Nico Ditch: A Historical Earthwork

• Nico Ditch is a 6 mi (9.7 km) long earthwork situated between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford, Greater Manchester, England.
• It's a linear structure that was either a defensive fortification or a boundary marker.
• Construction occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries.
• Select portions of the ditch remain visible, with one notable stretch measuring 330 yards (300 m) on Denton Golf Course.
• The surviving ditch sections measure 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) in width and up to 5 ft (1.5 m) in depth.
• Some parts of the earthwork are under protection as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Etymology

• The earliest reference is in a charter from 1190-1212, granting land in Audenshaw to Kersal Cell monks, referring to it as "Mykelldiche" and magnum fossatum (Latin for "large ditch").
• The name Nico (or Nikker) appeared in the 19th-20th century.
• "Nico" might come from the Anglo-Saxon "Hnickar", a water spirit, but is more likely a corruption of "Mykelldiche".
• The Anglo-Saxon word "micel" translates to "big" or "great".
• An alternate theory suggests "Nico" comes from "nǽcan", an Anglo-Saxon verb for "kill".

Course

• The ditch runs 6 mi (9.7 km) from Ashton Moss (SJ909980) in Ashton-under-Lyne to Hough Moss (SJ82819491) east of Stretford.
• It traverses Denton, Reddish, Gorton, Levenshulme, Burnage, Rusholme, Platt Fields Park, Withington, and Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
• Crossing the metropolitan boroughs of Stockport, Manchester and Tameside.
• Part of the ditch is submerged beneath the Audenshaw Reservoirs, built in the late 19th century.
• There is a possibility that the ditch extended further west beyond Stretford to Urmston (SJ78299504).

History

• The construction took place between the end of Roman rule in Britain (early 5th century) and the Norman conquest of 1066.
• Its purpose is speculated to be a defensive fortification or an administrative boundary.
• One theory suggests it marked a 7th-century boundary for Anglo-Saxon expansion.
• Another theory posits it as a boundary between the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria in the late 8th or early 9th century.
• Throughout the early medieval period, Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex struggled for control over North West England along with the Britons and the Danes.
• Regardless of its initial function, it has served as a boundary since at least the Middle Ages.
• Legend says the ditch was built in a single night by Manchester inhabitants as defense against Viking invaders in 869–870.
• Each man was assigned an area to dig and build a bank as tall as himself.
• 19th-century folklore suggests a battle between Saxons and Danes occurred at the ditch.
• The towns Gorton and Reddish were named after this battle ("Gore Town" and "Red-Ditch") but historians consider this a "popular fancy".
• The names Gorton and Reddish actually mean "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch" respectively.
• Antiquarians and historians have studied the ditch since the 19th century.
• The University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated sections of the ditch in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields (1990-1997) to determine its age and purpose.
• These investigations determined that the bank north of the ditch originated in the 20th century.
• The ditch's U-shape suggests that it was a territorial boundary.

Preservation

• Despite weathering, the ditch is still visible in short sections measuring 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep.
• The 330-yard (300 m) stretch on Denton Golf Course and the section in Platt Fields Park are the best-preserved remains.
• A 150-yard (140 m) segment of the ditch within Platt Fields was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1997.
• The rest of the ditch remains unprotected.