Stowe Pool
Encyclopedia
Stowe Pool is a reservoir located in the city of Lichfield
, Staffordshire
.
The reservoir was built in 1856 by the South Staffordshire Waterworks Co.
in order to supply clean water to the Black Country
. Before 1856, Stowe Pool existed as a mill pond, with Stowe mill located just to the west of St Chad’s Church
. Since 1968 the reservoir has not been used for supply and is now a public amenity used for recreation purposes.
Stowe Pool is a designated SSSI
site as it is home to the native white-clawed crayfish
.
and flows east through Beacon Park
where it combines with Trunkfield Brook into a conduit under the Museum Gardens. The streams are then carried under Bird Street into Minster Pool
and then pass into a pipe under Dam Street, Stowe Fields and into Stowe Pool. The outflow from Stowe Pool flows north as Curborough Brook.
Stowe Pool has a capacity of 217,600m3 and a surface area of 55,000m2, with the depth of the lake varying from 1m to 7m.
, Bream, Tench
, Roach, Perch
, Pike
and Eel
. Stowe Pool also supports a large and healthy population of white-clawed crayfish
. Due to the isolated nature of Stowe Pool the crayfish are not exposed to disease which has spread into many of their other habitats. As a result of its crayfish population Stowe Pool was designated a SSSI
site in 1998. Effective wildlife management of the pool has attracted various species of wildfowl, including swans
, moorhens
, coots
and grebes
.
Stowe Pool has limited marginal vegetation, but its water plants include Polygonum amphibium
and Spiked Water-milfoil
. The shallow margins of the pool are dominated by extensive low-growing blankets of the water plant Chara aspera var. curta
a nationally scarce stonewort.
and mill
were constructed across Leamonsley Brook near to St Chads Church
. The original mill was under the ownership of the Bishop of Lichfield
and provided him with an important income from the city. The mill ground wheat and mixed corn from the 14th until its demolition in 1856. During this time the mill had been rebuilt and added to many times and during the 18th century it consisted of three water wheels and an adjoining smithy
capable of iron manufacture, although it may never have been used for such a purpose.
The pool was an important fishery in the 13th century under the ownership of the Bishop of Lichfield. The ownership of the pool passed to the city in the 16th century who then let the fishery
to the public until 1856.
By the 19th century due to the slow flowing nature of the streams Stowe Pool silted up and only existed at the its eastern end. The western portion was a bog
known as ‘the moggs’. As Leamonsley Brook flowed out of the mill on Dam Street along Reeve Lane it split into two streams running east towards the mill. As the stream flowed out of the mill as Curborough Brook it split into two streams encircling St Chad’s Church and joining on the other side. During this time the pool was used as a sewer and discharge from local tanneries
flowed into the waters. In the 1840’s the health hazard posed by the pool brought a proposal for it to be filled in.
In 1853 the South Staffordshire Waterworks Co.
was founded and it was immediately proposed by John Robinson McClean
to tap Lichfield’s plentiful water resources to supply the Black Country
. In 1856 the mill was demolished, the silt was dredged and an embankment
built around the pool to raise the water level bringing it up to its current size. A promenade was built on top of the embankment around the perimeter of the pool. Pipes were laid from the streams by the Museum Gardens, under Bird Street into Minster Pool then under Dam Street and Stowe Fields into Stowe Pool. The stored water in Stowe Pool could then be conveyed back towards Sandfields Pumping Station, where it was piped along the railway line to Walsall
.
Ownership of the pool was handed back to the city in 1968 when the reservoir was no longer needed for supply. Lichfield District Council have retained the pool for public amenity and stocked the pool with fish for local anglers. Since the draining of Chasewater
the pool has also been used as a venue for watersports such as sailing and canoeing.
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
The reservoir was built in 1856 by the South Staffordshire Waterworks Co.
South Staffordshire Water
South Staffordshire Water PLC known as South Staffs Water, is a privately owned water company supplying water to parts of Staffordshire and the West Midlands, England....
in order to supply clean water to the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
. Before 1856, Stowe Pool existed as a mill pond, with Stowe mill located just to the west of St Chad’s Church
The Church of St Chad, Lichfield
The Church of St Chad is a parish church in the area of Stowe in the north of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The church is located to the north of Stowe Pool on St Chad's Road...
. Since 1968 the reservoir has not been used for supply and is now a public amenity used for recreation purposes.
Stowe Pool is a designated SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
site as it is home to the native white-clawed crayfish
Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...
.
