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Illllllljll
3 3433 07138603 5
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• .1
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li i ST OR y
OF
M A 2^ C H E S 1: fe Ri
IN FOUR BOOKS*
/. E*
the Rev. Mr^WHItAKERi
THE
SECOND EDITION
CORRECTEtf.
i O N D O N:
JRIKTEEi FOR j; MURRAY, k" 32 FlEETSTREETy
OPtOSITE ST. DUNSTAn's CHURCH.
MDCCLXXIII.
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PREFACE.
cc
¥ F we compare the endeavours of our countrymen
* for the illuftration of our antiquities with thofc of
'* other nations, we (hall find the preference both in
** number and matter due to us. — The Italians and
^^ French are our only competitors. The latter have ac-
>
*^ quired, the former are bom with, a pafSon for anti-
^* quities. Both will teach us a ftyle, when we have af-
'« ccrtained bur knowledge; and we may borrow from
** the one a portion of fcepticifm, to contrafl: with the
«* affiduity of the othcn The French, carrying thofc
•* engaging, talents they poffcfs in the generality of
** literary purfuits, into their antiquarian refearches,
*^ have handled thofe oblcure fubjedts with the fame
^' cafe as romances : without going fo deep as graver
^ nations, even their fuperficial knowledge appears to
^f greater advantage by an aivmated ftyle and pertinent
** reflections, while our language, as capable of conciie
^' judicious remarks^ is idriwh tot imo tedious unani-
At '• **inate5i
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it B B, E F A C IE-
*^ mated narrative in fuch compofitions.-^Tkofe wJiq
^^ ba?e hitVrto treated our topographical antiquiticf
*^ feem to have trodden only in mazes overgrown with
thorns, neglefting the flowery paths with which the
wilderxiefs of obfcurity is diverfified. BicorrefV pedi-
grees, futile etymologies, verbofe difquifitioris, crowds
" of epitaphs^ Hits of landholders, arid fuch ifarrago,
*^ thrown together without method, unanimated by re*
*' flections, and delivered in the moft uncouth and hor*-
'^ rid flyle, malce the biilk ^f our county hittories.
*^ Such works bring the ftudy oT antiquities into difgrace
*^ with the generality, arid dilgtift the moft canidid ctf-
** riofity*/; ■■ / '• ' ■■■ ■■• ^'^ '' "' "^^;^' ^'^
The Hiftory of Manchefter is attempted upon a dif-
ferent, plan, upon that which has long appeared to the
ciuthor the only judicious and manly one' for a work of
antiquities. He fketched it out to himfelf fix or feveii
years 4go.* And he lias had the patient refolution to
work upon it ever fince. Had lie fofefeen the full ex-
tent of his fcheme at firft, he Jhould not have had the
hardinefs to form it. And had he known, in any part
i>f the execution, the time and labour which the reft
Would have coft him, he had certainly ihrunk back from
the attempt, and clofcd the whole work immediately,
* ' ' > , . . • *. ■ . . •' ■.
* St^ 'P» VK and xnii. of thfingeinbus and judidcw Ptefiic^ to
f^nccdodqp <>f Britifl? Topography^ Londott, 1768, •
"' ' ' ■ He
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if k 1 1 A c ti
He proceedtxl cm the model before him^ flatteting htm«
icif to the laft, that a few months more would difmtfs
him from the employ, and remit him again to tljofe
profeffional ftudies which he had fo imperceptibly de-
ferred. He once defigned to hare deduced the hiftory
duly to the Gonqueft. He afterwards intended td have
folded up all bdow it in a feVr general and comprehenfive
notices. And he is not forry to have been thus infenfi-
bly led on in the execution, till he had a£);ually gone too
far to recede, and had a juft claim upon himfelf for
the completion of the ftiiall remainder. The whole is
divided into jBour Books, containing as many periods ;
ll^e Britiih and Roman^Britlfh, the Saxon, the Banifh
and Ij^orman-I^anifh, and the Modeni. Three are
Already finifhed. And one is here prefented to the
publick.
Tbt reader muft not expe£i in this work, merely, the
pxiv^ afid uninterefting hiftory of a fingle town. He
may bope to meet with all the curious particulars, that
can With any propriety be conne^led with it. Whatever
fervek to illuftrate the antiquities of the kingdom or
. CHDunty, "^atevcr marks the general polity of our towns,
and difpkys the caufes and drcumftances of any na*
^oaal events that affeft the interefts of Manchefter ; all
thtfe the author propofcs to examine, to afcertain tKc
doubtful^ retrench the faUe, and clear up the obfcure,
. 'A3 in
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tl P R E F A C E.
in them* He will endeavour to fix the pofition of all
thcBritiih tribes, and to define the extent of all the
Roman provinces, in the ifland ; which has been hitherto
the philofopher*s ftonc in antiquities. By a new teft
that feems to be decifiye, he will attempt to inveftigatc
the firft faint beginning of our prefent towns, and trace
back Mancbefler and various others tothe flations of
the Britons in the woods. By a new argument that
feems to carry conviftion with it, he will try to lay open
theeurious fyftem of polity that was primarily eftablilhed
among our anceftors, and purfue. the difcovcry of our
antient anddomeftick ceconomy up to the periotj of its
carlieft origin. And he will attentively ipark the pro-
grefs of the Roman genius on the fubjeftjon of the Bri-
, tons, in planting fortre%s and conftruAing roads in order
to command the country, and in crefting towps and in-
troducing civility in order to humanize the ns^tives. .
Our national hiftory before the Cpnquef): is th^ mod
^ important and remarkable in our annals* It rnqj^ for*
cibly lays bold upon the paflions, by the quick. fucctf^
^ fioti and aftive variety of its incidents, and. the decifive
greatnefs of its revolutions. And, what is n)uch more,
^ it is that portion of our annals which gives the |>od]r
. and the form to all the fucceeding centuries of them. It
contains the commencenpeent of every part of our pub-
lick and private ceconomy. And yet this period has
J been
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P R E ^ A'C E; ki
tecp nfoife Wretchedly dfcfcribcd thari any other ; and
connnues to this day loaded with difficulties; and em*
barraffed with bbfcuritiesi 6n every fide. But the pre^
lent writer hopes to unfold ixfknjr a dark and entangled
dneof tbishiftory ; and id fettle at laft tpon decifive
principles the origin and trartfaSions of thfe Hfts, the
ScotS3 the SaXons^ and the Danes, this condiift of the
Provincials on the departpre of the Romansi and the
genuine annals of . Arthurand of Alfred; And hfe equally
hopes to point out a large variety of incidents and
remarksi relating to the inftitution bf couiiries and hun-
dredsi of: townfhip^ and rcamoUrs; of pariflics, feudii
tenures^ and 3U?ies ; Which have beefi regularly tranf-
mitted from pen to pen through a lohg courfe of cen-
turies, and cap c^uly plead their antiquity iri vindication
of thpir falfcrieft# With a, judipicius iftfcreduUty of fpirh:
to ioquire sind think for themfelves^ and with a cool and
eritical difterhmerit of genius to rjeftify the general
hiftory of their country^ ihould be the fttidy of all
good antiquarians^ and would be an hoKtour to the
belli .
But the aim of the author is alfo of a^.ttore deHiate
and pUafing hature; He wrlhes to catch the general
appearance of the ifland, the county^ and the town,
^% varfcs iittb« feveral ftages 6f his progrefs; He
4itoi*t0 delineate the gradual advance of the arts^ and
A 4 trace
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«iS PREFACE.
trace the fncceffive gFOWth of civility, in all. AnA
he propofe^ ta mark the publick and J)rivatc manners
' of ercry period, as tbey rife in an agreeable variety
before bin!. The moft ftriking parts of hiftory to a
philofophicai fpirit, are the curious and diverfified
annals of die human mind.
To defign ail this, may be too bold. And, to execute
it, fe perhaps' imprafiicable. But to defign boWIy is
^bfolutely neceifary, either iti morality or literature^,
in order to execute tolerably. We always fink below
the ftandard in pra£^ice. And a great plan frequently
kindles a new ^rit in the foul, calls out unknowh
powers in the mind, and raifes the writer and the man
fuperiour to himfelf in the execution..
Nor muft the general difquifitions a6d narratives of
iheprefcnt work be confidered, as digreffionary in their
natures, and only ufeful in their notices. They are
all tmitcd. with the reft, and form proper parts of the
, Whole.. They have fome <rf them a neceffary connexion
with the hiftory of Manchefter. They have many
of them an intimate relation, and all a natural
^fi^icy, 'tt> if. And the author has endeavoured, by a
judicious diftributibn of them through the work, to
prevent that difgufting uniformity, and to take off that
uninterefting locality, vfhich will always teflik' from the
-• ' ■ ' 'fiarrea
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? il E F A C fi. J 1!^
fottietseafare^ adopted the elegant prihctplcs 0f ftSoderh
'gardening. HchastteroTtrn d<rtra the clofeSedgft and
iiigh walls> that havi hitherto ton&ed thef afiliquamns
of our td*rns in their vleWs. And he has caBcd in ite
fcenesof theneighbcHiring country to iife aid, andtoih-
bined them into his own plan. He has drawn <tf thfc
attention to the hiftory of Mauchcfter, before it be-»
came languid and exhaufted ; by fetching in fome obje£b
from the county at large^ or prefenting fome view
of the national annals. But he has been cautious of
multiplying objeAs in the wantonnefs of refinement, and
diftra&ing the attention with a confufed variety. And
he has always confidered the hiftory of Manchcfter, as
the great fixed point, the enlivening center, of all his
excuriions. Every opening is therefore made to carry
a reference to it, either mediate or immediate. And
every viflo is employed for the purpofe of breaking the
ftraight lines, lighting up the dark, heightening the
little, and colouring over the lifelefs, in it.
Thefe are the principles, upon which the prefent
Work was originally undertaken, and this firft volume of
it compleated. And the writer reflefis with fatisfaflion,
amid the folicitude naturally atteadant on. the.hour of pub-
lication, that he has been, impelled by accident and al-
•- * lured
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P t t F A C E^
tmtd hf ,pWwe to execute in part what be had always
defi^ied^ but fli<»ild never perhaps have deliberately
begum taCa&hinilelf whh feme hiftotical uddertak-
mgin the earlier period of iifef to fix (or fome years
}m UQdirided mi^uen on tlie A^je^ ai)d .then
give himfelf and his performances to the eandcmr of
ijm pqblick#
ttttt
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THE
HISTORY
OF
MAI^CHESTER.
BOOK THE FIRST.
Containiag the Britisk and Romak-British Period.
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A0VERTISElWrENT
. Jo the Seeond Editien of Book the Fifft.
WHEN the prefcDt work was pubfiihed» the an-^
thor was not a little folkitom about its receptiooi
in the world* Additional to the anxiety fo natural ta
every writer on his firft publication, he had peculiar
reafons for apprehenfion, both from die unpromifing
title"^ and the ilriking Angularity of his undertakbg.
^A hiffbry that pretended merely to be locals and
yet Ventured to deviate widely from &e common
track' of topical antiquities, and even prefomed
to make its private accounts only the center of a large
circle, that (hould generally extend itfelf o?er tfaeifland,
and frequently ftretch into Ireland and the contiiient (
wai a^vfrork of fo uncommon a nature, as was fureto
encounter, at firli, all the hereditary prejudices of our old
atitiquarians an^ the publick. The former would be apt
ib condemn the boldnefs of its plan, (b much above the
ufual fcale of antiquarian courage, as the very extnu-
vagance * of fancy. And, what weighed more with the
author, he was afraid of being confounded by the latt»
in the cohimon herd of local hiftorians, and hailily re-
iigned with the reft of his brethren Blattarum ac Tine-
arum epula^, to the moths and the worms of antiquari-
anifm# 'But from thefe apprehenfions he was fbon
freed. His plsai Has been approved of in every part*
And the fencodf agcment, which he has received, has
even enabled him thus early to puUiib a fecood edi-
tion of his work. ' "
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xiv ADVERTISEMENT-
In this he has availed himfelf of the obfervations,
which have been made upon the former* And.he thinks
his hiflory improved by the attention. But his plan
land gp:ecuti0n- are ftill the fame. His corFeftions
arc confined to parts. And he has altered feme, and
enlarged , others. His great aim has been to render
each effay in the work, as far as he could, a compleat
treatife upon the fubjefl:, to throw nothing wilfully into
^ Ihadc, J)ut make every part fland forth diftinft and clear.
And the ilile, ^hich was fometimes embarraffed by its
own accuracy and weakened with excefs of vigour, he
has endeavoured to improve,, by clearing away its ob-
ftruftions and retrenchjpg its exuberance. In a hiftory
of fo Angular a complexion and genius, and with an
author unknown to fame, the firft publication muft be
merely experimeatal ; to try the tafte and judgement of
the public^, for the porrcftipn or confirmation of his
own* The fucceediog books of this work, therefore,
will not want the alterations and additions of this; when,
Kke it, they make their ftcond appearance in o^Hxivo.
And, in that ftrift juftice, which fliould always be Ihewn •
to the purchafers pf a former edition, all the principal
^ xrorreftions .pf the fccond will fee throvyn together, and
printed in a quarto pamphlet.
The author h^s been obliged to leave out t^e plates.
They are too. bulky to be fpided in an oftavo. And,
ufeful as they are for emhellifhment, they are not ncr
.ceffary for illuftration. But he has added near forty
.Britifli coins,, many of which have been pubUlhed fince
. the firft editioi^, and remarkably coincide with the ob-
-fervi^tiQps.t^tat he, had made in it; has. di.fperfed them
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AD VE RTIS E MEMTt
ifi different parta of the hiftory^ and applied them to
explain the manners of th6 Britons. And he has pse«
fixed a little table of contents to every chapter, calcu*
lated to excite cnriolity without anticipating infor«
mation, to give the reader an inviting view c^ the
country in which he is going to travel^ and yet leave
it to open afterwards with all its novelty upon him, as
he gradually proceeds in his journey. Almoft ever
fince Mr. Macpherfbn releafed him from attention to
the difpute benvixt them, by . ingenuoufly yielding up
the whole ; Mr. Whitaker has-been employed in rcvUing
his work, and ftudying to give it every attainable grace
and peih&ien. This he owed to himfelf, to local ht£»
tory, and a patwnizing publick* And he has particu-
larly endeavoured to perfcft, what fccms to himfelf the
moft curious part of the whole^ the attempted hiftory of
domeftick Hfe. But he has been careful to preferve
in the'old pans, and purftie in the new, the general and
leading fpirit of the whole ; and has always aimed, as
before, to be original without being fimtaftical, and to
deal conftandy in new notices with an inviolable
adherence to truth.
And he has particularly retained that difpofirion
pf the Note3, which feen^ to be as Angular as
his execution or his plan ; and ftill places the nu-
merous authoriues for his alTertions and fa£ls, not, as
has hitherto been jhe cuftom, at the foot of the page,
and even not, asf Lqrd Lyttelton has recently placed
them, in an appendix at the end ; but at the concluiion
pf each feftion. And from this arrangement of them
the Hiftory of Manchefter fecms to have derived
f n ac^vantage peculiar to itfelf. They are not now, what
on
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^\ AB V E RTIS E ME N Xf
qn the (:ofnmoo m0hp4 thef evidently are^ fo near as
ta diilraa the attention by dlyeriing t^p eye, break ;^
Si9rratioU9 or copfouod the argun^ot. And they are
nota \^^ ^y Lord's^ top reoiote to be confulted in^e
progrefs of the reading* Thefe Itftk members of a
work^ ythich are fo necefiary tQ e^ery a\ithenticated
j^ilftoryt and yet (a embarralEng generally to the reader''
- ' * and the writer^ a|t not crouded inelegantly on the
poargtn of tHe page^ where ibey are attended with an
^inconvenience almofl: equal to their utility; and are
^ot huddled together in a common repofitory at the
clofc, where they are Joft tp every p^irpofe of imme-
diate confultation, and the obfenations in them cuir
oS from the fubjefts to which they refpeftively belong,
and of which they are a&ual though fubordinate parts*
They are now formed into colleftions* -. Apd thefc are
fubjoined each to its own portion of the ^ork^ where
"^every one of them is given un-mingled with another j
and are placed each at a point of the hiflory^ where a
jpaufe is made equally by the writer and the reader,
yheyare not either fo fmall, as to be occurring with
a troublefome frequency, or fo large, as to be formidable
to the reader from their bulkinefs. And they are equally
ready fpr a tranGent confultation or a formal perufal#
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CHAP. I-
MANCHESTER OflGINALLY A BRITISH TOWN, ITS
FIRST NAME AND SITE, ANP TO WHAT KINGDOM
IT BELONGED— THE EXTENT OF THE LATTER,
AND THE ARMS OF ITS SUBJECTS — ^WHEN THE
FORMER WAS FIRST LAID OUT FRO-
BABLT, ITS NATURE AND REMAINS—
AND THE REDUCTION OF BOTH
BY THE ROMANS.
