More Redditch Remembered

More Redditch Remembered will help the people of 'old' Redditch relive more good memories and evoke talking points. And for those new to the town, it will give them a taste of Redditch as it was when life was lived at a slower pace.

Until about 1900, although Redditch was internationally renowned for needle making and the associated fishing tackle industry, it was still a small country town.

In 1827 William Thomas Hemming established a flourishing printing business with an office on Prospect Hill and in September 1859 he launched the town's first newspaper the Redditch Indicator

That was a year which also saw the arrival of the railway to a station in Clive Road and the setting up of the Land and Building Society later renamed the Redditch Benefit Building Society, now the Birmingham Midshires.

The Redditch Development Corporation was constituted on 29 May 1964 and so Redditch New Town has had its 40th birthday and itself has become part of the town's history.

About the Authors

Alan Foxall is a retired BT engineer from Headless Cross and in 1992 was a founder member of the Redditch Pictorial History Society.

Ray Saunders of R & S Antiques, Redditch, is a local businessman, historian and author of several books and articles published on Redditch and the surrounding area.