A twenty seven strong group of descendants of Daniel Wagstaff Goodwin visited Kidderminster on the afternoon of 4th October 2018. The group, looking to see memorabilia and buildings related to their ancestor, came from far and wide: Canada, USA, Germany and Switzerland as well as the UK.  

 

Daniel Wagstaff Goodwin was a flour miller and owned and ran Town Mills in Mill Street. He had come from a milling family in Holt in 1844 and immediately began to enlarge and modernise the Kidderminster mill which up until then had been water driven. But not only did he build a successful business he also became a significant benefactor to the town donating land and money to build the College of Art & Science and the library (demolished in 1993). The fountain at Blakebrook that he donated  to the town in 1884 was demolished in 1954 and the same fate more recently befell his house nearby (The Elms). However, an imposing building in Mill Street still survives from the Town Mills complex, albeit that the architectural appearance appears to have been been recently and significantly compromised by changes to the roof line. 

 

 

We were able to facilitate a visit to the Town Hall where the group were greeted warmly by Mayor Martin Stooke and Councillor Rose Bishop. They also met representatives from Kidderminster Civic Society. Goodwin was the first Mayor in 1875 to wear the new Chain & Badge of office introduced in that year. He was also a Magistrate and the visitors were able to see the Court Room and Council Chamber, where he would have appeared so often, as well as the Chain & Badge of office. The Mayor also provided refreshments in his Parlour and there the group also discovered the silver trowel that DWG had used as Mayor in 1875 to formally lay the foundation stone of the new Town Hall. 

 

In appreciation of our Society's help in framing the itinerary for their visit to Kidderminster their organiser, Stephanie Bryant donated a copy of the genealogical book produced by her father David Burrard Smith: 'Goodwin Family History'. This book provides details of Daniel Wagstaff Goodwin's family and business background and of his descendants through his eldest son John Rowland Goodwin.

 

With the kind permission of Stephanie Bryant we are able to make a copy of this book available on our website. 

 

'Goodwin Family History