^f(fii^'^ M I D the various doubts and uncertainties
5 A « with which ignorance and inattention have
k.y*»^-*( clouded the Roman geography of our ifland,
no uncertainty has ever arifen, and no doubt been
ftarted, concerning the well-known claim of Manchefter
to the charaftcr of a Roman town. A ftation is ac-
B knowledged
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a THE HISTORY Bookl.
Sea, L knowledged by all the antiquarians to have been fettled
* in. the neighbourhood of Manchefter, and within the
compafs of the Caftle-field, And it is allowed to be
the Mancunium of the Roman Itineraries. But the ori-
?. 2. g^^ of it is not, I think, as all the antiquarians have
Quarto, ^qilally agreed to fuppofe, derived entirely from the
Romans.
The appellation, by which it is denoted in the Itine-
raries, is confeffedly borrowed from the Britifh lan-
guage. And this one circumftance plainly fliews the
name to have been impofed by the Britons, They only
could communicate a Britifh appellation to a Roman fort-
rels. — ^And, if the Romans had been the original con-
ftruftors of the forr, they would have given it 1 Roman
name. If the fite had lain totally undifcriminated fron^
the wafte around it by any particular denomination,
V till they fixed their camp upon it ; it could not but have
received a particular and a Roman one from then**
And, when they had given it its original denomination^^
they would as little have adopted any other afterwards,
which the fubjefted Britons might have pleafed to be-
flow upon it, as we now adopt the names of the Welfli or
the Indians for our towns in America and Wales. They
would no more have inferted the former in their. Itinera-
ries, than we make ufe of the letter in owr charts awl
Jaws.- And thcywonkl mucK/left ha^i^ fuperfcded the
original Roii\an appellaticm for ever by the Hew Britifh
,one. Aftingupoaa very different, plan, and informed
with the natural fpirit of all conquerors, they affefted to
bury Britifli under Jlomiin d^nonjinatioASi .,wl ^ fiuk
;Dprover4ium in Canuopol^, LoncEnium in Augufta, and
4 Ebora-
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CBap.I. OF MANCHESTER- 5
Eboracum, Deva, and Ifca Silurum in the names of the Setl:..L
legions that were refpeftivcly quartered at thofe places '. " ''
The appellation of Mancuniuni) therefore, was com-
municated to the Caftle-field by the Britons themfelveg,
and before the Roihans encamped upon the ground •
And, i^ it is known to fignify a fortrefs in the language
from which it is derived, thfc fitc of the Roman ftation
was preyioufly the area of a Britifh fortrefs. Till the
field was thus applied, it could not have received the
denomination of Mancunium. And, fo diftinguifli«d,
it neceffarily, obtained that or fome other name, ex-P,^.
preffivc either of its particular ufe or its local circura-
ftances^
The geographers of Rome have pointed oirt to us
a large variety of ftrong4iolds in the Britilh and uncon-
quered ifle of Ireland *. And her warrioius appear to - *
have met with as many in their reduftion of Britain.
They found more than twenty among two nations only, '
upon the fouthern Ihore of the illand ^ They met
with Camulodunum the capital of Cunobeline's king-
dom, which they formed into a colony "*; Vcrulamium
a cily of the Caflii, which they modelled into a munici*
pium^; and Calleva or Wallingford, Durndvaria of
Dorchcfter in the weft, Eboracum or York, Ifurium
or ^Aldborough in Yorkftiire, and many others, which
they afterwards converted into ftations ^ And finding
the fort -of Mancunium at Manchefter, as they had
found others before in the fouth and caftj and fixing
their 6wn camp on the fite of it, as they previoufly had
ppon that of others •, they neceliarily received :and na*
tqrally continued the original and Britifli denominations
B 2 of
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THE HISTORY BookL
Scift. I. of all, and only foftened them to the Roman car by giv-
ing them a Roman termination.
This is a remark, both as it is confined to Manchefter,
and as it extends to our towtis in general^ and equally
comprehends the cities of Britain and Gaul, which arifes at
the firft refleftion upon the names of the Gallick and Britifh
ftations in the Itineraries* Many are Roman, moft are CeU
tick, arid fome arc both. And where the appdlation is of
the firft clafe, as Aqua? Scxtiae and Forum Neronis in Gaul
or Prcetoriiim and Villa Fauftini in Britain, though the
town which is fignified by it may ftill perhaps challenge
a Celtick origin, yet the prefumption lies in favour of a
Roman one. But where it is of the fecond, as Camulodu-
num, Vindomagus, and Cond^tc, or even confifts of both
tc^ether, as Londinium Augufta; there the origin of the
P- 4* town is evinced to be aftually Celtick. And to s this
rule, I think, there arc only two exceptions, one pofi-
tive, and the other negative ; that refpefting the Britifh
names of fuch camps as are within five or fix miles of
each other, of which the forts along the line of Seve-
rus's wall are particular inftances ; and this relating to
the Gallick and Britifh appellations of thofe that are
wholly denominated from the rivers upon which they
(land, as Iliberis and Rhufcinum in Gaul, or Ifca Si-
lurum and Ifca Damnoniorum, Alauna sind Ad Alau-
nam, Tuadis and Ad Tuafim, Tamefis and Ad Stu-
rium, in Britain. In the former feries, many of the
ftatbns cannot have been originally the fortreffes of the
-Britons; and their names are therefore to be referred
to another caufe, as will be folly explained hereafter ^.
' . In
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Chap-I. OF MANCHESTER- $
In the latter, tk)ne can fairly be redkoned £or tke 6tc% Se^- 1*^
of fuch fortrcfles, except there be fomc greater evi- ^
dence of the fad than the mere report of the name.
And, under thefe two reftri£tions, thib feems a criterion
as iimple as it isdecifive, which has been never attended
to by the antiquarian critick, but will prove of confi-
derable affiftance to htm, and Is generally all that he
can have, in his enquiries into the firfl and original com-*
mencement of our towns.
In the piefent Caftle-ficld of Manchefter then, the
area of the Roman ftation, but before the conftruc-
tion of that upon it, was the. Britilh town of Man«
cunium, all built upon the height which forms the
northern bank of the Medlock* And it was diilin-
guiihed among the Britons of this region by the ge-
neral appellation of Mancenjon, or the Place of
Tents '. The lingular nature of our towns in Lanca-
jhire, before the entrance of the Romans into It, was
the refult of that life of hunting and grazing, which
is the natural employ of man in the infancy of fociety,
and which in all the northern parts of the iiland,
where the arts of agriculture were unknown, was ne-
, ceflarily purfued by the natives ^ The towns of the
Britons were not fcenes of regular and general refidence.
They were only their places of refuge amid the dan- p, ^.
gers of war, where they might occafionally lodge their
wives, children, and cattle, and the weaker tefifted the
ilronger till fuccours could arrive '. And the firft idea
of a town, that would prefent itfetf to the niind of man
in general, wou^ naturally be that of a fortrefs only.
But as before the Roman invafion they had known no
B 2 orher
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6 -T H E ;h r^T'O R Y • -BookL
Scd« I- other enemies than their owa Celtkk brethren^ who,
like them, were always eagfer to decide the conteft'by
a battle in. the field, mekhigr the '<^ne nor the other could
be expefted to have anyconfiderafblc fkill itl the'fcience of
fortification M And yet the Britons poffefffed a greater
portion of it, I think, than ourhiftorians have been will-
ing to allow them.. Their towns: were planted in the
center qf theii: woods, defended by the advantages of
their pofiiion, and fecured by a regular ramjiart and fofie.
And they refitted the attacks of the beil troops under
the command of thp 'beft pfiicers in the world, and even
gained from -the greateft of the latter the repeated praife
of excellent fortifications '°. : « . .
- It is evident. from the Britifti names in the Itinerar
ries, that at the firft fettlement of the Romans in the
ifland, or about the year 50 of Ohrift, the i}at;ives of
the prefent England 'and Wales had 'above' a hundred
of thefe towns : in the woods, alLconftrufted on account
of the .wars, that were reciprocally carried on betwixt
their tribes "«: The: eleven nations to the fouth of the
Thames had about thirty ; the feven betwixt it and th«
Merfey, nearly forty ; and the three beyond the Se-
vern and Dee, more than, twenty ; all fan fabordination
to their refpefiive capitals. And the Brigantes, who
. /* enjoyed the cictenfive region th^t is now divided into
the five counties of Durhanj, York, Weftraorpland, Cum-
berland, and Lancafter 5 holding the two firft by the
P- 6* equity of prior pofleffioh, arid the reft by the right of
a fuccefsful inVafion ; owned about twenty" cities at the
fame period, in fubjeftion to Ifcur pr Al^borough,
jheir mctropblfs "t
Since
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Chap.L OF MANCHESTER. f
Since Bcitain was originally peopled from Gaul, the Sea. U
poffcffors would, gradudly carry their fettlements to the '
norths as they admitted other communities of their
brethren into the ifland, or as the numbers t>I their own
were augmented within it. Kent, the neareft part tx> the
continent, would* naturally be the firft that wasMuha-
bited from it, and in all probability about a thoufand
years before the nativity of Ghrift *' ; and all the long
range of thie ^ibuthern coaft immediately afterwards.
Having thusdiffibfed thcmfelves from the eaftern to the
weftern fea, the Celtick colonifts would begia to ad-
vance towards the north, and at laft reach, the borders
of Lafacaffiire.^ But the imrfhes- of Cheftike^ and the
unfordable depth of the Merfey along tiieia^ muftef-
feftually prevent their entrance into the county from
the fouth-weft. They would come in betwixt the vil^
lage of Nortoa on one fkle and the hills, of York{hii?e ^
on the other ; and the pariifaes of Aihtony MaDchefter,
Flixtony Eccles, and Warrington be the firfl: en*
tered. parts of the county. And this memorable event
feems to have happened a confiderable time before th^
invafion of the Brigantes, which was made about the
beginning of the Chriftiaii a?ra. For the lengthening «
line of the fettlements appears from that irruption to
have been then carried on to the utmoft Hmits of Eng-»
land. And it ieems to have happened even before
the numerous colony of the Belgse, three l»\mdred
and fifty years preceding that aera, pafled the narrow
boundary of tjic fea, and fettled, like pbe. primitive
3 4 poffeiTorsi
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8 THE HISTORY . BookL
Sea, I. poffeffors, along the fouth of the illand '*. . At this
' period many of the natives, relinquiihiog their antient
feats to the Belgse, found all the central and northern
parts of England already occupied, and tranfported
P. 7»themfelvcs into the uninhabited ifle of Ireland '5. And
Lancafliire and our own pari(h had therefore received
a colony of die Celtas at it.
Nor could they have received one very long before
it* The gradual progreffion of the Gauls along the bafe
of the triangle which the iiland forms, and afterwards
acrofs the plane to the fuinmit of it, would be the
labour of many ages. The population of England
had been compleated at the defcent of the Belgae«
And it could not have been fo long. Had the in^
habitants of Galloway, in particular, been feated in
that country for a confiderable time before; fo very
' near as Ireland was to them, they could not have left the
firft plantation of this iiland to their brethren of the
fonth"*. And their leaving it is as ftrong an argu-
ment as we can have, that the fetdement of the foudiem
parts of Scotland had not been long made at the arrival
of the Belgse. The county and the pari(h therefore
were firfl entered in all probability about one hundred
and fifty years before it, and five handred before the
Chriftian computation, about the period of Darius's ex-
pedition into Greece^ the reftoration of the democracy
at Athens, and the inftitution of the confulate at Home.
Thus fetded in Lancaihire, the colonifls received the
a^roprtate appdiation of Sctantii^ Siftandi, or Sifiundi ;
as
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Clis^.L OF MANCHESTER. j
as thofe who took pofleffion of the country imxa> Sb£^ h
diatcljr to the north w^er^ denominated Volttotii or Vo- '
lantii. And the name ieems expreifive of (heir fitua*
rion. It is compounded perhaps of SJE, TAN, TIUj
or S, IS, TAN, TIU ^ fignifies either fimply The Coun-
try OF Water, or difcriminately The Inferious,
AND Southerly one^ and expreffes the particular po^
fition of Lancaihire with refpeft to the Volantii and
the fea* Setancii feems to have been the original de^
nomination of the fettlers, and Siihmtii to have be^.
afterwards conitrred upon them, when a new colony
had taken poffeffion of the lands on the north, and ac«P. t.
curacy was obliged to diftii^iih one irom the other '^*
And fixnn the beautiful altar which has been difco*
vered at Elenborongh in Cumberland, and is infcribed
VOLANTI VIVAS, that town appears to have beea
denominated Volanty, and was affuredly therefore the Vo-!
lamian capital ''• B^ the Sifhintii had tbc towns of
Cocci, Bremetonac, Rerigon, Veradn, and our own
Mancmion ^ all acknowledging the &il to Isic, what the
name of Gocci or Supreme imports **^, the mctri^Us
of the country. Such was the principality of the Lanr
caihire Britons, fubjed: to its own capkal, and go^'
verncd by its own monarch^ And fuch it continued
about five cctituries*
The neighbouring tribe of the Brigantes had been
hithorto confined within the counties of York and
Durham. But overcharged in all probability with theh:
own nambers,.<about the commencement of Chriftianity,
they detached a ilrong party acrofs the hills which ex-
tend from Dcrbylhirc to Scotland, and into the coun-
tries
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to .THE HISTORY' fiookl.
StS^, r. tries of the Siftuntii and Volantii beyond thcm*^ And
thefe,' apprehenfive of the invafioii and providing againft
the danger, fecm to have wifely etttercd into a ftrift and
intimate alliance. They, enteped, however, in v?iin. -Un-
able with their united forces to rdift the vigour of the
Brigatitian arms, they were obliged to fubmit, and re-
ceived the general appellation of Brigantes, Cocci and
Volaaty were deprived of their little regalities.- And
both thiey and Manchefter were reduced under the do-
minion of the Brigantian capital *°.
The appellation of Britain has been tortured for ages
• • by the antiquarians, in order to force a confeffion of its
origin and import from it. And erudition, running
vnld in the mazes of folly, has eagerly deduced it from
every word of a fimilar found, «ilmoft, in i^very known
language of the globe. ' But the Celtick ii obvioufly
die only one that x:an lay any competent ct^rim to it.
And ftie muft challenge it all fo? her own. The nan>c
was either affumed to themfelvcs 'by the Gallick fettlers
P» 9- on the ifland, or communicated to them' by their bre-
thren on. the continent. — And the nieaning of it may
beaseafily afcertained as its origin. It, and that ap-
pellation of Brigantes which our Mancunian anceftors
received at this period feom their conquerors, is de'^
rived from the primary and common appellative, of all
the tribes of Britaiii.
The firft denomination of the ifland was Albion; *"",
a name that was evidently conferred upon it before
it was inhabited, and while its Alb-jion or heights were
only viewed at a diftance from the oppofite Ihpre of
GauU The fc cond was Breatin, Brydaip^ gr lEivitsan *^ j
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Chap.I. OF MANCHESTER. ii
a name not applied to the region, but beffowed upon Scft. h
tbe inhabiters *^ ;*'not ,previoufly borne on the con-
tinent by the original fettlers of the country,' but af*
fumed or received at their firft removal into the ifland.
And it is derived from a Celtick word denoting fepara*
tion and divifion. This is a particular, which, in the
natural language of the continent, has always cha-
rafterifed'the inhabitants of our ifland. And (as I (hall
afterwards ftiew) • it . has equally given denonfination to
the tribes of Ireland, the nations of Caledonia, and
two or three iflands on our coafts **. The original wor<i
is ftill retained in the WeHh Brith and thelrifli Breaft,
any thing divided or ftriped, in the Iriih Brioth a frac-
tion, the Irifh Brifead a rupture, and the WeHh Breg
a breach. And it was equally pronounced Brift or Brit
(as the laius of Caefar is the Itium of Strabo), Bris,
and Brig ; and appears with this variety of terminations
in the ufual appellation of the iflanders, Britanni, in the
prefcnt denomination of the Armorican Britons and
their language, Brez and ; Brczonec, and in the name
of the Brigantes. Brit is enlarged into Brit-on or Brit-
an in the plural, and Brit-an-ec in the relative adjec-
tive, and fo forms the appellation Brit-on-es, Brit-an-i,
and Brit-an-ic-i ^^ ; as Brig is dthcr changed into Brig-
es in the pluraU apd makes AHo-brig-es or Allo-brog-
es, the name of a tribe on the continent and of all
the Belgae in the ifland **^, or is altered into Brig-an
and Brig-ant, and fprms the denomination Brig- antes.
