Monument record 15079 - Cocks Moss

<1> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.80-1, 187 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Cocks Moss was investigated by the North West Wetlands project, an archaeological and paleoecological study of the varied wetlands of Cheshire, undertaken between 1993-95. The site is one of a series of wetlands in the area extending from Wilmslow in the north to Macclesfield in the east and Sandbach and Congleton in the south. Within this region a variety of wetland types are present from small basin mires west of Macclesfield, such as Cocks Moss, to large mosses such as Danes Moss and Lindow Moss. The wetlands also display a wide variation in their degree of preservation. The group comprises two contrasting landscapes with the majority of wetlands in a region termed the ‘marginal belt’, with a smaller group centred around Bag Mere, on the fringes of the Cheshire Plain. The majority of the wetlands have developed in depressions and hollows in the surface of the varied glacial deposits.

Cocks Moss, which covers an area of circa 30 hectares, has been drained and is occupied by plantations. The site was studied by Birks in 1963 who produced a short pollen diagram with clear evidence of prehistoric clearance activity. The North West Wetland survey recovered a single sample from 1.2m depth which provided a pollen spectrum with 81% tree and shrub (alder 10%), herbs 5% and Ericaceous pollen 15%. Charcoal was also recorded. The pollen record suggests woodland with some clearings, it probably dates from Flandrian II or III and is likely to provide a record of the local vegetation from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The results also indicate that little degradation of the archive has occurred since Birk's earlier investigations.

A sandstone hammer (CHER 1320) was recovered in 1911 from the surface of Cocks Moss.

<2> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 165/2 c.1849 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

This plot is recorded as Cocks Moss and the landuse is described as grass.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ8567 1873-1881 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

This map depicts Cocksmoss Wood as mixed woodland.