Droitwich Lido History

Changing Times

The Droitwich Guardian of 7th January 1939 has a report of a staff party for 250 of the members of the staff of Droitwich Spa Ltd at the Winter Gardens in Droitwich, entertained by the company sponsored Droitwich Spa Orchestra. However at the outbreak of war the Norbury was requisitioned by the army and there are stories that patients for the Brine Baths treatment who were staying at the Norbury Hotel were wheeled to Droitwich station and unceremoniously lined up on the platform to await their trains back home. The lido was closed and its offices used by a tailoring firm who at this stage were producing uniforms for the war effort. It was assumed that Droitwich would reassume its importance as a spa resort after the war was over. However, it took a long time for the government to relinquish their control over a number of buildings, especially the Norbury House Hotel, although a good deal of the hotel's fixtures and fittings where lost in a suspicious fire that occurred at the start of the war. Droitwich Spa Limited not only suffered through the loss of this important hotel but also by the creation of the National Health Service, which meant that patients were less inclined to pay out of their own pockets to come to Droitwich Brine Baths, stay a while and take "the cure". However, this did not stop the Lido resuming its place as the fashionable, healthy meeting place for local people.

The Lido passed into public ownership in 1953. At that time the Borough Council needed to borrow money for its purchase. Their request for permission to do this had initially been rejected by central government, but the Mayor at the time ordered a town vote (the forerunner to today’s parish poll), which was overwhelmingly in favour of municipal purchase. The government minister consequently changed his decision, thus setting a precedent for a town vote on the subject.