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WOODHALL SPA Community Website

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The Woodhall Spa Community Website Home Page
Links to pages outlining Woodhall Spa Business and Services
Links to pages outlining Woodhall Spa Clubs and Societies
Link to the Woodhall Spa Events Diary
Link to pages with photographs of Woodhall Spa places, people and events
Link to page with information on how to travel to and from Woodhall Spa Travel Information by road, rail, river and air
Link to pages describing Woodhall Spa's Twin Village (Roeze Sur Sarthe, France), the Twinning Association and twinning events
Woodhall Spa village heritage
Link to a selection of pages describing Woodhall Spa Tourist Attractions and activities
A series of pages providing information on Woodhall Spa Parish Council and it' s business
Summary of websites linked to the Woodhall Spa Community Website
Link to the Jubilee Park page
Link to Local Media and News page

 
Cottage Museum
 
 

Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum

The Bungalow
Iddesleigh Road
Woodhall Spa
Lincs
LN10 6SH

Tel: (01526) 353775

The Tourist Information Office and Museum is open from (Good Friday) to the end of October

Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm

Saturday - Sunday 10.30am - 4.30pm

East Lindsey District Council:
www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/leisure/tourism

Tourist Information Centre

Woodhall Spa Heritage Trail Heritage Trail Location 1 - The Cottage Museum

 

Once the home of Johnny Wield (bathchair proprietor and well known photographer in the Spas heyday), the Cottage Museum and Tourist Information Centre can be found just off The Broadway. With its excellent display of local photographs and memorabilia reflecting the history of the town, it is a must for visitors.

The Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum opened to the public in May 1987 as a community museum run by the Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum Trust..

The purpose of the museum is to preserve the community history of Woodhall Spa and district.

The exhibits include a wide range of photographs amd memorabilia featuring the activities and development of the Spa. These are substantially based on a collection from the Wield family who occupied the museum building in its original form.

There is a wide variety of exhibits which are regularly changed ensuring that no visitor will be disappointed by a visit to this charming collection.

The local Tourist Information Centre is based within the museum providing comprehensive assistance to visitors to the area. A gift shop and 'What's on' display are included.

View Cottage Museum event photos
 
Cottage Museum Calendar
 

The calendar is displayed in the 'Week' view, but you can change the view by selecting the 'Agenda' or 'Month' tab.

Use the forward and back arrows to select the relevant dates.

Click on the event if you would like more details.

Please note: Whilst the webmaster continually strives to ensure the dates and times shown in this diary are kept up to date, they should still only be treated as a guide to Cottage Museum opening times and by no means comprehensive. Always check with Woodhall Spa Tourist Information Centre before travelling.

 
 
 

The Bungalow

Cottage Museum , Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire

The main building was manufactured by Boulton & Paul in 1884. It was erected on the present site in 1887.

Initially, there were no main supplies to the building. Water was pumped by hand from an underground catchment, lighting was provided by candles and outside earth closets were used.

Additional out-buildings were erected to accommodate stabling for the donkeys, a forge and a photographic dark room.

 

 
 

The Wield FamilyWoodhall Spa Cottage Museum sign,

Thomas Wield was born during 1837 in Hampshire and moved to Lincolnshire in 1875. He and his wife, Mary, started to work at the Spa Baths in 1880. Between 1884 and 1886, Thomas was responsible for drawing the water and Mary was in charge of the baths for women. In 1887, they were given 'The Bungalow' as a home by Stafford Hotchkin and Dr Boulton. From this site, Thomas started to make donkey drawn bath chairs and to provide a transport service with them around the town.

Their son, John was born in 1877 and later trained as an engineer. He worked in the family bath chair business, but also developed a flair for making precision instruments, grinding lenses and making cameras. He is still remembered in the present village as Johnny Wield, the photographer, watch repairer and optician.

John married his wife, Asenath, in 1898 and they lived in 'The Bungalow' with his parents and later, with their own children, Effie and Cedric.

When he died in 1965, John Wield left a large collection of photographs recording the events and people in the history of the Spa.

 

The Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum Trust

The Trust was legally formed in April 1986. It arose out of a community need and is administered by members of the community. It is not a commercially based project and, is such, will always need to raise its own finances by a process of community fund-raising and by seeking support from accepted institutions.
 
