kids encyclopedia robot

Kidderminster facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Kidderminster
Kidderminster town centre, Kidderminster, Worcs, geograph 6411691 by P L Chadwick.jpg
Kidderminster town centre, with the Town Hall, fronted by a statue of Sir Rowland Hill.
Kidderminster is located in Worcestershire
Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Area 16.25 km2 (6.27 sq mi)
Population 55,530 (2011)
• Density 3,417/km2 (8,850/sq mi)
OS grid reference SO831767
• London 131.1 miles (211.0 km) SE
Civil parish
  • Kidderminster
District
  • Wyre Forest
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town KIDDERMINSTER
Postcode district DY10, DY11
Dialling code 01562
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament
  • Wyre Forest
Website Kidderminster Town Council
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°23′19″N 2°14′56″W / 52.3885°N 2.2490°W / 52.3885; -2.2490

Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, 17 miles (27 km) south-west of Birmingham and 15 miles (24 km) north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had a population of 55,530. The town is twinned with Husum, Germany.

Situated in the far north of Worcestershire (and with its northern suburbs only 3 and 4 miles from the Staffordshire and Shropshire borders respectively), the town is the main administration centre for the wider Wyre Forest District, which includes the towns of Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley, along with other outlying settlements.

History

The land around Kidderminster may have been first populated by the Husmerae, an Anglo-Saxon tribe first mentioned in the Ismere Diploma, a document in which Ethelbald of Mercia granted a "parcel of land of ten hides" to Cyneberht. This became the settlement of Stour-in-Usmere, which was later the subject of a territorial dispute settled by Offa of Mercia in 781, where he restored certain rights to Bishop Heathored. This allowed for the creation of a monastery or minstre in the area, and the earliest written form of the name Kidderminster (Chedeminstre) was not seen until it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was a large manor held by William I with 16 outlying settlements (Bristitune, Fastochesfeld, Franche, Habberley, Hurcott, Mitton, Oldington, Ribbesford, Sudwale, Sutton, Teulesberge, Trimpley, Wannerton and Wribbenhall). Various spellings were in use – Kedeleministre or Kideministre (in the 12th and 13th centuries), Kidereministre (13th–15th centuries) – until the name of the town was settled as Kidderminster by the 16th century. Between 1156 and 1162 Henry II granted the manor to his steward, Manasser Biset, and as the settlement grew a fair (1228) and later a market (1240) were established there. In a visit to the town sometime around 1540, King's Antiquary John Leland noted that Kidderminster "standeth most by clothing". King Charles I granted the Borough of Kidderminster a Charter in 1636. the original charter can be viewed at Kidderminster Town Hall

Geograph-2058729-by-Richard-Rogerson cropped
Caldwall Castle

A parliamentary report of 1777 listed Kidderminster Borough as having a parish workhouse accommodating up to 70 inmates. Under the so-called Gilbert's Act of 1782 Kidderminster Union was established for the purpose of relieving the indigent poor.

Kidderminster has two Commissioners' churches. The first was St. George's church, on Radford Avenue. This was designed by Francis Goodwin and built in 1821–1824, finally being consecrated in April 1824. It had the third largest grant by the Commission, of just over £17,000.00, of any church outside London. The second church was St. John's Church, on the Bewdley Road. This church was built in 1843 and the architect was Matthew Steele, although the grant in this case was just over £4,000. To the south by the River Stour, dating from the 15th century, is a single surviving tower of Caldwall (or Caldwell) Castle, a fortified manor house.

Geography

The River Stour and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal both flow through Kidderminster town centre.

Climate

The town is noted for its particularly high record lows. Despite an average July low of 11.7 °C, the temperature has never fallen below 5 °C in that month. The coldest and warmest July nights were both recorded in 2015.

