Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway

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ll and scattered village of Gorstage appears on the W. From Hartford station to Acton station the e

annual export of 100,000 tons from the springs alone. They were discovered at a very early period, and are usually more than one hundred yards in depth. The brine, being raised by pumps set in motion by steam-engines, is conveyed by pipes into pans, thirty or forty feet square: these are fixed over furnaces, the heat arising from which, causes the water to evaporate, and the salt to crystallise; it is then drained and dried, and is fit for sale. The mines of rock salt were discovered in 1670, the upper stratum, lying about sixty yards below the surface of the earth, is ten yards thick. About 1772, a second stratum, ten feet thick, and of superior quality, was discovered, at the depth of one hundred and ten yards, the intermediate space bei

s of 280,000 bushels are annually sold for internal consumption, by far the greatest proportion having been obtained in this neighbourhood; since that period the business has materially increased

s on a well-wooded hill, near to the railway on the W. Eastward, is the village of Weaverham, and Win

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ls, the Overton Hills appear on the W. Aston Hall (seat of the late H. C. Aston, Esq.) and grounds are shortly seen on the E., and immed

of the Gothic order, formed of red sand-stone procured from the neighbourhood of Bolton and Runcorn; it consists of twenty arches, of sixty feet span, and sixty feet in hei

is greatly enhanced by the richness

t, after placing the last stone in its bed, addressed the party. He congratulated the workmen (of whom about one hundred and fifty were present) on their steady perseverance and diligence in bringing to perfection so noble a work: he rejoiced to find, that, in the erection of this, the greatest and first structure of its kind in the kingdom, no life or limb had been s

ach, before any second person can warn him of their presence. Emerging from a cutting, which immediately succeeds the viaduct, Dutton Hall is observed on the E. backed by wood. A short distance farther, a fine rear-view is obtained (only by outside passeng

Brook

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siderable traffic, from its vicinity to the

es. This place is mentioned in Doomsday Book, as being the property of the Earl of Chester. The town, situated on an eminence on the banks of the Weaver, near its confluence with the Mersey, consists of a broad street, a mi

some ancient parts of which are included in the present mansion. The Duke of Bridgewater's canal runs through the park. In the

ear the river Mersey, at this place, some traces of which are still visible. In 1133, William Fitz Nigel founded

ks, in connexion with which a chimney of 273 feet in height, and of great beauty, has recently been erected. The church is in the early and later styles of English architecture. Near Runcorn are the fine ruins of Halton Castle, situated on a steep eminence, and commanding an extensive and beaut

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Mersey Viaduct is next traversed. This, though far less grand in appearance than the Dutton Viaduct, is a fine erection of 200 yards in length, consisting of twelve arches, nine being small, and three of larger span, be

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leasing view from th

n coins and other relics near the ford. On its occupation by the Saxons, it obtained the name of Weringtun, from W?ring, a fortification, and tun, a town. The river was passed by ford till 1496, when Thomas, first Earl of Derby, erected a stone bridge in compliment to Henry VII., when on his visit to Latham and Knowsley. In the reign of Henry VIII., Leland, speaking of Warrington, says, "It is a pavid to

ity renowned. Railways, rivers, and canals, facilitate trade materially. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday; the fairs commence July 18 and November 30, continuing ten days. There are cloth halls, and various public buildings, and a fine old church, dedicated to St. Helen; the architecture exhibits traces of vario