Dodderhill

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Dodderhill
Worcestershire
Dodderhill Church - geograph.org.uk - 198725.jpg
St Augustine's parish church
Location
Grid reference: SO901637
Location: 52°17’1"N, 2°7’30"W
Data
Post town: Droitwich
Postcode: WR9
Dialling code: 01905
Local Government
Council: Wychavon

Dodderhill is a village and parish near Droitwich, Worcestershire, 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

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

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("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Dodderhill)
  1. Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Transport. Retrieved 9 February 2010
  2. Dodderhill Parish Survey Project: History. Retrieved 9 February 2010
  3. Worcester BMSGH 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. Retrieved 9 February 2010
  7. Dodderhill Parish Survey project: Historic Places & Buildings. Retrieved 9 February 2010

Further reading