Lyme Brook is a 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 ...

, which flows through

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Course

Prior to the 20th century the upper course of the brook could be traced through the area to the north of Newcastle, but subsequent development and culverting means that only parts are now visible. To the south of Newcastle town centre, the brook joins together with a number of its tributaries including the Silverdale and the Ashfield brooks. This area between Rotterdam and Pool Dam was important historically, as the water from the brooks was dammed to form a protective pool around the ‘new’

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

in the 12th century, after which the town is named. From Pool Dam, the brook has been designated as

main river Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...

, which flows south-east in a narrow valley, between Clayton and

Trent Vale Trent Vale is a village located on the western outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent in England. It is bordered on the south by Hanford, and both villages are separated by the A500. To the west is Clayton, whilst the north is Newcastle-under-Lyme. The ...

, where it forms the boundary between Newcastle and Stoke. The brook then passes next to the

Clayton Wood Training Ground Clayton Wood is the training ground and academy of EFL Championship club Stoke City. Development In January 2009, Stoke City unveiled plans to redevelop their training ground at an initial cost of £5 million. Stoke City were given planning perm ...

and under the A500 dual carriage-way, joining the Trent near Hanford. The catchment or drainage basin lies between that of the

Fowlea Brook Fowlea Brook rises in Staffordshire and flows through the northern parts of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is a tributary stream of the River Trent, and is long. Course and catchment Its source is on the high ground near Peacock Hay, a little so ...

to the north and east, and that of the Park brook to the south, and has an area of .

Floods

Road bridge over Lyme Brook -geograph- 2464396-by-Carl-Farnell

The brook is capable of causing flooding, and was the subject of a flood alleviation scheme in the 1990s by the

National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority (NRA) was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten region ...

. The completed scheme was commemorated by a sculpture on the Brook Lane bridge, known as ''The Return''. The 1995 carved stone sculpture by local artist Ian Randall, shows a cascade of fish returning to the brook. A flood warning service is provided for the brook, and encompasses areas at risk such as, Brook Lane, Hatrell Street and the Lyme Valley sports fields.

Pollution and ecology

Along with other watercourses draining the Potteries such as

Ford Green Brook Ford Green Brook flows through Staffordshire and the outlying areas of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the first named tributary stream of the River Trent, and is long. Course and catchment Its source is below Mow Cop, on the flank of the gri ...

and the

, Lyme brook suffered from pollution as the area developed following the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

with sewage effluent from Newcastle being discharged into the brook. The building of sewerage treatment works removed the gross pollution, but problems still persisted. Lyme brook is 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. ...

, having improved from bad in 2015. The bands in the five part framework scale are high, good, moderate, poor and bad. Problems include poor water quality and low levels of aquatic ecology. Work to improve the brook is continuing and examples of improvement include the return of Brown Trout.

References

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