Бромсгроув: История и развитие английского города

Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about 16 mile (26 km) north east of Worcester and 13 mile (21 km) south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is the largest town and administrative centre. In the Middle Ages, it was a small market town, primarily producing cloth through the early modern period. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it became a major centre for nail making.

Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century as Bremesgraf. An Anglo Saxon Chronicle entry for 909 AD mentions a Bremesburh; possibly also referring to Bromsgrove. The Domesday Book of 1086 references Bremesgrave. The grove element may refer to the supply of wood to Droitwich for the salt pans. During the Anglo Saxon period the Bromsgrove area had a woodland economy; including hunting, maintenance of haies and pig farming. At the time of Edward the Confessor, the manor of Bromsgrove is known to have been held by Earl Edwin, who became Earl of Mercia in 1062.

After the Norman conquest, the manor that later held the town of Bromsgrove was held by the King. The royal manor of Bromsgrove and King's Norton covered from Woodcote to Deritend. Among the manor's possessions were 13 salt pans at Droitwich, with three workers, producing 300 mits. The King had the right to sell the salt from his pans before any other salt in the town. Bromsgrove is sited at the centre of a very large parish, with its church, St John the Baptist, standing at a prominent point in the local landscape. Bromsgrove, along with all the towns in north Worcestershire, was committed to defending the city of Worcester, and is recorded to have contributed burgesses to Droitwich in 1086. There may also have been Anglo Saxon or Norman fortifications in Bromsgrove, but no archaeological evidence remains outside the literature. Bromsgrove and the surrounding area was put under forest law when the boundaries of Feckenham Forest were extended hugely by Henry II. Forest law was removed from the Bromsgrove area in 1301 in the reign of Edward I, when the boundaries were moved back. Bromsgrove was one of the smallest urban settlements in the county, and had no formal status as a borough. A market day was first granted in 1200; however, even at this time, there is little record of an urban settlement. Later, in the 1230s, Henry III arranged that the rectory manor of St. John was transferred to Worcester Priory, to support the remembrance of his father King John, who was buried there. This meant that the town which grew up around this period was divided between two jurisdictions and landlords, the royal manor in the east, and the rectory manor controlled by Worcester Priory in the west. The division ran along the High Street. Nevertheless, records show no sign of an urban settlement in 1240–1250. New initiatives to establish a market took place in 1250, and Bromsgrove residents appear in the tax records by 1275. The town appears to have been founded as a series of plots of sizes between , marked out along the current High Street. These plots can still be discerned today, in the sizes of the frontages of the buildings. The road entering Bromsgrove from the west appears to have been diverted to ensure that it met Bromsgrove at the furthest point north, forcing travellers to pass south through the whole High Street if intending to continue west. The town probably benefited from the growth of the local agricultural population in the early medieval period, which began to establish new farmland in places like Stoke Prior and Hanbury through assarting (creating clearings in) Feckenham Forest. Similarly, the number of minor aristocratic, gentry and ecclesiastical estates grew, which would have needed to buy and sell goods. Hanbury alone had six manor houses and two granges in the 1200s. The Priory Manor itself would have been a potential customer, as would Grafton Manor just south of the town. Nevertheless, not all the local trade would have passed directly through Bromsgrove, as the Priory for instance would often take locally produced goods directly to Droitwich or Worcester, or purchase them directly at other larger centres with particular specialisms. In 1317, it was given the right hold a Tuesday market and three day fair every 29 August at the Decollation of St. John the Baptist. Its market was especially used by the surrounding area to sell surplus oats, which were increasingly produced in the area, while wheat was grown in southern Worcestershire. The area was known for the high quality of its pigs. Common trades can be traced from surnames in this period, and included in the years to 1327 bakers, tanners, carpenters, drapers, dyers, butchers, masons, smiths, shoemakers and fullers. The town had a large number of tanneries and cloth was also produced. Tanneries and breweries were located on the Priory manor side of the town, with access to the Spadesbourne brook. This created significant problems of pollution. Bromsgrove benefited from sales to travellers, for instance of beer, bread, horsebread, meat and cheese. Brewing and selling ale seems to have been predominantly done by women in Bromsgrove, perhaps to supplement the main income of the household. Between 22 and 29 people are recorded in the 1300s at the Court Leet paying 'fines' for selling ale for more than the fixed price; this seems to have been applied in effect as a tax. Women were able to hold property, sometimes as widows or jointly with their husbands, and owned up to 10% of Bromsgrove's plots at various times. After the Black Death, the social structure of the Bromsgrove's hinterland changed. Farms tended to merge and become larger, and moved from producing crops to raising livestock. This resulted in higher value goods like wool, leather and meat being sold through Bromsgrove's market and contributed to the town's prosperity in the later Middle Ages. The town's population would have fell, but can still be estimated as around 400 in the later 1300s. The aftermath of the Black Death also caused traders to attempt to hike their prices, which the courts attempted to suppress. Even in later years, Bromsgrove did not grow a market in luxury goods, except for one haberdasher. Its markets did not compete with the larger centres for the highest value goods, such as wines or jewellery. Church court records show that Bromsgrove had an urban underclass, including prostitutes and beggars. Assaults, murders and burglaries are also recorded. Servants, often young people, feature particularly in the records of disorderly behaviour. However, violence was not confined to the lower and middle orders; other courts issued warrants for the arrest of two of the Staffords of Grafton Manor in the 1401 and 1450, along with their followers, some natives of Bromsgrove, for politically motivated violence. Governance of the town itself is difficult to discern. Manorial records give evidence for courts, rents and fines, but do not present evidence about the organisation of matters that relate to the town itself, such as the maintenance of roads and other facilities. The main representative post appears to be that of Bailiff. The royal manor, with its Court Leet, dealt with the majority of financial matters including tolls and revenues from the market, after disputes with the Priory manor over rights to various revenues and fines were settled. The royal manor would therefore have paid for the upkeep of the market and the tollhouse, which also served at some points as a jail. Christopher Dyer suggests that local societies may have grown up to deal with some of its organisational issues. There was for instance a guild in the town during the 1300s. There were three crosses erected in the town, and reports of well paved roads in the 1400s, so Dyer concludes that the town's voluntary self organisation seems to have been adequate to deal with its key problems.

