Overview

The last brine pump in Europe from the 1890s was in a very sorry state - overgrown with trees and vegetation, the building was falling down and had been neglected for over 40 years. For 90 years it was a major source of raw material for the chemical industry but BP Chemicals stopped pumping brine in 1977.

Largely thanks to the heroic efforts of a local community group set up to save remnants of Middlewich’s salt industry, the pump has been renovated and featured in The Chemical Engineer magazine: The Middlewich Job (the Pump Preservation Society)

During the visit, the guides will provide descriptions of:

• the geology of the region and its relation to the major salt deposits of Cheshire
• salt making from pre-Roman times to the present day
• a short history of the development of the salt works in Middlewich and background on George Murgatroyd, the entrepreneur who set up the business
• why brine and its by-products led to the establishment of a multitude of chemical plants and other major manufacturing plants in Cheshire and South Lancashire
  the history and operation of the brine pump and the associated salt works and soda ash plant
• how a world leading electrolysis process was developed in Middlewich.

Speaker

Dr David Nellist, Volunteer and Trustee

The material presented has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenters' own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the North West Member Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Time

17:30–19:00 BST.