For generations, a small watercourse flowed through West Smethwick, forming part of the historic boundary between Staffordshire and Worcestershire. Today, much of it has disappeared beneath roads, parks, housing and industry.
In a five-part investigation published between August and September 2026, The Sandwell Walker followed its suspected route on foot from Smethwick Hall Park through West Smethwick Park, Oldbury and Smethwick’s industrial landscape to the River Tame. This article brings together what that investigation found, how the evidence was gathered, and the questions that remain open.
A Boundary Watercourse
Before Victorian expansion transformed Smethwick, the brook flowed through open fields and farmland, forming part of the boundary between Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
As the area developed, railways, factories, housing and public parks grew up around it. Sections were altered or culverted, and the watercourse gradually vanished from public view.
That is why the brook is so difficult to follow today. In places it survives as an open channel; elsewhere it appears to run underground, and in some areas its course has been changed so much by later development that its original line can only be inferred.
How the Evidence Was Gathered
The investigation combines several kinds of evidence:
- Historic Ordnance Survey maps, compared with the modern landscape.
- Archive and documentary research.
- Field observation on location, looking for open channels, culverts, drains and signs of water.
- Local knowledge and memories shared by people who know the area.
No single source tells the whole story. Historic maps show where water once flowed, while evidence on the ground shows what survives and how the landscape has changed.
The project’s current research confidence is Developing Evidence: evidence exists, but important gaps remain. The Evidence Register explains how these ratings are used.
Smethwick Hall Park to West Smethwick Park
Part 1 begins in Smethwick Hall Park, following a hidden water source and looking for the first signs of the brook’s channel.
From Manor Road, a new theory about the course of the stream begins to take shape. Historic mapping provides the first real evidence for the lost brook, and the search continues through the allotments, where an unexpected local discovery adds another piece to the puzzle.
The first walk ends heading towards West Smethwick Park, with an important question: had the search been looking in the wrong place?
Through West Smethwick Park
West Smethwick Park, opened in 1895 on land given by James Timmins Chance, is central to the story.
Before the park was constructed, the stream formed part of the county boundary across this ground. Rather than removing it, Victorian engineers incorporated the watercourse into the park’s boating lake. Industrial development and urban expansion later led to much of the stream beyond the park being culverted beneath streets and industrial land.
In Part 2, a boardwalk crosses a hidden watercourse inside the park, and following the water leads to the boating lake. The history of the park itself is explored in the episode The Man Who Changed Smethwick and the article West Smethwick Park.
Oldbury Cemetery to Oldbury Road
Beyond the park, the suspected route continues through Oldbury Cemetery. Here the brook disappears underground, and another culvert beneath the cemetery shows how the watercourse was hidden as the area developed.
The trail continues along Rood End Road towards the Titford Canal, raising a question the investigation returns to again and again: does the brook join the canal? From Fisher Road, the search reaches the Oldbury Road Industrial Estate, where, after a long search, the brook appears again.
Industry and the Canals
Part 3 picks up the trail at Oldbury Road and searches the Crystal Drive Industrial Estate before following the suspected route towards the canal.
This is where the brook becomes hardest to trace. Industrial development, roads, railways and the culverting of sections of the watercourse have all altered the landscape. The route also brings the investigation to the remains of the historic Chance Glassworks, one of the most important surviving reminders of Smethwick’s industrial past.
In Part 4, the search returns to Spon Lane, where three canals meet, and follows the canal towards the Dreams site. Here the first signs of water appear, then more water, and then moving water beside the canal. A drain beside the canal leads to manholes, ducts and a dead end, and the investigation is left asking whether this water enters the canal itself.
Towards the River Tame
Part 5 continues from the other side of the canal, searching beneath an industrial estate and following the clues along the canal before turning onto Oldbury Road at Anchor Bridge.
Broadwell Road provides the final stretch. Entering the park beyond, the investigation finds the River Tame and follows it through the park, searching for a clear view of the river and asking where it goes next.
The walk reaches the River Tame, but reaching the end of the route does not mean that every question has been answered.
What Remains Unanswered
The five walks establish the general line of the brook and show where parts of it survive, but several questions are still open:
- The canals: how did the brook pass through the area where the canals and industry now stand, and does any of its water enter the canal system?
- Hidden sections: how much of the watercourse survives underground in culverts, and where were those culverts built?
- The River Tame: can the brook be connected to the river with confidence, or does the evidence only show that the route leads in that direction?
- The source: where exactly does the brook begin?
Future research will look at historic maps in more detail, along with engineering records, archive documents, aerial photography and field surveys. The work continues as part of The Lost County Boundary Stream project.
Can You Help?
Do you remember a brook, stream or open watercourse around West Smethwick or this part of Oldbury? Perhaps you worked in one of the local factories, remember drainage or culvert works, or have an old photograph or map showing water that has since disappeared.
Local memories and photographs can provide evidence that doesn’t always survive in official records or historic maps. If you can help, please get in touch.