Many TAS members have recently been assisting the latest in a series of digs at Mellor in association with the University of Manchester Archaeology Unit under the guidance of John Roberts.
The new history of Mellor started in 1995 during the drought when the local historian Ann Hearle was intrigued by the way in which the ground dried. She thought that the brown and yellow patches amidst the green of the lawn might be the footings of medieval buildings. The most notable feature was a broad green band, which arched across a nearby field. UMAU were contacted and of the opinion that a resistivity survey was called for. This was carried out in early 1998 and showed an anomaly where the green band was in the field and a decision was made to excavate.
A team from the university along with students, volunteers and of course TAS members began excavating in the summer of 1998.
Students began a dig on a promising site only to face disappointment after disappointment before reaching bedrock. However after some trowelling a cut was found in the edge of the bedrock. Over the next few weeks the dig exposed a defensive ditch 4 metres wide and 2.1 metres deep. On the inside would have been a rampart about two metres high and on top of that a palisade making a formidable obstacle. In the days before travel visas the Brigantes, the occupiers of the fort, feared attack from the tribe occupying the Cheshire plain, the Cornovii.
The dig continued and Roman pottery and roof tiles were found. Later, flints were found thought to date from the Late Bronze Age. Other trenches revealed a clean slot cut into the bedrock that might have been a palisade slot, foundation of an internal structure, or some other defensive feature and a number of postholes. From excavations it became apparent that the whole site was surrounded by a defensive ditch. Some parts of the ditch have as yet to be traced and no doubt digs in the future will reveal its location. Meanwhile there is still plenty to go on with.
A number of trenches have been opened so far this year, one of which was 10 meters by 10 metres. The topsoil was about 0.5 metres deep and all this had to be removed before any features were exposed. A number of post holes are presently being excavated but the most exciting find was a flint implement about 10cm long and shaped like a finger at the end. Two grooves are cut into it at the opposite end perhaps to tie to something. It is not known at this moment what exactly it is but research continues.
The site
Mellor church is 222 metres above sea level on a relatively flat area with the ground falling down on three sides. This makes it an excellent defensive position and a base for signaling. A gap in the hills opens up a distant view to the North, towards the Roman fort at Castleshaw. There is a clear view across the Cheshire plain from Winter Hill in the Northwest to the Welsh hills in the Southwest. The legionary headquarters in Chester and the fort in Manchester would have been visible. Melandra at Glossop is a few miles away. The only antiquities in Mellor that are shown on the OS maps are Brown Low and a Cairn about 2km to the North and a Bronze-Age Cairn that has been excavated about 1km to the South.
The finds
Of the excavations over the years 1999/2000 the most surprising finds have been of flint, more than 60 fragments have been found illustrating a wide range of activities. The working of the flints indicates the Later Mesolithic Age.The evidence leads to believe that Mellor was used as a seasonal camp to which the people of the period would return annually to hunt in the Peaks.
Further excavations have yielded more than 70 sherds of later prehistoric pottery, many of which are from fills within the ditch. The paucity of finds means that they cannot be positioned within an established chronological framework. Analysis by English Heritage detected copper, tin, lead and zinc indicating smelting. In the same trench was found a small brass boss, thought to be a piece of horse furniture. It is quite possible that it was produced on the site.
More than 50 sherds of Roman Pottery as well as sherds of Roman glass and pieces of Roman tile have been found. The pottery has been identified as orangeware. A single sherd of Samian ware was found which points to higher status and gives second century date. In the surrounding field was found a silver denarius c.178 AD in addition to two spindle whorls. A great number of medieval objects have been found and in particular a big cache was found in the trench near to the wall behind the Old Vicarage. Other finds date from the 16th Century onwards, pieces of pottery, clay pipes, musket balls and a coin from the reign of Charles II.
