Located 17 miles northwest of Worcester and 15 miles south of Birmingham Redditch has grown from very lowly beginnings to become one of the largest towns in Worcestershire. The site of present day Redditch was once an oak forest called Feckham King John had a hunting lodge near by. In the valley of the River Arrow which ran through the area were the Hamlets of Osmerley and Bordesley. In 1141 a charter was granted to the Cistercians possibly by the Empress Matilda to build an Abbey which the Monks named St.Marys of Bordesley the monks removed both settlements in order to divert the river to feed the fishponds and run the mill. The name Osmerley disappeared. By 1349 the settlement that had grown up around the Abbey had acquired the name La Rededitch possibly derived from RedDych referring to the red clay found on the banks of the Arrow. As with so many ecclesiastical establishments Bordesley Abbey was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII the property passed to by Lord Windsor (who had no option as Henry had taken a liking to Windsors Stanwell House). The only part of the Abbey to to survive was St.Stephens Chapel which remained in use until 1805 after the dissolution the community moved away from the valley floor to higher flat piece of ground to set up a new village roughly where the centre of Redditch now stands. Things ticked over slowly with various cottage industries and the woodland providing a means of living but needlemaking began to emerge as dominating industry the earliest reference to it is in 1639 and many factories were to be found along the banks of the River Arrow. The Forge Mill of 1730 is now the only remaining waterdriven needle scouring mill in the world now a Museum of Needle Making it also gives a fascinating insight into the life and History of Redditch.

In 1855 Redditch became a Parish and the chapel was replaced by St.Stephens Church. Other small metal items Fishing Hooks Fishing Tackle and Springs were soon being produced and latterly Motorbikes in the shape of Royal Enfield were made in Redditch. In 1894 Redditch Urban District Council was created and by the early 1060s the population had reached 32000. In 1964 the town was designated as a New Town in order to accommodate the influx of people from Birmingham several housing and industrial developments were built Church Hill Lodge Park Matchborough Wingates and Woodrow among them the town centre was largely demolished and replaced by the Kingfisher Shopping Centre. The population rocketed to 78000 in just a few short years. The old industries have been replaced by modern light industries and large businesses such as Halfords the retailer and the engineering firm GKN have their headquarters in Redditch. In 1980 Queen Elizabeth II a Royal Charter granted the status of Borough Council. In subsequent years Redditch has seen massive growth and continued development such as the 900 acre Arrow Valley Park where two million trees have been planted refurbishment of the Kingfisher Centre into on of the largest shopping centres in the West Midlands. The community now benefit from one of the greenest and most thoughtfully landscaped towns in the country.