And, as we find' the laft applied, once by a native top.io.
two or three tribes of the fouthern, and by a Greek
writer to the whole bpdy of the northern Britons *%
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xa THE HISTORY Book I.
t
Sea. I. fo we fee the firft aftually ufed by Ravennas for the
countqr of the Brigantes^ and our own Siftuntii ex«
prefdy declared to poflefs a third part of this Britain ^%
' SEE Richard*s and Antonine's Itineraries in N** II.
Appendix to vol. II. Iter I. &c. And for a foil account
of Richard confult b. I. ch. iii. fed. i. of this work. —
' Sec b* I. ch. xii. feft. 4. — ^ VefpaOanus, — in ft-itan-
niam tranflatus^-^^^iuas validifiimas gentes, fuperque vi^
ginti ofj^da^ — et infulam Vcftem Britannise proximara,
in dediti<mem redegit (Suetonius p. 240. Oxon.). —
^ Dio p. 959. Hamburgi, 1750, and Tacitus Annal.
lib. xii. c. 32. Elzevir, 1672. — ^ See b. I. ch. ix.
feft. I. •— ^ Sec b. I. ch. vii. fefl:. 4. — ' Baxter's Gloff.
Antiq. Britan. It b therefore written Mancinium in
fome MS. of Antonine's Itinerary : fee Talbot's Anno-
tations in Leiandfe Itin. 1769. vol. IE. p. 169. — * Ca?-
far p. 89, Clarke, Glafgow, Intcriorespkrique frumenta
non fcrunt, fed laftie et carne vivunt~* Csefar p. 92,
Oppidum Biritanrii vocant — quo, incurfionis hoftium vi-
tandas causa, convenire confueverunt ; and Tacitus in
Agric. Vita c. xxvii, Britanni conjuges ac liberos in
loca tuta transferrent^ — ^* Ca^far p. 92, Cognofcit non
longc ex eo loco oppidum CaiEvellauni abefle, fylvis
paludibuique mnnituih; qud iatis magnus hominum
pecorifque numerus convenerit. Oppidum autem Bri-
tanni vocant quum fylvas impeditas vallo atque fofsa
munierunt — . Locum reperit cgregie natura atque
ppere munitum.^— P. 87^ Se in fylvas«abdideruQC, locum
nafti
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Chap. I. OF MANCHESTER. i j
naftiegr^j^ naturl et opere munitum,— quern— jam ante Sc5*. I.
prseparaverant. — See alfo Strabo p. 306. Amftcl. 1707, ^
and more particularly Dio p. 227.—;-" Csdar p. 87,
Locum egregie et natur^ et opere munitum, quern do*
meftici belli, ut videbatur, causa jam ant? prae^para-
verant. — Caefar p. 88, Mela 1. iii. c. 6. Lug. Bat.
1685, and Richard p. 6. — " Richard p. i7*-^2 7, and
his and Antonine's Itinerary in Appendix. — ''Richard
p. 50, and the fubfequent hiftory of the population of
Britain and Ireland b. I. ch. xii. feft* 4*— "* Compare
C3efar*s expreffions Antiquitus tranfduftos p. 33, andp, lu
Memoria proditum p. 88, with Richard p. 50. - — *^ Ri-
chard p. 50. And in p. 42. he fays, Certiflimum eft
that the other tribes of Ireland came in poftea, after
thefe BritOTS. — '* See alfo b. L ch. xii. feA. 4. —
'' Ptolemy 1. ii. c. 3. Bertius; Richard p, 47 ; Gate
on Antoninus p. 15 ; and b. I. ch. v, feft. i. — ^Baxter^
with his ufual wantonnefs of criticifm, alters their name
Setantii into Segantii. — '* Horfeley p. 182. So '
Regnum was the capital of the Regni, Bibroicum
of the Bibroccs, &c. — ^More Roman infcriptions have
been found at this Volantlum or ElenboroUgh, thail
perhaps in any one city befides through the whole ex-
tent of Roman Britain (Horfeley p. 279). And, as the
infcriptiott upon the plane of the above-mentioned altar
was evidently in honour of Peregrinus, and in memo-
rial of his building or reftoring the houfes and temple
of the Decuriones, fo the infcription on the capital,
Volanti vivaSy was evidently a wifli in honour of the
faiceperfixi.; one aptly correfponding with the dcdica-
tiort
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14 .THE HlStOUt .Bookl.
Sea. I. tiott of the above-mentioned houfes and temples to tht
Genius of the place ^ that Peregrinus niight always live
at the town, to the inhabitants of which he had been fo
^eat a benefaftor, and to the Genius fo pious a votary*-
— "* See b. I. ch. 4* feft. 3.—**° Richard p» 27, Propric
fie diai Brigantes, gens numerofiffima, toti olim provin*-
ciae leg^s prsefcribens ; and Ptolemy L ii. <u 3, though
he places the Siftuntii on the weftern fea, yet carries
the Brigantes from fea to fea. — ^Richard p. 27, Volantii
Siftuntiique arftiori, ut videtur, foedere conjun^H— •
And Tacitus Agric. Vit. c. sr^ii, Brigantum civitatem
qua2 numerofiffima totius provincia? perhibetur* — -^ Pliny
lib. iv, c. i6, Elzevir, 1635, and Richard p. i, Vc- .
teres Britanniam primum Albionem — cognominaverunt.
— .-* Pliny and Richard ibid. — ^^ Richard p. i, Vocabulo
gentis fu3e Britanniam cognominaverunt. — ^"^ B. I. ch. xii.
feft* 2. and 4* — ^^ So Sifluntii is formed by Ravcnilas
into Siftuntiaci (Gale p, 1 46) ; and Poeni, Punici, and
Phoenices are one and the fame name. — *^ Richard p.
18. and 20. — *^ Brigantes (fays Galgacus), femina duce,
cxurcre coloniam &c, (Agric. Vit. c. xxxi). An4 fee
alfo b. I. ch. xii. fe£l* S*'^^ ^*^1^ P- ^4^*
MEM.
The etj^mology of the names Albion, Britain, and Bri-
gantes, the period of the firft population of the ifland^
and the derivation of the original colonifts, have, fmce the
firft edition of this work, been more fully opetied and.
afcertained in The Genuine Hiftory of the Britons aflferted
againft Mr. MacpherfoD, p. 29—32, 71—74^ 9^"^5#
aud 95-ti03,
II. THE
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Cbp.L OF MANCHESTER^ kg
IL Seft. IL
THE riches of the Britons confifted chiefly in their cat-
tle*. And it appears to have been apraftice among three
of their tribes^ at leafl^ to keep large herds of them upon
the uninhabited grounds«that £k:irted the confines of their
country. Retaining under their own care as many as
they could conveniently f urnifli with paftures, they de-
tached the reft into the woods on the borders under the
infpedion of their fervants. And thefe they fometimescal*
led Ceangon or foreftersfrom their place of refidence, and
fometimes denominated Paruisj herdfmen> or Gabrantic,
goat-herds, from the ns^ture of their employ. The Proper
Brigantes had their Parifi or Gabrantuici, inhabiting all
the E'aft-riding of Ycrkfliire for the benefit of its extenfivc
wolds *• The Ordpvices of North-Wales had their Can-
giani or Gangani, Spreading along the fea-coaft of Caer-
narvonlhire from Brachy-Pult Point nearly to Bangor ^
And the Siftuntii of Lancalhire kept their cattle and
Cangii among the numerous mountains that fill up aU
the fouth of Weftmoreland, and that then formed the
northern barrier of their country. Thefe alfo, like their
brethren of North-Wales and Yorklhire, naturally pro-?
vided for the fecurity of the Cangii and their charge, .
by the creftion of one or more fortrcffes among their
paftures. Such appears to have been the Petuaria of
the Parifi, th^ Segontium of the C^ngani, and the Coa-
ongu of the Sifluntians. ..S'^ch th^ tvvo,firft are evinced
to
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t6 THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea. IL to hare been by their fitcs, and the name» of the tribes
■ ' to which they belonged. And the laft is more plainly
evinced by its own name as well as its own fite. Its ap-
pellation denotes it to be the capital of the Cangii.
And its proximity to Lancaftiire, being feated at Water-
crook near Kendal^ paints out the inhabitants to be the
Cangii of the Siftuntians *. The whole county of Weft-
moreland feems to have been originally appropriated to
the feeding of cattle, and for this pnrpoTe^to ha?e been
partitioned equally betwixt the Siftuntii and Volantit ;
P* U'the barony of Kendal perhaps being affigned to the for-
mer, and that of Weftmoreland allotted to the latter.
And the whole remained wild and uncultivated, in ge-
neral, to the late period of the Saxons, and therefore
acquired from them the appellation which it retains at
prefent, of Wafte Moor Land or the rude and heathy
region ^
To a mind that has derived all its ideas of the Bri-
tons from the modem ^d popular accounts of them,
it moft feem ridiculous to talk of the Britiih armouries-
But id this, as in a thoufand other parjticulars, modern
hiftory has grown wanton in prejudice and confident in
errour. And it is one principal defign of the prefent work,
toftrip^the Britons of the ftrange dilgutfes in which (he
has hitherto dreft them up, and exhibit them in their
natural and genuine appearance. — ^The armouries of the
Britons were f urniihed with helmets, coats ofmail, ihields,
and chariots, and with fpears, ds^ers, fwords, battle-axes,
and bows. The helmet, coat of mail, and chariot were
confined to the chiefs. And the common foldiers^ fought
always on foot, provided with ihields for their own de-
3 f^^c^>
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thzpA. 6f MAlJCHEStllff. tf
fence, and with fpears, fwords, daggers, bows, dnd S«^- ''•
battle-axes for the offence of ah enemy*. The Ihield^^ "^
Was like the target of bur prefent Highlanders, flight,
generally foiind, and always boffy ^. The fword was
like that of the fathe mountaineers, large, heavy^ and
linpoinf ed '. Atid the dagger Was fimilaf to their dirk ^*
But fome inftruments have been difcoveted in Scotland,
Yorkfhire, Lincolnfhire, and the ifle of Anglcfcy, in
Effex, Hampihire, Wiltfliire, Cornwall, and Stafford*
Ihire, and heaf Marton mere in Lancafliire ; which the
antiquarians have generally attributed to the Celtse, and
have therefdre diftinguiftied by the unmeaning ap-
pellation of Celts ". Such an one was alfo difcovered
about fifty years ago in one of our mdffes near Man-
chefter, and immediately repofited in our publick library*
And it has lain there ever finCe, mingled with the cuf*
toraaty trifles of every library, and exhibited aitlong
them as an oddly formed chiffel or an outlandiil^
Wedge*
The wedge-like form of thefe inftruments is lufliciently
Jknown. In that particular nearly all of them agree.
And they differ only in this, that fome have no handle
tind are therefore hollow in the blade, and others have
an handle and no hollow. Of the latter fort is our P. 14, ^
Mancunian Celt. Its blade, which is fluted a little at
the upper part, is three inches in length, three quarters
of an inch in breadth, and half an one in thicknefs at
the fluted end, arid thence widens to the breadth of one
and a quarter at the edge. And the brazen loop at ltd
fide is nearly half an inch in breadth and three quarters
in length. But thefocket, which is of the fame, jmctal.
Vol. h C isj
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it THEHISTORY Book I.
So^ n. is t^o and a half in length, nearly one in breadth at its
conjunftion with the blade, and more than three quarters
at the other extremity. And it has a fmall hollow on
both 0des for its whole extent, which is channelled in
the middle, and bordered by a flight molding for more
than an inch and three quarters from the blade. Such
is the form of this brazen infl:rument. And it appears
to be what fcarcely any of the ant^uarians have fup-
pofed it. Not an axe-head for the cutting of trees, or
a chisel for the working of ftones, as is proved by the
too great narrownefs of its^dge and foftnefs of its metal ;
not a druidical hook for the cutting of mifletoe, as is
evident from the fmallnefs of the blade and obtufenefs of
the edge ; not the head of an halbert, as is fhewn by its
imall fize and too great lightnefs; and not the point. of
an arrow, a fpear, or a javelin, as is clear from th^
roundnefs of its edge and its too great fize ; it w^s
plainly the head of a fmall battle-axe ". The hollow
of the focket, and the raifed molding on either fiile, arc
calculated for the reception of a wooden handle in the
fame line with the blade. And in a brafs Celt which
was lately difcovered among the hills of Saddleworth^
and is now in my own pofr4^on, the remains of a
. wooden handle were found inferted in the cavity of the
blade '^. The termination of the molding three quar-»
ters of an inch from the end, proves that part to have
])een inferted into the flock of the handle and in a rig;ht
angle with the l>lade. This united firmly the head and
handle of the battle-axe i and the union was fbrength<>
ened by a pin in the focket, which did not pafs
through th« fttbilance of it, but was received into
afinall
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Chap. I. OF MANCHESTER, 19
a fmall orifice upon one fide, and, as feems from the Seft. Ilf
largenefs of -the hollow within, was there fecured by an p. i^
infufion of melted metal. And the whole appears from
the loop at the head to have been flung acrofs the
Ihoulder, or fufpentled at the fide, by a leathern
thong.
This little inftrument of brafs, then, was originally
a light battle-axe ; and it is very like, in the formation
and fize of its blade, to thofe of the American Mohawks*
And it is a Britifli one. Axes were a principal part of
the ofFenfiye armour of the Celtae. At the fiege of the
Roman Capitol by the Gauls under Brennus, we find
one of the moft diftinguiihed of their warriours armed
with a battle-axe *^. And Ammianus Marcellinus, many
centuries afterwards defcribing abody of Gauls, furniihes
them all with battle-axes and fwords '\ Some of th^fc
'Weapons have be^n found in the fepulchers of the Bri-
tons, on the downs of Wiltlhire and in the north of
Scotland '\ Within thefe four or five centuries the
Iriih went conftantly armed with an axe '^ And the axe
of Lochaber hath remained a formidable implement of
deftruftion in the hands of our Highlanders, even
nearly to the prefent period.
Other inftruments have alfo been difcovered in Wilt-
lhire, Warwickfhire, StafFordfhire, Chefliire, and Scot*
land, which were fhaped in the fame manner, and there-
fore defigned for the fame ufes, which however were
not compofed of brafs, but formed of ftone **. And
the rude fimplicity of thefe axes, their corrcfpondence
with the arrow-heads of flint which have l^een fo often
iifcoTcrcdIn Scotland and Derbylhire, and the frequent
C % appearance
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20 T H E. H I & T O R Y Book I.
Sea. 11. appearance "of them in the fepulchers equally of the
Gauls and Britons ^% Ihcw the latter to have been the
original proprietors of alL Nor are they^ as they
have been fometimes fuppofed by the learned, merely
facrificial or doraeftick implements. Domeftick, but not
facrificial, were repofited in the graves of the Celtae ; as .
in the barrows upon Salifbury plain have been found
beads, and other perfonal decorations of the deceafed.
^nd the favourite inftruraents of the dead were interred
with them *^. In all unlettered and uncommercial ages
therefore, when the difengaged aflivity of' man ever
carries a keen and military edge with it, and his great
employ is neceffarily war and the ehace ; the weapons
,of both would be univerfally repofited with the dead.