Climate data for Kidderminster
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.0
(64.4)
19.6
(67.3)
25.0
(77.0)
26.6
(79.9)
28.2
(82.8)
32.0
(89.6)
34.6
(94.3)
32.0
(89.6)
27.6
(81.7)
27.0
(80.6)
18.0
(64.4)
19.1
(66.4)
34.6
(94.3)
Average high °C (°F) 6.8
(44.2)
7.4
(45.3)
10.2
(50.4)
13.3
(55.9)
16.8
(62.2)
19.5
(67.1)
21.8
(71.2)
21.4
(70.5)
18.3
(64.9)
14.0
(57.2)
9.7
(49.5)
7.0
(44.6)
13.9
(56.9)
Average low °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)
0.8
(33.4)
2.7
(36.9)
3.9
(39.0)
6.7
(44.1)
9.7
(49.5)
11.7
(53.1)
11.6
(52.9)
9.5
(49.1)
6.7
(44.1)
3.7
(38.7)
1.5
(34.7)
5.8
(42.5)
Record low °C (°F) −8.0
(17.6)
−11.9
(10.6)
−7.0
(19.4)
−3.0
(26.6)
0.0
(32.0)
2.0
(35.6)
5.0
(41.0)
6.0
(42.8)
−6.0
(21.2)
−3.0
(26.6)
−7.0
(19.4)
−10.1
(13.8)
−11.9
(10.6)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 65.6
(2.58)
46.1
(1.81)
53.1
(2.09)
62.0
(2.44)
56.7
(2.23)
59.1
(2.33)
54.8
(2.16)
64.4
(2.54)
62.9
(2.48)
80.8
(3.18)
72.4
(2.85)
73.3
(2.89)
751.2
(29.58)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 12.5 9.6 11.0 10.5 10.4 9.7 9.4 9.8 9.6 12.0 12.0 11.8 128.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 53.4 73.6 109.2 151.6 190.8 191.3 200.7 186.0 140.4 107.1 62.4 46.7 1,513.2
Source 1: Met Office
Source 2: Voodoo Skies

Architecture and landmarks

St John the Baptist Church, Kidderminster - geograph.org.uk - 499492
St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England), built in 1843

In the 1968 Buildings of England volume on Worcestershire, Pevsner described the town as; "uncommonly devoid of visual pleasure and architectural interest." In the 2007 revision, Alan Brooks goes toward a reassessment, writing; "the 19th century mill buildings, together with the churches, provide most of the architectural interest in a town otherwise uncommonly lacking in visual pleasures."

Transport

Rail

Two railway stations in the town share the same approach road and are located less than fifty metres apart. The main National Rail station, operated by West Midlands Trains, is Kidderminster, from where trains run to Birmingham, Worcester and London. The other station, Kidderminster Town, is the terminus of the preserved Heritage Railway line, Severn Valley Railway, from where trains run to Bridgnorth.

Road

Several major routes run through the town, including the A456 which runs from Birmingham to just south of Woofferton, Shropshire; the A451 which runs from Stourbridge to Abberley; the A442 which runs from Droitwich to Hodnet, Shropshire, a few miles north of Telford; the A449 which runs from Newport in south Wales to Stafford and crosses the A456 at the Land Oak; and the A448 road which starts in the town and goes to Studley in Warwickshire, via Bromsgrove and Redditch. A major change in the town centre road infrastructure was the construction of the ring road in the 1970s and 1980s. This relieved the town's growing congestion but diverted traffic outside the centre, drawing off customers for businesses. The final phase of the ring road was never completed, which results in the town having a ring road that does not form a complete ring.

Waterways
Kiddenminster - panoramio (5)
St Mary's and All Saints Parish Church, seen from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal passes through the town.

Bus

There are direct bus links with towns including Worcester, Halesowen, Bewdley, Stourport, Bridgnorth, Bromsgrove and Redditch. The majority of the services in Kidderminster are operated by Diamond West Midlands (previously First Midland Red), while the rest is operated by Arriva Midlands, Aston Coaches, Yarranton Brothers and Coniston Coaches. Services 291 and 292 were operated by R & B Travel prior to the company surrendering its licence in January 2020.

Closest cities, towns and villages

.


Economy

The modern carpet industry was founded in the area in 1785 by Brintons. The carpet industry became extremely important to the local economy, so much so that the local newspaper is still named The Shuttle after the shuttles used on the carpet looms. A type of carpet was known as Kidderminster carpet or, in the United States, Ingrain carpet: this was a reversible carpet with no pile, with the pattern showing in opposite colours on the two faces, and was popular from the 18th to early 20th centuries. By 1951 there were over thirty carpet manufacturers in the town, including, for example, Quayle & Tranter (now defunct). They commissioned such notable artists as George Bain to create their traditional Celtic designs. Aided by a 2004 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a museum dedicated to the Kidderminster carpet industry was officially opened by Lord Cobham in 2012.

