Droitwich Spa was reopened in 2006. Droitwich's first workhouse was set up on Holloway in 1688 and were finally abolished in the 1920s. Droitwich Lunatic Asylum was established in 1791. Records at the Worcestershire County Record Office show its presence in 1837 to 1838. An advert in the Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association (the forerunner of the British Medical Association) in 1844, records that Martin Ricketts, of Droitwich, was the Surgeon and Sir Charles Hastings from the Worcester Infirmary was the Physician. In 1714 the first Turnpike in Worcestershire was opened to Worcester. A commemorative plaque was unveiled by
Bewdley music venues and its many local festivals including Hop Fest, Bewdley music festival, Arley festival and Bewdley Live. Former Led Zeppelin lead- and now solo singer Robert Plant lives in the nearby village of Upper Arley, and has been known to perform in the River Rooms; a small, intimate country music venue above the Cock and Magpie pub on the north riverside. The River Rooms attract country, soul, rock, jazz and pop performers from all cross Europe and North America. Bewdley remains a significant centre for country music within the United Kingdom. The West Midland Safari Park is just out