Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town and civil parish in the Wychavon district, in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. In 2021 the parish had a population of 25,027.
The town was called Salinae in Roman times, then later called Wyche, derived from the Anglo-Saxon Hwicce kingdom, referred to as "Saltwich" according to Anglo-Saxon charters, with the Droit (meaning "right" in French) added when the town was given its charter on 1 August 1215 by King John."Can you help find 800-year-old Droitwich Town Charter?" at droitwichstandard.co.uk Accessed 31 May 2017 The "Spa" was added in the 19th century when John Corbett developed the town's spa facilities. The River Salwarpe running through Droitwich is likely derived from sal meaning "salt" and weorp which means "to throw up" - i.e. "the river which throws up salt" - which overflows from the salt brines.Full text of "Worcestershire place names" at archive.org Accessed 31 May 2017
The town is situated on massive deposits of salt, and salt has been extracted there since ancient times. The natural Droitwich brine contains of salt, ten times stronger than sea water and rivalled only by the Dead Sea.
History
During the Roman era the settlement was known as Salinae and was located at the crossroads of several Roman roads. Railway construction in 1847 revealed Roman mosaic pavements. In the ninth century Historia Brittonum, a text that discusses various landscape folklore across Britain, the hot spring of Droitwich Spa appears to be described in a passage that suggests that the spa was still built up at that time: "The third marvel is a hot pool, which is in the country of the Hwicce [near Worcester]"Near Worcester" is Richard Barber's identification. See Richard Barber, Myths and Legends of the British Isles, ed. and. trans. Richard Barber (New York: Barnes & Noble, 2000), p. 85. and is surrounded by a wall made of bricks and stone. Men go into it to bathe at all times, and the temperature changes for each of them as they wish: if one man wants a cold bath, it will be cold, and if another wants a hot bath, it will be hot."Higham argues that Droitwich is more likely to connect to the "fourth miraculum" of the Historia Brittonum; see Nicholas J. Higham, King Arthur: The Making of the Legend (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018), pg. 291.
King John's charter was renewed by James VI and I on 8 November 1625, establishing the governance of the town and markets.J. W. Willis Bund, Victoria County History: Worcestershire, 3 (London: Constable, 1913), pp. 77–78.Treadway Russell Nash, Collections for the history of Worcestershire, 1 (1781), pp. 308–316 Droitwich remained a fairly small town until the 1960s, when the population was still barely 7,000, but since then it has grown considerably from overspill from Birmingham with many housing estates being developed in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2014, new housing consent was granted to large developments at Copcut (750 houses) and Yew Tree Hill (765 houses) with a number of other in-fill developments
In July 2007, Droitwich was hit heavily by the UK-wide flooding caused by some of the heaviest rainfall in many years. The flooding was pictured in UK-wide news, having flooded the majority of the heavily subsided high street. Many shops in the high street remained closed almost a year later.
Salt and brine
Rock salt and brine was extracted by the Romans and this continued through to the Middle Ages. A salt tax was levied by the king until it was abolished in 1825. A local family named Wintour owned up to 25 salt evaporating pans in the area by the 1600s.
Brine rose naturally to the surface at three sites along the River Salwarpe within Vines Park in the centre of Droitwich. Unusually the brine was fully saturated with sodium chloride, and was extremely valuable because it was economic to boil, and the yield of salt was high. Because of its value the brine was divided into shares, one share comprising which produced of salt annually in the set boiling period. When it rained, particularly in the winter when brine was not being boiled, the rain water which is less dense than saltwater, settled on top of the brine and was readily removed.
Originally brine for boiling was extracted with buckets lowered into the pits which were naturally replenished. Upwich, the deepest of the three pits at , supplied most of the brine, while the pit at Netherwich was only deep. The Middlewich pit, located between the two, was adversely affected by brine extraction at the other two pits and fell into disuse. Steynor in the 17th century discovered the pit and set up business for himself, but eventually due to the lack of brine he failed to compete with the town monopoly.
The underground brine reservoirs were only deep and in 1725 boreholes were sunk to the base of the pits, accessing brine in almost unlimited quantities and independent of the natural brine flow, and the monopoly ceased. Pumps were used to draw brine, and production increased. As a result, parts of the town succumbed to subsidence."Salt and the Domesday Salinae at Droitwich, AD 674–1690: A Quantitative Analysis", Droitwich Brine Springs and Archaeological Trust with Worcestershire Archaeological Society (1994)
In the mid-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 from swimming and floating in such a dense, concentrated salt solution, at the town's brine baths (first opened in 1830). The spa water at Droitwich is the warmest in the United Kingdom outside Bath, but it does not meet the most common definition of a hot spring as the water is below standard human body temperature.
