Digital Hearing Aids Widnes – Cheshire Digital Hearing Aids

Digital Hearing Aids Widnes –  Cheshire Digital Hearing Aids

Oh yea, oh yea!  No it isn’t the town crier we just want to highlight the fact that if you’re living in the Widnes area and are suffering from difficulty with your hearing, then Digital Hearing Aids can help.  We can’t necessarily promise to return your hearing to what it was, but we can professionally test your hearing and offer advice about aids.  Give us a call now on 01782 698090.

All about Widnes
Widnes owes a lot of its development to 19th Century entrepreneurs and chemists.  Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Widnes on the north banks of the River Mersey was just a collection of villages.  This is almost a mirror of its neighbour over the water to the south, Ellesmere Port.

The men who brought development to the area include:
·         John Hutchinson actually established the very first chemical factory in Widnes.  He was just 22 years old.  He is famous for producing alkali by the Leblanc Process.  Hutchinson later established a second factory in the area.

·         Chemist John McClellan is responsible for one of the first chemical factories in Widnes, producing borax and later soda ash, saltcake and bleaching powder.  He came from nearby Liverpool.

·         William Gossage was essentially an inventor with 50 patents to his name.  He opened an alkali factory and a soap making factory In Widnes.  The Gossage brand of soap became well known.  Gossage himself became famous for inventing the Gossage Tower, which absorbed the polluting waste gas caused by the Leblanc Process.  Gossage discovered that the air pollution could be avoided.  He experimented by filling an old windmill with twigs and brushwood and pouring water over them.  Adding the gas, the vast surface area of water absorbed 90% of it.  The liquid acid produced could then be poured directly into the canals and rivers.  This solved air pollution but resulted in water pollution instead!

·         Another chemical factory owner who produced alkali was Frederic Muspratt.

·         Holbrook Gaskell and Henry Deacon were in partnership and produced first soda and then alkali in Widnes.  Gaskell’s cousin’s wife was the author Elizabeth Gaskell who wrote Mary Crawford, North and South and Cranford.

·         Henry Deacon was a chemist who searched for alternative methods than the Leblanc Process to produce alkali.  He submitted 29 patents for his works.  He employed Swiss chemist Ferdinand Hurter and together they discovered a better way to produce chlorine using the by-product of the Leblanc Process, Hydraulic acid.

 With the many developments of the chemical industry in the area, there was no shortage of workers despite the fact that the area consisted manly of villages.  Irish workers arrived from across the Irish Sea as a result of the potato famine.  Immigrants fleeing persecution in Poland and Lithuania arrived from Eastern Europe.  Closer to home, it offered work for many from across the border in Wales too.

 The forming of Widnes
As we mentioned, it wasn’t until the 19th Century that Widnes became a town.  Prior to that it was a collection of villages including Farnworth, Appleton, Ditton, Upton and Woodend.

Towards the end of the 18th Century the Sankey Canal was built, which linked St Helens and the River Mersey at Sankey Bridges near Warrington.  It was the first artificial canal built in Britain, but is no longer in use.  Over the next few years the canal was extended and the St Helens and Runcorn Railway opened which connected St Helens to Woodend.  The end point of both canal and railway were at what became Widnes Dock, the first railway dock in the world to be established.  These developments meant that transporting materials to and from the area were much easier.

Spike Island and the Catalyst Museum
Today what remains of Widnes Dock form part of Spike Island; this area was the island formed by the Mersey Estuary and the Sankey Canal.  It is where all the chemical factories were built; since they have all ceased operation and been abandoned, along with the rail lines, the canal and the dock area, it has been reclaimed.  Now it is a woodland, wetlands and green space with the one remaining factory used as the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre.  This is the world’s only museum solely devoted to the chemical industry.

The warehouse which the Catalyst Centre uses once belonged to John Hutchinson.  It was known as Tower Building, later becoming the head office for Gossage Soaps.  The museum houses hands-on exhibits and gives a complete overview of the chemical industry.  It also offers an insight into career possibilities within the industry and has a rooftop observatory.  This features exhibits about recycling and of course magnificent views of the reclaimed landscape.

Historic traces
With such a short history, Widnes doesn’t have the glut of historic buildings you find in many British towns.  There are several churches in the area that are listed, such as St Luke’s in Farnworth, St Mary’s, West Bank and St Michael’s, St Marie’s and St Bede’s.  The latter are all Roman Catholic churches.  Railway stations, Widnes North and Hough Green, are both listed as is Widnes Town Hall.

Named and shamed?
Widnes does find itself mentioned in books and songs though.  In the 19th Century author Robert Sherard wrote about the Industrial Revolution and referred to Widnes as ‘the dirtiest, ugliest and most depressing town in England.’  It seemed it hadn’t improved much some 100 years later when Paul Simon is rumoured to have written Homeward Bound whilst waiting to return to London at Widnes Station.  He said, “If you know Widnes, then you'll understand how I was desperately trying to get back to London as quickly as possible.  Homeward Bound came out of that feeling.”

Belle and Sebastian and Elvis Costello have both referenced Widnes in lyrics – Stars of Track and Field and Watch Your Step respectively.

Famous sons and daughters
As well as the many famous chemists listed above who had connections with Widnes, there have also been a few church dignitaries including:
·         15th Century William Smyth who became Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and later Bishop of Lincoln; he also built the grammar school in Farnworth

·         Richard Barnes who became Bishop of Carlyle and later Bishop of Durham (16th Century)

·         Richard Bancroft who became Bishop of London and then Archbishop of Canterbury in the same century


Others from the area:
·         Charles Glover Barkla, the 1917 Nobel Prize winner for Physics was born in Widnes

·         Roy Chadwick who designed the Avro Lancaster bomber was born here

·         The late Jack Ashley, Baron of Ashley Stoke and one time MP for Stoke on Trent was born here too

·         The late international rugby league player Vince Karalius hailed from this town

·         Professional snooker player Andrew Higginson also calls Widnes his home town

·         Melanie Chisholm better known as Mel C or Sporty Spice went to school here

·         Paul Sherwin who is a former Tour de France rider was born here

Just a quick reminder for other locals, if you’re reading this and need help with your hearing, either give us a call on 01782 698090 or contact us online for more information about how we can help.