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The Walk
Length of walk 2.66 Miles - Duration approx 2 hours
The walk starts on the footpath near to the west end
of St Mary's Church and ends back at the church. To help you on the
route, clock dials are set into the pavement at strategic
points.
Follow
this link.>> to download the full map |
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Walk towards the Square and High Street along the
footpath known as Church Walk.
THE SQUARE
Nantwich War memorial stands in the centre of the town square,
dedicated to commemorate those from the town who died in World War
I in active service, later supplemented by the names of those who
died in action during World War II.
On Saturdays during the 18th century this area was witness to
many violent scenes. Offenders sentenced to whipping as their
punishment were tied to the rear of a cart and whipped by the Town
Constable for the distance from Pillory Street to the river bridge
and at harvest time the itinerant Irish labourers who lodged in
squalid conditions in Castle Street were drawn into frequent
fights.
Cross the High Street towards Castle Street.
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1 o'clock.
Nantwich Bookshop, 46 High Street.
To the right of Castle Street are two half-timbered buildings
(now 3 shops) constructed in 1584 following the Great Fire.
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The Bookshop (No 46 High Street), once the house of Thomas
Church, is particularly fine, jettied to the front and side (to
Castle Street) with carved figures. In the coffee shop on the first
floor can be seen original panelling and an enriched plasterwork
ceiling. On request, the second floor and internal roof structure
may be viewed.
Castle Street leads to the River Weaver and as the name
suggests was where the castle of Nantwich once stood. The castle
was probably only a large fortified building of timber
construction. The building now seen down Castle Street was the
Ebenezer Chapel of 1858, later the Cosy Cinema and now a nightclub.
From evidence in Harleian mss., the castlewas partly built of stone
because the Bishop of Litchfield gave permission to use the stones
in the ruins to build part of St. Mary's' church i.e. the Kingsley
Chapel or the South transept.
Opposite the entrance to Castle Street is the Queen's Aide
House. This is the house, which Thomas Cleese had built after the
Great Fire of 1583 and which permanently displays the town's
appreciation to Queen Elizabeth I for her help in rebuilding, as
expressed on the upper storey of the building.
Walk along High Street, away from the square, along
Pillory Street as far as the pillory and the Museum.
The large attractive building (now Christians) on the corner
of Pillory Street was built in 1911 and designed by a local
architect in a late seventeenth century French style.
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2 o'clock
The Museum, Pillory Street
As the name implies, Pillory Street was the street in which the
pillory stood; a modern replica stands here now. |
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In the middle ages certain offenders, after serving their time
in the pillory, were taken by cart through the town and ducked in
Cartlake (the town's cess pit), which used to be on a site near to
the Swimming Pool on the River Weaver bank.
There was a jail in Pillory Street, which in the 18th and 19th
centuries belonged to the Baron of Nantwich. When facing the modern
pillory, the building seen beyond was the Meeting House of the
Society of Friends, or Quakers, and is now the home of the Nantwich
Players.
On the opposite side of the street, next door to the site of
the former jail, is the town Museum, housed in the former Free
Library building of 1888, The museum was opened in 1979 and
contains a wealth of local exhibits of bygone ages, and includes
special displays in the Cheshire Cheese Room, which shows how
Cheshire cheese was and is made.
At the side of the Museum is the entrance to the 'Cocoa Yard',
a development of shops and flats. The name originates from the
Cocoa House to the left of the Museum, built during the Victorian
temperance movement, as recorded on a plaque.
Situated in the Cocoa House Yard is the Nantwich Millennium
Clock commissioned by Nantwich Town's Council, as part of the
town's Millennium celebrations in 2000. The clock was designed and
built by Welsh clock maker and artist Paul Beckett.
Adjacent to the clock, a plaque on a chimney records the fact
that during the 19th century it was part of a wheelwright's forge
and smithy making parts for horse-drawn coaches in the adjacent
Welch's Coach Manufactory.
Walk through the Cocoa Yard to Hospital Street and
turn right towards the Methodist Church.
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3 o'clock
Hospital Street
The Methodist Church was opened in 1808 with a new front added
in 1876.
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Nearby is Sweetbriar Hall, a late 15th century timbered
building with a 17th century polygonal bay. It was one of the three
buildings which escaped the Great Fire, the fire stopping just
short of the building. It was built as a private residence for the
Wilbraham family. The building shows close studding with middle
rail, but note that the herringbone pattern is only carried halfway
along the left hand side because of expense. The Hall contains
interesting relics of the past including an iron fire back of the
period of Charles I.
