rmediate earth is about 200 feet in thickness. The place, therefore,
has a sort of downcast look, and the streets have a melancholy
appearance; whilst the sheds of the brine works, made to appear more
murky by contrast with heaps of white salt refuse, suggest the thought
that the town has gone into mourning. Exception must be taken to St.
Peter's Church, which stands outside the town, and is surrounded by green
fields, with no building near, except an exceedingly dilapidated half-
timbered mansion, the property of Lord Somers. Tradition says that this
church once adjoined the town, but that the latter shifted in the
direction of the springs; if so, the injunction over the doorway, to
"Remember Lot's wife," seems a strange rebuke, if intended for the
inhabitants. The building has many features of interest, the Norman, the
Transition, and subsequent styles of architectural decoration being
observable.

[Westwood house: 10.jpg]

The old town has an interesting charity, founded by Lord Coventry, for
the support of poor people, and the education of poor children. The
almshouses, which have recently been rebuilt, and are eighteen in number,
are commodious and convenient, with garden plots at the back; whilst the
inmates have 3_s_. 6_d_. per week, or 5_s_. if upwards of 70 years of
age, beside clothing. Connected with these is an infirmary, in which at
the time of our visit were three old ladies, who looked particularly
clean and comfortable, and whose ages were respectively 83, 89, and 93.

On a red marlstone cliff, {11} rising above the river Salwarp, and
overlooking the town of Droitwich, is the church of Dodderhill, belonging
to the parish of that name. It gave shelter to the Royalists during the
civil wars, and suffered much from an attack of the Parliamentary forces,
who battered down its nave and tower. The former has never been rebuilt,
and the latter, instead of being placed in the position it formerly held,
has been made to fill up the south transept.

On the left of the line is the seat of Sir John Packington, the present
member for Droitwich. It may be reached from the town by a pleasant
walk; first by the side of the canal and river, and then through the
park. Westwood was given by Henry VIII. to an ancestor of the present
baronet, in consequence of his residence at Hampton Lovett having been
injured during the civil wars; and the house is one of the most
interesting specimens of Elizabethan architect