Reply to comment

Andrew Fielding, working with Bournemouth University to create the UK section of the ECOSAL salt route, was invited to the 2012 Middlewich Salt Fair to describe how Middlewich can contribute to the proposed ECOSAL traditional salt-making route.

There has been salt making in the Middlewich region of mid-Cheshire from the Roman period, if not earlier. Excavations carried out in advance of redevelopment schemes are continually uncovering archaeological sites related to historic salt making. Some of the Middlewich Heritage volunteers took part in an excavation only weeks before the Salt fair, which found a salt hearth, a possible brine well and a brine storage tank. There were display panels describing these excavations at the Salt Fair (fig 1). 

Fig 1. The remains of a brine-well, with a Roman quern stone and sheet of lead. Excavation by Oxford Archaeology North.

Over the two days the Middlewich Heritage Officer, Kerry Fletcher, supervised tours of the exhibition to local school groups (fig 2).

Fig 2.  Kerry Fletcher giving a guided tour of the salt fair to local school groups.

The volunteers of Middlewich Heritage made salt in the car park at the rear of the Town Hall, using the stainless steel salt pans (fig 3) made for last year’s Roman event, where Andrew Fielding had provided training in the art of brine evaporation.

Fig 3. Salt making demonstration at Middlewich Salt Fair, 2012.

The exhibition included displays of salt packaging through the ages with some examples of the wrapped, cut-lump, salt blocks (fig 4) and advertising branding, such as ‘Sifta Sam’ (fig 5).

There were local produce stalls including Cheshire Cheese makers HS Bourne (fig 6).

Fig 6. Local cheese producers Bourne had examples of their range of cheeses made from Cheshire milk.

The Salt Fair was an opportunity to promote the ECOSAL Route of Traditional Salt Making in Middlewich, a town where the main production is now by vacuum evaporation, but where the salt heritage goes back to the Roman period. Middlewich is also close to other salt making towns such as Northwich and Nantwich, and is only 5 miles from the working rock salt mine at Winsford.

Andrew Fielding was able to introduce the Town Clerk of Middlewich, Jonathan Williams, to a board member of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH), Jonathan Lloyd (fig 7) and they discussed how the UK ECOSAL network might co-operate with the objectives of ERIH. The historic nineteenth-century open pan salt works at the Lion Salt Works, Northwich (9 miles away from Middlewich) have been an anchor point in ERIH since 2006 as are other industrial monuments that were part of the salt industry in the Cheshire area, such as the River Weaver Navigation, the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Anderton Lift – all instrumental in the transportation of coal to the salt works and shipping out the salt.

Fig 7. Jonathan Williams, Town Clerk at Middlewich Town Council (left) and Jonathan Lloyd, board member of ERIH (right).

Links
Middlewich Heritage        http://www.middlewich-heritage.org.uk/
ERIH   http://erih.net/
HS Bourne http://www.hsbourne.co.uk/