And we have a ftriking paffage of Scripture to jfhis pur-
pofe, which Ihews the cuftom to have been as general
as the fpirit of amblti^m or the profeflion of arms*
Ezekiel, prophetically exulting over the fallen armies
of the Egyptians, Perfians^ and other nations, cries
out : ** They Ihall not lie with the mighty, that arc
** fallen of the uncircumcifed, which are gone down to
*' hell with their weapons of war^ and they have laid
^y their /words under their heads ^^.'*
Such a ftone-formed head of a Britifli battle-axe I
have now in my own poffeffion, which was thrown up
by the harrow in an inclofure a little diftant from the
Caftle* field. It is a ftrong and heavy Celt, molded
with great regularity, and ground neatly to an edge,
but remarkably; different from the flint-made axes of
[Warwickfhire, and Staffordfliire. Thofe were all of
. them fmaU> and moft about four inches and a half only
in
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Chap.I. OF MANCHESTER. ' 21
in length. And this is twelve in length, aiid three, and Seft- H-
three and a half, in breadth. About three and a half ^
from the broad and blunted end, the breadth of the
ftone is:perforatC(I for the. infertion of an handle, as
the thicknefs qt it is left greater for an additional P. i6«
ftrcn^th. But the eye is made wider at the extremities .
than the middle, that the handle m'^y be faftened within
it by little v/edges.of wood on ^ either fide. And the
whole ^not Icis-thau eli;ht pounds and four ounces in
weight ^^it.tlWv'glkiv^^ in-
deed, has been a familirrr ojiefrion againft the military
aj^piication of ihen:. But the argument proceeds upon •
a falle eftimate concerring the powers of the human
frame. It takes not In that additional vigour and
agilit}% which the body acquires in the habitual ufe of
the heavieft armour. , And the objeftor may be re-
mitted for a fufficient anfwer, to the ponderous mails
of our anceftors in the Tower of London. He may
there refleft, whether he could march and counter-
march with fuch an heavy incumbrance about him, as
our fathers are well- known to have done even within
thefe 200 years, and in the deep and founderous roads
of our ifland at that period. With an original vigour
of body no greater than what they have tranfmitted
to their fons, our anceftors obtained from praftice
wbat nothing but that ^ could confer, and what an
equal praftice would equally confer on their defcen-
dants.
Two fuch battle-axes as this are delineated upon an
amuwjt coin of the ifland, which the horfe on one
C 3 fide.
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«
THE HISTORY Book I.
^Sea.IL fide, and the pearls round the head on the other, fiieW
to be Britilh. Here is a view of it. '
And here we fee a fmaller and a larger Celt exhibited
together on the coin, and having the handle inferted
into the body of each '^
This, and the military chariot, were derived to the Bri-
tons from the Gauls, and introduced into the ifland with
the firft inhabiters of it. And, even as late as the invafion
of Britain by the Romans, fome Gaulifh tribes ftill re-
tained the car of their fathers, and ufed it equally for
the journey and the fight '^. But in Britain the ufe of
it was univerfal at this period, and formed one of the
difcriminating marks in the national charafter of the
natives *°. And the Britifli chariots had their wheels
frequently furniflied whh fcythes, like the Gallick ; were
always dr^iwn by two horfes; and carried fometimes
two perfons, the driver and the warriour, and fometimes
only one*'.
5 Cabs AH
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Chap.I- OF MANCHESTER. 23
' Caesar p. 88^ and Mela lib. iii. c. 6. — * Ptolemy Seft. IL
1. 11. c. 3, and Richard p. 27. Gabr makes Gabr-ant '
in the plural and Gabr-ant-ic In the relative adjeftive.—
For Paruis fee Mr. Baxter. But Ceang he violently
derives from the WeHh Kaing, a bough, metaphori-
cally meaning a young man. And Mr. Carte, millak- *
ing his . words in another place, and reading his
changon into changon, would deduce it from that word,
and even call the Ceangi free men, — in order to mark
their dependency, (p. 108, a note). The word is thus
derived probably. Cean or Can, an hill, fignifiesalfo
a wood ; as in the next feftion I (hail fhew Ven, the fame
word, to mean equally in Gallick and Britifli. And Can
would in the relative adjeftive make Canac. Fir-
Canac, or in the rapidity of pronunciation Fir-Canc,
as Cannock, the name of a foreft in Staffordihire, is
commonly called Cank at prefent, would fignify the
woodlanders. And Cane or Cang makes Cang-on, Cang-
an, or Cang-ian in the plural.—^ Ptolemy L ii. c. 3,
and Richard p» 23. See alfo b. I. ch. v. feft, i. —
** Notitia for Concangii, PanciroUus, fol. 176. The
name is Con Cangii, the head or chief feat of the Can-
. gii. — ^ So Moorland in StafFordfhire. And the antient
mode of pronouncing the initial f^Uable, in Weftmore-
Inad, is what has hitherto difguifed the origin of the
name; fee Gibfon's Camden p. .983.^ See alfo b. !•
cb. 5. f. 4. for other Cangii. — ^ Tacitus in Ann. lib. xii.
c. 35 ; Dio p. 1280; and Herodian lib. iii. c. 47,
Oxon. 1678; compared with Oflian*s Poems p. 37, 50,
51, 54, &c. (vol. I. quarto), Pegge*s Coins of Cunobe-
lifie clafs4 — 2, Mela lib. iii. c. 6. Gallice armati, and
Pegge's Coins 4 — c, 5 — 4, and 6—2. The poems of
C 4 OiEan
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f4 THE HIS T O R Y BookL
Sea. II, Offian *arry in themfelves fufficicnt proofs of their own
P, 17. Wthcntidtjr. But fee this confirmed by a variety of exi
ternal teftimonies in appendix tp Dr. Blair's Critical
Diflertation on Offian, 2d edit. Indeed the whole body
of the Highland Scots are living witneffes of their au-.
thenticity.-^r-See alfo Statins Silv. lib. v. hunc regi ra^
i puit thoraca Brjtanno. Each fpear (fays Dio p. 128 1)
had a brazen apple at the end, which was Ihaken in
order to terrify the enemy with the qoife. I have con-
verfed (fays Dr. Macpherfon in Crit. DiiT, p. 144.
I-ond. 1768) with fomeold Highlanders, whq have feen
fpears of that conftruftion. The apple was called
Cnapftarra, a bofs of brafs -, and the fpear was deno-
ininated Triniframma, the fame probably with the
Framea of the Germans.rr-^ Quis rotundam facere cetram
nequit ? Varro; Herodian lib. iil. c» 47 ; Tacitus Agric,
Vic. c. 36; and Oflian^s poems v, I. p. 206, —r-^ Agric.
Vit. c. 36.— r-^ Gordon's Itin. Sept. p, 52. and Plate^
and Horfeley's ScodandN° 3. And the dirks are evea
mentioned by Dio, and called fi%«pA^, p. 1281.—-
- ^° Hearne's Leland vol. I ; Mona Antiqua p. 86. 2d edi-»
tion ; Plot's Staffordihire p. 403 ; Leigh's Lancafhire
bf I. p. 18; Stukeley's Abury p. 27 s Sibbald's Hift,
Enqu. p. 51, 1707^ and Borlafe's Cornwall b- HI*
ch. xiii. Dr. Borlafe derives the name of Celt fron^
Cselo to engrave : Unde (fays he) Caeltis vel Celtis,
quafi an engraving tool, p. ?83. pdit. 2d. Such arq
fometimes the liitle efcapes of real learning and judg-
ment. — " See Hearne's Leland and Plot's StafFordfliire
ibid., Stukeley's Stonehenge p. 46, Carte's Hiilory
YqI. L p, 75| and Borlafe b. IIL ch. jfiii. -rr " The
Woo4
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Chap. I- OF MAN CHE ST ER^ 74
wood feemed to be yew. And fee ch. vi. feft.2, and Sea^IL
ch. iv, feft. I. of b. I. — ' ""^ See Plutarch v. I. p. 315,
Bryan, for the Gaul at Rome, and alfo v. II. p. 514;
A. Marcellinus 1. xix. c, 6, Galli-— fecuribus gladiif*
que fuccinfti ; andTopog. Hibern. p. 793, Camden, for
the Irifti: Camden c; 1263, Gibfon, for the head of a
brazen axe found in a cairn, and Stukeiey*s Stonehenge
p. 46. — r '^Dugdale's Warwickihire p. 778, Stukeley's
If in. Cur. p, 54, Plot's StaSbrdihire p. 397, and Gor-
don's Itin, Septen. p. 172, — ^ '^ See Thorefby's Leeds
p, 493— 494> for flint arrowheads being frequently
ploughed up near Buxton, and there called Britifh
arrows. But in Montfaucon'5 PAntiquite Expliqu^e,
tome cinquieme p. 194 and 195, is an account of a
plainly Galliqk monument opened in France, in which
were found about twenty fcuUs, and as many ftones
fliaped into axes under them. One was an oriental,
ftudded with filver. And ilione-axes are alfo found fre-
quently in other parts of France (p, 196 and 197), as
ftone-weapons in general are often difcovered in Gej;-
many (p. 198). And Iharp and formed flints have been P. 18.
found with^human bones at the Brhilh temple of Abury
(Stukeley p, 33), and within a cairn in Scotland (Gor-
don's Itin. Sept, p. 172.). — ^^ See b, I. ch. x. f. 5,
and Ezekiel ch. xxxii. yer, 27. — '^ One has ahb
been difcovered at Tabley, Chefliire, Itin. Curiof. p. 54 ;
and they are very commonly dug up in Scotland, Sib-
bald's Hift. Enqu. p. 51, and Gordon's Itin. Sept.
p. 172. See alfo Dugdale p. 778, and Plot p. 403 and
plate. A Celt of brafs, one inch longer than this,
was found in a BritilU barrow upon Salifbury plain ; ^s
a large
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itf THE HISTORY Bookl.
Swft- n. a large brafs weapon like a pole-axe, and twelve pounds
heavier than this, was difcovered in another (Stuke-
ley's Stonehenge p. 46). And in the Mufeum at Ox-
ford are fourteen or fifteen of thefe axes, three qr four
in ftone, and the reft in brafs, but all fmall and light.
— '* The Coin was publiftied fince" the firft edition, of
this work, and is N° III. plate 16. of Dr. Stukeley's
Britilh Coins, — '* Strabo p. 306, Frontinus's Strata-
gems 1. i. c. 33. v*I. of Scriptores Antiqui de re mili-
tari, VeffalisB Clivorum, 1 670, and Diodorus p. 352,
Weffelingius. — *° Cicero Epift. ad Fam. lib. vii.
E. 6, 7, and Casfar p. 79 and 80. — ""' Ca^far ibid,
and Tacitus Agric. Vit. c. 35 and 36 ; Mela lib. lii. c. 6,
Frontinus 1. i. c. 33, Oflian p. 1 1. vol. T, and b. 1. ch. ix.
feft. 2 ; and Caefar p. 79 and Diodorus p. 352, com-
pared with Tacitus c. xli. Agric. Vit., and Offian and
this Work ibid. '
in.
Sea. III. WHEN the Siftuntii firft fettled in the county of
Lancafter, they would naturally ereft no towns becaufe
they could dread no invaders, and the area of our Caf-
tie-field would remain covered with its native wood.
They could fear nothing from the Britons of Chefhire,
of whom they were a colony, or by whom they had
been permitted to march through their country into Lan-
cafliire. They could fear as little from the more South-
erly *Bt||pns, forrwhofe fuperfluous numbers there were
all the uaiii^abited counties of the north, and to
whofe
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Chap.L OF MANCHESTER. 27
whofe colonics they were ready to afford as peaceable a Scft* in,
paflagc through their country. And when the Beigas "'
of the fouthern coaft, about an hundred years before
Chrift, extended their encroachments into the interiour
parts of the ifland, the many refugees retired not into
the more northerly counties^ and either gained a fet*
tlement by allowance or fecured one by violence among
them, but pafled over immediately to their brethren
in Ireland \ The political fears of the Siftuntii were
firft excited, and their political precautions firft taken,
in all probability, upon an incident of a more alarm- P. 19-
ing nature and on encroachments in a nearer diftriA.
About half a century before Chrift, as I fliall fliew
hereafter, the Britons of Chefhire burft from the nar-
row confines of their own dominions, and attacked,
over-ran, and fubdued three or four adjoining coun-
ties on the fouth *• Such an aft of hoftility among
the natives of the north, the firft that we know to have
been committed amongft them, would neceflarily awak-
en the jealoufies of all the neighbouring ftates, and par-
ticularly induce the Siftuntii to ereft forrreffes on their
ifi|uthern borders. And then would the Caftle-field
moft probably be cleared of its oaks, and a town
laid out by the Siftuntians upon it. The fortrefs could
Dot well have been conftrufted before this period.
And it would naturally be fo at it. Thus the rude
ftation of Mancenion, one of the firft towns in the
coxmty of Lancafter, a little prior to all the more nor-
therly forts, and the firft faint outlines of the prefent
Mancheftcr, was originally formed in all probability
about half a century before Chrift, about the nera of
the
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29 THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea. in. the war fuccefsfully carried on by the foutherly Britons
" againft the Belgae, or the period of Casfar's expedition
^ainft both ^.
The dimeniions of this original Manchefter are ftill
very difcernible. And it filled the whole extent of
the Caftle-field, except the low and fwampy part of it
on the weft*. Terminated by the Medlock on the
fouth, fouth-eaft, and fouth-weft, it was bounded on
the eaft by a foffe, on the weft by the prefent very
lofty bank, and on the north by a long and broad
- ditch. The natural advantages of the river and the
bank were great inducements with the Britons, to choofe
this particular fituation. But the principal was one of
which they could not readily be fufpefted, thovigh
they appear to have frequently aSed upon it. ' Moft of
the Britifli towns had fuch an area felefted for them,
as the ground of the Caftle-field prefented and the cold-
nefs of our climate required ; one that by its pofition on
the northern bank of the river, and its gentle declivity
P. 20. ^^ ^^^ fouth or its collateral points, would give the Britons
the whole reflefted warmth of our fun. And this is the
cafe with numbers of the Britifli fortreifes mentioried i^
the Itinerary of Antoninus ^ Surrounded as they were
with the damps of the neighbouring woods, fuch a po- *
fition was diftated by prudence. And, for this reafon
only, could the Caftle-field have been preferred by the
Britons to the fite of the prefent church and college ; the
latter being fuperiour to the former in all the common
requifitesof a fortrefs, but greatly inferiour to it in
this,
Oa
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Chap.L OF MANCHESTER. . sf
On the caft and north were the advantages of fitna-Scft. HI.
tidn loft, the ground within being even with that with-
out. Here therefore the Britons would fink, a ditch
and raife a rampart. And at the fouth-eaftern angle
of the field, and on the lower margin of the Mcdlock,
was a deep and narrow guUey, that was cut through
the folid rock and exifted to the year 1765. This
was originally formed in all probability at the formation
of the Britifli fortrefs, a part of its eaftern boundary.
And from this point the ditch feems* pretty plainly to
have mounted up the little garden, that now lies along
the eaftern fide of the field; the rocks on the right hav-
ing been cut away floping towards the weft, and the
earth appearing from the rubbifh, that to the depth of
feveral feet is mingled with it, to be merely adven-
titious ; and, as I fliall immediately Ihew, terminated a
little farther above. The northern ditch continues, for
the greater part of its original courfe, beipg carefully
preferved.in general by the Romans afterwards. And
the extraordinary afpeft of its weftern end, fo much
more formidable than that of the Roman fofles, of itfelf
befpeaks the whole to be Britifli, The eaftern part of
it, which was clofed by the ridge that runs along
the fide of the prefent road, has been long • filled up
by the Romans ; and no traces are found at prefent.
But, where the prefer vatiou of it became afterwards P. 21.
neceffary to the defence of the Roman ftation, there,
the courfe ftill plainly appears; the ground gently
floping away in moft places for fourteen or fifteen yards
to the north, and then rifing up more ftiarply as many.
Along the greateft part of the line the ditch has been .
confidcrably
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30 THEHLSTORY Book L
S^. III. confiderably tevcHed, the earth of the banks having
been long thrown down into the hollow. And, at pre-
fcnt, the concluding Hope on the eaft commences within
' forty or fifty yards from the road, and the large hollow
fpreads about thirty-four in breadth, and finks gradu-
ally Jlbont one and an half in depth, falling gently
away to the weft. For the next twenty yards, it is
only about thirty broad and one deep, the fouthern
bank gradually growing all the way. For fixty more,
it is about thirty-four broad and' one and an half deep.
And for the following fixty it is lefs deep, but about
forty in breadth ; and the fouthern bank is fcarcely vi-
fible* The foffe now begins to affurae its formidable
afpeft, and gradually rifes in grandeur as it proceeds
towards the weft. The fouthern bank mil at once falls
away in a long flope tow^ds the north, and becomes
what the northern had hitherto been, the ftriking figna-
ture of the/offe. At the end of forty yards, the lat-
ter has no perceptible fall, but the former carries a
ftrarp defcent of about twenty to the foot of it. And
at the end of ten more, where the latter flightly flopes
away for eighteen, the former defcends as many, much
fliarper than before, to meet it. When we have ad-
vanced about ten farther^ the northern prefents to us
a gentle (helve of twenty, and the fouthern a fteep one
of eighteen. And both mount with a very quick afcent
of twenty for the remaining twelve, as the channel,
cutting the thick bank in two, defcends with a lively
fall to ti>e weft.
