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The Lion Salt Works is a restored historic open-pan salt making site Link in the village of Marston, close to Northwich, which is now preserved as a museum.

By the late-19th century brine shafts and traditional open pan salt works dominated the area around Northwich, many controlled by the monopolistic Salt Union. As more efficient methods of extracting and refining salt were developed during the twentieth century, open-pan salt making became less profitable and, from the late 1960s until its closure in 1986, the Lion Salt Works, which had been established by the Thompson family in 1894 in the coal yard of the Red Lion Hotel, was the last remaining open pan saltworks in the country.

Recognising the historical significance of the site, the buildings were purchased by Vale Royal District Council to prevent their demolition. Most of the surviving buildings are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings and the site is registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Link Historic England) and as an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage Link .

Now under the ownership of Cheshire West and Chester Council, the site was reopened on 5 June 2015 as a new heritage visitor attraction following a major redevelopment project (Link “About Us” Lion Salt Works). The museum aims to show “how the salt works operated and the impact of salt on mid-Cheshire’s people, economy and landscape”.

Link Lion Salt Works Museum