Ford Green Brook flows through

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

and the outlying areas of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the first named tributary stream of the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

, and is long.

Course and catchment

Its source is below

Mow Cop Mow Cop is a village split between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and therefore divided between the North West England, North West and West Midlands (region), West Midlands regions of England. It is south of Manchester and north of Stoke-on-Trent ...

, on the flank of the gritstone edge on which the village is located. The brook flows south-east in a narrow valley, through Brindley Ford and then into conurbation of Stoke-on-Trent. It passes through the site of the disused

Chatterley Whitfield Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent, England. It was the largest mine working the North Staffordshire Coalfield and was the first colliery in the UK to produce one mil ...

colliery, where it was once culverted, and then flows between Bradeley and Norton-in-the-moors to Ford Green. The brook then flows to the east of

Smallthorne Smallthorne (population: 5,827 – 2011 Census) is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is in the north-east of the city, near Burslem. Smallthorne borders Bradeley and Chell, Staffordshire, Chell in the north, Nort ...

, and

Sneyd Green Sneyd Green is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in the north-east of the city, from Hanley. Sneyd Green borders Smallthorne in the north, Milton in the east, Birches Head in the south, and Cobridge in the west. ...

where it passes beneath the

Caldon Canal Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs from Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall, Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the Froghall Tunnel. History The first plans by the proprietors of the ...

, joining the Trent near

Milton, Staffordshire Milton is located in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is mainly situated between the A5009 and A53 roads. It shares its borders with Light Oaks, Baddeley Green, Sneyd Green, and Abbey Hulton. Milton is part of the Abbey Green war ...

. The catchment, which lies between that of the Head of Trent to the north and east, and that of the Scotia brook to the south and west, has an area of . Ford Green valley was at one time the location for heavy industry, with local collieries such as the Chatterley-Whitfield, supplying coal to the Ford Green ironworks. In their place, a number of parks and wildlife sites have now been created linked together by a cycle route. These include the Chatterley-Whitfield heritage park, the Whitfield Valley nature reserve, and Holden Lane pools.

Banky Brook

Banky Brook was the traditional name given to the stream as it passed through Stoke. It was a popular place for local children to play in the past. A street in the nearby village of Bradeley is named Banky Brook Close.

Floods

In August 1987, following intense rainfall, the brook overflowed and flooded the 16th century

Ford Green Hall Ford Green Hall is a Grade II* listed farmhouse and historic house museum in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The oldest parts of the house date from the late 16th century, with one wing being either added or greatly repaired at some point in t ...

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. The floods reached a depth of 4–5 feet within the house and antique furniture was seen floating through the lower rooms. The damage caused by the storm meant that the hall had to close for two years whilst it was renovated and repaired.

Wildlife and ecology

Ford Green brook has been classed as having poor ecological quality under the

Water Framework Directive The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC is an EU directive which commits European Union member states to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015. ...

. This is one of the lower bands in the five part framework scale, which ranges from high, good, and moderate, through to poor and finally bad. Despite the low ecological classification, sites along the brook support a variety of flora and fauna, including water voles, grass snakes, and dragonflies. The Ford Green reed bed, at the lower end of

Whitfield Valley Whitfield Valley is a local nature reserve on the northern fringe of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Description The reserve, of area , was designated a local nature reserve (LNR) in 1991. It is owned and managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Fo ...

nature reserve, has been designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. This is because substantial flocks of swallows ''

Hirundo rustica The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

'' congregate here before migrating for the winter.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Staffordshire Areas of Stoke-on-Trent 1FordGreen Tributaries of the River Trent