On that fide wa? a lofty bank, forming a Iharp flopc
of fifty yards to th^ fwampy ground below it. This is
tiic
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Chap. I. OF MANCHESTER, gi
the fouthern point of the ridge, which extends along Scft^IIL
the ground immediately to the north of the Britilh city* '^
And, where it turned in an obtufe angle to the fouth-
caft, the line of the Bricifli fortification, not turning
with it, was continued direftly to the rivfer ; and the ^^^^^
rampart ftill appears along the defcent, and carries a
large appearance and ah elevated creft. Under thefc
fpread out an impraSicable morafs, about an hundred
yards in breadth and three hundred in length, begin-
ning at the margin of the Medlock on the fouth, ex-*
tending betwixt the foot of the bank and the channel of
a rill to the north-weft of the Britifh city, and giving it
a full fecurity on that quarter ^. Only, juft upon the
margin, the edge of the morafs remained to the prc-
fent period fufficiently prafticable and hard. And this^
I fuppofe, obliged the Britons to continue the bank to
the river,
Thefe were the barriers of the Britifli Manchefter oa
the eaft, the north, and the weft. And on the fouth
was the natural foffe of the channel, and the natural
rampart of the bank, of the river Medlock. But, for
greater fafety on this fide, the rampart was improved as
the bank was fcarped by the .Britons. And the
ftr9kes of their large pickaxes appeared in 1764 along
the whole margin of the channel, and on the face of
the rocks wl^ich are below the prefent edge of the
water ; and defcended nearly to the original furface of
it, within a yard and an half off the bed of the river.
This continuance and extent of the fcarping feems
jplainly to prove it Britiih, as it was evidently perform-
ed ao; a period whcQ tl)^ whole area of the field was a
fortification J
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32 THEHISTORY. Book is
Soft. III. fortification } atid hot itief ely a tempotary one, tifed oC-
cafionally for a few weeks till a regular ftation could
be conftrufted within it, which was the cafe in the
time of the Romans ; but when it Was d fixed arid ftated
fortification, which Was the faft in that of the Britons
only. And accordingly, deep in the artificial foil with
which the face of the bank has been fince covered, were
found in 1765 and 1766 21 Roman clafp for the clothes,
a Roman urn which fliall be deftribed hereafter % a
Roman coin, which had . . .^ REDVCI oti one fide and
AN AVG COS upon the othefj and a RomdA
lachrymatory of black glafs, depofited in a little holloiif
on the rock, and half-filled with tears*
^/ Along a part of the flope, from the eaftern boundary
of the field beyond the mouth of the new tunnel, the
only one in which the upper point of the bank has
been hitherto laid open, the fame marks of thie Britifh
oeconomy in war have regularly appeared on the front
both of the rocks and foil, which are above the pre^
fent edge of the water, wherever the adventitious earth
has been accidentally removed from the face of either*
Both have then been found to have been formerly cut
, down, into a very Iharp defcent or an abfolute perpen-
dicular. Both therefore, as we have every reafon to
conclude, muft have been fo cut, not only for this par**
ticular extent, but along the whole femicircular verge
of the Medlock. And about twenty yards to the eaft
of the tunnel, upon the point of a projefting rock and
under the fame artificial foil, appeared in 1766 a flight
of large rude ftairs leading down to the water i being
feven fteps, about three yards iu lengthy from three
c quarters
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Chap.I. OF MANCHESTER. 33
quarters of a yard to a foot in breadth, and from ten toSeft. III.
four inches in depth, and very vifibly worn away near the^
middle. Formed as thefe were becaufe of the fteepnefs
of the fcarped bank and for an eafier defcent to the
current, and pretty certainly formed betwixt the con- .
ftruftion of the fortrefs and the advance of the Romans
into Lancafliire; they would naturally, upon the firil
alarm of the latter, be thought to afford too ready a
paffage into the town. And the lower part of them
had been cut down into a deep perpendicular.
^ The principal entrance into this Britifli city feems to
have been near the north-eaftern angle of the field, and
in the large vacancy betwixt the commencement of the
caftern and conclufion of the northern ditch. Thi3
ground was opened in 1765, and the foil appeared
to have been never (hifted. And the area of the
whole, being twelve acres, three roods, and tea
perches in extent, the Britons filled with houfes for
themfelves and hovels for their cattle % Both of them
would be habitations more ftrongly built, than their tem-
porary huts of reeds or turf. And the former particu-P. 2^
larly were defigned to be the regular barracks of the
garrifon, and would therefore be conftrufted in the moll
durable ftyle of Britiih architefture. They were, as
we have every reafon to fuppofe, what the general
houfes of the Gauls and Britons were, great round ca-
bins, built principally of timber on foundations of ftone,
and roofed with a floping covering of fkins or reeds ^.
But the latter feem to have been conftrufted in a fome-
what different form, to have been not rounded but
nearly fquared, and to have contained about lixteen
Vol. I. D yards
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Sea. III. yards by twelve wittiin. Such, at leaft, was the ground-
work oF a building which was difcovered within Caftle-
field in i*j66^ and laid in a manner that befpoke it to
be Britilb^ About half a yard below the furface of
the ground' was a line of large irregular blocks,
ioitie hewn from the quarry of Collyhurft, and others
Collefted from the channel of the river* And under it
i^ere three layers of common paving- ftones, Hot compafted
together with morter, but with the rude and primitive
cement of clay.
So formed was this fecret f#undation, which was
ab6ut two yards in breadth and one in depth. And, as
fuch, it appears to have b^en very antient. It Was
plainly laid before the ufe of lime had been intro-
duced among us, and confequently before the Siftuntii
had been fubdued by the Romans. For the know-
ledge of that preparation was firfl: communicated tof
us by the latter ; as is clear from the* prefent remains
of Britilh buildings in the ifle of Anglefey and Wilt-
fhire, which are all, like the more regular ftruc-
tures of the free Peruvians, raifed entirely vrithout
the affiftance of lime. The houfes in the weftern ifle$
of Scotland, to this day, are built of ftone and ce*
mented with earth '*'. And the fame fort of founda-
tions has been equally difcovered about thofe huge
obeliiks of the Britons near Aldborough in Yorkftiire,
which are fo fimilar to the (tones erefted frequently
without their circular temples. A foot below the fur-
face of the ground, a courfe, chiefly, of boulders has
been fouud at one of them, laid upon a bed of clay ;
^ four or five courfes of clay and boulders fpreading fuc-
ceflively
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Cbap.L OF MANCHESTER. 35
ceffivcly beneath it, and the whole rude ground-work SeS. HI.
forming a buttrefs about the bafis of the ftone ". p. 25.
And the Britifli foundation at Manchefter, upon
vhich a ftrong wall of timber, I fuppofe, was originally
raifed, could not have been the remains of a cabin for
the warriours, becaufe it was modelled in a fquare
form^. It was therefore the ground-work of an hovel
for the cattle. And this opinion is confirmed by the
nature of its fituation. It was placed upon the flope of
the bank, and about mid-way betwixt the tunnel and
the road j as the floor of it had^ a ftrong inclination to
the fouth, and what feemed to have been the door- way
took up one whole fide of it, and was oppofcd to the
north. And the fame fort of foundations was difcovered
In 1765 and 1770 a little lower in the field, and run-
ning for thirty or forty yards together ; a fingle layer
of ftnall paving-ftones, bedded equally in clay, rcfting
on the plane of the rock, and covered with rubbllh to
the depth of a couple of yards. The cabins perhaps
were difpofed into two or three row?, courfed in right
Knes from eaft to weft, and poffefled the whole of the
higher ground. This the gracefulnefs of a regular ar«
rangement, and the necefllty of regular walks, would
naturally occafion* And the convenicncy of the
water, and the requifite attention to neatnefs, would
place the hovels perhaps in two or three lines be-
hind the moft foutherly of the rows, and along the
inclining bank of the river. But the difcovery of many
blocks of Collyhurft ftone, in the foundation, (heWs the
Britons of Mancenion to have flcirted along the fite of
ihe prefent town with their cars, and to have repaired
to the -rocks of Collyhurft. The whole clough or
D z woody
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^6 THEHISTORY Book I.
Sed. IIL woody hollow there appears upon a furvey to be nothing
more than the cavity of a great mine, which firft be-
gan on the fouth-eaft, and had its firft road of entrance
from it. And the Britons were therefore the original
openers of our CoUyhurft quarry, and borrowed from
it the ground-work of their cabins and the foundations
of their hovels in the Caftle-field.
^ • During this application of that remarkable fpot, the
country around it was one large wood, which began im-
mediately on the outfidc of .the barriers, and diflfufed it-
felf on every fide ". And the popular denomination of
it among the Britons will hereafter appear to have been
Arden '^ This was the common name of forefts among
the Celtae in general, from the wildly extenfive one which
ranged for 500 miles in length acrofs the country of Gaul,
or covered more than half the county of Warwick in
Britain, and the fites of which ftill retain the appella-
tion of Arden, to the much fmaller one that furrounded
Mancenion, Written Arduen by Ca?far and Tacitus
in fpeaking of the foreft in Gaul, and Ardven by
Offian in mentioning the woods of Caledonia '% it can-
not be compounded of Ar the prcepofitive article in Ccl-
tick and the fubftantive Den, as the oracular interpreter
of the Roman-Britifti appellations aflerts it to be '^ ; but
is formed of Ard an adjeftive, and Ven the fame as
Den. The meaning of the name therefore is not, as
Mr. Baxter renders it, fimply^ the hills, or, even as the
ingenious tranflator of Offian interprets it, the 'high
hill. Ard fignifies cither high or great, and Ven
.or Den either an hill or wood ''^. Arduen, Ard-
ven, or Arden '% then, means a confiderable wood.
Eencc
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Chap.r. OF MANCHESTER. ^v 37
Hence, only, the name became applicable to fuch Sect. III.-
very different fites, as the plains of Warwickihire
and the hills of Scotland. And it was given, not
only to the moft extenfive forefts, to that which was the
greateft in Gaul or fo confiderable in Britain, but to many
that were important only within their own contrafted
diftrifts, to the wood of Mancenion, and others. That,
particularly, covered the whole fite of the prefent Man- P. 27.
chefter. And all along the ftreets, which now refound
with the voice of induftry, and are now crouded with the
retainers of commerce, then exifted the gloom of a foreft
and the Clence of folitude. And a mind tolerably roman-
tick might long amufe itfelf with the reflexion, that this
gloom was never invaded or this filence interrupted,
but by the refort of foldiers to the fortrefs in war, the
vifits of hunters in peace, or the diftant founds of the
garrifon converfing in the Caftle-field ; and that the
boar and wolf, then (as will hereafter appear '^) the
inhabitants of this woodland, were for the moft part the
only poffeffors of it, flumbering perhaps in fecurity by
day on the bank of the prefent church-yard, and toam*
ing in companies by night over the area of the prefent
market-place '.
' Caesar p. 34, Noftra memoria, and Richard p..
50 and 42. See alfo b. I. ch. xii. feft. 4. — * See b. I.
ch. iv. feft. 2. — ^ Richard p. 50 and Csefar p. 88. See
• Paffimquc armenta videbant
Romanoque foro, et lautis mugire carinis.
D 3 alfo^
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38 A- TH£ HISTORY Bookl.
Sca.m. alfo b. I. ch. xU. fed. 2-—^ The fides of the Cattle-
field and Roman fort do not quadrate exaftly with the four
cardinal points. But clearncfs and brevity oblige me to
fpeak as if they did.— *^ Horfeley p. 109 and 131. — ^ Cae«*
far p. 89, Oppidum CafEvellauni — fylvis paludibufquc
munitum. And this lately continued fo bad a morafs,
that even in the dry fummer of 1 765 horfes funk up to
the belly in it. — ^ B. I. ch. ii. feft 3.—* Caefgr p. 92,
Oppidura Caflivellauni, — quo fatis magnus hominum
pecorifque numerus convenerit* — ^ Mona p. 89 ; Strabo
of the Gallick houfesp. 301 ; Csefar, Edificia fere Qallis
confimilia (p. 88); Man-cenion, literally the place of
fkins 5 and Pliny lib. xvi. c. 36. — " See Martin's W,
Ifles, p. 291, ed. 2d. And the Germans in general
were equally ignorant of lime : Ne caementorum quidem
apud illos ufus (Tacitus De Mor. German, c. xvi.). —
*' Gale's Effigy on the four great roads, in Lcland's Itin»
*^* ^^* — " Caefar p. 92, Oppidum Britanni vocantquiim fylvas
ippeditas vallo atque fofsa munierunt; and p. 87, The
Britons fe in fylvas abdiderunt, locum nafti egrcgi^ et
natura et opere mtinitum^ — -"^ B. I. ch. x. fefl:. 3.—
**^asfar p. 84. and 126, Tacitus Ann. lib. iii..c, 42,
and Offian vol. I. p. 38 &c. — '^ Baxter's Gloffar. Sec
alfo Camden p. 426. edit. 1607. — '^ Diftionaire Celtique
tom. I. p. 281 and 29^. — '^ So Ruthven is pronounced
lUthen at prefent,— '' B, I. ch* x» fcft# 3*
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Chap.!. OF MANCHESTER. 39
THIS was die (late of the original Manchcfter in the
Caftle-field, and this the condition of the country around
it, when the Romans firft advanced into Lancalhire.
And the town had now been conftru^ed little more than '
a century. In the regular progrefs of their arms from
the fouth, and in the year 72 or 73, the Romans at*
tacked the powerful and n\imerous tribe of the Bri-
gantes. But Cerealis, the officer engaged in the attack,
confined all his eflForts to the Proper Brigantes, the inha*
bitants of Yorkfliire and Durham. And, after feveral
bloody engagements, equality of valour gave way to
fuperiority of difcipline, and the Britons reluftantly
fubmitted % Thiis were the Siftuntii of Lancafliire,
and their northern allies, ndw flcirted on the fouth and
eaft by the Romans. And weakened ks perhaps they ftill
were by their ftruggle with the warlike tribe of the
Brigantes, and confcious of their inability to make an
eflfedhial oppofition to the fubduers of their conquerors,
they would every moment expeft and dread an invafion
from the Romans. In this ftate of impotence and fear
they continued till the year 79 *. And then one of the
ableft officers. in the Roman annals, the celebrated Ju-»
lius Agricola, entered their country at the head of a
powerful anny»
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40 THE HISTORY Bookl.
Sea. IV, The only Britons thkt now remained unconquered by
*" the Romans, within the prefent kingdom of England,
were vfuch of the Carnabii as inhabited Chelhire, the
Siftuntii, the Volantii, and a part of the Gadeni and
Ottadini beyond both. Thefe therefore, the three firft
of thefe at leaft, were the nations which Agricola at-
tacked in his fecond campaign, and th^names of which
his hiftorian unaccountably fuppreffes.
As Agricola led his troops direftly from the ,Oj:do*
vices \of North- Wales, he would previoufly fubdue the
Carnabii of Chelhire, and invade Lancafliire from the
fouth. Vi6lorious over the Carnabii and Ordovices,
early in the fummer of 79 he led his troops to the
conquefl of Lancaftiire. And he would paturally^irefl:
his march in two divifions, and enter the CQunty in two
places at once. The main body appears to have ad-
vanced by the way of Warrington, and defeated the
Carnabii of north-weftern Chefhire ^ And a confiderable
party was probably detached from the §fmy at the
fame inftant, croffed the Merfey at the pafs of Stretford,
marched along the fields of TrafFord and the bank of the
IrweU, and advanced up to the town of Mancenion *.
In this exigence, the conduft of the Siftuntii ^nd
their allies was very different from the behaviour of tha
Brigantes. They refolyed to hazard no encounter with
the Romans in the open field. And they confined them-r
felves within their woods, hovering upon the fkirts of ther
Roman army, and ready to fei?e evqry opportuaity of
attacking it in the man/ defiles of their forefts and mo-
raffes, and in the n^any paffages over theiy aeftuaries and
fivers. But their wifdom was ineffedual to feve them.
