there are those who would argue that the lock, and the cottage, are not on the Shropshire Union at all, but on the Wardle Canal (also sometimes called the Wardle Lock Branch or the Wardle Green Section) which is often touted as 'the shortest canal in Britain'. The whole length, including the lock, is around 50 yards.
A stone set into the bridge over the junction between this short section of canal and the Trent & Mersey gives its name and date as WARDLE CANAL 1829.

Canal enthusiasts still argue for and against the Wardle Canal's claim to fame as the shortest canal in Britain; some say it is a fully fledged canal in its own right, while others say it is an extension of the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch

Photo: British Waterways

The Heritage Society appears to be in no doubt, and British Waterways seem to agree, if this plaque attached to the other side of the  junction bridge is anything to go by.

What is certain is that before it was built much transhipment of goods had to take place between the Trent & Mersey and the Middlewich Branch.
The Wardle Canal brought about a big improvement, but was not the perfect solution, due to the high tolls levied on cargoes travelling over it.
The cottage at Wardle Lock is a Grade II listed building, and is one of the treasures of the waterways.
A scale  model of it was a great attraction at a National Waterways Exhibition some years ago, and we know of at least one other small-scale representation of the building, on a model railway in Sandbach.
Part of the attraction until a year or so ago was the much-missed presence of 'Auntie' Maureen Shaw who lived there for many years after 'coming ashore' following  a lifetime of working on the boats.
Her late husband Jack was a lengthsman on the canals.
Maureen knew all there was to know about the waterways, and gave talks on the subject to local organisations.
She tells her own story in the Tales of Wych & Water CD produced by Salt Town Productions for Middlewich Vision in 2009.
During her time at Wardle Lock Cottage Maureeen made countless friends among the pleasure boaters who travel through Middlewich every year, and was always ready to give advice (and the occasional 'rollicking') to the novice holiday helmsmen and women who passed through 'her' lock.
Maureen was taken ill in 2011 and had to leave the cottage. She lived in sheltered accomodation for a while but, sadly, passed away on March 17th, 2012.
Maureen's knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the canals of Middlewich and the world of canals and canal boats in general was unsurpassed, and she will be greatly missed by everyone  in Middlewich and also by all her friends on the waterways.
Kate Nicholls Fletcher says:
'As someone who has both lived and worked on waterways for over 25 years, I had the pleasure of meeting Maureen a number of times, but I really got to know her as the ex MFAB boating director.
I had the pleasure of listening to many of Maureen's stories about the old working way of life on the boats and she gave talks for us at the festival on numerous occasions. I can never thank her enough for encouraging me to 'go for it lass' when I told her about going for a job on the waterways and subsequently, after getting that job, she used to love it when when I brought a boat full of young people to her lock, to be taught the correct way of going through...a truly inspirational lady.'
Former Director of  the original MFAB Festival Liz Rosenfield says:
'She was everyone's Auntie! She told me wonderful stories of her life when we'd while away the hours in the Kings Lock - and in her evenings she'd come and talk to rooms full of people about her life...an amazing person - I am lucky to have known her and to have spent time with her.'
Robert Sheckleston remembers Maureen from the time she worked away from the canals at RHM Foods. 'She was a lovely lady,' he recalls.
When we appealed for a suitable photo of Maureen in order to pay our own small tribute to 'a true character of the waterways', our old friend Ian Murfitt, himself something of a scholar when it comes to canals, did us proud with this picture:

Ian writes: The picture shows Auntie Maureen and my daughter Charlee at a fund raiser for Anderton Lift about 12 years ago. Charlee lived with us on the boats for many years. There was much excitement amongst old boaters when her birth was announced and many visited and put silver (coloured) coins in her hands.

Wardle Lock Cottage remained empty for a year and then, on Wednesday 15th February 2013, was sold at auction at the Boar's Head Hotel by Frank Marshall of Knutsford.


P.S. The houses seen behind the cottage in our picture are on what was formerly known as Back Field, as discussed here

Facebook comments:


Geraldine Williams Always a good stopping point for my family on Sunday afternoon walks along the canal. I remember Maureen having an unusual flat-backed goldfish bowl fastened to the outside wall with two hemispheres and a connecting tube for the goldfish to swim from one to the other. I also remember how concerned she was by the lack of safety procedures shown by some of the new breed of boaters using the lock and their seeming unawareness of the dangerous undercurrents when the locks were being operated.

