Etymology Aston River mouth River Tame Country United Kingdom | Region Birmingham Mouth River Tame, West Midlands | |
 | ||
Progression Trent - Humber - North Sea Tributaries Right:
Boundary Brook (at Black Patch Park) | ||
Hockley Brook is a brook, or stream, in north Birmingham, England. It rises just outside the city, in Smethwick, and runs though Black Patch Park and then through the city's Soho, Hockley and Aston districts, to its confluence with the River Tame, beneath Gravelly Hill Interchange. From there, its waters flow, via the Trent, to the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. At the eastern end, it is known to locals as Aston Brook, giving its name to Aston Brook Street.
Map of Hockley Brook, Birmingham, UK
It previously marked the boundary between Birmingham (then Warwickshire) and Smethwick (then Staffordshire); between the then Staffordshire country villages of Handsworth and Smethwick; and between Birmingham and Aston, before the city absorbed the latter district.
The brook once fed several mills and provided water for Matthew Boulton's Soho Manufactory.
In post-World War II years, it was culverted (buried in pipes) for much of its length.
Local historian and artist Ron "Smudge" Smith titled his 1998 autobiography A Paddle in Hockley Brook.