A Landscape Interpretation of .

Joan M. Fairhurst B.Sc.,Ph.D.

May 1988

1 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. TOPOGRAPHY 4

3. STRATIGRAPHY 17

Meres & Mosses 17

Sands, Gravels & Soils 24

Evidence from Excavation 30

4. LAND MANAGEMENT 39

Before Domesday Book 39

Norman Times & The Pales 40

Deforestation & Enclosure 51

5. HABITATS AND SPECIES 65

6. SUMMARY 78

7. REFERENCES 79

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I

9. APPENDICES II

10. GLOSSARY a

2 LIST OF APPENDICES

1 Time Scales II

2 Environmental Data for Hatchmere III

3 Pollen Diagrams for Linmere VI

4 Stratigraphy and Pollen Diagrams for Blakemere IX

5 Soil Data for Delamere XI

6 Extracts from the County Sites and Monuments Records XIII

7 Notes on Eddisbury Castle Ditch XV

8 Notes on Medieval Glasshouse, Kingswood XVI

9 Notes from the Black Prince's Register XVII

10 Notes from the Cholmondley Papers XXIV

11 Forest Compartments and Tree Planting XXV

12 Characteristic Fungi of Delamere XXXI

13 Species List of Bryophytes of Delamere XXXIII

14 Characteristic Higher Plants of Delamere Habitats XXXIV

15 Extracts from Dragonflies Annual Report, 1986 XXXV

16 Characteristic Bird Species of Delamere XXXVI

17 Photographic Record Providing Lecture Material not included

3

SUMMARY

Most casual visitors to Delamere Forest perceive an attractive area of woodland which on the numerous disorientating pathways does not appear crowded. In addition, it is a popular location for the amateur naturalist, and as a site for field studies from schools, institutes of higher education and adult education.

This project looks at the fascinating history of Delamere from an analysis of the distinctive topography with a detailed investigation of the distribution of soils, through the evidence of post glacial vegetation and early human settlement. The story becomes more precise with a wealth of evidence from medieval times and a steadily increasing commitment to manage the residual element of the for timber production. The present day forest is analysed both as a mature pine forest with a sustainable yield and as a sequence of distinctive habitats with characteristic communities.

In the fourteen years that Fox Howl has operated as a

Cheshire Outdoor Education Centre, the warden has been able to direct a number of individual field study projects at advanced and undergraduate level. Much of this resulting data is included and drawn together to create a much more complete understanding of the area. It is intended that the project will be used as a basis for lecture material and hopefully as a stimulus for further research.

4 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The present day knowledge of this part of Cheshire is a remarkable mosaic of detailed research and records combined with nebulous fragments of hearsay distorted through time.

Today, the word 'forest' is used widely to mean tracts of trees. We use it in reference to important global habitats such as tropical rain forest and northern coniferous forest. We also use it to describe the vegetation of earlier times and this often leads to confusion.

The term 'Forest' was introduced to Britain by the Normans.

In that period, Forest meant a place of deer (Rackham 1987). The word is derived from the latin fores meaning 'outside'. In

Cheshire four Norman forests were created as areas of land managed under Forest Law;- Wirral, , Mara and

Mondrum. Existing evidence suggests that Wirral and Mara were not areas of dense woodland (Sylvester and Nulty 1966). Under

Medieval law, timber belonged to the Lord and as this resource declined, the importance of timber management increased. The management of deer dominated the forests and parks of Cheshire in the medieval period.

Wirral was formally deforested in 1377. The original extent of Mara included many townships recorded in historic documents

(Husain 1955). A detailed survey of the forest was carried out in

1627. This record remains as a written account

1 and in a beautiful map held in the City Record Office

(Earwaker Collection). A major reassessment of forest land was initiated in 1812, when 4,000 acres were allotted to the crown for the production of timber. It was perhaps at this time that a forester became principally a manager of trees for timber. The gradual change in the forest boundary is summarised in figure 1.

The title Delamere, recorded in the 1627 survey and in the

1819 enclosure award, is easily traced back in time to the

Norman forest de la Mara, recorded in medieval documents such as the Black Prince's Register, and is generally accepted as meaning the forest of the meres. Within the recognised extent of medieval forest there are a large number of meres. Significantly a concentration of these remain in the forest extant today.

Indeed, it is the landform and soil associated with the area of the meres, which has been instrumental in the survival of

Delamere Forest.

This presentation investigates the origins of the Delamere topography and relates this to solid and drift geology. Documen- tary evidence on land use and settlement patterns is collated.

The discussion considers the characteristic local habitats, diversity of species and special environmental value.

2 Figure 1.2 The History of a Shrinking Forest. Summarised from Forestry Commission investigation (Delamere Forest Teachers Pack, 1979 (in Fairhurst 1989)

3 CHAPTER 2

TOPOGRAPHY

The landform of the Delamere area is strongly associated with the Central Cheshire Ridge, the low points forming the

Kelsall gap at 130m O.D. and the gap at 60m. (see figure 2). The ridge forms a sequence of small hills rising to between 170 and 200m. The west facing escarpment forms steep slopes along Longley and Boothsdale, but in this section there are only small exposures of bedrock, except where man has quarried stone or excavated roads.

The broad landscape of this part of Cheshire is therefore shaped by the upstanding features of Permo-Triassic sandstones and the faulting which has created the considerable variation in relief height (figure 2). Major North-South trending faults run almost continuously beside the mid-Cheshire ridge. These account for the major scarp features. The Delamere section is dissected by a series of parallel faults running NE/SW so that the angle of dip along the scarp varies from horizontal to 15°. During the

Permian, 286-250 million years before present, much of the continental crust beneath Britain was stretched, causing faulting and subsidence evident in the nature of the Cheshire basin. Faulting continued into the Triassic, 250-213 million years

B.P., despite the accumulation of thick sediment. The Sherwood sandstones, including the sandstone formation (formerly known as Keuper are thought to be braided stream deposits from the Variscan mountains between Brittany and Dorset,(see figure 3).

4 Figure 2. Relief Features of the Mid-Cheshire Ridge in the Region of Delamere Forest, from Raggett, 1978.

5 Figure 3. The Solid Geology of the Delamere area (after Raggett 1978).

6 The strong red colouring of the sandstone is due to an iron oxide coating around the sediment grains, indicating desert conditions. The character of the sandstone locally depends on the size and variation of the grains and the extent of the matrix. The Helsby sandstone which forms the surface and near- surface deposits in the zone, tend to have a fine, even texture of grains with an iron oxide coating and a well developed matrix. It seems likely that the Delamere landscape was initiated within a continental land mass influenced by consistent winds and flash floods in climatic conditions typical of areas considerably south of the present northern temperate zone.

In the later Trias, thick deposits of rock salt built up by evaporation from sea-filled (Playa) lakes. These salt deposits do extend marginally into the Delamere area underlying .

The major incursion of sea at the end of the Trias led to the deposition of Rhaetian material which may account for the calcium rich marl extracted from numerous sites, but notably on some of the higher exposures such as the Yeld, Pale Heights and at the top of the Waste.

Whilst the existing solid geology may have developed beneath substantial later deposits, as in the rest of the North-

West, glacial erosion and deposition has played a major part in creating the present topography. Indeed, the Pleistocene and provides a classic example of lowland glaciation.

It is the last Devensian glaciation which has determined much of the Delamere topography. 75,000 years B.P., the climate cooled with ice sheets rapidly expanding to a first maximum

7 55,000 B.P. In the deposits from Chelford in Cheshire (Simpson and West 1958), there is evidence of a warmer period with pine, birch and spruce followed by the main glacial maximum 18,000 years B.P. At this time, the sea level was reduced by at least

85m and the snow line in the southern Pennines is estimated to have been at 450m. This suggests that at glacial maximum, the northern ice sheet over Cheshire may have been as much as 300m thick. Under these conditions, the Dee and Mersey basins were eroded so that today the sandstone bedrock lies 30m below sea level at .

The last of the Pleistocene glaciations in the North-West involved a Welsh icecap, a Pennine icecap and a Cumbrian icecap.

It was this last glacial field which stretched across the

Cheshire basin and at its maximum, created the terminal moraine near Whitchurch. The evidence of vast erosion is recognised in the complete removal of later sediments and in the overdeepening of the major estuaries. Glacial erosion would also emphasise faults in the solid geology finding lines of weakness and excavating channels. The upstanding features of sandstone escarpments would be submitted to subglacial erosion for shorter periods, forming cuestas and carrying little glacial deposition.

Thus the higher features would be strongly weathered by periglacial conditions.

The character of the Beeston gap strongly reflects the results of subglacial deposits leaving a low, flat expanse of boulder clay. The characteristics of the and Mouldsworth gaps are very different. The higher Kelsall gap has a relatively

8 simple landform, (see figure 4b). There are a large number of sandstone boulders in the vicinity, but the Organsdale drift may well have been partially derived from glacial lake sediment. On

Primrose Hill, the Urchin's kitchen is an interesting feature which may represent the site of a subglacial meltwater channel. A line of pine trees picks out the col in the Kelsall gap. The ground here is littered with large sandstone boulders. Present day drainage follows a steepsided central channel which may well have formed a glacial drainage channel with matching valley terraces (figure 4a).

The detailed topography of the Mouldsworth gap with its convoluted system of hills and valleys indicates an area of major glacial deposition (see figure 5). It may be envisaged that the decaying northern ice sheet abutted against the western scarp, discharging meltwater and sediment through the Mouldsworth gap, so forming a system of braided streams and sometimes covering stagnant ice with sediment. Such a glacial delta would typically have discharged into a proglacial lake. The topography of the

Mouldsworth gap is therefore dominated by glacial outwash of sands and gravels with an overall slope towards the direction of the retreating ice front (see figure 6).

The frequent occurrence of or lake filled hollows within the deltaic deposits indicates the position of stranded buried ice. During warmer periods, meltwater channels would burgeon through the drift and over areas of stagnant ice, often redistributing sediment into stratified deposits. The final decay of the stranded ice deposits has left a sequence of steep sided hollows which often sustain a perched water table. In

9 Figure 4a. Profile of Kelsall Gap (Raggett 1978).

Figure 4b. View from Primrose Hill looking North-West (Raggett 1978).

10 Figure 5. Orienteering Map Showing the Detailed Topography of the Mouldsworth Gap (Deeside Orienteering Club, 1987).

11 Figure 6. Features influencing the topography of the Mouldsworth Gap (Delamere Forest Teachers Pack, 1979).

12 postglacial times a Sphagnum raft has developed over many of the

Delamere ' holes' creating a distinctive sequence of mosses. Whilst kettle holes and mosses form important features in the whole of the lowland glaciated landscape of the North- west, the concentration of sites in the Delamere glacial delta has had a major effect on its subsequent history and indeed the existence of an area of managed woodland through to the present day (figure 6).

In the modern landscape, a number of upstanding sections of weathered sandstone have a distinctive profile indicating man made embankments. Two sites, New Pale and Pale Heights incorporate modern reservoirs to maintain water pressure. The characteristic shape and embankments on Eddisbury Hill introduce the evidence of a major Iron Age hill fort (figure 7). It is believed that Eddisbury formed a major settlement in the period up to 60 AD. The known hillforts in this part of Cheshire,

Eddisbury, Kelsborrow, Beeston, Maiden Castle and Helsby, appear to be associated with the more open woodland of the weathered sandstone ridge. An embankment possibly associated with an Iron

Age settlement has also been identified on the shore of Oakmere, the largest of the remaining meres (Longley 1962).

Sadly, most of the evidence of early human settlement and burial has now been lost under the plough. Thus, of Kelsborrow little now remains and of the burial mounds well known in historic times, there are no significant topographical remains, except perhaps at Castle Cob where the construction of a water tank on top of the mound makes a distinctive feature. More recently a system of 'Celtic' fields has been identified at

13 Figure 7. The Embankments on Eddisbury Hill

14 Longley farm near Kelsall, where the lynchets can be seen

(SJ528690, Bullock 1954).

