Kidderminster | |
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Kidderminster shown within Worcestershire | |
Population | 55,530 |
OS grid reference | SO831767 |
• London | 131.1 m |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | KIDDERMINSTER |
Postcode district | DY10, DY11 |
Dialling code | 01562 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
EU Parliament | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Kidderminster Town Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Mayor
|
Cllr Mary Rayner
|
Deputy Mayor
|
Cllr Nicky Gale
|
Structure | |
Seats | 18 Councillors |
6 / 18
|
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4 / 16
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3 / 18
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2 / 18
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|
2 / 18
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|
1 / 18
|
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Elections | |
Multiple non transferable vote | |
Last election
|
5 May 2016 |
Meeting place | |
Town Hall, Kidderminster | |
Website | |
www |
Kidderminster is a large town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Worcester city centre. The 2011 census recorded a population of 55,530 in the town. The town is twinned with Husum, Germany and it forms the majority of the Wyre Forest Conurbation, an urban area of 99,000.
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. This became the settlement of Stour-in-Usmere, which was later the subject of a territorial dispute settled by Offa of Mercia in 781, where he restored certain rights to Bishop Heathored. This allowed for the creation of a monastery or minstre in the area, and the earliest written form of the name Kidderminster (Chedeminstre) was not seen until it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was a large manor held by William I 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), Kidereministre (13th–15th centuries) – until the name of the town was settled as Kidderminster by the 16th century. Between 1156 and 1162 Henry II granted the manor to his steward, Manasser Biset, and as the settlement grew a fair (1228) and later a market (1240) were established there. In a visit to the town sometime around 1540, King's Antiquary John Leland noted that Kidderminster "standeth most by clothing". King Charles I granted the Borough of Kidderminster a Charter in 1636. the original charter can be viewed at Kidderminster Town Hall