History of Northwich was the Stanley's, later Earls of Derby and stayed in the family’s hands until the late 18th century. That salt production continued throughout the centuries can be seen through John Leland's description of the town in 1540: Although Leland described Northwich as a market town, there is no surviving charter for a market or fair. A market still exists today. Between 1642 and 1643, during the English Civil War, Northwich was fortified and garrisoned by Sir William Bereton for the Parliamentarians. The salt beds beneath Northwich were re-discovered in the 1670s by employees of the local Smith-Barry family. The Smith-Barrys
The Rookery, Nantwich dating originally from the 15th and 16th centuries at the end of Hospital Street, which include Churche's Mansion, number 116 and numbers 140–142. These buildings survived the fire of 1583, which destroyed the town end of Hospital Street together with much of the centre of Nantwich. The Rookery is believed to stand near the site of the medieval Hospital of St Nicholas, which gives Hospital Street its name. The Rookery is a large detached Georgian building of two storeys, in red brick with stone dressings under a tiled roof. The front façade faces Millstone Lane and is set well back