Dickens on the Ditch: Charles Dickens on the ..remarkable village of Redditch

Charles Dickens, with his customary lyrical elegance, describes a place in industrial bloom and gives us insights into the lives of the people responsible for the building and developing of this manufacturing miracle in a beautiful corner of Worcestershire.
For over 300 years, the needle has been developed and exported from Redditch and surrounding areas. At its height, 90% of all the world's needles came from this one corner of the world. Such was its global renown, that it drew the attenti...