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Bordesley Abbey is the site where monks used to live 800 years ago! Archaeologists dug up the remains of the abbey and found lots of interesting objects that tell us a lot about how the monks lived and what life at that time was like! Can you guess the answers to the true or false quiz? Come to the museum and find out if you were right!

True or False?

  • Archaeologists clean the objects they find with old toothbrushes!
  • The abbey site is haunted by a ghost that appears as a black dog!
  • The monks that lived in the abbey ate tomatoes.
  • They also drank pure water from the stream.
  • The abbey was knocked down and all the monks were sent away.
  • The archaeologists dug up over 30 graves!
  • The monks all wore brown

Forge Mill used to clean & polish sewing needles that were sent all over the world; Redditch needles were very famous! The local people that worked in the mill worked very hard and did not earn much money! The water wheel that made the machinery move still exists today and if you come to the museum you may be lucky to see it in action!

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Weird facts from the mill!

Did you know?.....

  • The longest needle in the world (in the Guinness Book of Records) was used to sew buttons onto mattresses.
  • The smallest needle in the world was used by doctors in eye surgery!
  • In Victorian times, children as young as 8 years old worked in the mill.
  • The pointers job was the most dangerous – he rarely lived past the age of 30!
  • The pointer often had ‘twitters’ in his eyes – small pieces of broken metal – which he had to remove using a razor blade!
  • The average wage of a mill worker in 1846 was only 50p a week!
  • The mill workers often started work at 6am and didn’t finish until 7pm.
  • At its height, Redditch produced 90% of the world’s needles!

Why not visit the museum to see more!

Can you complete Brother Bear’s Challenge and be an archaeologist for the day? Follow his trail around the visitor centre and try the mini challenges- fun for all the family!

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You can also be a Time Detective with one of our special Archaeologist Backpacks!

Join in our free family fun activities-  See the events pages for details or contact the museum on 01527 62509, museum@redditchbc.gov.uk

Page Information:
Last modification: 13:15:30, 24th September, 2008 by Forgemill Museum
Review date: 23rd December, 2008
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