DROITWICH SPA

'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 rivaled by the Dead Sea [1].

History

In the time of the Romans, it was known as ''Salinae'', and several Roman roads ran to the town.
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 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. Originally a target population of some 45,000 was suggested, but it is at present about half that.

Salt and Brine

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.
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

Industry and Commerce

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.

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).

Droitwich Transmitting Station, Wychbold

Retail

Droitwich shopping is mainly focussed in the town centre around Victoria Square, leading to the Salters shopping centre and down to the original High Street, with its eclectic mix of traditional shops, rather than the familiar brands. Farmers markets are also held regularly in Victoria Square.
In the central Salters shopping precinct are Morrisons, Boots the Chemist, W H Smith, Peacocks, Wilsons Pet Store, Wilkinsons, Thorntons, 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. 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, Lamberts 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.

Amenities

Lido

Until the late-90s 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

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, Indian, Italian (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 and Indian.
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 in Droitwich including: The Fox and Goose, The Riflemans Arms, The Star and Garter, The Old Cock Inn, The Hop Pole, Ring O Bells, The Westcroft Arms, The Red Lion, The Talbot, Barley Mow, The Doverdale 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.

Schools

The Droitwich Spa pyramid of schools works on a three tier system, with one high school (Droitwich Spa High School); two middle schools (Witton Middle School and Westacre Middle School); and nine first 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 80s 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')

Places of Worship

There are four Anglican churches in Droitwich.

★ St Andrew's is in the centre of the town, on the corner of High Street and St Andrew's Street. The Church dates from Norman times and it is likely that St Richard was baptised here. The church once had a tower but this was removed in the 1920s, after it became dangerous as a result of subsidence.

★ St Augustine's is on the hill at Dodderhill, overlooking the town, where there was a Roman fort and later an Anglo-Saxon church. The current church was completed in 1220 and rebuilt in the 18th century.

★ St Nicholas' is the newest of the four churches, dating from Victorian times, and located close to the railway station.

★ St Peter's contains a memorial to Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrim Fathers, who was born in the parish in 1595. Parts of the building date from the Norman period, with many later additions and extensions.
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.

Sport

Droitwich has a leisure centre at Briar Mills near the High School which has excellent gym facilities, sports halls, a swimming pool and squash courts, with good parking facilities and very friendly staff. There are also outside football pitches with floodlighting. The centre runs a squash league which is one of the best in the area.

Boxing

Droitwich Spa Amateur Boxing Club
Secretary/Matchmaker: CHRIS ANDREWS
11 Addenbrooke Road, DROITWICH,Worcs WR9 8RW
Tel: (01905) 772855 Mobile: 07961 375 903
WEBSITE: http://www.droitwichamateurboxingclub.org.uk

Football

Droitwich Spa Football Club

Judo

Droitwich Spa Judo Kan

Westlands Judo Club

WEBSITE: http://www.spajudo.org.uk

Rugby

Droitwich Rugby Football Club

Tennis

Droitwich Lawn Tennis Club

Clubs & Societies

Photography

Droitwich Spa Photographic Society
MichaelNeil Photography for Portrait/Wedding photography, Film and Digital processing and Bespoke framing
MichaelNeil

Famous Droitwichians

★ 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 - English 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.

★ Paul Clarke - X Factor Contestant 2007

Twinning

★ Bad Ems, Germany

External links

★ Droitwich RFC

★ Droitwich Standard The Local Droitwich weekly newspaper

★ Droitwich Advertiser The Local Droitwich weekly newspaper

★ The Brine Baths

★ The Norbury Theatre

★ Droitwich Lawn Tennis Club

★ Droitwich Spa Football Club

★ Droitwich Spa Photographic Society

★ DROITWICH PUBS PAST AND PRESENT

★ The Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine of Alexandria

★ Droitwich Spa High School

★ St Peter's 1st School

★ Droitwich Spa Judo Kan

★ Cutnall Green First School, Droitwich

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