By the end of the Middle Ages, Bromsgrove was a centre for the wool trade. Manufacture of cloth, particularly narrow cloth and friezes is first recorded in 1533. The Royalists occupied the county in late 1642, following the Battle of Edgehill. In February 1643, Charles I ordered that Bromsgrove's vicar John Hall be removed from his post as a rebel. The town would have been subject to the deprivations of the county in the wars, such as high taxation, pressing of men into military service and requisitioning of food and other property as armies passed through the area. For instance, in 1643, the Worcestershire Committee complained to the King about the "plunderings and abuses" of the Royalist troops of Sir Thomas Aston, which had made it impossible for Bromsgrove and other places to pay their monthly contributions. The following year, Parliamentary forces briefly imposed themselves on northern Worcestershire. In June 1644, General William Waller's force of around 10,000 men pursued the King's army across the county as it retreated from Oxford. Waller's army during June lived off whatever they could requisition, first in the Vale of Evesham, then Bromsgrove and Kidderminster. The Talbot family who held Grafton became central figures in the county's military organisation under the Royalists. The promotion of Catholics and recusants like the Talbots was a source of controversy in Worcestershire, referred to, for instance, by the clubmen in their attempts to resist the demands of both armies in the later part of the first war. In the third civil war of 1649, the Talbots joined King Charles II at the Battle of Worcester with a force of local men and had a role in his escape. The battle was traumatic for the county, as the Scottish troops in support of Charles looted as they traversed the county. Afterwards, as some of the Scots dispersed trying to escape, further skirmishes occurred as they were arrested or killed. Local tradition recounts that Battlefield Brook and Battlefields Farm was named after one of the encounters, although it is unclear whether before or after. efn|Another local tradition has King Charles II hiding behind a large chimney in Bromsgrove's Black Cross Inn during his escape. This is not verifiable. was unpopular with some of Bromsgrove's churchgoers, who attempted unsuccessfully to eject him. along with around 2,000 other Anglican ministers from the Commonwealth period. He was confined to his house, banished from the county and finally imprisoned for his non conformism. The toll on his health may have led to illness and death. He did return to Bromsgrove, where he was annually visited by Hall's son, an Anglican bishop. He was licensed as a Congregationalist teacher in 1672 in Bromsgrove and died in 1699.

