Minster Pool

Minster Pool is a reservoir located between Bird Street and Dam Street in the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. The pool lies directly south of Lichfield Cathedral and historically has been important to the defence of the Cathedral Close. The pool was originally formed in the 11th century when a boggy stream was dammed at its eastern end to drive a mill on Dam Street. The pool was used as a mill pond and fishery until 1856 when the mill was demolished; it has since been retained for public amenity.HydrologyLichfield is built on two sides of a shallow valley into which flow Leamonsley Brook and Trunkfield Brook from the west. Leamonsley Brook originates from a spring in Maple Hayes and flows east through Beacon Park where it combines with Trunkfield Brook into a conduit under the Museum Gardens. The streams are then carried under Bird Street into Minster Pool. Minster Pool is created by the construction of an earth embankment dam built at its eastern end on Dam Street. The pool outflows into a pipe under Dam Street, Stowe Fields and into Stowe Pool. The pool has a capacity of 28,000m³ (6.5 million gallons) and a surface area of 8,700m² (2.1 acres) with an average depth of 3.2 m (10 ft).