Tides of Time - Droitwich Spa’s historical artwork

The backdrop of the artwork is St Andrew’s Brine Baths. Droitwich became Droitwich Spa in the 19^th century as the town’s spa facilities were developed. The town’s first brine baths opened in 1836.  With the backing of the local ‘salt king', John Corbett, the town became the only salt-water spa-town in Britain. Many hotels and boarding houses of various sizes were built to accommodate the visitors who were treated at the Brine Baths.

The floating building is Chateau Impney. Attemping to win over his wife who missed their former Parisian lifestyle, The Salt King John Corbett commissioned a French architect to design the Chateau Impney in the Louis XIII style. In 1875, building began. The Chateau was completed at an estimated cost of seven million pounds in today’s figures. In more recent years the Chateau once operated as a hotel and hosted motorsport events including hill climbs.

Edward Winslow was born in Droitwich on 18 October 1595, son of a prosperous salt manufacturer.  He was educated at King's School, Worcester.  Winslow played a significant role in the Mayflower journey and the early years of Plymouth Colony. In 1620, he was one of the signatories of what became known as the ‘Mayflower Compact’, a document seen by many as the birth of America’s democratic system of government.  Winslow is depicted here aboard the Mayflower holding said document.

William Shakespeare’s First Folio was a collection of 36 works published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death.  It was brought together by John Heminges and Henry Condell.  Many of Shakespeare’s plays had not previously been published, and so it is likely that without the First Folio, these plays would have been lost to us today.

John Heminges was baptised at St Peter-de-Witton Church in Droitwich on 25 November 1566. He was a friend of Shakespeare, and a co-founder of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (the playing company for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career) and the Globe Theatre. Some sources credit Heminges with originating the role of Falstaff, a primarily comic figure appearing in three of Shakespeare’s plays. Heminges is depicted here in character as Falstaff, drinking tea with Shakespeare. Did you know, people used to have afternoon tea in the Brine Baths?

The Church of the Sacred Heart and Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England, is a fine Grade II listed building containing stunning mosaics and sculpture. These mosaics are represented on the back wall of the artwork where a little girl can be found piecing the mosaics together.

The church is based on the basilica churches of Ravenna following visits made to this ancient Italian city by the donor Walter Loveridge Hodgkinson, by the artist Gabriel Pippet, and by the architect Frank Barry Peacock, F.R.I.B.A.

The mosaics are considered among the finest in England. They were designed by Gabriel Pippet and carried out by the mosaicists Maurice Josey and Fred Oates. Mosaics are composed of “tesserae” – coloured pieces of Venetian glass.

The church is grade II listed and is open to the public daily. For more information visit http://www.sacredheartdroitwich.org.uk/

The woman on horseback is Queen Aethelflaed, often called the Lady of the Mercia. She was a formidable ruler in early medieval England and is remembered not just as a warrior queen, but as a strategic and diplomatic force. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great and became the de facto ruler of Mercia after her husband’s death. She was known for her military prowess across Mercia and in 912 AD, she is believed to have led a military campaign to defend Droitwich Spa, then known as Wich, from Viking invaders.

According to local lore and reenactments, a Viking longboat sailed up the River Salwarpe aiming to attack the town. Aethelflaed rallied her forces and successfully repelled the invasion.

Sources:

https://www.droitwichcanals.co.uk/vikings.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelfl%C3%A6d

The small boat on the right side of the design is a Severn Trow, playfully depicted with a Roman figure sat on the side, steering it by remote control for a novelty twist. This style of boat was used to transport salt from Droitwich following completion of the Droitwich Barge Canal in 1771. Trows were towed up and down the canal with the sails and the hinged masts lowered to go under the bridges by men as had been done for years, until 1806 when the proprietors agreed to make a tow path suitable for horses. The Droitwich Salt industry depended not only on the export of common salt across the country and further afield, but also for the import of coal from Staffordshire and the Forest of Dean for the boiling of brine to make crystalline salt. The salt-carrying trows generally returned empty to preserve the purity of the salt, but in cases of “back” cargo it would be a “clean” commodity such as wheat.

The four portraits on the back wall represent the twelve Roman goddesses that have been depicted inside buses that run between Worcester, Droitwich Spa, Bromsgrove and Birmingham. In 2019, the buses on the 144 Salt Road bus service were renamed after goddesses to pay homage to the town’s salt heritage and roman roots.