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 county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...

and

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

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 ...

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

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 River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

, into the

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

Course of the stream

The source is in the Streetly 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 Cross Pool near Wyndley Leisure Centre, where it is joined by the Longmoor Brook. Water is channelled from this pool towards 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 ...

. The stream then goes under ground below Clifton Road and

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, 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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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 ...

and enters New Hall Valley Country Park from its north. From here it is channelled southwards past the New Hall Estate, New Hall Manor and New Hall mill. Prior to it being channelled, it flowed alongside New Hall Manor to New Hall Mill, 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 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"), probab ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

, 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. 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 (; ) 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 ...

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 (region), West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham ...

. 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, funga, or features of geologic ...

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 a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which has been created four times in English history. The name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation came in 1088, and the title was held b ...

. However, in 1288, he allowed Thomas de Arden, owner of Peddimore Hall, 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 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 College of a ...

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 infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, stoneflies,

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 order ...

and fresh water shrimps.

Minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

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