Archives in Action - Pass the Salt!
Part of our mission with Cheshire’s archives: a story shared is to add to our collections of stories from Cheshire’s communities.
To hear and collect new stories for the archives is always a treat, and following the success of our ‘Mining for Memories’ event last year, we returned to Winsford in the spring of 2025.
This time - over some coffee and cake – we invited people to bring along items that evoked memories for them about how the salt industry has impacted lives, and to tell their stories through them.
Many of our visitors were former colleagues who had worked at Winsford Rock Salt Mine.
The photographs, objects and mementos they brought in were reminders of the impact of the mine on Winsford, and its importance and reputation among the industries and wider communities that depended upon the rock salt it produced.
Souvenirs evoked memories of the 150th anniversary of the mine in 1994, which was celebrated with work parties and other company events.
More poignantly, we were reminded of how this milestone almost wasn’t reached due to the great flood of 1968, which threatened to close the mine for good.
We heard descriptions of the deep sense of worry, but also of pride in the courageous effort made as workers rallied to save the mine. We were even treated to artwork created by one of the workers who witnessed the events at the time.
One of the most interesting tales was of a company created to modernise working practices in the mine. Named for Roland Howell, Manager, and Brian Clarke, Supervisor, whose nickname ‘Bluey’ along with the TV character Roland Rat, gave it its name - the ‘Blue Rat Mining Company’.
The Company pioneered the shift away from the traditional drill and blast mining techniques of the past, working for three years to find the right size picks and learn how to deal with the dust created by the cutting of rock salt. Later, they travelled overseas to look at various mining machines in Europe - the cutting machine that they selected is the same one that is used today!
The stories collected from these events will now be used to create an animated film to be shown at Cine Window, an exhibition space in Winsford Cross Shopping Centre.
Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates on this, and future memory-sharing events, where we’ll be taking the archives to Cheshire communities throughout 2025, and when we open our new centres in 2026.
By Michael Keegan, Archives Assistant
