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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. The conclusion of the project was that the ditch was probably a boundary marker.
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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
448:
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, but the idea has been dismissed by historians as a "popular fancy". The names derive from "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch" respectively.
443:
by the Danes in 870. 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. According to 19th century folklore, the ditch was the site of a battle between
162:
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 in
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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 through
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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 expansionist
897:
203:, 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 word
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Legend has it 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 been
167:
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 a
358:
Approximate course of Nico Ditch, shown in red. It may have extended further to the west than indicated, after a gap necessitated by mossland in its path.
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248:
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472:, are considered the best preserved remains. In 1997, a 150-yard (140 m) segment of the ditch in Platt Fields was protected as a
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The name Nico (sometimes Nikker) for the ditch became established in the 19th and 20th century. It may have been derived from the
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325:, which were built towards the end of the 19th century. The ditch may have extended west beyond Stretford, to
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187:. In the document, dating from 1190 to 1212, the ditch is referred to as "Mykelldiche", and a
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The earliest documented reference to the ditch is in a charter detailing the granting of land in
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means "big" or "great", harking back to the early 13th century description of the ditch as
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432:. Whatever its earlier use, the ditch has been used as a boundary since at least the
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Based on the manuscript collections of the late Joseph
Bosworth, D.D. F.R.S (1998).
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was created from a revision of this article dated 26 May 2023
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313:. The ditch coincides with the boundaries between the boroughs of
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Nico Ditch stretches 6 mi (9.7 km) between Ashton Moss (
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period, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of
Northumbria, Mercia, and
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A history of the ancient chapels of
Didsbury and Chorlton
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https://www.saveryebankfields.co.uk/features/nico-ditch/
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The earthwork was constructed some time between the
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986:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
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837:. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the
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632:Farrer & Brownbill (1911), pp. 275–279.
623:Harland & Wilkinson (1993), pp. 26–29.
211:. An alternative derivation of Nico comes from
476:. The rest of the ditch remains unprotected.
839:University of Manchester Archaeological Unit
468:Golf Course, and a section running through
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27:
1001:Scheduled monuments in Greater Manchester
818:. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.
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491:Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester
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925:, and does not reflect subsequent edits.
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150:is a six-mile (9.7 km) long linear
252:) in Ashton-under-Lyne and Hough Moss (
227:An 1895 map showing Nico Ditch between
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832:
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799:. Chichester: Phillimore and Co. Ltd.
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744:Farrer, W; Brownbill, J, eds. (1911).
732:
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215:, an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "kill".
708:Research records (formerly PastScape)
653:from the original on 19 December 2019
503:
776:; Wilkinson, Thomas Turner (1993) .
750:A History of the County of Lancaster
191:, which is Latin for "large ditch".
13:
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396:in the early 5th century and the
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760:from the original on 26 May 2011
383:Template:Attached KML/Nico Ditch
342:It runs through Ryebank Fields.
835:Lands and Lordships in Tameside
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526:"Online Anglo-Saxon dictionary"
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858:Manchester: The Hidden History
778:Lancashire Legends, Traditions
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596:Nevell (1992), pp. 82–83.
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971:History of Greater Manchester
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33:Nico Ditch running west near
394:end of Roman rule in Britain
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614:Booker (1857), p. 197.
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420:struggled for control over
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689:Nevell (2008), p. 39.
680:Nevell (1992), p. 79.
671:Nevell (1998), p. 41.
578:Nevell (1992), p. 83.
566:Nevell (1992), p. 81.
557:Nevell (1998), p. 40.
514:Nevell (1992), p. 78.
474:Scheduled Ancient Monument
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169:Scheduled Ancient Monument
122:4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m)
605:Hylton (2003), p. 8.
587:Hylton (2003), p. 7.
261:), which is just east of
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981:Geography of Manchester
797:A History of Manchester
795:Hylton, Stuart (2003).
739:. Manchester: Chethams.
704:"Nico Ditch (1033812)"
138:Large sections lost to
114:6 mi (9.7 km)
903:
883:Listen to this article
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996:Geography of Trafford
991:Geography of Tameside
976:History of Manchester
902:
860:. The History Press.
856:Nevell, Mike (2008).
833:Nevell, Mike (1998).
814:Nevell, Mike (1992).
733:Booker, John (1857).
486:History of Manchester
357:
307:metropolitan boroughs
226:
950:at Wikimedia Commons
934:More spoken articles
816:Tameside Before 1066
387:KML is from Wikidata
323:Audenshaw Reservoirs
265:. It passes through
183:to the monks of the
135:Dismantled date
127:Completion date
16:Earthwork in England
746:"Townships: Gorton"
105:Ditch and earthwork
60: /
23:
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780:. Llanerch Press.
422:North West England
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311:Greater Manchester
303:Chorlton-cum-Hardy
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130:5th – 11th century
84:Greater Manchester
64:53.4508°N 2.1769°W
21:
1006:Linear earthworks
946:Media related to
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867:978-0-7524-4704-9
649:. 1 August 2008.
643:"A ditch in time"
470:Platt Fields Park
424:, along with the
291:Platt Fields Park
156:Ashton-under-Lyne
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538:. Retrieved
534:the original
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460:Preservation
453:Antiquarians
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402:Anglo-Saxons
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95:Anglo-Saxons
18:
756:: 275–279.
713:30 December
657:24 December
434:Middle Ages
410:Northumbria
295:Fallowfield
279:Levenshulme
196:Anglo-Saxon
185:Kersal Cell
67: /
35:Levenshulme
960:Categories
948:Nico Ditch
930:Audio help
921:2023-05-26
497:References
335:SJ78299504
319:Manchester
299:Withington
258:SJ82819491
233:Slade Hall
148:Nico Ditch
52:53°27′03″N
22:Nico Ditch
764:5 January
540:25 August
412:. In the
315:Stockport
263:Stretford
237:Longsight
181:Audenshaw
175:Etymology
160:Stretford
152:earthwork
86:, England
55:2°10′37″W
932: ·
758:Archived
651:Archived
480:See also
428:and the
365:KML file
287:Rusholme
249:SJ909980
154:between
91:Designer
80:Location
919: (
890:minutes
426:Britons
350:History
327:Urmston
283:Burnage
271:Reddish
229:Reddish
200:Hnickar
864:
845:
822:
803:
784:
466:Denton
446:Saxons
441:sacked
418:Wessex
406:Mercia
275:Gorton
267:Denton
219:Course
165:Denton
111:Length
430:Danes
338:)..
213:nǽcan
205:micel
119:Width
862:ISBN
843:ISBN
820:ISBN
801:ISBN
782:ISBN
766:2009
715:2007
659:2019
542:2007
408:and
374:help
370:edit
317:and
301:and
231:and
158:and
101:Type
647:BBC
293:in
235:in
962::
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571:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
