Nantwich
Encyclopedia
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...

 and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Crewe and Nantwich is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. For 25 years since its creation in 1983, the constituency had elected the Labour MP Gwyneth...

. In 2001 Nantwich had a population of 12,515.

History

The origins of the settlement date to Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

 times when salt from Nantwich was used by the Roman garrisons at Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 (Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...

) and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

 as both a preservative and a condiment. Salt has been used in the production of Cheshire cheese
Cheshire cheese
Cheshire cheese is a dense and crumbly cheese produced in the English county of Cheshire, and four neighbouring counties, two in Wales and two in England .-History:...

 and in the tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 industry, both products of the dairy industry based in the Cheshire Plain around the town. Wich
WICH
WICH is a radio station licensed to serve Norwich, Connecticut. The station is owned by Hall Communications and licensed to WICH, Inc. It airs a Talk/Nostalgia format....

and wych are names used to denote brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...

 spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

s or well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

s. In 1194 there is a reference to the town as being called Nametwihc, which would indicate it was once the site of a pre-Roman Celtic nemeton
Nemeton
A nemeton was a sacred space of ancient Celtic religion. Nemeta appear to have been primarily situated in natural areas, and, as they often utilized trees, they are often interpreted as sacred groves. However, other evidence suggests that the word implied a wider variety of ritual spaces, such as...

 or sacred grove.

In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

, Nantwich is recorded as having eight salt houses. It had a castle
Nantwich Castle
Nantwich Castle was a Norman castle in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, built before 1180 to guard a ford across the River Weaver. The castle is first documented in 1288. It was last recorded in 1462, and was in ruins by 1485...

 and was the capital of a barony of the earls of Chester, and of a hundred (one of the seven sub-divisions of medieval Cheshire). Nantwich is one of the few places in Cheshire to be marked on the Gough Map
Gough Map
The Gough Map or Bodleian Map is a map of the island of Great Britain, dating between 1355 and 1366, and is the oldest surviving route map of Great Britain. Its precise date of production and authorship are unknown. It is named after Richard Gough, who donated the map to the Bodleian Library in 1809...

, which dates from 1355–66. It was first recorded as an urban area at the time of the Norman conquest – the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 burned the town to the ground leaving only one building standing.

The town is believed to have been a salt-producing centre from the 10th century or earlier. The Norman castle was built at the crossing of the Weaver before 1180, probably near where the Crown Inn
Crown Hotel, Nantwich
The Crown Hotel, also known as the Crown Inn, is a timber-framed, black-and-white hotel and public house located at 24–26 High Street in the town of Nantwich in Cheshire, England. The present building dates from shortly after 1583...

 now stands. Although nothing remains of the castle above ground, it affected the town's layout. During the medieval period, Nantwich was the most important salt town and probably the second most important settlement in the county after Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

. By the 14th century, the town held a weekly cattle market at the end of Beam Street, and was also important for its tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 industry centred on Barker Street.

A fire destroyed most of the town to the east of the Weaver in 1583. Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 personally contributed to the town's rebuilding, which occurred rapidly and followed the plan of the destroyed town. Beam Street, one of the main streets of Nantwich, was re-named to reflect the fact that the timber to rebuild the town was transported along it.

During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 Nantwich declared for Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

, and consequently it was besieged several times by Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

 forces. The final, six-week long, siege was lifted following the victory of the Parliamentary forces in the Battle of Nantwich
Battle of Nantwich
The Battle of Nantwich was fought during the First English Civil War, between the forces of Parliament and of King Charles I, northwest of the town of Nantwich in Cheshire on 25 January 1644...

 on 26 January 1644, which has been re-enacted as Holly Holy Day on its anniversary every year since 1973 by the Sealed Knot
The Sealed Knot (reenactment)
The Sealed Knot is a British historical association and charity, dedicated to costumed reenactment of battles and events surrounding the English Civil War.-About:...

, a registered charity devoted to re-enacting English civil war battles for educational purposes. The name comes from the sprigs of holly worn by the townsfolk in their caps or clothing in the years after the battle, in its commemoration.

The salt industry peaked in the mid-16th century, with around 400 salt houses in 1530, and had almost died out by the end of the 18th century; the last salt house closed in the mid-19th century. Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

 considers the decline in the salt industry to have been the critical factor in preserving the town's historic buildings. The last tannery closed in 1974. The town's location on the London to Chester road meant that Nantwich served the needs of travellers from the medieval era. This trade declined in the 19th century, however, with the opening of Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

's road from London to Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

, which offered a faster route to Wales, and later when the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...

 bypassed the town.

Governance

The Borough Council of Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population of 111,007...

 was abolished on 1 April 2009; the civil parish is now administered by the new unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

 of Cheshire East
Cheshire East
Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...

. Nantwich falls in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Crewe and Nantwich is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. For 25 years since its creation in 1983, the constituency had elected the Labour MP Gwyneth...