The walk continues along Hospital Street to Churche's
Mansion.
The walk can be shortened at this point by taking the
footpath on the right of the Methodist Chapel, through the car
park, in front of the Bowling Green pub and turning left along
Monks Lane to rejoin the walk at the Market Hall on the north side
of the church (5 0'clock).
Priestley Court at the junction of Hospital Street and
Pratchetts Row is a short terrace of new houses, which occupy the
site of the former Unitarian Church one of whose ministers was Dr
Joseph Priestley, who later identified the gas oxygen.
116 Hospital Street. This house, a private residence, stands
on one of the most ancient foundations in the town. For all its
Georgian appearance outside, inside it is medieval and contains two
stone fireplaces of 15th century design and roof timbers of the
same period. It is in the form of central hall with side
wings.
140 Hospital Street stands on even more ancient foundations
being the site of the Hospice of St Nicholas believed to have been
founded by the 1st Baron of Wich Malbanc about the year 1083. The
hospice was established as a refuge for travellers, and the Chapel
of St Nicholas in the Parish Church continues the ancient
associations. The private house standing on the site now has
heraldic devices in three upper windows and was the house of John
Crewe, Tanner of Nantwich, who died in 1598 and whose two sons,
Randolph and Thomas, became respectively Lord Chief Justice and
Speaker of the House of Commons.
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4 o'clock
Opposite Churches Mansion
Further along at the end of Hospital Street stands Churche's
Mansion, an Elizabethan Mansion (listed grade I) built in 1577 for
Richard Churche, merchant of Nantwich. |
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Carved portraits of Richard and his wife Margery are mounted
in the entrance porch. It is a fine example of a town house of the
period and it is also fortunate that the building escaped the Great
Fire. An Elizabethan well was discovered when old hearths were
opened out after being hidden for many years. On the front of the
house are various emblems including a lion, an ape and a
salamander, the last of which is a reptile reputedly indestructible
by fire. For some years before restoration the house fell into
disrepair and was used as, among other things, a cow keeper's
store.
Combermere house to the right was built by Thomas Bower, a
local Victorian architect. On the corner at the roundabout is the
"Rookery", of similar age to Churche's Mansion but now with a
Georgian exterior.
Turn left at the Rookery and the first left into South
Crofts.
During the period 1133-1538 the land on which the South Crofts
row of houses now stands was owned by the Abbey of Combermere and
let to tenants to provide income for the Abbey. South Crofts leads
to Monks Walk and Dysart Buildings. This very fine terrace of
Georgian houses was a speculative project undertaken in 1727 by the
2nd Earl of Dysart and is reputedly a copy of a building in
Scotland except that the windows are different in size.
At the town centre end of Monks Walk is a development of new houses
attached to the 19th century Congregational Chapel. This Chapel had
stood in a state of disrepair for many years until in 1983 it was
converted into private houses.
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5 o'clock
The Market
Sited on the north side of the church, the Market Hall was built in
1868 at a cost of £2,000 on land given by John Tollemache Esq.
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The roof and frontage has been considerably altered. The
original market and butter cross, demolished in 1869, was on the
Square, where a monthly Farmers Market is now held.
To the right is "Ye Olde Wyche Theatre " of 1919, built as a
cinema and now part of a bakery. Further along Churchyardside is
Barclays Bank of 1876, and Lloyds TSB designed by Waterhouse, the
architect of Manchester Town Hall.
Walk down Market Street past the old church school,
now an auctioneers, to the Civic Hall. There are seats outside for
a welcome rest.
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5.30 clock-face
Civic Hall
The Civic Hall was built in 1951 by public subscription with
help from the Urban District Council. Nantwich Library opened in
1970 and replaced the old free' library in Pillory Street
which now houses Nantwich Museum.
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right along Beam Street, past the library and fire station to the
Almshouses. |
6 o'clock
Almshouses
Beam Street, the eastern entrance to the town, takes its name from
the fact that timber donated by Queen Elizabeth I was carried into
town along this road. On the right are the Wright, Crewe and Hope
Almshouses. |
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The Crewe Almshouses were built on the site of the House of
Correction in 1767 out of money left for the poor of Hospital
Street and were specifically intended 'for seven decayed
tradesmen'.
In 1638 Sir Edmund Wright (born in Nantwich in 1573) built
some almshouses in London Road and endowed them to help the poor of
Nantwich. The Wright Almshouses were moved stone by stone from
London Road to stand alongside the Crewe Almshouses and can be seen
through the ornate arched gateway to the right.
