Monument record 15481 - Budworth Mere

<1> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.99-100 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Budworth 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 Pick 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.

The southern fringes of Budworth Mere lie within Marbury Country Park, with the Hall's ice house lying on the southern shore of the mere (CHER 2274/1/2). There are documentary references to the existence of a fishery, presumably Budworth Mere, during the medieval period (CHER 678).