,

Places of interest

Nantwich has the largest collection of historic buildings outside Chester in the county. The listed buildings are clustered particularly in the town centre on Barker Street, Beam Street, Churchyard Side, High Street and Hospital Street, and extending across the Weaver on Welsh Row. The great majority are located within the 38 hectares (93.9 acre) of conservation area
Conservation Area (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, the term Conservation Area nearly always applies to an area considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance," as required by the Planning ...

, which broadly follows the boundaries of the late medieval and early post-medieval town. The oldest listed building is St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Nantwich
St Mary's Church, Nantwich, is in the centre of the market town of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval...

, which dates from the 14th century and is listed at grade I. Two other listed buildings are known to pre-date the fire of 1583: Sweetbriar Hall and the grade-I-listed Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan mansion house at the eastern end of Hospital Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England...

 are both timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

, "black and white" Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...

 mansion houses. A few years after the fire, William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...

 described Nantwich as the "best built town in the county", and particularly fine examples of timber-framed buildings constructed during the town's rebuilding include 46 High Street
46 High Street, Nantwich
46 High Street is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan merchant's house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located in the town square at the corner of High Street and Castle Street . The present building dates from shortly after the fire of 1583, and is believed to have been built for Thomas...

 and the grade-I-listed Crown coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...

. Many half-timbered buildings, such as 140–142 Hospital Street
140–142 Hospital Street, Nantwich
140–142 Hospital Street, sometimes known as Hospital House, is a substantial townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the south side of Hospital Street . The building is listed at grade II. It was built in the late 16th century by John Crewe, a tanner, whose sons Randolph and Thomas...

, have been concealed behind brick or render
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

. The town contains many Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 town houses; good examples include Dysart Buildings
Dysart Buildings, Nantwich
Dysart Buildings is a terrace of nine Georgian houses on Monks Lane in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Dating from 1778–79, the building is listed at grade II*. It is located at 1–9 Monks Lane , now a pedestrian walkway, opposite the former Congregational Chapel and immediately north east of St Mary's...

, 9 Mill Street
9 Mill Street, Nantwich
9 Mill Street is a Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The present building dates from around 1736 and is a grade II* listed building. Nikolaus Pevsner calls it a "fine, spacious" house, and the English Heritage listing describes it as a "substantial and well-detailed early, C18 Town...

, Townwell House
Townwell House, Nantwich
Townwell House is an Early Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located at number 52 on the north side of Welsh Row . It dates from 1740, and is listed at grade II*; in the listing, English Heritage describes the building as "important" and highlights its "good central...

 and 83 Welsh Row
83 Welsh Row, Nantwich
83 Welsh Row is a Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, dating from the late 18th century, located on the south side of Welsh Row . It is currently used as offices...

. Several examples of Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 corporate architecture are listed, including the former District Bank
1–3 Churchyard Side, Nantwich
1–3 Churchyard Side is a grade-II-listed Victorian Gothic building in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the corner of Churchyard Side and Pepper Street , opposite St Mary's Church...

 by Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...

. The most recent listed building is 1–5 Pillory Street
1–5 Pillory Street, Nantwich
1–5 Pillory Street is a large curved corner block in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, in the French Baroque style of the late 17th century, which is listed at grade II. It is located on the corner of Hospital Street and Pillory Street , and also includes 2 Hospital Street. Formerly known as Chesters'...

, a curved corner block in 17th-century French style
French Baroque architecture
French Baroque is a form of Baroque architecture that evolved in France during the reigns of Louis XIII , Louis XIV and Louis XV...

 which dates from 1911. The majority of the town's listed buildings were originally residential; churches, chapels, public houses, schools, banks, almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

s and workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...

s are also well represented. Unusual listed structures include a mounting block
Mounting block
A mounting block, horse block, or in Scots a loupin'-on-stane is an assistance for mounting and dismounting a horse or cart, especially for the young, elderly or infirm. They were especially useful for women riding sidesaddle, allowing a horse to be mounted without a loss of modesty...

, twelve cast-iron bollard
Bollard
A bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it meant a post used on a ship or a quay, principally for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles...

s, a stone gateway, two garden walls and a summerhouse
Summer house
A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places...

.

Dorfold Hall
Dorfold Hall
Dorfold Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Acton, near Nantwich, in Cheshire, UK. It is listed at grade I. It was considered by Nikolaus Pevsner to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire.The present owners are the Roundells.-History:...

 is a Jacobean mansion in the nearby village of Acton
Acton, Cheshire
Acton is a small village and civil parish lying immediately west of the town of Nantwich in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of...

. It is listed at grade I, and was considered by Pevsner to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire. Nantwich Show, including the International Cheese Awards
International Cheese Awards
The International Cheese Awards is a cheese show and competition held each year at Dorfold Park in Nantwich, England. It represents the most important cheese events in the UK and one of the most important events on the global level...

