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Worcestershire was the site of the Battle of Evesham in which Simon de Montfort was killed (4th August, 1265), and later, in the English Civil War, the Battle of Worcester (1651).
In the nineteenth century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster was a centre for carpet manufacture, and Redditch specialised in the manufacture of needles and hooks. Droitwich Spa, being situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from Roman times, one of the principal roman roads running through the town. These old industries have since declined, to be replaced by other, more varied light industry. The county is also home to the world's oldest continually published newspaper, the Berrow's Journal (established 1690).
From 1974 to 1998, it was combined with Herefordshire to form a single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; some areas now part of West Midlands metropolitan county used to be part of northern Worcestershire, such as Dudley, Halesowen, Stourbridge. Even before then, some areas, such as Yardley had been made part of Birmingham itself (and hence Warwickshire). The post-1998 county therefore does not correspond exactly to the pre-1974 boundaries.
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