Events and Activities
Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre holds many different events, workshops and other activities throughout the year.
These can link in with National Days or initiatives, seasonal themes or exhibitions that are on display at the museum, or just fun-filled events for all the family to enjoy. With such a variety of events there is something for everybody!
Thursdays 10 September to 22 October 10.00am
THURSDAY MORNING ZUMBINI
Let your little ones have fun getting active in these new zumbini sessions with Charley.
Zumbini combines music, dance and educational tools for children aged 0 to 4 years.
PER CHILD £6.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
EYE OF A NEEDLE: THE MUSICAL
Presented by Indigo Arts
The outstanding IndigoCo return to Forge Mill bringing their critically acclaimed musical for Redditch, back to its roots.
Eye of a Needle breathes life into the history of the town and its people, through one family’s tale of love, life and death. Prepare to take an emotional and thought-provoking journey, travelling through time from the days when wolves howled outside Bordesley Abbey, through the years of industrialisation, to the present day.
Indigo are creating a theatre within a Marquee for this production.
Refreshments will be available from the Forge Mill Coffee Bar.
Performances on:
- Friday 18 September 2026, at 7.30pm
- Saturday 19 September 2026, at 7.30pm
- Sunday 20 September 2026, at 6.00pm
ADULTS £15.00, CHILDREN £12.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Tue 22 September and Sun 4 October 2026: 10.00am to 12.30pm
TEXTILE WORKSHOP: STITCH-SCAPES
Join Liske for a short collage and stitch workshop. Dip into our hand dyed & printed fabrics to create your own landscape or seascape. We will then enjoy some slow stitching to add details and character to your piece.
Finished landscape will be approx 12cm square and can be mounted onto a wooden block.
A textile workshop inspired by our Wandering Threads Exhibition.
PER PERSON £22.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Tue 22 September 2026: 1.00 to 3.30pm
TEXTILE WORKSHOP: LAYERED LANDSCAPE – PRINT AND STITCH
Enjoy a taste of working in mixed media, as you create a textile layered landscape with Ruth. Begin by adding a flourish of print to your pre-painted fabric, creating a background texture of grasses. Then embellish the foreground area further, with hand embroidery stitches representing grasses and flowers.
You may wish to complete your Artwork at home and display it in the mini 11cm hoop supplied.
A textile workshop inspired by our Wandering Threads Exhibition.
PER PERSON £22.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Wednesdays and Fridays 23 September to 16 October: 10.30 to 11.30am
OUTDOOR EXPLORERS: CONKERS AND BLACKBERRIES
Explore the wonders of Autumn through free play in our Forest School area with your little one. Each session lasts around an hour, and starts and finishes around the fire circle. This ‘Conkers and Blackberries’ programme is running on Wednesdays and Fridays only from 23 September to 16 October 2026.
We recommend this activity for 3 and 4 year olds, but younger ones are welcome also and there is no charge for younger accompanying siblings.
Please ensure clothing is suitable for the weather, and please have legs covered in all weathers. Wear waterproofs if needed, and wellies/sturdy footwear.
PER CHILD £4.50
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Sat 26 September 2026: 9.30am to 5.30pm
BLACKWORK EMBROIDERY WORKSHOP
A workshop with Leon Conrad
Ups and Downs: Reversible ‘Spanish Stitch’ embroidery based on Civil War period samplers.
Learn to stitch like it’s 1640: where every ending is a new beginning, and the path you map out reveals a masterpiece.
Part of Visit Worcestershire’s ‘Sew Civil War’ project.
ADULTS £65.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Sun 27 September 2026: 10.00am to 1.00pm
GOLDWORK EMBROIDERY WORKSHOP
A workshop with Leon Conrad
A Gorgeous Glimpse of Gold. Bring more bling and work more ‘wow’ into your needlework as you engage with the magnificence, glamour, and magic of embroidering with gold thread, just as stitchers did in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
Part of Visit Worcestershire’s ‘Sew Civil War’ project.
ADULTS £30.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
A VEIL OF MYSTERY
A talk from Leon Conrad
English 16th and 17th Century Embroidered and Woven Textile Bookbindings.
This engaging talk reveals the often hidden and secret stories behind richly decorated textile bookbindings produced in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. Are the flowers, figures, and fastenings purely decorative — or do they hint at something more? Come and decide for yourself!
Part of Visit Worcestershire’s ‘Sew Civil War’ project.
ADULTS £7.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
Sun 4 October 2026: 1.00 to 3.30pm
TEXTILE WORKSHOP: TIDELINE MINI EMBROIDERY
Capture the essence of the coast as you create a stitched doodle inspired by the Tideline with Ruth. Begin by stitching shells onto a fabric background (Use those provided or bring some of your own) Be guided as you create hand embroidered patterns and textures in the background space, to capture the essence of time by the sea. You may wish to complete the artwork at home and display it in the mini 11cm embroidery hoop supplied.
All materials provided (bring your own shells if you have some special ones that you would like to use).
A textile workshop inspired by our Wandering Threads Exhibition.
PER PERSON £22.00
Bookings should be made in advance using the link below:
01527 62509
Forge Mill Needle Museum & Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre
Needle Mill Lane
Riverside
Redditch
B98 8HY
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