was originally round and was one of several such pits in the area around Fradley Junction which have since been filled. The pond is named after Josiah Bown, a tenant farmer on the Bridge farm estate, who is said to have drowned in the pond in 1820 on his way back from the Bull’s Head Inn, Rikneld Street. When the area was taken over by the Air Ministry in 1939 for the development of RAF Lichfield this small lake became a popular meeting place for Australian airman who were based at the station. In the 1940s Bown Pond had a small stock of fish, mainly carp, an annual children’s fishing competition took place until the mid fifties when the pond became choked with weed. After RAF Lichfield was decommissioned in 1958 the pond was left untended until the early 2000s. Landscaping works in 2003 cleared and re-shaped the pond to its current kidney shape. It was re-purposed as a balancing pond for the adjacent housing development to mitigate against surface water flooding. The island in the middle of the pond was also cleared revealing the remains of a small diving platform that had been constructed on the island during WW2. The remains of this are still visible today. The area around the pond is collectively known as Bown Pond, much of the area now forms part of the Fradley South and Sheasby Park housing developments. The Sterling Centre shops and leisure facilities are on the site which was previously Bown Pond Lane. The lane ran from Common Lane at Bown Pond and joined onto Gorse Lane, following the route which eventually became runway 17 at RAF Lichfield. During the construction of the second phase of the Fradley South Housing development the pond has been further landscaped and is popular with dog walkers. See also Listed buildings in Fradley and Streethay References External links Fradley Park and Stirling Centre Villages in Staffordshire Former civil parishes in Staffordshire Lichfield District