, takes place in the hall's grounds each summer.

Nantwich Museum
Nantwich Museum
Nantwich Museum is a local museum in the town of Nantwich, Cheshire, northwest England.- Overview :The museum is located in Pillory Street, central Nantwich...

 is based in the Town Square. It has galleries on the history of the town, including Roman salt making, Tudor Nantwich's Great Fire, the Civil War Battle of Nantwich (1644) and the more recent shoe and clothing industries. There's also a section on the local cheese-making industry. Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker
The Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located at Hack Green, Cheshire, England.- History :The first military use of the area was in World War II, when a Starfish site was established at Hack Green...

, based a few miles outside the town, is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located in the village of Hack Green. It is now a museum.

The 82-seat Nantwich Players Theatre is on Pillory Street in the centre of town. It puts on around five plays each year.

Geography and transport

Nantwich is on the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...

, on the banks of the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...

. The Shropshire Union Canal
Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....

 runs through the town and makes a junction with the Llangollen Canal
Llangollen Canal
The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....

 at Hurleston
Hurleston
Hurleston is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north west of Nantwich. The parish is predominantly rural with scattered farms and buildings and no settlements...

 to the north. The town is approximately four miles south-west of Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

 and 20 miles south-east of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

. It is a major road junction, being the meeting point of the A51
A51 road
The A51 is a road in England running from Kingsbury in Warwickshire to Chester. The road follows the following route:*Kingsbury*Tamworth*Lichfield*Rugeley *Little Haywood*Great Haywood*Weston*Sandon...

, A500
A500 road
The A500 is a major primary A road in Staffordshire and Cheshire, England. It is dual carriageway for most of its length and connects Nantwich, junctions 16 and 15 of the M6 motorway with the city of Stoke-on-Trent...

, A529
A529 road
The A529 is a non-primary road in England that runs from the A41 at Hinstock in Shropshire to the A530 in Nantwich, Cheshire. ....

, A530
A530 road
The A530 road is a road linking the A525 east of Whitchurch, Shropshire, England with the A559 east of Northwich, in Cheshire. The road follows the route:*A525*Nantwich*Crewe*Middlewich*A559...

 and A534 roads. The stretch of the A534 from Nantwich to the Welsh border is regarded as one of the ten worst stretches of road in England for road safety.

Nantwich railway station
Nantwich railway station
Nantwich railway station, which was opened on 2 September 1858, serves the town of Nantwich in Cheshire, and is on the Crewe to Shrewsbury line...

 is on the line from Crewe to Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...

, Shrewsbury and other towns along the Welsh border. The station is currently served mainly by stopping trains between Crewe and Shrewsbury.

GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches is a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Their current total of bus operations has increased dramatically in recent years after purchases of other local bus operators such as Bryn Melyn, Chaloner's, Hanmers Coaches and Vale of...

 now operate the majority of local routes with funding from Cheshire East council. Arriva
Arriva North West
Arriva North West is a division of Arriva that operates bus services around North West England. It consists of two companies: Arriva North West Ltd and Arriva Merseyside Ltd....

, D&G Bus and a few smaller companies also operate routes in and around Nantwich.

Education

The town has seven primary schools – Highfields Community, Millfields, Pear Tree, St Anne's (Catholic), Stapeley Broad Lane (Church of England), The Weaver and The Wyche, two secondary schools Brine Leas School and Malbank School and Sixth Form College
Malbank School and Sixth Form College
Malbank School is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form in Nantwich, Cheshire with pupils of both sexes aged from 11 to 18.-Admissions:It is in the west of Nantwich, close to the boundary with Henhull, on the A534 and the Shropshire Union Canal....

, as well as Reaseheath College
Reaseheath College
Reaseheath College is a land-based further education college, mainly located in the village of Worleston in Cheshire, England. It opened in 1921....

 which runs both Further Education and Higher Education courses (in conjunction with Harper Adams University College
Harper Adams University College
Harper Adams University College is a higher education institution located close to the village of Edgmond , in Shropshire, England. It is the UK's leading specialist provider of higher education for the agri-food chain and rural sector....

 and the University of Chester
University of Chester
The University of Chester is a public research university located in Chester, United Kingdom. The University, based on a main campus in Chester and a smaller campus in Warrington, offers a range of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking academic research.Chester...

). A new Sixth Form at Brine Leas opened in September 2010.

Sport

The town's football club, Nantwich Town F.C.
Nantwich Town F.C.
Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed The Dabbers. The club is currently a member of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, with home matches played at the Weaver Stadium.Nantwich...

, won the 2006 FA Vase
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System...

. The club plays at the Weaver Stadium.

