Can't find a negative about Nantwich

MY wife and I are planning to move to Nantwich, we think we have found the house we want.
   We are originally from London but have lived in Poynton for the past two years.
   Every time we go to Nantwich we try to find a negative, thankfully we cannot.
   Your website has helped, so a big thank you from us.
Terry, Laura and children, Poynton                                               JANUARY 2013

THANKS for that Terry. Glad to be of some use to you. 

Thoughts of cosy evenings by the fire

Virtual tour of Nantwich via website

JUST wanted to say how useful I have been finding your website. I have started looking at my family history and found out that my paternal grandfather, John James Downing, was born in Nantwich in 1872.

   Never having visited Nantwich I have been doing a virtual tour via your website, and others. I have bought a reprint of the 1908 O.S. map of Nantwich but the photographs on your site have enabled me to put some life onto it. His family appear to have lived in Johnson's Buildings (or Johnston's as spelt on his birth certificate and various census listings) between about 1841 and 1881.

   To see a photograph of the area and be able to pinpoint a location from that onto the map was immensely satisfying, even if the present day area appears to be a car park! I am particularly interested as to why he would have left to come to Leeds. Perhaps because of a decline in the Nantwich shoe trade. All his family appear to have been involved in that. In Leeds from 1901 he is described as a 'boot clicker'.
   When I get rather more advanced in my researches I will be paying a visit to Nantwich and spending some time exploring the town.
   Thanks again, 
Betty Downing, Leeds.                                                                   NOVEMBER 2009

Johnston(e)'s Buildings in another letter

Looked at the website - instead of working!

I HAVE just sat down to write my Nantwich in Bloom notes, but instead I have whiled an hour away going through so much of your website.

   We came to Nantwich 50 years ago, quite by accident. It was the only place we could find anywhere to live with our new-born daughter. Nantwich Urban District Council were offering houses for sale for at £10 deposit and up to 60 years for a mortgage. We hadn't enough 'points' to qualify for a council house - built and mixed in with those for sale on the Millfields estate in the mid '50s - but we could find the £10 deposit!
   Many of the people moving into the area were here because of their work, to do with the electrification of the railway line, I think. They were employed by BICC. I believe Cllr. Moran's parents [along with Arthur, of course] moved here for that reason at that time.
   I bought all my cleaning equipment from the Zan shop which stood where the island between Oat Market and Swine Market is now. Because of its position, the front was just the door with the windows splaying out, almost forming a triangle.
   It turned out to be a lucky move. I certainly would not choose to live anywhere else. My children now live away but always enjoy coming back to Nantwich, as do their spouses. To the grandchildren, it is their second home and they still are frequent visitors, along with friends, even though they themselves are now adults.
   Better get my notes done now!
Connie Jones, Nantwich in Bloom Committee                                         JULY 2009

lConnie was Secretary of Nantwich in Bloom when she wrote this comment.

A popular site

BY all accounts, I am the 14,935th person to visit your website. Well done, you, for having such a popular site!

   The reason for my visit is that, being an incomer to the town of seven years standing, I now have some historical knowledge but wish to learn more about Nantwich and I have joined a local history group.  

Maire Pedder                                                                                         SEPTEMBER 2008

lMaire then went on to ask about a particular feature of Nantwich. A couple of points: people who come to this site do so more than once, so there haven't been 14,935 individuals visiting it (pedantic point), but I am amazed at what the hits counter tells me. I subsequently took the counter off the website - partly because I was told that Search Engine "bots" (website robots looking for website details) might skew the true figure. Secondly, as a resident of seven years standing, Maire now qualifies for a share of the Beam Heath dividend paid to residents. [I have since stopped using the visitors' counter]                                                                                       

David Gallagher                                                      AUGUST 2008

lThank you, David. Welcome to Nantwich.                                                                       

Really interesting

Good job on the website, it was really interesting to go through.

Chris Cadman, Nantwich

Valuable contribution

You are providing a valuable contribution to the historic record of the town.

Rick Appleton, Nantwich  

l Thanks, Rick.                                                                                                           APRIL 2008

Kathryn Hassall-Gibson, committee member and website administrator, Veteran Car Club of Great Britain, North West Section

Diligently researched

YOUR site looks excellent and diligently researched.

Steven, Primrose Cottage, Church Minshull, Nantwich

Nantwich: a stunning place

THANKS so much for the fabulous web site: A Dabber's Nantwich. I haven't been back to Nantwich in some time so the photographs and the local news are very much appreciated. I'm not a true Dabber, although Nantwich is the place where I went to school, learned to swim, enjoyed the "pictures" at the Regal cinema, jived at the Civic Hall, and quaffed ale in The Shed beside the old Cosy cinema. I left Nantwich for Canada in 1963 (a slip of a wench at that time) but I think of the town often and with great fondness. It wasn't until I went back to Nantwich after living in Canada that I realised what a stunning place it was. That's because I lifted up my eyes (as the Bible says) and saw the buildings for what they really were. While I was living there, my gaze stayed at ground level.

