Cheshire Places (2) : Nantwich

The market town of Nantwich is to the south of the county.

Nantwich has Roman origins, salt from Nantwich being used at Roman garrisons at Chester and Stoke-on-Trent. The name Nantwich has Welsh origins, meaning brook and brine springs. By the time of the Domesday Book, Nantwich was listed as having eight salt houses. Nantwich remained the most important salt town in Cheshire into the Medieval period. Nantwich was granted a market charter in the 14th century.

The salt industry continued to grow, by the 16th century there were around 400 salt houses in the town. However, the industry declined quickly after this and by the end of the 18th century the salt industry had almost disappeared. As well as salt, another important trade in Nantwich was the tanning industry, this survived in the town until 1974.

The town was largely burned down in 1583. The town was rebuilt with the help of Queen Elizabeth and to this day the town has a fine selection of Elizabethian timber-framed buildings. The parish church of St Mary is 14th century and one of the few suriviving buildings in the town from before the fire.

Nantwich railway station opened in 1858. The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the west of the town.

Uppingham, Rutland by bus

I want to explore Rutland more but the problem is only the county town Oakham has a rail connection. However, yesterday i went to Oakham by train and then took a bus out to the second largest town in the county which is Uppingham. The buses in Rutland seem to work pretty well so i will be doing this again in future to explore more villages in the county.

Uppingham is a lovely place, full of beautiful buildings and a good church. You can see my photos here.

Project Deblogification complete

The Around the Shires blog, which looks at British towns and villages, has now become the latest blog to reach the end of updates and has been replaced by a section on my website. This now completes Project Deblogification, but wait... didn't i say earlier that there were two blogs left to be replaced?

Indeed, i did plan to replace my Waterways blog last of all but having given it some thought i have decided to keep that blog going. There will be a section on my website coming soon dedicated to canals and other inland waterways, however i think this section complements rather than replaces the blog.

Churches (234) : St Mary the Virgin, Bulwell

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin and All Souls in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire was built in the mid-1800s to replace an earlier (11th century) dilapidated church which had been damaged in a storm. There may have been churches on the site dating back to Saxon times.

The new church was consecreted in 1850. A chancel was added in 1900. A north chapel added in 1946. The church has an aisled nave, a west tower, a chancel and the north chapel and vestry. The church is built from rubble stone with an ashlar dressing.

Pushing away

A Class 68 propels a train away from Birmingham Moor Street.

Yellow phone

This month's purchase of retro office technology is a telephone, another GPO 746 to be exact. I have three of them in various colours, the latest is in a very pleasing yellow. It doesn't have a plug so can't be connected to the telephone line, though i don't have a land line anyway! To find out more about the 746, and to see my red one, click here.

Cheshire Places (1) : Alsager

Alsager is a town on the south eastern border of the county. 

Alsager has Saxon origins, the name coming from the Old English Ælle's arable land. By the time of the Domesday Book, it was known as Eleacier and remained a small farming village for centuries. In the centre of Alsager is a lake known as the Mere. As with many places Alsager did not change until the advent of new technologies and industries, in Alsager's case the railways.

Situated between Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent, Alsager became a popular home for managers of various industries in those industrial towns who could easily commute after the railway station was opened in 1848.

In the Second World War, an armaments factory was built near to Alsager, the town greatly expanding with the new workers bought in for the factory. The factory at Radway Green continues to produce small arms ammunition for the British armed forces. A Royal Marines training camp was also constructed in the town, after the war this was re-purposed as a refugee camp.

Gongoozling in Rugby

I went to Rugby yesterday, one of the few Warwickshire stations i have yet to re-visit in my ongoing effort to update my available imagery for my forthcoming book on Warwickshire railway stations. The weather was not that great though, being rather murky and humid and with some light rain. Though i never seem to go to Rugby when it is good weather!

I also did a walk along the Oxford Canal in Rugby, covering some new ground (or towpath to be exact) that i have not been along before, including two neat aqueducts. You can see my canal photos here.

Churches (233) : St Chad, Stafford

The parish church of St Chad in Stafford dates from the 12th century and is the oldest building in Stafford though has been much changed. The nave had four bay arcades and was cruciform with a crossing tower which was built in the 14th century. The transepts were removed in the 17th century during major work on the church, the original arcades were also bricked up.

However, the church was in a poor state, the nave partially collapsed in the 18th century. In the 1740s the church was restored with a new west front though this was replaced by the current west front a century later during other restoration work. The bricked up arcades were opened up and a new north transept built, a south transept was added in the 1950s.

Typing on a Sears Chevron

Typing on our latest machine.

Tackley thrice

I have been to Tackley before, on Saturday it was my third visit to this small Oxfordshire village. However, until now i have not ventured as far as the parish church so did so finally on this trip, and very nice it is too along with the rest of the village. You can see my photos here.

Modern Collins (10) : A Wave of Fatalities

A Wave of Fatalities by Michael Delving is one of those frequent Modern Collins entries from the 1970s and 1980s which portrayed a professional in a field getting involved in a serious crime and becoming an amateur detective to help solve it.