: \: i»
/
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Chap.I. O F M A N C H E S T E R. 4%
In the march which Agrkola made through the whole ^^J^
length of their country, he did not afford them a Angle
opportunity of attacking him to adv^tage. His fmallep
detachments conftantly icoared the woods attd moSes
that flanked the army in its progrefs, and attacked the P. 30;
numcrou* parties of the enemy, that were lurking in
them ; while the larger or the main body ptflied into
the rccefles of their forefts, ftormed their fortifications;
and facked their cities \ Of thefe, the foutheriy
poiition of Manchefter would early expofe it to the
attack of the Romans* And in vain did it prefent*
to their arms the fteep and .fcarped bank of its rivu-
let, its morafs and its eminence, and the breadth of
its deep ditch* Terrified by the vigour with which
Agricola purfued the war, and allured by the offers
which he made them of peace, the Siftuntii and their
neighbours fubmitted, and gave up fome of their chief-
tains as hoftages ^ . .
' Tacitxts Vit. Agric. c. xvii> Magnam Brigantum
partem aut viftoria amplexus aut bello. In this author,
who wrote only a little while before Ptolemy, magna
Brigantum pars refers to the whole of the Proper Bri-
gantes, who are mentioned only as a part in relation to
the weftern or fubjeft Brigantes. — * See Horfeley p. 47.
— ^ See b. L ch. v, feft. 4. — * Tacitus Vit. Agric. c.
XX, Loca caftris ipfe capere, ajluaria ac fylvas iffe prae-
tentare, et nihil interim apud hoftes quietum pati quo
minus fubitis excurfibus popularetur ; atqne ubi fatis
tcrruerat, parcendo rurfus irritamenta pacis oftentare*
The
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4^ T H £ H I S T O R Y BookL
Sea. IV. The word interim, opprfed to ipfe, implies feme opera-
' tions diftinfl: from thofc of the main army; as the claufe,
nihil apud hoftes quietum pati quo min^ fubitis ex<-
curiibus popolaretur, reprefents the Siftuntii to hive
confined themfelves to their woods and morafies, and
to have been there attacked by Agricola's detachments^
And the word asftuaria^ conneAed with ipfe> (hews the
operations of the main army to have been direfted
along the coafts. — ' Tacitus c. xx, Ubi fatis terruerat,
parcendo rurfus irritamenta pacis oftentare ; quibus
r^bus muitas civitates, quas in ilium diem ex a?quo tg:^
rant, datis obfidibus iram pofaere«
CHAP,
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Cli«p.n. OF MANCHESTER. 4^
CHAP. ir.
WHAT MAKCHESTEH WAS IMMEDIATELY MADE BT*
THE ROMANS, AND WHAT CALLED THE NA-
TURE OF THEIR WORKS AT IT- — THEIR STA-
TIONARY OECONOMY LAID OPEN — •
AND ALL THEIR STATIONARY RE-
MAINS AT MANCHESTER
POINTED OUT#
I
L
I H £ Brkons of Lancaihire being fubdaed in the SeO. I.
fummer of 79, Agricola refolved to eftablilh forts p-^^
and fettle garrifons in feveral parts of their country *•
And he accordingly fixed the ftations Ad Alaunam and
Bremetonacas in the north, Portus Siftuntiorum in the
wcfl:> Rerigonium and Coccium about the center, Co-
lania on the eaft, arid Veratinum and Mancunium oa
the fouth. Some were neceflary to the maintenance
of his conquefts in the county, and muft always have
been erefted by the Romans as they extended their
empire. Six of thefe are mentioned by the earlieft ac-
counts which we have of Lancaihire, and five by one
that was drawn up about fixty years only after the
tcduflion of it *• Having been five of them originally
Brftiih
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44 THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. I. Britifh fortreffes, they were now changed into Roman
camps. And fmall garrifons, con(ifl:ing principally (we
may fuppofe) of the infirm and raw foldiers ^, were
lodged in them, while Agricola with the reft attacked
the more northerly Britons in the foUot^ing fummer.
In the feleftion of fites for their ftations, the Ro-
. mans generally pitched npon fuch as had previopfly been
the ground-plots of Britifh towns. And the faft is
Ihewri by the names of the camps in their 6wn Itinera-
ries, near three-fourths of them bearing BritKh appel-
lations, arid thereby proving themfelves to be erefled
upon Britifli fortreffes. The' latter were generally fixed
upon ground, which: an intimate knowledge of the
country recommended, and therefore the policy of the
Romans could not but approve. And I have p/evioufly
ihewn them to have been upon fuch as the Britiih Man-
chefter afforded, and the woody condition of Britain re-
. * P. ^2.,quired ; fuch as by its pofition on the northern bank of
. , a river, and its' gentle declivity to the fouth or its col-
lateral points, would give the Romans the whole re-
flefled warmth of out fun^.
' On thefe united reafonsj probably, Agricola firft
lodged a garrifon in Mancenion, in order to ftcure the
fortrefs and' aWe the- neighbouring Siftuntii from it,
while he advanced into the center of the county with
the tefk of his forces ; and afterwards commanded a
ftation to be conftrufted upon it, when the fuccefsful
Campaign was terminated, and the Siftuntii and their al-
fiies fubdu:ed.
The Roman garrifon in the Ctftle-field would natu-
rally begin the conftruftion of their camp in the au-
tumn
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Chap.II. OF MANCHESTER- 45
tumn of 79* The compafs of it being marked out by Scft. I.
the Mctator> the foldiers allotted to the biifinefs we may
image to ourfelves, accx>rding to the defcription givOT us
by Vegetius, leaving their fliields and knapfacks in the
center of the area and in circles about their refpeflive
ftandards, and repairing in centuries to the ports which
the Praefeftus affigned. And the reft of the garrifon
would be placed at the extremities of the field, to de-
fend the labourers atid themfelves \
Adopting the Britifli mode of building without the
fame neceflity for it, the Romans founded their rampart
as the Britons had previoufly fixed their hovels, on
paving-ftones bedded in clay. This I difcerned, on open-
ing the ftationary wall in two different parts of it. I
cut it down from the furface to the center and from the
centdt to the bafe, in order to fee the curious conffiruc-
tion of it widiin and betow ; and found all the lime-laid
parts, in both, rifing from two layers of paving-ftones
cemented with clay. And the fame extraordinary pro-
cefs has been difcovered in other walls of the Romans.
At the, town of Boroughficld on the Foffe in Leicefter-
fliire, have been dug up foundations that were ftones fet
cdgewife in clay, and had had a ftrufture of lime-mortcr
upon them. At the ftation of Aidborough in York-
Ihire, the walls of the tow» appear to have been built P. jj,
upon layers of large pebbles, placed on a bed of blue
clay four or five yards in depth. And even the great
rampart of Severus in the north appears to have been
conftrufted on the fame principles. In a part of it that
has been opened on Wall-fell near St. Ofwalds, the-
lower courfes have been difcovered to be laid in clay, and
the
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:46 .THE HISTORY BookH
S««ft* I- the iipj)cr appeared to be cemented with mortcr *•
'" And the fame fort of foundations remained very com-
mon in the kingdom for many centuries^ afterward, the
old fteeple of the church at Frees, in Shropihire, being
lately found to be reared upon a Hae of clay and
boulders immediately above the natural rock. But the
Roman walls at Manchefter were, not uniformly founded
on the fame fort of certient» The weftcra was laid on
two beds of blue clay, the lower nearly a foot in depth
and remarkably fti£F and folid. But the fouthem was
laid in two courfes, not of aAual clay, but of clay and
fand incorporated together, and both lying on a deep
ted of rirer-fand that Hill retained a little of its origi-
nal moifture. And, as clay-morter ftill remains in oc-
caiional ufe among us at Manchefter, fo the neighbour-
ing church of Prcfton was difcovered, in 17691, toTiavc
bewi crefted upon a layer of loofe pavmg-ftones bed-
ded in fand*
The old material^ of the Britiih banks, cabins, and
hovels would fupply ^he Romans fufficiently with ftones.
' And with thefe they conftrufted the ftrong barrier of
tlieir camp, heaping them together in a very irregular
manner, and only Hoping the fac6 of it a little. And^
as the wall was raifed from the breadth of feven 6r
eight feet at the bafe, and narrowed to one or two at
the creft, they poured their boiling morter upon it.
This from its fluidity infinuated itfelf into the many
openings and hoUpws of the work, and from its ftrength
bound the irregular pieces of ftone into a firm and folid
wall. And the whole courfe of the rampart in all
proba*
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Chap. n. OF MANCHESTER.
probability was lin^d with a platform within, and vmBl
nated with battlements above \
In making the Roman morter, the fand was mingled
with the lime^ unrefined by the fcreen and charged wi^
all its gravel and pebbles. Some of the morter, oa
breaking it^ appears to have been tempered with pounded
brick ; fmall fragments of the latter very prettily chequer*
ing the furface, and being thoroughly incorporated into?- 3*»
the fubftance, of it '• And the lime was not derived
from the hills of Buxton or Clitherow, which have
long fupplied the town with that neceffary foflil. The
Roman is (Irikingly different from that of both in its co*
lour, being of a much Ihadicr and browner hue. Nor
would the Romans have fetched it from fo great a dif-
tance^ when they might eafily find it in their own neigh-
bourhood. A long vein of Hmeftone ftretches acrofs
^ne part of the parilh, and. along the confines of New-
ton, Ardwick, and Manchefter townlhips. In that of
Manchefter it was obferved many years ago; and
the difcovery was bri/kly purfued for a ihort period.
And in that of Ardwick it has been found again within
thefe fix or feven years ; and Thomas Birch Efq; ob-
tained from it a block of ftonc fo elegantly veined and
clouded, that he ordered it to be poliflied for the chim-
ney-piece of one of his bed-rooms. But, a long time
dubious whether he Ihould break up the quarry for
marble or lime, he has now finally refolved upon the
latter. And the fame vein breaks out in many places
near the Ancoats, many ledges of the ftone going acroft
the bed of the Medlock, and fragments being occafio-
nully;
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^4« THE HISTORY Book l^
•Sc^- 1- nally loofencd from them by the current. - Thefe ap-
peared lately very numerous there, and, upon any long
interniiffion in gathering them, would be equally fo
•again* They muft therefore have been particularly nu-
merous at the conftruftion of the Roman ftation, and
even many of them have lodged in the channel at the
foot of the Caftle-field. And, in their neceffary enqui-
ries after limeftone, the Romans would fpeedily difcern
thefe brown and marbled fragments in the Medlock,
and find in them a fupply fuflScient for all thiiir ufes,
and immediately adjoining to their ftation.
^. * In conftrufting the walls of it, the Romans purfued
the method that has been equally noticed in thofe of
Lcmanis, Verulam, and Old Sarum ^, and left holes
at ccrtam diftances in the ramparts. The defign of
thefe openings, however, has not yet been afcertained.
And, for want of a better reafon, they have been fup-
pofed to be made for the free admiffion of the air into
the thick fubftance of the walls, in order to dry them ^.
This cannot have been their original intention, as at
Salilbury they appear to have been clofed with ftone^at
the ends, and have been found below the natural furfacc
of the ground at Manchefter, And they were calcu-
lated, I apprehend, to anfwer a more important purpofe.
The former have been reprefented, as extending quite
throu^ the breadth of the wall ^. But this is a
miftake. I was there, in 1772, and noted them atten-
tively. They are five or fix in number ; and the facing
of one fide ftill remains over two of them. And one,
that was accidentally laid open from end to end, difck>fed
the defign of all. As the Romans carried their ram.-.
part
S
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Chap.II. OF MANCHESTER. 49
part upwards, they took off the preffure from the fe^ ^*
parts below, and gave a greater ftrength to the whole,
by turning liitle arches in their work, and fixing the
reft of the wall upon them. The holes at Sarum
were all regular arches, at the diftance of five or fix
feet from each other. And as late as the year 1769
there was an arch appearing in the rampart of the
Caftle-field, a little to the weft of the fouth-caftern
angle ; and the crown of it juft rofe above the
ground.
The whole ftation was so irregular parallelogram.?. 35.
Theparallel fides were equally right lines and equally
long: but the corners were rounded. The Romans
particularly affefted this figure in the formation of their
camps. And they efteemed thofe as the moft beau-
tiful of the fort, which were jufl: one third longet than
they were broad '""^ But they feldom rounded their
angles ; and Ivelchefter, Dorchefter, Chefterford near
Cambridge, Little Chefter near Derby, and our own
at Mancb^fter, are forae of the few fortrefles in the
kingdom where they have ". The area of the laft was
much fmaller than that of the Britilh town. And,
while thfs' contained nearly thirteen acres of our ftatute-
meafure, that included only about five acres and ten
perches, or 24,500 fquare yards.
The caftcrn fide, like the weftern, is an hundred
and forty in length. And, for eighty from the north-
ern termination, the nearly perpendicular rampart ftill
carries a creft of more than two in height. It is then
lowered to form the great entrance, the porta prasto-
riat of the camp ^* ; tbe earth there running tfi a ridge.
Vol. If £ and
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Scft. h and mounting up to the top of the bank, about ten in
' breadth. Then rifing gradually as the ground falls
away, it carries an height of more than three for as
many at the fouth-eaftern angle. And the whole
of this wall bears a broken line df thorns above,
fliews the morter peeping here and there under the
coat of turf, and, near the fouth-eaftcrn comer,
has a large buttrefs of earth continued for feveral yards
along it.
The fouthcm fide, like the northern, is an hun-
dred and feventy five in length. And the rampart,
finking immediately from its elevation at the eaftern end,
fucccffively declines, till about fifty yards off it is
reduced to the inconfiderable height of lefs than one.
And about feventeen farther there appears to have been
a fecond gateway, the ground rifing up to the creft of
the bank for four or five at the point. The Roman
P-36. camps had conftantly, about the age of Agricola, a
gateway on* the fouth and ilorth, as well as en the
caft and weft "'. And one on the fouth was parti-
cularly requifite in this, in order to afford a ready
paffage from the ftation to the river. But about
fifty three yards beyond the gate, the ground betwixt
both falling brifkly away to the weft, the rampart,
which continues in a right line along the ndge, necef-
larily rifes, till it has a (harp dope of twenty in length
at the fouth*weftern angle. And all this fide of the
wall, which was from the beginning probably not much
higher than it is at prefem, as ic was fufficiently fe«
cured by the river and its banks before it, appears
crefte4 at firft wich an hedge of thorns, a young oak
1 - rifing
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Chap.n- OF MANCHES^TER. f|
riiing from the ridge, and rearing its head confider- 8eft-J<
ably over the reft ; and runs afterwards in a fmooth "
line, nearly level for feveral yards with the ground
about it, andjuft perceptible to the eye in a round*
cd eoiinettce of turf •
At the fouth-weftern point of the catnp, the ground
flopes away on the weft towards the fouth, as well as
on the fouth towards the weft. And the third fide ftill
runs from it nearly as at firft,* having an even creft
about fcven feet in height, an even flope of turf for
its whole extent, und the wall in all its original con*^
ditton below. About an hundred yards beyond the
angle was the^ Porta Decumana of the ftation, the
ground vifibly rifing up the afcent of the bank in a
large (helve of gravel, and running in a flight but per*
ccivable ridge from it. And beyond a level of forty-
five yards, that ftill ftretches on for the whole length of
the fide, it was bounded by the weftern boundary of
theBritHh city, the fliarp flope of fifty to the moraft
below it.
On the northern and remaining fide, are feveral
chafms in the original courfe of the rampart. And
in one of them, about an hundred and twenty-feven
yards from its commencement, was another gateway,
opening into the ftation dire^ly from the road to
Ribchcftcr. The reft of the wall ftill rifes about
five and four feet in height, plsmted all the way with
thorns above, and exhibiting ;a curious, view of the
xampart below* Various parts of it have been fleeced P- 37*
of thetr faciqgof turf and ftcne, and now fliew the inner
ftruilure. of ih^wholej prefentipg to jhc ffjt the pndref-
E2 fed
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Sea. I. fed ftones of the quarry, the suigular pieces of rock, and
^ the round boulders of the river, all bedded in the morter,
and coppaded by it into one. And the white and brown
patches of morter and Hone, on a general view of the
wall, ftand ftrikingly contrafted with the green tur^ that
entirely cdnc^als the level line, and with the green
mofs that half reveals the projefting points, of the
rampart.
The great fofs of the Britifli city the Romans prc-
ferved along their northern fide, for more than thirty
yards beyond the caftern end of it, and for the whole
beyond the weftern. And, as the prefent appearances
of the ground intimate, they clofed the eaftem point
of it with an high bank, which was raifed upon one
^ part of the <litch, and iloped away into the other.
