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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 as 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.
Pictured top left is
a sign in Crewe Road - there are others on other sites in the town - proclaiming our success in the
Britain in Bloom competition in recent years.
When I say "our", I am actually referring to the work of an amateur body,
Nantwich in Bloom, with support from the local
councils.
Above,
left, is a picture taken at apple blossom time at St Mary's Parish Church, the
Church of England place of worship in in the town centre. (There are other
churches in town).
On the right-hand side of this panel are
two pictures (with two more to come) of the seasons as seen in
The Gullet, one
of our quaintly-named streets. Top right is a spring scene with the leaves just bursting
forth (after a poor winter weather-wise) and right, autumn in a previous year.
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NEW ITEMS ON THIS WEBSITE
Town Council asset acquisitions continues | Shops
openings and closings | What's On
updates
Wellington House completed
See What's On for the
town's market days |
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While I am the owner of, and main contributor to, "A Dabber's
Nantwich" - a point that some visitors
don't seem to understand! - the regular reports from
representatives of local groups listed
here add extra interest to the website. My thanks to
them.
John Brough |
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ALDERMAN Doug Butterill was Chairman of
Nantwich in Bloom Committee (until the 2013 AGM). He still
is Company Secretary of
Greenspaces South Cheshire (UK) CIC.
He is a
Dutton Medal winner
(a Nantwich Museum award).
NEW ITEM:
New Chairman
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JAMES Thompson is Executive Director
for Greenspaces South Cheshire
(UK) CIC. Previously he was Nantwich Riverside Project
Officer and his articles for that venture can be found
here.
NEW ITEM:
Pupils go pond dipping |
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JEFF
Stubbs is Chairman of Nantwich Civic
Society,
Greenspaces South Cheshire (UK) CIC,
and a new organisation, Nantwich Partnership
NEW ITEM:
Riverside signs |
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JOYCE Webb is the
Team Leader of Nantwich Litter Group,
an organisation that keeps the town looking tidy.
NEW ITEM
: Tackling woodland
grot spots |
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PAUL
Simpson is
Group Leader of the
Nantwich Group of the Family
History Society of Cheshire. So who better to answer questions
about family tree matters? Go to his "Family
Lines" if you have a question.
Paul was elected
Chairman of the Family History Society of Cheshire at the
October AGM at Mobberley.
NEW ITEM: The
Blue Bell Inn
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NANTWICH historian Andrew Lamberton
is the man to ask about a Nantwich building or a moment in
history. See the This and That page
or his own pages (there are now six):
Ask Andrew.
NEW ITEM:
Are there pictures of the land that is now South Crofts?
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PLEASE NOTE: IF you would like to ask
Paul
Simpson or
Andrew Lamberton a question about family trees or local history please be
aware that your e-mailed question and the subsequent reply will
be published on the appropriate page for the interest of other
visitors to this website as well as yourself. "A Dabber's
Nantwich" website cannot give personal replies to questions - we
like to share the information that the experts come up with. If
you send in a question it will be assumed that you agree to this. No permission will be sought to use the question
on the website..
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Queen's Diamond Jubilee
weekend, 2012. Pictures of local events
can be found
here
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 Why
use the general car park?
THE opening of the new Marks and Spencer
food outlet has left me puzzling about the location of the "tunnel for
the store's trolleys. Despite having a small car park of their own next
to the store - and the Civic Hall car park - the firm have used one of
the car parking bays on the larger car park.
More |
Car park use for site leads to longer train
trip
AN area of land
that has been earmarked for a block of apartments and an office block at
different times, has been converted into a car park for members of an
adjacent church. Together with local people who can apply for one of the
spaces. And now the church's miniature railway, which carries delighted
youngsters on a train journey every Saturday morning, has benefitted
from the acquisition with a longer track. More
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Greenway officially opened
THE Greenway,
the route especially for cyclists, pedestrians and other forms of
transport and getting about - not motorcycles and cars - has been
completed and officially opened. Civic dignitaries and representatives
of local organisations were present - as were two Shetland ponies
(left). More |
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Signs will guide walkers on town paths
THANKS to an
initiative by the town's Civic Society, walkers using the paths in
Riverside will be able to find their way much more easily. Noticing that
some people weren't sure of the direction, the society have masterminded
the erection of seven information signs. More |
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Works proceeds on town assets
NANTWICH Town Council is pressing on with
the task of acquiring assets from Cheshire East Council. Local
allotments and toilets in Snow Hill are the current targets.
More
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New organisation in town
A NEW town partnership
that will work together to improve the "public realm" has been set up
after representatives
from Nantwich Town Council, Nantwich Civic Society,
Cheshire East Council and business and tourism met to discuss the idea.
More
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Additional water features
IF you go down to the wood today
you'll be in for a big surprise. Well, you will find a number of
unexpected water features. The weather has not been kind to Beam Heath
Trust's Millennium Wood just lately. Trees flourish on rain, but the
wood has received quite a lot which gives the area a different look than
might be expected. More
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The
man who rediscovered 'lost' apples
A FORMER lecturer at Reaseheath College,
near Nantwich, who tracked down some apples which were believed to have
been lost to UK and world orchards, has been remembered in a plaque
unveiling ceremony in the town's Community Orchard in the Riverside.
