WELCOME TO SPRING

Here's how we welcomed Spring 2012 with a picture of Croxton Lane Bridge by Jim Moores

...and here's the photo itself. Actually a winter-time shot but with the promise of sunshine to come.

See more of Jim's superb photos of Middlewich waterways here

MUSIC IN MIDDLEWICH: CHESHIRE FOLK CLUB PRESENTS MARK RADCLIFFE and FOES! (ARCHIVED)

ARCHIVED

(Cheshire Folk)

CHESHIRE FOLK WEBSITE

lizrosenfield@cheshirefolk.com (Email link)

MORRISONS COMES TO MIDDLEWICH

28th January 2013

A PHOTO FEATURE BY BILL ARMSDEN

with commentary by Dave Roberts

The opening of a new supermarket in other towns is usually a matter of fleeting interest to most people. A few lines and a display ad or two in the local newspaper  and a leaflet drop to let everyone  know the new store is in business are usually the only indication of a new addition to the local shopping scene.
This, it hardly needs to be said, is not the case in Middlewich where anything new on the (metaphorical) High Street, and in particular anything which adds to local choice is welcomed with great enthusiasm (leavened, of course, with the usual moans and complaints).
Middlewich's shopping woes date back to the late 1960s when towns all around had caught the Supermarket bug with a vengeance. Crewe, Northwich and Winsford (though not, oddly, Sandbach) all climbed aboard the supermarket bandwagon and the shopping pattern for the next forty or fifty years was established.
For Middlewich this meant travelling to a nearby town to do a weekly, or monthly, 'big shop' and picking up a limited number of other items in our town's smaller shops.
The nearest thing that Middlewich could boast to a 'supermarket' until Somerfields came on the scene was the 'Co-operative Superstore' in the town centre which replaced several shops around the town owned by the Winsford Co-op. Part of this enormous building is now a Tesco Express store.
It's important to remember that one of the main problems which Middlewich has faced over the years has been  relatively low population growth compared with other towns in the area. The 'magic figure' of 15,000 which has been quoted as the trigger-point for major chain stores and High Street retailers to look at establishing themselves here has still not been reached, despite all the house building which has gone on in recent years, so things have remained static, save for the take-over of the Somerfields store by Tesco and the building of the cut-price Lidl store on Chester Road.
The predicted 'Store Wars' which were supposed to have erupted when Morrisons built their store fizzled out in the very week of the new store's opening, with Tesco announcing that it would not, after all, be building a massive store in the centre of town - a store which, for once, would have merited that often misused 'superstore' tag.
So is it any wonder that when Monday 28th January came along all eyes were on the gleaming new Morrisons supermarket in Newton Bank/Chester Road which would herald the dawn of a new era for shopping in Middlewich?

Bill Armsden was there bright and early with his camera to capture the opening of Morrisons where Boosey's Garden Centre stood until only a few months ago

A NEW DAWN - Chester Road on the morning of January 28th. The finishing touches are being applied to the new road layout, designed to keep through traffic heading for St Michael's Way and Nantwich Road well away from the supermarket traffic. Rather surprisingly the entrance and exit to Morrisons are both exactly where the old Boosey's entrance and exit were, Cheshire East Council having decided that an exit on Chester Road, (behind the camera in this shot) would have been too close to the mini-roundabout at the end of Croxton Lane for safety. On the right of the picture it can be seen that the retaining wall for the supermarket car park is also not quite finished. There's a pleasing Victorian feel to this end of Middlewich with the gothic bulk of 'The Limes' on the left and the cemetery behind  it. To the right is the Golden Lion with the little alleys and cottages of Newton Bank and Newton Heath beyond.

ALMOST THERE: The retaining walls for the car-park, decorated with Middlewich Town Council's 'Roman Middlewich' design are almost complete. The stairways from Chester Road would not be open to the public until a week or so after the opening day. Middlewich Autos, and before it Middlewich Motors, occupied this part of the site for many years.

GETTING READY: The car-park starts to fill up as people arrive for the store opening

STANDING BY: Twenty minutes to go by Morrisons new clock, one of only two public clocks in Middlewich (the other, of course, being the church clock), although Boosey's Garden Centre did boast a rather attractive turret clock in its later years. Not immediately apparent from this photo is that the new Morrisons clock is actually in corporate colours of green and yellow on a white background.

NEARLY THERE:  It's nine o'clock and Store Manager Andrew Whelan (right) and John Roberts of Save The Children prepare to cut the tape which will mean that Morrisons Middlewich is officially open.

