Stop 06
The Spa Baths

Coal was the plan — spa water changed everything

In 1821 John Parkinson sank a shaft here while searching for coal. Instead, the workings encountered saline water. The shaft was abandoned the following year, but local interest grew as the water acquired a reputation for its unusual mineral content.

Thomas Hotchkin built an early brick bath and windlass around 1829–30, followed by a purpose-built bath house with six treatment rooms in 1838–39. The complex expanded as Woodhall became a fashionable resort. Treatment continued into the twentieth century, including through the NHS, until the well and structures collapsed in September 1983. The surviving frontage has since been restored and now houses modern businesses; the historic well itself is not accessible.