Redditch

Redditch Worcestershire UK Hub

Approximate Population: 79,216

Redditch lies just south of (but is not part of) the West Midlands urban area, northwest of Studley on the A435, which skirts it to the East. The main route of access is the A441, a trunk road from Birmingham to Cookhill, via junction 2 of the M42 Motorway. The Roman Road known as Icknield Street is prominent, running North to South through the eastern side of the town.

The first recorded mention of Redditch (”Red-Dych”, thought to be a reference to the red clay of the nearby River Arrow) is in 1348, the year of the outbreak of the Black Death. During the Middle Ages it became a centre of needle-making and later prominent industries were fish-hooks, fishing tackle, motorcycles and springs, the latter notably by Herbert Terry and Sons. It was designated a new town in 1964 and the population increased dramatically from 32,000 to around 77,000. Housing developments such as Church Hill, Matchborough, Winyates, Lodge Park and Woodrow were created to accommodate the large overspill from an industrially expanding Birmingham. Redditch was built as a ‘flagship’ town using new methods and new town planning, all the main roads in Redditch were banked to reduce noise to the new housing estates and the whole of Redditch was landscaped.

Redditch schools operate a three-tier system, where students progress from a ‘First (or Primary) School’, to a ‘Middle School’, and then to a High School (rather than the more common two-tier system). Redditch currently has four high schools, Saint Augustine’s High School, Kingsley College, Trinity High School and Arrow Vale High School.

North East Worcestershire College (often referred to locally as “NEW College”) is a large general further education college: one of its two campuses is in central Redditch; the other is in Bromsgrove.

In 1956 Redditch was twinned with Auxerre in Burgundy, France. This twinning proved sufficiently popular to form an organisation named The Friends of Auxerre (FoA). At the beginning of June each year the coupling of these two towns is officially celebrated.

In 1986 Redditch was twinned with Mtwara in Tanzania. Frequent events are organised with assistance from the community of Tanzanian students at Birmingham University and Selly Oak College.

Redditch Worcestershire UK Hub

Aldershot

Aldershot Hampshire UK Hub

Approximate Population: 33,840

Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 60 km (37 miles) southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 33,840, whilst the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation (which also includes other towns, such as Camberley, Farnborough, and Farnham) has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK.

Aldershot is known for its connection with the British Army which established a permanent camp in the area for instruction in military manoeuvres in 1854. This led to rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. Today, Aldershot is known as the “Home of the British Army”. Aldershot is twinned with Sulechów, Meudon and Oberursel.

The name may have derived from “Alder”, indicating that it was a wet, boggy place. Aldershot, Alreshete, dates back to an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Aldershot was included as part of the old Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. The map of Hampshire in the 1722 edition of William Camden’s Britannia or Geographical Description of Britain and Ireland shows a symbol for habitation in Aldershot in the Crundhal (Crondall) hundred.

In 1854, at the time of the Crimean War, the heath land around Aldershot was established as an army base with Aldershot at its centre. This led to a rapid expansion of Aldershot’s population going from 875 in 1851, to in excess of 16,000 by 1861 (including about 9,000 from the military). The town continued to grow, reaching a peak in the 1950s.

Aldershot Hampshire UK Hub

Stourbridge

Stourbridge West Midlands UK Hub

Approximate Population: 54,661

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston and Wollescote.

The population, as recorded in the United Kingdom Census 1991, was 54,661. Much of the population is now made up of commuters to Birmingham and the Black Country. Stourbridge is included in the Stourbridge constituency, currently held by the Labour party through Lynda Waltho.

Stourbridge is a part of the West Midlands metropolitan county and conurbation, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Stourbridge is located at the edge of the industrial Midlands, roughly between Kidderminster and Dudley.

Much of the town consists of suburban streets, broken by green spaces. Stourbridge borders on green belt land, and is often close to unspoiled countryside - for example, Stourbridge is closer to Shropshire than it is to Birmingham city centre. Good examples are Clent Hills, Kinver Edge and large areas of farmland to the south and west. It has been said that you could go west from Stourbridge and not encounter another built-up area until past the border with Wales, or even further.

The town and surrounding area is at the south western extremity of the Black Country and the majority of the working-class population retain the region’s accent and dialect, although there is a larger middle-class population than nearby towns such as Dudley or Halesowen.

Stourbridge is home to two colleges - the prestigious King Edward VI College founded in 1552 and Stourbridge College of Further Education. In addition, there is a sixth form for both genders at Old Swinford Hospital founded in 1667 by Thomas Foley.

Stourbridge boasts a number of secondary schools including Redhill School, Old Swinford Hospital, Pedmore Technology College (previously known as The Grange School) and Ridgewood High School as well as Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School (includes: kindergarten, plus classes 1 to 11).

Stourbridge West Midlands UK Hub