River Cole, West Midlands: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 13:38, 17 July 2016 editDe728631 (talk \| contribs)56,510 edits →Shire country park: this section has been merged to a standalone article Shire Country Park, added lede text from said article to provide a brief summary.← Previous edit		Revision as of 13:39, 17 July 2016 edit undoDe728631 (talk \| contribs)56,510 editsm →Shire Country Park: layoutNext edit →
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	The Shire Country Park consists of the Millstream Way following the course of the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath and includes the following sites: Scribers Lane SINC, Trittiford Mill Pool, The Dingles, Chinn Brook Recreation Ground, ] Recreation Ground, ] LNR, Burbury Brickworks, The ] and Cocksmoor BMX.<ref name="birmingham">{{cite web \|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/shirecountrypark \|title=The Shire Country Park \|publisher=Birmingham City Council \|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref>		The Shire Country Park consists of the Millstream Way following the course of the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath and includes the following sites: Scribers Lane SINC, Trittiford Mill Pool, The Dingles, Chinn Brook Recreation Ground, ] Recreation Ground, ] LNR, Burbury Brickworks, The ] and Cocksmoor BMX.<ref name="birmingham">{{cite web \|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/shirecountrypark \|title=The Shire Country Park \|publisher=Birmingham City Council \|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:39, 17 July 2016

This article is about the River Cole in the West Midlands, go to River Cole, Wiltshire for the other river.

River

Cole
The river in Coleshill

Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Kings Norton, West Midlands, and Wythall, Worcestershire

Mouth
• location	Confluence with the River Blythe at Ladywalk reserve
Length	25 miles (40 km)

The River Cole is a 25 miles (40 km) river in the English Midlands. It rises on the lower slopes of Forhill, one of the south-western ramparts of the Birmingham Plateau, at Hob Hill, near Wythall; and flows largely north-east across the plateau to enter the River Blythe below Coleshill, near Ladywalk, shortly before the Blythe meets the Tame. This then joins the Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. Its source is very near the main watershed of Midland England : tributaries are few and very short except in the lower reaches, so the Cole is only a small stream.

Geology

Average gradient of the central reaches is 10 1/2 feet in a mile. There is a fast run-off from the drift covered Keuper marl clay which makes up its catchment area, and heavy rain produces sudden floods; in the absence of replenishing side-streams these subside as quickly as they rise. The Cole is normally shallow, except where weirs maintain an artificial depth.

Etymology

Its bears a Celtic name derived from the old British word for hazel. In a charter of AD 972 of Pershore Abbey the river throughout Yardley is 'Colle'. It has since borne several different local names:

Year	Name
972	Colle
1275	Maerebroc (Boundary Brook)
1495	Water of Cowle
1609	Water of Cole
1649	Inkford Brook (south of Yardley)
18th century	Hemill, Hay Mill Brook
18th century	Low Brook (south of Yardley)
18th century	Greet Brook

Description of the course

A southern tributary rises in fields at Hob Hill, its course runs through farm land and is then joined in the vicinity of the aptly named Watery Lane by a northern tributary which rises in Redhill and crosses Kings Norton golf club. The combined river then is bridged by the A435, Alcester Road by the Horse and Jockey Public House from where it crosses fields to the east of Wythall before passing under an aqueduct for the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal on Peterbrook Road at Major's Green. Skirting to the west of Shirley and passing the site and former mill pond of Bache Mill, it is joined on its eastern bank by the Shirley Brook which forms the boundary between Birmingham and Solihull.

Shire Country Park

Main article: Shire Country Park

The Shire Country Park consists of the Millstream Way following the course of the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath and includes the following sites: Scribers Lane SINC, Trittiford Mill Pool, The Dingles, Chinn Brook Recreation Ground, Sarehole Mill Recreation Ground, Moseley Bog LNR, Burbury Brickworks, The John Morris Jones Walkway and Cocksmoor BMX.