It might be anticipated that within the Medieval forest, villages would protect growing trees with banks and ditches to prevent destruction by deer. Today, we can find a number of deep dry gullies usually at right angles to the slope of the ground.

In addition there is a complex system of deep drainage channels dug in the 1815-1823 forest reclamation in an attempt to increase the area available for timber production. These channels not only lower the water table on many of the mosses but also improve the drainage on the lower slopes.

When pine trees were introduced as the major crop at

Delamere at the beginning of the 19th century, the risk of fire was a major concern. Yard wide strips were excavated parallel to the major roads and railway as vegetation firebreaks.

At localised spots in the forest, the terrain becomes uneven with roughly excavated hollows. A reasonable explanation for these features stems from the use of the forest for storing fuel during the 1939-1945 war.

It is understood that the hill fort at Eddisbury would have been destroyed when the Romans constructed the military road from Chester to Manchester. The importance of the road, Watling

Street, in determining the distribution of settlement cannot be under-estimated. Significantly, the road ascended the Kelsall gap and along the southern slope of Eddisbury Hill. The

Mouldsworth gap must have appeared less attractive, presumably because of the hazards created by the frequent kettle holes. The influence of the Roman road remains through to the present day

15 landscape but the 19th century turnpikes and enclosure roads have imposed a later sequence of linear embankments.

By the establishment of the Chester to railway in

1863, substantial drainage channels had been cut across the major kettle hollow zone. The line therefore goes through the

Mouldsworth gap on a series of embankments and cuttings.

A dramatic change in the topography of the Kelsall gap has been created with the village by-pass completed in 1987. This road cuts into the northern flank of the Kelsall gap exposing sections of bedrock and offers a dramatic view westward across the Cheshire lowlands to the Clwydian range.

16 CHAPTER 3

STRATIGRAPHY

There is much relevant material to be gleaned from the distribution of materials beneath the land and water surface.

Meres and Mosses.

The distribution of mere and moss sites is recorded in figure 8. The Delamere concentration is clear. Within this group, two open water areas remain. The largest, Oakmere, has a notably fluctuating water table (Lind 1951). The present marginal vegetation indicates a considerable fall in water level within the last decade. The water remains relatively acid and appears to be fed by underwater springs. It seems likely that this basin is not a kettle hole but rather a result of subsidence. This site appears to coincide with wet rock-head conditions in the underlying saliferous beds. Peat deposits of

Zone VIIb have been identified from this mere (J. Franks unpublished). The Hatchmere basin remains unique in retaining a nutrient rich water body (pH 7.2-7.6). Evidence of an underwater spring is increased by upwelling of very cold water at 4°C. The lake sediment from this site has been investigated and radio- carbon datings are included in appendix 2. Because of the large expanse of remaining water, a peat corer has only been used on the western margin where the basin clay lining was found at 9m depth. It seems possible that this is a kettle hole overlying the Overton fault and retaining a nutrient rich upwelling of spring water.

17 Figure 8. Mere and Moss Sites in North Cheshire, from Tallis 1973.

Map of north Cheshire showing the distribution of mere and moss sites in relation to the drift cover. The letters and numbers on the map itself refer to localities and sites mentioned in the text. The numbers indicate sites as follows: 1, Abbots Moss; 2, Alsagcr Mere; 3, Bagmere; 4, Black Lake; 5, Blakemere; 6, Breech Moss; 7, Brookhouse Moss; 8, Budworth Mere; 9, Budworth Pool; 10, Moss; 11, Cranberry Moss; 12, Danes Moss; 13, Flaxmere; 14, Hatchmere; 15, Holford Moss; 16, Lawton Mere; 17, Lindow Moss; 18, Masseys Moss; 19, Oakmere; 20, Pickmere; 21, Redesmere; 22, Rode Pool; 23, Rostherne Mere; 24, Scouts Wood; 25, Shemmy Moss; 26, Siddington Moss; 27, Sossmoss; 28, Taxmere; 29, The Mere. The figures around the margins refer to the 10-km squares of the National Grid.

18 Figure 9. Profiles and Stratigraphy of Four Kettle Holes in Delamere Forest.

19 The Flaxmere basin lies adjacent to Hatchmere with a perched water table and a profile identifying it as a distinct kettle hole (Tallis 1973 and figure 9). The site is unique in remaining a source of peat cutting through to the present day with two local residents retaining commoner's rights of turbary.

The stratigraphy of the basin is recorded in figure 10

(Tallis 1973). There are three main sediment types:

1) fine textured limnic deposits with no plant remains

2) dark brown terrestric with small Cyperaceae and Sphagnum leaves; and 3) unhumified Sphagnum peat with occasional water lenses.

Figure 10. Stratigraphy of Flaxmere with Major Pollen Zones Identified, from Tallis 1973.

A. Zone IV, abrupt rise in Myriophyllum; B. Zone V, abrupt rise in Corylus; C. Zone VI, replacement of Betula with Pinus; D. Zone VI/VIIa, intersection of Pinus and Alnus; E. Zone VIIa/VIIb, Ulmus decline; F. Zone Bronze Age, rise in Calluna.

20 The divergent evolution of Flaxmere and Hatchmere appears to be explained by the different chemical characteristics of the peat deposits. Particularly significant are the high levels of

Calcium recorded in the Hatchmere peat whilst the values at

Flaxmere decline from zone VI.

The Linmere basin lies in the heart of the forest, at the base of a steep sided moraine feature. The kettle hole itself stretches from beneath the steepest slope which presumably pushed against the stagnant ice block resulting in a strongly asymetric hollow and a natural outflow. On the 1627 map (figure

20), the centre of Linmere is recorded as a lake. The local drainage was radically changed in the period 1815 to 1823 when this area of the forest was allocated to the Crown for timber production. By 1974 the lake had developed a Sphagnum raft supporting well established Betula pubescens. This raft permitted a sequence of peat cores to be taken across the site

(Smallcross 1978). The profile of the site is recorded in figure

9. The detailed pollen diagrams recorded for Linmere are reproduced in appendix 3.

The name Linmere appears to have the same meaning as

Flaxmere. It seems possible that at the same period, these sites were used for soaking or ‘retting’ flax. Support for this hypothesis comes from the record of a 'gighole' at SJ571702 which is known to be a flax drying oven. In addition a major farm at is called Flaxyards. A classic species in the hydroseral succession of these sites is cotton grass Eriophorum angustifolium. Today the names are generally associated with the cotton-like fruits of this species.

21 Blakemere is the largest of the kettle hole sites in

Delamere. Its profile was initially investigated in 1982, figure

8 (Salford student). The longitudinal profile indicates two immediately adjacent iceblocks. Further field work was carried out in 1985, specifically to compare the two sections of

Blakemere (Watkins 1986). Pollen diagrams for Blakemere are included in appendix 4. The peats found in the two basins suggest conditions were slightly different. Today the eastern side of the is much wetter than the western. The peat deposits implies changing conditions particularly in relation to the water table. The lower peat deposits are derived from

Sphagnum followed by a band of Erlophorum peat and then a band of Sphagnum peat. Today the major drainage channels created between 1815 and 1823 have created a dry peat habitat supporting plantation and birch. The stratigraphica1 boundary recognised in the core profiles is thought to be synchronous

(Ibid), being formed in pollen zone VI, 5,500-6,500 years B.P.

At this period, the vegetation in the area consisted of mixed woodland including Ulmus, Tilia and Betula with Corylus (or

Myrtea), Ericaceae and Graminaceae making up the vegetation surrounding the moss.

Black Lake is an example of a smaller kettle hole. The profile of the basin indicates considerable human disturbance

(see figures 9 and 27). This is confirmed in the Forest

Compartment Record which reveals that this site was dug out in

1820 to create a pond for wildfowl. It appears that the site was elongated and surrounded by an artificial embankment. Lind

(1949) described the basin as entirely covered by Sphagnum with

22 no open water, although she recorded extensive open water two decades previously. In 1969, open water was again present

(Tallis 1973). The raft deteriorated in the 1970's. In 1987-

.1988, the high rainfall and blocked outflow has permitted the water table to rise up to the embankment so that the entire marginal zone is submerged. The stratigraphy of this site must remain subjective due to the major excavation in 1820.

The peat filled hollows of the forest are generally associated with kettle hole sites. Their distribution is well defined on Palin's map (figure 24). It is significant that each of the mosses recorded in 1848 is given a name, often from a local settlement or family. Many of the smaller sites are inaccessible within the present day plantations, but can still be identified on the habitat map (see figure 29).

There remains considerable evidence within these sites, as yet to be studied. In addition, the techniques in the interpretation of pollen diagrams are developing as more sites are investigated and new hypotheses put forward (Bain 1988). For example, there is now an interpretation of temporary woodland clearance in the period 4,200-3,200 B.C. in the Hatchmere deposits (Birks and Young, 1973 unpublished). An interesting feature of a number of pollen diagrams is the early dominance of hazel (Corylus). This species does not seem particularly appropriate in a succession based on acid sands and gravels. It has been suggested that hazel might have been associated with drying out moraine deposits. It is also recognised that the pollen of bog myrtle (Myrica gale) has a similar form. Myrica is known to be a significant species in acid hydroseral succession,

23 especially in the early stages of woodland development. No doubt further work will clarify this anomaly.

The sequence of woodland change and transition to heath communities is clearly represented in the pollen diagrams included in appendix 3. This accumulating evidence has considerably modified the notion of extensive primary woodland remaining across Cheshire well into the Romano-British period.

It seems likely that the early British settlements along the more lightly wooded soils of the central Cheshire ridge caused the woodland clearance from the Bronze Age.

Sands, Gravels and Soils.

The sand and gravels vary widely in their distribution.

Gravel pits indicate the localised deposition of small pebble deposits. The Linmere moraine appears to be an unsorted deposit containing large numbers of erratics of north-western origin including flints presumed to be associated with present Irish sea deposits. The surface of this moraine has been recently

(1986) ploughed after clear felling, but even at depths of a metre, the deposit appears unstratified and suggests a landform associated with ice ablation and water saturation during a period of freeze/thaw. This site is 2km from the main channel through the Mouldsworth gap and appears not to have been resorted by melt-water flow.

In contrast, the deposits at the lowest point in the forest are strongly sorted, not only in layers of pebbles and gravel, but also in the graded layers of sands. These layers may indicate either seasonal fluctuations in meltwater or rapidly changing meltwater channels, creating changing patterns of

24 deposition. The dominant character of each major slope is quite individual, with no notable repetition in the sequence of deposits. The pebbles in these deposits are very well rounded and of North-West origin.

The sands and gravels are the parent material for the development of soils through the forest, except in the peat- filled hollows where the peat is classified as an organic soil.

The soil profile depends upon the interacting factors of drainage, vegetation, animal and microbial activity.

The soil associations typical of the Mouldsworth gap deposits are identified in figure 11. The use of Delamere soils for educational field studies led Granada to make a television programme, 'Soils and Soil Processes' (Geography Today series

1981). Nutrient analysis was carried out on a sequence of profiles in the Mouldsworth gap. These soil profiles, and their location are described in figures 12a, b & c.

In 1988 the Forestry Commission has developed a Soils Trail in the afforested valley west of Linmere. The distribution of soils in this valley is identified in figure 13.

It is concluded that on the crowns of the glacial deposits fewer nutrients are leached from the upper soil horizons, allowing acid brown earth to develop. Where broad-leaved woodland predominates nutrients are again retained in the A horizon because of the activity of organisms in the leaf litter and the nature of the humus created. The depth of the A(b) horizon in these woodland soils is shallow, compared with a profile where there is more earthworm activity.

25 Figure 11.

26 Figure 12a. Location of Soil Profiles in Compartments 8 and 9 and the adjacent field. For compartment map see appendix 11.

Figure 12b. Soil Profile at Site 1, Compartment 9.

