For most of England’s history those who lived here were unaware of the slab of rock salt—halite as it is technically known—but there was little need: there were brine springs where salty water naturally issued from the ground. Celtic and then Roman settlements were built around these springs in Middlewich and Northwich, Nantwich and Leftwich. Over time the -wich suffix in a town’s name came to denote saltworking.
