Northwich in the 17th century was a small market town of about six acres, concentrated on a plot of low-lying flat land at the confluence of the rivers Dane and Weaver, and surrounded by fields and meadows on the slopes of the neighbouring townships. Lying in the very heart of the county of Cheshire, it was a significant transport hub and trading centre.
It had been an important salt-making site since Roman times and could be described as an industrial town in a pre-industrial age. The raw material - high quality brine - came from a pit on the banks of the Dane and was channelled along wooden troughs to 108 wich-houses where it was boiled in lead pans to extract the salt. The proprietors and entrepreneurs involved were subject to time-honoured complex rules that regulated when, where and how the salt could be made.
Leading local historian Tony Bostock, whose family moved to the Northwich, Witton and Leftwich area from Davenham more than 300 years ago, has used a wealth of contemporary documentary sources to build up a detailed picture of life in Northwich during the 17th century. It was a particularly interesting period of history - an era of social, economic, political and religious change that affected the lives of every individual in some way. Plague, fires, flooding and the Civil War all left their mark on the town and its inhabitants.
His painstakingly researched book looks at the residential, commercial and industrial sectors of the tiny borough, traces of which can still be discerned in its present-day layout. It examines how the town was governed and how the famous salt industry began to decline towards the end of the 17th century.
The author follows the fortunes of individual families who owned or occupied wich-houses and, using wills and inventories, describes how the people of Northwich lived and worked. Fascinating appendices, tables and family trees contain information that will be invaluable to local and family history enthusiasts.
To assist genealogists and local historians the book has been comprehensively indexed. The index can be consulted on-line, so that you can see if there is mention of a person, place or event of interest to you. To access the Index, click here
TONY BOSTOCK is an accomplished local historian. He holds a B.A. in History (Manchester, 1991) and an M.A. in Local History (Keele, 1994). He is the author of many articles on various aspects of Cheshire History; is on the editorial team of Cheshire History and was editor and writer of the Winsford Record. He is a regular speaker/lecturer to local history and family history societies and has had posts as a part-time lecturer in these subjects with Liverpool University's Centre for Continuing Education, Mid-Cheshire College, the WEA, and most recently Sir John Deane's College, Northwich.
As well as being a member of a number of academic societies in the region, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee of the Cheshire Local History Association and its predecessor the Palatine Local History Committee for many years. For three consecutive years he chaired the CLHA and is now its Secretary. He is also an active committee member of the Winsford Local History Society, of which he was chair-person for many years. Having retired from a professional life in public service, Tony now applies himself more to the study of local and family history.
Tony will undertake research into Local History matters related to the county of Cheshire as well as Family History research for families with links to the county. If you require it he can undertake record searches in record offices, libraries and other repositories in the county. Tony can also make visits to local places for you and make site and topographical reports. He will be pleased to offer advice to those who wish to embark on their own researches.
More recently Tony has written "Winsford - A History of a Cheshire Town and its People", which we published in 2016.