515:
Due to the construction of the mill pool, Chinn Brook had to be diverted far into the
Dingles, flowing at a lesser gradient than the river, until it could join the Cole at the same level. The river then flows through the Dingles where towards Brook Lane is Four Arches Bridge. First recorded in 1822, it formerly linked Webb and Old Brook Lanes. The wain ford alongside and the side approached have disappeared. When the North Warwickshire Line was being built between 1906/7, its embankment cut off both Webb Lane and Robin Hood Lane and to avoid the cost of two bridges so close together, a single span was placed centrally and the lanes diverted to it. Both fords then went out of use. For two decades the Four Arches Bridge continued to be used, but then Cole Valley Road was built up and thenceforward the bridge led nowhere, and it was allowed to fall into ruin until only the arch courses and piers remained. A local campaign succeeded in achieving its handsome restoration. The race to
38:
471:
291:
570:
re-coursed and two weirs topped by step-stones were installed. Next, the river crosses the A3400, Stratford Road, the site of the former 13th-century Greet Mill, whose pool was the ponded river. In 1914 two brick bridges, over the river channel and a flood-race, were replaced by a two-arched brick bridge with a stone balustrade which allowed tramcars to cross the river and go on to Hall Green. The mill went out of use about 1843, was demolished and forgotten.
549:
887:
559:
held at
Sarehole Recreation Ground and Moseley Bog Local Nature Reserve part of the Shire Country Park. 2005 commemorated the 50th anniversary of the release of The Lord of the Rings. Ronald and his brother spent many hours playing around Sarehole Mill and being chased away by the miller's son. The Mill features in
573:
Between
Stratford Road and Formans Road, known in the 14th century as Foulemoreslone and which used the Fole- or Fullford (foul ford) the stretch is known as Blackberry Way, being named after consultation with local residents and highly suitable, as this is one of the best blackberry picking sections
443:
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
514:
also carries water to the mill race and former mill pond of
Tritterford Mill. It is bridged at Highfield Road by what was formally Titterford wain bridge built in the early 19th century but now replaced by a new bridge by which Highfield Road sweeps across the river and up the hill to Christ Church.
569:
Continuing to Green Lane ford which, like those at Slade and
Scribbers Lane, has been concreted and the wooden footbridge is the latest of many, earlier ones have been swept away by sudden torrents. When the meadow below Green Road was opened as part of the riverside walk in the 1960s, the Cole was
565:
when Bilbo
Baggins runs "as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water and then on for a mile or more." In the 1960s Tolkien contributed to a public appeal to restore the mill which had become dilapidated. It is now a museum and is the only surviving
624:
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
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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
558:
Tolkien and his brother spent their childhood in
Birmingham with their widowed mother. They first lived in the hamlet of Sarehole, which Tolkien said were the happiest years of his youth. Sarehole is said to have been the model for The Shire, home to the hobbits. Every year the Tolkien Weekend is
519:
formerly went under Brook Lane in a culvert, but this has been blocked and the line of the race is lost to northward. The spillway from race to river is seen to be still there, and the slots for the removable plank weir can be seen. The riverside walk continues as the
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359:
It 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:
1358:
322:, one of the south-western ramparts of the Birmingham Plateau, at Red Hill and flows south before flowing largely north-east across the plateau to enter the River Blythe below Coleshill, near
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498:), a diverse site with mixed broadleaf woodland containing wet flushes and ditches, a disused millrace and a wetland scrape. Over the past few years there have been reports of
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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.
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342:. 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.
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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
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past the site of Robin Hood Lane ford, across Cotterills Meadow which has been Colebank Playing Field for the last ninety years until it reaches the
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Horse and Jockey Public House from where it crosses fields to the east of Wythall before passing under an aqueduct for the
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535:. The Coldbath Brook, a tributary of the Cole, drives the mill which is now a museum and one of the inspirations for
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482:, the 'slade' is the Cole's black silted boggy valley, it begins a journey through the seven kilometres, between
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Wooden bridge over the Cole at Shirley, drawn in the 19th century by
545:. The Shire Country Park ranger office is located at Sarehole Mill.
510:
in this area. It runs along the River to the Scribers Lane Ford. A
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normally shallow, except where weirs maintain an artificial depth.
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908:
739:
E.Ekwal, Dictionary of English Place Names, 4th edn. 1960 p116
659:"B&BC BAP - Rivers and Streams Habitat Action Plan"
751:, The Early Charters of the West Midlands, 1961, p117
474:
Four Arches Bridge, near Cole Valley Road, Billesley
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950:
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Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country
593:close to the Ackers trust outdoor pursuits centre.
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577:The river is bridged by the A41, Warwick Road at
494:. Firstly passing through Scribers Lane SINC (
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699:The Waters of Yardley John Morris Jones
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326:, shortly before the Blythe meets the
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605:. The river now skirts south east of
7:
1481:Rivers of the West Midlands (county)
566:water mill in the City's ownership.
496:Site of Nature Conservation Interest
629:was created to balance the effect.
609:city centre and, passing under the
1333:Staffordshire & Worcestershire
14:
617:, heads north east again towards
408:Inkford Brook (south of Yardley)
1445:West Midlands Combined Authority
978:Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
973:Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell
885:
723:, Phillimore, 1970, p. 31.
36:
1359:Population of major settlements
983:Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
45:, near the confluence with the
968:Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
901:- lists many minor tributaries
234: • coordinates
155: • coordinates
1:
625:and his horses were drowned.
621:, to which it gave its name.
