Lem and Tanner's Brook - Ram pumps and boundary stones

The Lem and Tanners Brook form part of our survey from the junction of the Lem with the Dowles Brook, south to Clows Top. It passes mostly through farmland, and unlike the Dowles, there are no mills along this stretch, so there is much less likelihood of finding watermill or industrial structures within the stream banks than on the Dowles Brook. There are, nevertheless, some examples of industry in the vicinity.

Tanner's Brook, may, as the name suggests, relate to an historic tan-house along the brook, using its water supply. Reverand William Elliot in his Place names of Wyre Forest  has commented on this, pointing out a house on the brook named Tanners Bow. He also suggested that the Lem Brook means the clear brook, having the same derivation as the Leam which flows through Leamington. Perhaps the water didn't run as clear further south where the stream becomes known as Tanner's Brook. Tanning was a notoriously smelly and messy business! Gybhouse Colliery was located just to the east of Tanners Brook (and east of Bayton Common). It is thought to have been in production from 1867 to 1893.

Our volunteer for this stretch, Tony Leach, has found no evidence of these two industries but has photographed earthworks south-east of Bayton Common which are thought to be 20^th century in date as they are shown on the 2^nd Edition Ordnance Survey map but not the 1^st Edition. The suggestion is that this was a colliery or gravel pit site but Tony believes that they are old clay pits, and that the clay was used to construct an embankment on the stream at this point as the banks show evidence of white/grey clay deposits. Does anyone know more about these earthworks? Any comments would be welcome.

Earthworks south-east of Bayton Common

Also recorded and photographed on Tanners Brook were an undated stone culvert, which is showing signs of collapse, and a bridge north of Badgers Walk.

Undated stone culvert 

Bridge near Badgers Walk

A boundary stone which is shown on some maps, was photographed on Tanners Brook on which you can see ?M, L on one side and R, L on the other.

Boundary marker stone inscribed 'M, L'

Boundary stone inscribed 'R, L'

It is most likely to be a property boundary marker - a private property marker or a dole stone, marking out land doled out to local residents. These were used to mark out parcels of land, and the initials represented those of the landowner or the registered land user. In this case it may mark the boundary of two plots of woodland coppice or pasture. A similar stone was found at Upton-on-Severn during flood alleviation works, which has also been interpreted as a dole stone, and also bears the letter M L.

The boundary stone is on the Shropshire side of the brook, so we just miss out on the opportunity to check the names of land owners and tenants through the Worcestershire Tithe and Inclosure maps online. Not that the stone necessarily dates from the same period.

Further downstream, on the Lem Brook, an old hydraulic ram pump was found. It bears the name Green and Carter Ltd, Vulcan Works.

Ram pump on the Lem Brook

Green and Carter Ltd has been making and installing Vulcan and Vacher rams for over 100 years. These pumps are ideal for remote situations and are still an eco-friendly solution for pumping water. Even old pumps made before 1800 can be restored and brought back into use as the company still manufactures the parts. The company is also unusual in having all its records dating back to 1774, and from 1860 has every letter ever written or received by the company. This has helped with restoring old pumps (by identifying the model and the parts needed), an example being the restoration of ram pumps at the Lost gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.

Thanks are due to Tony Leach who surveyed this stretch of stream (all photographs are also courtesy of Tony Leach).

By Liz Pearson
lpearson@worcestershire.gov.uk, Google+

A walk along the Dowles Brook

Since a meeting in June our volunteers have been out and about during the summer walking sections of the Dowles, Baveney, Lem and Tanner Brooks. We can only cover sections of stream that are under public ownership (such as Forestry Commission land) or where landowners have kindly allowed access.

In the Dowles valley only a small section of the lower Dowles Brook and a tributary in the upper Dowles, running through Wimperhill Hill Wood to Kingswood and Rotten Row, has been surveyed to date. The story so far for Dowles Brook is one of flood damage. This is perhaps not surprising considering the experience that Worcestershire residents have had in recent years with flooding from many sources – from our rivers, streams and even ground water which has escaped being channelled away by inundated drains, or simply has not been soaked up by soft surfaces.

