| River Tame | |
|---|---|
 The Tame at Tamworth, which takes its name from the river. | |
 Sketchmap of the course and catchment of the River Tame, showing locations of some features mentioned in the text | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Counties | West Midlands,Warwickshire,Staffordshire |
| Cities | Wolverhampton,Birmingham |
| Towns | Oldbury, West Midlands,Tipton,Wednesbury,Willenhall,Walsall,Tamworth |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Oldbury Arm |
| • location | Titford,Oldbury |
| • coordinates | 52°29′11″N2°01′25″W / 52.4863°N 2.0235°W /52.4863; -2.0235 |
| 2nd source | Willenhall Arm |
| • location | Willenhall,Walsall |
| • coordinates | 52°34′32″N2°05′32″W / 52.5756°N 2.0922°W /52.5756; -2.0922 |
| Mouth | Confluence with theRiver Trent |
• location | Alrewas,Staffordshire |
• coordinates | 52°43′52″N1°43′02″W / 52.7312°N 1.7173°W /52.7312; -1.7173 |
| Length | 95 km (59 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Hopwas[2] |
| • average | 27.84 m3/s (983 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 435 m3/s (15,400 cu ft/s)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Tame →Trent →Humber →North Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Ford Brook, Full brook, Sneyd Brook,Plants Brook,Bourne Brook |
| • right | Darlaston Brook,Rea,Blythe,Bourne,Anker |
TheRiver Tame is a river in the West Midlands ofEngland, and one of the principal tributaries of theRiver Trent.[4] The Tame is about 95 km (59 mi) long from the source atOldbury to its confluence with the Trent nearAlrewas,[1] but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e. the Tame and its main tributaries, is about 285 km (177 mi).
It forms part of theSevern-Trent flyway, a route used bymigratory birds to crossGreat Britain.[5]
The name derives from theCeltic language, although it may have even earlier roots. It is usually thought to mean "dark",[6] by analogy with the Sanskrit wordtamas meaning darkness. Other possibilities are "slow-moving" or "flowing",[7] although the precise meaning is uncertain. The name is shared with theRiver Tame, Greater Manchester, and it is likely that theRiver Thame, theRiver Thames, theRiver Teme, theRiver Team, and theRiver Tamar all share the derivation.
Birmingham and the parishes in the centre and north of the modern conurbation were probably colonised by theTomsaete orTomsæte ("Tame-dwellers"), anAnglian tribe living in the valley of the Tame[8] and aroundTamworth during the Kingdom ofMercia.[9] They migrated up the valleys of the Trent and Tame from theHumber Estuary, and later formed Mercia.[10]
The Tame is generally considered to have two main sources;Willenhall andOldbury. The tributaries arising in these locations are generally known as theWillenhall arm and theOldbury arm of the Tame. However, some of its tributary streams, including Waddens Brook, rise as far to the west and north asBilston andWednesfield in the city ofWolverhampton. Much of the course of the river has been modified over the centuries, and the urban sections now run mainly through culverts or canalised channels. Both arms of the Tame flow through theBlack Country to their confluence atBescot, on the edge of Walsall.
The northern arm is easily traced fromBentley, near Willenhall. However, the SMURF project traces it back as far as Stow Heath, nearBilston, where it is marked by a marshy patch at the northern end of theCity of Wolverhampton College's Wellington Road campus; hence, SMURF (Sustainable Management of Urban Rivers and Floodplains) uses the term "Wolverhampton arm" for this section of the Tame. VictorianOrdnance Survey maps trace the sources of the Tame further back, to the site of the old Stow Heath colliery, which is now Wolverhampton's East Park.
The stream runs invisibly but generally north-eastward through Stowlawn, and then cuts across the southern edge of Willenhall, appearing briefly among the warehouses, and picking up reinforcement from the Waddens Brook, which originates in Wednesfield. It appears definitively at Watery Lane and Noose Lane, even more so at Bentley, where it runs southward through the industrial part of Bentley, before turning south-eastward, following a realigned course alongside and beneath theM6 motorway, to Bescot.
The southern arm appears prominently close to Oldbury town centre, which gives it its name, but can be traced back to an industrial area at Titford, just west of theM5 motorway, between Whiteheath andLangley Green. It winds its way up through Langley and around the southern and eastern edges of Oldbury town centre, surfacing due south ofSandwell & Dudley railway station, from which point it remains mainly on the surface and is easily traced. Bearing generally north-westward, it skirtsBrades Village and flows intoTipton. Here it passes throughSheepwash Urban Park andHorseley Heath to the centre ofGreat Bridge. Leaving Tipton, it then zig-zags across the southern and eastern parts ofWednesbury, to meet the Willenhall or Wolverhampton arm atBescot.
