World War 2 memorial to 617 "Dam Buster" Squadron RAF.

"Wall in the form of a breached dam, with 617 Squadron crest and dedication inscribed on the central sloping tablet, which forms the breach.

Flanking this the wall represents the remaining dam, with three recesses each side forming the spillways.

The names are inscribed on slate tablets, mounted inside the spillways"

https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20485 

DB 18 April 2018 

Post World War 2 memorial.

DB 18 April 2018 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1913 states :-

"Alexandra Bromo-Iodine Hospital, built at a cost of about £3,000, is a structure of red brick with stone facings, opened by the Countess Brownlow, 29 May, 1890, and enlarged in I894 by the addition of a new ward, named the "Clarence" ward.

The hospital will now hold 27 in-patients"

Taken over by the NHS in 1948 and continued to operate as a hospital until 1983. 

DB 2020

The spa well shaft collapsed September 1983 since when the baths have become derelict.

Kelly's Directory 1919 listed the baths available :-

"List of Baths Mineral, Nauhffim, Aix & Vichy Douche Massage, Sulphur, Pine, Electric Baths, Dowsing Radiant, Heat & Light Baths, Steam Vapour, Pulverisation & Nasal Douche, X Ray & other electrical treatments"

DB 12 September 2019

Derelict spa bath buildings viewed from public footpath at the rear.

DB 20 March 2019

Thomas Hotchkin built the spa baths in the late 1830s after discovering health-giving iodine-rich water in a disused well. The well collapsed in 1983 and has been disused ever since.

Wrench series postcard sent from Dewsbury to Bardney in 1920.

"The heyday of Woodhall Spa was recorded by a local photographer, John Wield, and many of his photographs are displayed in the Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum, which was his home"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodhall_Spa 

"The Museum building itself is an important Museum exhibit. It is a rare surviving example of a bungalow constructed of corrugated iron on a wooden frame that was erected in the late nineteenth century"

https://www.cottagemuseum.co.uk/ 

DB 12 September 2019

"THIS STONE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEN WHO LEFT WOODHAL SPA TO FIGHT IN THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM TO THOSE WHO RETURNED AND TO THOSE WHO DID NOT

1ST AIRLANDING BRIGADE 1944"

DB 24 August 2019

Woodhall Spa Country Market 20th Anniversary celebrations in St Peter's Church Hall.

"The Markets separated from The National Federation of Women's Institutes in 1995 and became self-financing.

As of 2003, there were 500 Country Markets run across the country"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Markets   

DB 3 May 2019

Local signage states that "The Dower House, a private house at that time, was the Headquarters of the 7th Battalion the King's Own Scottish Borderers - one of the three infantry Battalions that comprised the 1st Airlanding Brigade based here in Woodhall at Kirkby Moor Camp ...

The 7th KOSBs flew to Arnhem in 56 Horsa gliders and a Hamilcar glider from RAF air transportation bases in Gloucestershire.

The Battalion's strength was 765 officers and men when it went in to fight at Arnhem, of this total only 76 were evacuated.

Of the others 112 officers and men died in action with a further 577 missing in action"

DB 26 June 2020

Originally a private house but converted to a hotel in 1882. 

Listed in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 "Eagle Lodge Hotel (Miss Rose Lamb, proprietress)"

Now The Inn at Woodhall Spa. 

DB 18 February 2020

Requisitioned for military use during World War 2 - Headquarters of 2nd Battalion the South Staffordshire Regiment.

DB 20 March 2019

Woodhall Spa's first 18-hole golf course opened in 1905. It was built on land given by Stafford Hotchkin, a local landowner.

Now named the Hotchkin Course, it is considered one of the finest in the country.

This photograph shows play on the eighteenth green.

Undated Postcard

Jubilee Park was "a gift from Sir Archibald and Lady Weigall to commemorate the jubilee of King George V in 1935"

http://www.woodhallspa.org/wp/31-2/heritage/jubilee-park 

DB 9 March 2020

The Kinema opened in 1922 following its conversion from a sports pavilion.

The only full time cinema in the UK still using rear projection. A second screen was added in 1994. 

DB 28 December 2017

An earlier photograph before the extension to house the second screen.

When first used as a cinema, patrons at the front could sit in deck chairs.

Peter Grey Collection, 1969

This mill was built in the 1880s with a steam engine alongside to replace an earlier post mill.

It suffered a severe fire in 1887 and was reinstated with engine-driven machinery.