[[File:Tithe barn of St Johns, Bromsgrove. jpg|thumb|Tithe barn of St Johns, Bromsgrove, shortly before it was sold and demolished in 1844. It was used as a theatre in the 1700s. efn|Performances may have included early touring performances from 1767 by Sarah Siddons, aged around 14 at the time, according to Cotton. By 1897, Robert Sherard depicts a town that appears rather bucolic and "bright and sweet and clean." However, approaching the nailmaker's cottages, one could "pass in one minute from prosperous burgherdom to the lowest slavery".

Bromsgrove and the outlying area along the Spadesbourne and Battlefield Brook had a series of around 14 watermills that supported small and medium sized manufacturing. Some of these were corn mills, others processed linen and lint. These continued to provide employment through most of the nineteenth century, but declined towards the end. Within the town, Cotton Mill was used for cotton and worsted until around 1830, reopening briefly in the 1850s. The 6–7 acre pool located in what is now Sanders Park was drained in 1865. It was a five storey building, demolished in 1892. Near Charford, Moat Mill served as a flour mill with five grindstones until around 1913, and the Lint Mill, at what is now South Bromsgrove High School, was a corn and worsted mill. The Lint Mill closed after the Second World War. The oldest mill, the King's Mill or Town Mill, had been part of the rectory manor. It was demolished around 1881.

The Bromsgrove Union Workhouse, on the Birmingham Road, was opened in 1838 and closed in 1948 and is in use as an office building today.

The expansion of Bromsgrove's population resulted in church building and restoration projects. Major restoration of the mostly 13–14th century St. John the Baptist church was carried out in 1858 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. All Saints Church was constructed by John Cotton in 1872–74. In 1846 a body of improvement commissioners was established to provide infrastructure and other local government functions for the built up area of the town. The commissioners' district was reconstituted as a local government district in 1859, with the commissioners being replaced by an elected local board. A separate local government district covering the rest of the parish was created in 1863, known as "Bromsgrove Country". Such districts were converted into urban districts in 1894. The Bromsgrove Country Urban District was renamed North Bromsgrove Urban District in 1896. It was subsequently abolished in 1933, being split between the Bromsgrove Urban District and several neighbouring parishes. Bromsgrove Urban District Council initially met at the Town Hall, which stood at the corner of High Street and St John's Street. The council moved to the former vicarage of St John's Church on St John's Street in the 1920s, after which the Town Hall was demolished. Bromsgrove Urban District was abolished in 1974, merging with the surrounding Bromsgrove Rural District to become the modern Bromsgrove District.

According to the 2001 census, the population of Bromsgrove is 29,237 and the population for the larger Bromsgrove District is 87,837, which grew to 99,200 in the 2021 census. In Bromsgrove, White British is by far the largest ethnicity, at 96% of the district population (87,837) with 4% (3,734) from an ethnic minority.

The solid geology of Bromsgrove is that of the Triassic (late Scythian to early Ladinian) Bromsgrove Sandstone. It shows red bed facies and was probably laid down by rivers flowing through an arid landscape or in ephemeral, shallow lakes. The uppermost beds were deposited by a brief marine transgression. The soil is very good for market gardening and growing vegetables due to Marl bands. The district is at a general elevation of between 200 feet (61 m) to 300 feet (91 m) above sea level.

Bromsgrove experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.

thumb|A. E. Housman, poet, lived at Perry Hall, Bromsgrove|left
There is a statue of Alfred Edward Housman in the high street, which was erected in 1985. There is also a sculpture of a dryad and boar in the high street, commemorating the work of the Bromsgrove Guild. Bromsgrove is home to Grafton Manor which dates back to the 14th century. It has a rich history, with one of the daughters of John Talbot married to Robert Wintour, who was involved in the Gunpowder plot. Many of Bromsgrove's residents find employment in Birmingham, Redditch, Worcester and other places along the motorway network. MG Rover was a major employer of Bromsgrove residents until its collapse in May 2005. Bromsgrove is still home to LG Harris Ltd, a paint brush and decorator's tool manufacturer in Stoke Prior (known locally as "Harris Brush" or just "The Brush"). Business parks in Aston Fields and Buntsford Hill are helping to revitalise the local economy, in addition to newer developments such as Saxon and Harris Business Parks. Bromsgrove District Council is aiming to create a technology corridor along the A38 to take advantage of the area's road links.

