IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Horsefair, KIDDERMINSTER, DY10 2EW

Much of this building looks in rather a sad state, although at least part of it is still occupied. The shopfront on the corner of Churchfields has not been used as a shop for some years.

The roads on the left and in the immediate foreground are two of the three sides of Horsefair Image The closed public convenience can be seen in the foreground and behind are a row of closed and boarded up shops etc. The street ahead in the distance is Churchfields, which has a lot of industrial premises fronting it; many still in use. The road going off to the right is Broad Street, which is partly industrial then residential.

The three sides of Horsefair can be glimpsed in this view, giving some idea of how run down this part of Kidderminster has become. The car on the left is passing the post office and Bargain Booze Image In the far distance the whitish building is The Old Peacock pub Image The redbrick buildings in the middle and the closed public convenience in front of them seem likely to be demolished. On the right are new three storey residential units but immediately next to these are abandoned residences and a closed fish and chip shop Image

This is a new statue of a galloping horse, unveiled on the 30th June 2011. It was made by Hertfordshire based artist, Tom Hill, from more than 500 old horseshoes. It is in the central triangle of land in the middle of the Horsesfair, which until recently was a bit of a mess. The statue certainly marks a further much-needed improvement in this area of the town. Image Image Image

This attractive galloping horse statue, made of old horseshoes, cost around £12,000 and was funded by Cox Homes, who have built some new housing in this area. The new statue was created by Tom Hill, who was chosen by local residents from a short-list of four. Originally there was to have been a statue of a white horse, with holes in its body, through which light would shine. Residents were very unhappy with this, and that design gained the nickname the "Edam Horse", because of some similarity with a piece of Edam cheese! Image Image

Part of the plinth of the life size statue of a galloping horse, showing the artist's name and date. Tom Hill, the creator of the statue, is 23 years old and based in Hertfordshire. Image Image

New housing next to abandoned housing, which will presumably be replaced with new at some point. They have been in this state for well over a year, at least.

This central triangle of land, in the middle of Horsefair, has been much improved with the demolition of a decrepit old public toilet block, and other old buildings. Additionally, on the 30th June 2011, a new life size statue of a galloping horse was unveiled. This reinforces the origins of the area's name, when long ago horse fairs used to be held here. Although the statue is difficult to see in this view, it can be seen here:- Image This is how Horsefair looked in January 2009 (although photographed from a different position):- Image

The old Horsefair area of Kidderminster is showing further signs of improvement, although quite a bit still needs to be done, if the run down appearance is to fully disappear. One of the improvements is this Nisa Local shop. It used to be Bargain Booze, but the change to Nisa Local, with new shop windows and new paintwork, has given it an attractive clean appearance. This wasn't a description which could honestly be applied to Bargain Booze! The Post Office still exists too. How it used to be:- Image