Our hero in this case is an American antique dealer and his wife, visiting the UK looking for interesting antiques to buy. He comes across a very interesting medieval box of Jewish origin but, before he can close the deal, the owner is murdered and the box goes missing.

Although also a suspect in the case, our man helps the police investigate the case (although not officially). The theme of being an outsider and how others react to you is to the fore throughout this interesting story full of suspect and interesting characters.

Churches (232) : St John the Baptist, Halesowen

The parish church of St John the Baptist in Halesowen, once part of Worcestershire but now in the West Midlands, dates to the late 11th century. The church was built in the 1080s, on the site of an earlier Saxon church. In the 14th century the original tower fell down and was replaced along with a rebuilding of the nave. The south aisle was also widened and a porch added. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 15th century adding a chapel to St Katharine.

The church is built from red sandstone ashlar apart from the upper tower and spire in grey-green sandstone.

Passing through Kenilworth

Non-stop.

Lapworth and Hatton

Last Saturday i went to Lapworth and Hatton stations in Warwickshire, both stations i have visited many times before (indeed Lapworth is probably my favourite station of all) but i needed updated imagery for my forthcoming book on Warwickshire railway stations (probably due out in 2026). 

It was a good thing i went too as both stations have recently seen a lick of paint and some other minor refurbishment so all of my many old photographs from these stations are now out of date! You can see the up-to-date photos here.

Modern Collins (9) : A Necessary Dealing

A Necessary Dealing by Roy Lewis is part of the Eric Ward series of novels set in the world of finance and corporate business. A tale of corporate politics, takeovers and... murder, though this does not occur to quite late into the story.

The plot is good, fitting together very well though it is slow to get going (and heavy going though those more familiar with higher business concepts may find it easier) and sometimes can be a little dull. 

Ultimately, the story is intelligent and rewarding to those with patience.

Churches (231) : St Matthew, Cheltenham

The parish church of St Matthew in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire is Victorian. It was built in the late 1870s as a permanent structure to replace an earlier iron church. This earlier iron church had been opened due to the poor condition at the time of St Mary's church in Cheltenham which had been closed for restoration. After St Mary was re-opened, the congregation was found to be too large for the old church and after plans to demolish and enlarge St Mary's were refused so St Matthew's was built as an additional church.

The tower and spire were added in the early 1880s but the spire was removed in 1952, the tower was also reduced in height in the 1970s. The church has a wide nave with four bay aisles with clerestories. The church is in the Early English Gothic Style and is built from coursed rock-faced limestone with an ashlar dressing.

Sears to nears

It has been some time since i bought a new typewriter so here is one which arrived yesterday, a Sears Chevron. Now, Sears is a big American retailer so this machine was a badged machine which they sold similar to the Boots and WH Smiths machines already in my collection. Indeed, the typewriter is based on a Messa ABC 2000. The typewriter works very well and is very loud and crisp in operation, which i of course like.

Another one bites the dust

Project Deblogification continues, this time the diesel and electric rolling stock blog (originally called TOPS Tastic) which has now been replaced by a new section on my website, which you can see using the link. Not all of the content has been transferred across by any means but more and more will make the switch and be updated as it is so over the following months.

That just leaves two blogs left to replace and that will be done by October. This blog, Knell Lane, isn't going anywhere though! I need this blog to tie everything together.

Harrow-on-the-Hill

After my trip down to Heathrow by train, i had time to visit somewhere else in London and wanted to go somewhere new. So, i went up to Harrow-on-the-Hill in the north west of London. I climbed up the hill (which is pretty steep) to see the famous school at the top and St Mary's church. You can see my photos here.

Modern Collins (8) : Condition Purple

Collins Crime Club novels, especially in the latter decades of the series, often featured quirky and genteel amateurs but "Condition purple" by Peter Turnbull is a hard police procedural set in Glasgow. 

We follow a team of worn down detectives piecing together the evidence from the murder of a prostitute and uncovering a trail of vice, drugs, hopelessness and ultra violence.

This is a great read, a tasty bit of crime with a well thought out trail of evidence. Strong yet flawed characters add to the quality of the read.

Heathrow... by train

I went down to London yesterday, the main reason being to travel to Heathrow on the Heathrow Express. There were some cheap (relatively anyway) tickets available for the train from London Paddington so i took the chance to give it a try, even if i'm not flying anywhere! I visited two of the stations at Heathrow, i'll do the rest and the Underground another time. You can see my photos here.

Churches (230) : St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, London

The church of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe is in the city of London. The name comes from when King Edward III moved his royal wardrobe from the Tower of London to a location near to the church when it was part of the royal residence Baynard's castle.

The original church was founded in the late 12th century or earlier, being first mentioned in 1170. The church was one of dozens lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666, it was redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren and rebuilt in 1695. The church was badly damaged in the Blitz but rebuilt in 1961. The original interior was lost and has been restored with surviving items from other destroyed churches.

The building is in the Baroque style and made from red brick with a Portland stone dressing. The nave has aisles with five bays. There is a west tower with a weathervane on it's steeple.