A new block of almshouses was built financed by a legacy from
Harriet Hope, a deceased shopkeeper in the town. This new block was
built using stone and material from old demolished buildings in the
town.
Now retrace your steps along Beam Street and continue
on to Pepper Street.
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7 o'clock
Pepper Street
Pepper Street was once known as Ratunrowe, a row infested by
rats. At the end of Pepper Street is a 17th century half-timbered
building, now a shoe shop.
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Across the road, the Manor House at the junction of Manor Road
and Beam Street was once the home of one of Nantwich's wealthy
merchant families. In more recent years it was developed as a
shopping mews and is now a house furnisher's shop and apartments.
See the historical Fire Mural at the far end of the Post
Office.
Continue along Beam Street and turn left into Oat
Market and the High Street.
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8 o'clock
Oat Market, Swine Market and High Street
Two of the buildings in Oat Market are of 17th and 18th century
origin. The Union Inn was built as a coaching inn in the 18th
century by a consortium of local businessmen. The building to the
left, locally referred to as the Gamecock, is where the cock
fighting used to take place.
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The Swine Market has been entirely modernised. Until
approximately 35 years ago, it was a street of small houses masking
a complex of other houses which once stood where the Snow Hill car
park is now.
Looking up High Street from the end of Oat Market can be seen
the Crown Hotel (Grade I listed) which was built in 1585 following
the Great Fire. One of the striking features of the exterior of the
building is the continuous upper storey window. The Gallery was for
‘promenading’ as at Churches’ Mansion’s. The interior is well
preserved and a section of the wall in the entrance foyer has been
cut away to show the original wattle and daub construction. Some of
the floor and staircase timbers are now very twisted, so much so in
some of the rooms that the furniture is mounted on wooden blocks.
During the Civil War the hotel was used as a place of worship while
St Mary's Parish Church was used as a prison. A coach driver at the
hotel during the 19th century was 'Old Piggot', the grandfather of
the internationally known jockey Lester Piggot.
The walk continues down High Street to the river and
Welsh Row. Alternatively walk up High Street, past the Crown Hotel
to the Square and so to the Church.
The Town Bridge and River Weaver.
The bridge was a wooden construction until 1663 when the increased
amount of traffic caused it to become unstable and a stone bridge
was built in its place. This bridge became unstable also and the
present one was built in its place in 1803. On the western side of
the bridge in medieval times stood the Chapel of St Anne, first
built in the 14th century. This was a place of worship for
travellers who had arrived in the town after a hazardous journey.
Looking towards the town centre where the electricity sub station
now stands is the site of the house where the Great Fire of 1583
started. It was said according to the chronicle of the time, to
have been caused by '...illicit person's brewing'.
Upstream, approximately 1/4 mile away, is the grave of
Lieutenant Leslie Brown of the United States Air Force, who crashed
his Thunderbolt Fighter at this spot in 1944. It is believed that
Lieutenant Brown remained at the controls after his plane got into
difficulties in order to avoid crashing on the town centre.
Looking downstream is the ancient brine spring known as ‘Old
Biot’. Brine from this spring is thought to have supplied many of
the wich (salt) -houses in the Snow Hill, and First and Second Wood
Street areas. Brine from this spring continues to be pumped to the
outdoor swimming pool - the last such swimming pool of its kind in
Britain.
Cross the bridge and walk along Welsh
Row.
Over the bridge is Welsh Row, formerly part of the main London
to Wales road during the coaching days. It is also the direction
from which the marauding Welsh armies and Byron's Royalist Army
came during the middle ages and the Civil War. Many of the
buildings along the road are Georgian but some are of earlier date.
The earlier buildings can be identified by the thinner bricks used
and by the pitch on the roofs which were originally thatch.
The Nakatcha Public House was once a centre for cock fighting
and stabling. Note should be made of the stone block used by
farmers wives to descend from the farm horse after riding 'pillion
style' into town.
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9 o'clock
Curshaws - Cheshire Cat
Curshaws, formally known as The Cheshire Cat,
was originally know as the Widows' Almshouse after Roger
Wilbraham converted three cottages into the present building in
1676 for six poor widows.
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He built them as a memorial to his wife and two sons who died
on the same day. There were two widows in each cottage with a
division line marked on the ground floor to give each occupant half
ownership. This led to frequent disagreements.
First and Second Wood Streets, which flank The Nakatcha Public
House and Curshaws, take their names from the fact that the timber
used for firing the wich-houses for salt production used to be
stored here. During the 17th and 18th centuries they were the most
thickly populated areas of the town.
