Bomere Pool
Encyclopedia
Bomere Pool is a large mere
lying between the villages of Bayston Hill
and Condover
in the county of Shropshire
, England
, 4.7 miles (7.5 kilometres) south of the county town
of Shrewsbury
. The pool is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
as the most oligotrophic (nutrient poor) body of water on the Shropshire - Cheshire plain.
Once open to the public, Bomere Pool and the surrounding woodlands are now privately owned and a centre of towed water sports throughout the year. There is a small resident population housed in a number of flats.
about 18,000 years ago. When the ice sheets retreated large ice blocks were left isolated, often surrounded and covered by the moraine
, gravels and clays left behind by the glacier
s. When this glacial ice eventually melted sediments collapsed into holes or depressions referred to as 'Kettle Holes'. These holes had no means of drainage and would either turn into steep sided lakes, usually referred to as Meres in Shropshire or, if the lake completely filled with clay and peat, became a moss bog
. Bomere Pool is a particularly fine example of a kettle hole mere.
settlement at the south east corner of the mere. Two thousand years ago there was a substantial Roman army camp
and an associated civilian settlement
on the pool side. Shropshire's oldest ghost of a Roman soldier seeking his lover who was lost in a sudden flood has been sighted on Easter Day, in the years when Easter
falls on the same day as it did the year he died.
located the action of her most famous novel Precious Bane
around Bomere Pool, which she called Sarn Mere in the book. Webb wrote the book while living in Spring Cottage on Lyth Hill at nearby Bayston Hill and at her London home.
Bomere Pool also featured in several of the medieval detective novels about Brother Cadfael by novelist Ellis Peters.
and three juvenile mammoths in an associated nearby moss and gravel bog sink hole.
Between the 1960s and 1980s the pool was a popular destination for local residents who visited on hot summer days with their young children to splash about in the water and eat meals nearby from a small cafe and ice cream stall. A free squash court built by a local farmer and a public house
were also open to the public.
Club that use the pool for regular water sports. There are 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of pool nestled in a secluded traditional forest of a further 125 acre (0.5058575 km²), woodland that once formed part of Bayston Hill and Condover Royal hunting forest
. The closed public house has now been converted into multiple occupancy, individual private flats.
Walkers using the public footpaths are advised to keep closely to the marked ways as the residents are known to be particularly jealous of their privacy rights.
Mere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
lying between the villages of Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road....
and Condover
Condover
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
in the county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 4.7 miles (7.5 kilometres) south of the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. The pool is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
as the most oligotrophic (nutrient poor) body of water on the Shropshire - Cheshire plain.
Once open to the public, Bomere Pool and the surrounding woodlands are now privately owned and a centre of towed water sports throughout the year. There is a small resident population housed in a number of flats.
Geology
Vast tracts of Shropshire were covered with ice sheets during the last Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
about 18,000 years ago. When the ice sheets retreated large ice blocks were left isolated, often surrounded and covered by the moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
, gravels and clays left behind by the glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s. When this glacial ice eventually melted sediments collapsed into holes or depressions referred to as 'Kettle Holes'. These holes had no means of drainage and would either turn into steep sided lakes, usually referred to as Meres in Shropshire or, if the lake completely filled with clay and peat, became a moss bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
. Bomere Pool is a particularly fine example of a kettle hole mere.
Use by man
Bomere Pool has been utilised by man for thousands of years. There is the archaeological mounded remains of a suspected Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlement at the south east corner of the mere. Two thousand years ago there was a substantial Roman army camp
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
and an associated civilian settlement
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...
on the pool side. Shropshire's oldest ghost of a Roman soldier seeking his lover who was lost in a sudden flood has been sighted on Easter Day, in the years when Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
falls on the same day as it did the year he died.
Literary connections
The 1920s romantic novelist Mary WebbMary Webb
Mary Webb , was an English romantic novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people which she knew. Her novels have been successfully dramatized, most notably the film Gone to Earth in 1950 by Michael...
located the action of her most famous novel Precious Bane
Precious Bane
Precious Bane is a novel by Mary Webb, first published in 1924. It won the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Prize.In 1957 it was made into a six part BBC television drama series starring Patrick Troughton and Daphne Slater...
around Bomere Pool, which she called Sarn Mere in the book. Webb wrote the book while living in Spring Cottage on Lyth Hill at nearby Bayston Hill and at her London home.
Bomere Pool also featured in several of the medieval detective novels about Brother Cadfael by novelist Ellis Peters.
Recent history
In 1986 a woman out for a walk discovered the bones of a woolly mammothWoolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
and three juvenile mammoths in an associated nearby moss and gravel bog sink hole.
Between the 1960s and 1980s the pool was a popular destination for local residents who visited on hot summer days with their young children to splash about in the water and eat meals nearby from a small cafe and ice cream stall. A free squash court built by a local farmer and a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
were also open to the public.
Bomere Pool today
In 1989 the property changed hands and the lake, beach and facilities were closed to the general public and made available exclusively for residents, members and guests of the private Wakeboard & Water SkiingWater skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
Club that use the pool for regular water sports. There are 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of pool nestled in a secluded traditional forest of a further 125 acre (0.5058575 km²), woodland that once formed part of Bayston Hill and Condover Royal hunting forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
. The closed public house has now been converted into multiple occupancy, individual private flats.
Walkers using the public footpaths are advised to keep closely to the marked ways as the residents are known to be particularly jealous of their privacy rights.