Jon Sass Collection, undated photograph

Kirkstead Mill had six storeys and four sails nad is now severely truncated.

Location of mill: TF 176 626

Local signage states "Now called Matthew Temple House, in the war years this building was called Woodlands and was a Women's Volunteer Service Canteen and was also used as accommodation for military nurses" 

Now an excellent bookshop. 

DB 26 June 2020

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"There is a Catholic chapel, erected in 1896 and dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and St. Peter, and will seat about 200"

DB 26 January 2019

"The church was badly damaged in 1943 and had to be restored by local contractors.

The parish hall was blessed and opened in 2000.

Between 1959 and 1994, the parish was served by a conventual branch of the Franciscan Order, but has now returned to the diocesan clergy"

http://www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/parishes/our-lady-and-st-peter-woodhall-spa 

DB 26 January 2019

Foundation stone dated 1896.

"Father Peter Sabela from Grantham said the first Mass at the new town in 1895.

The Church also obtained the building site in 1895 and laid the foundation stone for the church building the following year, its first dedication being to Father Sabela's own patron saint, S. Peter.

When Woodhall was given her own priest in 1900 and so achieved independence, the dedication to Our Lady was added"

http://www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/parishes/our-lady-and-st-peter-woodhall-spa 

DB 26 January 2019

Looking towards the altar.

DB 22 June 2019

Inscription inside porch seems to read :-

"TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI COELORUM"

which might translate as

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom"

DB 22 June 2019

Presbytery located next to the church.

DB 26 January 2019

Petwood Lodge.

"Sir Archibald Weigall, 1st Baronet and his wife Grace Emily built a country house called Petwood at Woodhall Spa.

Petwood was so called because Lady Weigall had it constructed of her favourite wood, her "pet wood".

Lady Weigall turned her former home into a hotel in 1933 when the Weigalls moved to Ascot"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Woodhall_Spa 

DB 26 January 2019

The Petwood was built as a private house in woodland north of the village centre in 1905. Frank Peck was the architect.

The originakl owners were the Sir Archibald and Lady Grace Weigall.

undated postcard

Main entrance to the hotel on the north side.

T R Leach Collection, undated photograph

Displayed in the hotel gardens :- 

"One of the only remaining prototypes of the Barnes Wallis famous bouncing bomb"

Petwood was home to the legendary 617 "Dambusters" Squadron during the latter part of the Second World War.

https://www.petwood.co.uk/house-and-gardens/history 

DB 26 January 2019

Panoramic view of the south front. 

"Hotel. 1905, extended 1910"

"The hotel was owned by the Maples family of Maples furniture and this accounts for the high quality of the fittings.

It was used as the Officers Mess of the famous 617 Squadron during the 2nd World War"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1308567 

DB 20 March 2019

Viewed from the west.

An entry in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1913 reads :-

"Weigall Capt. William Ernest George Archibald M.P. Petwood; & 12 Grosvenor square W &; Boodle's &; Carlton clubs SW, London"

DB 20 March 2019

Inscription at top of building states

"WOODHALL SPA

VR

POST OFFICE"

Three Royal Mail vans waiting outside. 

DB 18 April 2018

Woodhall Spa station was on the 7-mile line opened in 1855 between Kirkstead (later Woodhall Junction) and Horncastle. Passenger services ceased in 1954 and goods traffic in 1971.

This view looking west from the station shows the extremely acute angle of the road and railway crossing.  Cyclists could find this hazardous.

This postcard was posted in 1909.

Woodhall Spa was the only intermediate station on the Horncastle branch railway which opened in 1855.

This is the Broadway level crossing and, in the foreground, is the site of the passenger station.

Passenger trains stopped running on the line in 1954 and the station was demolished. Goods trains continued to use the line until final closure in 1971.

Space was very limited by the railway and the town's only goods siding was further south, beyond a second level crossing. The siding was in use until 1964.

Peter Grey Archive, 1970

Site of the former Royal Hotel and Winter Gardens destroyed by a German parachute retarded bomb on the night of 17/18th August 1943.

Now home to the Dambusters War Memorial, floral gardens, seating and a car park.

DB 2020

"THIS SITE WAS PRESENTED TO THE URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL OF WOODHALL SPA FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC BY THE MEMBERS OF WOODHALL SPA ROYAL HOTEL AND WINTER GARDENS LIMITED WHOSE PROPERTY ON THIS SITE WAS DAMAGED BY ENEMY ACTION ON THE NIGHT OF 17/18 AUGUST 1943" 

DB 2020

The church of St Andrew, Woodhall Spa was built in 1846 and demolished in the late 1950s.

