Geograph - photograph every grid square

Anne Bradford recounts in 'Old Redditch Voices': Ipsley was an ancient parish set chiefly in uninhabited marshland. Ipsley was originally a true forest village, set in a clearing in the great forest of Feckenham. Probably many of the trees were cut down for the smelting of iron ore... We know that iron was worked in Ipsley because south of the church is a field known as Forge Meadow.

Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds
The directors of GKN were looking for a prestige site in the developing new town of Redditch to build a £400,000 office block. The [Development] Corporation had bought the land to the west of Ipsley church which the directors of GKN decided would suit their purpose. However, Ipsley folk were not at all pleased at the thought of having an enormous office block on their beautiful doorstep and the Redditch Urban District Council refused building permission on environmental and aesthetic grounds. A terrific battle ensued between the Council and the Redditch Development Corporation which went to the highest authority in the land. The Council were over-ruled by the Secretary of State for the Environment and the offices went ahead.

Consequently a large international enterprise arrived on Redditch's doorstep. The Ipsley branch of GKN supplied managerial and technical expertise. It had teams of highly-qualified and experienced engineers able to supervise the building of multi-million pound industrial or commercial projects... The site was frequently visited by high-flying businessmen and politically active delegates from both this country and overseas.