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Private George Fredrick Irish (27465) 14th Gloucestershire Regiment (1891- 1916) George was born in 1891, according to the Census, in Redditch to Joseph and Elizabeth Irish, he had an older brother John, and a sister Alice. Joseph Irish was a labourer; his father, Joseph Irish, had been a Blacksmith on Church Green in 1875. George’s mother...

We are delighted to announce that The National Archives have awarded us £3,000 towards collecting and conserving important archives from Worcestershire County Cricket Club, as part of their Covid Recovery Funding. Worcestershire County Cricket Club is an important part of our county’s heritage. Based a short distance from The Hive, it has been a focal...

With the 2021 census due for completing on Sunday 21st March, we thought we would take a closer look at the census through the years. What is the census?   The census was the brainchild of statistician John Rickman. He originally gave twelve reasons census information should be collected, including to find the number of...

A discovery in our archive reveals how a local scientist contributed not only to popularising horticulture in the 19th century but significantly during his life to the people and town of Bromsgrove. In fact, held in such high esteem, he later earnt his ‘Majesty’s admiration’ from the King of Prussia.

Today we hear from one of the Redditch Military Service Tribunals Project Volunteers, Derek Coombes, who provides us with his perspective of records and the history of the Redditch Tribunals revealed through the research he undertook as part of our National Lottery Heritage funded project.

  Hidden and often forgotten, yet crucial. This is the story of many women who worked on market gardens in the Vale of Evesham – women who helped feed the nation and support their families. Small plots growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers for national markets covered the southeast corner of Worcestershire during the 19th...

Find out more about the Redditch Military Service Tribunal Project, the records we have and the kind of resources we have produced for you to use at home.

It is generally assumed that the natural territory of an archaeologist is within a muddy trench or investigating the roof spaces of historic buildings, torch in hand. Whilst this is often the case, we do occasionally pick up a notepad and venture into archive research. This was just the case for Willow Court Farm, historically...

Sites, buildings, structures, features and areas of land associated with sport, leisure and entertainment illustrate one of the most historically significant aspects of social life in the later 19th and 20th centuries, a shortening of working hours and an increase in leisure time. Buildings associated with leisure and entertainment remain, in the large part, highly...

2021 is the 400th anniversary of a City Charter issued by James I to the people of Worcester, which transferred the power from the high bailiff to the mayor, and created Worcester City and County. The City charters are kept in The Hive, looked after by Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service on behalf of Worcester...