The town's Rugby Football Club, Acton Nomads RFC, was founded in 2009 and won the 2010 RFU Presidents XV "This is Rugby" Award.
. The club operates two senior sides, and is recognised by both the RFU and Cheshire RFU.

In Rugby League, Crewe & Nantwich Steamers
Crewe & Nantwich Steamers
Crewe & Nantwich Steamers is a rugby league club in Nantwich, Cheshire. They play in the North West Division of the Rugby League Conference and run a second team in the North West Merit League.-History:...

 play at the Barony Park, Nantwich - which is also the home ground for Acton Nomads RFC. Both the Steamers and the Nomads share a clubhouse at the Red Lion Hotel on Barony Road, Nantwich.

The area's other local rugby club is Crewe and Nantwich RUFC, founded in 1922 in Crewe. The club is now based at Vagrants Sports Club on Newcastle Road, Willaston and runs four senior teams; the first XV play in the Northern Division: South Lancs/Cheshire Division Three. The club, which holds Club Mark and RFU Seal of Approval accreditations, has an active mini and junior section with over 250 young people aged 5–18 taking part every Sunday.

Notable people

  • David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
    David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
    Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...

     (1871–1936), Admiral of the Fleet, was born in Nantwich.
  • Sir William Bowman (1816–1892), surgeon, was born in Nantwich.
  • Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet
    Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet
    Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1659. He was a commander in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....

     established his headquarters in Nantwich during the English Civil War
    English Civil War
    The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

     in 1643.
  • Walter Cartwright
    Walter Cartwright
    Walter Cartwright was an English footballer who played at half-back, although he could play at several positions. He played for Nantwich, Heywood Central and Crewe Alexandra before signing for Newton Heath in June 1895. At Newton Heath, which was later renamed Manchester United, he played at every...

     (1871–19??), footballer
    Football (soccer)
    Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

    , was born in Nantwich.
  • Matt Coyle
    Matt Coyle
    Matt Coyle is an Australian artist and graphic novelist living in Hobart, Tasmania.Born in Nantwich, United Kingdom, Coyle has published two graphic novels, Registry of Death which he co-authored with Peter Lamb, and Worry Doll .Coyle's work has a hyper-reality to it which is achieved with...

     (b. 1971), graphic novelist, was born in Nantwich.
  • Sir Randolph Crewe (1559–1646), Lord Chief Justice, was born in Nantwich.
  • John Gerard
    John Gerard
    John Gerard aka John Gerarde was an English herbalist notable for his herbal garden and botany writing. In 1597 he published a large and heavily illustrated "Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes", which went on to be the most widely circulated botany book in English in the 17th century...

     (1545 – c.1611), botanist
    Botany
    Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

     was born in Willaston
    Willaston, Crewe and Nantwich
    Willaston is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in north-west England. It has a population of 2,277 people according to the 2001 census. It is approximately three miles west of Crewe town centre and two miles east of Nantwich...

     near Nantwich.
  • Dario Gradi
    Dario Gradi
    Dario Gradi MBE is an Italian-born English football manager and former player, who was serving as manager of the Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy. He is a former manager of Crewe Alexandra, with whom he has been associated for almost thirty years.Gradi is notable for his 24-year first spell as manager...

    , Crewe Alexandra manager, lives in Willaston.
  • Simon Heartfield
    Simon Heartfield
    Simon Heartfield is a DJ, musician and record producer.Heartfield is widely regarded as a leading exponent of electronic music both in his hometown and beyond...

     (b. 1962), DJ, musician and record producer, was born in Nantwich.
  • George Latham
    George Latham (architect)
    George Latham was an English architect and surveyor, from the town of Nantwich in Cheshire.-Life:Latham married the daughter of the Wesleyan Methodist minister of Nantwich, the Reverend Thomas Gee...

     (d. 1871), architect
    Architect
    An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

     was born in Nantwich.
  • Elizabeth Minshull (1630–1727), third wife of poet John Milton
    John Milton
    John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

     was born in nearby Wistaston
    Wistaston
    Wistaston is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in north-west England. It is approximately west of Crewe town centre and east of Nantwich town centre...

     and lived as a widow in Nantwich until her death in 1727. She was reputedly buried at the Baptist Chapel in Barker Street.
  • Joseph Priestley
    Joseph Priestley
    Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...

     (1733–1804), who co-discovered oxygen
    Oxygen
    Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

    , was a Non-conformist minister and teacher at a school in Nantwich during the late 18th century.
  • Sophie Reade (b. 1989), winner of Big Brother 2009 (UK)
    Big Brother 2009 (UK)
    Big Brother 2009, occasionally referred to as Big Brother 10, was the tenth series of the British reality television series Big Brother. It began on 4 June 2009 and was aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 93 days, concluding on 4 September when Sophie "Dogface" Reade was crowned the winner with 74.4% of...

    , was born in Nantwich.

See also


External links

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