Edgbaston Reservoir, originally known as Rotton Park Reservoir and referred to in some early maps as Rock Pool Reservoir, is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

feeder

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, maintained by the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

.Environment Agency public register of Large Raised Reservoirs, as at 2 November 2020, via It is situated close to Birmingham City Centre and is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

History

Edgbaston Reservoir boat house and paddle gear on dam

Originally a small pool named Roach Pool in Rotton Park, it was extensively enlarged by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

between 1824 and 1829 to supply water to the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Levels of the

Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and opera ...

(BCN) canal system: via a culvert and the Engine Arm to the Wolverhampton Level, and via Icknield Port Loop at the foot of the dam to the lower Birmingham Level. It was excavated to a depth of 40 feet (12 metres) and covers an area of , holding of water, and was the largest expanse of water in Birmingham at the time. It is supplied by small streams and a feeder from Titford Reservoir (Titford Pools) in Oldbury. It was formed by damming a small stream. The dam is a long earth embankment with a height of near the centre. The reservoir and gatehouse were designed by Thomas Telford and the latter is a two-storey

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in corporate BCN octagonal style, with a later extension dating from 1880. In 1873, the reservoir was crossed by Charles Blondin, on a

tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

. His feat is marked by a 1992 statue on the nearby ''Ladywood Middleway'' ring road. In 1876, a skating rink was opened near the gatehouse. By the 1920s the building was more popular as a

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

, and was renamed the 'Pavilion Ballroom', and then in 1933 the 'Tower Ballroom'. The Tower Ballroom remained open in some form until 2017, when it was forced to close due to rent costs. It reopened briefly in 2019 to host Birmingham Opera Company's acclaimed production of '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk'', but was subsequently demolished in 2022 with the site remaining vacant as of 2024.

Ecology

The reservoir is surrounded by woodland and grassland. The total area of the site is . It supports a variety of birds, in addition to newts and bats.

Leisure

In addition to supplying water to the canals, the reservoir is used for leisure activities including

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

. Edgbaston Reservoir is home to three rowing clubs, Birmingham Rowing Club, Birmingham City University Rowing Club and the University of Birmingham Boat Club. All are housed within the same boathouse. The site has also been chosen to house a new Birmingham Schools rowing initiative, with the three aforementioned clubs assisting in the running of the scheme. Birmingham Canoe Club also shares the space during the summer months (June to September), paddling on the reservoir. TS Vernon

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...

use the reservoir as a base, their current site is being redeveloped in 2023 by the parent charity the MSSC (Marine Society & Sea Cadets) to become Midland Boat Station which will provide opportunities not only to Cadets in the immediate area and beyond but will provide opportunities for schools, Further Education and youth groups access to water sports under professional and Adventure Activity licensed Instruction at their brand new purpose built facility which will be completed early 2024. The Midland Sailing Club is also based at Edgbaston Reservoir, and often race sailing boats around a marked course. Windsurfers also use the reservoir. Until 2017 the Reservoir was home to Edgbaston Watersports, which provided water and land activities for school, college and youth groups from their base on the Icknield Port Road side of the reservoir. Since 2019 such water sports activities are provided by SailBirmingham. The Reservoir perimeter provides a pleasant route for joggers, with a gravel and tarmac path throughout its 1.75 mile (2.8 km) circumference. The fishing season runs from 16 June to 14 March. Licences are available from the Environment Agency. As of April 2019 the car park is closed to vehicles after complaints of antisocial behaviour.Ladywood Police on Twitter
/ref> Since August 2021, Edgbaston Reservoir has been hosted a weekly parkrun. The route covers two laps of the reservoir and takes place at 9am each Saturday. Zedgbastonreservoirmanonice

Weather

The reservoir usually has a gentle breeze across it due to the lack of large buildings or objects surrounding it, which makes it ideal for sailing. During winter there can be strong, icy, northerly winds blowing over the city, which can freeze the reservoir over due to its exposed northern side (where the dam is situated). In both January 2009 and 2010 reservoir froze over to the extent that it could be walked upon, although this is strongly discouraged. In the summer the reservoir is often extremely busy with members of the public coming for picnics and walks around the reservoir's perimeter path.

References

External links