Press release 2010
 
Woodhall Spa is well known because of its wartime connections with the R.A.F. 617 Squadron who were responsible for the ‘Dam Buster’ raids and the sinking of the Tirpitz.  However, there is an equally compelling story regarding the village’s involvement with the troops of the 1st Air Landing Brigade prior to them being sent to Arnhem to take part in ‘Operation Market Garden’ 

We are aware that troops involved in ‘Operation Market Garden’ were stationed in and around Woodhall Spa until and after the battle for Arnhem. There were several camps and many houses used to billet soldiers including the 7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion Border Regiment. The museum has little archival material relating to this and has recently undertaken the task of researching and developing its collection.  We have now managed to produce a small display within the Museum and continue to request local residents to provide us with any information they have. 

The Museum's 'team', comprising staff member Jackie Goodall, volunteers Anna & Rico Philips and local police officer Simon Elmer, realised that Woodhall Spa was the only village in the area where troops were billeted not to have a memorial dedicated to the memory of those who fell at Arnhem.  We have decided to remedy this and have begun making arrangements to erect a  memorial stone in the Museum’s garden. 

A Service of Dedication is planned for the morning of  Saturday 18th September 2010 in conjunction with other activities/events associated with Arnhem and wartime Britain, including a screening of the 1946 film 'Theirs Is The Glory' , filmed at Arnhem , at the Kinema In The Woods . We hope that several veterans who were stationed here will attend, and we are keen to contact any others and their families to join us. We are also keen to receive information about  Polish Army units who were based in Woodhall until their disbandment. These included the Polish Parachute Brigade, returning from occupation duties in Germany, and the 'Pomorski' Infantry Brigade who had served in Italy with the Polish 2nd Corps.

We have now begun to raise funds for the memorial and will be out in force at the Woodhall Spa Christmas Market.  Other events are planned, including a 1940s Dance at the Coronation Hall on 11th September 2010. Any reader who would like to contact us with information or support our efforts should contact Jackie Goodall on 01526 352454.

 

Return to page top to read about the Cottage Museum
 
 
The Heritage Trail
 

Click on the numbers on the map to visit the next point on the Woodhall Spa Heritage Trail. Select here for location 20 - Kirkstead Heritage


Heritage Trail Map The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well Victoria Avenue Cornwall Terrace Jubilee Park The Mall Old Railway Station Eagle Lodge Petwood Hotel The Pinewoods St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Cornwall Terrace Jubilee Park The Mall Old Railway Station Eagle Lodge Petwood Hotel The Pinewoods St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Victoria Avenue Cornwall Terrace Jubilee Park The Mall Old Railway Station Eagle Lodge Petwood Hotel The Pinewoods St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Cornwall TerraceJubilee ParkThe MallOld Railway StationEagle LodgePetwood HotelThe Pinewoods St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church Spa Baths Tea House in the Woods Royal Square Cottage Museum Rose Cottage Methodist Chapel Victoria Hotel The Royal Spa Hotel and the Came Well St Peter's Church St Andrew's Church

The trail can be started at any location, but we suggest you also visit the Cottage Museum to see the photographs taken by John Wield during the heyday of the Spa and items associated with this unique Victorian Spa town.

The Trail is just one of several projects in the hands of the Woodhall Spa Parish Council sponsored Heritage Committee. Click here if you are interested in the committee or their projects.

How well do you know Woodhall Spa?

See if you can identify the location of these architectural features and items of street furniture! Or find the Letterbox

Find out more abouit the Woodhall Spa Conservation Area

 
 

The museum organises a range of activities and events throughout the year. Visit the cottage museum photo gallery

Visit the Cottage Museum website: www.woodhallspa-museum.co.uk

Visit the Treasure Box website: www.treasurebox.org.uk

Woodhall Spa is a treasure in itself. To that end, the aim of The Treasure Box Project is to show off to everyone, no matter where they may come from, the community and heritage of this village from the view of those that are the future of Woodhall Spa – the children
 

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Page last updated 6 Jun 10
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06-Jun-2010