Glimpse history through old images of Nantwich in Cheshire, England, UK.
Nantwich is an ancient town located in the county of Cheshire, in a region called North West England. It’s often praised as a good place to live thanks to its mix of historic buildings, leisure and shopping facilities, and easy access to major employment destinations.
Old Pictures of Nantwich
Nantwich: Clothing Dogs In The 1960s
A 1965 film of a Nantwich factory which made coats, hats and jewellery for dogs. Later scenes show a fashion show for dogs.
Worth watching to hear the posh narrator say “Some bitch will wear what they make here, and that’s not rudery”!
“K-9 Fashion Aka Dog Fashions Beware – Other Colour Pics Share This Title (1965)” – British Pathé on YouTube
Battle of Nantwich, 1973
Holly Holy Day was held yearly to commemorate the victory of a makeshift Parliamentary army under Sir Thomas Fairfax over the Royalist forces of Lord John Byron at Acton on 25 January 1644.
Until the mid 1700s, townsfolk would wear a sprig of holly as a memorial to the raising of the siege.
In 1972, a wreath laying commemorated Holly Holy Day. The following year, a muster of the Sealed Knot held a battle renactment, which was captured on a rare piece of film.
Battle of Nantwich Reenactment 1973 – Nantwich Museum on YouTube
Nantwich Triathlon in 1985
In 1985, one of the first Nantwich Triathlons was captured on film.
“Nantwich Triathlon 1985” – John Hickson on YouTube
Nantwich Market Day in 1985
This footage from 1985 captures both the indoor and outdoor Thursday Markets in Nantwich, Cheshire, as well as the Peter Wilson weekly house clearance auctions in the old schoolyard.
“Nantwich Market Day 1985” – John Hickson on YouTube
Crowning of the Nantwich May Queen, 1988
Lots of the children seen in this footage were pupils of Weaver Primary School in 1988.
“Nantwich May Queen 1988 HB” – John Hickson on YouTube
The Red Cow, 1988
This home video shows the Red Cow pub in Nantwich about 1988. At the time, the building was undergoing major renovations.
“VHS Video 20 05 Red Cow Renovation” – John Hickson on YouTube
Nantwich Railway Station, 1988
In 1988, lots of people stood at Nantwich railway station to watch a steam train pass through.
“Steam Train Nantwich 1988” – John Hickson on YouTube
Nantwich Town Centre, 2008
A short clip of Nantwich town centre, filmed in February 2008.
“Nantwich town centre, feb 2008” – Trefechan on YouTube
Nantwich Museum, 2008
A short film about the museum and the history of Nantwich.
“Nantwich Museum” – CheshireMuseums on YouTube
Local Pubs, 2008
Short footage of pubs in the Crewe and Nantwich area, filmed in 2008.
“British pubs – Crewe and Nantwich 2008” – Trefechan on YouTube
Nantwich Beer Festival 2010
Like all mobile phone footage taken in 2010, the film quality is poor. But some clear shots of the event’s visitors at the local beer festival.
“Nantwich Beer Festival 2010” – Bryan Spink on YouTube
Nantwich Food Festival, 2010
This is a clip of the local food festival in 2010, showing a range of visitors enjoying the event.
“Nantwich Food Festival 2010” – Robert Malcolm on YouTube
Nantwich Snow, 2010
Until 2010, the UK had become used to mild winters with only occasional, light snow which quickly disappeared. Because of this, the deep snow which arrived early and settled for several days in 2010 and the following winters were a great surprise.
“snow in nantwich” – Jak Kazi on YouTube
Local People in 2010
In 2010, an episode of the One Show showed some of the the lives of local people working in Nantwich, Cheshire.
“Nantwich – The One Show” – johnshone1984 on YouTube
Nantwich Cheese Show, 2011
In 2011, James Martin made a guest appearance at the Nantwich Cheese Show. You can see some of the other people at the event in the background.
“James Martin at Nantwich Cheese Show” – Manchester Evening News on Youtube
Battle of Nantwich, 2011
Holly Holy Day was held yearly to commemorate the victory of a makeshift Parliamentary army under Sir Thomas Fairfax over the Royalist forces of Lord John Byron at Acton on 25 January 1644.
