UNTIL 1895 Winsford itself comprised the area around the Town Bridge with the Red Lion being the only true Winsford pub.

On one side Wharton had been a small village until the salt trade increased, and houses were built for the workers – however, even before this, the area was mostly known by the name of Winsford.

On the other side of the river was the ancient and important borough of Over.

In 1895 the three were amalgamated under Winsford Urban District Council but still kept their ancient titles.

Over had been an important borough since the earliest days; in fact, the mayor of Over was of equivalent rank to the mayor of Chester.

The town later became part of Vale Royal District Council which was abolished in April 2009 when the new Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority was formed.

High Street stretching from Over Square to the Town Bridge is now a dual carriageway, but in the 18th century, it was known as Over Lane.

At the beginning of the last century, Swanlow Lane saw much good quality house building to house the middle management and gentry of the town as they sought to escape the toxic air down in ‘Dark Town’.

Winsford, sitting as it did on extensive salt beds had seen salt extracted since the 17th century, but initially only for use as salt licks for animals. A ‘salt rush’ started with the building of salt works along both banks of the River Weaver.

By 1860 500,000 tons of white salt left the town by boat and later goods train for the docks and onward across the world.

The area had 416 salt pans each with its own chimney belching acrid smoke, and by the end of that century, Winsford was the largest salt producing town in Britain.

Fortunes were made, mansions built, and the working class worked under the most awful circumstances.

There were salt magnates like Falk, Marshall, Furnival and Verdin, but In 1915 there were around 296 individual salt proprietors in Winsford.

Some became fabulously rich, some not so. All of this meant that Winsford had an interesting history and although the town has changed many times over the years a lot of the buildings remain.

Not as damaging as the subsidence at Northwich, Winsford had its share, and like Northwich, buildings were built with the possibility of further subsidence in mind.

The salt mining subsidence did, however, provide the town with two huge lakes known as Flashes.

The villages of Winsford, Wharton and Over were amalgamated in 1894 when Winsford Urban District Council came into being.

A declining Victorian working town has become one of the most modern industrial and residential areas in the Northwest.

The town centre has re-invented itself many times and is now known as Over Cross.