NANTWICH

The origins of the settlement date to Roman times, when salt from Nantwich was used by the Roman garrisons at Chester  (Deva Victrix) and Stoke-on- Trent, as both a preservative and a condiment. Salt has been used in the production of Cheshire cheese and in the tanning industry, both products of the dairy industry based in the Cheshire Plain around the town. Wich and wych are names used to denote brine springs or wells. In 1194 there is a reference to the town as being called Nametwihc, which would indicate it was once the site of a pre-Roman Celtic nemeton or sacred grove.
Having cribbed that from the web, we just went shopping in Nantwich! On our way back to the MH we did see some salt production areas, with lots of pipework and rising steam, as it still goes on in this area.