This historic building exemplifies the needle as well as fishing tackle industries’ long history. Models and reconstructed settings depict how needles were previously made, and also how Redditch produced 90% of the world’s needles at one time.

Bordesley Abbey, a mediaeval Cistercian Abbey that has been thoroughly excavated, is located on the same site as Forge Mill Museum and is only a short walk away.

The Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre, which is housed in a recreated 16th-century barn, relates the amazing tale of Abbey’s history from the 12th century until Henry VIII’s dissolution in 1538.

The museum, which is one of the most unusual in Worcestershire as well as the West Midlands, also includes a fantastic Gift Shop with a wide range of high-quality needles, some of which are made locally.