DARWIN'S BATH AT SK 096100

Darwin's Bath is a bath house located on Abnalls Lane in Burntwood, reputedly dating from the early to mid-18th century for its base, with a superstructure added around 1890 and further modifications in the 20th century. The structure features a sandstone base with brick walls and a segmental corrugated iron roof, measuring approximately 3 meters by 10 meters in plan. The sandstone tank, which was purchased in 1779 by Erasmus Darwin from Thomas Weld, is the original base of the bath. The enclosing brick walls, approximately 1.8 meters high, and the access steps are believed to be improvements made by Darwin, while a later canopy was added for protection. The bath is situated in a hollow at the head of a stream, near Abnalls Cottage, which Darwin used as a convalescence base for his patients, with the bath being part of a curative system.