Hydrology
Lichfield is built on two sides of a shallow valley into which flow Leamonsley Brook and Trunkfield Brook from the west. Leamonsley Brook originates from a spring in Maple HayesMaple Hayes
Maple Hayes is late 18th century manor house, now occupied by a special needs school, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building....
and flows east through Beacon Park
Beacon Park
Beacon Park is a public park in the centre of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, in the United Kingdom. The park was originally laid out in 1859 in the form of the Museum Gardens adjacent to the newly built Free Museum and Library and has been extended over the years to its current size of...
where it combines with Trunkfield Brook into a conduit under the Museum Gardens. The streams are then carried under Bird Street into Minster Pool
Minster Pool
Minster Pool is a reservoir located between Bird Street and Dam Street in the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. The pool lies directly south of Lichfield Cathedral and historically has been important to the defence of the Cathedral Close...
and then pass into a pipe under Dam Street, Stowe Fields and into Stowe Pool. The outflow from Stowe Pool flows north as Curborough Brook.
Stowe Pool has a capacity of 217,600m3 and a surface area of 55,000m2, with the depth of the lake varying from 1m to 7m.
Natural History
The pool supports a large variety of fish species including, CarpCarp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
, Bream, Tench
Tench
The tench or doctor fish is a freshwater and brackish water fish of the cyprinid family found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal...
, Roach, Perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
, Pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
and Eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
. Stowe Pool also supports a large and healthy population of white-clawed crayfish
Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...
. Due to the isolated nature of Stowe Pool the crayfish are not exposed to disease which has spread into many of their other habitats. As a result of its crayfish population Stowe Pool was designated a SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
site in 1998. Effective wildlife management of the pool has attracted various species of wildfowl, including swans
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
, moorhens
Common Moorhen
The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
, coots
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...
and grebes
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
.
Stowe Pool has limited marginal vegetation, but its water plants include Polygonum amphibium
Persicaria amphibia
Persicaria amphibia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to much of North America and Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes...
and Spiked Water-milfoil
Myriophyllum spicatum
Myriophyllum spicatum is a species of Myriophyllum native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa. It is a submerged aquatic plant, and grows in still or slow-moving water.-Description:...
. The shallow margins of the pool are dominated by extensive low-growing blankets of the water plant Chara aspera var. curta
Charales
Charales is an order of pondweeds, freshwater algae in the division Charophyta. They are green plants believed to be the closest relatives of the green land plants. Linnaeus established the genus Chara in 1753.-Description:...
a nationally scarce stonewort.
History
Stowe Pool was originally formed in the 11th century when a damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and mill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
were constructed across Leamonsley Brook near to St Chads Church
The Church of St Chad, Lichfield
The Church of St Chad is a parish church in the area of Stowe in the north of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The church is located to the north of Stowe Pool on St Chad's Road...
. The original mill was under the ownership of the Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
and provided him with an important income from the city. The mill ground wheat and mixed corn from the 14th until its demolition in 1856. During this time the mill had been rebuilt and added to many times and during the 18th century it consisted of three water wheels and an adjoining smithy
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
capable of iron manufacture, although it may never have been used for such a purpose.
The pool was an important fishery in the 13th century under the ownership of the Bishop of Lichfield. The ownership of the pool passed to the city in the 16th century who then let the fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
to the public until 1856.
By the 19th century due to the slow flowing nature of the streams Stowe Pool silted up and only existed at the its eastern end. The western portion was a bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
known as ‘the moggs’. As Leamonsley Brook flowed out of the mill on Dam Street along Reeve Lane it split into two streams running east towards the mill. As the stream flowed out of the mill as Curborough Brook it split into two streams encircling St Chad’s Church and joining on the other side. During this time the pool was used as a sewer and discharge from local tanneries
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
flowed into the waters. In the 1840’s the health hazard posed by the pool brought a proposal for it to be filled in.
In 1853 the South Staffordshire Waterworks Co.
South Staffordshire Water
South Staffordshire Water PLC known as South Staffs Water, is a privately owned water company supplying water to parts of Staffordshire and the West Midlands, England....
was founded and it was immediately proposed by John Robinson McClean
John Robinson McClean
John Robinson McClean CB FRS , was a British civil engineer and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:He was born in Belfast. Educated at Belfast Academical Institution and University of Glasgow.-Engineering career:...
to tap Lichfield’s plentiful water resources to supply the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
. In 1856 the mill was demolished, the silt was dredged and an embankment
Embankment dam
An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...
built around the pool to raise the water level bringing it up to its current size. A promenade was built on top of the embankment around the perimeter of the pool. Pipes were laid from the streams by the Museum Gardens, under Bird Street into Minster Pool then under Dam Street and Stowe Fields into Stowe Pool. The stored water in Stowe Pool could then be conveyed back towards Sandfields Pumping Station, where it was piped along the railway line to Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
.
Ownership of the pool was handed back to the city in 1968 when the reservoir was no longer needed for supply. Lichfield District Council have retained the pool for public amenity and stocked the pool with fish for local anglers. Since the draining of Chasewater
Chasewater
Chasewater is a 3-square-kilometre reservoir in the parish of Burntwood, in the district of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in the 18th Century and remains the largest in use in the region today.-History:Work on...
the pool has also been used as a venue for watersports such as sailing and canoeing.
Lists
- List of reservoirs in Staffordshire
- List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Staffordshire
- List of lakes of England