Demographics

At the 2011 census there were 55,530 residents in Kidderminster in 24,869 households, the median age of Kidderminster residents was 41.

Kidderminster's population at the 2011 census was predominantly White (96.8%). The largest non-white groups were Asian at 1.7%, and mixed race at 1.2%.

67% of Kidderminster residents identified as Christian, with 24.7% stating they had no religion, and 6.6% not stating any religion. The largest non-Christian group were Muslims at 0.8%, followed by Buddhists at 0.2% and Hindus and Sikhs at 0.1% each, with others at 0.4%.

Sport

Cricket

Kidderminster CC is a local cricket club at whose home ground of Chester Road North Ground Worcestershire County Cricket Club play occasional County Championship and county 2nd XI games.

Football

Aggborough Stadium, Kidderminster - geograph.org.uk - 1555812
Aggborough is the home ground of the professional club Kidderminster Harriers, formerly of the Football League.

Formed in 1886, Kidderminster Harriers F.C. is the town's professional football club. Local rivals of the Harriers were traditionally Worcester City and Bromsgrove Rovers, and in recent years also Cheltenham Town and Hereford United. As of 2013 Cheltenham are in a division above Kidderminster.

In 2005 the Harriers were relegated to the Conference Premier after five years in the Football League Two division. They had reached the Football League as Conference champions in 2000, and are Worcestershire's only representative in the league. They had won the title in 1994 but were denied promotion then as their stadium did not meet Football League capacity requirements. That same year they eliminated Birmingham City from the FA Cup; they eventually reached the 5th round of the competition (just missing the quarter-finals), where they hosted Premier League side West Ham United, narrowly losing 0–1. Prior to Lincoln City's run in the competition in 2017, Harriers were the last non-league side to reach round five of the FA Cup.

The Kidderminster & District League has operated since 1984 and draws teams from Worcestershire and South Staffordshire.

Rugby

Kidderminster Carolians RFC is a local rugby union club, currently playing at level 6 in Midlands 1 West.

Hockey

Kidderminster Hockey club was founded in 1892 and in 2010 there are five men's hockey teams, a women's team and a junior team.

Education

As part of educational restructuring in the Wyre Forest district, Kidderminster's schools were reorganised from a three-tier system of first, middle and high schools to the two-tier system more common in the UK as a whole, featuring primary schools and secondary schools. In this process, several first and middle schools were closed or merged into new primaries. The three high schools of King Charles I School, Wolverley C E Secondary School, and Baxter College (formerly Harry Cheshire High School) became secondary schools that included sixth forms.

Independent schools include Heathfield Knoll School in Wolverley. Formerly independent, Holy Trinity School became a state-funded free school in 2014. Kidderminster College is located in Market Street in the town centre, having moved from older premises in Hoo Road in 2003. Other local secondary schools include The Stourport High School & VIth Form Centre and The Bewdley School.

