Northwich in 1834
With the Chapelry of Witton, and the Villages of Great Budworth, Davenham, Leftwich, Weaverham, Hartford, Marston, Wincham, Winnington, and Neighbourhoods.
Northwich is a large and ancient market town, in the Parish of Great
Budworth, giving name to the Hundred in which it lies. It is situated at the confluence of the
river Dane with the Weaver, and is one of the great thoroughfares between
London & Liverpool, and between Manchester & Wales (by way of Chester)
; it is 174 miles from the Metropolis, 20 from Manchester, 18 from Chester, 12
from Frodsham, 14 from Runcorn, 6 from Middlewich, and 11 from Warrington. Its name applies to its local situation,
being the northernmost of the wiches,
or salt towns.
The streets of
Northwich are formed without respect to uniformity and many of the houses are
of great antiquity. Courts leet and
baron are held here by the lord of the manor, John P. Heywood, Esq. at which
are chosen two constables, market lookers etc. The commercial prosperity of Northwich is solely dependent on
its numerous brine springs and extensive mines of rock salt, indeed the
neighbourhood of this town may be considered the concentration of this peculiar
branch of commerce. The importance of
this trade my be truly estimated by the returns of the quantity sent by the
Weaver navigation annually. In the
1832, 202,790 tons of white or spring
salt were shipped from this place, and 154,800 tons from Winsford, near Middlewich ; in the same year, 91,900 tons of
rock salt were sent from both places.
The salt from the rock mines, though not so much in demand as that from
the springs, gives, nevertheless, employment to a great number of hands, and
are wonderful subterranean curiosities.
To a stranger who never visited similar excavations, the effect, when
the caverns are illuminated, upon the stupendous arches and crystalline
arcades, is truly astonishing, and well worthy of delaying the curious
traveller.
The advantageous
situation of the town, on the banks of the Weaver, and its contiguity to the
Grand Trunk Canal, which has opened a source of cheap communication with so
many parts of England, have all combined to make Northwich pre-eminent in the
salt-trade. Its central situation also,
and its being surrounded with gentlemen’s seats, has rendered the town a place
of considerable resort for the transaction of public and other business. The parochial chapel, dedicated to St.
Helen, and situated on rising ground, at Witton, is a noble and spacious structure, in the later style of English
architecture, and consists of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, having a neat,
embattled tower, containing six bells.
The living is a perpetual curacy, and the present incumbent is the Rev.
– Greenall : here are also independent and Methodist chapels. At Hartford is a protestant chapel, of which the Rev. T. Ainsworth is the
minister. A well endowed grammar
school and a national school impart instruction to a great number of children.
The principal seats in
this vicinage are, Vale Royal, the seat of Lord Delamere; Delamere Hall, the
seat of G. Wilbraham, Esq., M.P.; the seats of J.S. Barry, Esq., Marbury Hall;
Jos. Leigh, Esq., Belmont; George Eaton, Esq., of The Pole, etc. etc. The general appearance of the country is
rich and interesting, the views upon the Dane and Weaver romantic, and the land
is noted for its fertility. The market
day is on Friday, and the fairs are the 10th April, 2nd
August, and 6th December ; at the two last named fairs, considerable
quantities of Manchester, Yorkshire, Birmingham and Sheffield goods find ready
purchasers : these goods are exposed for sale in a place called York Buildings,
which consists of more than a hundred shops, and covers more than an acre of
ground. The township of Northwich, of
itself, in extent, is inconsiderable, and does not cover above six acres
of land, but the suburbs embrace various other populous townships, principally
in the parish of Great Budworth, which parish contained, in 1831, 15,955
inhabitants. The township of Northwich
contained, by the census of 1821, 1,490 persons, and according to that of 1831,
1,481. Witton-cum-Twambrook is a Chapelry, and forms part of the township of
Northwich. The number of inhabitants,
in 1831, was 2,912.
Great Budworth parish is the most extensive, with the exception of
Prestbury, in this county, being nearly 15 miles long and 10 wide. It is partly in the hundred of Northwich,
partly in Bucklow hundred, and extends also into the hundred of Eddisbury. The village of Budworth is about two miles
from Northwich, pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity, near two large
sheets of water, called Pic-mere and Budworth-mere. The church of All Saints stands in a delightful situation, and
consists of a nave, chancel, side aisles, and two transepts, with a fine tower,
containing eight bells. The living is a
vicarage, in the presentation of the dean and canons of Christchurch, Oxford ;
the present incumbent is the Rev. G.H. Webber.
The school, in the churchyard, was founded in 1600, by the Rev. John
Dean. This village is so intimately
connected with Northwich, that what has been said regarding the trade etc. of
that town, in a great degree applies to Budworth. In 1831, the village contained about 586 inhabitants.
Davenham is a township, in a parish of the same name,
situated on the river Dane, in the hundred of Northwich, from which town it is
distant about two miles, and from Middlewich, N.E. about four. The greater part of the estates are the
property of J.H. Harpur, Esq. The
ancient hall of Ravenscroft, the name of one of the former possessors of
the estates, is here. The church, part
of which is of modern erection, is a neat building, with a spire ; on the north
side of the chancel is the Leftwich chapel, belonging to the hall of that name,
and within which township the whole building stands. It is dedicated to St. Wilfred, and certainly existed previous to
the 12th century : the present rector is the Rev. Henry
Tomkinson. A free school is endowed
here, with a rent-charge on Shipbrooke hill farm, of £20 per annum. for the
master, and the parish has added to its income. The parish of Davenham contained, in 1831, 4,515 inhabitants, and
the township, 413 of that number.
Leftwich village is situated about one mile from Northwich,
in the parish of Davenham. The family
of Leftwich resided here for many generations prior to the seventeenth century
: a farm house now occupies the site of the ancient hall, and the estates are
chiefly the property of J.H. Harpur, Esq.
This township is strictly agricultural : it contained, in 1831, 1,799
inhabitants.
Weaverham is a parish and lordship, in the second division of
Eddisbury hundred. The village is about
three miles W. of Northwich, where is the church, which is dedicated to St.
Mary, and consists of a nave, chancel, aisles, and a handsome tower : it is a
rectory, in the presentation of the Bishop of Chester; the present incumbent is
the Rev. R.V. Law. Here is a charity
for six poor decayed housekeepers and their wives, of Weaverham, or for
deserving widows, or maiden women, to be selected by the vicar. The interest of some other charitable
bequests afford comfort and relief to the poor, at Christmas and Easter. The population of the whole parish, in 1831,
was 2,321, and of Weaverham township and lordship (together), 1,246 of that
number.
Hartford, 1½ miles S.W. from Northwich, with a population of
863 inhabitants; – Marston, two miles
N.N.E. from that town, with 465 inhabitants; -- Wincham, two miles N.E., with 589 inhabitants; and Winnington, 1 mile N.W., with 256 inhabitants, are all
townships in the parish of Great Budworth.