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
Droitwich Spa is likely derived from Sal meaning "salt" and weorp which means "to throw up" i.e. "the river which throws up salt" which overflows from the salt brines. The town is situated on massive deposits of salt, and salt has been extracted there since ancient times. The natural Droitwich brine contains of salt – ten times stronger than sea water and rivalled only by the Dead Sea. During the Roman era the settlement was known as "Salinae" and was located at the crossroads of several Roman roads. Railway construction in 1847 revealed Roman mosaic pavements, and later excavations unearthed a Roman