Murgatroyd’s Brine Pumps receives funding support

 Middlewich Heritage Trust has received funding support from Historic England of £163,000, the Association for Industrial Archaeology of £17,000 and thanks to National Lottery Players, the Heritage Lottery Fund of £52,000 for the Restoration of Murgatroyd’s Brine Pumps.

Other funding support has also been granted through Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Heritage Society as well as donations from the public to the Middlewich Heritage Trust bringing the total funding to £238,000

Murgatroyd's Brine Pumps are a scheduled monument on an historic Middlewich industrial site, and are the only intact pumps left in Britain that are located over an original hand-dug shaft. The site has historical significance as one of the last remains of Cheshire's large Salt Industry. It is significant locally as the shaft was responsible for the first 'find' of rock salt in Middlewich. It also tapped in to the brine stream that fed the town for 2,000 years. The site is currently on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ Register.

Thanks to support from the funders, the essential repairs will include:

• Removal and restoration of the timber gantry
• Stabilisation of the well head, shaft and associated timber and fittings
• Removal of the pump buckets and rods within the shaft, salvaging what remains of the pump buckets and rebalancing the pumps to a safe position
• Rebalance the pump beams; securing one in a safe position and modifying the drive of the other to   enable it to rotate slowly.
• Recovering the submersible pump and conserving it for exhibition within the pump house.

Community restoration project

Overall the site has great historical value. Middlewich Heritage Trust’s aim is not only to restore but also to develop the site allowing volunteers, students and apprentices to work alongside professionals in the process. The end result will be a heritage site that the wider public can visit to learn about its significance to the history of Middlewich and Cheshire. This creates a community restoration project which will see an 'at risk' industrial building turned into a usable educational and visitor resource, creating opportunities for volunteers to learn new skills.

We also have a comprehensive technical and social archive of the site and its workforce from 1890 to 1977 which volunteers will help to make accessible to the wider public by digitising the records and creating a dedicated website.

Commenting on the award, Kerry Kirwan Heritage Development Officer said: “We’re delighted that we have received this support, thanks to our grant funders, National Lottery players and the general public. Murgatroyd’s brine pumps are a unique and important heritage resource, it’s great to know that we have a chance to preserve them and turn the site into a useable resource that creates opportunities for learning”

Charles Smith, Principal Heritage at Risk Advisor at Historic England said: “We’re pleased to have offered a grant of £162,750 towards the repair of this important part of Cheshire’s salt heritage. The brine pumps used to be one of the largest employers in Middlewich, and we’re excited about Middlewich Heritage Trust’s plans to get people involved with the site once again, sharing skills and working with volunteers”.

Middlewich Heritage Trust

The Trust’s purpose is the preservation and promotion of the heritage of Middlewich (including buildings, artefacts and archives) as a resource for the benefit of the residents of Cheshire East and of the wider public.

Historic England

We are the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment.

We protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we've come from as a nation.

We care passionately about the stories they tell, the ideas they represent and the people who live, work and play among them. Working with communities and specialists we share our passion, knowledge and skills to inspire interest, care and conservation, so everyone can keep enjoying and looking after the history that surrounds us all.

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife.

The Association for Industrial Archaeology

Britain was the first industrial nation and for the last three centuries industry has had a major influence on the society, environment and landscape in which we live; it shaped the country and its remains provide a link with the past that can also serve the future. The AIA is the national organisation for people who share an interest in Britain’s industrial past. It brings together groups and individuals with an interest and expertise in identifying, recording, preserving and presenting the remains of the industrial past.

For further information, images and interviews please contact:
Kerry Kirwan, Heritage Development Officer, Middlewich Heritage Trust: 01606 833434.:
If you would like to be involved with this project, please email  middlewich.heritage.trust@gmail.com