It had been an important salt-making site since Roman times and could be described as an industrial town in a pre-industrial age. The raw material - high quality brine - came from a pit on the banks of the Dane and was channelled along wooden troughs to 108 wich-houses where it was boiled in lead pans to extract the salt. The proprietors and entrepreneurs involved were subject to time-honoured complex rules that regulated when, where and how the salt could be made.

Leading local historian Tony Bostock, whose family moved to the Northwich, Witton and Leftwich area from Davenham more than 300 years ago, has used a wealth of contemporary documentary sources to build up a detailed picture of life in Northwich during the 17th century. It was a particularly interesting period of history - an era of social, economic, political and religious change that affected the lives of every individual in some way. Plague, fires, flooding and the Civil War all left their mark on the town and its inhabitants.

His painstakingly researched book looks at the residential, commercial and industrial sectors of the tiny borough, traces of which can still be discerned in its present-day layout. It examines how the town was governed and how the famous salt industry began to decline towards the end of the 17th century.

The author follows the fortunes of individual families who owned or occupied wich-houses and, using wills and inventories, describes how the people of Northwich lived and worked. Fascinating appendices, tables and family trees contain information that will be invaluable to local and family history enthusiasts.

To assist genealogists and local historians the book has been comprehensively indexed. The index can be consulted on-line, so that you can see if there is mention of a person, place or event of interest to you. To access the Index, click here

As well as being a member of a number of academic societies in the region, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee of the Cheshire Local History Association and its predecessor the Palatine Local History Committee for many years. For three consecutive years he chaired the CLHA and is now its Secretary. He is also an active committee member of the Winsford Local History Society, of which he was chair-person for many years. Having retired from a professional life in public service, Tony now applies himself more to the study of local and family history.

Tony will undertake research into Local History matters related to the county of Cheshire as well as Family History research for families with links to the county. If you require it he can undertake record searches in record offices, libraries and other repositories in the county. Tony can also make visits to local places for you and make site and topographical reports. He will be pleased to offer advice to those who wish to embark on their own researches.

This is a thoroughly researched, well presented and richly documented account of seventeenth-century Northwich, drawing on and making good use of a wide range of primary sources. The textual analysis is full and clear and both the principal text and the profuse appendices contain a wealth of information. The author and publisher are to be congratulated on producing such an attractive and reasonably priced volume. - PETER GAUNT
Cheshire History, Number 44, 2004-2005 page 127 To read the full review, click here