More
Picture: Jane Sebire |
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Time
to put road signs back?
IT is three
years since Cheshire East Council decided the town could do without
traffic direction signs. And it is about that long since I have been
giving directions to motorists - usually beginning: "Go back the way
you have come . . ." It is time, I think, for the signs to be
re-erected. More
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Is this the old public house?
WHEN a website visitor enquired about an
ancestor who was a Nantwich innkeeper, Andrew Lamberton suggested that a
known Nantwich pub might also have been the one kept by the former
landlord, the location of which wasn't known.
More
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Helping to find ancestor
WHEN a website visitor from Australia needed
help in locating the final resting place of an ancestor, she turned to
Family Lines. Paul was able to locate the grave and supplied the
enquirer with some pictures. More
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Recognise this old building?
DO you
recognise the old Nantwich building pictured here? The tree is no longer
there and the grave stones have long since been removed. The shape of
the building has changed with the addition of a single storey "wrap
around" extension. It all changed about 40 years ago. For the answer to
what is was, go to the feature on Old Nantwich Pictures.
Here |
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Different
reason for plane crash
EVERY January,
local people pay tribute to an American airman whose plane crashed
during the Second World War. His grave is a feature of the riverside
walk just off Shrewbridge Road.
But now research by a graduate of Keele University shows there might be
a reason for the crash that was not realised back in 1944. He provided
an article based on the research for Ask Andrew.
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Memories of street recalled
THE days when
Welsh Row looked a lot different than it does today are recalled by an
old picture (right) of a plumber and decorator's shop handed to Nantwich
historian Andrew Lamberton. Back in 1955, Ecob's Garage was still there,
as were four cottages. Now the site of the demolished properties is part
of Wilbraham Court. More
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Plus: an early Crosville bus in the local countryside.
More |
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Gold AND silver-gilt awards
NANTWICH has won a silver-gilt award
in the best town category in the Royal Horticultural Society awards for 2012
(picture) and the gold award for the best town in the North West in a
separate competition, North West in Bloom. More
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Marking a wartime tragedy
DURING any war there are countless tragedies
which affect innumerable people, but one in particular in the Nantwich
area - involving the deaths of a bomb disposal team - has finally been
marked with a war memorial thanks to the persistence of a Royal
Engineers Association member and the generosity of a number of local
companies. Local historian Andrew Lamberton was at the unveiling
ceremony and reports on the event
here.
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In search of war heroes' details
A SANDBACH
woman has contacted war expert author Mark Potts with some information
which will help in his new book due out in 2014 (the 100th anniversary
of the start of the First World War). She listed three Nantwich brothers
who dies in the war. The soldier pictured right is
one of more than 1,000 from the Nantwich and Crewe areas who were killed
in the First World War. He is Mark's his great uncle. Mark is in the
course of preparing the book but is still looking for
information on other Nantwich and Crewe First World War soldiers. He and
his co-author are preparing the book on
behalf of Cheshire East Council.
More |
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Half of town's toilets close
NANTWICH used
to have four public toilets - not a great many given the number of
visitors to the town - but now we are down to two. Automatic toilets
became out of date with no council funds to replace them. The other one
is on a large car park. More.
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Looping the loop
WHETHER you are
a visitor to Nantwich or a resident, there is a recently refurbished
walk on the western edge of the town which could interest you. It takes
in our riverside area and countryside to the south west. It's
called the Nantwich Riverside Loop.
More (Updated). |
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Are you are Dabber?
HOW do you know if you qualify to be a
Dabber - someone born in Nantwich? As some people will know, you have to
be born within the old Nantwich town boundaries, but where are these? To
find out, visit this page.
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 New
addresses
IN the first 10
years of the 21st Century the town amassed a total of 80 new
addresses - either streets or apartment blocks. Local historian and
former postman
Andrew Lamberton has listed them all in a review.
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Pictures of some of the houses are included - as well as a page on
the proposed developments that didn't make it . . . so far.
More.
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"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. |
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See Nantwich (and 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 some outlets will send you copies by post. Visit
this website for details.
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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.
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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.
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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, The Letters from Nantwich feature can include items not
listed in the links panel, so please see
the letters index for
those .
PICTURE GALLERIES:
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The Big Battle of Nantwich
(2007)
(including two pictures by Andy Gillitt)
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Lost buildings in Nantwich and
outside of town
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Riverside and Lakeside views
and
"The Willows"
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The story of how the Lamb Hotel became Chatterton House
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Nantwich Town FC cup victory parade
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o My
website doesn't contain a map of the town - but
this one does
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vThis website was updated
on May 21v
You
are visitor
to this website, as
recorded
by
A DABBER'S NANTWICH © 2013 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
Dabber
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