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Coordinates: 52°16'01?N 2°09'11?W? / ?52.266916, -2.153147
Droitwich Spa is a town in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe and has a population of 22,585 (2001). The town is situated on massive deposits of salt, and salt has been extracted there since ancient times. The natural Droitwich brine contains 2 1/2 lb of salt per gallon - ten times stronger than sea water and only rivalled by the Dead Sea [1].
[edit] History
In Roman times the village was known as Salinae and was located at the crossroads of several Roman roads. Railway construction in 1847 revealed Roman mosaic pavements, and later excavations unearthed a Roman villa or corridor house some 40 metres (130 feet) long.
Droitwich Lunatic Asylum was established in 1791. Records at the Worcestershire County Record Office show its presence in 1837 to 1838. An advert in the Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, in 1844, records that Martin Ricketts, of Droitwich was the Surgeon and Sir Charles Hastings from the Worcester Infirmary was the Physician.
Droitwich remained a fairly small town until the 1960s, when the population was still barely 7,000; however, it has grown considerably since due to overspill from Birmingham with many housing estates being developed in the 1970s and 1980s.
More recently, in July 2007, Droitwich was hit heavily by the UK-wide flooding caused by some of the heaviest rainfall in many years. This flooding was pictured in UK-wide news, having flooded the majority of the heavily subsided high street. Many shops in the high street remain closed almost one year later. The flooding crossed from the stream and canal in Vines Park, crossed Roman Way, and spilled across to the High Street some 100 metres from the source stream.
[edit] Salt and Brine
Rock salt and brine was extracted by the Romans and this continued through the Middle Ages. Salt tax was levied by the King until it was abolished as a tax in 1825. The Wintour family, a local family owned up to 25 salt evaporating pans locally by the 1600s.
Salt was extracted by pumping up saturated brine from the salt deposits, and evaporating the brine; over the years the removal of enormous quantities of salt from the substrata of the town led to considerable, if gradual, subsidence in some parts of the town; one photograph from the early 20th century shows one Droitwich house tilted at a considerable angle from the vertical.
In the 19th century, Droitwich became famous as a Spa town. Unlike other places, the medicinal benefits were not derived from drinking the spa water, which is almost saturated brine, but from the muscular relief derived by swimming and floating in such a dense, concentrated salt solution, at the town's brine baths (first opened in 1830).
The original Brine Baths have long since closed, but a new brine bath (part of the Droitwich Spa private hospital) is open to the public for relaxation and hydrotherapy.
The salt industry was industrialised and developed in the 19th century by John Corbett who built the nearby Chateau Impney for his French wife.
Opened in the 1930s was the town's lido, a large open-air swimming pool, which used diluted brine from beneath the town. See: Droitwich Spa Lido
[edit] Industry and Commerce
[edit] Transport
Collectively known as the Droitwich Canal, two canals met in the town centre. These are the Droitwich Barge Canal built by James Brindley in 1771 and the Droitwich Junction Canal built in 1854. The Junction canal linked Droitwich to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
Plans are currently being made to re-connect the Junction Canal to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Hanbury and to re-connect the Barge Canal to the River Severn at Hawford.
The railway station, formerly on the Great Western Railway, is just outside the town centre with trains to Birmingham, Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourbridge.
[edit] Broadcasting
Near Droitwich there is the central longwave broadcasting facility of the UK (Wychbold BBC transmitter), which is also used for transmissions in the medium wave range, Droitwich transmitting station. It was sited near Droitwich because the huge block of underground salt provided a good ground earth and increased signal strength (as related by Mr. Humphreys, Chief Engineer for many years).
[edit] Retail
Droitwich shopping is mainly focused in the traditional town centre around Victoria Square, leading to the Salter's shopping centre and down to the original High Street, with its eclectic mix of traditional shops, rather than the familiar high street multiple brands. Farmers' markets are also held regularly in Victoria Square.
In the central Salter's shopping precinct are Morrison's, Boots the Chemist, W H Smith, Peacock's, Wilson's Pet Store, Wilkinson's, Thornton's, Holland & Barretts, Carphone Warehouse and Argos. The centre is currently being re-developed and will include a new large M&K clothing store plus a smart new coffee shop.
