MURGATROYD’S Brine Pump opened to the public for the first time in almost 40 years at the weekend, as part of Heritage Open Days.

With fully-booked guided tours of the town taking place, visitors were also free to explore the historic pump site for the first time since 1977 as it undergoes a transformation into an educational space.

Kerry Fletcher, Middlewich Town Council heritage officer, led the popular tours, telling the story of the town’s connections with salt from the Iron Age through to the present day.

The Saltscape Landscape Partnership is highlighting the role of the Weaver Valley area’s salt heritage.

Rachael Maskill, from the partnership, said: “We were delighted that so many people came out to see this important piece of the town’s industrial heritage and learn about the efforts being made by volunteers to conserve what is now officially classed as an ancient scheduled monument.”

The pump is the only intact one of its kind in the UK, and is now being restored by Middlewich Heritage Trust as part of the ‘Revealing Murgatroyd’s’ project, thanks to Historic England, town and borough council funding.