The original Brine Baths have long since closed, but a new brine bath (part of the Droitwich Spa private hospital) opened to the public for relaxation and hydrotherapy but this too was closed in December 2008 due to a dispute between the operator and Wychavon District Council over health and safety inspections.
The salt industry was industrialised and developed in the 19th century by John Corbett who built the nearby Chateau Impney for his Franco-Irish wife in the French 'château' style. He was responsible for the redevelopment of Droitwich as a Spa.
Asylums, workhouses and the town hall
Droitwich's first workhouse was set up on Holloway in 1688The workhouse: Droitwich, Worcestershire at workhouses.org.uk Accessed 2017-05-31 and the last finally abolished in the 1920s.
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 (the forerunner of the British Medical Association) in 1844, records that Martin Ricketts, of Droitwich, was the Surgeon and Sir Charles Hastings from the Worcester Infirmary was the Physician.
The Old Town Hall, which is in St Andrews Street, was completed in 1826.
Industry and commerce
Transport
In 1714 the first Turnpike in Worcestershire was opened to Worcester. A commemorative plaque was unveiled by Lt. Col. Patrick Holcroft the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire in Victoria Square on 1 June 2014.
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. The canals were abandoned in 1939 but a restoration program saw them re-opened in 2011.
The railway station, formerly on the Great Western Railway, is just outside the town centre with trains to Birmingham, Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourbridge.
Regular buses operate from the town centre to Worcester and Bromsgrove along with town services and an infrequent service (133) to Kidderminster. These are operated by various operators.
Broadcasting
north-east of Droitwich is the central longwave broadcasting facility for the UK, (Wychbold BBC transmitter), which is also used for transmissions in the medium wave range; see Droitwich transmitting station. The transmitting station was sited near Droitwich, which was close to UK centres of population when it was established in the 1930s. Considerable care was taken to avoid placing the masts above underground brine, due to the risk of subsidence; however, there are anecdotal reports that the huge block of underground salt was desirable by providing good grounding and increased signal strength.Hereford and Worcester > About Worcestershire >"Droitwich calling" (comment by Max Sinclair, ref. 'Mr Humphreys... station engineer'), 2005/10/21, at bbc.co.uk Accessed 2017-05-31
Retail Droitwich shopping is mainly focused in the traditional town centre around Victoria Square, leading to the St Andrew's Square shopping centre and down to the original High Street, with its local pubs and an eclectic mix of traditional shops. Farmers' markets are also held regularly in Victoria Square.
In the central St Andrew's Square shopping precinct are several chain stores. On 14 July 2005, Waitrose opened a new supermarket on the grounds of the old covered market, directly behind the heavily subsided High Street. In 2008, a new Aldi store opened on the small retail park by Roman Way while the new Parkridge Retail Park was opened in 2007 with two new stores: Carpetright (since closed) and Land of Leather. There was also a Horsatack Saddlery store on the same park, which opened in 2009. The park already has a DFS store. There is also a Spar on Oakland Avenue, a Tesco Express on Primsland Way, a Sainsbury's store and petrol station, and a new Marks & Spencer store and petrol station. In 2019 a Lidl supermarket opened opposite Aldi, increasing competition in the area.
In 2026 a retail banking hub was opened allowing residents to access banking services from HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, Nat West and Barclays. These are banks that previously had dedicated branches in Droitwich but closed over time.Matthew Dresch: "NatWest branches to close in Malvern and Droitwich Spa causing concern among residents" 5 December 2016, at worcesternews.co.uk Accessed 2017-05-31 There are also a number of estate agents.
Amenities
Lido Until the late 1990s Droitwich Spa Lido was open as a public open-air salt-water swimming pool. Following its closure various schemes were proposed, with significant legal and commercial arguments as to the viability of re-building and reopening this facility.
During autumn of 2006, work started on renovating the lido and it was reopened on Monday 18 June 2007. The Lido Park contains the Droitwich Cricket Ground on its edge and a bandstand with regular performances.
Entertainment The Norbury Theatre hosts regular shows year-round, including an annual pantomime, and also shows films.
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 grade II listed Raven Hotel was a wattle and daub hotel held a central position within the town, on the afternoon of 10 August 2025, the hotel was severely damaged by an arson attack and destroyed in the process.
Education