Droitwich Worcestershire Family History Guide

Table of Contents

Droitwich Parishes

Droitwich is made up of the following parishes:

Droitwich St Peter
Droitwich St Nicholas
Droitwich St Andrew with St Mary Witton
Marlborough in the Vines
Crutch
and a small portion of Dodderhill St. Augustine

Nonconformists in Droitwich include:

Roman Catholic: Sacred Heart and St Catherine
Baptist
Independents
Wesleyan Methodist

Droitwich Parish Registers

Search online registers of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials including digitised images of original records and registers and indexed transcriptions.

Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of baptism, marriage, and burial records.

Droitwich, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Droitwich, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1812-1922

Droitwich Worcestershire Baptisms 1571-1900

Marriage and Banns Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of marriages and banns records.

Droitwich, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1947

Droitwich Worcestershire Marriages 1571-1900

Death and Burial Records

These records include images of Church of England parish registers of deaths and burial records.

Droitwich, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1997

Droitwich Worcestershire Burials 1572-1900

The following Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions, hosted by Findmypast, are a collection of transcriptions created by the Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry.

Droitwich St Andrew Monumental Inscriptions 1716-1945

Droitwich St Mary De Witton Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions 1849-1983

Droitwich St Nicholas Monumental Inscriptions 1864-1994

Droitwich St Peter de Witton Monumental Inscriptions 1269-1984

Droitwich Parish Records

School Records

The National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870–1914 collection offers a rare glimpse into the educational journeys of children across England and Wales during a transformative era. These records often capture names, dates of birth, parental occupations, and school attendance patterns – making them invaluable for family historians, local researchers, and anyone tracing Victorian or Edwardian ancestry. You can view them free with a Findmypast Trial.

St Nicholas Church Of England School 1907-1914 Admissions

Quarter Session Records

The records below have been extracted from the book Calendar of the Quarter Sessions papers Worcestershire v1.

3 October 1592. Warrant for the arrest of William Robins of Droitwich Husbandman Francis Hitchins of Claynes Husbandman and William Langley of Claynes Husbandman. XXXIX. 12.

Marriage Licences and Allegations

Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester 1689 to 1837

The following have been extracted from Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester 1689 to 1837 Published 1893 Editor: William John Charles Moens. Parishes without a named county are parishes within the county of Hampshire.

Burrish, George, now of Gosport, but usually of Droitwich, co. Worcester, b., & Sarah Wade, of G., sp., a minor, with c. of her m., Ann Wade, w., 12 June, 1771.

London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869

The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.

Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.

Jones, Roger, of Droitwlch, co. Worcester, gent., bachelor, about 27, and Mrs. Sarah Sidbury, of St. Margaret, Westminster, spinster, about 33 — at St. Margaret, Westminster, St. Giles- in-the-Fields, or St. Martin-in-the-Fields. 16 Dec. 1667. V

Puller, Humphrey, of Enfield, co. Middlesex, tailor, son of John Puller, of Droitwich, co. Worcester, tailor, and Jane Harding, of Enfield aforesaid, spinster, daughter of — Harding, deceased — at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London. 27 June, 1618.

Tomlinson, William, of St. Gregory, Loudon, cutler, bach., and Alice Biddall, of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, spinster, daughter of George Biddall, of Droitwich, co. Worcester, yeoman — at St. Botolph, Aldersgate, aforesaid. 11 May, 1612. B.

Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887

Droitwich Strays

Below is a list of people who were from Droitwich but who were married in another parish.

John Soley, p. St. Swithin, Worcester, & Margret Philips, p. St. Nicholas, Droitwich, lic. 6 Aug. 1718 at North & Middle Littleton, Worcestershire.

Robart Turner, p. St. Peter’s justa Droayght Wich (Droitwich), b., & Margaret Higging, of C, s. … 13 Nov. 1610 at Churchill in Halfshire, Worcestershire

Bankruptcy

Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.

Lees John, Droitwich, Worcestershire, salt manufacturer, Dec. 30, 1831.

Pearson Rlchard, Droitwich, Worcestershire, glover, March 1, 1823.

Reynolds William, Droitwich, Worcestershire, baker & maltster, May 26, 1840.

Stinton Francis, Droitwich, Worcestershire, draper and tailor, July 17, 1829.

Stokes Вenj., Droitwich, Worcestershire, chandler & shopkeeper, Feb. 8, 1833.

Williams Henry, Droitwich, Worcestershire, builder, Dec. 13, 1831.