It stood at the north-western side of the crossroads in the centre of the town, where the small churchyard survives.

Because of the steep rise in population growth following the success of the spa, the much larger St Peter's church was built on Broadway in 1893. St Andrew's had only 190 'sittings'.

Postcard, undated

A similar view of St Andrew's church. As a popular inland resort postcards of Woodhall Spa were numerous and included all the principal buildings of the village.

Undated postcard, courtesy David Skinns

Another postcard from the Edwardian period, emphasising the 'leafy' nature of Woodhall.

Undated postcard, courtesy David Skinns 

A wintertime view of St Andrew's from Witham Road.

Undated postcard, courtesy David Skinns 

Local signage states "St Andrew's Church was in front of you of - only the graveyard remains.

The church was damaged by a German parachute retarded bomb on 17 August 1943 - the same device that badly damaged the Royal Hotel (site of present day Royal Square).

The church was finally demolished in 1957"

DB 26 June 2020

An interesting headstone referencing the Indian Mutuny :- 

"IN LOVING MEMORY OF WILLIAM SANDERS WALTER. LATE CAPTAIN IN H.M. REGIMENT THE ROYAL 42ND HIGHLANDERS "THE BLACK WATCH" DIED FEB. 24TH 1885, AGED FORTY SEVEN. HE FOUGHT IN THE INDIAN MUTINY WITH ITS MANY HARD COTESTED BATTLES & SIEGES & WENT THROUGH GREAT HARDSHIPS. A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST"

DB 16 April 2022

"HERE STOOD THE ALTAR OF ST ANDREW'S CHURCH BUILT A.D. 1847. DEMOLISHED A.D. 1957."

DB 16 April 2022

A brick church, with a tiny half-timbered bell-turret and spire, St Peter's was designed by Hodgson Fowler and opened in 1893, becoming the parish church in 1915.

The spacious interior has a carved rood screen and a reredos.

August 2013

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1913 states :-

"The church of St. Peter. erected in 1893, is a large edifice of red brick with Bath stone dressings, from the designs of Mr. C. Hodgson Fowler, architect, of Durham, and consists of chancel, nave, south aisle and a belfry containing a peal of 8 tubular bells:

there are sittings for 600 persons"

DB 2020

St Peter's was built in 1893 to accommodate the town's growing population and increasing visitor numbers.

Designed by C H Fowler with seating for 500 people, the church is brick outside and in, with a broad nave and broad south aisle.

The chancel was completed in 1904, with a fine stone reredos behind the altar (shown here).

In 1915 St Peter's replaced St Andrew's as the Parish Church of Woodhall Spa.

See: www.woodhallspa.org
and Woodhall Spa - Past and Present by Marjorie Sargeant (pub  2008)

Looking east towards the sanctuary.

The chancel was not part of the original 1893 building but was added in 1904 when funds permitted.

Stained glass replaced the original plain glass in the east window in 1919. 

http://www.woodhallspa.org/wp/31-2/heritage/st-peters-church 

DB 29 February 2020

A portrait of Bishop Edward King who licenced the church in 1893 and consecrated it in 1904.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_King_(bishop_of_Lincoln) 

DB 24 August 2019

"Te Deum" window 1919 by James Powell and Sons of Whitefriars Glassworks, London.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Powell_and_Sons 

Apostles, Prophets Martyrs are gazing in adoration at the glorified Saviour.

DB 24 August 2019

Looking east towards the rood screen and chancel.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The church of St. Peter, erected in 1893, is a large edifice of red brick with Bath stone dressings, from the designs of Mr. C. Hodgson Fowler, architect, of Durham, and consists of chancel, nave, south aisle and a belfry containing a peal of 8 tubular bells:

there are sittings for 600 persons.

The register dates from the year 1870.

This living is a vicarage, yearly value £320, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Lincoln, and held since 1917 by the Rev. William Harry Benson-Brown L.Th. of Durham University, who is also rural dean of Gartree"

DB 29 February 2020

Looking west towards the font and church entrance.

The pews, installed from 1957, were made by local cabinet maker E.Czajkowski. 

DB 29 February 2020

Unveiled 18th August 2019 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem

Arnhem Stained Glass window Inspiration John Ward & Creation Glenn Carter.

Three battalions which fought in the battle were trained in Woodhall Spa. 

