was built in 1843 and the architect was Matthew Steele; its grant was just over £4,000. The Shrubbery was converted into a military headquarters towards the end of the 19th century. In 1974 the old borough of Kidderminster was abolished and merged into the new Wyre Forest District. In December 2015 Kidderminster was established as a civil parish with a new Town Council, following a public referendum. Geography The River Stour and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal both flow through Kidderminster town centre. Economy The modern carpet industry was founded in the area in 1785 by Brintons. The carpet industry became extremely important to the local economy, so much so that the local newspaper is still named The Shuttle after the shuttles used on the carpet looms. A type of carpet was known as Kidderminster carpet or, in the United States, Ingrain carpet: this was a reversible carpet with no pile, with the pattern showing in opposite colours on the two faces, and was popular from the 18th to early 20th centuries. By 1951 there were over thirty carpet manufacturers in the town, including, for example, Quayle & Tranter (now defunct). They commissioned such notable artists as George Bain to create their traditional Celtic designs. Aided by a 2004 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a museum dedicated to the Kidderminster carpet industry was officially opened by Lord Cobham in 2012. Politics Kidderminster Town is a civil parish within Wyre Forest District, with Kidderminster Town Council created in the early 21st century to take on the duties of a parish council, following a referendum in May 2015. Prior to this, Charter Trustees maintained the traditions of the town and elected a Mayor. As of the last election in 2019 for the Wyre Forest District Council, the Conservatives lost their majority and now no group dominates the council. The area (initially as Kidderminster, then after 1983 as the Wyre Forest constituency) has been represented by Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) Gerald Nabarro 1950–64, Tatton Brinton 1964–74, Esmond Bulmer 1974–87, Anthony Coombs 1987–97, and Labour MP David Lock 1997–2001. In the 2001 United Kingdom general election, the town returned Dr Richard Taylor as an independent MP for the Wyre Forest parliamentary constituency. Taylor had fought the election to protest against the proposed reduction in services at Kidderminster Hospital. He held his seat at the 2005 election, the first independent MP to do