Notable residents

  • Mo Anthoine was born and brought up on Marlpool Lane in Kidderminster. He was a mountain climber famed for his technical skill.
  • John Wyer was born in Kidderminster, went on to manage repeat victories at Le Mans 24 hours.
  • Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691); Puritan minister. He began his ministry in Kidderminster in April 1641 and served there for the next 19 years. A memorial statue of him was erected outside Saint Mary's parish church, where he was based. The inscription states his wish "for unity and comprehension in religion". Prior beginning his ministry in Kidderminster, Baxter lived in Bridgnorth from 1640 to 1641.
  • Mark Birch, former guitarist with Wishbone Ash, was born and brought up in Kidderminster.
  • Robbie Blunt, solo guitarist, Robert Plant collaborator, has associations with Kidderminster.
  • Edward Bradley, the English humorist of the mid-Victorian era, was born in Kidderminster in 1827. He died on 11 December 1889.
  • Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster on 2 September 1780.
  • Gilbert Claughton Chairman of the London North Western Railway
  • Peter Collins, former Formula One driver was born in Kidderminster on 6 November 1931. During his career Collins drove for the HWM, Vanwall, Maserati and Ferrari teams and won 3 of his 33 Grands Prix. Tragically his promising career was cut short during the 1958 German Grand Prix, when Collins spun off the track and sustained a fatal head injury in the accident that followed.
  • Sammi Davis (born 1964), film actress, was born in Kidderminster.
  • Tony De Vit, Birmingham-based nightclub DJ and singer, was born in Kidderminster, died in Birmingham in 1998.
  • Alun Evans, English football's first £100,000 teenager, was born in Kidderminster.
  • Richard Eve, Grand Treasurer of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1889 was born in Kidderminster.
  • Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (1716–1777), MP for Droitwich and Herefordshire, created Baron Foley, of Kidderminster in the County of Worcester in 1776.
  • Paul Frampton, theoretical physicist, was born in Kidderminster and educated at King Charles I School.
  • Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, known also as James Albert, lived with his family in the town in the 1760s and 1770s. An African prince and freed slave, he worked on his autobiography in Kidderminster, with a secretary from Leominster. Published at Bath in about 1772, this was considered the first Black African autobiography published in Britain.
  • Robert Hamer, film director and screenwriter, known for his 1949 comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Dennis Price and Alec Guinness, was born in Kidderminster on 31 March 1911.
  • Jowe Head (born 1956), as Joe Hendon in Kidderminster, bass guitarist, singer and visual artist was a member of Swell Maps before joining the Television Personalities.
  • Sir Rowland Hill, the inventor of the Penny Black and the modern postal system, was born in Blackwell Street on 3 December 1795. There is a statue, sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock, to him in Vicar Street outside the town hall. There is a pub in the Bull Ring called The Penny Black in his honour.
  • Henry Eliot Howard, director of a steelwork in Worcester, and amateur ornithologist, was born at Stone House near Kidderminster.
  • Eustace Jotham, served as a captain in the Great War, winning the Victoria Cross in 1915; was born in Kidderminster.
  • Kevin Keelan, footballer played for Norwich City.
  • Walter W. Law was born in Kidderminster in 1837 to a carpet dealer, and worked as a carpet manufacturer. He later immigrated to the United States, where he founded Briarcliff Manor, New York, and died in 1924.
  • Melissa Lawley, Liverpool F.C. Women Forward, who signed for the club in 2019.
  • Iskra Lawrence, model, grew up in Kidderminster.
  • Rustie Lee, TV personality and celebrity chef, used to live on the outskirts of the town.
  • Sir Josiah Mason, an English pen-manufacturer, was born in Mill Street on 23 February 1795.
  • Walter Nash, former Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, was born in the town.
  • James O'Brien, radio talk show host of LBC and journalist, was brought up in Kidderminster.
  • Taylor Parkes, journalist and broadcaster, was born in West Bromwich but grew up in Kidderminster.
  • Ewan Pearson, DJ and record producer, grew up in Kidderminster.
  • Ernest Perry, first-class cricketer, died in Kidderminster in 1996.
  • Robert Plant (born 1948), English musician who was the front man of the 1970s English rock band Led Zeppelin, grew up in Kidderminster and has had associations with Kidderminster College.
  • Stuart Matthew Price, singer and composer, was born in the town.
  • Jess Roden, singer, was born in Kidderminster.
  • Mike Sanchez (born 1964), rhythm and blues pianist and vocalist, is a long-time resident of Kidderminster.
  • Sir Herbert Smith, 1st Baronet (1872–1943), Kidderminster carpet manufacturer and owner of Witley Court (see Smith of Kidderminster baronets)
  • Alf Tabb, Kidderminster cycle maker and rider of miniature cycles
  • Tom Watson (born 8 January 1967), is a former Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. He was educated at King Charles I High School in Kidderminster.
  • Stan Webb, blues guitarist and founder of Chicken Shack, resides in the town.
  • John Francis Young, served as a soldier in the First World War and won the Victoria Cross as a private in 1918; was born in Kidderminster

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kidderminster para niños

kids search engine
Kidderminster Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.