thumb|right|Sanders ParkBromsgrove has a public community library situated in the centre of the town. The library offers not only books but also music CDs, spoken word, foreign language tapes and videos & DVDs for adults and children. There are 25 computers available with internet access. Bromsgrove has a municipal park, Sanders Park. Facilities include: basketball courts, tennis courts, a skate park, children's play area and football pitches. A bonfire night is held annually with a large fireworks display and fairground rides. Other events are held such as big band afternoons featuring bands playing in the bandstand. There is a large public leisure centre and sports centre in the town called Bromsgrove Sports and Leisure Centre, formerly known as The Dolphin Centre. It has two swimming pools and a large sports hall. Numerous activities and clubs are held here, such as the Bromsgrove Swimming Club. It is owned by Bromsgrove District Council. Formerly run by Wychavon Leisure, the management of the centre was handed over to Everyone Active in 2017 as part of a £13.7 million refurbishment and renovation.

Bromsgrove schools use a Three tier education system (first school, middle school and high school). Bromsgrove has 15 first schools in its district: Lickey End First School, Finstall First School, Charford First School, Dodford First School, Milfields First School, St. Peters Roman Catholic First School, Stoke Prior First School, Blackwell First School, Sidemoor First School, Catshill First School, Tardebigge CofE First School, Fairfield First School, Hanbury CofE First School and Meadows First School. There are five Middle Schools: Alvechurch Middle School, Catshill Middle School, Aston Fields Middle School, St John's Church of England Middle School Academy and Parkside Middle School. There are two high schools, North Bromsgrove High School and South Bromsgrove High School opposite Charford. South Bromsgrove is a specialist school in foreign languages and I. T, noted for its extensive use of information technology. A previous headteacher, Philip McTague, was heavily involved in political action to reduce the gap in funding between Worcestershire state schools and others across the country. North Bromsgrove High School has now been classed for a specialist status in media and Creative Arts. Both were rebuilt by BAM in 2007.

Bromsgrove is also home to Bromsgrove School, a co educational private school founded in 1553 with three campuses catering for pupils from nursery to sixth form that offers boarding facilities. Former pupils include Digby Jones, head of the CBI for many years and the actors Ian Carmichael, Richard Wattis and Trevor Eve.

There are two special schools in Bromsgrove, one is Chadsgrove School and Specialist Sports College, and the other is Rigby Hall School.

Bromsgrove is the main site of Heart of Worcestershire College, formerly North East Worcestershire (NEW) College until 1 August 2014, following a merger. In May 2011, NEW College built a motorcycle academy with a £1.7 million grant from Advantage West Midlands; it has been extensively equipped by Harley Davidson.

Bromsgrove was host to a centre for the arts, Artrix, located on Slideslow Drive. Opened in 2005, Artrix was a multi purpose arts centre that provides theatre, cinema screenings of recently released films, National Theatre Live performances, rock concerts, folk music, comedians and classical music concerts from Bromsgrove Concerts, ESO and Midland Sinfonia. Artrix also has a vibrant youth theatre group and a new arts outreach team. From 2012, the dance studio has been converted to hold a maximum of 90 people and provides a space for intimate music, comedy and small theatre. The Artrix ceased trading on 7 April 2022, after being forced to close its doors because of the COVID 19 pandemic. In March 2023, it was announced that The Core, Solihull had been forced to close their auditorium after the presence of crumbling concrete, known as RAAC, was found, and that productions would move to the Artrix building, Bromsgrove, with Solihull Borough Council, who own The Core theatre leasing the building until then end of March 2024. Following The Core's departure, the running of Artrix was taken over by Bromsgrove Community Art], with an initial lease running from April to December 2024. The 2015 World War II film Our Father was partially filmed on location in Hanbury Woods outside Bromsgrove, and the 2023 film The Shamrock Spitfire was partially filmed at Avoncroft Museum and Hanbury Church. North of the town, in the village of Fairfield, since September 2019 they have delivered Bromsgrove Arts, screening movies & event cinema at Fairfield Village Hall, and from October 2021 monthly live music & drama events, giving existing & emerging talent a stage to showcase their talents.

Since 1960, Bromsgrove has held an annual classical music festival, with an international reputation.

; read page 772 at archive. org
– read page 356 at archive. org