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WELCOME to a personal website about Nantwich - the place where they pay you to live! Or so some wits say (see here). The town is served with a number of excellent websites, and I like to think of this is one of them! (For a list of the others see this page).

My website is a mixture of random thoughts and ideas which appeal to me, as well as details of the events that are happening in town or the immediate villages - and more.

It doesn't cover Crewe and what I have always thought of - since my days in local newspapers - as "Crewe's villages".

I hope that you like the website, and I would welcome your thoughts.

This site is meant for expats (to keep them in touch with home), for people who have yet to visit the town, and for locals seeking information (on the What's On pages, for instance) or are just interested in local happenings.

I update the site as often as possible, so please visit again.

lPictured above, left: a sign in Crewe Road proclaiming our success in the Britain in Bloom competition in recent years. Above, left: blossom time at St Mary's Parish Church. Above, right: an autumnal view of St Mary's along The Gullet (which also features in the Right Up My Street feature.

"Nantwich is Cheshire's true Heart of Festivity and is home to some of

Cheshire's biggest events in the picturesque historic market town."

From the Upper Weaver Valley Tourist Information website.

Regular contributors to "A Dabber's Nantwich" are: Ald Doug Butterill, Chairman, Nantwich in Bloom Committee; James Thompson, GreenSpaces Project Officer (riverside); Andrew Lamberton, local historian (see below); and Paul Simpson, a family history expert (see below) and Jeff Stubbs of Nantwich Civic Society.

NANTWICH NOW MARKET TOWN PROJECT

This body, which was a driving force behind the 2007 Summer Muster for the Battle of Nantwich,

and helped to obtain funding for things such as the new Riverside bridge, has now run its allocated

course and no longer exists. But references to it on pages such as this one remain as it existed at

the time of writing. Beverley Cope was Project Manager of Nantwich Now Market Town Project.

After a spell as the old Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council's Publicity Officer she has now moved

on following local council re-organisation.

NEW FEATURES ON THIS WEBSITE

(see also these updates)

Dabbers' fan scores the big 9-0

JIM Kettle, the keenest fan of Nantwich Town F.C., has celebrated his 90th birthday. Congratulations to him. He started watching the Dabbers at the age of nine. When Michael Chatwin wrote his book ''Proud to be the Dabbers'', Jim got a full page write-up.

More.

Trees planted in avenue with no houses

LOCAL people who have been active in planting trees in a Nantwich avenue are seeing it as an end to the danger of houses being approved for the small area. More.

Network Rail under fire EXCLUSIVE

A NANTWICH Town Councillor is not happy about the way Network Rail has put off taking any action on something that could lead to a car park by Nantwich railway station. He has been telling me about the situation. More

Station wins another award

WORK by Nantwich in Bloom members and Nantwich Transport Group has secured a further award for Nantwich railway station. The Mayor of Nantwich (Cllr Edith Williams, right) unveiled the latest award in a ceremony at the station. More.

Smoky outlook

A RESIDENT of a luxury development alerted me to a plan for a third cafe / restaurant / bar in a town centre location - and one which could have a smoking area. Now the decision has been made. See the Letter from Nantwich.

Open space danger

AN open area in the centre of town was danger of being lost is a plan to build a shop or office is built on it. The proposed building looked great - but not here.

See the Letter from Nantwich for an update.

Family tree feature

AS is mentioned in a panel above, Paul Simpson, is a regular contributor to "A Dabber's Nantwich". Now he has agreed to answer questions from website visitors who want to know about family tree matters. His first "column" appears here.

Now you can Ask Andrew

ITHERE is a new page, featuring Nantwich historian Andrew Lamberton. Whenever a visitor to the website poses a question about a Nantwich building or a moment in history I usually find myself asking Andrew for the answer. (See This and That page). But now Andrew will be the "star" of his own page. More.

What is the link with this farm and two butchers?

APART from the the fact that farms and meat go hand in hand, there is a link between two of the town's last butchers. As a long-established butcher closes, read about the link. More. (Updated)

Where is this?

IF you know what it is you might know where is it. Andrew Lamberton seeks an answer to the location, and asks other questions to test local people and ex-pats. More.

New group set to keep Riverside projects flowing

FUNDING cuts by the new local authority for this area threatened the town's Riverside Project. The project stopped after running its three-year course and Cheshire East Council decided not to replace the money. But now it looks as though a new group has saved the day. The latest news.

Bigger attraction than ever

THE new team behind the popular Holly Holy Day / Battle of Nantwich event decided they needed something extra to bring in even more crowds. Did they succeed? Read this new Letter from Nantwich.

