The last remnant of Redditch's heritage

It is the last remnant of the town's heritage.

Contrary to popular belief, Redditch was not born as a New Town in the late 1960s.

It was a vibrant, industrialised, market town long before those dark days.

The museum welcomes visitors from all over the country, some from even further afield.

In late November, a party of ladies from South Wales braved the snow to visit the ''last water-powered needle mill in the world''.

They were amazed to learn there ''was so much to making a needle''.

In the summer, at a museum open day, I spoke to a couple from Northampton. They were of the opinion ''Redditch was to be congratulated on retaining some of its heritage''; something that so many towns and cities had failed to do.

Perhaps Redditch councillors are unaware of certain facts with regard to the needle making industry and Redditch.

At its height, the local needle making industry achieved world dominance supplying, it is estimated, 90 per cent of the world's hand sewing needles.

The arrival of Redditch manufacturers in west coast towns and cities of the USA was announced in the local American newspapers; they were the A-list celebrities of their day.

During the course of the 19th century, the weekly output of needles from this locality rose from three million to about 70 million.

The population of Redditch saw a concomitant rise from 3,000 to 11, 000.

Redditch is only here and is only a town because of the needle making industry.

Yet the council is considering closing the last surviving example of a needle mill. How sick is that?

Should any councillor wish to learn something of the needle making industry before they make any momentous and irreversible decision, I would be happy to share my rather limited knowledge with them.

I am sure the museum staff would be only too happy to make the necessary arrangements and indeed to give us the benefit of their expert professional scholarship.

DON VINCENT

Middleton Mews

Redditch