Mow Cop Castle, Odd Rode, Cheshire, England

Sometimes you have to share and so it seems for Cheshire and Staffordshire when it comes to Mow Cop, the name coming from a more modern Anglicisation of the Anglo-Saxon Moela Copa meaning bald hill. The fact that the village is bisected wasn't something that I had missed but the same dichotomy also seems to afflict the monument that you see above, known as the Castle and probably a naming inspired by its appearance. It was built by a resident of nearby Rode Hall as a summerhouse and, though a well preserved ruin by now, it can be seen for miles around, especially in Cheshire where I have made it out from as far north as Siddington. That looks set to remain the way with the building and the land about it having been handed to the National Trust in 1937. That was after quarrying had completed and it has remained in their care ever since with the Old Man o' Mow becoming a monument to that industry.

Mow Cop may a small place but there seems to be a lot of interest around here. That fact hasn't been lost on the locals who justifiably have constructed a heritage trail with help from Heritage Lottery funding. A well produced and informative leaflet can be found too; I got mine from a bag left suspended outside a house so keep your eyes peeled. All in all, there seems to be a lot more to see that may be the case in much larger settlements and an element of religious history abounds too with a dash of Methodism being part of the mix.