The Well
Mains water did not come to the hilltop until 1926. Earlier water was extracted by a wind pump. Before that it was collected from wells in the courtyard behind the Vicarage. The entrance to the well is 4 metres long and 1 metre wide. This leads down to a stone platform 3 metres down. A second platform is also another 3 metres below that and then the water. The age of the well is uncertain - maybe of Iron Age or much later. In 1996 the well was re-opened. A very corroded Tommy gun was found and some live ammunition! Apparently it was secreted during the last war by the Home Guard.
People of the hilltop
Hunter-gatherers
About 15,000 years ago Mellor would have been covered by ice. By 8,000 years ago Britain was cut off from the Continent and trees had spread over most of Britain as the ice withdrew and the region was colonised. These people were hunter-gatherers travelling in family groups and following the herds of deer and wild cattle. They stayed only a short time, leaving to follow the herd and staying at familiar locations and moving on when local resources became exhausted. From this period there is evidence of flint working, with the flints coming from Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire Wolds. By about 4,000 BC traces of farming start to appear in Britain, but may have been later in Northern areas, such as Mellor. Cattle, pigs and perhaps sheep were domesticated and cereals planted.
Metal Workers
Around 2,500 BC metalworking appears and takes us into the Bronze Age. Many monuments were built at this time at sites like Arbor Low, Dove Holes and Minninglow. Though there is a lack of evidence it is believed that the first permanent settlement on Mellor hilltop dates from this time.
Following this came years of turbulence when sometime between 1000 and 500BC a deep ditch was dug to protect the settlement. For those employed on the present dig it can be seen that the upper 2 metres of rock is sedimentary, has been weathered and is easily fractured making it relatively easy to break. At the time however the stone at this level would have been much harder and yet still the people were able to break the stone using traditional methods such as, using dry wooden wedges, soaking them in water which causes the wood to swell, which in turn causes the rock to split. This was the Iron Age and there is extensive proof of smelting at this time.
At this time the people lived in round huts with timber frames and turf or thatched roofs. A hut built with traditional materials has been recreated in a nearby field and is accessible to the public. The pottery used at this time was coarse so that in order to cook food or heat water, pebbles heated in a fire were dropped into the pot. At every trench opened there are countless fire-cracked pebbles to illustrate the extensive use of such methods of cooking.
The Romans
In 43 AD the Romans invaded Britain. By about 55 AD, they had established a frontier stretching from the Severn to the Humber. The Northwest was conquered in 70-80 AD. Fortresses were built at Glossop (Melandra), Manchester, Castleshaw and Brough. The Romans came to Mellor, though as yet there is no evidence as to whether they built a military or civilian settlement. Whether the site was occupied as a campaign fortlet or signalling station remains to be clarified. Either way Mellor would have fallen under the control of the Romans for some time though how long they stayed remains to be determined.
The Dark Ages
After the Romans withdrew from Britain in 409 AD there followed 600 years of the Dark Ages of which little is known. Saxons, Danes, Jutes and Vikings invaded England and mingled with the earlier inhabitants and the Romans who remained. People continued to live at Mellor and became converted to Christianity. To date there is no evidence of a Saxon church though this of course does not mean that later excavations will not shed such evidence.
From Norman to Stuarts
In 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England. For the next 700 years, Mellor remained as a collection of scattered farms with little in the way of a village. The chapel, which dominates Mellor was built in the 14th century. The Old Vicarage close to the chapel, is mentioned in a will of 1571 and was formerly the Church Inn.
Industrial Village to Commuter Retreat
For many years farmers at Mellor had supplemented their income by hand spinning and weaving. By 1789 the machine age had come to Mellor with many hands employed locally and with more than a dozen mills. The growth in population lead to enlargement of the church and the purchase of the Church Inn to be converted to The Vicarage. The growth of mills on an unprecedented scale in Cheshire and Lancashire brought depression, Mellor being unable to compete on this scale. The coming of the railways brought renewed prosperity and the growth continued as it does to this day.