In the 1850s Mr Samuel Champerdown Sadler took over the cottages along Stoke Common Lane. Near to the cottages was a natural spring that made the ground thereabouts waterlogged and unusable. He kept filling it in with earth and stones, unsuccessfully, since the water kept appearing. However, it soon became apparent that the villagers had been using the spring water as a folk remedy for innumerable ailments because of it's " magical properties ", for at least the last 200 years. Consequently whenever he tried to block off the souce of water, they were upset and would immediately remove the obstructions. He erected fences but they too were torn down. For some time this situation was a source of annoyance in the village. Mr Sadler remained very sceptical about this spring water until one day he became ill, and after other treatments failed, so the story goes, he decided to try it. He got better, but not only that, he was converted to believing that there was something special in this water. He decided to build a pump room around it, and advertise the beneficial properties to the world at large so they could enjoy its special characteristics, and make some money for himself in the process. In September 1859 there was a Gala Day with an opening ceremony at The Spa with brass bands etc. Adverts appeared in the local paper, the Evening Advertiser for example on February 13th 1860, declares that -
The public are informed that a Person attends the Spa every Wednesday from ten to three when parties can be supplied with the waters on Application
The inscription above the door still proclaims to this day that it was
sulphated and bromo-iodated Saline water Analysed by Dr Voeckler, 1860
The Dr Voeckler in question was at Cirencester Agricultural College at that time.
Many pamphlets were produced and articles published in medical journals and magazines in this country and in Germany about its wonderful curative powers. It was claimed to cure ulcers of the leg, liver and kidney disorders, scalp and stomach complaints, gout, rheumatism and arthritis. Rooms were available at Purton, about two miles away, for guests to use while they were partaking of the waters. The placebo effect is dismissed in one pamphlet with the comment that "a case in which nothing could be owing to the imagination, for what imagination has an agricultural peasant of eighteen". In 1874, the most successful in its operation, it was sold for 1d per pint or 13s a dozen quarts carriage paid, and the takings for the year were £174 19s. Its popularity declined after that and by 1880 there were no longer any visitors.
Other people tried to revive the trade. Mr and Mrs Kennett used to load up a pony and trap with jars and bottles, take them to Swindon station and send them up to the London Hospitals.
Tom Boalch, a Swindon butcher bought the property, built a pigsty and smashed hundreds of the bottles, which had been specially made to put the water in for sale.
Mr Fred Neville took over in 1927 and continued to sell bottles in the area, delivering first by pony and trap and then by car. The last entry in the sales ledger is 1952, when a bottle cost 8d. The pump room is still standing in its own grounds and a few locals, who have been using it for decades, ( and swear by it ) continue to get their supply from time to time, but, as it is not tested for bugs ...
As you stand at the bridge over the River Key looking up the Stoke Common Lane, or Spa Lane, as it is also now called, the site of The Spa is strikingly marked by a conifer 30 feet high growing by the gate and leaning at an angle of 67 %. Residents can confirm that this has been leaning like this since the 30s. Inside the building there were the remains of a double seated toilet. Behind it is a pathway through a tastefully planted copse.
The principle ingredient in the water is Magnesium Sulphate - Epsom Salts.