in Bloom - Redditch Borough Council

Local Heritage
Forge Mill
This historic site illustrates the rich heritage of the
needle and fishing tackle industries. Models and
recreated scenes provide a vivid illustration of how
needles were once made, and how Redditch
once produced 90% of the world's needles. The
Mill is a listed building which houses original water
powered machinery. It is unique in that it is the only
water powered scouring mill left in the world.
World renowned Shakespeare fishing tackle have
been established since 1897, and the hi-tec
company Surgicraft – surgical instrument
manufacturers - continue the tradition of
manufacturing needles and similar instruments in
Redditch. This local heritage is symbolised by the
Needle sculptures which are a gateway feature to
the Town Centre. The locally important Batrleet
family who have resided in the town since the 19th
century have been producing needles since their
arrival.
Bordesley Abbey
Just a short walk from Forge Mill are the ruins of
Bordesley Abbey; a medieval Cistercian Abbey,
which has been extensively excavated. The Visitor
Centre tells the extraordinary story of the Abbey
from its early development in the 12th century to
its destruction in the 16th century by Henry VIII,
during the dissolution.
In 1140 a group of Cistercian monks from
Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire were granted
land in the Arrow Valley by Waleran de Beaumont,
Count of Meulan and Earl of Worcester. This
enabled the monks to found Bordesley Abbey
and turn the Arrow Valley into a place suitable for
a monastery. Bordesley means 'the place where
boards were obtained'.
Excavations show that the first buildings were
made of wood, but within a few years they
replaced it with stone buildings. You can see
evidence of how the Abbey changed as you walk
around - from the early plain green sandstone to
the more ornately decorated later red sandstone.
In 1538 Henry VIII dissolved the monastic houses
and Bordesley was demolished and the estates
sold. The ruins remained buried until JM
Woodward (tutor to the Bartleet family) first
excavated them in 1864. In 1969 the Bordesley
Abbey project team began a programme of
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Redditch in Bloom 2O1O