Northwich, United Kingdom

Northwich is situated in the Cheshire Plain . The town lies between 15 and 35 metres (49 and 115 ft) above mean sea level. It is surrounded by the following civil parishes, starting due north and proceeding in a clockwise direction: Anderton with Marbury, Marston, Wincham, Lostock Gralam, Rudheath, Davenham, Hartford, Weaverham and Barnton.

Two rivers meet in the town centre: the Weaver and the Dane; the town is surrounded by undulating pasture. Subsidence and the collapse of underground saltworks has created flashes and there are also local meres; for example, to the north is Budworth Mere and to the north-east is Pick Mere.

Northwich has been described by Leland as having a market since at least 1535, but there is no surviving charter. The town still has a market today, which is earmarked for refurbishment as part of the Northwich Vision plans.

The town's economy was dominated by the salt industry. However, a list of tolls for goods crossing over Northwich bridge in 1353 shows goods coming into the town, including a wide range of carcasses, fleeces, hides and skins, cloth, fish, alcoholic drinks, dairy products, building materials, household goods, metals and glass, and millstones. This indicates a much wider economic base to medieval Northwich than just the salt trade. Documentary evidence also exists for a mill from 1332 onwards and there is evidence for more than one mill from 1343.

Allied to the extraction of salt was a bulk chemical industry, which became concentrated at the three ICI sites at Winnington, Wallerscote and Lostock. The first industrially practical method for producing polythene was accidentally discovered at the Winnington Laboratory in 1933.

The bakers Frank Roberts & Sons have been associated with the town since 1887 and continues to be based near the town at Rudheath on the A556. Two of its three main business divisions, Roberts Bakery and The Little Treats Co, are based in Northwich; Aldred's The Bakers is in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

The town hosts a number of large annual festivals, including music, river and the famous Northwich Pina Colada events.

Since 2021, an annual Piña Colada Festival has taken place in recognition of Rupert Holmes who was born in the town and wrote "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", released in 1979. The festival grew in 2022, with live music, fairground rides and old school street games among other attractions. Local bars, restaurants and cafés offered piña coladas alongside other tropical themed drinks and snacks.

Northwich Memorial Hall was opened in 1960, but closed for redevelopment in 2013 to be replaced by the Memorial Court Facility; this opened in 2015. It hosted a range of activities, including pantomimes, music events and the Purple Cactus Comedy Club.

The Harlequin Theatre produces six plays each year and is also the home of Northwich Folk Club, which has run continuously since 1977.

The Regal cinema closed in 2007 and was demolished; a new cinema opened in the Barons Quay development in 2016. Northwich Plaza also offered a wide range of music gigs and other cultural events.

Local horror author Stuart Neild's first novel, A Haunted Man, was set in the salt mines that run underneath Northwich, combining fact with supernatural fiction. Neild's novels featuring Northwich and other North West locations. A Hollywood film and television series was in development.

Northwich and its surroundings has a number of schools and colleges. Sir John Deane's College is now a sixth form college, but was originally formed as a grammar school in 1557. The school was originally known as Witton Grammar School and was erected close to Witton Chapel. The school moved to its current location, to the south of the town, in 1907–08. The Grange School, Northwich is an independent school.

Kingsmead was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Better Public Building award in 2005.

Rosebank School is a school for autistic children, aged 3–11 years.

During the 19th century, many new schools were founded and, by 1850, twelve academies were recorded in the area. The town is now served by County High School Leftwich, a specialist media arts college, while Rudheath Senior Academy, a specialist performing arts college and Hartford Church of England High School both admit pupils from Northwich. There are also several primary schools in the area. St. Nicholas Catholic High School is also in the local vicinity and performs well on national exam boards, coming second in the whole of Cheshire.

Mid Cheshire College had its main campus in nearby Hartford, offering further education courses. The campus closed in 2018 after it merged with Warrington Collegiate a year earlier to form Warrington and Vale Royal College.