Stubbers Green or Stubber's Green is an area in the

Metropolitan Borough of Walsall The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsal ...

in the West Midlands county of England. It is northeast of

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and lies inbetween the villages of Rushall and Shelfield and the town of

Aldridge Aldridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is historically, a village that was part of Staffordshire until 1974. The town is from Brownhills, from Walsall, from Sutton Coldfield and from ...

. There are two

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

in the area. Coal mining took place from the mid-19th century to early 20th century.

Mining and quarrying

Shafts of the Coppy Hall Colliery were sunk circa 1857 through of red marl to the coal measures. Ironstone was also worked. In 1906 the colliery employed 258 underground and 83 surface workers, but closed three years later. Quarrying of the clay for brickmaking has also taken place.

Stubbers Green Bog

Stubbers Green Bog is a privately owned biological

site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. Following a public campaign in 1985, the site was notified in 1986 under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

. There is a pool in a depression likely caused by subsidence from coal mining. Two drainage ditches connected to the pool help replenish the water level. Around part of the pool is a mire consisting of a water-logged area of

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

and

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

overlain by

common cottongrass ''Eriophorum angustifolium'', commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in op ...

, bog pondweed, common spike-rush, common fleabane and rushes. Walsall Council report this habitat type as rare in England, though the site's ecological value is described as "uncertain", owing to pressure from invasive scrub of

goat willow ''Salix caprea'', known as goat willow, pussy willow or great sallow, is a common species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook 4. . De ...

and

sallow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

. There is no public access. A 1939 drawing, ''Stubbers Green Pool, Walsall Wood'', by

Theodore Garman Theodore Garman (1 July 1924 – 22 January 1954) was an English painter of the mid-20th century. Early life Garman was born on 1 July 1924,Birth certificate, in the Epstein Archives at The New Art Gallery Walsall the son of Kathleen Garman (t ...

, is in the

Garman Ryan Collection The Garman Ryan Collection is a permanent collection of art works housed at The New Art Gallery Walsall and comprises 365 works of art, including prints, sketches, sculptures, drawings and paintings collected by Kathleen Garman (later wife of the ...

The New Art Gallery Walsall The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery in the town of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery and additiona ...

. Accession number 1973.121.GR (deep linking not possible)

Swan Pool and The Swag

Swan Pool and The Swag is a biological

. The site was notified in 1986 under the

. Beneath Stubbers Green Road a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

links Swan Pool with another pool known as The Swag. A book published in 1987 says the pools were a "nationally important

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

roost", however, Walsall Council suggest this is no longer the case.

Common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. Distribution and habitat The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution li ...

and

jack snipe The jack snipe or jacksnipe (''Lymnocryptes minimus'') is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus ''Lymnocryptes''. Features such as its sternum and its continuous 'bobbing up and down' make it quite dis ...

spend the winter nearby and shelter in the

reed beds A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

. Western Yellow Wagtails roost at The Swag in autumn. The banks of both pools are publicly accessible. Aldridge Sailing Club, a

Royal Yachting Association The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for i ...

recognised centre has facilities at The Swag. In May 2020, about 100 dead fish were found floating on The Swag. The

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

thought the incident may have been the result of hot weather and a lack of rainfall, but an investigation by Walsall Council found reduced oxygen levels caused by a blocked inlet.

References

External links

Aldridge Sailing Club's live webcam at The Swag
{{Authority control Areas of the West Midlands (county) Metropolitan Borough of Walsall Aldridge Rushall - Shelfield Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1986 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands (county)

Mining and quarrying

Stubbers Green Bog

Swan Pool and The Swag

See also

References

External links