Nico Ditch: History and Purpose

• The Nico Ditch is a 6-mile (9.7 km) linear earthwork in Greater Manchester, England.
• It spans from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stretford.
• The ditch was constructed between the 5th and 11th centuries.
• Its purpose was either defensive fortification or a boundary marker.
• Surviving sections measure 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep.
• A section of the earthwork is a protected Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Etymology

• The earliest reference is from 1190-1212, in a charter granting land in Audenshaw to Kersal Cell monks.
• The ditch was called "Mykelldiche" and magnum fossatum (Latin for "large ditch").
• The name Nico (or Nikker) became common in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Nico may come from the Anglo-Saxon Hnickar, a water spirit.
• More likely, Nico is a corruption of Mykelldiche, where micel means "big" in Anglo-Saxon.
• Another possible derivation of Nico is from nǽcan, an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "to kill."

Course

• The Nico Ditch stretches 6 miles (9.7 km) from Ashton Moss (SJ909980) to Hough Moss (SJ82819491), east of Stretford.
• It passes through Denton, Reddish, Gorton, Levenshulme, Burnage, Rusholme, Platt Fields Park, Withington, and Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
• It crosses four metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester.
• The ditch aligns with the boundaries of Stockport and Manchester, and Tameside and Manchester.
• It extends as far as Denton Golf Course.
• Part of the ditch is now under the Audenshaw Reservoirs, built in the late 19th century.
• It may have originally extended west beyond Stretford to Urmston (SJ78299504).

History

• The ditch was built between the end of Roman rule in Britain (early 5th century) and the Norman Conquest (1066).
• Its original purpose could have been defensive or administrative.
• It may have marked a 7th-century boundary for Anglo-Saxon expansion.
• Alternatively, it could have been an 8th or early 9th-century boundary between Mercia and Northumbria.
• During the early medieval period, Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex battled for control of North West England with the Britons and Danes.
• Since the Middle Ages, it has been used as a boundary.
• Legend claims the ditch was built in a single night by Mancunians to defend against Viking invaders in 869–870.
• Manchester may have been sacked by the Danes in 870.
• Each man supposedly had to dig a section and build a bank as tall as himself.
• 19th-century folklore claimed a battle between Saxons and Danes occurred at the ditch.
• Supposedly, Gorton ("Gore Town") and Reddish ("Red-Ditch") got their names from this battle.
• Historians dismiss this idea; the names actually mean "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch," respectively.
• Antiquarians and historians have been interested in the ditch since the 19th century.
• Much of the ditch has been built over.
• Between 1990 and 1997, the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated sections in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields.
• The goal was to determine the ditch's age and purpose.
• No construction date was established.
• Excavations revealed the bank north of the ditch originated in the 20th century.
• The ditch has a U-shape, unlike the V-shape typical of military ditches.
• This suggests the earthwork's purpose was a territorial boundary marker.
• The project concluded the ditch was likely a boundary marker.

Preservation

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