Across the road are the Black Lion Inn of 1664 and the Savings
Bank of 1846. Beyond Tudor Cottage with its timbered gable end to
the street, is the a fine Georgian Townwell House of 1740.
The Wilbraham Arms public house was originally The Red Lyon
Inn and during the 18th century was kept by the Partridge family.
The father and Joseph, his son, were also waggoners working between
Nantwich and London. Joseph later qualified for the Ministry of the
Church Of England. The Bishop of Chester appointed him Chaplain of
Baddiley and he later became a master of a school in Pepper Street
and Chaplain at the work house.
The four houses 70, 88, 90, & 92 are particularly worthy
of notice. Number 70 is a rebuilt house with ancient exposed
timbers on the east gable. The pitch of the roofs of all these
properties is steep and their walls are mainly of thinner bricks
than were used from Victorian times. Number 90 has several courses
of modern brick near to the eaves, which suggests that the roof was
thatched at one time. The next building, now apartments, was
originally the police station and magistrate's court for the
area.
There was great excitement along the road in 2004 when a
section of a 700-year-old oak tree was discovered. This was
revealed to be an ancient salt ship - or vessel in which brine
(salt suspended in water) was stored as part of the salt-producing
process. Today one section remains on permanent display in the
Nantwich Museum.
Part of 108 Welsh Row is the Grammar School built by Charles
Wilbraham when an ancient Grammar School in the St Mary's
Churchyard was demolished in 1858.
The modern Malbank School further along the road was completed
in 1921.
Malthouse Cottage, before renovation, was several cottages. In
the 1792 rating list it appears under the description of 'The
Maltkilns' and was a building of some size since its assessment of
£9 was in those days quite a high one.
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9.30 clock-face
Wilbraham Almshouses
The Wilbraham Almshouses were built in 1870 to replace those
built in 1676 by Sir Roger Wilbraham for six poor men.
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In 1804 the almsmen received £2 per annum, shoes every year
and gown and caps every two years. Just across the road is 1
Nixon's Row, the house where the antecedents of Wilfred Owen, the
First World War poet, lived.
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10 o'clock
The canal and aqueduct
The Shropshire Union Canal skirts the grounds of Dorfold Hall.
The canal was built in two stages the Chester to Nantwich branch
was completed in 1779 and the Nantwich to Autherley branch in
1825.
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This section was built by the great Victorian engineer, Thomas
Telford, and the aqueduct is now a listed structure. Walking up the
steps (or ramp) onto the canal embankment and turning right leads
to a marina, the basin end of the first section of canal. The
fields to the right witnessed the battle of Nantwich during the
Civil Wall of 1644, involving around 10,000 troops and which
finally lifted the siege of Nantwich when the Royalists were
defeated.
Dorfold Hall, approximately 1/4 mile further out of town is a
very fine example of Jacobean architecture believed to occupy the
site of the Manor held by Edwin III, the last Saxon Earl of
Chester. It was built in 1616 for Ralph Wilbraham. During the Civil
War the Royalists used the Hall as a base from which to attack
Nantwich. The Hall is open to the public on Tuesday afternoons and
guided tours can be arranged.
Go to the horses, over the Canal and just beyond see the Horse
Sculptures. Canal barges were once pulled by such
horses.
Retrace your steps down Welsh Row towards the town,
cross the river and turn right along Waterlode to the mill race,
passing the plaque commemorating the fire of
Nantwich.
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10.30 clock-face
Mill Island
This area owes its name to the fact that two mills have been
sited here. It is an island lying between a loop of the river and
mill leat (artificial water channel) and the mill race (where fast
moving water drives a mill wheel).
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The sluice gate mechanism can still be seen. The Doomsday Book
refers to Nantwich Mill as a corn mill, which later was used as a
hospital during the Civil War. In 1788 it was used as a cotton mill
but reverted to use as a corn mill in 1847. This building was burnt
down in 1970. The ruins of a small 1785 corn mill are visible in
the bed of the River Weaver.
John Gerard, born in Nantwich in 1545 and later Royal
Herbalist and surgeon to James I and author of 'Herbal' 1597,
studied plants around here. This general area was also the site of
the castle guarding the ford over the river. On the third Saturday
in January each year the Battle of Nantwich is re-enacted on Mill
Island by troops of the Sealed Knot.
The pedestrian crossing will lead you into town up
Mill Street.
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11 o'clock
Mill Street & Baker Street
On the right is a Georgian Mansion now a restaurant,
originally a family home and then a bank. The Wickstead pub takes
its name from a local family.
