 Nico Ditch running west nearLevenshulme | |
 Interactive map of Nico Ditch | |
| Location | Greater Manchester, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°27′03″N2°10′37″W / 53.4508°N 2.1769°W /53.4508; -2.1769 |
| Designer | Anglo-Saxons |
| Type | Ditch and earthwork |
| Length | 6 mi (9.7 km) |
| Width | 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) |
| Completion date | 5th – 11th century |
| Dismantled date | Large sections lost tourban expansion |
Nico Ditch is a six-mile (9.7 km) long linearearthwork betweenAshton-under-Lyne andStretford in Greater Manchester, England. It was dug as a defensive fortification, or possibly a boundary marker, between the 5th and 11th century. The ditch is still visible in short sections, such as a 330-yard (300 m) stretch inDenton Golf Course. For the parts which survived, the ditch is 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. Part of the earthwork is protected as aScheduled Ancient Monument.
The earliest documented reference to the ditch is in a charter detailing the granting of land inAudenshaw to the monks of theKersal Cell. In the document, dating from 1190 to 1212, the ditch is referred to as "Mykelldiche", and amagnum fossatum, which is Latin for "large ditch".[1]
The name Nico (sometimes Nikker) for the ditch became established in the 19th and 20th century. It may have been derived from theAnglo-SaxonHnickar, a water spirit who seized and drowned unwary travellers, but the modern name is most likely a corruption of the name Mykelldiche and its variations; this is because the Anglo-Saxon wordmicel means "big" or "great", harking back to the early 13th century description of the ditch asmagnum fossatum.[1] An alternative derivation of Nico comes fromnǽcan, an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "kill".[2]
Nico Ditch stretches 6 mi (9.7 km) between Ashton Moss (grid referenceSJ909980) in Ashton-under-Lyne and Hough Moss (grid referenceSJ82819491), which is just east ofStretford.[3] It passes throughDenton,Reddish,Gorton,Levenshulme,Burnage,Rusholme,Platt Fields Park inFallowfield,Withington andChorlton-cum-Hardy, crossing fourmetropolitan boroughs of present-dayGreater Manchester. The ditch coincides with the boundaries between the boroughs ofStockport andManchester, and between Tameside and Manchester; it reaches as far as the Denton golf course. A section is now beneath theAudenshaw Reservoirs, which were built towards the end of the 19th century.[4] The ditch may have extended west beyond Stretford, toUrmston (grid referenceSJ78299504).[1]
The earthwork was constructed some time between theend of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century and theNorman conquest in 1066. Its original purpose is unclear, but it may have been used as a defensive fortification or as an administrative boundary. It possibly marked a 7th-century boundary for the expansionistAnglo-Saxons, or it may have been a late 8th or early 9th century boundary marker between the kingdoms ofMercia andNorthumbria.[5] In theearly medieval period, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, andWessex struggled for control overNorth West England,[6] along with theBritons and theDanes. Whatever its earlier use, the ditch has been used as a boundary since at least theMiddle Ages.[7]
Legend has it that Nico Ditch was completed in a single night by the inhabitants of Manchester, as a protection against Viking invaders in 869–870; Manchester may have beensacked by the Danes in 870.[8] It was said that each man had an allocated area to construct, and was required to dig his section of the ditch and build a bank equal to his own height.[5] According to 19th-century folklore, the ditch was the site of a battle betweenSaxons and Danes. The battle was supposed to have given the nearby towns of Gorton and Reddish their names, from "Gore Town" and "Red-Ditch", respectively,[9][10] but the idea has been dismissed by historians as a "popular fancy".[11] The names derive from "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch," respectively.[12]
Antiquarians and historians have been interested in the ditch since the 19th century, but much of its course has been built over. Between 1990 and 1997, the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated sections of the ditch in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields, in an attempt to determine its age and purpose. Although no date was established for the ditch's construction, the investigations revealed that the bank to the north of the ditch is of 20th century origin. Together with the ditch's profile, which is U-shaped rather than the V-shape typically used in military ditches and defenses, this suggests that the purpose of the earthwork was to mark a territorial boundary.[3] The conclusion of the project was that the ditch was probably a boundary marker.[13]
Despite heavy weathering, the ditch is still visible in short sections, which can be up to 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. A 330-yard (300 m) stretch throughDenton Golf Course, and a section running throughPlatt Fields Park, are considered the best preserved remains.[14][15] In 1997, a 150-yard (140 m) segment of the ditch in Platt Fields was protected as aScheduled Ancient Monument. The rest of the ditch remains unprotected.[16]
Media related toNico Ditch at Wikimedia Commons
