Rose Hurley – författare

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Cheshire was a thriving part of the north-west of England. Bordered by Liverpool and Manchester to the north, much of the county was rural and agricultural, centred on the historic county city of Chester, the market towns of Macclesfield, Winsford and Northwich and also the industrial towns of Warrington, Crewe, Widnes, Runcorn and Ellesmere Port.It was a period of great social change as people from all walks of life moved with their families in search of work. Deprivation and poverty could often be found cheek by jowl with more affluent sections of society, and crime, as always, knew no boundaries. The stories were often chronicled in detail in local press at the time and in this book authors Paul and Rose Hurley have delved into the historical records to reveal the dark side of life of everyday people of Cheshire, which could turn to murder and death by execution.This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Cheshire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime, as well as those who want to know more about the history of this area of the North West.

The town of Northwich in Cheshire has been known for its salt production for centuries. The salt mines beneath the town were exploited by the Romans through to the modern era and the vast excavations have caused major subsidence in Northwich. By the nineteenth century Northwich was also a centre of the chemical industry in the north-west of England. Brunner Mond started the production of soda ash in 1874 at Winnington and the company later became ICI, building a huge industrial railway network in the area and growing into one of the largest manufacturers in the UK. Among the other industries in Northwich were shipyards. W. J. Yarwoods & Sons Ltd built over 1,000 vessels including small warships, one under the direction of Lawrence of Arabia, and Isaac Pimblott & Sons also built small craft including canal vessels, both closing in the 1960s/70s. The town also had steelworks and many other industries.Northwich and Around at Work explores the working life of this town and surrounding area in Cheshire and its people and the industries that have characterised it through the ages. The book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Northwich.