The gateway to rural Worcestershire, Bromsgrove opens into one of the loveliest counties in England, an area rich in history and tradition. The town can trace its history back to the earliest times. There is evidence of a fifth century Celtic settlement and there is no doubt that a Saxon hamlet stood around the hillock on which the parish church of St John’s stands. In the 16th century the Town’s nail making industry grew rapidly, it lasted more than 300 years but died out with the introduction of machine made nails. http://website.lineone.net/~chris.badenhorst/Travel/worcestershire.htm (2007)