Plants Brook (originally Ebrook, Ebrooke''The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History'', Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press () or East BrookBritish History Online
- 'Warwickshire: 008/NE', ''Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1'' (1889)) is a stream in

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

and

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

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 a tributary of the River Tame, whose waters ultimately flow, via 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 the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

, into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Course of the stream

The source is in the

Streetly Streetly is an area in the county of West Midlands, England which lies around to the north of Birmingham City Centre. It is uniquely located within the borders of Birmingham, Lichfield and Walsall district authorities, and is part of the West Mi ...

area of Sutton 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-demolished

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

. The stream then goes under ground, below

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, past

Plantsbrook School Plantsbrook School, (formerly Riland Bedford High School), is a secondary school with academy status located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The school achieved an "Outstanding" Ofsted status once in 2012. The most recent rating w ...

, which receives its name from the stream, and turns north east at Sutton Coldfield Town F.C.'s football ground, underneath Ebrook Road, named after the former name of the stream. It meanders through a housing estate and underneath a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

and enters

New Hall Valley Country Park New Hall Valley Country Park is a country park located in New Hall Valley between Walmley, Wylde Green and Pype Hayes in the Sutton Coldfield area of north Birmingham. It is the first new country park in the United Kingdom, UK for over a decade. ...

from its north. From here it is channelled southwards past the

New Hall Estate The New Hall Estate is the older of the two major private housing estates named after New Hall Manor in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands in England. The newer being New Hall Manor Estate. It was built in a number of phases b ...

New Hall Manor New Hall Manor is a medieval manor house, now used as a hotel, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is claimed to be one of the oldest inhabited moated houses in Britain,''Walmley and its surroundings'' (Chapter II: ''New Hall, New H ...

and New Hall mill. Prior to it being channelled, it flowed alongside New Hall Manor to

New Hall Mill New Hall Mill is a watermill in Walmley, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. The mill is a Grade II* listed building; it is privately owned, and is managed by the New Hall Water Mill Preservation Trust. It is open to the public on Open Days, or b ...

, where it powered the machinery. The stream is split into two streams, parallel to each other as it approaches Wylde Green Road. Up until 1967, the Wylde Green Road was crossed by a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

formed by Plants Brook. Alongside this,

John Vesey John Vesey or Veysey ( – 23 October 1554) was Bishop of Exeter from 1519 until his death in 1554, having been briefly deposed 1551–3 by King Edward VI for his opposition to the Reformation. Origins He was born (as "John Harman"), probabl ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

, constructed one of his 51 cottages known as the Fordkeeper's House. 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 Penns Lake, a long pool at

Penns Hall Penns Hall is a building on Penns Lane, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, operated as a hotel and country club by Ramada International. It is a Grade B locally listed building, and is licensed as a venue for civil marriages and c ...

. 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 A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s, The reservoirs still provide water to the

Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford ...

. The area was designated

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

status in March 1991, as Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve, and covers an area of .Birmingham.gov.uk: Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve
/ref> From there, the brook is culverted southwards, emerging just before its confluence with the Tame.

History

The course of the river has changed very little during its known history. When Sutton Coldfield was a separate district to

, 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 Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation c ...

. However, in 1288, he allowed Thomas de Arden, owner of

Peddimore Hall Peddimore Hall is a manor house in the Walmley area of Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II listed building. It is now in use as a private residence. Peddimore was first mentio ...

, to fish in the stream on Beauchamp's land.Walmley Residents Association: A brief history of Peddimore
A survey of the stream was conducted by the Applied Hydrobiology Section of

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...

in 1972, 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 as

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

stoneflies Plecoptera is an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the mo ...

mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the orde ...

and fresh water shrimps.

Minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are co ...

s were also found to be living in the stretch of water between Blackroot Pool and Town Gate.

Features on the course

References

{{authority control Rivers of the West Midlands (county) Geography of Birmingham, West Midlands Sutton Coldfield 1Plants