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Nearby is the site ofwhat was Nantwich's first Baptist Chapel,
built in 1725.
Mrs Elizabeth Milton, wife of the poet John Milton, was buried
here in 1727 and among other items mentioned in her will were 'Mr
Milton's two books of Paradise'. John Wesley preached in the Chapel
in 1779, 1780 and 1781. Off to the right is Barker Street (from the
Latin 'Barcaria' a tannery) so called after a tannery which stood
here in the 16th and 17th centuries. Barker St contains some
attractive 18th century town houses.
At the top of Mill Street, cross High Street into
Hospital Street as far as Church Lane.
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12 o'clock
Chatterton House, Church Lane
Almost immediately after entering Hospital Street is the
ex-Lamb Hotel, now named Chatterton House, the earliest mention of
which is as a mansion house in 1551.
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In 1554, William Chatterton, who presumably then owned the
Lamb, was granted a licence 'to keep a tavern at his mansion
house'.
William Chatterton had been groom in ordinary to Queen Mary I.
During the Civil War the building was used by the Parliamentarians
as their headquarters. The present 19th century frontage was
preserved when the building was converted to apartments and
restaurant. Immediately beyond Chatterton House is Church Lane and
another half-timbered building dating from after the Great Fire,
now a tailor's shop. As elsewhere in Nantwich, many of the
buildings in Hospital Street are originally half-timbered but now
faced in brick.
Walk along Church Lane to end the tour and enter the
Church by the South Porch.
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ST MARY'S CHURCH
Often referred to as 'the cathedral of South Cheshire', it is the
town's most ancient building and a suitable starting/ending point
for the Walking Tour. Preceded by more than one church on the site,
it was built mostly in the 14th century but with some parts of the
crossing being part of the building appropriated to the Abbey of
Combermere in 1133 AD. |
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Interesting internal features include the presence of 'Jack in
the Green' or "The Green Man', a pagan fertility god who lived in
the oak tree. Whilst it is unusual for a pagan god to be
represented in a Christian building, the reason may be that the
church was built on the site of a wood and this is a form of
appeasement towards him. The magnificent chancel has a lierne vault
in which the bosses depict scenes from the life of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. The stalls or 'misericords' were built in-situ about
1390 and the oak high altar was made in the time of Queen Elizabeth
I and came from a private house in the town. The St Nicholas chapel
contains several interesting artefacts - one is a mutilated
alabaster effigy of Sir David Cradok, one of the town's more famous
sons, who died in September 1390 of the plague. Another monument
worthy of mention is the Sir Thomas Smith memorial.
The south porch was added in 1550 to form a central store for
the town's weapons, and was also a refuge for the homeless after
the Great Fire. Other interesting exterior features include a
representation of the Devil flying away with a woman whose hand is
in a pitcher. This can be found by close examination of the water
spout at the junction of the north transept and nave on the north
side of the building. The masons employed on the construction of
this part of the church returned to their lodgings one night to
find their landlady dipping her hand into a pitcher where they kept
their money and took it upon themselves to immortalise her in
stone.
The external wall of the church on the east side of the St
Nicholas Chapel (the south transept) has several small holes in the
stonework at approximately body height. This is the spot where
Civil War traitors and spies were executed and the holes were
caused by the execution squad's bullets. The church has had many
uses over the years as a community centre, a market, and during the
Civil War was twice used as a prison.
The Church has its own Visitor Centre, which sells a
comprehensive guide book, dvd and video, containing further
detailed information.
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This walk is presented by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council,
Town Centre Management, with the kind support and assisstance of
the Nantwich Civic Society.
Information regarding the Nantwich Civic Society is available
from the Tourist Information Office - Tel: 01270 610983.
All Haydn Jones illustrations used on this web page are
copyright and reproduced with permission of A B & H Prints on
behalf of J Haydn Jones Estate.
Suggested future inclusions and/or amendments to this
walk should be made in writing to:
Town Centre Management,
Pyms Lane,
Crewe,
CW1 3PJ
Useful telephone numbers:
(dial code 01270)
- Bus Service Enquiries 505350
- Civic Hall 628633
- Nantwich Museum 627104 Monday to Saturday 10.30am-4pm (Closed
Monday's in Winter)
- Nantwich Swimming Pool, Outdoor Brine Pool (brine fed from
natural springs) and Pulse Gym 610606
- Rail Services 08457 484950
- TIC - Tourist Information Office 610983
- Tourism Development Officer 537505
- Town Centre Management 537559
- Nantwich Library 624887
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