- Plants Brook
Plants Brook (originally Ebrook, Ebrooke"The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History", Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press (ISBN 0-9502636-7-2)] or East Brook [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.asp?x=349&y=361&compid=55141&sheetid=8815&ox=2352&oy=782&zm=2&czm=2 British History Online] - 'Warwickshire: 008/NE', "Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1" (1889)] ) is a stream in the West Midlands,
England .Course of the stream
The source is in the
Streetly area ofSutton Park where it flows as a small trickle to Blackroot Pool in Sutton Park, which has been formed as a result of the damming of the stream. It then flows south east to a pool near Wyndley Leisure Centre. Water is channelled from this pool to Wyndley Leisure Centre where there was a now-demolishedwater mill . ["Wyndley water mill, Sutton Coldfield", K. J. Williams, 1982, Williams] The stream then goes under ground, belowSutton Coldfield town centre before resurfacing along Queen Street on the edge of the town centre. Here it is channelled to follow the edge of the road before flowing beneath it at a bend where it flows from north east to south east. It continues flowing in this direction, pastPlantsbrook School , which receives its name from the stream, and turns north east atSutton Coldfield Town F.C. 's training ground, underneath Ebrook Road, named after the former name of the stream. It meanders through a housing estate and underneath arailway viaduct and entersNew Hall Valley Country Park from its north.From here it is channelled southwards past the
New Hall Estate ,New Hall Manor and New Hall mill. Prior to it being channelled, it flowed alongside New Hall Manor toNew Hall Mill , where it powered the machinery. [ [http://www.newhallmill.org.uk/ New Hall Mill website] ] The stream is split into two streams, parallel to each other as it approaches Wylde Green Road. Up until1967 , the Wylde Green Road was crossed by a ford formed by Plants Brook. Alongside this,John Vesey ,Bishop of Exeter , constructed one of his 51 cottages known as the Fordkeeper's House. ["Houses of the valley, houses of interest at Wylde Green crossing of Plants Brook", A. F. Fentiman] This provided security to those travelling along the Wylde Green Road.It continues to flow south through the country park in
New Hall Valley , and underneath Penns Bridge. It flows to the east of Walmley Golf Club and provides water to 'The Dam', a long pool atPenns Hall . This southwards pattern is gradually lost as it flows around the boundary of Pypes Hayes Golf Course. Here it begins to flow south east, and once it reaches Eachelhurst Road, it is flowing east.A bridge was built over the stream at Eachelhurst Road and a parting in a housing estate indicates the course of the stream, despite being underground. It resurfaces soon after into several small pools, which were formerly
reservoir s. The area was designatednature reserve status in March1991 and covers an area of 24.96 acres. [ [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=17277&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=11897 Birmingham.gov.uk: Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve] ]A small trickle from the reservoirs provides water to the
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal .History
The course of the river has changed very little during its known history. When Sutton Coldfield was a separate district to
Birmingham , it provided a major source of water for the residents.To the affluent members of society living in Sutton Coldfield, it was contested over. Landowners were very restrictive in letting others use the stream. One such person was William Beauchamp,
Earl of Warwick . However, in1288 , he allowed Thomas de Arden, owner ofPeddimore Hall , to fish in the stream on Beauchamp's land. [http://www.walmleyresidents.co.uk/peddimore.htm Walmley Residents Association: A brief history of Peddimore] ]A survey of the stream was conducted by the Applied Hydrobiology Section of
Aston University in1972 , into the wildlife of the stream. The results showed that it was relatively unpolluted and was well aerated. The soft acid waters supported various species such ascrayfish ,nymph s, stoneflies, mayflies and fresh water shrimps.Minnow s were also found to be living in the stretch of water between Blackroot Pool and Town Gate.Features on the course
References
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