Dodderhill Explained

Official Name:Dodderhill
Static Image Name:Dodderhill Church - geograph.org.uk - 198725.jpg
Static Image Width:250px
Static Image Caption:St. Augustine's parish church
Country:England
Coordinates:52.2837°N -2.1249°W
Shire District:Wychavon
Shire County:Worcestershire
Region:West Midlands
Civil Parish:Dodderhill
Constituency Westminster:Mid Worcestershire
Postcode District:WR9
Postcode Area:WR
Post Town:Droitwich
Os Grid Reference:SO901637
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Dodderhill is a 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.

History

See also: History of Worcestershire. 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 RGS Dodderhill. This is a private (fee paying) school for pupils from age 2 to 16 years. The senior school is housed in the old vicarage of the church shown above. As of 2022 there are around 150 pupils.

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. http://www.dodderhillhistory.org.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=60 Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Transport.
  2. http://www.dodderhillhistory.org.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=58 Dodderhill Parish Survey Project: History.
  3. http://www.worcesterbmsgh.co.uk/Dodderhill.html Worcester BMSGH
  4. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/3591867.Town_looks_into_the_location_of_a_secret_tunnel_/ Worcester News archives: Droitwich Spa tunnels.
  5. Stephen Porter, ‘Nott, Sir Thomas (1606–1681)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
  6. http://www.dodderhillhistory.org.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=55 Dodderhill Parish Survey project: People.
  7. http://www.dodderhillhistory.org.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=184 Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Historic Places & Buildings.