Redditch

A PROGRESSIVE TOWN

Right at the centre of the national motorway network is a dynamic, growing town where you can find a unique industrial heritage site, superb leisure and shopping facilities, wide expanses of parklands and woods, a booming business community and some of the best fishing in the Midlands - all set within the beautiful rolling countryside of Worcestershire.

Redditch offers the perfect location. It is just a short drive from the International Airport at Birmingham and the National Exhibition Centre, and the tourist attractions of Worcester and Stratford. For the businessman it is a location which offers unbeatable access to the UK and the rest of Europe. For the visitor Redditch is an ideal base from which to explore the true heart of England

Redditch has seen tremendous changes since its designation as a New Town in 1961. New housing, and industrial and office developments, have been carefully blended to fit in with the town. recreational and social facilities have also kept pace with the speed of change. However. it is still growing as more and more families and businesses discover that Redditch is a better place to live and work.

Redditch is not just another modern town - it has a history dating back a thousand years or more to the time when all this country was thickly wooded with the great oak forest of Feckenham stretching away as far as Worcester.

In 1138 the Cistercian Monks came here and built an abbey at Bordesley The remains of the Abbey. and the adjacent Forge Mill Needle Museum are just two of the attractions that draw visitors to the town.

The town derives its name from 'Red Ditch' the Arrow brook which flows into the River Arrow and whose clay soil runs red after heavy rain. Redditch became a centre for needle making. with the skill being passed on to local people before Henry Vlll closed the Abbey in 1538. industry was slow to grow but great strides were made in the 18th century. by which time over 500 local people were involved in making needles and in the parallel trade of producing fishing hooks and tackle.

The 19th century saw even greater development and during that period the population of Redditch grew from just over 1.000 to 13,000 By the 1820s the town was the acknowledged world centre of the needle industry Improved transport boosted local factories, a turnpike road was opened to Birmingham in 1826 and the railway reached Barnt Green in 1859 and Redditch in 1868. This century industry has diversified with cycle and spring making coming to the town. and by 1964 (when Redditch was designated a New Town) the main employer was the metal manufacturing industry closely followed by the engineering and spring trades.

Since 1964 Redditch has undergone major change - the building of thousands of houses and over 90 miles of new roads, the creation of the splendid Kingfisher Shopping Centre, and parks which bring the surrounding countryside into the heart of the Borough. Redditch is still one of the fast growing towns of Britain, but it grows with care and consideration for the attractive environment in which its people live.

PLACES TO VISIT

Reminders of the history and industrial heritage of Redditch are found in the Bordesley Abbey and Forge Mill Museum - and both are well worth a visit.

At the northern end of the Arrow Valley park are the Bordesley Meadows, site of the Cistercian Bordsley Abbey, which was founded in 1158 The Abbey survived for 400 years, during which time the Cistercian monks built up a strong community

This ended abruptly with the destruction of the Abbey during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIIl in 1538. Now the Bordesley site is one of the best examples of an Abbey from that period, and every year is visited by hundreds of people who watch the archaeologists at work during their summer "dig' in July and August

Not far away from the Abbey site is the Forge Mill Museum, which has the only surviving water-driven needle scouring mill in the world. The 18th century mill machinery has been carefully restored and the museum was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in July 1983. Displays feature the uses of needles and their manufacture, as well as associated crafts such as the making of fishing hooks and tackle, and a reconstructed fishing tackle workshop. Every gear the museum stages a major embroidery exhibition.

From Easter to the end of October the museum is open between llam and 4.30 pm Mondays to Thursdays, and between II am and 5 pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. During the winter months it is only open Mondays to Thursdays, and it is closed completely in December and January. Coach and car parking is available, picnic areas are close by, and guided tours of both the museum and abbey site can be arranged.

SHOPS

Redditch has rightly earned an enviable reputation as a "shoppers paradise". The town centre's traditional shopping area is now dominated by the superb Klngflsher Shopping Centre - boasting the best of modern design and ideal shopping whatever the weather.

There are more than 150 stores under one roof in an area of temperature controlled walkways, and with the added attraction of scenic features such as the now famous palm trees in \Worcester Square.

There is also a bustling outdoor market just next door, and the Centre is close to the bus and railway stations and connected by lifts and escalators.

For elderly and disabled shoppers Redditch offers the pioneering Shop mobility service. available from the shopmobility offices. Car Park 3. Access 3, kingfisher Centre.

Parking is also no problem, with five car parks and 3.500 spaces.

PARKS AND OPEN SPACES

One of Redditch most striking features is the surrounding unspoilt Worcestershire countryside and the ~-generous provision within the borough of parks and other open spaces.

The main area is the 900 acre Arrow Valley Park which cuts a green swathe from north to south right through the town. The park has footpaths and bridle ways, picnic and conservation areas, and its centrepiece is the Arrow Valley Lake, which offers not only good fishing but has facilities for rowing, canoeing, sailing and wind surfing.

South of the town centre is Oakenshaw \wood and Oakenshaw spiny which contain some attractive wild plants and trees. as well as various types of birds and wild animals. West of Oakenshaw is the popular 50 acre Morton Stanley Park containing an extensive footpath network, ornamental ponds and children's play area. There is also a trim track, football pitches, changing rooms and a car park at the Green Lane entrance. Adjacent to the car park is the Walkwood Coppice nature trail.

The Pitcheroak and Foxlydlidiate woods are the remnants of the huge forest which centuries ago covered most of the area \where Redditch now stands They add up to about 160 acres and provide bridle ways. nature trails and picnic areas.

SPORT

Redditch has four Sports Centres and two Swimming Pools open for public use. They are the headquarters of many local clubs and the revenues for national and regional competitions. There is also special provision for disabled persons at all centres.

The Abbey Stadium in Birmingham Road features an athletics track upgraded in 1991 to an eight lane all-weather surface, a large sports hall, multi gym, tennis courts, football pitches, flat green bowling, a lounge bar and cafeteria.

The Arrow Valley Sports centre in Greensloard Lane is a sports complex open to the public . Modern facilities include squash and tennis courts, floodlit football and hockey pitch, sports hall and gymnasium.

main school. It consists of a sports hall. gymnasium, squash courts, changing rooms, committee room. cafeteria and bar lounge.

The St Augustlno's Sports centre in windmill Drive is also "dual use" and promised facilities for badminton, five-a-side football, table tennis, multi-gym and General recreation. The Howell road Swimming Pool is 100 feet Long and 365 feet wide with seating for 100 spectators. The lees Swimming Pool is part of one of the most comprehensive dual-use facilities in the Midlands. and measures 65 feet long by 30 feet wide approximately

Golf can be enjoyed at three local courses -the nine hole municipal course at Pitcheroak, the 18 hole course at Abbey Park, and the 18 hole course at the primate Redditch Golf Club. Squash can be enjoyed at the Arrow Squash Club in Battens Drive

Well-established football, rugby, hockey and American football teams nourish throughout the town. whilst the 'Abbey Stadium is the home ground of Redditch United Football Club who play in the Midland division Beazer Homes League.

Entertainment AND EVENTS

Redditch provides a fair range of leisure facilities including pubs and restaurants to suit every taste and. a three-screen cinema. The ma]or entertainment venue is the Palace Theatre in Alcester Street. This attractive Edwardian theatre, which seats 400, stages plays. concerts and musical events throughout the gear as well as young peoples festivals during the summer school holidays. A festival of one-act plays also takes pIace here every ]June. It also contains a restaurant, bar and coffee lounge, and has a thriving Youth Theatre.

Annual events in the town include the Redditch Carnival held in September and the water Fiesta which takes place on the Arrow valley Lake each June.