The unified Tame then flows—partly through channels realigned to make way for the M6 motorway and its interchange with the M5—throughSandwell Valley and into northBirmingham. It passes throughHamstead andPerry Hall Park toPerry Barr, where it is crossed by thePerry Bridge of 1711, then throughWitton and beneath bothGravelly Hill Interchange (where it is fed by theRea) andBromford Viaduct, toWashwood Heath.
Skirting to the north ofCastle Bromwich, it leaves Birmingham to the north-east atPark Hall Nature Reserve, passingWater Orton inWarwickshire. AtHams Hall, immediately after its confluence with theRiver Blythe and the little River Bourne, it turns sharply to take up a northward course, and soon feeds into the large complex of water purification lakes atLea Marston that now make upKingsbury Water Park. It then crosses intoStaffordshire, flowing throughMiddleton Lakes RSPB reserve in a wide valley betweenDrayton Bassett to the west andDosthill to the east. It then flows underWatling Street to the east ofFazeley, and under anaqueduct[11] carrying theCoventry Canal. It continues northward toTamworth, which takes its name from the river, where it is joined by theRiver Anker immediately to the east of Lady Bridge beneath the strategically positionedTamworth Castle. The river continues its generally northward route pastHopwas,Comberford andElford until it arrives at theNational Memorial Arboretum where it forms the boundary between this and theCroxall Lakes Nature Reserve. After this, it flows under the railway atWichnor Viaduct to its confluence with theTrent nearAlrewas. The eventual outflow is into theNorth Sea, via theHumber Estuary. When the Tame and Trent meet, the Tame is the bigger river, the Trent effectively joining it as a tributary. However, the Trent being thelonger river at that point is considered the more senior, and so the combined river bears its name.
The catchment of the Tame covers an area of nearly 1500 km2 and contains a population of about 1.7 million people. Approximately 42% of the Tame basin is urbanised, making it the most heavily urbanisedriver basin in the United Kingdom.[12]
The traditional industries of Birmingham and the Black Country, based on coal, iron and steel, were heavily polluting, and the Tame is conducted through a series of purification lakes below Lea Marston in Warwickshire to remove pollutants, an arrangement unique in the UK.[13] A large part of this lake area forms theKingsbury Water Park. Clean-up operations in a notoriously polluted stretch of the river in theWitton area of Birmingham have meant that aquaticwildfowl such as ducks and swans have settled on that stretch of the river. Sandwell Valley has evolved over the last two decades into an important urban wildlife habitat.
The Tame isnon-navigable throughout its course.
The Tame was once one of Britain's dirtiest rivers.[14] It is now much cleaner, due to changes in legislation and the use of purification lakes at Lea Marston.[14]
There have been major flooding problems associated with the river. These result largely from the mainly urban character of the upper catchment. Rainfall runs off the roofs and hard surfaces, raising river levels very rapidly. Rapid housebuilding and commercial development may have exacerbated the problem in recent years. Another development contributing to worse flooding has been the general rise in groundwater levels in the upper catchment area. As traditional industries have declined and been replaced by light industries and services, far less water has been taken from the river and the underlying aquifer.[15]
The river is susceptible to spectacular flooding at the village ofHopwas, between Tamworth andLichfield, during periods of heavy autumnal rain. The long-term persistence of the problem is attested by theAnglo-Saxon meaning of the village's name:-hop – nook of land,was – watery. There is also a substantial bend in the course of the river between Hopwas and Elford, giving rise to the nameTamhorn for the area.
Flood prevention work was carried out onSandwell Valley in the 1980s. Forge Mill Lake was created as a stormwater retention basin by enlarging an existing depression. The river was dredged to deepen it and the gravel used to construct an island in the lake.[16] This evolved into part of a nature reserve, at present leased to theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds. At about the same time, a similar arrangement was constructed atSheepwash Urban Park, utilising old brickworks excavations as a storm water basin to relieve flooding by the Oldbury Arm.
In 2005, the river's alignment throughPerry Hall Park inPerry Barr, Birmingham, just downstream of Sandwell Valley, was remodelled to slow the flow, alleviate flooding and create improvedhabitats forwildlife, as part of theSMURF (Sustainable Management of Urban Rivers and Floodplains) project.
Nonetheless, in June 2007, after heavy rain, the river burst its banks in theWitton area of Birmingham (just downstream of Perry Barr)[17] and atKingsbury Water Park.[18]
In 2009, theEnvironment Agency held a public consultation on its proposed flood alleviation measures.[19] Subsequently, the Environment Agency undertook £380,000-worth of improvements, mainly involving dredging and clearing of obstacles.[20] 1000 tonnes of gravel were removed from around the Chester Road Bridge at Castle Vale and deposited further downstream to improve the fish spawning habitat. The Gravelly Hill section was relieved of 900 tonnes of silt and debris. The Oldbury Arm was cleared of debris and five weirs were removed from it to facilitate fish migration. Work under this programme continues into 2011, mainly around Water Orton.
 |
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| National | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