The conftruftion of the Roman camp upon a fmal-
ler fcale than that of the Britiih town, occafioned the
former to recede internally from the eaftern and weftern
barriers of the latter. The garrifon, therefore,
carried on a new fofs from the north- weftern and
north-eaftem angles of their wall, in order to fecure
both. And, as the foldiers proceeded in the work,
we may fancy the centurions appointed to fuperintend
it, employed as Vegctiu« defcribes them upon ; the
like occafionS) regularly examining the line of. the
ditch, and carefully meafuring the depth of. the chan-
nel, with their ten-feet rods **• The nwth-weftern
fofs was made to flope away north and fouth, becaufe
the Britifli bank, and the morafs bdow it, were a
. fufficient defence on the weif. But the »onh-eaftem,
having no fx^ defencei was flopcd wiff&f eaft and tmil»
and
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Chap.U OF MANCHESTER. 53
and for the fame reafon carried to a much greater ^eSt,L
depth than the other. This finks about five feet, and"^ ' ^
That only about two ancj a half. Both, however,
were catried on along a part only of their refpeflaYC
fides. . The north'Weftem. return was continued about
ihirty-five yards in breadth, and filled up in length the
whole fpace between the Roman rampart and Britiih
bank. And the north-caftern was extended as many ^-J^*
in breadth, and about fevcnty-five in length, even up ^
to the great road of entrance into the ftaiion.
* Tacitus c. xx, Civitates^— praefidiis caftellifque
circumdatse. Here the word Circumdatte (hews the
common opinion to be falfe, which fixes the generality
of thefe forts along the line of Hadrian's future wall.
— * See b. I. ch. iii.feft. i. &c, — ' Vegctius lib. iii.
c. 3* among Scriptores antiqui de remilicari, edit. 16^0.
VeflalisB Clivorum in a V. — * Horfeley p. 109* But
this was not (as Horfeley fuppofes it to be) peculiar
to the Romans as natives of Italy. Mere than half
the Romans in the ifland were natives of colder
countrres, as the Gauls, Batavians, Frieflanders, &c.
&c. (See Horfeley's own infcriptions). And the
human conftitution, as fuch, would naturally afied a
foutherly pofition in the cold, bleak, and wooded ilate
of our ifland at that period.^-7* Vegetius lib. Hi. c. 8#
and C«far p. po,— * Itin. Cur. p. 100. and .Camdea
c. 875, and the map prefixed to Warburton's Vallum
Rofldainim.'—"' Vegetius lib. iii. c. 8, Super quern ad
£ $ firni*
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54 THE HISTORY BookL
Se&.L fimilitudinem muri et pinnae et propugnacula compo-
nuntur. — ' See alfo Camden p. 624. for caementum
latcririis fruftuUs ratritum at Amblefide, and the ac-
count of Cambodunum in b* I. c. 4. f. I \ and fee Itin.
Curiof. p. 96. for the other.—* Itin. Cnriof. p. 125,
&c. — "'' Vegctius lib. iii. c. 8.—" Plates in Itin. Cur.
See alfo Horfcley p. 145. and Phil. Tranf. 1759. p.
13, &c. — " Vegetiuslib i. c. zg.-r-'^ Graevius torn, x*
c\ 944.—'* Vegetius lib. iii. c. 8*
II.
THE new fort in the Caftle-ficld now became a
regular camp, and the Romans fettled a regular gar-
fifon within it. But it retained the name of the an*
tient fortrefs, and Mancenion was only altered into
Mancunium '. And even this fmall change in the ap*
pellation refulted, merely, from a particularity in the
pronunciation of the name among the Britons ; as the
^ denomination of the town upon the Kennet was fimi-
larly changed into Cunetio by the Romans, and the
Kennet itfelf is ftill popularly denominated the Kun-
net among the peafants of the neighbouring region *•
The garrifon appears to have once confifted, and
therefore we may reafonably prefume it to have been
ordinarily compofed, of a finglc cohort. Amid the
period of uninterrupted peace, which the Rotnans of
Mancheftcr mod probably enjoyed to the dmeoftheu:
departure, diere would always be the famereafon for
fceqTtng
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Chap-n. OF MANCHESTER. 55t
keeping the fame number of troops in the ftation. Sea. IL
And in the Notitia we find feventcen different cohorts, "
Jorming. as many garrifons in the kingdom*
That which was quartered in the Caftle-field was Co-
hors Prima Frifinorum^ an auxiliary belonging to fome
legion, and the firft which had been rsdfed among the
natives of Friefland. This appears from an infcrip-
tion ^ to have been in garrifon there. And therefore
we may r^afonably prefume it to haverefided on the
ground, as it continued in the ifland% even to the
final departure of the Romans from the ftation. They
feldom (hifted the quarters of their troops in Britain,
as is clear to a demonftration from the iiiftory of the
twentieth and fixth legions and a wing of the Afti.
The firft appears to have garrifoned Deva for nearly
. two centuries fuccefiively. And the others are found to
have remained at Eboracum andCondercum for nearly
three \
The auxiliaries of a legion confifted both of infantry
and cavalry. The cavalry, which was double in number
to that of the legion ^, was thrown into independent
troops of four or five hundred men. And the infantry
was exaflly the fame with that of the legion % and, like
it, was divided] into feveral cohorts. But thofe of the
latter were ten in number \ and thofe of the former only
eight. The eight cohorts of the Batavi are exprelsly
mentioned by Tacitus, as the auxiliaries of the foun*
teentb legion *• And, upon a fubjedh fo minute in it-*
felf and fo litde explained .by the Romans, fuch a no-
nce, unoppofed by any other evidence, carries a deci* P»4o.
five authority with it. And none of tbefe . eight was
£ 4 diiUa-
I
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j^ THE HISTORY .BookL
Sea:.lL diftmgbiflied from the reft>. as one of the iJegioBaries
^ was, by the title of primary aad a double complement
of men. Each was difcriminated only by thq name
of the people of whom it ccmfiftcd, and by. the order
of fucceflton in which it had been raifed among theoK.
And each contained nearly the fame- number. As,.
then, the whole amount of the^ ten legionaries in
infantry, during the fecood, third, and fourth cen-
turies^ was exa£lly fix thoufand one hundred % and
that of the eight annexed auxiliaries -pirecifdy the
fame ; each of the latter had feven hundred^ and
fixty-tWo men. And, if the ,firft-raifcd cohort of the
Friiians bad, «is we have every rcafon to .fnppofe
that every. corps of 'Romans in the ifland ordinari-
ly had ^%. its entire comiplemcat with it;: the gar*
rifon of Mancuolism coiiiifted of feven hundred and .
fuEty-two foot-foldietSt.. But, fmce about three hun-«
dred and fifty of thefe were regularly abfent from the'
ftjatiout and placed upon duty at fome diftadce fromJt,
as I (hftU (hew hereafter"; the real garrifon could
have been only about four hundred. And, ac*
ootjiingito the praftice of the Romans in their camps,
eight men out of every century, thirty- two in all, con-
tinued upoa guard in the Caftle-field* from fix in the
evening xq fix in the morning; being fixed at their
ppfts within the camp by the found of the trumpet,
relieved every third hour by that of the' horn,
and kept alert at their ftations by die appointed walkers
of the rounds ^\
The whde compafs ^ the area within was aouded
wiihr cabins, conftrufted probably of timber on foun-
dations
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Chap.n. OF MANCHESTER. 57
datkxit of ftone^ and roofed with tiles, fliiiiglet» or Seft. IK
ftraw '^. But the prsetorium, or pavilion of the com* '^
mandant, would be ereAed in a fuperiour flyle* The
barrackg of the reft would he carried in regular lines
towards and on each fide of it. And the feveral pa-^
Tilions of the centurions, and the flandards of the
centuries, muft have rifen regularly over the whole '*•
Each cabin of the foldiers was large ^enough to coa-
tain a band of eleven men ; and as many were quar*
tered in each, ten under the government of one^ P*4<*
and the latter denominated the dean of the reft^^
Each, I apprehend, was large enough to contain more, a«
it itf evident from feveral infcriptions, and would be
without them, chat the Romans in general, the com^
m(Hi foldiers as well as the officers, had their wives
»id children along with them.. And the number of
cabins ip Mancunium was probably fifty or fixty
in the whole, including the hofpital for the fick^ the
workhoufe <of the arqiourers, the magazine for the
corn, and the repofitory for arms. Formed by thefe,
one principal ftreet eroded the area obliquely from
eaft to weft, and another, a fubordinate one, flanting
from north to fouth. The former began at the prsetorian
gate, led down to the front of the prsetorium, and termi-
nated behind it at the decuman. The latter commenced at
the water-gate, and ftretched away to the entrance
which opened into the road for Ribchefter. And both
were in all probability very narrow. Such was the
ftreet which Mr. Horfeley meafured exaftly from one
range of ftru£tures to another, betwixt the very vifible
foundations at the ftation^ of Amboglanna or Burdofwald
in Cumberland. The outer walls of the barracks' there
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5» .' THE HISTORY Bookl.
9tBtAt'vrtrc twenty ^bt inches in thicknefs. And the dear
'opening between them was only thirty^two in widtfc '**•
' The name is aiffcrently read in Antoninus; Some
MBS^ exhibit Mamacium^ fome Manuciumi and others
Mancinium or Mancunium ; and the agreement of Ri-
chard (fee b» L ch. III. f. i .) with the MSS. that prc-
fent the lad readings {hews thefe to be th& right appel-
•^/'- ](aiion. — * hin-u Ctjriof, p. 60. — ^Sce f. 3. — *Seeb. L
ch. xii. f. 5.-^^ Cheftxire N*^ 3^ in Horfeley, and Anio-
nine's Iter 2^; Ptolemy and Notitia. See alfo ch. vi.
£4. andch* xii, f. 5. b.L-r-* Horfeley p. 87.-^^ Ve-
gietius 1. II. c. vi«:and vii. where he fpeaks exprefsly of
the Ordinatio Legionis Antiquae.— ^ Hift. lib. I. c, 59.
P. 42. :_ 9 Vegetius 1. IL c. vi. and vm — '° See b. I. ch. vi*
ipft. 4. — "B. 1. ch. V. f. 2.-— "Vegetius 1,: III. c.
viii.r-^ '^Vegetius 1. II. c. xiiitv. and Tabernaaila vel
Gaffle 1. IL c. x. and Horfdcy p. 152.—'* Vegetius 1.
p. c. xiii. — '' Vegetius ib. • Sqc aHb Gra?vius torn. x.
c. mxxviii.— '* Horfeley p. 152.- z .
III.
THE open ground of the Caftle-field, which lay on
three fides about the barriers of the ilatioo^ ^would
naturally bi applied to a variety of purpofcs. And all
around them njiany of the Rotoan officers and foldier«
appear to hafve^bera interred. In the beginning of the
laft century >va$ difdovered a ftone, which was the fe-
; . putehraV
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Chap.n. OF MANCHESTER. y^
pulchral monument of one of the former, Can4W««Sca; HTv
Fidcfius, a centurion of the garrifon, iprho died here in T
his 2ifl year '• It is thus delineated by Camden^
CANDIDI
FIDES. XX.
IIIL
-and was infcribed . ;
Dis Manibus
Centurionis Candidi Fidefii
Annorum 20
Meniium • . . . •
Dierum 4*
•
To the Shade
Of the Centnrion Candidus Fidefiui
Aged 20 years
months
And 4 days.
About nineteen years ago a labourer, collecting gra-
vel near the^aftern boundary of the field and on the
higher edge of the flope« found an urn containing a^
quantity of bones. It was compofed of fine dayi was
neady glazed within and withouti and, under a flighl
molding which encompaflfed the upper part of i% hid
fome unmeaning circles and ill-wrought figures embofied
upon it. And it had no infcription. But from the ap«
pearancc
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i0 THE HISTORY BookL
Sc&in. pcarancc of. the bones, which were extremely fmall, and
' even as little as ihofe df a chicken, the contaits of the
P* 43* urn could never have belonged co any human being, I
fuppofe, and were only the remains of a favourite animals
And fuch; hate ^ecn equall/ found in an urn, at a
place whichJ ihall ftiew hereafiei: to h^ve been the an*
dent Cambddumim of YorkSxife * ; the bones being
very little^ afij yet evidently entire. An urn fo
filled is a Angular difcovery in itfelf, I believe, and
almoft the only one of the kind that has been made in
the ifland. And fuch an aft of regard to a little fa-
vourite perhapsjwas never very common among a peo-
ple, whofe genius was too much Heeled to the finer
feelings of humanity by the philofophy of a perverted
patriotifm, the praftice of a relentlefs heroifm, and the
attendance on fanguinary diveriiofts ^
In the fpring of 1765, was found another fepulchral
vejGTel at the fame extremity of the field, though on the
lower part of the declivity, and among the artificial
foil that had been heaped upon the perpendicular face
of the ground. It was difcovered about feven feet be-
Ipw the furface, at the bottom of a narrow hole, which
was little more than the veflel in diameter, and had
been filled up again with the (hifted earth. An4 it
reited on the rock, covered with a lid of the fame, and
placed in two veffels of much coarfer, materials ; and
inclofcd a quantity of afhes. All the urns were frac-
tured before they were difcemed ; but nearly the trhole
of the former was preferved, and is ftill kept id- the
Duke of Bridgewater's houfe at Worfley. Thfid is a
fmall one, not quite equal in capacity to a qujHt, and
containing
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ChapJL OF MANCHESTER. €t
containing only ftfty*foar foiid inches and a half within. Seft. Ill,
It therefore inclofed moft probably the aihes of a child*
Bui the circumftanccs of attentive care, menti<Mied above,
intimate them to have been that of a confiderable of^
ficcr in. the garrifon. And I have previoufly obferved,
that the Romans in general, the common foldiers as
well as the officers, had their wives and children along
with theta* It is not formed, however, in the ufual
figure of an urn, but in that of a modern bafon.
And urns of fuch a model, though a little uncommon,
have been difcovercd equally in London, Cornwall,
and other places. Ours is compofed of very fine eky,
and is*fimilar to the brown china of Stafibrdlhire, but?. 44-
more brightly coloured, and of a ftrong coral hue. And,
ornamented with fanciful figures and devices, it has
the name of the maker emboffed upon it thus in fmall
Roman captals, advocisi \
Other or the fame parts of the field were em-
ployed in the fupport of miHtary difcipline, by the
creftioiii of honorary monuments and the inflidlion .of
difgraceful punifliments upon them. The latter, ac-
cording to the general cuftom of the Romans in their
camps, would be confined to the ground which lies on
the weftern fide of the ftation, the delinquents being
conduced through the decuman gate, and puniflied imme-
diately without l:he rampart ^ And, at the execution of
fuch as were capital offenders, the muficians of the gar-
rifon afBfted, and continued all this time founding the
charge of war *. But the erefHon of honorary monu^
ments was probably confined to no part. Few perhaps
Were crcftcd in anyt And orfy one has been difco»--
vered.
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$B - THE HISTORY Book L
ScA. lit vcrcd. It was found in the beginning of the laft cen*
• tury, but was rcmofed or dcftroycd before the middle
of it ^ Thfe inCcription^ however, had been preTioufly
copied by the Warden of the Collegiate Church, and
was thus inferted in the laft edition of the Brf«
tanma :
COHO.I.FRISIN
D MASAVONIS
P. xxm.
And it obvioufly mentions the firft cohort of the FriCans,
and proyes it to have been ftationed in the Cadle-fieid.
P. 45.This, the important part, is certain. The reft is not
fo. The former half of it is thus read by Horfeley,
Cohors Prima, and by Ward, Cohortis Primae, Fri-
£norum; as the latter is thus interpreted by both^
Centurioni Marco Savonio Siipendiorum 23 '. But
both are miftakert in part. Neither has remarked
. flxe vacancy betwixt the letter P and the figures xxiii.
There fomething has been erafed by time, which ought
to be fupplied in the reading. And as the interval
cannot be filled up by the word Stipendiorura at large,
becaufe it is either expreffed by the abbreviature SP
or was not expreffed at all, it requires the infertion of
ibme other word which will agree with the figures
xxiii. The interpofition of this betwixt the letters and
numerals entirely precludes an^ connexion be^w^en
.them« And the former can never be conlidered as the
abbrc-
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Chap;ll. OF MANGHESTER. ^^
abbreviature of Stipcndiorum. They can be taken on- SeSL in.
ly for the initial letters of two dtftinft words, I think,
and as put for Sepulchrum pofuit. And both occur
in infcriptions on the funeral ftones^ of the Romans
among us '. Nor is the name of the centurion, as the
above-mentioned gentlemen have given it, Marcus Sa-
vonius, but, as the infcription Ihews it to be, Marcus
Savo. And the critick has no right to fuppofe a cor-
ruption when there is no reafon for a correftion, or an
abbreyiatioo, when there is no occafion for anaddi-
tion* .
