REDDITCH a town of Worcestershire, is situated on an eminence near the Warwickshire border, 16 miles southwest of Birmingham by the Midland Railway. The church of St Stephen, a handsome building in the Decorated style, erected in 1854-55, contains some good stained-glass windows. A public cemetery was formed in 1854. Among the public buildings are the county court, where special sessions are held, and the literary and scientific institute. In the neighbourhood are the remains of Bordesley Abbey, founded by the Cistercians in 1138. The town is an important seat of the needle manufacture. The urban sanitary district (area about 926 acres) had a population of about 7871 in 1871, and of 9961 in 1881.