Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Beneath downtown Minneapolis, Schieks Cave has surprisingly warm groundwater, evidence of a subterranean heat island.
Schieks Cave Below Minneapolis Contains a Lake of Warm Sewage
about 20 hours ago
Athenaeus described various kinds of Greek drinking vessels, like the deep, rounded skyphos and wide, flat kylix.
The Ancient Greek Guide to Succeeding at Dinner Parties
2 days ago
No thanks.
AO Mailbag: Which Places Just Aren’t Worth Visiting?
3 days ago
Benshi would introduce and provide commentary for films like A Page of Madness.
Remembering the Heyday of Japan’s Silent Film Narrators
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Lion Salt Works

Lion Salt Works

Learn about the history of mining and making salt at this Cheshire museum.

Marston, England

Added By
Dark Nebula Deluxe
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Lion Salt Works   David Dixon
Lion Salt Works   David Dixon
Lion Salt Works   Stephen McKay
One of the pans used for creating salt at the Lion Salt Works   Stephen McKay
The Red Lion public house at the entrance to the Lion Salt Works   Stephen McKay
Lion Salt Works   Des Blenkinsopp
  Steve 55 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

West Cheshire contains a layer of underground salt deposits that have been mined for centuries by the area’s inhabitants. Celtic and Roman people used brine pits and wells to extract groundwater that had dissolved salt within these deposits and then evaporated the water to make salt. In the 1700s, wind and steam power were used to pump brine from underground.

In the next century, salt was extracted directly from underground mines for a while, but when those mines became unprofitable, water was pumped through them to extract the remaining salt. This led to the creation of massive underground chasms, which frequently collapsed at the end of the 1800s. The subsidence on the surface left huge holes that could swallow entire buildings.

The Lion Salt Works were originally established in 1894 by Henry Ingram Thompson in an area outside the town of Northwich. The salt works extracted brine from underground and then boiled the brine in open pans to produce salt that could be sold commercially. This was a standard technique used for making salt in the Cheshire area. However, the company became less profitable in the second half of the 1900s and it shut down in 1986.

After this, the Lion Salt Works sat empty for almost three decades. However, starting in 2012, campaigners in Cheshire worked to restore the facility, and by 2015, the restored facility was opened to the public. The Lion Salt Works now functions as one of the United Kingdom’s most unique industrial museums, teaching about Cheshire’s salt-making heritage to new generations.

Related Tags

History & Culture Mining Museums Wonders Of Salt Salt

Know Before You Go

The Lion Salt Works is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last admission at 4 p.m. Note that the museum is fully accessible and is family-friendly. The site is located about 1.6 km (1 mile) northeast of Northwich in the small village of Marston.

Parking is available at the site. Bus services do not frequently travel to the area frequently and do not stop nearby, but it is possible to walk to the site from Northwich’s train station within a half hour.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dark Nebula Deluxe

Edited By

Steve 55

  • Steve 55

Published

April 8, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://museumsofcheshire.org.uk/venues/lion-salt-works
Lion Salt Works
Ollershaw Lane
Marston, England, CW9 6ES
United Kingdom
53.275488, -2.495277
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes

Wincham, England

miles away

Anderton Boat Lift

Anderton, England

miles away

Cuckooland

Tabley, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,219
Stories 145

Nearby Places

Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes

Wincham, England

miles away

Anderton Boat Lift

Anderton, England

miles away

Cuckooland

Tabley, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,219
Stories 145

Related Places

  • Goffs Schoolhouse

    Goffs, California

    Goffs Schoolhouse Museum

    Built as a schoolhouse in 1914, this Mission-style building has also served as a dancehall, a library, an Army canteen, and now a cultural museum.

  • Nemocón Salt Mine.

    Nemocón, Colombia

    Nemocón Salt Mine

    Colorful lights and mirror-like brine pools create trippy illusions within the historic mine.

  •  The Kansas Underground Salt Museum

    Hutchinson, Kansas

    Strataca, The Kansas Underground Salt Museum

    Home to Hollywood history and a very special salt crystal.

  • Savannah, Georgia

    WEBB Military Museum

    At this privately owned collection, conflicts are humanized through soldiers’ personal belongings.

    Sponsored by Visit Savannah
  • Odawara, Japan

    Suzuhiro Kamaboko Museum

    Dedicated to the history and culture of Japanese fishcake, this museum invites you to take part in its kamaboko-making workshop.

  • One of the galleries in the modern section of the Manchester Jewish Museum.

    Manchester, England

    Manchester Jewish Museum

    A Victorian synagogue-turned-museum chronicles centuries of Jewish life.

  • Portumna, Ireland

    Irish Workhouse Centre

    A well-preserved, 19th-century Irish workhouse recounts a grim time in the country’s history.

  • Manjira

    Meknes, Morocco

    Dar Jamai Museum

    A museum dedicated to the musical instruments used in traditional Moroccan music.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.