50 facts about Redditch on its 50th birthday

The New Town of Redditch in Worcestershire is officially 50 years old this week.

It's now famous for its roads and roundabouts and for being something of a pioneer in new town development.

But there's much more to Redditch than that. It's history is incredible, and it played a major role in manufacturing and developing technologies around the world.

Our correspondent Keith Wilkinson has compiled a list of 50 facts about Redditch on this 50th anniversary year.

• Ninety per cent of the world's needles used to be made in Redditch.

• Redditch was once home to the largest hammer in the world - called Erie.

• The Romans built a road through Redditch (not then in existence) in about A.D 60.

• The Daleks will be in Redditch in August to raise money for charity.

• The name of Redditch can be traced back to the 13th century when it was Red Ditch or Red Dyche.

• Redditch was world famous long before it became a New Town.

• Like the rest of Britain, the Beeching Axe fell on Redditch - around the time the New Town was starting. But locals kicked up a fuss and a single track line to the town was saved.

• Redditch used to supply the world with goods - by canal.

• Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was born in Redditch.

• An ancient monument called Moon's Moat was partly buried under a new housing estate.

• One of just three places in Britain to get a US-style "Clover Leaf" road interchange is at Headless Cross in Redditch.

• A railway tunnel goes under Mount Pleasant. It's now derelict.

• Redditch made a motorbike in the Second World War which could be dropped by parachute. It was called the Flying Flea.

• Rapid population growth in Redditch is not new. It first happened to find enough people to make needles.

• Harry Styles of One Direction was born in Redditch - 30 years after the New Town was born.

• Redditch is known the world over for its manufacture of fishing tackle and hooks.

• Samuel Allcock was founded in the 19th Century - and made millions of fishing hooks every week.

• The document setting out Redditch as a New Town was signed on April 14, 1964.

• The Cistercians set up Bordesley Abbey in 1138 - and helped tame the River Arrow with an early form of flood management scheme.

• Needles were first made using water power. Then came a big advance - steam!

• 50 years after Beeching, the single track railway to Redditch is being upgraded - with passing loops to allow more trains.

• Redditch helped make the world's first jet engine when it was still a Top Secret.

• Parts for the cars that broke the world speed records were made - yes, you guessed it, in Redditch.

• The Redditch Development Corporation ended in 1983.

• The huge road system and roundabouts of Redditch were built long ago to cater for the rapidly expanding populations of the future.

• Locals tend to love Redditch's roads which are less congested than most. Visitors have a habit of getting lost.

• Something useful still made in Redditch - springs.

• Royal Enfield motorbikes were made in Redditch. They're now made in India and have a cult status among fans.

• The comedian Freddie Starr lives in the Redditch area.

• When the drummer John Bonham got his school report at a Redditch secondary modern, it forecast he would either become a dustman or a millionaire.

• The Anglepoise lamp was made in Redditch. Some were used by navigators in wartime bombers.

• Allcock and Company in Redditch became the largest maker of fishing tackle in the world.

• The Kingfisher Shopping Centre became famous for its indoor trees.

• Needle making and fishing tackle making were two industries clobbered by cheap foreign imports.

• Engine parts for planes in the Second World War were made in Redditch.

• Artworks called The Paolozzi Mosaics - inspected by the Queen in 1983 on a visit to Redditch - have received acclaim from all over the globe.

• Duran Duran guitarist John Taylor went to school in Redditch.

• Parts for the bouncing bombs used in the Dambusters Raid on Nazi Germany were made in Redditch.

• Redditch still plays a major role in the aerospace and aviation industries.

• The needle industry of Redditch actually started not in Redditch but in nearby Studley.

• Charles Dickens is accused of painting too rosy a picture of working conditions in the factories of Redditch, having described them as "well off for air, light and cheerfulness."In fact they were employing children - as young as four!

• According to the Forge Mill Needle Museum, in 1850 Redditch needles "could be exchanged for a wife in Sudan".

• Redditch's Bordesley Abbey covers around 90 acres but not much is visible above ground these days.

• The Abbey is described as "one of the most important monastic precincts currently being investigated in Europe."

• Needles are more important to life than many of us appreciate. The indigenous people of America swapped land in exchange for needles made in Redditch.

• The famous Paolozzi Mosaics can be viewed while shopping at the Kingfisher Centre. They hang from the upper walls.

• Shopping precincts like the one in Redditch town centre were seen as a vital part of the social engineering of New Towns - providing vital meeting places.

• Thousands of Brummies made a new life for themselves in Redditch.

• Redditch manufactured nickel-cadmium batteries.

• When Redditch New Town was created there were 30,000 locals. Within 20 years, the population had shot up to around 70,000.