Lion Salt Works

Lion Salt Works

Lion Salt Works in 2006
Location Marston, near Northwich, England
Coordinates 53°16′31″N 2°29′43″W / 53.2753°N 2.4952°WCoordinates: 53°16′31″N 2°29′43″W / 53.2753°N 2.4952°W
OS grid reference SJ 670 754
Founded 1894
Built for John Thompson Junior
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated 19 August 1986
Reference no. 57604, 57605, 57606, 57607
Location in Cheshire

The Lion Salt Works is the last remaining open pan saltworks in Marston, near Northwich, Cheshire, England. It closed as a works in 1986 and is now preserved as a museum.

History

John Thompson Junior, a member of a family that had been making salt probably since the 18th century, started the Lion Salt Works when he built a salt pan in the coal yard of the Red Lion Hotel, Marston, in 1894. During the 20th century more efficient methods of extracting and refining salt were developed, and by 1960 the works was the only business continuing to use the open pan process in the country. The business closed down in 1986 when the West African markets, the major purchaser of natural salt, were lost because of the Nigerian Civil War.[1]

Preservation

Salt Van

The buildings were purchased by Vale Royal District Council to prevent their demolition. In 1993, the Lion Salt Works Trust was formed as a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. In 2000, a survey showed that the land around the works was stable and during the following years money was raised from DEFRA, English Heritage, Cheshire Rural Recovery and the Northwest Development Agency to enable surveys to be completed and a conservation plan to be written. In July 2005, an application was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund and a Stage 1 award was made the following March.[2] In March 2008, it was announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund had made an award of £4.96 million towards the £7 million total cost of the restoration project.[3]

In 2004, Lion Salt Works was a candidate on the BBC's Restoration programme.[4] The surviving buildings are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings. The specific buildings listed are the canal salt shed,[5] the engine shed and pump house,[6] the office in the works yard,[7] and the pan sheds and stoves and the store shed behind the works.[8] The buildings are registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[9] The site is recognised as an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.[10]

In 2009, the site came into the ownership of Cheshire West and Chester Council. The site is currently closed for major redevelopment and is scheduled to reopen on 20 May 2015.[11] as a new heritage visitor attraction.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "17th to 19th Century and the Lion Salt Works". The Lion Salt Works Trust. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  2. ↑ "Site Development Key dates". The Lion Salt Works Trust. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  3. ↑ Drury, Simon (21 March 2008), "£5m lotto boost for Salt Works", Mid Cheshire Chronicle
  4. ↑ "Lion Salt Works, Cheshire", BBC Restoration 2004, retrieved 23 December 2006
  5. ↑ Historic England, "Canal salt shed at Lion Salt Works (1329876)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 December 2012
  6. ↑ Historic England, "Engine shed and pump house at Lion Salt Works (1160985)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 December 2012
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Office in works yard, Lion Salt Works (1139103)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Historic England, "Pan sheds and stoves and store shed behind Lion Salt Works (1329875)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 December 2012
  9. ↑ Historic England, "Lion Salt Works and remains of part of the Alliance Salt Works (1020841)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 December 2012
  10. ↑ "Anchor Points Great Britain", European Route of Industrial Heritage, retrieved 29 November 2008
  11. ↑ "Chancellor George Osborne praises Lion Salt Works". The Lion Salt Works Trust. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Our Facilities", The Lion Salt Works Trust, retrieved 29 November 2008

External links