The community restoration of Murgatroyd's Brine Pumps revealed in a fascinating talk

The community restoration of Murgatroyd's Brine Pumps is almost reaching the half way stage and opens to the public next year.

A fascinating insight into the heritage, archaeology and local history of the town's chemical industry will be shared in a presentation from 10am to 12 noon on Thursday, November 21 at Victoria Hall on Civic Way.

The community restoration of Murgatroyd's Brine Pumps has almost reached the half way stage

Kerry Kirwan, heritage officer for Middlewich Town Council has been working with Middlewich Heritage Trust on this ambitious project.

Kerry said: "Our site is a scheduled ancient monument, one of the highest protections a site like this can have and yet it was all near to collapsing to the ground.

"Over the years we’ve worked hard to seek funding, gain permissions and carry out work on the site. We are now finally in sight of the last phase of works, thanks to our funders Historic England, Heritage Lottery Fund and Association of Industrial Archaeology.

"Local history and local resources are so important to keep and understand, they teach us so much about the importance of industry to the community, the effects on the landscape and about the people themselves."

The site will open to the public on April 25 and April 26 2020 after more than 11 years of hard work.

The ancient monument will open to the public next year

Kerry added: "Industrial heritage sites are disappearing every year in the UK, often they are left to local communities to deal with, some are just beyond repair.

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"Who was George Murgatroyd and why are the brine pumps so important? Explore how the project has evolved, where we are now and what we hope to do over the next three years."