Cheshire inventions, innovations and firsts explained

Inventions, innovations and firsts made in the county of Cheshire, in North West England.

Inventions and discoveries

Polythene — invented in 1933, at ICI in Northwich.^{[1] [2]}

Pulsation Engine — a precursor to the hydraulic ram, invented by John Whitehurst in Oulton Park.

First observation of extragalactic radio source — the Andromeda nebula (M31) made at Jodrell Bank in 1950 ^{[3] [4]}

Innovations and firsts

Cheshire Cheese — there are conflicting accounts of Cheshire Cheese being mentioned in the Domesday Book, and so the first county cheese, or, along with Shropshire Cheese, recorded much later in 1580.^[5]

UK's first Neighbourhood Watch

First known stagecoach ran between Birmingham and Holywell via Nantwich and Chester, 1637.

First dementia-friendly checkout — Tesco supermarket in Chester claimed to be the "First known supermarket to implement a dementia-friendly checkout."^[6]

Notes and References

1. Rob Sharp, Polythene's story: The accidental birth of plastic bags, The Independent, 7 Aug 2015
2. BBC Manchester, "History of the World: the first piece of polythene ", BBC, 7 Aug 2015
3. Jodrell Bank, "The Early History", University of Manchester, 7 Aug 2015
4. R. HANBURY BROWN & C. HAZARD, "Radio-frequency Radiation from the Great Nebula in Andromeda (M.31).", Nature Publishing Group, 7 Aug 2015
5. Helen Carter, "Producers urge a renaissance for Cheshire cheese", The Guardian, 3 April 2011
6. Chester Chronicle, "Chester Tesco store first to implement dementia friendly checkout", Chester Chronicle, 3 June 2015