Monument record 2102/1 - Site of House and Medieval Village of Little Cotton

<1> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, vol .IV p.112 (Book). SCH3228.

The first documentary reference to 'Little Cotton' (Parua Kotes, Parva Coton etc.) dates from c.1200, but the first reference to Edmunds Cotton dates from 1503. The manorial affix is from Edmund de Coton 1344.

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, vol.II p.785-6 (Book). SCH1389.

This manor was the property of a family who assumed the local name as early as the reign of Henry the Third. The first mentioned in contemporary documents is William de Coton, or Coten, who was a grantee of lands in Hanley, with his wife, Joan, circa 1306.

<3> Cheshire County Council, 1974, County Treasures Record, 6/A.408 (Index). SCH1000.

Suggested as a possible deserted medieval village. Aerial photographs show ditched enclosures at SJ 472 658.

<4> English Heritage, 1999, English Heritage Alternative Action Report - Cotton Edmunds Possible Deserted Medieval Village (Unpublished Report). SCH9546.

The site consist of three fields on a terrace above the flood plain of the River Gowy which contain ditched enclosures. The fields are crossed by at least three hollow ways leading to a complex of puts which are fairly regular in size and shape. Each of the pits measures about forty metres by thirty metres and ridges have been formed by the spoil which has been thrown up beside each one. There are four clearly defined pits and a number of smaller hollows which suggest extraction of brick clay or clay soil for the restoration of the river defences.

<5> Royal Air Force, 1944-1947, 1940s RAF Aerial Photographs from Operation Review, CPE\UK\1935 no.4033-4034, 17/01/1947 (Aerial Photograph). SCH8041.

An apparent ditch is visible defining a sub-rectangular enclosure circa sixty metres wide and one hundred and eight metres long. The enclosure narrows towards its north-eastern end where a possible extension to the enclosure is located. To the immediate north-east is an area of broad (circa eight metres) but regular ridge and furrow. To the south are earthworks associated with a road or track.

<6> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 127/2 c.1847 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

This map depicts a house and a series of small plots or fields at this location.

<7> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, 13/02/2024 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

The enclosure identified from the 1947 aerial photograph (see 5) corresponds (except for part of the northern boundary) with Plot 103 Orchard depicted on the 1848 tithe map (see 6). The house depicted on this map is located in the southern half of the supposed extension to this enclosure and is part of Plot 104 House, Buildings, & Garden. The field to the north-east, containing the ridge and furrow earthworks, is called (Plot 105) Pump Croft. The field to the south-west of Plot 103 (Plot 95) is called Part of Pit Field. This name may reference the pits described in 1999 (see 4). The house and most of the plots described are occupied by a Mary Maddocks.

The regularity of the field system, width and straightness of the road or track, and the frequency of 'common' in the field names, suggest that this area was enclosed from the township's common land. This would seem to indicate that the house, if of any antiquity, was located on the edge of the common. The fields to the north bear all the hallmarks of having been enclosed from medieval open fields.

<8> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ4765,1874-1875 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

This map depicts the house and plots depicted on the 1848 map (see 6)

<9> Ordnance Survey, 1896-1898, Ordnance Survey First Revision County Series (Epoch 2) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ4765, 1898 (Maps and Plans). SCH3848.

The house, plots, and many of the surrounding field boundaries, have been removed.

<10> Environment Agency, 2003-2020, Environment Agency LiDAR Surveys, Composite DSM 1m (2022) (Digital Archive). SCH7819.

Many of the earthworks are still extant.