Situated on the outskirts of modern Redditch, the fragmented remains of a once wealthy abbey have been the subject of an archaeological project for more than 30 years. In about 1138, when Waleran de Beaumont gave this plot of land to the Cistercian monks to build a monastery, it was an isolated, boggy, heavily forested area in the Arrow valley. Before any building could commence, the valley had to be drained by digging channels and diverting the Red Ditch and the River Arrow.

Despite the restrictions of the sloping valley, Bordesley Abbey appears to have been built on the traditional model including a cruciform church, with a cloister to the southern side, and a range of claustral buildings. The stone church was probably completed during the 1150s, comprising a nine bay nave extending some 132ft (40m), and three chapels located in each of the North and South transepts. This early church would have been very basic, built using the local green sandstone and little decorative work, no windows, and only earthern floors.

However, within a hundred years the transformation of Bordesley Abbey would have been amazing. Much re-building would have incorporated various types and colour of stone, ornate carving would have been introduced, walls were plastered and painted, floors were finished with decorative ceramic tiles, and the window openings were filled with brightly coloured glass. At the same time, a chapel was created on the western boundary of the monastic precinct. St Stephen's chapel, as it was known, became the medieval parish church of Redditch and, for this reason, it was saved at the time of the Dissolution. But, by 1805, a new church for parishioners had been built in the town centre and the medieval chapel was finally demolished. Some decades later, a section of tiled floor from the chapel was discovered and re-laid in the new St Stephen's church vestry.

It is understood that the fortunes of all medieval monasteries fluctuated with the circumstances of the day (i.e. a general decline in population due to plague, cost of repairs, endowments etc), and Bordesley Abbey was no exception. The number of monks recorded as living at the abbey during the 14th century dramatically reduced from 34 to 14. When Bordesley Abbey was eventually dissolved in 1538, there were 20 monks, including the abbot, who all received pensions. Subsequently, the abbey was systematically demolished, anything of value having been removed beforehand to sell off.

Excavations have revealed surviving walls up to 6.5ft (2m) high on the eastern section of the abbey church, but the site consists mainly of little more than foundations for visitors to see. The size of the precinct is of great interest to the archaeologists and, within this, they have found evidence of the mills and workshops once employed by the monks.

Although it has no connection to Bordesley Abbey, there is a mill to explore just a few hundred yards from the abbeys location. Forge Mill, now a museum, was where needle making became an important industry during the 18th and 19th centuries, and offers visitors a fascinating glimpse of this period's social history.