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Going for a song!

Written by Catrin on 09/05/2021

One of the main themes of this project is bringing back the past, rediscovering forgotten places, people and anecdotes all associated with the Droitwich brine baths. If anyone remembers the TV show Going for a Song from the 1960s and 70s, you might like to play a game from the show and guess what one of our treasures from the Droitwich Heritage Centre archives was used for:

DHC Museum case mixing bat 3

An extra-lightweight cricket bat? A device for carrying eggs? A specialised oar from a Severn trow carrying salt along the river Salwarpe? I’m no Arthur Negus, but I can reveal that it is none of those! It’s actually a bat for stirring the brine in a reclining bath, perhaps to even out the water temperature and maybe also to stop a crust of salt crystals forming. Discovering an archive photo of the bat (together with one of the sand timers which was used during this treatment) really starts to bring this old piece of wood back to life – have a look down by the taps below. I can’t wait to find someone who remembers actually being in a reclining bath or helping a patient undergo this treatment.

Bath with bat and timer