List of scheduled monuments in Cheshire dated to before 1066 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Cheshire is a county in North West England, and it's home to over 200 special historical sites called scheduled monuments. These sites range from very old ones, like those from the Stone Age, all the way up to buildings from the mid-1900s. This article focuses on the monuments in Cheshire that are older than the year 1066, which is when the Middle Ages began.

A scheduled monument is a really important archaeological site or historical building that gets special legal protection. It's put on a list by the government, and a group called English Heritage helps find these important places. The word "monument" doesn't just mean a statue; it can be any kind of archaeological site, even if you can't see it above ground. These sites must have been built or shaped by people a long, long time ago. They include everything from ancient standing stones and burial places to Roman ruins and medieval castles.

Cheshire has at least 84 scheduled monuments that are older than 1066. The oldest one is probably The Bridestones, which is a Neolithic (New Stone Age) long burial mound. Another site at Somerford might also be a long burial mound, and there's proof of a Stone Age village at Tatton.

The Bronze Age is the period with the most monuments before 1066, with 44 sites. Most of these are round barrows, which are circular burial mounds. There are also 11 Iron Age hillforts or forts on high points. The time when the Romans ruled left behind many scheduled monuments, including parts of Chester city walls and remains of settlements at Heronbridge and Wilderspool. We've even found signs of Roman army camps from aerial photography, which shows marks in the ground. The monuments from the Dark Age and Saxon period are mostly parts of crosses. There's also evidence of Saxon villages, now empty, at Tatton and Baddiley.

Ancient Wonders of Cheshire
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Ancient Wonders of Cheshire

Cheshire is full of amazing ancient sites! Let's explore some of the most interesting ones from before 1066. These places tell us a lot about the people who lived here thousands of years ago.

Stone Age Secrets

The Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age, was a time when people started farming and building large structures.

The Bridestones: Near Congleton, this is the only known Neolithic tomb in Cheshire. It used to be a long burial mound with a special stone chamber inside. Much of it was taken apart long ago to build a road, but you can still see the impressive stone slabs that formed the chamber.
Somerford Bridge Barrow: This is thought to be another long burial mound from the Neolithic period. Today, it looks like a mound covered in oak trees.
Tatton Settlement: At Tatton Park, archaeologists have found signs of a village that was lived in during the late Neolithic period, as well as in Saxon and Medieval times. Today, only earthworks remain, showing where the old village used to be.

Bronze Age Burial Mounds

The Bronze Age is known for its many burial mounds, called barrows or cairns. These were often used to bury important people.

Bartomley Mound: Located in Wincle, this is a round burial mound from the late Bronze Age. It's partly made of natural rock, and its edges have been flattened by farming over time.
Bearhurst Barrow: This round mound in Henbury is about 15 meters (50 feet) across and 2 meters (6 feet) high. When it was dug up in the 1960s, archaeologists found flint tools, pottery pieces, and two urns, one of which held the ashes of a person.
Bullstones: In Wincle, this site was a cremation burial place. Bones of a child or young person were found surrounded by a stone circle. An upright stone slab from that time is still there today.
Jodrell Bank Barrow Cemetery: Near Swettenham, this site has four round burial mounds left from an original group of six.
Knightslow Barrows: This group of four round burial mounds is found in a wooded area on a hill in Lyme Handley.
The Murder Stone: Also in Lyme Handley, this is a triangular standing stone from the Bronze Age.
Reed Hill Cairn: This round burial mound on a natural hill in Lyme Handley was excavated in 1911. Inside, a stone burial chamber was found, containing human bones that had been cremated.
Robin Hood's Tump: In Alpraham, this is a round mound of sand and turf. Even though it was dug up, no burial was found, but some flint tools were discovered.
Seven Lows Barrows: In Delamere, five burial mounds remain from an original group of seven.
Sponds Hill Barrows: Two round burial mounds are located on Sponds Hill in Lyme Handley.
Toot Hill Barrow: This oval mound of earth and stones in Macclesfield Forest has a gritstone slab in its center.
Winwick Barrow: In Winwick, this round burial mound was part of a larger cemetery. When it was excavated in 1860, a large urn with human bones, a stone axe, and a bronze spearhead were found.

Iron Age Hillforts

The Iron Age saw the building of strong defensive sites called hillforts, often on high ground.

