This web site has been produced by the Kidderminster Civic Society with the help of the Local Heritage Initiative. It has been created to share the work of the group with the people of Kidderminster and with anyone else who has an interest in the town and area.

To find out more about the LHI, click on the logo above.

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Rearranged Church St Walk

Please note that Nigel Gilbert's guided walk around the Church Stree area will now take place on Saturday 18th May at 11 am. This replaces the original date of 30th March which was Easter Saturday.

We will assemble on the pavement outside the gate to New Meeting. The walk is a short one. Church Street itself will occupy us for some time. It is one of the town’s medieval streets, and during the 18th and 19th centuries was an industrial street. Many significant figures in Kidderminster’s history lived and worked in Church Street. These included Joseph Williams and Dr James Johnstone.

We will proceed up Arch Hill, once an area of great character and into Orchard Street. The latter street was created in the 18th century out. We will discuss there what is known about the mysterious manor house, whose grounds provided the opportunity to build a number of new streets.

Finally, we will continue into Blackwell Street, once the site of Kidderminster’s most notable brewery, built by the Bucknall family.

The Library and Local History Collection

The atrocious changes to the library insisted upon by Worcestershire County Council in the face of great concern expressed by many people has seen the destruction of the second floor gallery. This has left Wyre Forest virtually bereft of small music venues. To the end council representatives denied the truth - that the gallery acoustics were special.

The anxiety of local authors and researchers about the future of the Local History Collection on the first floor has been made clear to library managers. Various commitments have been made about keeping the collection intact. Our understanding was that hardly anything is to be moved, that microfilm readers will be maintained and that additions will continue to be made to the collection.

This is encouraging, butthere is no doubt that the floor space available on the first floor is much reduced. We will need to be vigilant as to what is happening there in the next few months. Please notify Nigel Gilbert of any concerns.

Three Historical Walk Leaflets

In 2008 the Society's Historic Kidderminster Project published three walks round historic parts of Kidderminster. They have proved very popular. Three thousand copies of each leaflet were printed, but most have now been distributed by Kidderminster Library and especially by Bewdley Museum.

Click on the links here to download copies of the leaflets. They are the East Walk around the Birmingham Road and Leswell area; the Puxton/Franche walk which marks the sites of many demolished buildings including Franche Hall, Puxton House and the original Three Crowns and Sugar Loaf pub; the South West walk which takes you from the town centre along the canal towards Stourport.

Weavers Cottages in Horsefair

Agreement has been reached for the Worcestershire Building Preservation Trust to apply for lottery funding to ensure the conservation of these important listed 18th century cottages. If all goes to plan they will be turned into modern residences, with extensions at the back. The initial application for the first stage of funding has been made. It remains to be seen whether it will be possible to build in a small museum area. This would complement the carpet museum, but it seems likely that an additional financial source will be needed to make this possible.

More new HKP Historical Reports

The substantial body of work completed by the Historic Kidderminster Project continues to grow. There are now 160 or so reports published on the town's historic buildings. To read these please click on Historical Reports on the left hand side of this page.

All HKP reports are available as hard copies at Kidderminster Library, Worcester Record Office at the newly-built Hive and the Carpet Museum Archive.

The new reports include Butts Depot, the premises in Park Butts of the seed merchant Clement Dalley. Another business property covered is 15 Vicar Street, once the Excelsior Works. Another pub is added, Albion Inn in Braod Street. Reports on three more houses have been completed - Comberton House, Shrubbery Cottage in Birmingham Road, and Brookland House at 11 Woodfield Crescent. A row of houses Union Terrace in Hurcott Road is included. There is a new report on the creation of Lea Bank Avenue on Bewdley Hill. The Ivydene report has been updated to include fascinating information on the move to Kidderminster of the Lancashire soap manufacturer, Joshua Margerison.

The reports are not primarily about the architecture of the buildings. They are more about the social history of the town and the people who lived in the buildings. The reports should be of use to family historians and those researching the origins of their own house.

Anybody can contribute information about a building or write a report for the project. If you wish to do so, please email Kidderminster Civic Society at mail@kidcivicsoc.org.uk

Membership

If you would like to become a member of the Civic Society or would like to read the members' newsletter, please click on About Us.

To contact the Society email address is: mail@kidcivicsoc.org.uk