Where the River Dane flows under the Bosley to Congleton road bridge, close to North Road, can be found a place known as Colley Mill. The name Colley is thought to be derived from the word Doddy over the years, and this would refer to the Doddyman or Dod-man, a strange figure who would have had a great influence on the landscape in the past.

Photo by Gary Tacagni

Ancient travellers used a means of navigating which used a combination of natural and man made markers, the imaginary lines that ran between these markers were known as Ley-lines. These lines were frequented by certain people, and due to this various names came into use, i.e white names became associated with Salt Traders, red names were used by Potters, black was linked to iron, Knap with flint chippings e.t.c. It is thought that words wth the name “Tot”, “Dod” or “Toot” would have been acceptable sighting points for the Dodman.

In fact I have found a location in the Macclesfield forest about 10 miles away which is called “Toot Hill”, from this point I have traced an alignment which runs through many natural and man made features in the Cheshire landscape and which then crosses the border and ends at Bradnop in the county of Staffordshire, I feel that this alignment would have been utilised by the Dodman.

The Dodman would have been our equivalent of a surveyor, he would have used two sighting sticks, and it was believed that common snails years age were known as “Doddies”, due to their two antenna found on its head resembling the Dodmans measuring or sighting poles.

Another term which is in use today and is probably derived from the time of the Doddyman, is the word to describe an elderley person walking, we tend to call the slow and laboured way of walking as being doddery. This would be a direct link to the Dodman, he would have place one foot directly in front of another as a form of measuring, and this is thought to be how the word doddery originated.

The Dodman would probably have been seen as some sort of Shaman, or someone with secret arcane knowledge setting him apart from most people, and his influence can still be seen today in the many alignments and place names which can be found throughout the country.

Colley Mill which shares a connection to the Dodman. Photo by Gary Tacagni.