Thursday 5 September 2013

The Salt Arch Walk - Northwich



 

THE SALT ARCH WALK - June 2013 - Northwich

Follow
The Salt Arch Walk
from
down Witton Street to High Street.

At the bottom of High Street, you will cross
Turn right, over the River Weaver
via

Walk over the bridge then turn left and walk through
Castle Street Gardens
at the side of the river.
 
Cross the road – carefully.
 
 Go through the
 
Inside the park, climb the hill to the three benches.
Stand where Celts and Romans stood, to view the valley and its rivers.
Stand in the place of Civil War encampments.

Look across the rooves of town, to the black and white
Grade II Old Postal Sorting  Office
now a public house.
It is the tallest rafted building in Northwich.
 
Pick out - on the skyline
Grade I St Helen’s Church
and the works which are the source of this area’s wealth and recent history.
Enjoy the view!
 
The high ground up the hill - off to your right
is called Castle
It formerly held a Roman fortification.
 
Climb down the hill, re-crossing the river via

Turn right, onto Queen Street, then left onto Dock Road
emerging, to turn right on London Road.

Take the immediate right turn, down Weir Street
for a fine view of the
It is open on Sundays, from Easter Sunday to end of September - 2 – 5 pm.
The impressive, 100 year old pumping engines will be running.
Call in to see them.

In this area, the overwhelming feature in the landscape is the
Grade II listed 48-arch pink sandstone Weaver Railway Viaduct.
There is a walkway - at ground level - along part of its length.

The River Weaver - and its weir – runs close by, side by side with The Navigation.

Walk through the arches and along the river, turning left, up the hill, to the Bowling Green Inn.
Part of this building survives from 1650, making it one of the oldest buildings in the Northwich area.
Can you pick out the old part?
It was built as Cheshire Cheese first went south, for His Majesty's naval fleet
to replace the cheese which formerly had come from Suffolk
 
Walking – take care - on to London Road, turn left.
 
Next door is
Grade II Weaver Hall Museum (formerly called The Salt Museum).

This building was once a part of the Northwich Union Workhouse.
The museum now re-presents
the history of salt production
local building styles
the Workhouse
and the infamous Northwich Floods
Many local people have played their part in gathering information,
and the museum is a very friendly welcoming place
with a café.
***
 
Returning to the town centre along London Road, passing, near the Viaduct arches,
a small cluster of houses - shown on maps dating from 1840
from which residents must have watched – in some trepidation -  as the arches were first built in 1860;
quaking as the first trains thundered above the rooves of their houses.

Turn right, onto Chester Way, crossing over the River Dane
which meets the River Weaver in the town centre

Where Chester Way meets Watling Street, find a safe space to cross the road to Applemarket Street

Two thriving markets run on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday
The Covered Market and The Indoor Market

Proceed back through Market Way, Town Square and Weaver Square,
There is a helpful Information Centre next to the road, just off Town Square
Turn left to High Street, then up Witton Street to Northwich Library

This Salt Arch Walk was first set up by Charlotte Peters Rock
for - The Festival of the Arts in Northwich - June 2013
 
The intention was to complement her short pieces of poetry and song,
written around the history of Northwich.
 
With the aid of Northwich Town Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Colliers
and others, this work was displayed as installations
in several shop windows
in Town Square and Market Way
also
The Indoor Market
and
The Covered Market
 
Further examples of work were laminated as giveaways
in the town centre and at Verdin Park
Poem-stories on Northwich history were hung on park benches for the month of June 2013
with replacements every two days, over the month
and given away at
the Verdin Park Music Festival
on 22 June 2013
  

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