Northwich evidence of a Roman auxiliary fort within the area of Northwich now known as "Castle" dated to AD 70. This and other northwestern forts were built as the Romans moved north from their stronghold in Chester. The association with salt continues in the etymology of Northwich. The "wich" (or wych) suffix applies to other towns in the area: Middlewich, Nantwich and Leftwich. This is considered to have been derived from the Norse, "wic", for bay, and is associated with the more traditional method of obtaining salt by evaporating sea water. Therefore, a place for making salt became a wych-house; Northwich
Nantwich Act 1972 replaced urban district and rural district councils with a uniform system of larger districts often covering both urban and rural areas. Some town administration responsibilities of Nantwich Urban District Council passed to Nantwich Town Council, while Nantwich Rural District Council responsibilities passed to the combined Crewe and Nantiwch borough. Since 1983, Nantwich has been in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. Between 1955 and 1983, Nantwich was a parliamentary constituency in its own right, largely covering the areas managed by Nantwich urban and rural district councils (rural areas to the south, west and north of Nantwich now