Donnington Pool

The Pool, called Albrighton Pool by Albrighton, and Donington Pool by the people of Donington, (the 1846 Tithe Map shows it as Donington Pool) was originally called the Hall Pool. It was also referred to as the Hub Pool and was created by John Talbot who was given the Earldom of Shrewsbury after distinguishing himself in a military campaign in France.

The stream which separated the Parishes of Albrighton and Donington, runs through a small valley which more or less starts near the railway and finishes at Clock Mills. Sir John Talbot dammed this up in the 17th century in order to supply constant water to his mill for grinding corn at the Clock Mills. The water flooded onto each parish and he was made to pay a fine to Donington for this – he escaped this fine in Albrighton since he had been granted permission for his mill at an earlier date. The sluice gate, which controlled the flow, was in place until just after the Second World War, and a further control was similarly in place about fifty yards down stream on the opposite side of the road.

In January 1829, a “waterspout” broke at Codsall Wood Road and the volume of water washed away both the bridge and the dam, a boy born at the time was actually named Noah.

Swans were a feature of the pool until the 1960s when they were frightened away by stone throwers. A local angling club started using the pool in 1990 and built small platforms for this purpose, as well as doing some work to clean up the area.

The pool covers and area of approx. one hectare (2.4 acres), and provides a suitable habitat for mallard and moorhens, both species use the willow carr for shelter and nesting, which due to its marshy nature provides a safe haven. Occasionally other species of waterfowl turn up, and kingfisher and dipper have also been recorded. Siltation of the pool has been and remains, a problem. To reduce the silt deposit, silt traps have been constructed in the watercourse upstream to settle the silt prior to entry into the pool. In spite of this a proportion of the silt carried by the stream still gets through, especially following heavy rain when the stream rises.

Records indicate that in 1809 the pool extended as far as the present site of Woodlands Close which means that virtually al of the existing woodland area to the east of the pool was therefore once part of the pool.
So, in the last 190 years, due to siltation the pool has shrunk to about one quarter of its original area. At this rate, by the end of the next century it is questionable whether the pool will have disappeared, to be replaced by carr and ultimately dry woodland.

Words: Ernest Howells