Cascade and remains of eel trap and house

Cascade and remains of eel trap and house

This group of structures stands on the western side of Pasford Pool, a teardrop-shaped pond in the Pattingham and Patshull area, dating probably from the late 18th century. The pond is fed from the north by a stream running from the Great Pool, and water flows from it either through an eel trap or over a cascade before joining Pasford Brook.

Materials and Construction

The eel traps are built of sandstone rubble with red brick voussoirs. The remains of the house above are of sandstone rubble with red brick window sills. The cascade is hewn from sandstone with a section of sandstone block coursing at its top. The southern boundary of the pond is formed by a sandstone block wall.

The Cascade

Water can be directed over the cascade at the south-west end of the pond. It falls over a gap in the revetment wall, now fitted with iron railings, and drops down a steep sandstone cliff approximately 5 metres high. The water then flows along a small but steeply sided gulley onto Pasford Brook.

The Eel Trap and House

Water flows through sluice gates on the west side of the pond under the house and through two round-arched openings. Water from the southern opening falls directly into Pasford Brook, while that from the northern opening emerges into a pen built on a sandstone platform with an iron grille at its downstream end. High sandstone rubble walls stand to the north and south sides.

The remains of the house sit between the trap and the sluice, forming a rectangular shell standing to approximately 2 metres at its highest. Wooden sluice gates of 20th-century date stand to the east side in front of the building, controlling the pond. The pond revetment walls here are slightly higher with flat concrete coping.

History

The late 18th-century landscaping of Patshull Park by George Pigot extended south into Pattingham parish and included the eel trap and cascade. The pool appears to be contemporary with Church Pool and the Great Pool, forming a southern outlier to the scheme that controlled water flow before it rejoined Pasford Brook below the cascade. The cascade is shown on the 1841 tithe map as Patshull Pool and Cascade.

The 1841 Tithe Apportionment records the building east of the traps as a house. According to local accounts, it was occupied by a succession of families from the late 19th century until the 1920s, after which it fell into disrepair. A photograph from around 1950 shows the building without a roof, with one window either side of a central doorway.