Editing Kidderminster (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Worcestershire}}
The land around Kidderminster may have been first populated by the [[Husmerae]], an Anglo-Saxon tribe first mentioned in the [[Ismere Diploma]], a document in which Ethelbald of Mercia granted a "parcel of land of ten hides" to Cyneberht.<ref>John Blair, ''The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society'' (New York, [[Oxford University Press]], 2005)</ref> This developed as the settlement of Stour-in-Usmere, which was later the subject of a territorial dispute settled by [[Offa of Mercia]] in 781, when he restored certain rights to [[Bishop Heathored]].<ref name="british-history.ac.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43103 |title=Kidderminster: Introduction, borough and manors |publisher=[[British History Online]] |access-date=27 August 2017}}</ref> This allowed for the founding of a monastery or {{not a typo|''minstre''}} in the area.

The earliest written form of the name Kidderminster was first documented in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, where it appears as ''Chideminstre'', meaning 'Cydda or Cydela's [[Minster (church)|minster]] or monastery'.<ref>[[Eilert Ekwall]], ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.275.</ref> It was a large manor held by [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]], with 16 outlying settlements (Bristitune, Fastochesfeld, Franche, Habberley, Hurcott, Mitton, Oldington, Ribbesford, Sudwale, Sutton, Teulesberge, Trimpley, Wannerton and Wribbenhall). Various spellings were in use – ''Kedeleministre'' or ''Kideministre'' (in the 12th and 13th centuries), ''Kyderemunstre'' (13th–15th centuries) – until the name of the town was settled as Kidderminster by the 16th century.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> Between 1156 and 1162 [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] granted the manor to his steward, [[Manasser Biset]]. By six decades later, the settlement grew and a fair (1228) and later a market (1240) were established there.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/>

To the south by the [[River Stour, Worcestershire|River Stour]], dating from the 15th century, is a single surviving tower of [[Caldwall Castle|Caldwall (or Caldwell) Castle]], a fortified manor house.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caldwall Castle |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-156422-caldwall-hall-kidderminster |publisher=[[British Listed Buildings]] |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> 
[[File:Caldwall (or Caldwell) Tower, Castle Road, Kidderminster (geograph 2328286).jpg|left|thumb|[[Caldwall Castle]]]]
Kidderminster owes its growth to the early development of the [[cloth]] industry, which was aided by its position upon the River Stour, and its location at the confluence of four main roads to [[Birmingham]], [[Dudley]], [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], [[Bewdley]] and [[Bridgnorth]]. In a visit to the town sometime around 1540, King's Antiquary [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]] noted that Kidderminster "standeth most by clothing".<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> Over the following centuries the town specialised in textile trades such as weaving, fulling, cloth working and milling, and was also home to numerous other trades including shoemaking, haberdashery, saddle making, dyers, tailors, tanners and glovers.<ref>Tomkinson and Hall, ''Kidderminster since 1800'', 4.</ref>

King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] granted the [[Ancient borough|Borough]] of Kidderminster a Charter in 1636.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> the original charter can be viewed at Kidderminster Town Hall.

Kidderminster's position at the junction of several main roads made it a place of strategic importance during the [[English Civil War]], with several skirmishes taking place in and around the town.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/>

In 1670&ndash;1 Kidderminster's cloth industry obtained a [[guild]] by act of parliament and by 1677, the town had as many as 459 weavers and perhaps 3,000 spinners.<ref>Kerridge, ''Textile Manufactures in Early Modern England'', 240.</ref> Following [[King Louis XIV]]'s revocation of the [[Edict of Nantes]] in October 1685 and the subsequent renewed persecution of French [[Protestants]] in France, many [[Huguenots]] emigrated to Britain. The immigration and settlement of waves of industrious Huguenots brought the benefits of skilled artisans, merchants and manufacturers to Britain. They contributed to a preexisting but basic cloth weaving industry in towns and cities throughout England, in some cases establishing new businesses. In Worcestershire, the Huguenots established themselves at Worcester, [[Evesham]], [[Droitwich]] and Kidderminster.<ref>Cooke-Taylor, ''Introduction to a History of the Factory System'', 337.</ref>

In the early 18th century, [[carpet]] weaving was introduced to Kidderminster, and this rapidly became the staple trade of the town. Its growth was aided by the opening of the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]] in 1771, and later the arrival of the [[Kidderminster railway station|railway]] to the town in 1852. The carpet industry went into decline in the 1970s, but still continues on a reduced scale.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/><ref name="KCS">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Kidderminster |url=http://kidderminstercivicsociety.btck.co.uk/KIDDERMINSTERABRIEFHISTORY |publisher=Kidderminster Civic Society |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref>

Poor trade conditions in 1828, when 2,000 looms were not working for an 18-week period, led to riots where £3,000 of damage was done during one night.{{sfn|MacDonald|1969|p=138}}

[[File:Brintons factory, Kidderminster.jpg|thumb|[[Brintons]] carpet factory in Kidderminster, {{Circa|1870}}]]

The town's local government was reformed by the [[Municipal Reform Act 1835]], which incorporated Kidderminster as a [[municipal borough]]. This superseded the charter of 1636, and divided the borough into three wards represented by six aldermen and eighteen councillors, the number of wards was doubled in the 1880s. The current [[Kidderminster Town Hall|Town Hall]] on Vicar Street was built in 1877.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/>

Kidderminster has two [[Commissioners' church]]es. The first was [[St George's Church, Kidderminster|St George's Church]], on Radford Avenue. This was designed by [[Francis Goodwin (architect)|Francis Goodwin]] and built in 1821–1824,<ref name=pevw>''The Buildings of England: Worcestershire'', [[Nikolaus Pevsner]], 1968 Penguin. p206</ref> finally being consecrated in April 1824. Its grant of just over £17,000.00, was the third-largest given by the commission to any church outside London.<ref name=gil>''[http://nigelgilbert.co.uk/?page_id=54 A History of Kidderminster]'', Nigel Gilbert, 2004, [[The History Press|Phillimore]], {{ISBN|1-8607-7309-5}}. p89 and p102</ref> The second church was [[St John's Church, Kidderminster|St John's Church]], on the Bewdley Road. This was built in 1843 and the architect was [[Matthew Steele]]; its grant was just over £4,000.<ref name="gil"/>

[[The Shrubbery, Kidderminster|The Shrubbery]] was converted into a military headquarters towards the end of the 19th century.<ref name=drill>{{cite web|url=http://www.drillhalls.org/Counties/Worcestershire/TownKidderminster.htm |title=Kidderminster|publisher=The Drill Hall Project|access-date=21 August 2017}}</ref>

In 1974 the old borough of Kidderminster was abolished and merged into the new [[Wyre Forest District]].<ref name="KCS"/> In December 2015 Kidderminster was established as a [[civil parish]] with a new [[parish councils in England|Town Council]], following a public referendum.<ref name="GSTC">{{cite web |title=Kidderminster Town Council |url=https://www.govserv.org/GB/Kidderminster/1391730730909197/Kidderminster-Town-Council |publisher=GovServ |access-date=22 June 2020}}</ref>