Shit Brook

Shit Brook (also called Shyte Brook) is a culverted small stream in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England.[1]

Shit Brook
Shyte Brook

History

The stream, which was named Shit Brook because it was the open sewer for the town, ran parallel with the road leading towards the Holy Trinity Church. In the 14th century it was culverted, its course now under Victoria Road, High Street, Back Lane, Bull Ring and along the north side of the Priory precinct.[1] The diverted stream drained into the River Severn near Buildwas Abbey.[2] When the stream was paved over to make a lane, people used it as a shortcut to get to the town's Holy Trinity Church.[3] Use of the path eventually declined towards 1775 as a result of the Inclosure Act 1773.[4]

In 1540, it was known as the "Schetebrok", which was noted by John Leland. In 1847, it was listed as "Sytche" on Ordnance Survey maps, which drew conclusions that it had some relation to a similarly named stream at Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent.[4] In the 1990s, there was a structural survey carried out on Shit Brook which discovered that the culvert was in poor condition as it had collapsed in places, which led to flooding of nearby properties. A programme to repair the culvert was proposed by Shropshire County Council Archaeology Service to refurbish it.[1] In 2013, it was listed as a location for new flood defences to be built in the United Kingdom.[5]

In 1994, Shit Brook was featured in an episode of Channel 4's archaeology programme Time Team.[6]

References
  1. "Introduction: Much Wenlock town culvert". Shropshire County Council. 2003. Archived from the original on 2013-04-23. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  2. Lewis, Daniel (2007). "High Street, Much Wenlock" (PDF). Archaeology Data Service. Retrieved 13 February 2013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "4. Holy Trinity Church". Muchwenlockguide.info. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  4. RPS Consultants. "Archaeological desk based assessment" (PDF). Bridgnorth DC. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  5. "In full: List of flood defence schemes". BBC News. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  6. Hosted by Tony Robinson (30 January 1994). "Much Wenlock". Time Team. Series 1. Episode 3. Channel 4.

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