Until the mid 1700s, townsfolk would wear a sprig of holly as a memorial to the raising of the siege.
For many years now, a muster of the Sealed Knot has been held in Nantwich on the Saturday nearest 25 January every year. The event provides music, historical plays, pike and musket displays, horse parade and the ‘Battle on Mill Island’.
It was a damp and grey day in January 2011 as the troops marched down Welsh Row, Nantwich.
“Battle of Nantwich 2011” – Cibie01 on YouTube
Nantwich in 2011
A quick view of the people and places of Nantwich on Market Day, 2011
“NANTWICH TOWN IN CHESHIRE ON MARKET DAY” – MrElephant47 on YouTube
Town Crier in Nantwich, 2012
A quick clip from 2012 of Nantwich’s Town Crier.
“PROFESSIONAL TOWN CRIER OF OLD NANTWICH TOWN” – MrElephant47 on YouTube
Nantwich’s Xmas Lights 2012
A short clip of the switching-on ceremony for Nantwich’s Christmas Lights in 2012.
“Nantwich lights switch on 1-12-12” – AvTuKs on YouTube
Town Crier Competition
A competition to become one of Nantwich’s Town Criers was filmed more than a decade ago. be prepared – it’s a noisy affair!
“Nantwich Town Cryer’s Competition!” – Julie Davies on YouTube
Nantwich Town Council, 2013
Filmed to promote events held or supported by the local town council, including the Farmers Market, Jazz Festival, Christmas Lights Switch On, and local street entertainment, this gives lots of sights and sounds of Nantwich’s people and places.
“Nantwich Town Council” – willowvideoclips on YouTube
Christmas Lights Row, 2013
The Austerity era restricted the amount of public funding available across the country, and decisions were having to be made.
The town of Crewe passed its Christmas lights to the local Council, who thought they were unwanted and passed them on to Nantwich. Consequently a big argument and threats of legal action arose between the parties!
” The Christmas lights saga between Crewe and Nantwich ending?” – Cheshire East Exposed on YouTube
Holly Holy Day, 2017
Morris Dancers, wearing hats decorated with holly, helped celebrations for the Holly Holy Day in January 2017.
“Domesday Morris at Holly Holy Day, Nantwich 2017” – Jen Ogle on YouTube
More Pictures of Old Nantwich
Old Nantwich in Cheshire, England, enjoyed through historic photos, vintage pictures & archive film. Browse history in these fascinating old images of a bygone era on my Pinterest board at https://uk.pinterest.com/LocalHistoryVideos/nantwich-cheshire-old-photos-pictures/
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Close to Macclesfield and the Macclesfield Forest, Langley is a semi-rural village in Cheshire, which in 1930 saw the launch of an afforstation scheme. Langley Afforestation Scheme 1930 In 1930, the Mayor and Mayoress of Macclesfield attended the inauguration ceremony of the Langley Afforestation Scheme. The newsreel cameramen were there to film the day’s events,… Read more: Old images of Langley, Cheshire
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Frequently Asked Questions:
What is Nantwich famous for?
Nantwich is today famous for having one of the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, second only to Chester, with many Tudor and Gerogian buildings still in use. However, for around two thousand years it was a major centre of salt production.How did Nantwich get its name?
In 1194 Nantwich was known as Nametwihc, later as Wich Malbanc, by the 18th century as Namptwych. Old English word namet (the most famous), Welsh words Nant (place in a river valley, Wich and wych (wells or brine springs) may have led to the naming of this town known for its salt production.Who started the Great Fire of Nantwich?
A brewer from Waterlode accidentally started the Great Fire of Nantwich on December 10, 1583. The burning of 150 buildings over 20 days meant most of the town to the east of the Weaver was lost. Queen Elizabeth I contributed to the rebuilding funds.
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Thanks to Jason Tuinstra for use of the image of salt shown at the top of this page, shown because Nantwich was producing salt as far back as the days of Roman occupation.