At Mettis Aerospace, we’re proud to be based in Redditch which has a rich industrial history. The Forge Mill Needle Museum, situated close to our site, celebrates this through its many, fascinating exhibitions. So, it was an honour, recently, to provide £2,000 in funding to support its valuable work.
The museum attracts around 20,000 visitors per year from all over the country and is popular with many of our employees, particularly as it is set in beautiful grounds. Our donation will help enhance some of the forge mill’s displays.
Ben Blunden, one of our Process Leaders, and Jack Hinton, recently awarded Advanced Apprentice Graduate of the Year, visited the Forge Mill to present the cheque.
Ben and Jack were given an enlightening tour of the listed building by the museum’s curator, Jo-Ann Gloger, who demonstrated how a needle was made in the Victorian times, showing them the original water wheel and scouring (polishing) beds in the process.
Redditch once manufactured 90% of the world’s needles and Ben and Jack were surprised by the diversity of the products – everything from large fishing tackle down to barely-visible surgical needles. They also had many interesting discussions about the similarities between needle production and the forging carried out at Mettis.
Jo-Ann said: “It was a real pleasure to show representatives from Mettis around the museum and discover that we have so much in common. I would like to thank Mettis for their very kind donation. It’s much appreciated and will certainly be put to good use to make our displays even better.”
If you’d like to step back in time and experience the intriguing world of needle making in the largely unchanged atmosphere of an original mill, The Forge Mill Needle Museum is definitely worth a visit. You’ll find details of upcoming exhibitions here. On the same site, just a short walk away, are also the ruins of Bordesley Abbey, which has been extensively excavated. Discover more here.
