Books - Civil War | books - other subjects | souvenir mug | a map | local videos |

Best-selling titles go on sale

WE have a new selection of Shire books - including some of their best selling titles. These include  "Bradshaw's Tourist Handbook" , "Allotments", "Green Man", "British Family Cars" and "Wartime Childhood". Prices range from £4.99 to £9.99. Shire publications have been stocked by the shop from its introduction in September 1979.

SOUVENIRS of your visit to the museum and Nantwich - such as the Civil War cannon (left) - can be bought from the small shop area at the desk within the main gallery. Postcards and stationery items - and mugs - can also be bought here. There are many excellent books, packed with local information, on sale (see below). There are also local videos.

lIt is perfectly safe to buy the cannon. It is actually a pencil sharpener!

Other items in the shop include greetings cards, note cards and postcards; DVDs, CDs, the Museum mug (see below), key rings, quill pens, and jewellery such as Roman, Celtic and Tudor bracelets.

lItems from Red Shed art collective on sale

ON sale in the Museum's shop area are two types of fudge. Choose between vanilla fudge and clotted cream fudge.

   Both come in 150g bags and are made with full cream milk and butter. And both are the traditional hand-broken style of sweet. They cost £2.65. 

A BOOKLET about the Battle of Nantwich contains two walks that guide readers on a tour of the battlefield site. The text and pictures are taken from Jane Stevenson's "Nantwich: A brief history and guide" (see below).

   The two walks are ideal for a visit to our charming town.

   The story of the English Civil War skirmish is described by Jane, a volunteer at the Museum, who poses the question "The Battle of Nantwich - or should it be Acton?"

   The covers of the booklet have pictures of St Mary's Parish Church, Acton (left) and St Mary's Church, Nantwich, by R. S. Stevenson.

Price: £3.

AFTER describing the English Civil War, and Cheshire's part in it, "On the Civil War Trail in Cheshire" takes the reader on a Civil War walk of Chester (two miles), nine tours of other battle areas, and finally a short walking tour of Nantwich. These are car-driving tours, not walks, ranging from 40 miles to 105. The assumed starting point of the tours is Chester, and - despite the title of the book - there is one which goes into North Shropshire, another which goes into North Wales, and one which touches on the fringes of Manchester. There are hints on visiting churches, which are often locked nowadays, and a list of Tourist Information Centres.

   The cover picture shows a pike push by the Sealed Knot at a Holly Holy Day re-enactment of the Battle of Nantwich. It was taken by local man, Andrew Gillitt.

Price: £2. 

AN updated version of Jane Stevenson's book, Nantwich: a brief history and guide, tells the story of the market and floral town of Nantwich.  Written by one of the Museum's volunteers, it is the ideal book for anyone newly arrived in town or visitors who simply want to get to know more about us.

Price: £5

NEW

THE newly-published book, The Crewes of Crewe Hall, a Family and a Home, written by the late Ray Gladden and edited by Nantwich author, Jerry Park, is on the bookshelves.

    Crewe Hall was built in the seventeenth century by Ranulphe Crewe, the son of John Crewe, of Hospital Street, Nantwich.

    Price: £5

THE story of salt production throughout the county from a number of aspects - the history, the location of the salt works, the workers, salt tax, etc - is told in "The Salt Industry".

   There are excellent colour photographs to accompany Andrew and Annelise Fielding's text. There are also useful appendices, including a glossary of salt terms, and places to visit to learn more - including Nantwich Museum, of course.

    Nantwich's part in the salt story merits several mentions.

Price: £5.99. 

"NANTWICH Through Time" is a book which compares old postcards of  Nantwich with modern pictures of the town's street scenes. Written by Cheshire author Paul Hurley, with postcard assistance from Kevin Greener of Nantwich along with Janet Gray and her late husband, Robin. The author and his wife have taken the modern views for the 96-page book. This is the fifth in the "Then and Now" series produced by Mr Hurley.  Price: £14.99.

Also on sale: "Crewe Through Time" by Peter Ollerhead

Park Road Bowling Club - The First Hundred Years is the title of this book by Museum Trust member, Derek Hughes. It follows the story of the club from 1906 to 2006.

   The club ground, on the corner of Park Road, was once part of the site of the Brine Baths Hotel, now a housing estate. Pictured right are modern day bowlers, from the book.

   The price is £2.   

The Brine Baths Hotel was a centre for people who wished to indulge in baths fed from the hotel's own brine spring. It has been demolished and the land is now a housing estate. Derek Hughes tells the history of the hotel and some of the people who worked there.

Price: £2.50.

A new item in the Museum shop

Among the souvenirs of your visit to the Museum that are on sale in the shop is a mug that features one of the grandfather clocks on display in the Museum. Think of us when, back at home, you enjoy your morning coffee.  Price: £4.

Map

The Museum Shop has many other items on sale, including this Ordnance Survey Map of Nantwich in 1908. The large scale map, published as The Godfrey Edition, will be a valuable aid for anyone researching their family history, or who wishes to know how the town streets were laid out at the start of the 20th century.

Price: £2.25.

FOUR Nantwich videos are available in the Museum Shop. The first is our own "Ship Ahoy - The raising of the Nantwich salt ship" which follows the story from the rescuing of the ship from the Nantwich mud through to its "launch" in the Museum - including behind-the-scenes footage. 38 minutes, 4:3 ratio, DVD or VHS tape, PAL format and in colour. Price: £5.95.  

THE second is "The Jewel in the Town", a video tour of St Mary's Parish Church, including parts of the church not normally seen by visitors. It runs for about 40 minutes, 4:3 ratio, DVD only, PAL format and colour. Price: £10.

THE third and fourth are the videos, "Curious South Cheshire" and "More Cheshire Curiosities", which look at unusual items in the county. They are two of a planned trilogy. "Curious South Cheshire" runs for approximately 50 minutes, 4:3 ratio, DVD only, in both PAL and NTSC format, and colour. Price: £10.

   "More Cheshire Curiosities" runs for approximately 56 minutes, 4:3 ratio, DVD only, in PAL format only, and colour. Price: £10.

More details of the videos can be found on the "Jonboro Videos" website.