Despite the relatively low level of ground in the Wyre Forest covered by hard surfaces such as roads, housing and industrial sites, the streams have not escaped the effects of flooding. Damage to the bridge near Furnace Mill on the Dowles Brook was seen by one of our volunteers, Pete Wolfe. It resulted from a large landslip, and other smaller landslips were seen along the Lower Dowles Brook. Carole Gammond and Jacqui Bradley encountered a few fallen trees on the tributary, and one here, close to the junction with the main Dowles Brook which was of some size. You wouldn't want to have been there when it fell.

Fallen tree on Dowles Brook tributary: Image courtesy of Carole Gammond and Jacqui Bradley

Large drifts of brushwood and debris have been seen previously by Pete Wolfe along the Dowles, which probably contribute to damage to structures and features in the banks by bank collapse and landslip.

Furnace Mill, Coopers Mill and Knowles Mill are important sites of archaeological interest along the brook which runs along the Worcestershire-Shropshire border. Furnace Mill was originally a blast furnace operating from the late 1500s until about 1600 AD. It later became a corn mill which operated until about 1920. Cooper's Mill may have its origins in the 13^th century, but is known to have fallen out of use by around 1898. Knowles Mill still survives, with much of its machinery (possible 18^th century) intact, although the original date of the mill is unknown. For further information on this and other mills along the Dowles, see Mills on Dowles Brook and its tributaries by Tim Booth for Wyre Forest Study Group Review. The review has also reported on Floods in the Dowles Valley in 2007, an event which resulted in bridges being swept away and much damage to Furnace Mill.

We have yet to take a good look the stream banks at the mill sites to assess whether there are remains of structures or old water channels, but it is clear that the archaeology along this brook is very vulnerable to damage and destruction by flood damage. Valuable information could be lost at any time, and unfortunately little recording of the known archaeology here, such as the mills, has been undertaken, although North Worcestershire Archaeology Group (NorthWAG) have carried out work at Knowles Mill. As most archaeological recording is undertaken as a result of commercial development, archaeological knowledge is limited for the Wyre Forest. Nevertheless, local groups with an interest in local history and archaeology are becoming increasingly successful at undertaking such work with the advice and supervision of professional archaeologists through Heritage Lottery funded projects (or similar). For further examples of such work see the Hanley Castle Community Archaeology project and the Digminster community archaeology project at Kidderminster. 

Knowledge has about the archaeology of the Dowles valley and a large area of the Wyre Forest has also increased as a result of an archaeological project funded through the  Grow With Wyre initiative  -see the Wyre Forest Interactive Lidar (Light detection and ranging) website. Volunteers have helped with this project, and as a result you can explore the landscape of the Wyre Forest and its setting through this web site.

Our recommendation would be to continue with the present work to cover stretches of stream not yet surveyed, but also to encourage more detailed non-destructive survey and recording of any surviving remains relating to the known sites through local community archaeology projects. Stabilising the banks around particularly important structures may be worth considering, although the effect on the local hydrology would need to be considered.

To illustrate the importance of archaeological remains which can simply fall out of the stream or river banks, consider the find that one of our staff at Worcestershire Archaeology encountered in March 2013 following the aftermath of floods resulting from rain and snow melt. We were contacted by West Mercia Police after they were alerted to the find of a skull fragment lying by the bridge at Eckington on the River Avon by a dog walker. Nick Daffern went along to investigate. The find was judged to be most likely archaeological, and after radiocarbon dating, was confirmed to be Neolithic in date. The story made the national papers. On the other hand, survival of archaeological remains in river banks can defy expectations. A medieval quay at Hanley Castle on the River Severn was known from documentary sources but presumed to have been destroyed by dredging or flood damage. It was, in fact, found to survive after a diving mission. The quay was found, complete with broken pots - presumably waste from loading and unloading of goods at the quay. For further information on both incidences see the links below.

We are grateful to Pete Wolfe, Carole Gammond and Jacqui Bradley for donning the waders to stream-walk along the Dowles valley.

By Liz Pearson
lpearson@Worcestershire.gov.uk,  Google+

Useful web pages:

Dowles Brook Circular Walk

Highley Forum articles on the local iron industry

Funding for Tudor blast furnace

Medieval quay at Hanley Castle

Neolithic skull found on the River Avon near Pershore