Isobel Mackay (nee Gray), Canada

lThe Potting Shed, to give it its full nickname, was officially known as Ye Olde Vaults (although the pub sign said The Old Vaults!). The old Cosy cinema, long since converted into a nightclub, was later known as Gregory's nightclub after a short time as the Lava & Ignite nightclub. Others may remember the club was also once called Roosters back in the 1970s. The Regal cinema is now the headquarters of Chatwin's the bakers. The premises are currently (2014) called The Studio Nightclub and Entertainment Venue, Nantwich, on their Facebook page. Isobel is another exile living in Canada. There must be many, but they certainly have a large presence on this page! See what's there in 2014.

A sterling job

I HAVE been looking at your great website. You have done a sterling job of it. I was in Nantwich with my gentleman friend in the summer of 2003 and had a great time showing him all my old haunts. I was amazed at how the town has changed, not having seen it since the Seventies. I am trying to trace my family history and I am wondering if I could find out where the dwellings were in Snow Hill before they demolished the area.

Paula Moulton, Eastbourne 

lSince writing this message, Paula has tracked down a 1908 map of Nantwich  - which turned out to be the one stocked at Nantwich Museum! The map shows the Snow Hill area and all the houses. Other visitors to this website have also been in touch.  

A lot of information that I never knew

ALTHOUGH I only moved to Sandbach about eight years ago, I am still a Dabber at heart. I believe I was in one of the last years of babies born at the Barony Hospital, too (1971). Your site contains lots of information that I never knew, and it is very well laid out. I was up for ages reading the articles. Now if only Cheshire County Council could link to you they would get many more people interested in the town.
You're a credit to the town.
Jason Williamson, Sandbach

lThanks, Jason. Nice of you to say so!

Full of information

THE site is full of information and I appreciate it as my grandmother was born there. Thank you.

Betty, Calgary, AB, Canada

We still talk about "the Nantwich Naan"

THIS is a nice website. I have been to Nantwich a couple of times and thought it was a really nice, quiet town. The first time, we were looking for somewhere to eat and the place was so quiet at 7pm on a week night that we felt the need to whisper as we walked down the main street!  We ended up in an Indian restaurant that had all sorts of barrels hanging from the ceiling and they served just about the biggest naans I've ever seen with the meal! We still talk about "the Nantwich Naan" to this day. The second time I went, I stayed in that old hotel with the sloping floors. Very weird after a few pints. Once again, nice site and nice town.

Geoff (full name supplied) 

lThanks, Geoff. The town can get a little rowdy at times (the weekends, usually) but the police, etc, are working on that. I would hate for people to visit us and not be aware of any problems that might be faced here - as with many other towns, unfortunately. The "old hotel with the sloping floors" will be The Crown Hotel in High Street.   

A beautiful town

IT WAS 11 years after we moved to Canada before we took our first trip back "home", and it was only then that we appreciated what Nantwich has in the way of  history. As a kid I walked past all the Tudor buildings to and from school every day and then to and from work every day and just took it all for granted. It really is a beautiful town, something to be quite proud of. We think the website is AWESOME. 

Cecilia (nee Perlman) and Malcolm Tomlinson, Canada 

Pictures are lovely

THE website is excellent. Very informative and the pictures are lovely. You almost forget how historic and lovely Nantwich is until you are reminded like this.

Janet Farrell, Crewe

The only thing I miss is the pubs

I HAD to laugh (I am sorry) at the picture of the snow. The wonderful church at Nantwich looks so good but I used to call that snow in my 46 years in Nantwich (44 years in Queen's Drive). I now live in Michigan, USA, and know what snow is really like. We have had snow on the ground for the past five weeks and on the 27th (of January 2004) we had eight inches of the white stuff. I have had a white Christmas every year I have lived hear. That's five years. The only thing I miss is the pubs on Christmas and New Year's Eve. I am coming back to Nantwich in June to renew my vow with my wonderful American wife. Thanks for this wonderful site.

Paul Allen, a Dabber and ex-Rolls Royce                                        2004

lThe page Paul refers to has since been taken off the website in an update.

Better by the day

THIS website of yours just keeps getting better by the day. Checked it again today (like we do every day) and saw more old photos. Keep them coming.

Cecilia and Malcolm Tomlinson, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada                                                                OCTOBER 2008

lThanks for those kind remarks. The Tomlinsons had asked about the Red Lion pub that once stood in Oat Market (see This and That page).

I liked the Funny Photos

THANKS for showing me the site. I liked the ‘Funny Photos’.

Bill Pearson, Webmaster of a personal Nantwich website