Geography
The area rests on Bunter upper mottled sandstone from the Triassic period. These sounds were very useful in the manufacture of moulds, which were extensively used in the metal working industries in Birmingham. Much of the rest of the city centre lies on Keuper sandstone, which is better suited for foundry work. The conservation area sits on a flat-topped hill, orientated north-south. The land falls steeply west towards Icknield Street and southeast to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It rises southeast from the canal to Great Charles Street Queensway. The highest point is located on Warstone Lane.
There were two pools within the Jewellery Quarter before the 19th century. The largest was Great Hockley Pool and the other was Little Hockley Pool, which was located on what is the site of Hockley railway station. Little Hockley Pool was filled in after 1834 whilst Great Hockley Pool was drained in 1869.
In April 2008, the Jewellery Quarter was mentioned as being at risk of flooding by Gareth Morgan, an environment expert at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, due to the rising water table in the city and its location adjacent to Birmingham's canal network. The rising water table is partly a result of the loss of heavy industry which used to remove large quantities of water.
Read more about this topic: Jewellery Quarter
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