In common with many pools found within the limits of medieval deer parks, Middleton Pool almost certainly started as a fish pond.
Today we might consider it to be a fish farm, since it was for the purpose of providing fish for the table. Perch was the usual catch for the table in medieval times.
The pool is formed by an earth dam across the Langley Brook, which, together with its major tributary,
Collets Brook, drains an area of around 15 square kilometres to the north east of Sutton Coldfield.
Collets Brook rises very close to Bassets Pole, while the main Langley Brook rises in what is now the
Falcon Lodge Estate. There are no industial activities in this area and most foul water is taken by the
municipal drains to Minworth. Thus apart from the effects of agriculture the water is as pure as is
likely to be found near to a major conurbation. The variety of water species that the pool maintains
is testament to this (See the Natural History page) and it is
the main reason for the pool and its surroundings being designated a "Site of Special Scientific Interest".
There are reports of mills being located on the Langley Brook at the time of the Norman Conquest. One is thought to have been at Fishers Mill but it is not clear where the other was. The pool was certainly a mill site in the sixteenth century when Francis Willoughby initiated iron making on the site.
Photograph from the early twentieth century
This early photograph shows the extent of the water-lily coverage of the pool.
During the period when the Averill family owned the estate the lilies were farmed and sold.
Molly Mitchell (née Averill 1906- )tells that the lilies were collected using small hand-paddled boats, packed and taken to Tamworth
station to be sent to London, where they decorated hotel tables, and to Manchester, where they were in demand for Jewish funerals.
It can also be seen that the roadway was along the edge of the dam. The verge on the pool side of the
road was created when Amey Roadstone Corporation acquired the property and lined the dam face and banked it with gravel in order to protect
it and avoid the cost of maintenance.
Brick culvert through the dam
The iron works were started ca 1572 and initially used the ancient bloomery process. This involved the heating of ironstone with charcoal and resulted in a messy conglomerate of nodules of iron interspersed with oxides. It was necessary to hammer this to squeeze the oxides out and to consolidate the iron. Initially this would have been done by hand.
Blast Furnace
In about 1590 the newer blast furnace process for making iron was introduced and the water was then used to provide the blast, the tilting wheel then operating a pair of bellows, as shown in the picture above. The forging operation, together with the downstream processes of chafing and fining were carried out at Hints after the blast furnace was built. Ironmaking on the site continued only until about 1620 and its remains are yet to be fully investigated.
The Pumphouse
In the twentieth century the water was used to bring electricity to the Hall. A building, known
as the Pumphouse was erected in the lea of the dam.
The water supply was taken from the centre of the pool by a long pipe that had a bell mouth below the surface, to avoid excessive silt and debris entering the system. This was blown up by Amey ca 1966.
The pumphouse was modified during the Averill ownership to introduce a ram pump.
This supplied water to the Hall and to the greenhouses in the Walled Garden.
Ram Pump
The pool has long been an important feature of the estate. Its main function since 1966 has been to supply water to the gravel workings for washing the product.