Excerpt from A History of Kidderminster: With Short Accounts of Some Neighbouring Parishes Encouraged by the favourable reception of the History of Bewdley, I have attempted a similar production illustrating the rise and progress of Kidderminster. Excepting some account of the town in Nash's Worcestershire (1782), an interesting lecture by the Rev. B. Gibbons, and a few chapters of a history by the Rev. Dr. McCave, which appeared in the Kidderminster Sun newspaper - all of which arc now very difficult to obtain - there is no publication to tell (he story of the past. This Work is derived largely from manuscripts which have never before been published. Next to the Saxon Charters in the British Museum, the most valuable portion of our earlier history is contained in a copy of the Maiden Bradley Chartulary lent to me by the late Rev. William Hallen, and bequeathed by him to Lord Foley. The Borough archives elucidate the progress of municipal and social life in the dark ages: my thanks are due to Mr. James Morton, the Town Clerk, for permission to inspect and copy them - a task rendered easier by a transcript previously made by the experienced antiquary, Mr. de Gray Birch. In searching the Public Records I received valuable help from the late Mr. Walford D. Selby. To Mr. W. H. St.John Hope I am indebted for permission to consult the Habingdon and Prattinton MSS. belonging to the Society of Antiquaries. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.