Wrong houses

I HAVE been lying to you about the three homes built on the site of the single bungalow, The Hacienda. To be precise, the trio of buildings I was showing on this Spotlight page was two thirds correct - two were right, the third was not on the site (the modern style house pictured left was correct). Now a visitor to this website has put me right.

Another name returns

A third name from the past has returned to town. After being called Korky's and. more recently, Curshaw's, The Cheshire Cat, now adorns the Welsh Row building. The other old names to return were The Talbot pub and Baronia, the clothing label. More.

It's no village green

THERE'S a "pond" of sorts but it is no village green. The site of a former Nantwich pub is looking very derelict. And there's no sign of the houses for which planning consent was sought.

Now Crewe and Nantwich MP, Edward Timpson, and Town Councillors are worried about the "pond" - which is not fenced off - fearing a tragedy could occur there. More.

Society looks at town centre

NANTWICH Civic Society has supplied me with details of a town centre survey it has launched. The members will be looking at the good and bad points of streets in the area and liaising with Nantwich Town Council. It will hopefully be the start of a news link-up between the society and "A Dabber's Nantwich". Watch this space. More.

Mutiny on the Bounty sailor educated in Nantwich

I UNDERSTAND that one of the mutineers who rose up against Captain Bligh of the Bounty was educated in Nantwich. While details are still a little hazy about the man who educated him, they make interesting reading on the This and That page.

PLANS to improve the riverside through Nantwich in the five years 2007 to 2012 can be found on this page.

Church work is revealed

AFTER seven months of presenting a poor face to the centre of Nantwich, the west end of St Mary's parish church has been unveiled (right). It had been covered in scaffolding and pink netting for repair work. There were reports that some brides has cancelled their big day because of the undesirable background to the wedding photos that it would provide. But as that work was completed a £1million appeal was launched to continue the restoration of The Cathedral of South Cheshire.

"Lost" Colin is found

COLIN Barrow, the man last heard of by his American family in 1984, has been traced - thanks to "A Dabber's Nantwich". I was approached by a friend of the family to see if he could be tracked down because of a forthcoming reunion. The full story can be found here. Also, read the story of the woman who asked for help.

The diner who forgot their teeth

A tea shop(pe) has been acquiring umbrellas - and other items - by the dozen. Read - in this Letter from Nantwich - how visitors to the town are going away without some vital personal items. Yes, one really did leave their false teeth behind! The golfing umbrella resting across the "tree" in the picture has since gone missing. Go to the page for an update.

See Nantwich (and parts of Cheshire) from your armchair

OF course, a website is a collection of pictures and text (there are none of the fancy animations here!) but for moving pictures of the area, complete with sound, you could buy one or more of the locally-produced videos. These are obtainable in person when you visit Nantwich - or Nantwich Tourist Information Centre will send you copies by post. Visit this page for details.

The Crown Hotel, High Street

WHAT IS A DABBER? They use dabbers in painting, plate making, brass rubbing . . . and bingo. In fact, anything where you need to dab! It is the name of a particular type of boat. But here in Nantwich we tend to think of ourselves as Dabbers. Why? There are various theories. Click on this link to find out more.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? I am often asked how I pronounce my name. Is it as in brow, bow, cough, through or Bruges, people ask. None of the above, it is said as you would say Bruff - which is often how people spell it if I don't tell them otherwise.

PICTURES of the town above are: left, the Crown Hotel in High Street; and right, black and white Tudor Cottage and other houses in Welsh Row.

HOW TO FIND ITEMS ON "A DABBER'S NANTWICH"

1, Use the panels above for current items

2, Use the links at the foot of the page for general interest

3, Use the Contents Pages for specific items not listed in 1 and 2

4, Letters from Nantwich can include items not listed in the links panel. See the index.

PICTURE GALLERIES:

o The Big Battle of Nantwich (2007) (including two by Andy Gillitt)

o Lost buildings in Nantwich and outside of town

o Riverside and Lakeside views - and "The Willows"

o The story of how the Lamb Hotel became Chatterton House

o Nantwich Town FC cup victory parade

o Pictures you have asked to see.

o My website doesn't contain a map of the town - but this one does o

v This website was updated on March 11v

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A DABBER'S NANTWICH © 2010 All images and text on this website are my copyright (except where stated otherwise). You are welcome to use anything of mine as long as you contact me first and as long as it for voluntary organisations or amateur use. Sorry, no commercial use. If you have a website where you wish to use the image, a credit and/or a hyperlink to A Dabber's Nantwich on your site would be appreciated. For pictures taken by people other than myself you will have to make your own arrangements. I cannot give permission for you to use those.

Contact me on: dabber@dabbersnantwich.me.uk

John Brough