Nico Ditch: History and Significance

• Nico Ditch is a 6 mi (9.7 km) long earthwork in Greater Manchester, stretching from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stretford.
• It was built between the 5th and 11th centuries, possibly as a defensive structure or boundary marker.
• Surviving sections are roughly 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep.
• A portion of the ditch has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Etymology

• The earliest reference appears in a charter from 1190 to 1212, calling it "Mykelldiche" and magnum fossatum (large ditch).
• The name Nico became common in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Nico may come from Anglo-Saxon Hnickar (a water spirit), or from a corruption of Mykelldiche where micel means "big".
• Another possibility is it comes from nǽcan, an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "kill".

Course

• The ditch runs from Ashton Moss (Ashton-under-Lyne) to Hough Moss (east of Stretford).
• It goes through Denton, Reddish, Gorton, Levenshulme, Burnage, Rusholme, Platt Fields Park, Withington, and Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
• It marks the boundaries between Stockport and Manchester, and Tameside and Manchester.
• Part of the ditch is now under the Audenshaw Reservoirs.
• It potentially extended west to Urmston.

History

• The ditch was built between the 5th century (end of Roman rule) and the Norman conquest in 1066.
• Its original purpose is unknown, potentially a defensive fortification or boundary.
• It may have been a 7th-century boundary for Anglo-Saxon expansion or a boundary between Mercia and Northumbria (8th/9th century).
• The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Britons, and Danes fought for control over North West England in the early medieval period.
• It has served as a boundary since at least the Middle Ages.
• Legend says the inhabitants of Manchester built the ditch in a single night to defend against Viking invaders (869–870).
• 19th-century folklore claimed a Saxon-Dane battle occurred at the ditch, giving Gorton ("Gore Town") and Reddish ("Red-Ditch") their names, which historians dismiss.
• Gorton means "dirty farmstead" and Reddish means "reedy ditch".
• Antiquarians and historians have studied the ditch since the 19th century.
• Excavations (1990-1997) in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields aimed to determine its age and purpose but yielded no construction date.
• Excavations revealed the bank north of the ditch is from the 20th century.
• The ditch has a U-shape, suggesting it was a territorial boundary rather than a military defense.

Preservation

• The ditch is still visible in sections, around 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-yard/300 m stretch) and Platt Fields Park.
• A 150-yard (140 m) segment in Platt Fields was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1997, but the rest is unprotected.