SEE ALSO: 'A TRIBUTE TO AUNTIE MAUREEN'
                      'MAUREEEN AND HER LOCK'
                    'MAUREEN'S FUNERAL, MARCH 30th 2012'

Originally published 19th February 2012

Amended and re-published 18th March 2012

Re-published 17th March 2021 (Maureen's 9th Anniversary)

MIDDLEWICH FOLK & BOAT FESTIVAL POSTPONED UNTIL 2022

UPDATE (JANUARY 2021). THE FESTIVAL
HAS NOW BEEN POSTPONED 'UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE' AS THE SITUATION
REGARDING COVID 19 IS NOT YET CLEAR.  WHEN A NEW DATE IS ANNOUNCED, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW.

FINAL UPDATE (MARCH 2021) A DECISION HAS NOW BEEN MADE TO POSTPONE THE FESTIVAL UNTIL JUNE 2022

 Editor's note: You will see from this Middlewich Diary entry  that we intend to tell everyone the date for the next festival when it is known. But given the current situation there is no way that anyone can predict, even vaguely, when that will be. What would be disastrous for all concerned would be for the council to adopt the same methods as H M Government and keep on setting prospective dates for the next festival, only to have to cancel them as events unfold. The situation outlined in the Middlewich Diary is exactly as the council has explained it - in fact much of the entry is based on press releases and statements from the council itself. The festival will continue, hopefully this year, but no one is in a position to say just when that will be. DR

Festival organisers say that this is a postponement rather than a cancellation. Plans to move the festival to September 2020 were abandoned as the crisis worsened. The next plan was to stage what would, in effect, have been the 2020 festival in June 2021, but it very soon became clear that this too was unlikely.
We are continuing to add material concerning the festival to this diary entry as it becomes available from the Town Council.
Below are the statements issued by
festival organisers between 17th March
and 15th June 2020 when the cancellation was announced. These are included here for historical purposes.

MIDDLEWICH FOLK AND BOAT FESTIVAL STATEMENT

17th MARCH 2020

Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival - Covid 19 Update
A decision has not yet been taken as to whether the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival will take place in June. Postponement of the event is being investigated to reduce the losses that will be suffered by the Council and a wide range of local businesses should the event require full cancellation on the current dates. Whilst this is investigated tickets will be taken off sale. If you have already purchased a ticket should we postpone it will be transferred to the new date or refunded in full if the event is ultimately cancelled.
Please bear with us at this time …


Note: This statement has been taken from the official Folk & Boat Festival Facebook Group.

UPDATE: 20th APRIL 2020:

Today the council has announced that it intends to postpone the Folk & Boat Festival until a later date in 2020 rather than cancel it for this year.

An announcement of the new date will be made 'this week' and the revised date will appear here once it has been announced.

Below is a link to the Town council on Facebook, where the April update can be read in full - Ed.

MIDDLEWICH TOWN COUNCIL ON FACEBOOK

UPDATE: 23rd April 2020:

Here's the Folk & Boat Festival's Statement from April 20th 2020, again taken from the Festival's Facebook Group:

As the Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival cannot take place in June, we have been working on postponing the festival until later in the year. A decision has now been made on this and we will be announcing the postponed date for Folk and Boat festival this week.
It’s not as easy as you might think to reorganise this but we know how important this event will be to help a number of businesses and the Town recover. It is for this reason that we have chosen not simply to cancel the 2020 event.

UPDATE: 23rd APRIL 2020:

NEW DATE ANNOUNCED:

25th - 27th SEPTEMBER 2020
(This date has now been abandoned)

UPDATE: 7th MAY 2020:



Added 7th May 2020



Added 20th May 2020





Added 8th May 2020

Statement from Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival, 26th May 2020:




IMAGES: BRELAND PHOTOGRAPHY




MIDDLEWICH FOLK AND BOAT FESTIVAL LAUNCHES COMMUNITY SUPPORT SCHEME

Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival is pleased to announce its new Community Support Initiative, aimed at making the event more accessible to local businesses and organisations.
The first announcement is the reduction of the fringe venue registration fee from £250 to £100, the first change in 8 years. We hope this will make participation more feasible for the town’s pubs after a particularly difficult past few months. This fee goes towards marketing costs and the production of the free festival guide. Middlewich Town Council is dedicated to supporting local businesses and is confident the income lost through this change can be balanced out by the income from Saturday Night’s ticketed concert.
Secondly, we are excited to announce plans to extend Saturday’s market on Wheelock Street to Sunday too, this is to give businesses on the street as much support and footfall as possible over the festival weekend. This is dependent on retailer interest.
Our third and final announcement in our community support scheme is aimed at helping our schools. We would like to offer all Middlewich school PTA’s a free stall at the festival, either on Wheelock Street or on Civic Way Car Park. We hope this will help with fundraising and will enable our schools to be more involved with the festival.
Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival was created in 1990 as a community event, and in introducing this new support, we can ensure the festival remains at the heart of our community as we celebrate the 30th anniversary. 2020 has been a very trying time for us all so far, and we hope the new festival dates (Friday 25th - Sunday 27th September) provide something to look forward too for our town and that these updates do provide some relief for our local businesses.


