Lyme Brook is a tributary stream of the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, 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 Midlands ...

, which flows through

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

, 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. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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

main river The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine, one of the major European rivers. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, ...

, which flows south-east in a narrow valley, between Clayton and Trent Vale, where it forms the boundary between Newcastle and Stoke. The brook then passes next to the Clayton Wood Training Ground and under the A500 dual carriage-way, joining the Trent near Hanford. The catchment or drainage basin lies between that of the Fowlea Brook 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 and the Fowlea Brook, Lyme brook suffered from pollution as the area developed following the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

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, 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