Beeston Castle Hillfort: On a rocky outcrop near Beeston, this site was an Iron Age hillfort. Later, a medieval castle was built here, covering up most of the older remains.
Bradley Hillfort: This is the smallest hillfort in Cheshire, located in Kingsley. It had natural defenses on one side, but the other defenses have been damaged by farming.
Burton Point: Near Neston, this was a fort on a headland overlooking the River Dee. Earthworks formed an arc to protect it.
Eddisbury Hillfort: In Delamere, this hillfort was built on a steep sandstone ridge. It had two earth walls with a ditch between them for defense.
Helsby hill fort: On Helsby Hill, this fort had naturally steep slopes on two sides and a strong earth and stone wall on the other.
Kelsborrow Promontory Fort: Another fort in Delamere, this one had steep sides to the south and a curved bank and ditch to the north. Old tools, like a bronze axe and a sword piece, were found here in the 1800s.
Maiden Castle: On Bickerton Hill, this was a hillfort on a high point. It had a strong earth wall and two lines of ramparts (defensive banks) on its south and east sides.
Oakmere hill fort: This fort was on a point sticking out into a lake, with a defensive wall across its eastern side.
Peckforton Mere Promontory Fort: This defensive settlement was on a ridge with a lake and marshy areas around it. A ditch defended the northeast side.
Woodhouse Hillfort: In Frodsham, this fort had steep slopes on two sides and a stone and earth wall on the others.

Roman Remains

The Romans left their mark on Cheshire with settlements, roads, and camps.

Abbey Green Cultivation Marks: In Chester, digs in the 1970s showed marks in the sandstone rock. These marks tell us that people were farming here even before the Romans arrived.
Bent Farm Roman Camp: Near Newbold Astbury, this was identified as a temporary Roman camp in the 1700s, but much of it was destroyed later.
Chester Roman Amphitheatre: In Chester, this was originally built from wood and later from stone. The northern half has been dug up and can be seen today.
Chester city walls: These impressive red sandstone walls go almost all the way around Chester. The northern and eastern parts of the walls follow Roman foundations and still contain parts from that time.
Edgar's Cave: In Handbridge, this was a quarry that also had a special shrine to Minerva, a Roman goddess. You can still see her image carved into the rock.
Engine Vein Copper Mine: Near Nether Alderley, this was an open-pit mine for copper. It was used from the early Bronze Age, through Roman and medieval times, and even up to the Victorian era.
Harbutt's Field Roman Fort: In Middlewich, a special survey has shown the complete layout of a Roman fort underground.
Heronbridge Roman Site: Near Claverton, this was a Roman settlement on both sides of Watling Street, a major Roman road. There's evidence of workshops and factories from the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Roman Camps (Birch Hill, Elm Bank, Hoole, Ince, Picton, Stamford Heath, Stamford Lodge, Upton Heath, Upton-by-Chester): Many temporary Roman camps have been found across Cheshire, mostly through aerial photography that shows marks in the ground (cropmarks or parchmarks) where the old ditches and walls used to be. These were often practice camps for soldiers.
North Cheshire Ridge Roman Road: Parts of a Roman road that ran along the North Cheshire Ridge have been identified near Appleton Thorn and Stretton.
Thieves Moss Roman Road: This is the possible site of a section of the Roman road that connected Chester and Manchester, located in Delamere Forest.
Wilderspool Roman Site: In Wilderspool, excavations have shown parts of a walled town with signs of industrial activity.

Early Medieval and Saxon Crosses

The period after the Romans left and before the Norman Conquest (1066) is sometimes called the Dark Ages or the Saxon period.

Bowstones: In Lyme Handley, these are two tall stone cross shafts set into a large stone base. They have carvings of twisted patterns.
Cleulow Cross: In Wincle, this is a stone pillar with the remains of a small cross at the top. It's famous for being the location of the end of the children's book The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner.
Disley Churchyard Cross: In Disley, a stone base for two crosses was found in the churchyard of St Mary's. It's believed to be the setting for two Saxon crosses.
Prestbury Churchyard Cross Shaft: In Prestbury, three pieces of Saxon stone crosses are cemented together in the churchyard of St Peter's.
Sandbach Crosses: In Sandbach, these are a pair of famous Saxon crosses with detailed carvings on all sides. They were moved several times and put in their current spot in 1816. Other fragments of Saxon crosses have also been found in St Mary's churchyard.
St. Plegmund's well: In Mickle Trafford, this is an old well, now dry, surrounded by stone slabs. It's named after St. Plegmund, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 800s.
West Park Cross Shafts: In Macclesfield, three circular Saxon crosses with carved designs are now displayed in a public park.
Wybunbury Church Site: In Wybunbury, the foundations of a church mentioned in the Domesday Book (a survey from 1086) are scheduled. The medieval church that stood there later was mostly taken down, but the site is still important.