27 Figure 12c. Soil Profiles at Sites 2 to 7 in Compartments 8 and 9 and Adjacent Field (for compartment map see appendix 1 1 ) .

28 Figure 13. Distribution of Soils in Compartment 51 at Delamere Forest (compartment map in appendix 1 1 ) .

29 On the slopes leaching from downward percolation of rainwater is increased. This effect is strengthened under pine woodland, where leaf litter breakdown is largely by fungal activity and humic acids build up above the mineral fraction.

This leads to a strongly elluviated A horizon, particularly in sites where the parent material is coarse sand and gravel.

The development of a concretious iron-pan is relatively infrequent within the period of the sixty year forest cycle. The soil has been deep ploughed after clear-fell to bring the leached nutrients, deposited in the B horizons, back up to the surface layers. This practice is now discontinued.

Evidence from excavations

Each time the ground is dug, there is the possibility of chance finds. In addition many archeological sites have distinctive landform features which have led to casual destruction or serious excavation. Many of the archeological finds are recorded in the Sites and Monuments Record for the

County. Some of this information is summarised in appendix 6.

The location of stone axes found to date are recorded in figure 14. Although found at different times, the distribution of axes do seem to be associated with the hill forts at

Kelsborrow and Eddisbury. The five axes found together at the foot of Eddisbury were described as decorative (V.C.H. 1987).

One axe is identified as a wood hafted implement used in early

Bronze Age forest clearance. These finds suggest that Kelsborrow and Eddisbury were important places for people before the construction of the 'Iron Age' encampments. Indeed, it seems likely that these hillforts may have been established in the

30 Figure 14. Ordnance Survey map identifying the location of records in the County Sites and Monuments Register.

31 Bronze age.

The area has a sequence of burial sites identified as

Bronze Age round barrow cemeteries. These sites were based on a circle of stones or wood covered with a dome of earth, creating striking landscape features. On a level with the stone circle evidence of cremation is usually found, with human remains in a decorated urn. Secondary burials are sometimes found within the embankment. Some thirteen burial mounds are recorded as tumuli in figure 14. Six of these sites are single mounds, but the most significant has long been known as Seven Lows. This feature was recorded by Leland as he travelled through Cheshire in the sixteenth century, although the purpose of the mounds was not recognised. Ormerod (1882) however, gives considerable detail of this site, at a time when only two of the mounds had been disturbed. Today it is difficult to identify the exact location of the mounds which had been up to 2m high but which have been eliminated to ground level.

At Glead Hill Cob, Manley, burial items included a bronze pin and a pygmy cup (a vessel with holes thought to be used for incense). The use of urns in these cremated burials identifies a striking culture, found across north-west from the early

Bronze Age, 4,000 years BP (see figure 15).

The hillforts at Eddisbury and Kelsborrow are associated with people who seem to have occupied the region from the late

Bronze Age until the Roman Occupation. Kelsborrow is a single banked promontory fort, whilst Eddisbury is a more complex site modified at different periods. This latter site was excavated in

1936-38 (Varley 1950). This site revealed a first phase palisade

32 Figure 15. Sketches of Archeological finds in Delamere Forest (from Mason 1987 ).

33 enclosure now considered to be as early as Bronze Age (Longley

1937). a second phase involved a single bank enclosure with a simple entrance and timber guard rooms. a third phase extended the fort to the west, with bivallate defences. It was this late

Iron Age fort which was sacked by the Romans in the late first century (see appendix 7).

The location of hillforts along the central Cheshire ridge suggests the possibility of a major line of communication along the higher ground, if indeed these sites were contemporary.

The construction of the Roman military roads provided important access into less frequented parts of Cheshire. Three ancient roads in the Delamere area are thought to be Roman in origin, but probably modified and maintained until the construction of the coach roads and turnpikes in the eighteenth century (see figure 16).

Thirteen excavations have been recorded in the area to identify the location of the Roman roads as shown in fig 14. The road from Chester to Manchester has been located at 10 sites. An important junction, with a fork to has been identified in Nettleford Wood (Waddelove 1983). A Roman road is also suggested from Cotebrook to Cuddington, parallel to the modern

A49. Material observed during the laying of a pipeline indicates a 6m wide road of pebbles in sand, 13cm deep, with a ditch. The medieval road between Tarporley and was called

Peytevinnisti, meaning head path or narrow way. It seems likely that this section of the A49 is following the line of the Roman and Medieval route. Peytevtnnisti is regarded as the dividing line between the Forests of Mara and Mondrem. Later, in 1627,

34 Figure 16. Roman Roads in Delamere Forest (after Kirk, 1885).

35 the Delamere forest boundary is described along 'Padfield Way' to Massey's lodge and Sandyford. This may be a later name for

Peytevinnisti.

Most of the road excavations reveal a compacted gravel surface of a depth up to 30cm with some cobbles and outer drainage ditches. At the Organsdale site the road widens to include a central section of channels cut into bedrock perhaps to help the wagons negotiate the bend (Kirk 1885 and see figure 16).

It is significant that the later coach roads and turnpikes generally follow the line of the earlier Roman roads. The apparent diversion of Hat ling Street to come close to Eddisbury hill was presumably to ensure military control over the hillfort site.

Cheshire appears to have been under military occupation during the Roman period. Finds have been recorded in many sites, such as the Roman tiles and a coin of Marcus Aurelius discovered at Eaton in 1886. Careful 1 examination of .the area a century later revealed further evidence in the back fill from the rebuilding of a retaining wall. Subsequent excavation has revealed a Roman villa of sandstone and limestone (Mason 1982).

There 'are also indications of an earlier timber building and a later medieval building, including a pottery kiln of the thirteenth or fourteenth century (see figure 17).

There have been no archeological finds to date for the Dark

Ages, 6th to 10th century. An important site for the Medieval period is known in Kingswood, Delamere (SJ533724). This site was known as Glaziers Hollow by Glaziers Brook when, in 1934, evidence of glassmaking was first recorded. The site had been

36 Figure 17. Plan of Roman Villa at Eaton (from Mason 1982).

37 recently p1oughed and planted with conifers. Further investigation revealed a wealth of glass and part of a glazed red brick floor. Later excavation was carried out, in 1972, by

Ruth Hurst-Vose, then curator of Pilkington Glass Museum.

Coloured glass fragments and remains of crucibles were recovered supporting the belief that the site provided glass for Vale

Royal Abbey, founded in 1277 and occupied by Cistercian monks until the Dissolution in 1539. The initial finds at Glaziers

Hollou revealed an Edward I silver penny (1272-1307) and some

15th century pottery (Hurst-Vose 1972). It seems likely that the site was used at several periods during the building and rebuilding of the abbey.

An entry in the Ledger Book of the Abbey refers to ‘Le Huvning’ and the whole wood towards the glassworks next to 'Heytelegh'. This is dated

1346-7 and is perhaps an earlier name for New Pale.

Ormerod(1882) mentions Henry de Glasshouse holding a small tenement in Kingsley in approximately 1280.

38 CHAPTER 4 LAND MANAGEMENT

Before the Domesday Book

Direct evidence of land use prior to Domesday is sparse.

Pollen records suggest human activity clearing primary woodland in the Neolithic period with subsequent regeneration. The establishment of hillforts in the late Bronze Age and the Iron

Age, together with evidence of more extensive woodland clearance suggests the use of land for agriculture and the establishment of territories around more permanent settlements. Whilst the

Romans established military control across the area and a network of routes, the 'Celtic' community must have survived in the rural areas. The Roman villa at Eaton indicates at least one substantial Roman farm and extensive farming was required to support the military camps.

The evidence of Saxon settlement is seen mainly from the distribution and density of old English placenames. -ton names indicate farm settlements as at Eaton, Willington, Ashton,

Onston, , Dutton, . -ham names indicate a village settlement such as and Dunham. -leah (ley) names indicate a scattered settlement in pasture woodland as at

Alvanley, Manley, Tarporley, Longley, Crossley, Tirley.

The Saxon settlements in the Kingdom of Mercia were within the Eddisbury Hundred. It seems that the Saxon dominance developed after the British were defeated near the ruins of

Chester in 613 AD. King Alfred the Great conquered Mercia in 886

39 AD. His daughter Aethelfleda was known as the Mercian lady.

Eddisbury Hill played a significant role in 914 AD when

Aethelfleda with a Saxon army resisted the invading Danes. The

Saxon fortified encampment on Eddisbury was one of a series of defences created by Alfred's son. It was called Aethelbur meaning 'little city'. It has also been called the town of nobles. How long it was occupied is not clear, but Aethelfleda herself died in Chester in 918 AD.

Whilst these invaders had moved in from the east, more peaceable settlers from Norway settled on the North-West coast and in particular on the Wirral. Many such Norse settlements have -by placenames as at Helsby.

Norman times and the Pales

There is no record of extensive woodland in mid-Cheshire in the Domesday Survey and the settlements in the area, such as

Kelsall and Tarporley are recorded as laid waste. In the Norman

Conquest of Cheshire it seems that many of the settlements were destroyed, leaving the land to be reclaimed under Norman administration. The Normans introduced the forests to Britain as areas managed primarily for deer. Cheshire was created a County

Palatinate with its first resident earl Hugh Lupus of Avranches.

The county was divided into twelve estates with the area of

Delamere being the Roelan Hundred with demesne manors at

Eddisbury, Manley, Dunham, Helsby and Alderley (recorded south of Kingsley). Exactly when the four Cheshire forests were created is not clear although five places in the Domesday Survey in 1086 are described as in the earl's forest. The jurisdiction of Mara and Mondrum was bestowed on Ralph de Kingsley in 1128, when he was

40 created Master Forester and Bow-bearer by Earl Ranulph. This heritable title was symbolised by the possession of the Delamere

Horn, (see fig 18).

The boundary of the Norman forest can be recognised from the 14th century list of 26 townships paying 'frithmote' and from a manuscript in the Harleian collection which lists 50 settlements within the forest of Mara and Mondrum. This document identifies , Kelsall and as belonging to the

Bishop of Litchfield, whilst Weaverham, Over and Marton were granted to the Abbot of Vale Royal (Husain 1952), (see figure 19).

The basis of forest law was that the land, the deer and the timber belonged to the lord, whilst the underwood and grazing was available to villages on receipt of payment of taxes. The 'assarting' of forest land (clearing of trees to make fields) was only permitted on payment of dues.

In 1237, the Norman Earldom lapsed and Cheshire became

Crown land. In 1275, the Abbot of Vale Royal sought land in Mara from the king. It is recorded that men of the forest could cultivate land for 5 shillings per acre between Peytevinnisti and Over and for 1 mark per acre towards Frodsham. It seems likely that much of Mondrum came under the influence of Vale

Royal and was sold into private ownership at the Dissolution.

Significantly, some of this land, around Abbot's Moss has been bought back by the Forestry Commission.

The construction of the abbey involved the quarrying of stone on Eddisbury Hill and its transport over 5 miles. The timber was granted from the forest by the Justiciar of Chester in 1284. The glass was made in Kingswood.

41 Figure 18. The Delamere Horn with a List of Hereditary Chief Foresters (from Fergusson 19).

42 Figure 19. The Extent of the Medieval Forest of Mara and Mondrum, including the distribution of Settlements (from Husain 1952).

43 In 1337, the Black Prince ordered a chamber to be built in the forest and in 1338 a further Royal Precept commanded the creation of an enclosure. This is thought to be the origin of the Old Pale.

The boundaries of the Vale Royal pastures were defined in

1359 and again influenced the reduction of the area of Mondrum.

The abbey was nearing completion when in 1360, the great nave was so damaged in a storm, it was never rebuilt. By this period, the Black Prince had been created and he not only ensured the completion of the twelve abbey chapels but also undertook the management of the forests of Mara and Mondrum,

Macclesfield and Wirral. The prince rarely visited the forests, but utilised the area as a source of venison, timber and revenue.

The management of the forest is recorded in some detail in the Black Prince's Register, 1351-1365, see appendix 9. The records for 1351 indicate a great deal about the stresses on communities within the forest and the need to conserve timber resources. For example, forest men were punished for

'purprestures' (illegal taking of land), which if enclosed by hedges or dykes, were to be thrown down so that hunting stations

(tristres) could be kept open. The Abbot of Vale Royal was only permitted to take timber specially marked for him. Villagers were asked to take turves for fuel to spare the forest (see appendix 9). A lodge was proposed for the better preservation of game. The Abbot of Chester was asked not to take his due of six bucks and six does until the forest was replenished. A much greater volume of directives followed with steadily increasing constraints on both hunting, felling of timber, grazing and

44 enclosure.

In 1353, Richard Done, Master Forester, claimed and was granted substantial benefits for his post, before a jury of twelve honest and lawful men of the Forest of Mara and Mondrem:

Robert de Massey of Kelsall, Robert de Calvilegh, William de

Legh of Apram, Richard de Trafford, Robert son of Peter of

Bulkylegh, William de Mulgrave, Robert son of Stephen del Mulne,

Thomas son of Adam de Kelsall, Robert de Vernon de Hertford,

David son of Richard de Calvelegh and John de Leigh.

Puture and provender (board and lodging) were granted in

Bridge Trafford, Wymboldes Trafford, Dunham, , Manley,

Mouldsworth, Kelsall, , Newton, Norlegh, Cuddington,

Hertford, Wynnington, Norton justa Hertforde, Castle of

Northwich, Minshull, Aston, Whitepull, Barretspull,

Cholmondeston, Calvilegh, , Lane, Norton justa Ashton,

(Cholmondley Papers, Chester Public Records Office DCH/Q/13).

This material was used in evidence in 1529 when John Done claimed the Forester's title.

In May 1354, the Black Prince ordered an unroofed chamber to be moved from to Eddisbury for the reception of the forester, Richard Done. This hunting lodge remained, known as 'the Chamber in the Forest' for the next five centuries.

Another significant decision is recorded for August 1357 when it was decided to prohibit assarting in the forest, in the belief that it would be more profitable to raise taxes from turbary in places outside the covert. The concentration of mosses in the forest of Mara provided an alternative source of revenue, whilst in Mondrum it may have been the period when

45 assarting was seen as a means of raising revenue for the Crown.

The origin of the Old and New Pales is not certain. The Old

Pale was created as an enclosure for grazing deer in association with the Master Foresters lodge at the Chamber. It is possible that the Royal Precept of 1338 referred to the creation of the

Old Pale, i.e. predating the chamber itself. Both Pales have the characteristic shape of the Medieval deer parks. New Pale Lodge perhaps existed in 1536 when two lodges were recorded but the existing building dates back to 1627.

In 1617, James I had a days hunting recorded by Webb in his itinerary, with a description of the forest as 'no small store of deer both red and fallow, plenty of pasture in the vales, wood upon the hills, fern and heath in the plains, great store of fish and fowl in the meres and turf for fuel, upon the highest hill a delicate house for the chief forester and dispersed on every side pretty and handsome lodgings for the keepers in each walk'. The term 'walk' appears to refer to the areas around the lodges. By 1626, there are four lodges, the two new lodges being Massey's lodge and Hornby's lodge. At this period, the hereditary title of Master Forester was in the process of passing to Sir John and he records the surveying and mapping of Delamere Forest by Elias Allen and

Richard Daines under the direction of the King's Surveyor

General, Sir Thomas Fanshaw. Their map is reproduced in figure

20. The forest boundary covering an area of over 8,000 acres, was marked by distinctive rocks called Merestones. The line of medieval roads is clearly recorded. It was the local communities with common land abutting the forest who petitioned the Crown for the removal of the deer herds.

46 Figure 20. A reduced plan of Delamere Forest in 1627.

47 In 1626 Sir John Done reported that deer were culled each year and two keepers said there were 320 deer in their two walks.

The deer were destroyed in the Civil War. Restocking was considered in 1661. and again in 1702 (figure 21) but by this period there was inadequate shelter in the forest, with little timber remaining. In 1651 it had been estimated that there were

2,200 Oaks. By 1788 the forest contained no significant timber.

In 1691 the forest of Mara and Mondrem was granted from the

Crown and demised to Lord Rivers (Duke of Leeds) for £39 13s per annum. This was replaced in 1736 by a lease for the tenant farms and the residue of the forest of Mara and Mondrum to James

Cholmondley, for 43 pounds and 10 shillings per annum

(Cholmondley Papers CRO). In 1784 an agreement was made between

Earl Cholmondley and a tenant farmer for the 447 acres of the

Old Pale (see figure 22). This was followed by a notice to quit in 1796. The tenant farmer protested because of his investment in marling the land and building up on the land a stock of horses, swine, cows and sheep. In 1788, Roger Merrick then living in the Chamber, stabbed Richard Wimpenney. This murder appears to be the reason for the abandonment of the chamber in Merrick's Wood (Cholmondley Papers CRO).

The non-productive state of the New and Old Pales was recognised by the agent for the Cholmondley estate in 1810. His initiative encouraged the Earl to seek for a new lease from the

Crown to support the conversion of the Pales to farms at the estimated cost of ten thousand pounds. At the same time, Earl

Cholmondley was instrumental in manipulating the enclosure of the forest.

48

Figure 21. A Letter to Sir John Crewe Regarding the possibility of Restocking Delamere Forest with Deer.

49 Figure 22. Sketch Map of Old Pale, 1783 (from the Cholmondley Papers CRO).

50 The Cholmondley papers record an expenditure of £1857 on farm buildings at the Ne w Pale and of £2940 on buildings at the

Old Pale. This was offset by a revenue of some £5661 for timber off the Pales. This included fir, ash, deal, and oak. The subsequent cost of marling, draining and fencing, over three years amounted to £7300. The New and Old Pale farms were operated by tenants under Earl Cholmondley until the end of the lease in 1875. The two estates were then managed by the Crown until sold, along with other remaining Crown land around

Delamere in 1963, see fig.26.

DEFORESTATION AND ENCLOSURE

In 1812 parliament recognised a national timber crisis, particularly in supplying oak for the navy. A scheme was devised to use the Royal Forests, which were still managed under Forest

Law. Earl Cholmondley chaired a meeting of the land owners with

Rights of Common in Delamere to formulate the means by which

Delamere could be brought under the newly formed Department of

Woods. The meeting recommended the auctioning of sufficient forest land to raise funds for the cost of enclosure. It was also recommended that half of the residual Forest should be allotted to the Crown, solely for the production of timber, whilst those with Rights of Common should be allotted areas in compensation for the loss of those rights. This made it possible for Delamere to be formally deforested. The Act of Enclosure for

Delamere Forest was speedily processed through parliament b*y

June 1812. The Enclosure Awards were made in 1819, dividing the extra-parochial lands into four new townships, Kingswood,

Oakmere, Eddisbury and Delamere. The new church of St Peter,

51 Delamere was consecrated in 1817. Small enclosures were allotted in each new township see (figure 23, Simpson 1967). The land allotted to the Crown included the New and Old Pales designated for farmland and sections for afforestation in Kingswood,

Linmere, Longridge and Primrose Hill. The Awards also covered the much valued lake at Hatchmere. This rich fish pool had been much sought after through the medieval period (Ardern Grant

CRO), but was under lease to the Egerton family at the time of enclosure (Enclosure Award CRO). The lake was therefore allotted to John Grey Egerton. The other medieval lake, Fishpool has now become fully terrestrialised. Oakmere came under the management of , until the Dissolution in 1539,uhen it was sold into private ownership. Hatchmere is now owned by James

Posnett of Home Farm, . It remains an important fishpool, currently managed by Norley Angling Club.

In the Enclosure Awards are details of new roads. A number of coach roads had already been developed. In the eighteenth century the Turnpike Trusts were formed to provide good roads in sparsely populated areas. The Northwich - Delamere Turnpike was created by Act of Parliament in 1769. The Tollgate cottages were built in the Kelsall gap, close to the junction of the Roman roads (Harrison 1892). Today the cottages provide an attractive feature where the crosses the A556. At enclosure further public carriage roads were proposed, including the road to Middlewich, now the A54, the road to Frodsham, now the B5152 and the road between Norley and Ashton, now known as the switchback. In addition a series of occupation roads were proposed to serve the new field enclosures. These fields and

52 Figure 23. Map Showing Periods of Enclosure in Delamere Forest (from Simpson 1973).

53 occupation roads create strongly rectilinear features along each aspect of the modern forest boundary. The roads typically have sandstone banks topped with hawthorn hedges. The cottages associated with these allotments are usually of sandstone construction, often externally rendered and painted white. Today these small holdings have become popular homes for enthusiastic gardeners. Indeed, one allotment has been developed by the

Morrey family into a major nursery for shrubs and trees. Other allotments have specialised in growing soft fruits and fruit trees mainly on South-facing slopes, including Howarth's Fruit

Farm and Perimeter Farms.

In 1844 Queen Victoria gave 1 acre for a school at

Delamere, 'for the instruction of the children of the poor in the tenets of the approved church'(CRO). The Gothic style building was opened in 1846, under the direction of the Rector,

Mr Fox. Some 250 children were on roll, some arriving on ponies, which were tethered in the woodland around.

In 1812, the newly formed Department of Woods set a target of planting 4,000 acres of new plantations per annum nationally, largely based within the Royal Forests. In the Delamere Crown

Allottments planting began in 1815, at 440 acres per annum, being completed in 1823. Drainage was a major operation, with vast ditches excavated at a rate of 2d per hour. This drained most of the forest mosses to reclaim the peat for planting with Scots pine (some 30% of the area afforested). Several of the mosses proved impossible to drain and in the Enclosure Award were allotted 'to remain open and unenclosed to be held and enjoyed by such persons as previously enjoyed the same'. During the

54 drainage operations remains of 'oaks of great size 'were found, encouraging belief that the oak would grow. Even by 1826 the young crop of oak was giving cause for concern. This led to inplanting of other species to act as 'nurse' to the oak saplings. This included Caledonian Scots pine, larch, beech, sweet chestnut and ash (Palin 1848, see figure 24). Some concern was expressed about the planting of conifers 'on account of their supposed injury to the Beauty of the Forest Scenery'

(Simpson 1973).

In 1848 Palin produced a detailed updated map of the forest, showing the distribution of tree species and the reclaimed mosses for the Select Committee on Woods and Works.

Particularly valuable is the list of forty mosses under their known names. These are often local family or settlement names suggesting associations with the previous sites of turbary recorded in the Black Prince's Register and in Grants for Rights of Common.

In 1851 James Broun was invited to survey the forest. He concluded that some 80% of the area was capable of timber production and recommended a five yearly thinning cycle to generate revenue. In Parliament, the unsuitabi1ity of the Royal

Forests for oak timber production was becoming recognised. In

Delamere the oaks planted were English Oak (Quercus robxir) suited to heavy clay soils. It is believed that the species indigenous to this area of sands and gravels would have been

Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). By 1856, the government had become disenchanted with the lack of revenue from the Crown forests and the obligation to grow timber was repealed. This must have been a devastating blow to those who had devoted their lives to

55 Figure 24.

56 fulfilling the national demand for creating new plantations.

The imminent development of the Cheshire Lines Railway, through the forest influenced the extent to which the Crown woodland was cleared. It was anticipated that land values adjacent to the new service would increase. The railway opened in 1863 with the subsequent loss in tolls, so that the Turnpikes ended in 1872.

The land cleared and brought into agriculture is shown in figure 25, from Grantham's report to the Royal Agricultural

Society in 1864. The extent of the rails for transporting marl is also evidence of a carefully engineered scheme. Honslough

(248 acres) was cleared, grubbed, trenched and marled from a deposit of Keuper marl near Waterloo Gate, during 1860.

The marl was found 10-17 feet thick. in beds which were stratified and varying in colour from dark red to pale blue. The material was found to be rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium.

At Longridge and Plover's Moss, 800 acres were reclaimed, using marl from Eddisbury Hill. In this region the extensive areas of peat were left planted with Scots pine. The marl was transported on a system of moveable rails a distance of up to 2 miles, taking two years to complete.

At Organsdale 530 acres were reclaimed using marl from

Nettleford Wood. The marl was moved on rails set on banks or in trenches, which can still be traced in Nettleford Wood. The work improved the value of the land from 7s per acre rent to 33s per acre. The first crop was of potatoes and oats in 1863.

Farmsteads and cottages were built in each of the areas.

57 Figure 25. Map of the Crown Forest and Lands Reclaimed by Marling by 1863 (Grantham 1864).

58 The Organsdale buildings lie in the fork of the A556 and the A54 with a fine residence adjacent. Small groups of Scots pine remain as a memory of the earlier forest and create an attractive landscape feature.

In 1893, Delamere began replanting with pine trees. In 1908

541 acres had been planted with stands of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima) and Deeside Scots pine [Pinus sylvestris).

After surveying the condition of the forest, E.P.Popert drew up a working plan, planting Corsican pine on the upper slopes and drier ground, Scots pine on the lower slopes and wetter ground and spruce on the drained peat mosses. Broad leaved strips were retained along the roads and railway to reduce the risk of fire spreading through the resinous crop. This pattern remains the framework of the forest we see today with the planting completed by 1950. This restructuring of the forest involved a substantial workforce, some of whom were accommodated in Crown property built for the purpose, for example the Foresters House at

Linmere.

In 1919 the Forestry Commission was created to succeed the

Department of Woods. Its prime objective was to create a strategic timber reserve after the deprivation of the 1913-18 war. In 1923 Delamere Forest was transfered to the Forestry

Commission. A forest nursery was created in 1926 and a hardwood nursery was maintained close to the Foresters House on the lower slopes of the Old Pale. This was maintained until the development of polyhouse cultivation on the site which is used to generate sixteen week old Corsican Pine for planting and the raising of high quality Sitka Spruce cuttings. A further nursery has been developed on a heathland site on a Commission owned section of

59 land at Abbots Moss (used by Vale Royal in medieval times). On this 35 hectare site thousands of conifers are raised on a two year rotation for use across the North of England, North-East

Wales and Scotland. Since the 1950s the management of the

Delamere nurseries has provided a focal point for the development of new techniques in cultivation. The extent of the nurseries continues to grow.

The pattern of management for the productive pure stands is well established. There is a sixty year rotation with thinning every five years from age twenty. In the second rotation the

Corsican Pine has been planted, whilst the Scots pine regenerates alongside the pioneer Birch. Since 1950 the areas of broadleaved strips have been under active management and extensive amenity planting of broadleaves has been carried out in sites unsuitable for economic rotation.

The drained areas remain something of a management problem.

At Blakemere some trees were cropped in 1897. Scots pine were planted in 1899 between deep drams. In 1930, the pole stage had yellowed foliage and was heavily infested by weevil and pine shoot beetle. In 1931-33 the crop was heavily thinned and under planted with Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, and Western hemlock.

Of these the Western Hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla) has been the most successful. Indeed, this species is to be seen on a number of the moss sites, with its distinctive drooping top and graceful low foliage. Timber extraction from the mosses has only been achieved on a small scale.

During the 1970's the forest became mature with the potential of producing 6,000 tonnes of timber per annum, see

60 appendix 11. The felling pattern initially increased the diversity of age in the compartments. The catastrophic windblow of 1976 brought down swathes of mature trees which took some four years to clear. In the last five years timber felling has been extended into larger coupes for easier management, reduction of costs and increased revenue. Overheads have been further reduced by the introduction of contract felling. This involves a sample (tariff) felling by the Forestry Commission to assess the crop, which is then sold. The final extraction is then done by the buyer.

Timber extraction requires the maintenance of a forest road system. The winding routes through the forest are believed to be the ancient routes, mainly surfaced with gravel from the local gravel pits. The extraction routes created in the nineteenth century are typically straight. With increased mechanisation roads needed to be more consolidated. In the early twentieth century roads were surfaced with blast furnace ash, with wayside debris of pumice, brick fragments and occasional rough green glass. Timber wagons have continued to increase in size and extraction routes are now prepared with a compacted surface of

Derbyshire limestone chippings (2 inches down). Cleared areas are maintained by the sides of the road to assist drying. The limestone has introduced a source of marine fossils and a calcium rich habitat.

The forest boundary set out by the Commissioner in 1813 describes a sequence of gates around the perimeter of the forest.

In addition the access points along the roads through the forest also had gates identifiable on Palin's 1848 map (figure 24).

61 In a few sites a pair of sandstone gateposts remain but in many cases they have been removed, sometimes being found shoring the embankment across a stream.

The modern forest entrance is guarded by red and white rails to restrict access to vehicles. Pedestrian access has been encouraged since the Access to the Countryside Act in 1945. The

Delamere Youth Hostel at Fox Howl serviced walkers and cyclists between 1933 and 1973. These premises now provide for residential and day visits from Cheshire Schools.

In the 1970s Cheshire Countryside developed a system of linked footpaths along the mid-Cheshire ridge called the

Sandstone Trail. It is maintained by the County Rangers who also service the picnic areas around the forest.

Much of the Crown Estate was sold in 1963 (see figure 26).

The Forestry Commission now has a much wider brief with a responsibility for landscape and habitat conservation, recreation and education. In 1986, the Linmer Forest Office was replaced and the older buildings were developed into an exhibition centre and shop.

Delamere Station House ceased to be used in 1975. It was sold by British Rail in 1984 and is now being renovated. It remains a halt on the Northwich-Chester line, formerly the

Cheshire Lines Railway.

In 1987 Delamere was designated a National Forest Park because of its importance as a site for recreation. It remains the most heavily used area of woodland in Britain. The value of recreational woodland has initiated a policy for the development of urban fringe woodlands. The massive increase in agricultural

62 Figure 26.

63 production over the last decades is also leading to new incentives to farmers and landowners to put more land under trees.

64 CHAPTER 5

HABITATS AND SPECIES

Some 70% of the present day forest is under productive pine plantations. These areas can be classified into four phases with distinct habitat conditions over the 60 year cycle.

Compartments aged 1-8 (establishment phase) is where there is much pioneer vegetation of birch, bracken, bramble and moss competing for space with the young pine trees. Some of these areas have a distinct heathland character.

Compartments aged 8-20 (thicket phase) is where the pine trees, with positive management, achieve dominant cover with considerable birch and create a dense, undisturbed habitat.

Compartments aged 20-50 (building phase) is where the pine trees increase rapidly in height, by 50-60cm per annum and thinning is repeated every five years, to leave only one in ten of the original trees planted at 50 years. Bracken becomes the dominant understorey in this phase, with growth up to 2m.

Compartments aged 50+ (mature phase) where the pine crop achieves its maximum potential as a timber crop and may be clear-felled (usually at 60 years). These trees create a high forest canopy, often with shade bearing trees, such as rowan and holly, growing beneath.

The insects of pine trees are potential pests in the managed forest. Pine looper moth (Marbled White), Bupalus piniarius is commonly seen as a day flying moth in May. The defoliating caterpillar pupates in the pine litter and its density is

65 regularly checked by entomologists. The pine bark beetle,

Tomicus piniperda, breeds beneath the bark of trees which have a low sap pressure or are recently dead. In the past this species has been managed by not keeping timber with bark on in the forest between March and October. The population density inevitably rose after the catastrophic windblow of January 1976.

The present policy of tariff felling, in stands to be auctioned, provides ideal bark beetle habitat. The tariffed trees become brood trees, hosting the emergence of thousands of insects in the early summer. Scots pine is the favoured tree, although

Corsican pine is also invaded. Birds are able to feed extensively on the larvae under the thinner bark of the Scot's pine.

Pine longhorn beetle (Rhagium spp.) invades dead sapwood, whilst wood wasp (Cirex spp.) tunnels into the sapwood

immediately beneath the bark. The three British species of woodpecker are particularly adept at feeding on the larvae deep in the timber.

Butt rot, caused by Fomes annosus is meticulously controlled by the introduction of Peniophora gigantea on to felled stumps. This is a non-pathogenic fungus which occupies the available habitat.

The ground flora of coniferous habitats is summarised in figure 27a. The areas of broadleaved woodland support a very different understorey, with a much greater diversity of species

(figure 27b). The broadleaved areas are characterised by mature

English Oak Quercus robur), Beech (Fagus sylvaticus) and Sweet

Chestnut Castanea sativa), with indigenous populations of Silver

66 Figure 26a. Habitats and Plant Indicator Species (Fairhurst 1979).

67 Figure 27b. Habitats and Indicator Species continued.

68 Birch (Betula pendula). These mature trees are being replaced with additions of Alder (Alnus sp.), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior),

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), Southern Beech (Nothofagus spp.) and some berried species.

The oak and birch provide an enormous wealth of insect diversity. The birch is limited by invasion of Piptoporus betulinus, which weakens the canopy and causes a brittle brown rot in the timber. The dead birch trees create potential nesting sites for numerous birds, particularly woodpeckers, redstarts, treecreepers and tawny owl.

Honey fungus (Armelleria mellea) is well established throughout the forest, invading weak and damaged trees. This process of natural selection ensures a range of niches for other degrading fungi.

Numerous mycorrhizal associations are evident from the appearance of fungal fruiting bodies, such as that of Amanita muscaria in the early autumn.

The peat areas of the forest provide a striking contrast, with a total absence of bracken. The drained peat sites are characterised by purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea), bilberry

Vaccinium myrtillus) and ling (Calluna vulgaris). The wet peat habitats offer such individual conditions that each site has to be considered separately.

Black Lake SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) demonstrates a number of zones in an acid hydroseral succession, as in figure 28:

Zone 1: open water over peat considerably increased by periods of high rainfall (e.g. 1987/88);

69 Figure 28. Zonation map of Black Lake in 1987.

70 Zone 2: submerged Sphagnum cuspidatum and Eriophorum angustifolium, decreased by drought conditions (e.g. 1976);

Zone 3: raft of Sphagnum recurvum, supporting Vaccinium oxycoccus and Drosera rotundifolia, decreased by drought and trampling;

Zone 4: established raft of Sphagnum recurvum, supporting Erica tetralix and stunted Pinus sylvestris;

Zone 5: marginal zone of Sphagnum recurvum supporting Polytrichum commune, decreased by drought;

Zone 6: marginal zone of Juncus effusus, increased by overhanging vegetation.

Black Lake is managed jointly by the Forestry Commission and the

Cheshire Conservation Trust as a reserve. It is particularly valuable as a site for dragonflies of acid water, such as

Leucorhinia dubia, the white faced dragonfly.

Linmer Moss has gone through a major change in the last decade. In 1974 the central raft of Sphagnum fimbriatum and

Sphagnum squarrosum supported a canopy of Betula pubescens.

Within the raft community were some significant marsh species, including Equisetum palustre, Thelypteris palustre and

Potentilla palustre. In 1982, the outflow channel, under the railway line was temporarily blocked. The water table rose above the raft for a period of six months. This ecological catastrophe caused the death of the birch canopy and of the fringe pine and hemlock. Sphagnum moss no longer forms a continuous sward, whilst Carex paniculata has now become a dominant species.

Betula pubescens is regenerating with Salix and Alnus under the decaying trunks of the drowned trees. The dead fringe timber has been invaded by a succession of wood-eating insects, so providing a substantial food supply for resident woodpeckers.

71 The raft vegetation at Flaxmere SSSI reflects the sequence of peat cutting. In periods of drought the manmade zonation is more apparent, as the thinner sections of raft fall with the water table. The most recent pools are occupied by Sphagnum cusp idatum, with older sites having a thin raft of Sphagnum recurvum and Eriophorum angustifolius. The thicker raft supports E. vaginatum, Erica tetralix and localised Andromeda polifolia.

Drier areas have a sward of Molinia caerulea, with some Myrica gale and pioneer woodland. Local areas of drainage off the surrounding smallholdings support some marsh and species.

The open water at Hatchmere SSSI has a high nutrient status, despite the acid inflow from the surrounding acid sands and coniferous woodland. There is a established fringe of

Phragmites communis and bays of Nymphaea alba., whilst the water supports a diverse and abundant community, including dragonflies of nutrient rich water, see appendix 15. This site has been recorded in some detail (Lind 1949,see figure 29).

The small streams through the forest vary widely in water status. Some carry iron rich water draining from the peat areas.

One stream flows predominantly along a clean pebble-based course and is rich in caddis larvae, mayfly nymphs and stream limpets.

In contrast, one inflow is regularly swamped with cow slurry and down its length shows gradual recovery. The stream section at the south-west fringe of the forest contains sufficient organic

* sediment to support brook lamprey.

The stream banks have a rich and varied flora including

Geranium robertianum, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Mentha aquatica and Deschampsia cespitosa (see figure 27).

72 Figure 29a. Hatchmere Vegetation Zones from Older Maps in 1873 and 1910 (Lind 1948).

73 Figure 29b. Hatchmere Vegetation Zones from Field Observations by Lind (1948).

74 Figure 29c. Field Sketch Map of Hatchmere, July 1987.

75 The waysides of the forest roads vary in nutrient status, depending upon the road substrate. In addition the road surface is 'scraped' to maintain a level surface and the loose debris is pushed to the sides. The vegetation is cut back with a swipe as a fire precaution measure, after the main bird nesting time. The overhanging trees felled are those which are dead or dying and form a danger to the public. As this maintenance is often done in the late Summer or early Autumn, many insect life cycles have been completed and there is a noticeable increase in butterflies. Nettles, rose bay herb and ragwort form a significant wayside component (see figure 26). A more detailed species list is included in appendix 14 and the overall distribution of habitats is summarised in figure 30.

The forest provides a wealth of habitat for birds and mammals, see appendix 16. The red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, was last recorded in 1968. The grey, Neosciurus carolinensis, was introduced into Cheshire in 1872. It has become a serious pest in the forest, where it strips bark in the crown of the pine trees in early summer, when there is a temporary lack of pine seeds. The numbers are controlled by trapping. One mammal, the badger, Meles meles, is gaining public support through the activities of the Wirral and Cheshire Badger Group. Badgers feed mainly outside the forest, but have developed a pattern of breeding setts around the perimeter, where the tree roots over deep sand provide ideal conditions.

Any ecosystem of course needs energy and nutrients and their availability depends on the bacteria, fungi and detritus eating animals. These are often unseen, but vital to the system we see.

76 Figure 30. Habitat Map of Delamere Forest.

77 CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY

Most casual visitors to Delamere Forest perceive an easily accessible, attractive area of woodland which on the numerous disorientating pathways does not appear crowded. In addition, it is a popular location for the amateur naturalist, and as a site for field studies from schools, institutes of higher education and adult education.

This project looks at the fascinating history of Delamere from an analysis of the distinctive topography with a detailed investigation of the distribution of soils, through the evidence of post glacial vegetation and early human settlement. The story becomes more precise with a wealth of evidence from medieval times and a steadily increasing commitment to manage the residual element of the Royal Forest for timber production. The present day forest is analysed both as a mature pine forest with a sustainable yield and as a sequence of distinctive habitats with characteristic communities.

In the fourteen years that Fox Howl has operated as a

Cheshire Outdoor Education Centre, the warden has been able to direct a number of individual field study projects at advanced and undergraduate level. Much of this resulting data is included and drawn together to create a much more complete understanding of the area. It is intended that the project will be used as a basis for lecture material and hopefully as a stimulus for further research.

78 REFERENCES

Bain, M.G., (1988). Pollen Analysis and Human Activity in Angelzark. Ph.D. Thesis, Salford University.

Birks, H.J.B., Young, J.E., and Switsur, V.R., (1973) Pollen analysis of Hatchmere sediments (unpublished).

Black Prince's Register, (1932), Vol. III, P.R.O., London.

Bullock, J.D., (1954), Possible remains of Celtic Fields at Kelsall. T.L.C.A.S., 64, 24-26.

Cholmondley Papers, County Record Office, Chester, DCH/Q/1-11.

Delamere C. of E. Primary School, County Record Office, Chester, SL/172.

Dodgson, J., (1970), The Placenames of Cheshire, Cambridge University Press.

Earwaker Collection, City Record Office, Chester, CR 63/1-2.

Enclosure Awards and Plans for Delamere Forest, 1816-19, County Record Office. QDE1/23

Egerton, P., (1845), Arch. J., 5, 157-8.

Fairhurst, J.M., (1979), Delamere Forest Teachers Pack, Forestry Commission.

Fergusson, J.G. (196 ), Roll of the Hereditary Chief Foresters of the Forests of Mara and Mondrum, The Cheshire Sheaf, 136.

Forde-Johnson, J., (1962), Iron Age Hillforts in and Cheshire. T.L.C.A.S., 72,9-46.

Furness, R.R., (1978), Soils of Cheshire, Soil Surv.G.B., Bulletin 5.

Geological Survey Map, sheet 109, Chester, H.M.S.O.

Grantham, R.B., (1864), A description of the works for reclaiming and marling parts of the late Forest of Delamere, in the County of Cheshire, J. Roy. Ag. Soc., Ser. 1, 25, 369-80.

Green, J.A., (1979), Forests, in the Victoria County History of Cheshire, II, 167-178.

Guilbert, G.,(1977), The northern Welsh Marches; some recent developments. In: The Iron Age in Britain - a Review, pps. 41- 50.

79 Harland, W.B., Cox, A.V., Llewellyn, P.G., Picton, C.A.G., Smith, A.G., and Walters, P. (1982). A Geological Time Scale, Series 1, 25, 369-380. Cambridge University Press.

Harrison, W., (1892), The Turnpike Roads of Lancashire and Cheshire, T.L.C.A.S., 10, 237-248.

Hurst-Vose, R. , (1972), Report on excavation of glasshouse at Kingsvood to the Forestry Commission.

Husain, B.M.C.,(1955), Delamere Forest in Later Medieval Times, Hist. Soc. Lancs. & Chesh., 107, 23-39.

Jones, G.D.B. & Manley, J.F., (1973), Roman Road Section, Chesh. Arch. Bull. 1, 8-10.

Kirk, E., (1885), Roman Roads in Delamere Forest, T.L.C.A.S., 72, 2 1 23.

Latham, F., (1973), Tarporley, Loc. Hist. Gp., 142pp.

Lind, E.M., (1949), The history and vegetation of some Cheshire meres. Mem. Proc. Man. lit. phi1. Soc., 90, 17-36.

Lind, E.M.,(1951), Notes on the natural history of Oakmere, Cheshire. Mem. Proc. Man. lit. phil. Soc., 92, 144-54.

Longley, D., (1962), Embankments at Oakmere. T.L.C.A.S., 72, 21- 23.

Longley, D. , (1987), Prehistoric Sites in Cheshire, in Victoria County History of Cheshire , I, 36-92.

Mason, D.J.P., (1983), A Roman Villa at Eaton-by-Tarporley, Chesh. Arch. Bull., 9, 63-66.

Ordnance Survey, (1881), 6" Sheets 32, 33, 39, & 40, First Edition.

Ordnance Survey, (1908), 6" Sheets 32, 33, 39, & 40, Second Edition.

Ordnance Survey, (1970), 6" Sheets SJ57SW, SJ57SE, SJ56NW, SJ56NE.

Ormerod, G., (1882), A History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Routledge.

Palin, J., (1848), Plan of the Forest of Delamere for the Select Committee on Woods and Works. In the Tomkinson Papers, County Record Office, DBW/H/C/49.

Popert, E.P., (1908), Report on the Crown Woods at Delamere. Cheshire.

80 Rackham, 0., (1987), The History of the English Countryside, Dent, 445pp.

Raggett,D., (1978), Sandstone Trail Information Pack. Cheshire County Council.

Roeder, C, (1907), Prehistoric Glimpses of Eddisbury Hundred. T.L.C.A.S., 24, 113-125.

Shallcross, P.J., (1978), Late glacial Deposits in Cheshire and South Lancashire., Unpublished Dissertation, Leeds University.

Simpson E.S. and West, (1958), On the Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of a late Pleistocene organic deposit at Chelford, Cheshire. New Phytol., 57, 239-50.

Simpson, E.S., (1967), The Reclamation of the Royal Forest of Delamere. In Essays in Geography, Longmans, pp. 271- 91.

Sylvester, D. & Nulty, G., (1966), Historical Atlas of Cheshire. Cheshire Community Council.

Tallis, J.H., (1973), The Terrestrialization of Lake Basins in North Cheshire, with special reference to the development of a Schwingmoor structure. J. Ecol. 61, 537-67.

Vale Royal Abbey and House. (1977), Loc. Hist. Soc.

Varley, W.J. and Jackson, J.W., (1940), Prehistoric Cheshire. Cheshire Community Council

Varley, W.J., (1950), The Hillforts of the Welsh Marches, Arch. J. 105, 41-66.

Varley, W.J., (1950), Excavations of the Castle Ditch, Eddisbury, 1935-38. T.H.S.L.C., 102, 1-68.

Varley, W.J., (1964), Cheshire before the Romans, Cheshire Community Council.

Waddelove, A.C. & E., (1983), A Junction of Two Roman Roads. Chesh. Arch. Bull., 9, 63-66.

Watkins.S., (1986), A study to investigate the distribution of past pollen rain over Blakemere Moss, Delamere Forest, Cheshire. Unpublished Dissertation, St. Katharine's College, Liverpool.

81 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I am grateful to Cheshire Education Authority for supporting my membership of the course for a Diploma in Landscape Interpretation. During fourteen years as Warden of the Cheshire Education Authority Outdoor Education Centre in Delamere Forest I have learnt a great deal from the observations of students and the expertise of friends and colleagues. Throughout this period and particularly in the many hours of preparing this dissertation I have had the unstinting support of my husband Colin, who has produced the text on his word processor. My elder son Peter has also typed several sections and has become enthusiastic about the landscape interpretation of Nettleford wood, where he has identified the location of the gullies and banks used for transporting marl.

I have had helpful discussions with David Mason, Archaeologist at the Grosvenor Museum, Rick Turner County Archaeologist, Oliver Bott in County Planning and Paul Booth specialist in Medieval Forests at Liverpool University. I have also had considerable assistance from the archivists both at the City Record Office and at the County Record Office. Adrian Waddelove contributed a useful range of references relating to archaeological evidence. I am grateful to my fellow course members for various items of material and support in fieldwork.

My tutor Peter Davey has provided characteristic enthusiasm and an extremely helpful survey of the first draft. I have not been able to pursue all the suggestions made in the time available. My thanks are also due to Arthur Miller, Head District Forester for correcting elements in the text.

Finally my thanks are due to Marion Clayson at the Professional Centre, Woodford Lodge, Winsford for supplying the technical expertise to put this material together.

I APPENDIX 1. TIME SCALES.

a) THE SEQUENCE OF GEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS IN NW ENGLAND

From Harland et al., (1982). Dates in millions of years B.P.

Recent Quaternary Pleistocene Advance and retreat of ice sheets 2m Tertiary Pliocene/Miocene 65m Cretaceous

Mesozoic Jurassic Removal by erosion 213m Triassic New red sandstone; semi-arid Permian Desert -flash floods; Playa lakes 286m Westphalian coal-bearing; fluvial Carboniferous Namurian; f1uviodeltaic Dinatian; marine Paleozoic 360m Devonian Igneous intrusions 408m Silurian Marine sediments 438m Borrowdale Volcanic group Ordovician Skiddaw group Ingleton Marine sediments

b) CLIMATIC PERIODS AND POLLEN ZONES IN THE LATE & POST GLACIAL.

II APPENDIX 2. ENVIRONMENTAL DATA FOR HATCHMERE.

i a) RADIO-CARBON DATING OF HATCHMERE SEDIMENTS IDENTIFIED MAJOR POLLEN CHARACTERISTICS.

University of Cambridge NRM XIII

Hatchmere Series 53 14'N, 2 41W Radiocarbon 1975

Birks and Young (June 1973)

Samples identified by depth in pollen

Q1159 722.5 - 727.5 cm 7403 ± 114 Alnus rise 5453BC

Q1160 727.5 - 777.5 cm 8340 ± 95 Pinus maximum 6390BC

Q1161 802.5 - 807.5 cm 8776 ± 130 Quercus rise 6826BC

Q1162 842.5 - 847.5cm 9679 ± 140 Corylus rise 7729BC

Q1228 652.5 - 657.5cm 5269 ± 80 1st well marked landnam phase 3319BC

Q1242 832.5 - 837.5cm 9419 ± 120 1st Ulmus rise 7469BC

Q1229 880 - 885cm 9580 ± 140 Marked increase in Corylus 763OBC

Q1241 612.5 - 617.5cm 4693 ± 90 End of 1st well marked phase landnam 2743BC

III APPENDIX 2b. PROFILE FOR HATCHMERE, JULY 1980.

IV APPENDIX 2c. VEGETATION LIST FOR HATCHMERE FROM LIND 1948.

V APPENDIX 3 POLLEN DIAGRAMS FOR LINMERE (from Shallcross 1978). a) PEAT CORE FROM 365-565 cm DEPTH.

VI APPENDIX 3b) PEAT CORE FROM 365-465 cm DEPTH

VII APPENDIX 3c) PEAT CORE FROM 465-565 cm DEPTH.

VIII APPENDIX 4 STRATIGRAPHY AND POLLEN DIAGRAMS FOR BLAKEMERE (Watkins 1986) a) STRATIGRAPHY IDENTIFYING SYNCHRONOUS BOUNDARIES

IX APPENDIX 4b. POLLEN COUNTS ABOVE AND BELOW THE SYNCHRONOUS BOUNDARIES.

X APPENDIX 5 SOIL DATA FOR DELAMERE. a) SOIL ASSOCIATIONS ON TRIASSIC SANDSTONE AND FLUVIOGLACIAL MATERIALS IN CHESHIRE (from Furness 1972).

XI APPENDIX 5b) DETAILS OF SOILS IN PROFILES 1-7 IN COMPARTMENTS 8 AND 9.

XII APPENDIX 6. EXTRACTS FROM COUNTY SITES AND MONUMENTS RECORDS

Neolithic stone tools

Grid ref. Date recorded Location Description SJ55—69— 1896 Eddisbury 5 stone axes ceremonial SJ53506740 1965 Kelsborrow 2 polished stone axes SJ53536734 1962 Kelsborrow 1 stone axe SJ55596794 1963 Eddisbury 1 hammer/macehead SJ54907010 1979? Eddisbury 1 perforated macehead SJ533-676- Kelsborrow 1 polished axe

Bronze Age Burial Sites SJ56596708 1882 Seven Lows 105ft.diam.barrow

SJ56656712 1882 “ 45ft.diam.barrow

SJ56676711 1882 40ft.diam.barrow

SJ56696709 1882 105ft.diam.barrow

SJ56716702 1882 66ft.diam.barrow

SJ56716699 1845 180ft.diam.barrow,6ft.high

SJ53576883 1947/51 Kelsal1 stone circle 10ft.diam. cremated bones in urn SJ55106640 1940 Monarchy Hall 2 barrows? SJ56336703 1976 Delamere 24m.diam.0.4m.high

SJ55—70— 1912 Delamere cinerary urn

SJ57007134 1960 Gallowsclough 45ft.diam.evidence of Cob cremation SJ54766901 1850 Eddisbury group of urns in a sandpit

XIII

SJ53827263 1879 Glead Hill 12 urns, incense cup Cob flint arrowheads, scraper knife and bronze pin. SJ534-734- Castle Cob supporting water tank

Earthworks

SJ57606780 1906-79 Oakmere Roeder/Varley/Longley SJ53 156755 1810-1979 Kelsborrow Ormerod/Longley SJ55306930 1936-79 Eddisbury Varley/Longley Roman Road Excavations SJ563-692- 1885 Thieves Moss Kirk

SJ53756884 1987 Nettleford Waddelove

SJ53796884 1982 Nettleford Waddelove

SJ57727005 1885 Oakmere Kirk

SJ58307020 1984 Lobslack Godfrey

SJ58727017 1983 Sandiway Waddelove

SJ568-6950 1971 Longridge Manley and Jones

SJ53906884 1850 Nettleford Robson

SJ546-689- 1885 Organsdale Kirk

SJ555-695- 1984 Stoney Lane Waddelove

SJ56106915 pre-1885 Station Road - SJ58427036 1983 Oakmere Waddelove

SJ57466616 1982 Cotebrook Waddelove

SJ57006754 1982 Oakmere Waddelove

XIV APPENDIX 7 NOTES ON EDDISBURY CASTLE DITCH (Longley 1987)

SJ553-694- Altitude 152m. O.D., area 2.8ha., extended to 3.5 ha..

Eastern portion enclosed first, later strengthened by second outer bank. Western section with clay ramparts on flagstone foundation. Timbers of west entrance burnt. Stone revetments added to entire bivallate circuit. Paired posts may have supported a bridge. The ditch between inner and outer ramparts filled with rampart material of clay and dressed stone, together with Roman pottery and a 2nd century roofing tile. A later sub- circular house found overlying collapsed inner defences. Silted ditch with annular baked clay loom weight of Saxon date. Defences refurbished once more along outer circuit, recutting ditch and superimposing rubble rampart.

XV APPENDIX 8. NOTES ON MEDIEVAL GLASSHOUSE, KINGSWOOD;

Report to Forestry Commission from Pilkington Glass Museum, 1972.

Feb.2nd 1971 Pilkington Glass Museum given permission to excavate in Kingswood.

Site material recorded;

Window glass with some selvedged edges(made by blowing)5.5-2.0mm thick. Many straight cut edges

Coloured glass; rich dark blue, pale blue, rich dark green pieces and two lumps, a few stained ruby pieces, two shades of amber, one pink selvedged fragment.

Pot-metal; pale opalescent green, nodular fragments in fissures of sandstone and on fragments of crucibles. brownish-black flakes, sealing-wax red in sandstone fissures and on one crucible surface identified as copper used in the making of ruby glass.

Crucibles; many fragments of type 12-13ins. in diameter with flat base and bulging sides 0.6-0.8ins thick of three types of clay

a) finely gritted pale grey clay, most common,

b) pink buff clay and

c) brittle brick red clay.

Pottery; six small sherds, three of coarse 15th century pots similar to those produced in potters kiln, Ashton.

Charcoal; little birch and oak, two lumps of copper slag and meat bones.

XVI APPENDIX 9. NOTES FROM THE BLACK PRINCES’ REGISTER (PRO 1932).

1351

People commanded to restore any purprestures, which if enclosed by hedges or dykes should be thrown down so that hunting stations may be open.

Forbid the Abbot of Vale Royal, who has 'housebote' in the forest from taking anything without permission. Timber for the

Abbot to be specially marked and the stumps to be marked and recorded annually. Only for building not for fuel.

Asks foresters to take turves as fuel to spare the forest, timber only for building, except windblow.

Abbot has license to hunt hare and fox, but must not frighten deer.

A lodge to be built for the better preservation of game.

Abbot and monks must not allow outsiders to hunt on pain of everything they can forfeit.

Managing forest for timber for making castles, manors or mills.

Requests Abbott of Cestre not to take due of six bucks and six does, where now little game until replenished.

March 24th 1351

Letter to Foresters of Macclesfield, Wirral, Mara and

Mondrum;

1) Hounds to be lawed except in Mara and Mondrum.

2) No-one to dig turves, co1lect heather or gorse except on edges of fields, not in hunting stations or coverts.

3) No-one to take estovers, except between Candlemas and the end of May.

XVII 4) No-one to carry a bow or arrows off the highway and on the highway only with the string removed.

5) Foresters to hold swanmotes every three weeks, and present all trespasses to the Justice of the Cestre on the monday before each County court. Those who, formerly paid frithmote shall not be bound to do suit to the swanmotes except for trespasses done by them in the forest.

6) No swine shall go anywhere in the forests within the covert between 1 June and 31st July except in time of pannage for the Prince's profit. No goat shall go at any time.

7) No keeper of woods belonging to other people in the forests shall carry a bow, but only a small axe.

In reply, the grievances of the men of the forests;

1) The free tenants of La Hare and Mondrum, and the Lords and parceners of the towns of Wirhale have always had unlawed dogs for hunting hare, fox and other vermin, without doing harm to the venison.

2) People have always cut turves on their demesne soil and take estovers on their demesne and in their common as needed.

3) Accustomed to carrying bows throughout the forests without harming the venison and grazing swine on their demesne soil at any time.

4) No pleas at swanmote because foresters prevent people from taking housebote or haybote in their demesne woods and from giving or selling deadwood, which had been permitted by Earl

Randolf and King Edward.

May 20th 1351

People imprisoned in Cestre castle unless they paid fines.

XVIII Forest men show that they and their ancestors time out of mind had common pasture for all their cattle on the Lord's soil within the said forest (Mara and Mondrem), from the great feast of

Exaltation until the Invention, for which they render to the prince yearly a great rent called Frithyeld. They are now ousted from the said profit but charged all the same with the said rent.

Nov.2nd 1351

In reply to enquiry whether demesne tenants and burgesses of the lordship of Frodsham are to have turbary in the forest of La

Mare. Answer: 'Soit graunte pur lour donant'.

The burgesses of Frodsham claim pannage in the forest in the season of mast, but the forester does not permit it although they pay pannage every year. Answer; 'Monstrent lour chatre et le justice lour ferra resoun'.

1353

The prince plans to stay at and have sport in the park. He orders preparations which involve timber being taken from Salghale for fuel and charcoal and timber from La Mare for dressers and tables. Six roes to be taken from Macclesfield for the prince's feast at Cestre.

1354

Order to John de Delves, the prince's yeoman and lieutenant of the justice of Cestre on complaint from the Earl of Arundell's tenants at Troughford and Stony Dunham, that they are greatly harmed by the last perambulation of the justices of the forest and to allow the tenants to replenish until the next eyre of the forest any soil claimed and formerly held which has been included in the forest of La Mare and to let them have reasonable estovers

XIX in the forest, provided they find security to make good to the prince at the next eyre the waste done by their taking of estovers, should it be adjudged that they ought not by right to have them.

May 17th 1354

Order to John de Delves on information that the lands in the forest of Macclesfield have gone to ruin since the pestilence and to view the said lands and if the arrears and reliefs cannot be obtained, place them with the tyenants without stipulation for payment.

Order also inasmuch as the grange in Frodsham is insufficient for the crops of hay, to remove the grange from

Peckforton and put it in the sain manor and to remove an unroofed chamber in the manor of Peckforton and put it on the hill called

Edesbury, in the forest of La Mare for the reception of the forester.

Nov 13th 1354

Order to John de Delves to certify by Candlemas why the bailiwick of the forestership in La Mare held by Richard le

Grovesnor, ‘le Piere' was seized by John de Macclesfield.

March 1355

Order to John de Delves on information that Sir William

Trussell and tenants of Hayston have burdened the forest excessively with other persons beasts; to have the forest beaten leaving only the animals lawfully belonging to Hayston.

May 22nd 1355

Order to John de Delves to investigate timber taken from

La Mare by the Manor of Barwe.

XX May 1st 1357

Pardon granted to Roger de Court at the request of Peter,

Son of Randolf de Northley of trespass in the forest.

Order to allow the following to have pasture in La Hare,

John de Overton 24 beats, Randolf le Browne 12 beasts, Peter de

Northley for 12 great beasts and 12 swine in time of pannage,

Adam de Hazelhurst 6 great beasts and John de Aston 5 beasts.

Pardon to Richard Acton for good services in Gascony. Also if it be true, as the prince is informed, that some person of the same company have made purprestures on the pasture of the Forest of La Mare at Actonbotham and have enclosed certain plots which are to be thrown open again and demolish the ditches of the enclosures.

July 1357

To allow Thomas de Clyve to pay 20 marks wherein he is bound to the prince as arrears for agistment of the Forest of La

Mare.

August 1357

Order on certificate that it would be more profitable to put a prohibition on the Forest of La Mare than to agist it and generate profit from turbary in places outside the covert.

Order to measure the lands in Forest of

Mare Mondrum Macclesfield and Wirhale.

December 1357

Pardons granted to Thomas Done and Thomas de Weverham for good service in Gascony of indictments of trespasses committed by them in the Forest of La Mare (the latter having been indicted in the 'swanimotes' of the forest).

XXI Abbot and convent of Cestre fined 1001 for trespasses of vert and venison to be entered in tyhe next sessions of eyre for payment.

January 1359

Wishes to be certified touching the contributions at which the Earl of Arundell is assessed for his manors of Dunham and Troughford towards the common fine made by the men of the forest of La Hare.

August 1359

Order to Richard Done, Chief Forester of La Hare, to allow king's yeoman Richard de Sutton to dig turves anywhere on the moor and dry them and carry them away for his own use, to sell them or give them away as he pleases.

June 1360

Order to John de Brunham, prince's clerk and chamberlain, on representations by Richard de Sutton, yeoman of the king's chamber, who has been distrained to pay a great sum towards a common fine lately made with the prince by the men of the forest, to repay to Richard any money received. Also that in spite of the prince's order to Richard Done, chief forester, the chamberlain and Adam de Holdeworth, riding forester are preventing him from making his profit of the turves of the moor.

March 1361

Petition from Thomas de Crue, reminding the prince that they met on the Isle of White fighting at the battle of Cressy for which he has had no reward. Cannot pay all his share of the common fine.

XXII June 2nd 1363

Order to take 100 harts and 100 bucks in the forest of

Wirhale, salt them, pack them and send them to the prince of

Burdeux.

June 9th 1363

Richard Done ordered to allow John de Scholale to cut down and carry out of the forest 6 oaks which Sir Reynold de Grey has given him of his wood.

XXIII APPENDIX 10 NOTES FROM THE CHOLMONDLEY PAPERS, (C.R.O. DCH/Q/13) a) Ardens Grant in latin. b) Translation of above: A Certiorari of King Henry VIIIth, to remove Tenor of the Record and proceedings of a claim of Richard

Done, Forester of the Forest of Hara and Mondrum before the justice of the Earl of Chester at Chester, in the 28th year of

Edward ye Third and of ye return to the sain Certiorari containing the said claim and the allowance thereof.

We have inspected the tenor of the Record and process of a claim of Richard Done, late of Utkinton date 27th year of Kinfg

Edward III.

c) From the pleas of the County of Chester Richard Done claims to have the Bailiwick for keeping the forest of Mare and

Mondrem to himself and his heirs. The said Bailiwick appertaining puture (a custom of free board and lodging) and provender of oak for his house to be taken in certain villages. He also claims to have the whole fengeld (a tax for repelling enemies), ketro- pannage (mast for hogs). He also claims all espavaries, hobbies and marlines (hawks), a swarm of bees and the right shoulder of every Beast taken in the Forest. He also claims all windblown dead wood, all crops of Oaks hewn down, the moiety of all the bark, payment for all grazing in the outgrowing woods. He also claims to keep hounds to catch foxes and hares in the forest.

It was adjudged that Richard and his heirs could hold the

Bailywick in 1529. The documents were recognised as the basis of inheritance to Sir John Done. d) Small charter in latin regarding the appointment of Thomas

Savage as Forest Ranger in 1619.

XXIV APPENDIX 11. FOREST COMPARTMENTS AND TREE PLANTING a) COMARTMENT MAP FROM THE FORESTRY COMHISSION.

XXV APPENDIX 11b) STOCK MAP

XXVI APPENDIX 11c) THE DOMINANT TREES OF DELAMERE FOREST (4 pages).

XXVII

XXVIII

XXIX

XXX APPENDIX 12 CHARACTERISTIC FUNGI OF DELAMERE

XXXI APPENDIX 13. SPECIES LIST OF THE BRYOPHYTES OF DELAMERE. March 1986. Cheshire Conservation Trust visit

Pellia epiphylla thalloid liverwort on damp stream bank Calypogeia. sp. on stumps Pogomatum aloides bare acid ground Lophocolea heterophylla leafy liverwort on logs and stumps Lophocolea bidentata grass land Cephaloziella rubella on peaty bank by Black Lake Tetraphis pellucida on damp rottin stumps Lepidozia reptans leafy liverwort Amblystegium riparium on stream stones Amblystegium serpens on flood plain Mnium hortus on rich, damp shaded soil Plagiothecium curvifolium on stumps and rotting logs Plagiothecium undulatum extensive mats under pines Isopterygium elegans like a small Plagiothecium Polytrichum formosum on peaty open ground Polytrichum commune around boggy pools Tortula moralis walls and sandstone rocks Plagiomnium rostratum at base of sanston walls Bryum sp. on wall Barbula convoluta on wall top Ceratodon purpureus on acid soil Atrichum undulatum in damp shade Campylopus introflexus on recently planted heathland Campylopus pyriformis heath land Dicranella. beteromalla peaty banks Dicranoweisia cirrata on old elder stump Brachythecium rutabulum on flood plain Brachythecium rivulare in nutrient rich ditch Eurynchium praelongum on flood plain Orthodontium lineare on rotting stumps Plsgiomnium undulatum swampy ground near stream Aulocomnium androgynum on rotting wood Rhizomnium punctatum by slow stream in damp shade Hypnum cupressiforme stumps, logs and acid ground Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus grass land Sphagnum cuspidatum in acid pools Sphagnum recurvum floating on acid pools Sphagnum palustre edge of boggy pool Sphagnum fimbriatum ditches and marsh Sphagnum squarrosum marsh

XXXII APPENDIX 14 CHARACTERISTIC HIGHER PLANTS OF DELAMERE HABITATS. Plant Species List for the Major Forest Habitats

1. Beneath a pine canopy on sand 6. Wet Peat (Nutrient Rich) cont'd Bracken Yellow Loose-strife Climbing Corydalis Celeryleaved Buttercup Wavy hair grass Gipsy Wort Wood Sorrel Reed Mace Foxglove Marsh Bedstraw 2. Beneath a broadleaved canopy on sand Marsh Willowherb Creeping soft grass Yellow Flag Honeysuckle Fork Moss 7. Wayside Bracken Scotchthistle Shield Fern Creeping thistle Bramble Goose grass Ivy Rosebay Willow Herb Foxglove Broadleaved Willow Herb Hedge Woundwort 3. Streambanks Nettles Water mint Feather Moss Liverwort Hogweed Golden Saxifrage Yorkshire Fog Herb Robert Rough Meadow Grass Skullcap Thale Cress Tufted hairgrass Self Heal Yellow sedge Foxglove Common valerian Tormentil Marsh Bedstraw Common Catsear Bitter Cress Yellow Pimpernel Marsh thistle Heath Bedstraw Male Fern Woody nightshade Buckle Fern Dock Hard Fern Sheep sorrel Wood Horsetail Dandelion Meadowsweet Daisy 4. Drained Peat Ragwort Ling Plantain Bell Heather Wall lettuce Purple Moor Grass White Clover Bilberry Red Clover Wavy Hair Grass Buttercup Lousewort Mouse-eared Chickweed Lesser stitchwort 5. Wet Peat (Acid) Tufted Vetch Sphagnum cuspidatum Birds foot Trefoil Sphagnum recurvum Yellow Meadow Vetchling Sundew Herb Robert Cotton Grass Doves-foot Cranesbill Cranberry Common Sow thistle Mars Andromeda Germander Speedwell 6. Wet Peat (Nutrient Rich) Pineapple Weed Skullcap Sheep sorrel Marsh Fern Scentless Mayweed Common Valerian Hair MOSS Groundsel Marsh Cinquefoil Knapweed Greater Spearwort Knotweed Water Mint

XXXIII APPENDIX 15. EXTRACT FROM THE CHESHIRE DRAGONFLIES ANNUAL REPORT,

1986. D. Hitching and R. Gabb. Delamere tetrad.

Brachytron pratense Hairy Dragonfly Hatchmere

Aeshna juncea Common Hawker “

Aeshna grandis Broun Hawker “

Aeshna cyanea Southern Hawker “

Libellula quadrimacutlata Four Spotted Chaser “

Syapetrum striolatum Common Darter “

Syapetrum danae Black Darter Black Lake

Leucorrhinia dubia White Faced Darter “

Lestes sponsa Emerald Damselfly Hatchmere

Pyrrhosoma nyaphula Large Red Damselfly Black Lake

Ischnura elegans Blue Tailed Damselfly “

Enallagma cyathigerum Common Blue Damselfly Hatchmere

Coenagrion pulchellum Variable Damselfly “

Coenagrion puella Azure Damselfly “

Erythromma najas Red Eyed Damselfly “

XXXIV XXXV APPENDIX 16 THE CHARACTERISTIC BIRD SPECIES OF DELAMERE. a) WITH STAGES OF FOREST.

XXXVI APPENDIX 16 b) A CENSUS OF BIRDS IN THE FOX HOWL ZONE.

XXXVII GLOSSARY OF MEDIEVAL TERMS

Agist; land let out in the Summer to graze cattle.

Allotment; land given by the Enclosure Commission in exchange for rights of commons.

Assart; clearing of woodland.

Bailiwick; area of known jurisdiction.

Barrow; burial mound.

Carr; common marshy ground.

Demesne; land of the manor held by the Lord and worked by tenants.

Demise; transfer of right or landholding.

Enclosure; legal transfer of land from common or waste (1235- 1876).

Espavaries; a kind of hawk.

Estover; Norman-French for right to carry wood from common lands for repair of house and implements and for fuel,- superseding the term bote.

Eyre; shire court under King's justices from 1166.

Fengeld; a general tax.

Frith; a wooded area.

Frithmote; a tax paid for taking wood.

Frithyeld; as frithmote.

Gate; a number of animals a commoner allowed to put on common pasture (also stint).

-ham; common pasture.

Haybote; the right to take wood for fencing.

Hobbies; a kind of hawk.

Housebote; right to take wood from common land for making and repairing implements and buildings.

-ing; common meadow.

XXXVIII Ketro-pannage; mast for hogs.

Landnam; sequence of clearing primary woodland for ear cultivation with regeneration to secondary woodland.

Lawed; removal of dogs tails.

Leah(ley); scattered settlement in pasture woodland.

Lynchet; man-made banks in early fields on sloping ground.

Marline; a kind of hawk.

Mast; acorns and beech seeds grazed by pigs.

Meerpath; a path between two holdings.

Meerstone; a boundary marker. Moiety; half-portion.

Pale; a medieval enclosure for grazing deer.

Pannage: payment for right to pasture pigs in the Lord's wood.

Parcener; co-heir.

Peytevinnisti; headpath or narrow way.

Pinfold; a fold for stray animals. Provender; provision.

Purpresture; illegal holdings on Crown lands.

Puture; free board and lodgings.

Retting; soaking of flax until it rots, ready for stripping.

Revetment; retaining wall.

Swanmote; a forest court which met three times a year.

-ton; farm settlement.

Tristre; hunting station (hide).

Turbary; the right to dig peat for fuel.

Turves; cut peat.

Verderer; officer (one of four) appointed to manage the Forest.

Vert; game.

Waste: inferior land used commonly

Wynd; an alley.

XXXIX