WE'RE OPEN! And a new era for Middlewich shopping has started.

CHECK OUT: The self-op tills which are a feature of all modern supermarkets

SPACIOUS: Morrisons Middlewich is a 'Morrisons Local' store and smaller than the company's main stores such as Winsford, but has been designed to give an impression of space.

CHOICE: The opening of the Morrisons store brings a far greater choice of goods to the town for the very first time

FRESH: Morrisons' innovative 'misting' technology ensures that vegetables are moist and fresh looking at all times.

MORRISONS PUBLICITY, JANUARY 2013

NOW OPEN: MORE MORRISONS PUBLICITY FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW STORE

So there we are - Morrisons comes to Middlewich. Will it herald a new dawn for Middlewich shopping?

Will future historians be able to pinpoint the start of our  renaissance as a shopping town at  9am on the 28th January 2013? 

You may have gathered that we're unequivocally and unashamedly in favour of this new development. 

Tesco's abandonment of its plans for a giant store in the town centre has given us  an opportunity to develop the town in a much more attractive and positive way and the refurbishment of the existing Tesco store will mean that we have three medium-size supermarkets each catering for slightly different sections of the community, within a short distance of each other, something which not many towns of this size can boast.

For the first time in many years it is now possible to do that weekly or monthly 'big shop' entirely in Middlewich, and that can be no bad thing.

Facebook Feedback:

Geraldine Williams We paid a State Visit to the new Morrisons last time we were in Middlewich and were suitably impressed. The layout is very clever - and we're Morrisons (Crewe) devotees!

SEE ALSO:

THE MIDDLEWICH DIRECTORY: MORRISONS SUPERMARKET

MORRISONS WEBSITE

SAVE THE CHILDREN

FAREWELL BOOSEYS

CANAL LIFE

In this short Youtube video Peter Glynn visits 'somewhere very very beautiful'.

Guess where?

CANAL LIFE VIDEO (ON YOUTUBE)

WATCH IT HERE - CLICK ON THE START BUTTON

HAVE YOUR SAY - MIDDLEWICH VISION COMMUNITY CONSULTATION 2013

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION 2013 Express YOUR views on how key areas of Middlewich should advance in the coming months and years. You could be a resident, work here, or pass through on the way somewhere else, but you will have an opinion so TELL MIDDLEWICH VISION! The survey is running NOW, so click on the link below to have YOUR say!   MIDDLEWICH VISION e-mail address for additional comments: vision@middlewich.org.uk

THE WEIR, MILL LANE (OFF NANTWICH ROAD) 1960s

If you own the copyright on this image, please let us know

(Originally published 24th February 2012. Updated 22nd January 2013)

by Dave Roberts

Once again we're taking an educated guess at the date of this photograph from the Paul Hough Collection.

The entire collection with the exception of, I think, one photograph is in black and white and there's a tendency to regard anything in black and white as 'old' and anything in colour as 'new'.

This can be very misleading.

Not every black and white print we see today originated from a black and white negative. Viable colour photography has been in existence since the early 1930s and many of the photographs we're used to seeing in black and white may well have originated  on colour negatives and been printed in black and white for reasons of economy.

Then, if the original negative has been lost for any reason, we end up with just a black and white print (and copies of it) and that glorious colour information is lost forever.

Nowadays, digital photography makes it easy for photographers to switch from colour to black and white at the touch of a button, or the click of a mouse. Paul Greenwood showed us how this facility can be used creatively in these memorable 'foggy day in Middlewich' pictures.

So, to get to the point (at last), we can't assume that our photo of the weir in Mill Lane, Middlewich, is particularly old.

I've dated it at around the late 1960s (or possible early 1970s) because of the condition of the paddle equipment on the weir itself.

In the photograph this equipment looks in reasonably good condition (although the paddle framework nearest the camera has started to fall to pieces) and might even have been still capable of  controlling the flow of water down to the end of the river at Croxton.

When I was in Mill Lane last summer, the equipment had all gone to rack and ruin and the weir itself was in a very sorry state indeed.
Which, of course, begs the question: if this weir is not being used to regulate the flow of water in the River Wheelock, what is, and who is responsible for it?
From 1989 until 1996 the National Rivers Authority was in charge of the well-being of all the rivers in England and Wales, but its duties have now been taken over by the Environment Agency, whose website yields very little concerning minor rivers like the Wheelock.
So, who knows?
It's not very clear in this photograph, but there is a gap in the brickwork, right in the middle of the bridge where, legend has it, a motorcyclist was killed after plunging over the parapet into the weir.
Whether this is true and why the gap in the brickwork was never repaired (if, indeed, it was caused by the accident), we don't know, but this weir, like all such structures, is a rather grim place and its easy to let your imagination run riot when standing on that little bridge with the constant roar of the waters beneath.

