Middlewich in 1837
Middlewich, situated near the confluence of the rivers Dane and Croke, is 167 miles north-west of London : the population of the parish is 4,785, of the town 1,325, Market day is Tuesday. This town derives its name from its position situation between the wiches or the salt towns. Great quantities of salt are manufactured from the salt-springs here : cotton fabrics are also made. The Grand Trunk runs through the town on its course to the Mersey. The living is distinct vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, of the net annual value of £128. The parish is large, and on the south side of it are a college and an oratory ; the latter founded by the Leigh family of Lyme, the former by Thomas Savage, archbishop of York. The Dissenters have three meeting-houses ; and there is a free-school. The petty sessions are held at Middlewich for the hundred of Eddisbury. The Rev. Theophilus Lindsay, a Unitarian divine of some note, was born here.
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