DB 24 August 2019

Located at the west end of the nave near entrance from the north porch.

Presumably contemporary with the church which was built in 1893.

(St Martin's Church, Owston Ferry seems to have the original font from St Andrew's Church, Woodhall Spa)

DB 19 September 2018

An inscription in the woodwork sates that the pulpit was erected Easter 1904 in memory of Thomas Hotchkin.

Thomas Hotchkin was the son of the Spa's founder. He sold the Bath House and Hotel to a "Syndicate of Gentlemen" in 1886.

DB 24 August 2019

Plaque on south side of the Rood Screen.

The Rood Screen was erected in memory of those who fell in the First World War and cost £800. 

DB 24 August 2019

The organ by Jardine of Manchester originally stood on the ground floor but when the Lady Chapel was built in 1927 it was moved to an organ loft above the chapel

Rebuilt in 2016.

DB 24 August 2019

Looking east towards the Lady Chapel with organ loft above.

DB 29 February 2020

Looking west.

DB 29 February 2020

Lady Chapel built 1927 with the organ moved to a loft above. 

DB 29 February 2020

Modern stained glass depicting Saint Peter as a fisherman.

DB 19 September 2018

Built in 1903 and first operated by the Misses Williams who were daughters of a London clergyman and sisters of Dr Williams, Superintendent of the Spa baths.

https://www.teahouseinthewoods.co.uk/history 

DB 12 September 2019

Not yet built in 1887 when the OS 25 inch map was surveyed but marked as a public house on the map revised in 1904,

Listed in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1937 "Mall Hotel (The) (Frank Scott, propr.), Station rd" 

DB 18 April 2018

The Victoria Hotel at Woodhall was still profitable in 1920 when it was destroyed by fire.

Postcard, undated

The Victoria Hotel, showing here the new suites of rooms with balconies added in 1906.

Postcard, undated

The original Victoria Hotel opened in 1839, and catered for visitors to the recently opened bath house.

As Woodhall Spa 'took off' as a fashionable resort, the hotel expanded greatly, to provide appropriate accommodation for its 'society' guests.

Postcard, undated

The Victoria Hotel, at the junction of Spa and Coronation Roads, was ideally placed for visitors to the bath house.

As Woodhall Spa 'took off' as a fashionable resort, the hotel expanded greatly, to provide appropriate accommodation for its 'society' guests.

Shown here are new suites of rooms with balconies added in 1906.

Postcard, undated

Village Limits Country Pub, Restaurant and Motel; as its name suggests built immediately adjacent to the parish boundary.

Marked as Brickyard House on older maps. 

DB 13 March 2019 

Unveiled 24th March 1923.

Commemorates the fallen in both world wars. 

DB 18 April 2018 

Erected in 1844 by Col. Richard Elmhurst. Granite obelisk surmounted by bust of the Duke of Wellington.

An inscribed panel on the base records that the adjacent Waterloo Wood was planted "from Acorns Sown Immediately After the Memorable Battle of Waterloo".

Located off Monument Road at Grid Reference TF199652.

DB 19 March 2020

Erected in 1844 by Col. Richard Elmhurst. Granite obelisk surmounted by bust of the Duke of Wellington.

An inscribed panel on the base records that the adjacent Waterloo Wood was planted "from Acorns Sown Immediately After the Memorable Battle of Waterloo".

DB 28 December 2017 

The striking red-brick chapel on Broadway opened in 1907, costing about £4000.

In the 1990s the chapel was sold for business use and the ancillary buildings to the rear on Iddesleigh Road were adapted for worship and other church and community activities.

August 2013

"A Society was extant in 1851 and a chapel was opened on the 6.9.1899 in Iddesleigh Road.

A new chapel, built alongside the old one but facing The Broadway, was opened on the 5.8.1907 with the old chapel continued in use as a Sunday school.

A new organ was opened on the 18.4.1934.

The second chapel was sold in June 1994 and is now convened into business premises whilst the congregation continue to meet in the old chapel at the rear, reconverted for the purpose, with a membership of 77"

From "A List And Brief Details Of Chapels In The Coningsby Circuit Past And Present" prepared by Colin Shepherdson September 1997 (Revised July 1998). 

DB 26 January 2019

Looking west towards the front of the church.

DB 26 January 2019

Looking east towards the back of the church.

DB 26 January 2019

East window triple lancet with coloured transfers rather than stained glass.

DB 26 January 2019