Well, that’s coincident. I was driving past yesterday and noticed Olton Reservoir on my navigator map and wonder why it was there. I intended to look it up today. Thank you.
I think it's just a reservoir known as Olton Mere.
They must have had a hard winter that year.
Dovehouse Farm is a stunning Grade 2 listed building and well maintained, it's about 300m down from the A41 Warwick Road where the Dovehouse Parade shops are located.
Good to see the old fashioned street lamp, also middle photo shows a tall mast, guessing it may be something to do with the sewers, as it's known that the canal was drained so pipework could be installed across the old bridge in 1904.
The corner house on Olton Wharf was origonally built (facing the canel) for the Coal Merchants clerk, and profession on the 1901 & 1911 census's list as coal carter. Note the house was built about half way across where the existing wharf road is today.
Might be what is known as a stink pipe?
I think the London stink pipes are usually standalone street furniture with decorated painted crowns on top, whereas here in Olton there was a short one to the east of St Margarets church on the pavement, and 2 others were tethered to trees, one to an oak tree at the junction of Richmond Rd and Lyndon Rd on a 1904 photo by Barnett Johnstone, and the other still exists and is on Kineton Green Rd. immediatly before turning right into Brook Ln. [see photo] this green painted cast-iron pipe is secured by brackets (similar to roof guttering drain pipes) to a Yew tree.
Yes stink or stench pipes are for sewer ventelation, either to let gases out or air in to prevent syphoning. They are tall to distance the smell from pedestrians, and also to allow for floods not to spill out from them.
