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THE FIRST MIDDLEWICH DIARY QUIZ (ARCHIVED)

WHAT and WHERE IN MIDDLEWICH? - ANSWERS

Here are the answers to the 'What and Where in Middlewich?' Round:


1: The River Wheelock aqueduct under the SUC Middlewich Branch, adjacent to the Nantwich Road aqueduct.
2: Stanthorne Mill
3: The ICI/Pochins Club (Middlewich Community Church)
4: Guard Stone at the Booth Lane end of Brooks Lane
5: The Murgatroyd's Brine Pump, Brooks Lane
6: The St Ann's Rd end of Hannah's Walk
7: Part of the River Wheelock aqueduct (see Q1)
8: Steps from Hannah's Walk to the SUC Middlewich Branch towpath
9: Wardle Bridge, spanning the junction between the Wardle Canal and the Trent & Mersey
10: Cottage in St Ann's Rd at the top of the footpath to the High School and Leisure Centre. Formerly the Derbyshire
family residence.
All photos by CLIFF ASTLES


MIDDLEWICH PAST and PRESENT ANSWERS

THE MIDDLEWICH QUIZ: MIDDLEWICH PAST and PRESENT - ANSWERS

ANSWERS

Here are the answers to the 'Middlewich Past and Present' round:

MIDDLEWICH PAST and PRESENT

1: Towards the end of April  2012 the Middlewich Diary took a last look at a Middlewich institution which had been around (under its current ownership) since the mid 19th Century. What was it?
A: Boosey's Garden Centre/Boosey's Nurseries

2: On March 17th, Middlewich lost a very popular lady who could also be regarded as 'a local institution'. She worked on the canals all her life, lived for many years at Wardle Lock Cottage, and was well-known and well-respected throughout the canal community as well as the Middlewich community. Who was she?
A: Maureen Shaw/Maureen/'Auntie Maureen'

3: In November 2011 we were taking a look at what we called 'the factory lane', where once stood the silk works of British Crepe (G H Heath), a building which had formerly housed the Anglo-Swiss (Nestle) Condensed Milk factory. Most of the area is now given over to new housing. What's the real name of that 'factory lane'?
A: Finney's Lane

4: In September of 2011 we were remembering a dramatic event which happened on Boxing Day 1962, a few miles away at Minshull Vernon. What was it?
A: A train crash 

5: According to a Middlewich Diary entry in March 2012, about 50 yards away from the Boar's Head Hotel on the 16th December 1931, Councillor J P Walton of the Cheshire County Council performed the opening ceremony of what structure?
A: The new Town Bridge

6: In November last year what did we describe as:
...one of the best in the area. It was a comfortable and enjoyable place to be, and it's good to know that the building survives externally much as it has been since 1920, and that the name lives on as a slightly unusual name for a Chinese Restaurant?
A: The Alhambra Cinema

7: Not  too long ago we had to say goodbye to yet another of those well-loved Middlewich institutions. Norman Macklin was well-known and well-respected around the town, as his father John had been before him.
What position of responsibility did Norman's father John hold? One of Norman's life-long interests will provide a clue, and John Macklin's place of work has been pictured in the Middlewich Diary several times at various different times in its history.
Was he:
A Council Chairman
B Bank Manager, or
C Station Master?
A: C Station Master

8: As recently as June 5th we featured a piece on the launching ceremony of Middlewich Narrowboats' new boat Oak. Who performed that ceremony?
A: Congleton MP Fiona Bruce

9: On the 10th March 2012, courtesy of Carole Hughes, we featured a newspaper photo of what was probably the last 'baggin' time' at the only open pan salt works in Middlewich at that time (1966) not owned by Henry Seddon. What was the name of that works?
A: Murgatroyd's (Salt & Chemical Works)

10: In August 2011 the Middlewich Diary featured a colour slide of a local councillor who was the last Chairman of Middlewich UDC in 1973, and also the first Mayor of Middlewich in 1974.
Was he:
A Frank Bailey
B Derek Millington
C Fred Stallard?
A: A Frank Bailey

WHAT and WHERE IN MIDDLEWICH 

THE THOMAS CLAYTON NB 'SPEY' IN MIDDLEWICH

A constant source of interest and enjoyment for both Middlewichians and visitors alike is the canal network which threads its way through the town.
In among the endless procession of pleasure boats, thousands of which pass through the town every year, are  historic boats, some of which have been visiting Middlewich for many many years both in working days and in the preservation era.
Here's one of this historic fleet, pictured by Bill Armsden as she makes her way round that curious 'dog leg' between the top and middle Brooks Lane locks where the Trent & Mersey makes an abrupt left turn to make its way towards the Town Bridge on its way to Northwich.
Strangely there is not as much infomation on the NB Spey on the internet as you might think (there's a link below to one of the more informative sites) but we do know that she was built in 1937 when the company had begun to specialise in the carriage of liquid cargoes such as oil and tar.
This, of course, explains the boat's flat deck.
It was a sister boat of the Spey, the NB Tay, which was used to take Maureen Shaw on her final ,journey from Wardle Lock to the Town Wharf earlier this year.


NB SPEY

THE MIDDLEWICH QUIZ: MIDDLEWICH PAST & PRESENT

Here are the questions on 'Middlewich Past and Present' used for the first Middlewich Diary Quiz at the Boar's Head recently.

The questions are all based on the Middlewich Diary itself and the answers can be found herein.

Those of you who found Cliff's picture round a little daunting may fare better with these questions; on the night the lowest scoring team in this round gained 6 points out of 10, two teams gained 7 out of 10 and no fewer than four teams gained 9 out of 10.

If you were at the quiz, you'll realise that a couple of these questions have been slightly paraphrased.

