Monument record 15476 - Rostherne Mere

<1> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.97-99, 101-2 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Rostherne Mere was investigated by the North West Wetlands project, an archaeological and paleoecological study of the varied wetlands of Cheshire, undertaken between 1993-95. It is one of a series of wetlands lying in the north of the county, to the north and west of Knutsford and extending to Nantwich to the south-west. Sites include Rostherne Mere, Tatton Mere, Tabley Mere and, further west, Pick Mere and Budworth Mere. These wetlands are characterised by areas of open water, many of which are peat-fringed. Despite placename evidence suggesting the former existence of mosses, surviving examples are not common in this region, with the only extant site being Holford Moss, located between Knutsford and Northwich, in the centre of a large brine extraction field. The presence of underlying saliferous beds appears to be the reason for the existence/expansion of many of the wetlands. Rostherne Mere, for example, appears to be a kettle hole enlarged by subsidence in antiquity. More recent subsidence activity has been reported in the areas of Tabley and Tatton Meres.

Palaeolimnological evidence contained within the lake sediments (Nelms, 1984) at Rostherne Mere has indicated that two major phases of woodland clearance and agricultural activity affected the mere's catchment in the past. The first commenced sometime between 366 cal BC and cal AD 60, while the second commenced after cal AD 1260-1470 and continued to modern times. This second phase is also attested by the existence of extensive tracts of ridge and furrow and lynchets around the mere, visible on air photographs, along with evidence of other former field systems visible as cropmarks (CHER 2172 and 2173).

Some 40 hectares of arable lie to the south of Rostherne Mere providing an opportunity for the North West Wetlands project to field walk the area. The number of finds recovered was modest, but did exceed the average for the survey. Evidence of prehistoric activity was limited to two unretouched flint flakes, one of which was burnt. Roman activity was represented by a single sherd of grey ware dated to the late 1st/early 2nd century AD. The most prolific body of finds dated to the late medieval and early post medieval periods and included pottery sherds and a small gun flint. Four sherds of late medieval pottery and three sherds of Midland Purple Ware of early post medieval date were recovered from fields to the south-east of New Road and west of Egerton Hall and also, perhaps significantly, the location of a series of linear cropmarks (CHER 2165).