Northwich

Patron: Viscount Ashbrook

Registered Charity No. 516930

Interesting buildings in the Northwich area

A walk through Northwich's Conservation area is to discover a 'period' town - though not Tudor period as it appears but largely Victorian or later.

To understand why this is so one must appreciate that Northwich is a town built on salt. This has been extracted from Roman times both as brine, which was pumped to the surface and boiled to produce granular salt and also, since the seventeenth century, as rock salt by mining. The extraction of salt over the centuries led to widespread subsidence of the town's buildings and streets in late Victorian times.

In 1891 Parliament passed a Brine Subsidence Compensation Act and the local Brine Board recommended a method of construction to withstand subsidence. This specified light, timber-framed buildings with brick panels held between the vertical timbers. Instead of conventional foundations the buildings rested on a timber frame with jacking points incorporated. If subsidence occurred the structure could be jacked to a level position or dismantled and moved as a whole to a more stable position on rollers.

The town was largely rebuilt with liftable buildings in the Tudor style with some of the larger buildings flamboyantly decorated, making a virtue of necessity. There are, however, many small and simple buildings on the trail which add to the unique street scene and many interesting features can be seen from the rear.

Though this town trail can be started at any point, we recommend beginning at the Salt Museum, which provides a fascinating insight into the industry which has, in so many ways, shaped Northwich.

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