Hampton fields - brought to life

(Above)  The difference in paving here (outside this buidling on Church Street) apparently shows the direction of an underground stream which then heads towards, possibly under, Pickles on Festival Square. Clearly the stream has come from directly under this house and through Cae Glas park. No sewer maps yet to confirm this, but I have heard that this is a stream from several people including the owner of Pickles.

 So, this is where we are. The 'Brynhafod Stream' and 'Jennings Road' Stream. I have confirmed the direction that these streams take under the road, see below.

So I was a little stumped when some FANTASTIC images turned up:

 (above) Brynhafod Road, Hampton Road. To the right is Hampton Fields. Notice the lines crossing the fields. The large field in the foreground is now Llanforda rise - it is bordered on the top and bottom by both the streams in Question. At the time of this photo (1966) Bradley fields is being developed.

(above) focused on Cae Glas park. Good view of Park Avenue and Hampton fields visible.

(below) Astounding view of Hampton fields, 1980. Now deforested since the 1966 picture revealing - an obvious stream! If not two streams. This is a curveball and raises a lot of new questions.

(below) another view of Hampton fields on the upper right.

(below) the Waterworks 1965. Hampton fields visible directly from above - priceless (in the top left quarter of the image)

(below) an 1875 map of the area. There are some sporadic implications of streams, but with little clarity. Evidently many of the local streams have headed underground for a long time. Notice, no development of Park avenue or Hampton Road, yet still no clear routes for the Hampton Fields streams.
 

(below) some annotation of that earlier 1966 image demonstrating possible routes

(below) this is a 1833 map of Oswestry. Notice the cross like formation on the top left - that is Hampton Fields. This mirrors the formation I have highlighted above. Also on the left of the picture heading towards the middle is a clear outline of Jennings Road stream - heading as suggested in my last post into Brynhafod Field. However, there is no evidence for a stream running through the 'Avenue' Cae glas - in fact there is a lot more evidence for a stream running on the Willow street side of Cae glas.

(above) Hampton Streams and Jennings stream highlighted with possible link to Brynhafod stream. In red is modern day Brynhafod Road, Welsh Walls and Oswald's place. The large encircled area is now Brynhafod field, part of which is now Holbache road. Notice how the Jennings stream does indeed flow towards Lakeholme by the Broadwalk.

(above) I think this is a 1960s image of Brynhafod field. Notice the memorial trees are very young! And there is some menacing barb wire on the fence? I wonder when this was replaced with the wooden planks which were taken down only a couple of years ago and replaced by that god awful green iron fencing. No sign of a stream going through the park here, however it does look unkempt and possibly boggy.

(above) another old Oswestrian map with some interesting tree lines in Cae glas park and around Brynhafod field (bottom left corner) which may suggest water routes.

 (above)  possible detailing of a stream running south along Welsh walls

(below) This superb 1838 map is a revelation. The Brynhafod and Jennings streams are laid out beautifully showing their origins far up into the fields near High Fawr and Broomhall. What's more, the confluence of these two streams is clearly depicted as is the route down Welsh Wells where the stream disappears for a bit (most likely continuing down Welsh Walls to upper brook street or possibly under the Parish church) and reappears running parallel to Victoria Road eventually converging at what is now the industrial estate with another major stream in the town that travels from Brogynton. This is extremely illuminating and provides some significant answers and clarification. Interestingly my supposed Arundel Road stream is also evidenced here, though it is isolated. The Cae Glas/Pickles connection also seems to be irrelevant here.

Still some questions remain
1. What is the exact nature of the streams in Hampton Fields?
2. Do the Jennings Brynhafod streams divide at any point?
3. Where does the Arundel stream come from and head to?
4. What is the source of the flooding in Cae glas park?
5. Where does the 'Pickles' stream come from and go to?
6. What happened to the Brynhafod stream? Where does it flow now?
7. What evidence is there for a stream on Victoria Road?
8. What happens at the top of Broadwalk by Lakeholme?

and perhaps most importantly

9. What other ancient streams are there?
10. When were they driven underground?

Please contact me with any suggestions, information or questions.