Where Were Salt Mines In Britain Historically, And What Legacy Do They Have Today?

In central and western England, if part of a place name is "wich" or "wych", that often denotes a history of salt mining.  "Wych" meant a saltwater spring.  Several places were lumped together as "wiches" in the Domesday book, meaning they were salt-working towns: Droitwich, Nantwich, Northwich and Middlewich.

Salt mines in Cheshire were once vast, and a very important part of the local economy.  Nowadays only one working salt mine is left in Britain, at Winsford, a few miles south of Northwich.  Windford salt mine is huge.  It includes hundreds of miles of large tunnels, and is home to the largest underground digger in the world, which scoops out 20 tonnes of salt in a single go.  This is rock salt, used nationally to on our roads to prevent ice forming.

The other legacy of salt mining in the area is subsidence.  Millions of pounds have been spent to prevent most of Northwich from simply sinking underground.  The mines are 300 feet below, but they only held up the earth above by a few remaining salt pillars