Historical Directory Transcriptions

Droitwich – Pigot’s Directory 1842

Droitwich Pigot and Co National Commercial Directory 1835

Droitwich Lewis Worcestershire Directory 1820

Droitwich Universal British Directory 1791

Droitwich Street Directory 1905

Droitwich Street and Road Directory 1905

Droitwich History

Beeton’s British Gazetteer 1870

Droitwich, a market and post town, and municipal and parliamentary borough of England, in Worcestershire, on the Salwarp, 7 miles N.E. from Worcester. It contains several ﬁne churches, and chapels for nonconformists, a court chamber, the underpart of which is used as a market-place, a hospital, and a union workhouse. Its principal manufacture is ﬁne white salt, of which about 30,000 tons are annually produced from its celebrated brine springs. Mar. D. Fri. Pop. 3124. It is a telegaph station, and a station on the Bristol and Derby branch of the Midland Railway, and the Oxford and Wolverhampton branch of the Great Western Railway.

Source: Beeton’s British Gazetteer 1870. Ward, Lock & Tyler, Paternoster Row, London.

Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822

Droitwich – a borough and market town, in Halfshire hundred, upper division, 6 miles N.N.E. from Worcester, and 117 from London; comprising 3 parishes, and containing 244 inhabited houses. This borough sends two members to Parliament; the right of election is in two bailiffs, the recorder, and a few burgesses, who are styled the Corporation of the Salt Springs of Droitwich. The bailiffs are the returning officers, and justices of the quorum: the recorder also is a justice of the peace.

The burgesses originally held the salt pits by a grant from the crown, shares of which were annexed to different estates in the county, in proportion as they could furnish wood for the manufacture of the salt, as coals were not then used. At the close of the seventeenth century, a Mr. Steynor sunk some pits in his own ground, and the corporation considering it an infringement upon what they conceived their exclusive right, commenced an action against him, but Mr. Steynor obtained a verdict in his favour; after which any person was at liberty to sink a pit, provided it was not within the limits of the royal grant.

In consequence of the above verdict, the chartered pits became so diminished in value, that in 1725, they were worth nothing, and many families, as also several charitable institutions, whose incomes were secured under the chartered pits, were utterly ruined. The brine is now procured in much larger quantities that it was previous to the destruction of the monopoly, in consequence of a discovery made by Sir Richard Lane, who having bored through a stratum of gypsum, which had hitherto formed the floor of the springs, a stream of strong brine sprung up with such prodigious force, as to throw up two men from the bottom of the pit, which occasioned their instant death.

The salt springs are found about one hundred and ten feet below the surface, and after passing through one hundred and thirty feet of gypsum, a brine river of twenty-two inches is found, under which is a bed of rock salt; making the total depth upwards of two hundred and forty feet.

The process by which the salt is manufactured is very simple: the brine is pumped into iron boilers, about twenty feet long, sixteen wide, and two and a half deep, in each of which there is a small quantity of water to prevent the salt from burning to the bottom. A bit of resin, about the size of a pea, is then thrown in to hasten the granulation. When boiling, the salt forms crystallizations on the top; these fall to the bottom, and from thence are laded into baskets to drain, and afterwards put into a stove, where it remains about forty hours; it is then fit for use.

In 1768, an Act of Parliament was obtained to cut a canal parallel with the river Salwarp, which communicates with the river Severn, and this was completed under the direction of that self-taught genius, Brindley, in 1771, at an expense of £25,000. It admits vessels of sixty tons, by which an immense quantity of salt is sent to all parts of the kingdom. The duty paid by the several proprietors is averaged at upwards of £1000 per day.

Market on Friday. Fairs, 13th April, 18th June, 22nd Sept. and 21st Dec. – St. Andrew and St. Mary de Witton is a rectory, with St. Nicholas annexed; Rev. Jonathan Jaques, incumbent; instituted 1797; patron the King, – St. Peter’s is a vicarage; Rev. John Rd. Ingram, incumbent; instituted 1810; patron, Lord Somers. Population, 1801, 1854 – 1811, 1538 – 1821, 1781.

Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.

The Representative History of Great Britain 1816

Droitwich is a market town and borough in the hundred of Halfshire Worcester 5 miles from Worcester and 118½ from London. It comprises three parishes exclusive of the liberty of Dodderhill and contains 419 houses and 1,845 inhabitants of whom 212 were returned as being employed in various trades and manufactories. The principal trade here is in the manufactory of fine white salt deemed to be the best in Europe The brine springs are so strong here that the pits are continually running over being much stronger than those in Cheshire they contain about one fourth salt while those at Nantwich yield only one sixth.

Here is a canal about seven miles long navigable for vessels of sixty tons burthen which runs into the river Severn at Hawford within three miles of Worcester. By this conveyance to the Severn the salt is sent to all parts of the kingdom. The same conveyance also supplies the neighbourhood with coal of which there is a great consumption. The market is held on Fridays and the fairs are on the 13th April 18th June 22d September and 21st December.

Source: The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland By Thomas H. B. Oldfield 1816.