In 2005 Waitrose opened a new supermarket in the grounds of the old covered market, directly behind the heavily-subsided High Street. Plans have been approved in 2007 to open an Aldi store on the small retail park by Roman Way while the new Retail park was opened in late Autumn 2007 with two new stores, Carpetright and Land of Leather. The park already has DFS and Homebase stores. There is also a Spar on Oakland Avenue and a Tesco Express on Primsland.
There are a range of banks represented in the town, including NatWest, HSBC, Alliance & Leicester, Lloyds TSB, Halifax, and Barclays. There are a number of estate agents including Andrew Grant, Town & Country, Allan Morris, Lambert's and Your Move.
In 2007, regional house building company, Lioncourt Homes chose Droitwich as the location for their head office. They are currently based in Roman Way Business Centre.
[edit] Amenities
Until the late 1990s Droitwich Spa Lido was open as a public open-air salt-water swimming pool. Since then various schemes have been proposed, with significant legal and commercial arguments as to the viability of re-building and reopening this facility. Recently, an open air water play area has been revealed, after many years of speculation as to what would happen with this site.
During Autumn of 2006, work started on renovating the lido and it was reopened on Monday 18th June 2007. The Lido Park remains a pleasant and popular space, with Droitwich Cricket Ground on its edge.
Westwood House, Droitwich
[edit] Entertainment
The Norbury Theatre hosts regular shows year-round, including an annual pantomime, they have recently started screening films. The Norbury has an active Youth Theatre with ages ranging from 12 to 18.
Droitwich has a selection of eat-in restaurants, which include Chinese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Italian cuisine (Rossini's) and traditional pub fare, plus the Salt Rock cafe. There is a choice of take-aways from traditional fish and chips to pizza, Chinese takeaway and Indian takeaway.
There are currently no late night clubs in Droitwich, with many people choosing to go to Worcester or Birmingham for a night out. There are plenty of pubs and inns in Droitwich including: The Fox & Goose, The Riflemans Arms, The Star & Garter, The Old Cock Inn, The Hop Pole, Ring O' Bells, The Westcroft Arms, The Red Lion, The Talbot, Barley Mow, The Doverdale,The Copcut Elm and The Castle. There is also a wine bar called Spiders in the middle of the town. Of these pubs, the Red Lion has taken on 24-hour licencing.
On the outskirts of the town is the famous Chateau Impney, built in the style of a traditional French chateau, which is now a hotel, restaurant and conference centre. In Droitwich, The Raven Hotel is a wattle and daub hotel that holds a central position within the town.
[edit] Schools
The Droitwich Spa pyramid of schools works on a three tier system, with one secondary school or high school (Droitwich Spa High School); two middle schools or junior schools (Witton Middle School and Westacre Middle School); and nine first schools or primary schools (Chawson, Cutnall Green, Hindlip, Ombersley, St. Peters, St. Josephs, Tibberton, Westlands - originally Boycott Farm First School - and Wychbold First Schools). There is also a fee-paying private school, Dodderhill School (formerly named Whitford Hall and Dodderhill) which consistently produces the best results in the county.
Until the late 1980s another middle school existed called St. Richard De Wych, C of E. This school was closed and the land built on with further housing development in the Westlands Estate (Formerly known as 'Boycott Estate')
[edit] Places of Worship
There are four Anglican churches in Droitwich.
The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine of Alexandria is one of the most remarkable in England as it is covered in mosaics.
Droitwich has a leisure centre at Briar Mills with gym facilities, sports halls, a swimming pool and squash courts. There are also outside football pitches with floodlighting. The centre also runs a squash league.
Other local sports include boxing, football, judo, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Ju Jitsu and tennis.
[edit] Famous inhabitants
- St Richard, Bishop of Chichester, was born in Droitwich in 1197
- John Heminges, born in Droitwich in about 1556, was an actor in William Shakespeare's company
- Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrim Fathers was born in the town in 1595.
- Rik Mayall - actor and writer in The Comic Strip, The Young Ones, Bottom and many other TV programmes, lived in Droitwich when he was a child.
- Ashley Giles - England cricketer lives in Droitwich and in 2005 was made an honorary citizen of the town.
- Matt Neal, BTCC champion.
- John Bickerton, European Tour Golfer.
- Daniel and Jack Clarkson - Gold Medalists in the AAU Junior Olympic Games, Great Britain Inline Hockey players.
[edit] Twinning
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
[edit] Amenities
[edit] Schools
(Source: Wikipedia) |