LION SALT WORKS MUSEUM’S SALT FILM LAUNCHES AT THE GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION’S ROCKWATCH ONLINE ‘GEOLOGY FESTIVAL’

Cheshire’s award-winning Lion Salt Works Museum, based in Northwich, is launching a new film - ‘Salt, Cheshire and the Lion Salt Works’ - at the Geologists’ Association’s prestigious annual Rockwatch ‘Geology Festival’.

This year’s free-to-view, online festival, takes place between 7-8 November and can be viewed at www.festivalofgeology.org.uk. The Museum’s film explores the impact of the deep deposits of salt beneath the Cheshire Plain on the people, landscape and industry of the county. This film can be viewed at https://youtu.be/0RfoMAfb2V4 and after the festival on the museum’s website www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk 

The Lion Salt Works Museum, restored in 2015 after a £10m restoration, is a multi award winning industrial heritage museum that tells the story of salt through fun, interactive displays. It is one of the last remaining open-pan, salt-making sites in the world and for this reason is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with the same protection status as Stonehenge. 

The Museum tells the unique story of how, for over two thousand years, brine from beneath the Cheshire Plain was boiled in pans to make salt crystals. This valuable commodity was shipped around the world and was a founding trade of Liverpool and a key reason for the construction of the Trent & Mersey Canal. A natural catalyst in many chemical processes, the presence of salt also explains why the region’s chemical industry has flourished here. 

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Salt is key to understanding Cheshire and this new film is not just interesting for geologists but for anyone who wants to know more about how salt has impacted on the county’s history, industry, landscape and prosperity. I applaud the Museum for reaching out to engage different audiences and hope that as many people as possible in Cheshire enjoy this seven-minute film.” 

Susan Brown, Rockwatch Chair of the Geologists’ Association and a former President, said: “The salt beneath Cheshire makes it very interesting for geologists and we are delighted that the Lion Salt Works Museum is contributing to this year’s festival. The film is entertaining and enlightening. We hope that existing and aspiring geologists will enjoy this new film and that the museum will go from strength-to-strength in promoting its geological credentials, locally, regionally and nationally.” 

In 2016, the Geologists’ Association paid for geology panels and a new geological web page at the Museum through its Curry Fund. These items give in-depth geological information about the salt beds beneath Cheshire and are designed to appeal to everyone, including the country’s many amateur and professional geologists. Since 1858, the Geologists’ Association has actively promoted the study of geology to all. 

The Lion Salt Works Museum is currently exploring the relationship of salt and food in an exhibition called ‘A Brine Romance: Salt and Food’. Normal entrance fees apply. 

Pictured - Landscape Gallery at the Lion Salt Works Museum.