Watermills of the Birmingham Plateau

Although the streams of the Plateau are so small and variable, some 300 miles of their courses have been made usable for waterpower. At the start of the C19 th there were perhaps 100 mills in use, and about 160 millsites are known. Few pools and leats survive, and fewer buildings. In Birmingham city area, of about 50 mills only restored Sarehole has a working wheel: Babbs Mill is now a dwelling, and the wheel chambers of Harborne and Over Mill can still be seen. Titterford, Over, and Witton Pools survive as park ponds: Wychall and Lifford Reservoirs were once millpools.

Because so few mills and their records survive, information about them is sparse. See Victoria County History of Warks Vol. VII (Birmingham), articles by R.A. Pelham in B'ham Archaeological Society Transactions, Local Rivers as Sources of Power and Watermills of the Cole and Blythe Valleys by J.M.J.

There were 18 mills hereabout in 1086, 11 on Tame, including Hamstead, Aston, and Erdington (Bromford), 6 on the Blythe, one on the Cole at Coleshill, and none on the Rea. No fisheries were listed, though these were usual at millweirs. The sparseness of settlement is indicated by the small number of mills: they were to increase steadily with population, and few manors lacked a corn mill in medieval times. Windmills appeared locally in that period.

TAME. In 1334 a fulling mill was recorded at Tamworth. By the end of the C14 th there were 12 such on Tame, some adapted, some like Holford purpose-built (1358) cleansing the growing wool crop. Water-powered bellows spread down-river as the upper woods which supplied charcoal for small bloom smithies was exhausted, and water-powered tilt hammers appeared from 1549 when Bromwich Forge was built. Holford, Bustlehome, and Perry were hammer and slitting mills by 1600, and there were blade-grinding mills on side-streams in Handsworth and elsewhere. Mills served every possible industrial purpose from then on. Windmills built nearby often took over grist-milling as at Speedwell Saltley and Lady Mills. Wm. Hutton had a windmill making paper at Birchfield in 1759.

34.1. Map 22a

Small as it was, Hockley Brook served 6 watermills, the first being Aston Furnace in 1615. Soho Pool (1759) powered Boulton's Soho Works. The brook's inadequacy obliged Boulton to use horses to turn his machinery. Watt's reciprocating engine pumped water back to the pool for re-use (1773) and his rotary engine (1781) ultimately ended the watermill's long reign.

REA. 27 mills have been sited on this variable stream and its tributaries. In 1553 Birmingham Manor had Town Mill (Askerick's), Moat or Malt Mill, and Heath Mill. Later these and the Edgbaston mills - Over, Pebble, Averns, Speedwell - were all engaged in such processes as blade-slitting and grinding, wire-drawing, spinning and fulling. Rea millers opposed the canals, and obliged their sponsors to build large compensation reservoirs - Harborne, Wychall, Lifford. Due to small gradients and lack of water, wheels were generally breast-shot. Over Mill's 25ft. wheel was unusually large, most being 12ft or less. Heath Mill had two in tandem. Rea improvement works ended the life of several mills and left no trace. Upper Rea sites - Hurst, Sherbourne, Lifford, Hazelwell, Dogpool - are occupied by works founded on water power. The new B.B.C. complex is built on Pebble Mill Pool site.

COLE. The 16 mills on Cole and side-streams began as grist-mills but many were adapted to industry - forges, and works making needles, wire, paper, edge-tools; rifle-barrels. Sarehole (c.1770), Greet (1775), and Titterford (1783) were rebuilt to grind corn for Birmingham, but carried on industrial processes too. Steam engines were later installed at Sarehole and Titterford to quadruple the power of the wheels. As more modern works provided too great competition, most mills reverted to corn-grinding in their last years, though Titterford went on rolling steel for pen-nibs until the 1920s. Sarehole went out of use in 1919, and Coleshill in 1930. Hay Mill, last to be rebuilt (1830), made iron wire for the Atlantic Cable, but by then waterpower had probably given way to steam. Sarehole Mill Was opened as a branch museum in 1968, restoration being completed in '74. Titterford Millpool was dredged and refilled in 1972.

BLYTHE. Too far from Birmingham to be taken over by industry, Blythe's 11 mills continued to grind corn even after late C18 th early 19 th re-buildings. Buildings and machinery have usually survived, remaining in use quite late. Maxstoke worked until 1945, Mercote Hall generated electricity during the war, and Meriden was considered for use when port mills were bombed. Blythe Hall Mill, rebuilt 1754, is believed to be still working.