Middlewich, Cheshire
Historical Description
Middlewich, a small market-town, a township, and a parish in Cheshire. The town stands on the Trent and Mersey Canal, at the junction of the Middlewich branch, on the river Dane, at the influx of the Wheelock or Croco, 5 miles NW of Sandbach, 6 S of Northwich, and 21 E of Chester; took its name from being a middle one of the " wiches " or salt towns of Cheshire, and is built on a bed of Roman remains. It retains an antique appearance, but has recently undergone considerable improvement, is a seat of petty sessions, and has a head post office and a station on the L. & N.W.R. The town-hall is a modern edifice, the lower part used as a market-house, and partly also as a free public library, the upper part containing a public hall, the offices of the local board, &c. The church is large tnd handsome. It consists of chancel, clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles, north and south chapels, and a tower. The chapels formerly belonged to the Venables, barons of Kinderton, and the north chapel contains monuments to this family, which is now represented by Lord Vernon of Kinderton. There are Congregregational and Wesleyan chapels, and a police station. A cemetery, with two mortuary chapels, is in the suburb of Newton. A weekly market is held on Tuesday, fairs are held on the last Tuesday of Feb., April, and Oct.; business is done in salt-works and chemical works. The town is governed by a local board. Middlewich township now includes Middlewich, Byley, Sutton, Newton, and Kinderston. Acreage of the township, 4812; population, 4444; of the ecclesiastical parish, 5033. A party of Royalists under Aston was beaten at Middlewich in 1642 by a party of Parliamentarians under Sir W. Brereton. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chester; gross value, £262 with residence. T. Lindsey, the Unitarian writer, was a native; and also the Rev. J. Hulse, who left his estates in this parish to the University of Cambridge, to found the Hulsean lectureship, &c., and was buried here in 1790.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Cheshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Middlewich St. Michael and All Angels | |
Hundred | Northwich | |
Poor Law union | Northwich |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Middlewich from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Middlewich (St. Michael and All Angels))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cheshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Middlewich are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cheshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cheshire, 1580 is available on the Heraldry page.