Dodderhill

Dodderhill is a village and civil parish, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, located on the River Salwarpe. The parish is bisected by the M5 motorway, constructed in 1962.[1] It is home to the Droitwich transmitting station in Wychbold.

Dodderhill
St. Augustine's parish church
Dodderhill Location within Worcestershire
OS grid reference	SO901637
Civil parish	Dodderhill
District	Wychavon
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Droitwich
Postcode district	WR9
UK Parliament	Mid Worcestershire

History

One of the earliest mentions of Dodderhill is of the Saxon Royal Palace recorded in the Saxon Charter of AD 692.[2] There was once a Roman fort and later an Anglo-Saxon church. The parish church of St. Augustine's, is on the hill overlooking Droitwich Spa. It was completed in 1220 and rebuilt in the 18th century.[3] A possible ley tunnel is said by archeologists to lead from St Augustine's, to Friar Street Droitwich Spa, part of a system of tunnels linking St Augustine's and St Andrew's churches.[4] (This 'tunnel' seems unlikely as it does not appear to have been located or mentioned when the railway and/or canal was built unless built after this time.

Notable people associated with Dodderhill include the MP Thomas Vernon, part of whose family estate was located in the parish; the royalist Sir Thomas Nott, who bought the manors of Sagebury and Obden in Dodderhill in 1637;[5] and the 'Salt King' and philanthropist John Corbett who built the Chateau Impney in 1873[6][7]

Schools

There is one school associated with the area which is known as Dodderhill School. This is a private (fee paying) school for girls only from age 3 to 16 years. The senior school is housed in the old vicarage of the church shown above. As of 2010 there are around 200 girls.

References

1. Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Transport. Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 February
2. Dodderhill Parish Survey Project: History. Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 February 2010
3. Worcester BMSGH Archived 2010-03-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 February 2010
4. Worcester News archives: Droitwich Spa tunnels. Retrieved 9 February 2010
5. Stephen Porter, ‘Nott, Sir Thomas (1606–1681)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
6. Dodderhill Parish Survey project: People. Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 February 2010
7. Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Historic Places & Buildings. Archived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 February

Further reading

• Skerrat, Robin (2000) Memories of Wychbold before the Motorway.
• Dodderhill Parish Council