Middlewich "wic" or "wyc" in Old English refers to a settlement, village or dwelling. It is also supposed that "wich" or "wych" refers to a salt town, with Middlewich being the middle town between Northwich and Nantwich. Middlewich was founded by the Romans, who gave it the name "Salinae" because of its surrounding salt deposits. It became one of the major Roman sites for salt production, an activity that was centred on the township of Kinderton, about a quarter of a mile north of the present-day parish church of St. Michael and All Angels. It has been suggested that pre-Roman salt
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