Local Industry

Redditch is famous for its part in the history of needle making and today we had a blipmeet at the National Needle Museum in the town.  We were flabbergasted at the whole process!  Such a labour intensive and potentially health damaging industry!

This shot shows part of the Scouring Store where the needles were polished and cleaned by being 'wrapped up in large packs of hessian and canvas, with soap suds and emery powder before being subjected to the rollers of the scouring machines, shaken in sawdust and put to dry in barrels.  That was after all the making process and before the packing.

There were displays of many types of needles, including gramophone and surgical needles then lots of fishing hooks and fishing rods and onto springs and other useful devices.  We thoroughly enjoyed it!  In extras you can see another angle of the scouring shop and some needles as displayed by one of the old manufacturing companies and some of the fishing equipment.