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Lindow Moss

Bogs of EnglandLandforms of CheshireSites of Special Scientific Interest in CheshireWilmslow
Peat workings geograph.org.uk 61802
Peat workings geograph.org.uk 61802

Lindow Moss, also known as Saltersley Common, is a raised mire peat bog on the edge of Wilmslow in Cheshire, England. It has been used as common land since the medieval period and is best known for the discovery of the preserved bog body of Lindow Man in 1984. The peat bog was formed in a collection of hollows left by melting ice at the end of the last ice age. It is believed to have been a site of religious significance to the ancient Celts. The first written record of Lindow Moss was in 1421 when the lord of Mobberley and Wilmslow allowed people to dig peat from the mossland for use as fuel. It originally covered over 600 hectares (1,500 acres), but has since shrunk to a tenth of its original size. The bog can be a dangerous place; an 18th-century writer recorded people drowning there.For centuries, peat from the bog was used as fuel. It continues to be extracted but now for mixing within compost products. The process is now mechanised with a mechanical digger. The site is known for its flora and fauna such as hare's-tail cottongrass, common cottongrass and green hairstreak butterfly. It also has been a habitat for water voles although their continued existence is threatened by sinking water levels. The Saltersley Common Preservation Society promotes the preservation of the moss. In November 2011, they teamed up with a local amateur filmmaker to produce a short video detailing the history of the bog and some of the threats it faces.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Lindow Moss (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Lindow Moss
Moor Lane,

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N 53.322777777778 ° E -2.2694444444444 °
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Moor Lane

Moor Lane
SK9 6GN , Mobberley
England, United Kingdom
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Peat workings geograph.org.uk 61802
Peat workings geograph.org.uk 61802
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Chorley, Alderley
Chorley, Alderley

Chorley is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The parish itself contains no large settlement, but there is a small hamlet called Row-of-Trees in the north of the parish. According to the 2001 census, the population of the parish was 399, increasing to 496 at the 2011 Census (called Wilmslow West and Chorley).Until the arrival of the railway, much of the area now known as Alderley Edge was called Chorley. As well as remaining the name of the civil parish, the name Chorley is also retained in the 14th century Chorley Old Hall, to the south-west of Alderley Edge The first written evidence of the settlement, then known as 'Chorlegh', appeared in the 13th century, with the likely derivation coming from ceorl and leah, meaning a peasants' clearing. Although it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, it is included in a charter of c.1280. In the 13th century and during the Middle Ages, the area comprised estates that had many different owners. From the 15th century, most of these farming estates came under the ownership of the de Trafford family. In 1830 Chorley consisted of only a few cottages, the De Trafford Arms Inn, a toll bar, and a smithy, straggling along the Congleton to Manchester Road. The coming of the railway in 1842 with the construction of the Stockport to Crewe section of the main Manchester and Birmingham Railway changed all this. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway Company built the line through Chorley, offering free season tickets for 20 years to Manchester businessmen who built houses with a rateable value of more than £50 within a mile of the station. This 'season ticket' was in the form of a small silver oval which could be worn on a watch chain. The railway also gave Alderley Edge its current name. As the railway network expanded and travel became easier, the railway company did not want its station called Chorley any more because of the possible confusion with Chorley in Lancashire. So, in 1880 they renamed it Alderley Edge against much opposition, taking the old name for the village and the name of the sandstone escarpment already known as The Edge.

Lindow Common
Lindow Common

Lindow Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the western edge of the town of Wilmslow, Cheshire, in the northwest of England. It is also designated a Local Nature Reserve.The Common was an area of heathland where, in centuries past, villagers could graze their cattle, but over the last century or so, birch trees have overrun many areas, so that much of the Common is covered by trees. In the middle of Lindow Common lies the Black Lake. The Welsh for Black Lake is llyn ddu, the derivation of Lindow. The name Lindow is also used for one of the historic parishes of Wilmslow, and of the adjacent Lindow Moss, much of which is covered in an ancient peat bog. It was at Lindow Moss that a bog body, Lindow Man, was discovered in 1984. Lindow Man is now on display at the British Museum. Lindow Common was managed by Macclesfield Borough Council's Countryside and Ranger Service. The common is now managed by Cheshire East Council. Current work at Lindow Common is aiming to start selective removal of birch trees, in order to promote regrowth of heather (Calluna vulgaris) to return the area to heathland. This is one of only two sites in Cheshire with areas of lowland wet heath. A racecourse once existed around the outskirts of the Common. The racecourse is no longer there, but the road around the perimeter is called Racecourse Road. The Common features (under its Welsh name Llyn-dhu) in Alan Garner's popular children's fantasy novel The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.