Update January 2013: A comment from Geoff Edwards (see below) on the 15th January 2013 gives us details of this accident, including the name of the motorcyclist and we quote it here:

1. The motorcyclist was William Rigby age 28, who died in December 1910. He was found in the Mill stream by his brother. I've been doing some research on the area. William lived at the Mill. 

   The inquest read:

    "After a day shooting with a neighbouring farmer Rigby had started from home on his motorcycle. In one hand he caried his gun case and with the other he controlled his machine. Alarmed by his absence his brother in the early morning set out to look for him. At the foot of the steep hill a short distance from the mill he found a motorcycle against a low bridge over the river Wheelock. The front parts of the machine were completely wrecked, and the exhaust lever and handbrake were missing. A few yards up the hill was a large "clinker". Higher up the gun case was found and twenty yards away the brake handle.

    With assistance his brother searched the stream and eventually the body was found in the weir. It was suggested that Rigby lost his exhaust level and jammed the brakes on too heavily on the hill, with the result that it gave way. The machine would then rush at full speed down the hill, collide with the clinker, strike the bridge and throw the rider into the stream."

As we've mentioned before the whole area around Mill Lane and this part of the River Wheelock has become rather  unkempt and overgrown in recent years.
A colour view of the area, with the bridge taking centre stage can be seen here, and there are some great shots of the weir on Jim Moores' Canals & Rivers of Middlewich Facebook Page



Facebook feedback:


Geraldine Williams I think I only walked that path twice in the whole time that we lived in Middlewich - and one of those was the official opening of one of the trails. I was always put off by tales of pet lions at the mill and recalling the  demise of the German soldier trying to rescue the little girl in 'The Eagle Has Landed' !


Dave Roberts It's one of the town's creepy places (or I may have too active an imagination) and there's a vague air of unease about the bridge and weir. I found this even as a child when I went there often (my Uncle Bill and Auntie Winnie lived close by at Three Willows). Last summer, when I was suffering from a bad shoulder and couldn't sleep, I took the dog for a walk down there in the middle of the night. There were ghosts everywhere. Ghosts of the past, mostly, though.


Dave Thompson (via e-mail) I can vouch for the two pet lions kept in a barn at Stanthorne Mill.
When I worked at the Tut 'n' Shive (or whatever naff name they gave it after it was the Red Lion), Peter, the manager at the time, mentioned he had some terrapins I could have.
Following a guided tour of the newly-refurbished mill I was 'invited to feed the lions', which were housed in a large barn opposite the mill.
Being a 'cool' 22 year old I said, 'sure, no problem'.
Two fully grown lions greeted our entrance with (very) loud roars - have you heard them at feeding time at Chester Zoo?
It's a difficult noise to describe if you haven't - my recollection is vague, since my only thought was to find my way back out as quickly as possible!

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MIDDLEWICH ARTISAN MARKET DATES FOR 2013

BECAUSE OF CONTINUING BAD WEATHER, THE JANUARY ARTISAN MARKET DID NOT  TAKE PLACE. 

ARTISAN MARKET DATES FOR 

2013

February 23rd, March 30th, April 27th, May 25th, June 29th, July 27th, August 31st, September 28th, October 26th, November 30th, CHRISTMAS TBC.

SEE ALSO: MIDDLEWICH ARTISAN MARKET

REPORT YOUR LOCAL POTHOLES!

Following harsh winters in recent years the number of potholes in roads throughout  Cheshire East has increased alarmingly and, it will come as a surprise to no one, Middlewich is affected as badly as everywhere else in the Borough, probably worse.
David Morgan of the Middlewich Guardian, working in association with local builder David Latham, is collecting pictures of potholes on the town's roads for a forthcoming feature.
Obviously the exercise will also help Cheshire East to pinpoint the areas where work is urgently needed, following the granting of emergency government aid to tackle the problem.

Please email your photos of severe road damage in Middlewich to

david.morgan@nqnw.co.uk

including details of the location and any problems you may have had.

LINK: MIDDLEWICH GUARDIAN - SEND US YOUR PICTURES