Monument record 1574/3 - Quadrilateral earthwork on Toot Hill

Enclosure on Toothill. Referred to by Earwaker (1) & Sainter (2) as a Roman Camp. Sainter described the enclosure as a parallelogram, 190ft N-S x 150 ft E-W. Earth ramparts c.3 ft high with entrances in the N, S & SW. An outer bank & ditch extends the eastern side north for 253 ft (2). An excavation in 1906 by the Manchester Classical Society produced only some possible roofing tiles of stone c. 3ft x 2ft (3). A survey was made in 1960 by F.Thomas & H. Crayshaw, who described the site as an irregular rectangle, with a rampart, 5-6 ft high above the bottom of the ditch. Entrances in the NE & SW sides. Inside is a narrow rectangular foundation cutting, from which a road cuts through the SW rampart & following the contours, curves round the hillside. Thomas & Crayshaw conclude that Toothill was never a fort & suggest it was possibly an enclosure or deer hay used during hunting in Macclesfield Forest. In Domesday 7 hays or enclosures used in medieval hunting were mentioned as situated in Macclesfield Manor. Nessit, one of these is 1,600 yards SW of Toothill. Therefore Toothill may have been used for hunting and could have been constructed in any period from Late Saxon to the 13th century. (4)
It is possible that this site was one of the lodges built in 1391 by the black Prince to safeguard his game, for the placename means "look-out hill" and re-occurs in Wildboarclough (9).
A much slighter secondary enclosure can be seen running from the north-west arm of the main one. The hollow way entering form the south-west seems to be later than the main enclosure (10).
Medieval Deerpound, includes banked and ditched sub-rectangular enclosure approached by hollow-way from SW. Measures c.44m x 35m internally and contains a low, central raised platform 16m x 15m with a faint hollow-way leading from it to the W corner of the enclosure. Enclosure surrounded by ditch max. 2m wide and 0.5m deep. Upcast from ditch used for internal bank 3m wide and 0.1m high, flanking ditch at N & S corners. Access by entrance 3m wide in middle of NE side, and causeway 3m wide on SE side (11).

<1> Earwaker, J P, 1877-1880, East Cheshire Past & Present, 2/1880/437-8 (Y) (Book). SCH1080.

<2> Sainter J D, 1878, Scientific Rambles Round Macclesfield, /17-18 1878 (Book). SCH2964.

<3> Brown & Brutton, 1909, Manchester & District Branch of the Classical Association, 2nd report supp (Book). SCH2078.

<4> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 70/84-87 Thomas F 1960 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ97SE4/1964 (Index). SCH2487.

<7> Rowley G 1982, 1982, Macclesfield in Prehistory, Rowley G 1982 /16-18 (Book). SCH2062.

<8> English Heritage, Various, Old/Original Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Description), /no.41 (Scheduling Record). SCH4606.

<9> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, 1/127 (Y) (Book). SCH3228.

<9> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, vol .I p.127 (Book). SCH3228.

<10> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, 1988 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

<11> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 23611 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

<12> Peak Park Treasures, Peach J 1986 (Index). SCH2624.

<13> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, /no.454 (Paper Archive). SCH2005.

<14> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1988/1/3/5A & 7A (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.