Added 26th May 2020




MIDDLEWICH FOLK AND BOAT FESTIVAL 2020 POSTPONED TO 2021


Middlewich Town Council has taken the decision to postpone the 30th Anniversary of Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival to 16th to 20th June 2021. This decision has not been taken lightly and has been under constant review since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The decision to postpone the festival, instead of cancelling allows us to carry over our 30th Anniversary celebrations to next year with as much of the same line up as is possible including Scouting for Girls, Lucy Spraggan, Toyah and China Crisis.
This decision has been made in relation to a number of concerns; Firstly, the council is aware that the current 2 meter social distancing rule would be difficult to enforce at a large festival, especially after the consumption of alcohol and on canal towpaths.
Secondly, the relaxing of lockdown measures has seen the regions ‘R’ number jump above 1, meaning a new course of lockdown measures may be enforced later in the year.
We are also conscious that the lockdown has had a large impact on many of the town’s businesses meaning they simply do not have the money to provide sponsorship for the event. This coupled with the increased costs a 2020 event would incur through the purchase of PPE, washing stations and extra barriers, makes the event less financially viable.
With all these factors considered, and as always having the safety of the public as a priority, the Council think it much more beneficial to the festival and the town to look ahead to celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival in June 2021.

All tickets already purchased for main stage concerts will automatically be transferred over to next year and will avoid any potential price rises as a result. However, if ticket holders do wish to be refunded, please email admin@middlewich.org.uk and this will be facilitated as soon as possible.

Added 16th June 2020




A statement will be issued on a possible new date for the festival quiz when the situation regarding Covid 19 and the current lockdown becomes clearer.

Editor's Note: Middlewich being Middlewich once the news about the festival broke a debate started locally about whether the festival was actually being'cancelled' or merely 'postponed'. The truth of the matter is this: The 2020 festival is cancelled as no festival will take place this year. What is being postponed is the celebration of Middlewich's thirtieth Folk & Boat Festival. This will now take place in 2021*. DR

*This now looks unlikely (Jan 2021).

UPDATE (JANUARY 2nd 2021). Following the worsening of the Coronavirus pandemic during the winter of 2020/21 the Town Council made a decision in December 2020 to suspend planning for the next festival until the situation becomes clearer. As a result we're not in a position to predict when the next festival will take place. We'll bring you any news when we get it.





Originally published 13th April 2020
Updated and re-published 20th April 2020, 23rd April 2020, 7th May 2020, 8th May 2020, 20th May 2020, 26th May 2020, 15th June 2020, 16th June 2020, 2nd January 2021, 16th March 2021 (Final Update)

MUDC RATE DEMAND 1971

by Dave Roberts
My mother, fortunately for us, was from a generation which never threw anything away. This is why we're able to bring you another piece of Middlewich ephemera from forty years ago in the form of this Middlewich UDC rate demand for our modest family home in King Street.
The number 33 seems to stand out from the rest of the address, and there's a good reason for this; the ADREMA (See below) plate for our address had been altered because of the re-numbering of houses in King Street a few years earlier.
No. 27 became no. 33 and we received a letter threatening all kinds of retribution if we didn't change the number on the front of the house. In fact I'm not so sure that the death penalty wasn't still in force for failure to change your house number when told to do so.
The interest, to me, lies in the technology used to produce this most unwelcome of bills and its receipt which is a far cry from the slick computerised systems we have today.
Notice that the total payable for the year is £77.08 for a three bedroomed semi (or 'domestic hereditament' if you will). Oddly, this still sounds like a lot of money, considering that we are talking about the early 70s. The other amount, of £3.28 for the half year, was nothing to do with the council but was a charge for water rates collected by the council on behalf of the Mid - Cheshire Water Board.
The receipt is signed by Collecting Officer 'D. Roberts'. This is no coincidence, but proof that I was, at least, in gainful employment forty years ago at the age of 19. The square space on the receipt was where stamps were stuck on and signed over for certain transactions. Stamp duty on these receipts was abolished during my time at the council.
But it's the rate demand itself, and the way it was produced, which brings back memories and is so evocative of long-vanished ways of working in the pre-computer age.
The blank rate demands were produced for us by the clerk's department on a photocopier, a different coloured paper being used for each year to save confusion (and prevent  anyone paying the same bill twice).
Many of the Council's documents, such as minutes, internal memos etc, were produced on stencil machines
(usually made by Gestetner), using a complicated process involving typing on a special sheet (the ribbon selector on an office typewriter had three settings: black, red and stencil (which, in fact, kept the ribbon out of the way and enabled typing direct onto the stencil sheets).
But if I remember rightly these rate demands were too complicated to be run off on Gestetners (although it could be done) so a rather inefficient photocopying machine was used (even allowing for forty years of deterioration, you can tell that the print quality was only just adequate).
Then came the fun part. The addressing of the rate demands was done on our ADREMA machine, made by a German company (ADdREssenMAchine, or something of the kind) and which had been pioneered during the war by the Germans for the registration of prisoners of war.
Basically the system was that every rateable property in the town had its own ADREMA plate - an aluminium plate with the name and address pressed onto it, forming a collection of printing plates which were then stacked up on a machine with a massive operating handle which you brought down with a huge crash to print the rate demands. Obviously, when ownership of a property changed we had to have the details on the plate altered which involved sending the plate off to the factory to be flattened and re-pressed with the new details. This, of course, could be highly frustrating if people moved into a house and only stayed a short time, necessitating the re-pressing of the relevant plate time and time again.
It must be appreciated, though, that this system could only print the addresses. The actual figures on the demands were hand-written by Rating Officer Bertie Maddock and were actually copies of  entries in the Rating Ledger which was precisely that - a huge book with details of every rateable property in Middlewich hand-written into it. This had to be balanced each year, with the amount received exactly matching the amount due.
This document was one of the first batch of rate demands the MUDC issued in decimal currency. The new system had been introduced in February and all the council staff underwent training at Crewe College over a period of six weeks so that we would be conversant with pounds and pence (or pee as people still annoyingly insist on calling them) when they replaced pounds, shillings and pence. We were even given 'homework'.

The idea was that we would be able to help the elderly who, it was thought, would end up hopelessly confused. In the event no one, however elderly, had any problems at all.
Incidentally, on 'D-Day' (the 15th February 1971) rating officer Bertie Maddock told me that he would serve our first 'decimal customer' but, in the event, he was out of the office when the historic moment came, and the honour fell to me.
Middlewich UDC's method of issuing rate demands was a clumsy and unwieldy system, made instantly redundant just a few years later by computerisation, but twice a year our little rates office more closely resembled a small factory and echoed to the bang and crash of the ADREMA machine. I'm wondering if my current problems with my right arm can be traced back to this time, and if it's too late to sue the council...
We'll be hearing more about life in the council offices in due course.

Facebook feedback:

Geraldine Williams I remember those scary Rate Demands - and running the gauntlet of Bertie Maddock's glare if you were a day or two late in paying. He seemed to mellow after he married Freda! We had a Gestetner in school and spent many an hour cranking the handle on the side and thought we were quite advanced, but oh the joy of using the electric model in the Presbytery 

Dave Roberts Well - I suppose I can say this now - you should have tried working with him...

Jonathan Williams The Town Council were still using a Gestetner machine when I started in 1985. Took me days to complete a set of minutes. Covered head to toe with black ink and correcting fluid I was!!

Dave Roberts  I know. I had one in my garage when I was at Mottram Close,passed on by Frank Smith of the Heritage Society - the idea was that the Society's Newsletter would be produced on the thing. Not a hope. The machine and all its ancillary equipment took up all the space where the family car should have been and was always subject to the law of diminishing returns - hours and hours producing one page on a stencil; seconds for it to be destroyed by a malicious and malevolent Gestetner machine.
 ‎...and don't get me started on the convoluted workings of the Kalamazoo wages system. I can only recall doing the dustbinbmen's wages once (I don't think they'd let me do it a second time) and the nightmare haunts me still. Got away with it, though...

First published 12th August 2011
Re-formatted and re-published 30th May 2020

Corrected and re-published 15th February 2021 (the 50th anniversary of 'Decimal Day')

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2021

 

A Very Happy New Year from The Middlewich Diary & Salt Town Productions! We wish you all the best for 2021!

OUR MASTHEAD FOR JANUARY 2021

 

WARDLE LOCK COTTAGE by REBECCA PAGE

by David Roberts,

Our Masthead photo for January 2021 is by Rebecca Page and features that old favourite, Wardle Lock Cottage, where the Wardle Canal links the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal to the Trent & Mersey at the nearby junction. Once the home of 'Auntie' Maureen Shaw, who spent her life working on the canals before coming 'ashore' at Wardle Lock.

The photo as it appeared in the Masthead