A link to the answers can be found below

MIDDLEWICH PAST and PRESENT


1: Towards the end of April  2012 the Middlewich Diary took a last look at a Middlewich institution which had been around (under its current ownership) since the mid 19th Century. What was it?

2: On March 17th, Middlewich lost a very popular lady who could also be regarded as 'a local institution'. She worked on the canals all her life, lived for many years at Wardle Lock Cottage, and was well-known and well-respected throughout the canal community as well as the Middlewich community. Who was she?

3: In November 2011 we were taking a look at what we called 'the factory lane', where once stood the silk works of British Crepe (G H Heath), a building which had formerly housed the Anglo-Swiss (Nestle) Condensed Milk factory. Most of the area is now given over to new housing. What's the real name of that 'factory lane'?

4: In September of 2011 we were remembering a dramatic event which happened on Boxing Day 1962, a few miles away at Minshull Vernon. What was it?

5: According to a Middlewich Diary entry in March 2012, about 50 yards away from the Boar's Head Hotel on the 16th December 1931, Councillor J P Walton of the Cheshire County Council performed the opening ceremony of what structure?

6: In November last year what did we describe as:
...one of the best in the area. It was a comfortable and enjoyable place to be, and it's good to know that the building survives externally much as it has been since 1920, and that the name lives on as a slightly unusual name for a Chinese Restaurant?


7: Not  too long ago we had to say goodbye to yet another of those well-loved Middlewich institutions. Norman Macklin was well-known and well-respected around the town, as his father John had been before him.
What position of responsibility did Norman's father John hold? One of Norman's life-long interests will provide a clue, and John Macklin's place of work has been pictured in the Middlewich Diary several times at various different times in its history.
Was he:
A Council Chairman
B Bank Manager, or
C Station Master?

8: As recently as June 5th we featured a piece on the launching ceremony of Middlewich Narrowboats' new boat Oak. Who performed that ceremony?

9: On the 10th March 2012, courtesy of Carole Hughes, we featured a newspaper photo of what was probably the last 'baggin' time' at the only open pan salt works in Middlewich at that time (1966) not owned by Henry Seddon. What was the name of that works?

10: In August 2011 the Middlewich Diary featured a colour slide of a local councillor who was the last Chairman of Middlewich UDC in 1973, and also the first Mayor of Middlewich in 1974.
Was he:
A Frank Bailey
B Derek Millington
C Fred Stallard?

ANSWERS

MUSIC IN MIDDLEWICH: STEVEN DOYLE

Photo courtesy of Steven Doyle

Here's a link to the website of locally based singer/songwriter Steven Doyle..

We'll bring you news of Steven's local gigs when we receive it

STEVEN DOYLE WEBSITE

CHESHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY and POOLE ALCOCK & CO 1987

Here's another one of Carole Hughes' collection from 1987 which we're featuring this year, twenty-five years after it was taken by Carole's friend, Diane Parr.
The basic shape of the town hasn't altered a lot in those twenty-five years, but the fascination is in the way the shops and buildings have changed owners and  uses.
This pair is a case in point.
Go up to the 'toppender' Wheelock Street today and in place of the Cheshire Building Society and Poole Alcock & Co, Solicitors, you'll find, on the left, a charity shop belonging to St Luke's Hospice and, on the right, empty premises recently vacated by Cakes By Coulson (now known as 'Le Pattisier').
The sight of these two businesses cheek by jowl all those years ago will have great ironic significance for some.
There are quite a few who made the journey to the top end of town to 'see about a mortgage' and again a few years later 'to see about a divorce'.
The Cheshire Building Society still has a presence in Middlewich, further down Wheelock Street in what was once the MANWEB electricity showroom.
Poole Alcock & Co obviously want no one to be in any doubt as to the ownership of their office, and have their name emblazoned on the front no less than three times (it might even have been featured a fourth time, in the out of shot top window, but we'll probably never know).
Poole Alcock & Co have been in business for 120 years, and still retain their name (unlike other local solicitors who spun themselves off into all kinds of different permutations of names).
There are Poole Alcock offices in Chester, Crewe, Congleton, Nantwich, Northwich. Alsager and Sandbach but, like so many branches of so many other firms, the Middlewich branch has gone.
In fact there probably isn't a single  solicitor practising in our town any more. Can anyone confirm this?

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Geraldine Williams In a previous life these properties included Harry Dale's Decorator's Shop and Bertie Wilkinson's Solicitor's Office.

MIDDLEWICH FAB FESTIVAL 2012

THE MIDDLEWICH FAB FESTIVAL RETURNS ONCE MORE TO BRING A SPLASH OF COLOUR

AND EXCITEMENT TO THE TOWN.

LET'S HOPE THE WEATHER IS KIND...

THE FESTIVAL GUIDE IS  ON SALE AT £1
AND CAN BE OBTAINED FROM:


Chisholm's Newsagents, Middlewich British Legion, Middlewich Library, Middlewich Town Council offices, and all FAB fringe venues:


The Big Lock, The Boar's Head Hotel, The Cheshire Cheese, The Kings Lock, The Narrowboat, The White Bear, The White Horse and The Vaults


GO TO THE FESTIVAL'S WEBSITE FOR DETAILS OF THE FESTIVAL.


PRESENTING.....

Middlewich Town Council/Middlewich FAB Festival

Middlewich Town Council/Middlewich FAB Festival

Details of other performers booked for this year  are available from the festival's website

MIDDLEWICH FAB FESTIVAL WEBSITE

MIDDLEWICH FAB FESTIVAL FACEBOOK GROUP

CLIFF ASTLE'S PHOTO ALBUM: MIDDLEWICH ROCK & ROLL DANCERS at THE FESTIVAL

(ARCHIVED 18/6/2012)