424:Low Brook (south of Yardley)
113:Physical characteristics
16:River in the English Midlands
1430:Coventry/Bedworth Urban Area
1364:Parliamentary constituencies
1323:Birmingham Canal Navigations
790:"Shire Country Park Friends"
639:Rivers of the United Kingdom
1435:Transport for West Midlands
875:GPX (secondary coordinates)
574:of The Shire Country Park.
384:Maerebroc (Boundary Brook)
306:is a 25 miles (40 km)
217: • location
131: • location
1512:
1450:Mayor of the West Midlands
1384:Grade II* listed buildings
1338:Worcester & Birmingham
463:
452:. Skirting to the west of
18:
1440:West Midlands conurbation
892:River Cole, West Midlands
870:GPX (primary coordinates)
845:Map all coordinates using
816:"Kingfisher Country Park"
522:John Morris Jones Walkway
478:Crossing Slade Lane at a
446:Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
439:Description of the course
334:, whose waters reach the
201:
117:
35:
1496:Rivers of Worcestershire
1379:Grade I listed buildings
853:Download coordinates as:
765:"The Shire Country Park"
19:Not to be confused with
1486:Coleshill, Warwickshire
899:Watercourses of Yardley
820:Birmingham City Council
769:Birmingham City Council
603:Kingfisher Country Park
597:Kingfisher Country Park
416:Hemill, Hay Mill Brook
318:on the lower slopes of
284:40 km (25 mi)
1476:Rivers of Warwickshire
1328:Shropshire Union Canal
951:Metropolitan districts
555:
475:
448:on Peterbrook Road at
330:. This then joins the
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988:City of Wolverhampton
894:at Wikimedia Commons
865:GPX (all coordinates)
551:
542:The Lord of the Rings
473:
293:
21:River Cole, Wiltshire
1455:West Midlands Police
296:Samuel Rostill Lines
257:52.51806°N 1.68889°W
221:Confluence with the
178:52.36111°N 1.88722°W
1389:Scheduled monuments
999:(cities in italics)
531:, Sarehole Mill at
252: /
173: /
1425:Birmingham Airport
1394:Conservation areas
958:City of Birmingham
587:Chiltern Main Line
556:
492:Shire Country Park
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466:Shire Country Park
460:Shire Country Park
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262:52.51806; -1.68889
189:River Cole, source
183:52.36111; -1.88722
1463:
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997:Major settlements
937:Ceremonial county
890:Media related to
669:on 24 August 2011
583:Grand Union Canal
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268:River Cole, mouth
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1404:Lord Lieutenants
1287:River Sherbourne
1185:Sutton Coldfield
963:City of Coventry
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796:on 23 April 2013
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721:Medieval Yardley
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665:. Archived from
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823:. Retrieved
810:
798:. Retrieved
794:the original
784:
772:. Retrieved
744:
735:
720:
717:Victor Skipp
671:. Retrieved
667:the original
653:
623:
600:
576:
572:
568:
560:
557:
540:
484:Yardley Wood
477:
442:
432:Greet Brook
429:18th century
421:18th century
413:18th century
358:
349:
303:
301:
223:River Blythe
136:Kings Norton
81:Warwickshire
25:
1302:River Stour
1210:Wednesfield
1175:Stourbridge
1140:Quarry Bank
825:5 September
774:5 September
673:5 September
611:M6 motorway
589:railway at
488:Small Heath
260: /
181: /
1470:Categories
1307:River Tame
1297:River Sowe
1267:River Penk
1262:River Cole
1220:Willenhall
1205:Wednesbury
1115:Longbridge
1043:Brownhills
1033:Bournville
1023:Blackheath
1017:Birmingham
800:2 February
729:0900592079
645:References
607:Birmingham
562:The Hobbit
533:Hall Green
529:water mill
508:water rail
504:water vole
304:River Cole
266: (
187: (
165:52°21′40″N
95:Birmingham
31:River Cole
1292:River Sow
1272:River Rea
1236:See also:
1165:Smethwick
1155:Selly Oak
1120:Netherton
1100:Halesowen
1090:Erdington
1085:Edgbaston
1070:Darlaston
619:Coleshill
591:Hay Mills
355:Etymology
336:North Sea
247:1°41′20″W
244:52°31′5″N
168:1°53′14″W
107:Coleshill
43:Coleshill
1232:Wordsley
1195:Tividale
1180:Streetly
1170:Solihull
1135:Pensnett
1075:Dorridge
1059:Coventry
1028:Bloxwich
1006:Aldridge
633:See also
585:and the
338:via the
324:Ladywalk
69:Counties
54:Location
1414:Museums
1399:History
1200:Walsall
1160:Shirley
1150:Sedgley
1130:Pelsall
1125:Oldbury
1053:Coseley
1011:Bilston
490:of the
454:Shirley
346:Geology
320:Forhill
310:in the
144:Wythall
99:Shirley
91:Wythall
63:England
59:Country
1354:Places
1347:Topics
1316:Canals
1250:Rivers
1190:Tipton
1110:Knowle
1095:Gornal
1080:Dudley
727:
376:Colle
281:Length
211:
142:, and
125:
122:Source
47:Blythe
1369:SSSIs
579:Greet
368:Name
332:Trent
316:rises
314:. It
308:river
207:Mouth
827:2011
802:2013
776:2011
725:ISBN
675:2011
512:leat
506:and
486:and
480:ford
405:1649
397:1609
389:1495
381:1275
365:Year
328:Tame
302:The
940:of
860:KML
613:at
539:'s
373:972
225:at
1472::
818:.
767:.
756:^
719:,
705:^
683:^
661:.
502:,
146:,
138:,
105:,
101:,
97:,
93:,
79:,
75:,
928:e
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914:v
829:.
804:.
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677:.
298:.
270:)
191:)
23:.
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