Kingfisher country park

Passing under Hay Mills bridge it crosses the A45, Coventry Road and from here eleven kilometres of the river and the Cole Valley are protected by the Kingfisher Country Park. The river now skirts south east of Birmingham city centre and, passing under the M6 motorway at Chelmsley Wood, heads north east again towards Coleshill, to which it gave its name.

The river has the potential to flood during heavy rain and the Stratford Roads' Greet Mill ford shows how treacherous the river could be after heavy rain as the assizes rolls of 1275 record that, Roger Fullard wishing to cross the water with his cart at the mill of Greet, by the flooding water, he and his horses were drowned. Babbs Mill Lake was created to balance the effect.

References

"B&BC BAP - Rivers and Streams Habitat Action Plan". Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
^ The Waters of Yardley John Morris Jones
^ Victor Skipp, Medieval Yardley, Phillimore, 1970, p.31. ISBN 0900592079
E.Ekwal, Dictionary of English Place Names, 4th edn. 1960 p116
H. P. R. Finberg, The Early Charters of the West Midlands, 1961, p117
"The Shire Country Park". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
"Kingfisher Country Park". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 5 September 2011.

External links

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

[REDACTED] Media related to River Cole, West Midlands at Wikimedia Commons

Watercourses of Yardley - lists many minor tributaries

v t e Ceremonial county of West Midlands
Metropolitan districts	City of Birmingham City of Coventry Metropolitan Borough of Dudley Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough of Solihull Metropolitan Borough of Walsall City of Wolverhampton
Major settlements (cities in italics)	Aldridge Bilston Birmingham Blackheath Bloxwich Bournville Brierley Hill Brownhills Chelmsley Wood Coseley Coventry Cradley Heath Darlaston Dorridge Dudley Edgbaston Erdington Gornal Halesowen Kingswinford Knowle Longbridge Netherton Oldbury Pelsall Pensnett Quarry Bank Rowley Regis Sedgley Selly Oak Shirley Smethwick Solihull Stourbridge Streetly Sutton Coldfield Tipton Tividale Walsall Wednesbury Wednesfield West Bromwich Willenhall Wolverhampton Wordsley See also: West Midlands
Rivers	River Blythe River Cole River Penk River Rea Saredon Brook Smestow Brook River Sherbourne River Sow River Sowe River Stour River Tame
Canals	Birmingham Canal Navigations Shropshire Union Canal Staffordshire & Worcestershire Worcester & Birmingham
Topics	Places Population of major settlements Parliamentary constituencies SSSIs Country houses Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings Scheduled monuments Conservation areas History Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs Museums Black Country Birmingham Airport Coventry/Bedworth Urban Area Transport for West Midlands West Midlands conurbation West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor of the West Midlands West Midlands Police

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Revision as of 13:38, 17 July 2016 editDe728631 (talk \| contribs)56,510 edits →Shire country park: this section has been merged to a standalone article Shire Country Park, added lede text from said article to provide a brief summary.← Previous edit		Revision as of 13:39, 17 July 2016 edit undoDe728631 (talk \| contribs)56,510 editsm →Shire Country Park: layoutNext edit →
Line 83:		Line 83:
	===Shire Country Park===		===Shire Country Park===
	{{main article\|Shire Country Park}}		{{main article\|Shire Country Park}}
	]		]
	The Shire Country Park consists of the Millstream Way following the course of the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath and includes the following sites: Scribers Lane SINC, Trittiford Mill Pool, The Dingles, Chinn Brook Recreation Ground, ] Recreation Ground, ] LNR, Burbury Brickworks, The ] and Cocksmoor BMX.<ref name="birmingham">{{cite web \|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/shirecountrypark \|title=The Shire Country Park \|publisher=Birmingham City Council \|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref>		The Shire Country Park consists of the Millstream Way following the course of the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath and includes the following sites: Scribers Lane SINC, Trittiford Mill Pool, The Dingles, Chinn Brook Recreation Ground, ] Recreation Ground, ] LNR, Burbury Brickworks, The ] and Cocksmoor BMX.<ref name="birmingham">{{cite web \|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/shirecountrypark \|title=The Shire Country Park \|publisher=Birmingham City Council \|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref>