Lindow Moss
Encyclopedia
Lindow Moss, also known as Saltersley Common, is a raised mire peat bog on the edge of Wilmslow
in Cheshire
, England. It has been used as common land
since the medieval period.
The peat bog was formed in a collection of hollows left by melting ice at the end of the last ice age
. The first written record of Lindow Moss was in 1421 when the lord of Mobberley
and Wilmslow allowed people to dig peat from the mossland for use as fuel. It originally covered over 600 hectare
s (1,500 acres), but has since shrunk to a tenth of its original size. The bog can be a dangerous place; an 18th-century writer recorded people drowning there.
For centuries, peat from the bog was used as fuel. It continues to be extracted but now for mixing within compost products. The process is now mechanised with a mechanical digger.
The site is known for its flora and fauna such as Tail Cotton Grass
, Common Cotton grass and Green Hairstreak
Butterfly. It also has been a habitat for Water Voles although their continued existence is threatened by sinking water levels.
It is best known for the discovery of Lindow Man
in 1984. The Saltersley Common Preservation Society promotes the preservation of the moss.. In November 2011, they teamed up with a local amateur filmmaker to produce a short video detailing the history of the bog and some of the threats it faces..
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It has been used as common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
since the medieval period.
The peat bog was formed in a collection of hollows left by melting ice at the end of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The first written record of Lindow Moss was in 1421 when the lord of Mobberley
Mobberley
Mobberley is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, situated between Wilmslow and Knutsford. Mobberley railway station lies on the Manchester to Northwich and Chester line and was opened on 12 May, 1862 by the Cheshire...
and Wilmslow allowed people to dig peat from the mossland for use as fuel. It originally covered over 600 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (1,500 acres), but has since shrunk to a tenth of its original size. The bog can be a dangerous place; an 18th-century writer recorded people drowning there.
For centuries, peat from the bog was used as fuel. It continues to be extracted but now for mixing within compost products. The process is now mechanised with a mechanical digger.
The site is known for its flora and fauna such as Tail Cotton Grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, Common Cotton grass and Green Hairstreak
Green Hairstreak
The Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.Callophrys rubi is found in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland , Baluchistan and Chitral....
Butterfly. It also has been a habitat for Water Voles although their continued existence is threatened by sinking water levels.
It is best known for the discovery of Lindow Man
Lindow man
Lindow Man, also known as Lindow II and as Pete Marsh, is the preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters...
in 1984. The Saltersley Common Preservation Society promotes the preservation of the moss.. In November 2011, they teamed up with a local amateur filmmaker to produce a short video detailing the history of the bog and some of the threats it faces..
Further reading
- W.Norbury “Lindow Common as a Peat Bog: Its Age and its People”, TLCAS Volume 7, 1884.
- Lindow and the Bog Warriors, Hyde and Pemberton (Rex Publishing 2002)