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Redditch, Worcestershire

Historical Description

Redditch, a town, a township, the head of a petty sessional division and county court district, and a parish in Tardebigg parish, Worcestershire. The town stands at the boundary with Warwickshire, 1 mile W of the river Arrow, 6 miles ESE of Bromsgrove, 13 S of Birmingham, and 120 by road and 130 by railway from London. Redditch carries on a vast manufacture of needles, fish-hooks, and similar articles. It is governed by an urban district council of twelve members, and has a head post office, a station on the M.R., and three banks. The public hall in Church Road was built in 1885, and the temperance hall in Worcester Road was built in the same year. The police station in Evesham Street was built in 1864; the petty sessions and county courts are held here. New buildings for the Literary and Scientific Institute,which were founded in 1850, were erected in 1886, and contain library, reading-rooms, and class-rooms, &c. A weekly newspaper is published. Fairs are held on the first Monday of Aug. and on the third Monday of Sept. The church of St Stephen was built in 1855, is in the Decorated style, and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and spire. It contains some stained glass windows and some encaustic tiles from the ruins of Bordesley Abbey. St George's Church was erected in 1876 as a chapel of ease. There are Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Free and Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. The cemetery was formed in 1854, and has two mortuary chapels. The Church Green surrounding St Stephen's Church is laid out as a garden. Bordesley Abbey occupied a site in the neighbourhood, and a chapel of it was the only place of worship for Redditch till 1807. Area of township, 2040 acres; population, 8266. The ecclesiastical parish was constituted in 1855. Population, 8153. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester; net value, £388 with residence. Patron, Lord Windsor.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyWorcestershire 
Civil parishTardebigg 
HundredHalfshire 
Poor Law unionBromsgrove 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Redditch from the following:


Land and Property

The full transcript of the Worcestershire section of the Return of Owners of Land, 1873.


Maps

Online maps of Redditch are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Worcestershire papers online:


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Worcestershire 1569 is available on the Heraldry page.

DistrictRedditch
CountyWorcestershire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Postal districtB97
Post TownRedditch

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