Nico Ditch: History and Purpose

• Nico Ditch is a 6 mi (9.7 km) linear earthwork between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford, Greater Manchester.
• It was built between the 5th and 11th centuries.
• It may have served as a defensive fortification or a boundary marker.
• Surviving sections are about 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep.
• A portion of the earthwork is a protected Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Etymology

• The earliest known reference to the ditch is in a land charter from 1190 to 1212.
• The charter calls it "Mykelldiche" and magnum fossatum, Latin for "large ditch".
• The name Nico became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Nico may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Hnickar, a water spirit.
• The name is likely a corruption of Mykelldiche, where micel means "big".
• Another possible origin of Nico is from nǽcan, an Anglo-Saxon verb for "kill".

Course

• Nico Ditch runs from Ashton Moss (SJ909980) to Hough Moss (SJ82819491).
• It passes through Denton, Reddish, Gorton, Levenshulme, Burnage, Rusholme, Platt Fields Park, Withington, and Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
• The ditch crosses four metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester.
• It aligns with the boundaries of Stockport and Manchester, and Tameside and Manchester.
• A portion of the ditch is now under the Audenshaw Reservoirs.
• The ditch may have extended westward to Urmston (SJ78299504).

History

• The earthwork was built between the 5th century and the Norman conquest in 1066.
• Its original purpose is not certain, but it could have been defensive or administrative.
• It might have marked a 7th-century boundary for the Anglo-Saxons.
• It could have been an 8th or 9th-century boundary between Mercia and Northumbria.
• Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex struggled for control of North West England in the early medieval period.
• The ditch has been used as a boundary since the Middle Ages.
• Legend says the people of Manchester built it in one night to defend against Vikings in 869–870.
• Supposedly, each man had to dig a section and build a bank as tall as himself.
• 19th-century folklore claimed a battle between Saxons and Danes occurred there.
• Gorton and Reddish were said to be named from this battle ("Gore Town" and "Red-Ditch").
• Historians dismiss this as a "popular fancy," with the names actually meaning "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch".
• Antiquarians and historians have studied the ditch since the 19th century.
• The University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated parts of the ditch from 1990 to 1997.
• Excavations aimed to determine the ditch's age and purpose.
• Investigations showed the bank north of the ditch originated in the 20th century.
• The ditch has a U-shape, suggesting it was a territorial boundary marker.
• The project concluded that the ditch was likely a boundary marker.

Preservation

• The ditch is still visible in short sections despite weathering.
• These sections are up to 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 and Platt Fields Park.
• A 150-yard (140 m) segment in Platt Fields was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1997.
• The rest of the ditch is not protected.