Nico Ditch: A Review of its Form, Function, and Date

Michael Nevell

Abstract


Nico Ditch is an enigmatic curvilinear earthwork, the core of which runs for c. 8km across the southern part of the City of Manchester from Hough Moss to Ashton Moss. Although much of its length was built over during the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where it survives as an earthwork it comprises a U-shaped ditch 2m to 3m wide and 1.5m to 2m deep, with possibly a low bank on its northern side. This article reviews research into the origins, form, and function of Nico Ditch, drawing on over 140 years of study, as well as discussing grey literature archaeological fieldwork from the 1990s and 2000s. Using this material, it is argued that the line of Nico Ditch extended further west of Hough Moss into Stretford. This longer monument strengthens the argument that the ditch dates from the early medieval period.

Keywords


Nico Ditch; Manchester; early medieval; boundary; monument

Full Text:

PDF

References


Arrowsmith P. and Fletcher M. 1993. Nico Ditch and Carr Ditch. A case of mistaken Identity? Archaeology North West 5: 26–32.

Ashton Estate Plan. 1765. The Earl of Stamford Records in the Cordingley Archives. Tameside Local Studies library, ESRCA 15.

Booker Rev. J. 1859. A History of the Ancient Chapel of Birch in Manchester Parish. Chetham Society vol 47.

CfAA. 2015. Dig Greater Manchester. Interim report on excavations at Longford House, Longford Park, Trafford. Unpublished technical report, Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford.

Connor A., Fagan L., and Fletcher, M. 1991. Nico Ditch. Excavations at Kenwood Road, Reddish, Stockport. Archaeology North West 1: 3–7.

Crofton A. 1885. Nico Ditch. Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society 3: 190–192.

Crofton H.T. 1899. A History of the Ancient Chapel of Stretford in Manchester Parish. Volume 1. Chetham Society new series vol 42.

Crofton, H.T. 1905. Agrimensorial remains round Manchester. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society 23: 112–171.

Esdaile, G. 1892. Nico Ditch. Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society 10: 218–220.

Farrer, W. 1902. Lancashire Pipe Rolls and Early Lancashire Charters. Liverpool. Henry Young and Sons.

Farrer, W. and Brownbill, J. (eds) 1911. The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster, vol 4. London: Constable & Co.

Gardener, W. 1908. Ancient earthworks. Lancashire South of the Sands, in W. Farrer and J. Brownbill (eds) The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster, vol 1. London: Constable and Co.: , 211–256.

Garland, N., Harris, B., Moore, T., and Reynolds, A. 2021, Exploring linear earthworks across time and space – introducing the ‘monumentality and landscape: linear earthworks in Britain’ project. Offa’s Dyke Journal 3: 129–150.

GMAU. 1990. Nico Ditch: Excavation Report. Hyde Industrial Holdings Limited at Kenwood Road Reddish. Unpublished technical report by the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, November 1990.

GMAU. 1992. Nico Ditch, Park Grove, Levenshulme, Lloyd Evans Partners hip Ltd. Unpublished technical report. by t he Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, February 1992.

Hall, S., Wells, C.E. and Huckerby, E.W. 1995. The Wetlands of Greater Manchester. Lancaster: Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit & Lancaster Archaeological Unit, Lancaster Imprints 3.

Harland, L. and Wilkinson, T.T. 1867. Lancashire Folk-Lore. Illustrative of the Superstitions, Beliefs and Practices, Local Customs and Usage of the People of the County Palatine.

Hart, C. 1977. The kingdoms of Mercia, in A. Dornier (ed.) Mercian Studies. Leicester: Leicester University Press: 43–61.

Higson J, 1850. The Formation of Nicker Ditch, in the John Owen manuscripts, volume lxxx, 124–125, Manchester Central Library Archives.

Higson J. 1859. Historical and Descriptive Notices of Droylsden Past and Present. Manchester.

Kenyon D. 1991. The Origins of Lancashire. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

M24/1/2 Egerton Estate Map, Egerton of Tatton Muniments, John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester.

Margary, I.D. 1957. Roman Roads in Britain. 2 volumes. London: Phoenix House Ltd.

Malim, T. 2020, Grim’s Ditch, Wansdyke, and the ancient highways of England: linear monuments and political control. Offa’s Dyke Journal 2: 160–199.

Melland, C.H. 1936. Nico Ditch. Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society 46 (for 1935–1936), 60–62.

Nevell, M.D. 1991. A History and Archaeology of Tameside: Tameside 1066–1700. Manchester: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit.

Nevell M D, 1992, A History and Archaeology of Tame side: Tameside Before 1066. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit.

Nevell, M. 1997. The Archaeology of Trafford. A Study of the Origins of Community in North West England Before 1900. Manchester: Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, University of Manchester Archaeological Unit and Trafford Metropolitan Borough.

Nevell, M. 2021. Heritage Research: Ryebank Fields & Nico Ditch. Unpublished client report.

Nevell, M. and Wilson P. 1998. Nico Ditch: an early boundary, in M. Nevell and J. Walker Lands and Lordships in Tameside: Tameside in Transition 1348 to 1642. Manchester: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.

Ordnance Survey First Edition 6 inch to 1 Mile Map, Lancashire Sheets 104, 105 and 111, surveyed 1843–1845 and published 1848.

Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map, SJ 9098, 1965 revision.

Philpott R. 2023. Romano-British Resource Assessment and Agenda, in M. Nevell and R. Redhead (eds) The Historic Environment of North West England. A Resource Assessment & Research Framework.

Archaeology North West New Series 4 & Salford Archaeology Monographs 3. Salford: Council for British Archaeology North West & University of Salford: 66–112.

Richardson, A. 1986, Further evidence of centuriation at Manchester. The Manchester Geographer 7: 44–50.

Smith, A.H. 1956. English Place-names Elements Part II. The Elements JAFN-YTRI, index and maps. English Place-Name Society vol 26. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

TAS (Tameside Archaeological Society). 2013. A Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief on a Grade 2 Listed Barn Known as Audenshaw Lodge Barn. Unpublished technical report by the Tameside Archaeological Society.

Tindall, A.S. 1982. Nico Ditch. The Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit: unpublished research report.

UMAU (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit). 1996. M66 Manchester Outer Ring Road, Denton-Middleton Section. An Archaeological Evaluation. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit: unpublished technical report.

UMAU (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit). 1997. Nico Ditch, Platt Fields. An Archaeological Evaluation of a Pre-Conquest Linear Monument. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit: unpublished technical report.

UMAU (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit). 2008. Nico Ditch, Gorton Education Village, Manchester. An Archaeological watching Brief. University of Manchester Archaeological Unit: unpublished technical report.

Wild, J.P. 1967. The Grey Ditch, Bradwell. Derbyshire Archaeological Journal 87: 160.

Williams, H. 2021. Rethinking Wat’s Dyke: a monument’s flow in a hydraulic frontier zone. Offa’s Dyke Journal 3: 151–182.

Williams, H. 2023. Rethinking Offa’s Dyke as a hydraulic frontier work. Offa’s Dyke Journal 5: 140–169.

Wood, P.N. 2016. Excavations at Saighton Army Camp, Huntingdon, Chester. Northern Archaeological Associates: unpublished report.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23914/odj.v6i0.14322

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

ISSN: 2695-625X

Follow us on:

 

 

  

Edited in Madrid by JAS Arqueología