Surprise – A river runs through it!
Medieval hamlet was built on Rea crossing
The River Rea, which means “to run” or “to flow”, is integral to Birmingham’s history.
The medieval hamlet of Birmingham was built on a crossing on the Rea in what is now Digbeth.
It runs for 14 miles from its source in the Waseley Hills and skirts Balaam’s Wood, goes through Longbridge and Northfield, cuts across Kings Norton Park, meanders alongside Lifford Reservoir, flows by Hazelwell Recreation Ground, divides the Pebble Mill and enters Cannon Hill Park and Calthorpe Park.
From there is becomes a secret river when it is lost from view beneath Gooch Street. It is either concealed behind streets such as Rea Street and Curzon Street or obscured by the trading estates and railway lines of Duddeston, Saltley and Nechells until it joins the River Tame by the M6.
The Rea is small, erratic. It drops about 70 metres (230 ft) in its first mile, but from then on has a very gentle slope and frequently bursts its banks after heavy rain.
In the Middle Ages, mills were created using the power of the river. There were mills at Heath Mill, Saltley Mill, Duddeston Mill and Nechells Park Mill. They ground corn, rye and wheat. By the early nineteenth century they had been converted to metal working and were used by sword cutlers and gun barrel manufacturers.
But as the Rea is small, it could not be used to power iron works which required a mighty force.
