[3] In the Domesday Book Middlewich is spelt "Mildestvich"; the termination wic or wyc in Old English refers to a settlement, village or dwelling.

It became one of the major Roman sites for salt production, an activity that was centred on the township of Kinderton, about a quarter of a mile north of the present-day parish church of St. Michael and All Angels.

Salt manufacture has remained the principal industry for the past 2,000 years, and it has shaped the town's history and geography.

Before the Norman invasion of England in 1066, there is thought to have been one brine pit in Middlewich, between the River Croco and the current Lewin Street.

[15] In the Domesday Book the area is described as being "wasted",[15] having been cleared by King William around 1070 as an "act of rage against his rebellious barons".

[16] Gilbert de Venables became the first Baron of Kinderton shortly after the Norman Conquest, the title being conferred by Hugh Lupus.

[citation needed] A manor house was built to the east of the town and became the baronial seat of the Venables family.

[citation needed] The second Battle of Middlewich took place on 26 December 1643, and claimed the lives of about 200 Parliamentarians, along with a number of Royalists under the command of Lord Byron.

[citation needed] In 1887 the town was described as having an antique appearance, with its principal trade being salt, along with fruit and vegetables, and small silk and heavy cotton works.

[17] By 1911 the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition mentions the existence of chemical works and the manufacture of condensed milk.

The cenotaph, near to the parish church,[19] lists the names of the 136 men who died in that conflict, representing around 10% of the male population of the town aged between 15 and 45.

[20][21] In the period between the end of the First World War until shortly after the Second World War, there was extensive housebuilding in the town; a significant number of houses were built in the King Street area to the north, the area bounded between Nantwich Road and St. Anne's Road to the west, and especially in Cledford to the south.

[22] Since the early 1980s Middlewich has seen a significant quantity of new housing development, initially in the Sutton Lane and Hayhurst Avenue areas.

In common with other local towns such as Holmes Chapel, Northwich and Winsford, people are attracted to Middlewich because of its good road links via the M6 motorway and the relatively low price and availability of suitable building land.

In 1974, as part of the Local Government Act 1972, Middlewich Urban District was abolished and its territory passed into the borough of Congleton.

[28][29] The town sits less than 98 feet (30 m) above sea level, on Upper Triassic Mercia mudstone laid down with large salt deposits as part of the Cheshire plain, a boulder clay plain separating the hills of North Wales and the Peak District of Derbyshire, formed following the retreat of ice age glaciers.

[37] Three-quarters of the 9,500 people between the ages of 16 and 74 are classed as "economically active", that is, either in full or part-time employment, or full-time students.

[37] The breakdown for Congleton showed that 99.3% of those that replied, and did not state that they had no religion, were Christian; the figures for Middlewich will be broadly similar.

The close proximity to the M6 motorway has led to the creation of a large distribution and business park, with companies such as Tesco and ERF locating to the site.

A highly regarded folk and boat festival has been run in the town every year since 1990, except for 2001 when it was cancelled because of a foot and mouth epidemic.

Tim Strickland, a consultant archaeologist, was awarded a MBE for services to archaeology for his work in organising the Roman Middlewich Project.

[55] Fountain Fields on Queen Street is a traditional town park, with a number of facilities including a bowling green.

Middlewich is one of two large towns in the former borough of Congleton without a public swimming pool, in spite of the various initiatives that have been started to provide one.

There was a general remodelling of the church during the 19th century, which included removing the whitewash from its interior to reveal the sandstone appearance seen today.

[67] Middlewich Methodist Church was built in 2000 in Booth Lane, replacing the earlier chapel in Lewin Street.

[85] Notable residents include the theologians John Hulse (1708–1790) who founded the Hulsean lectures at Cambridge University, and Theophilus Lindsey (1723 OS – 1808) who inspired the Feathers Tavern Petition against clerical subscription to the Thirty-Nine Articles, and so helped start one of the most profound debates within the Church of England in the 18th century.

[86] Elizabeth Ashbridge (1713–55), an 18th-century Quaker minister, was born in the town, as was William Benbow (1787–1864), a nonconformist preacher, pamphleteer and publisher.

[5] John Wright Oakes (1820–1887) born at Sproston House, was a landscape painter[87] who exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.

James Hargreaves (1834–1915) was a chemist and inventor, who, along with Thomas Bird, developed a process for the electrolysis of brine using asbestos diaphragms.

[88] Jack Wilkinson (1931–1996), also born in the town, was an English footballer for eight years who scored 81 goals in 158 league games.