A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
The origins of the settlement where Thomas Clowes resided date to Roman times when salt from Nantwich was used by the Roman garrisons at Chester and Stoke-on-Trent as both a preservative and a condiment. Salt has been used in the production of Cheshire cheese and in the tanning industry, both industries being products of the dairy industry based on the Cheshire plain around the town.
In the Domesday Book, Nantwich is recorded as having eight salt houses. It had a castle and was the capital of a barony of the earls of Chester, and of a hundred (one of the seven sub-divisions of medieval Cheshire). The salt industry peaked in the late sixteenth century when there were 216 salt houses, but the industry ended in 1856 with the closure of the last salt house. Similarly the last tannery closed in 1974, but the clothing industry remains important to the area.
Nantwich has suffered several disasters in its history. It was first recorded as an urban area at the time of the Norman conquest -- the Normans burned the town to the ground, leaving only one building standing. Two hundred years later the town was attacked over a lengthy period by marauders from Wales, while in 1583 the Great Fire of Nantwich raged for 20 days, destroying most of the town, which was rebuilt, at a cost of £30,000 in 16th-century money, £2,000 of which was personally donated by Queen Elizabeth I together with timber from the royal forest. Indeed, one of the main streets of Nantwich was re-named to reflect the fact that the timber to rebuild the town was transported along it (Beam Street).
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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