Thus flared, the Former part maybe read in this man-
ner, Cohors prima Frifinorum Ccnturioni Marco Savoni
fepulchrum pofuit, and the latter be fupplied in this,
Vixit annos 23. And,-thus infcribed, the ftone appears to
have been neither a monument of honour to the living
nor a cenotaph to the dead. It was an honorary mo-
nument erefted over the grave of Marcus Savo, who
was a young Frifian officer in the firft Frifian cohort,
and died in his twenty-fourt;Ji year. And it was ereft-
ed by the common aft of the garrifon, in an honour-
able regard to the memory of an hopeful though fub-
ordinate officer.
But that large projeftion rf the bank of the Medi-
lock, which commences near the fouth-eaftern and
fouth-weftern points of the ftation, appears ^o hare
been applied to the moft capital ufes. Lying within
the two angles of the camp, and forming an agreeable
addition to it, it was naturally the fite of all the offices.
And in 1771 were here found fome remaias of buildings^
whicli
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«4 THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. III. which the nature of the conftrudtion and the difcoTery
"—-'of coins equally marked to be Roman.
A litde to the weft of the fouth-caftcrn angle, and
dircftly oppofite to the fmall bridge on the other
fide of the mcr, as the workmen were levelling the
bank for a wharf, and proceeding to the eaft, they
came to a large ftone, like the pedeftal of a pillar, but
all plane on the furface. It was about two feet nine
inches acrofs at the bafe, and gradually decreafed up-
wards by fourftages, as it wcfre, of eight inches, three
and an half, one and three quarters, and one and an
half, in length, to two feet three inches, two feet, and
one foot nine. It was placed on a flooring feven or
eight inches thick, which was made with pieces of
ibft red rock, and bedded in clay* And it was nearly
twenty-five yards diftant from the prefent edge of the
Water,
Eight feet immediately to the eaft of this was a
building, equally with the ftone about two below the
iurface of the ground, and floored with a Roman ce-
^lent of morter and pounded brkk. This was nine
inches in thicknefs, and refted on a body of marie
about as many in depth. And the whole building was
about twenty feet long and ten broad, — ^Nine to the
eaft of this was another flooring, two or three k)wer
in the ground, and a cake of the fame cement and
thicknefs. It lay upon loofe earth, but was covered
with flags. And the whole was about ten feet broad and
thiny long,'— The exteriour wall of both buiklings was
difcoveied on the northern fide^ running parallel widi
she river. That of the former was about two feet Aree
inches
3
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inches in thicknefs, and that of the latter about four. Sea. IIL
This rofe about three high, and was formed of ftones
regularly dreft, the upper fliallo^ and the lower deep.
And, having extended nearly iri ^ right line aboift
thirty feet, it then turned ifi a fair angle, and pointed
towards the river. In the former building was dug up
only one flooring ; but in the latter three. Below thfe
pavement defcribed above, and in the lobfc earth oil
which it lay, were found, as the pillars 6f it, largfe
blocks of a mill-ftone grit and fquare tubes of ftrotig
tile. And the firft flooring lay on all thefe ; the in*
tervals between the tubes and blocks being entirely
filled up with earth. The latter were fuch as we have
noticed before in the Britiih foundation at another.
end of the field, and like them, I fuppofe, brought.
down by the floods of the Medlock. And the former
were about fixteen inches in height and five in diameter,
and filled up with morter that had once been fluid;
Three of thefe were found together, ftanding ere<5^^
and two of them fo formed with proje^Hiions as to makft.
a third by their union. And thefe and the earth all
Vefted upon a fecond flooring, another cake of the fanje
cement, near two feet in thicknefs, and lying upon a
fecond bed of rubbifli about three in depth. In tKe
body of this earth, which was coveted with the fecond
flooring, all unbroken and entire, were difcovered three
or four regular pillars of flag and tile. The firft W3s
placed about fix feet to the fouth of the northerly waH>
and the fecond about feventeen inches, to the fouth of '
that* Six feet eaftward was another ; and about feveri-
teen inches north of this were fome remains of a fourth.
Vol. I. F They
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(» -T H £ H I B T O R T BookL
Sea. IlI^They were compofed of a fquate flag^then two layers of
'* tile, each tile being about two inches thick and- eight
fquare, and afterwards of flag and tile in four layers
alternately, all laid in morter and pounded brick. And
they rofe from twenty-two to thirty-two inches in
height, clofely furrounded on every fide with the loofc
earth; and jay, as it lay, upon a third flooring, ftiade
of pure and unmixed morter, three inches in thick-
hefs, and having a layer of red fand below t>n the na*
tural ground*
About a yard to the eaft of the more [^cafterly build-
ing, was difcovered a third, but all a mere mafs of
confufion. And in the broken ruins of it were dug up
a couple of Roman coins, and three round tubes of tile.
Thefe were 'found in the ground, with their morter
adhering to the outfide of them, and each about fix*
te^n inches in length. They had plainly been formed
in molds, were hooped as it were with circles on the
outfide, and narrowed from a diameter about four inches
at . one end to two at the other* And by this means
they were calculated to be, as they were found, each
inferted into each, and forming one long pipe.
What/ then, was the defign of thefe three buildings
find the ftone? Clearly Roman, they were as clearly
fome of the appendages belonging to the ftation. And
: .the buildings, particularly, feem to have been the
cowftall, thfe flaughterhoufe, and the larder of the
garrifon. In enquiries of this circumftantial and pri-
vate nature, however, we muft not expeft demonftra-
tion. And a probable conjefture is the highcfl point of
certainty to which we can afpire.
' It
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Chap.lL OF MANCHESTER* ' ^7
It Was the fecond building probably, that Was theSe^t. Ill,
flaughterhoufe of the ftation. 'Such a ftruSure the
Romans Would neceffarily have in the Ciaftle-field. And
they would naturally place it about the fite of this,
within the irregularly femicircular pfojeftion of the
river-bank, below the level of the fortrefs, and oi|
the edge of the water. But, what feems to amount
nearly to a pofitive proof, clofe to it, near the fouth-
weftern togle and along the north^eaftern fide of it,
were found great quantities of bones heaped together,
and chiefly of oxen, Iheep, and cows.*— What the
particular defign of the two iiifcriour floorings Was, '
covered as they were with a mafs of earth, perhaps we
muft not pretend to explain. And indeed they feem
not, in any view of the building, able to ferve a
fingle purpofe whatfoever, except only to prevent the
burrowing of rats from the riven— Many tiles alfo were
found in the ruins that had round holes in them, fome
larger and fome (mailer ; and others, that were made
with a bend for channels. The former were probably
the vent-holes, and the latter the . dufls, bj which the
blood on the floor difcharged itfelf into the foughs,
and was conveyed into the river. And otie fough, I
am informed, was ,aftually ^bferved in the build-
ing.
This, then, was b all probability the flaughterhoufe
of Mancunium. And the accompanying ftruAures on
the wefl: and eaft would naturally bear an affinity to it,
and be the larder and cowftall.— In the mofl: ^afterly
of them, the three long tubes of tile, inferted into one
another, and laid in the ground with raorter, were evi-
F 2 dently
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69 t HE HISTORY Bookl.
ee&. lit derftly placed as a channel. And there were alfo found,
' as in the fecond building, feveral fragments of coarle
tilers formed into hollows, and calculated for the fame
jmf pdfe. Thefe were the drains probably for all the
fluid filth of the cowftall. And the cattle, that were
flaughtercd for the ufe of the garrifon, were probably
kept here after they were taken from the pafturc, and
prbpcrly prepared for the knife. In the ruins of the
fecond edifice was found a large knife of iron, with an
handle of (lag's horn. And in thofe of the more
wefterly one was picked up the beam of a balance,
aft of brafs, and fitted with an hook at one end. That
perhaps was the carving knife of the butcher, and this
the balance of the lardefer, with which he meafured
every foldier his portion ; the beam being very flight,
and capable of weighing about half a pound. The
fecond and third buildings, as the flaughterhoufe and
cowftall, would oonfift only of one large room each;
iand no partitions were found in either. But they were
in the firft ; and, as a larder, they would be wanted
in it. As a larder alfo, it needed only what it had, a
fmgle flooring of Roman cement ; becaufe the drainings
of the flaughterhoufe would effeftually divert the rats
of the river from it. k had nothing therefore but the
dampnefs of its pofition, to guard againfl:. And, placed
as it was fo much higher than the flaughterhoufe, one
flooring would be fully fufficient for this purpofe.
lb this view of the buildings, the eaftern being the
cowfl:all, the middle the flaughterhoufe, and the weftera
the larder of the Roman garrifon ; the ftone, which was
placed about two yards to the weft of the laft, wi^
have
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Chap.n. OF MANCHESTER- 6^
have its proper ufe and place. It was evidently found Sc£b. IIL
in its original fite, being fixed (as I have (hewn) on
a regular bafis of red rock and clay- And it is fg
much in miniature what our market-liones are upon a
larger fcfde at prefent, that I cannot but think it in-
tended for a fimilar purpofc ; as the ftated point, to
which the foldier^ repaired every day for their portions
of. meat, whigh were cut and weighed at the larder,
and afterwards diftributed at the ftone. Nor has Ve-
getius, that curious detailer of the military ceconomy
of the Rome's, neglefted to give us an hint concerning
thefe minuter parts of it. Speaking of the preparatio.a
requifite in a camp for fupporting a fiege, he particur
larly direfts all the live flock of the garrifon, except ^
few fowls for the fick, to be killed, and carried to the lar^
der ; omne animalium genus, quod inclufum fervari non
poteft, deputari oportet ad lardum. And it Ihould
afterwards, he fays, be diftributed among the foldiers
by officers appointed for the purpofe, ut adminiculo ca*
mis frumenta fufficiant '°.
Thus was the fouth-eaftern part of the projeftioa
taken up probably by the cowftall, flaughterhoufe, and
larder of the garrifon. In the ruins of them was found
a Roman chiffel of iron, fliaped like our prefent chiffels,
and fitted for the reception of a wooden handle. And
the fouth-weftern, which has never yet been dug into,
was equally occupied in all probability by the ftables
of the officers, roofting-fheds for the fowls, and other
conftruftions of a fimilar nature ". Only, at one point of
this, was found a few years ago what feemed to have
been a part of the Roman provifion for a ficge. Againft
F 3 fuch
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.70 T H E H I S T O R Y Book I.
Sea. IIT.fuch an occafion Vegetius (hews his countrymen to have
' "' carefully coUefted the round ftones of the rivers, and
to have lined the walls of their ftations with them :
faxa rotunda de fluviis, quia pro foliditatc graviora funt, .
et aptiora mittentibus, diligentiffime colliguntur, ex
quibus muri replentur. The fmaller were fent againft
the enemy either frpm the hand or flings. And the
• larger were launched from their engines. The former
have been frequently found in the Roman camp of Ca*
malet, and fometimes by half a peck at a time ; though
^ there are none fuch in all the parts of Somerfetfliire
about it. And a great quantity of the latter was found
all together at Manchefter, when the duke of Bridge-
water began his works in the Gaftle-field ; gathered from
the bed of the Medlock, and repofited on the bank of
it, lying in a large heap immediately under the Britifli
rampart, and fairly turfed over by time ",
P, 46, 'Britannia, edit. 1^07, p. ^11. — * See b. I. eh. iv.
feft. I. — ^ Some inftances however occur, as of.Au-
; guftus, Plin)rUb. viii. c. 42 ; of Hadrian, Dio p. 1159,
and Spartian in p. 10. Hift. Aug. Script., Paris, 1620;
in Montfaucon's Italian Diary p, 83. Henley's 2d edit. ;
and in Horfeley p. 340. — * Within the circle,' on
which the veffel ftands, are fome charafters rudely
fcratched with a Iharp tool, and feeming to form Avittii,
perhaps the name of the perfon whofe aflics the urn
contained* And in Phil, Tranf. 1759. p. 13. we have a
tin patera thus rudely infcribed with a tool. — 5 Vegetius
Jibf i. c 23.-7-^ Vegetius lib. ii. c- «2»~ ^ Mr. HolHng-
5 worth's
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Chap. II. G F M A N C H E 8 T E R. 71
Worth's MS. in the pubGck library at Manchefter p. 3, ^^- ^^^'
a nide effay towards an hiftory of the toWn, and
Avritten about the year 1650. — 'Horfcley p. 301 and
351. — ^'ISee Sepulchrum in an infcription N"* 8. Weft-^
jnoreland, ' and Pofuit and Ponendum curavit in p. 2y^^
p. 303, p. 274, p. 322, and Oxfordfliire, in Horfeley*
— \'' Vegetius 1. iv. c. 7;*^" I hare the chiffel in my own
poffeflion, apd alfo the ftag's horn ^handle of the Roman
carving-knife. , The blade of the latter being loofe, it was
ilolcn at the firft difcovery.-^" Vegetius h iv. c. 8. aud
Z29 and Itin. Cur. p. 142,
JV,
One of the moft diftinguiftilng and permanent parts
"of the Roman charafter, though it has been little at-
tended to, was a regular religioufnefs of fplrit. This
is that accompiifhment of the mind which reflefts the
higheft honour upon it, as it is the full refult and
united power of all the virtues blended together. Fpi:
this, probably, did the great Father and objeft of
all religion felefl: the Romans from the common
mafs of mankiiiid, and give them the empire of the
globe. And fo livelily did the principle operate within
them, and fo aftively^^as it diffufed even through the
camps of their fqldiery^ that nine tenths of their fla-
tionary relicks in Britain are only monuments of their
piety and memorials of their devotion^
The Roman garrifon of Mancunium, therefore, mud
naturally have had fome particular building for the pe-
riodical -fcrTices of religion. Perhaps only a cabin of
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^ THE HISTORY Bookl,
3^, IV. the fame cooftruftion with the f eft, but appropriated to
J>. ^j^ the offices of pubjick devotion, it would be fixed within
the walls pf the ftation, and near to the pavilion of the
pomm^iodejr apd the ftandard pf the garrifon. The
lattier was always placed clofc to the formpjr \ And near
to both was a temple or chapel in every ftation, ip
which altars were erefted and .religious rites perr
formed *•
;^ut ifi every ftation altars were occafionally raife.d, 4s
private gratitude for paft.or private fupplicatipn fpr fu-
ture favours direfted. Thefe feem never to have been
placed within the compafs of the walls. There was
po room fpr them within. They were therefore fixed
without, and in fuch place* as fancy or convenience re?
oommendcd.
But of thefe, or of fuch as (lood in the temple^ only
pnc is known to have, been difcovered at Manchefter ^^
And that has a curious infcription on the plane pf it^
which runs thus,
FORTWAB
: CONSERVE
TRICI-
L- SENECIA
NIVSMAR
JIVSBLEG .
yi-VICT-
It was confecrated, as thp infcription witnefles, by Lu-
Ciius Senecianus Martius, a centurion of the fixth le-
gion, an4 of that particular brigade m it, which for it?
gf!lap,;r^
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Chap* n. OF MANCHESTER* yj
gallantry was furnamed the Vxftorious, which "paflcd Soft. IV,.
pyer from Germany to Britain about the year 120 Y^ ^'^'""^
pjid marched into Scotland before 140^*.
The route, which this legion would naturally take
into Scotland from the fouth, was by London to Liii-
f oin, York, and Binchefter on the caft, or to Litch-
field, Manchefter, and Penrith on the weft. Thefc
were the only direft roads that the Romans then had
into the north *• And by thefe the legionaries would
march in feveral divifions. The garrifons of the larger
, ftations would otherwife have been diftreffed, and
fhofe of the fmaller rendered utterly unable, tp af-
ford then» the requifite quarters. And, while one of
the diyifions perhaps halted at Manchefter, a cen-
turion of the corps took the opportunity of erefting
thi$ altar.
Such Lapprehend to be the aftual date of it, more
antient perhaps than that of any other altar, and almoft
of afty other monument, in the whole compafsof Roman
Britain. And with this notion eveiy circumftance in the
infcription feems perfeftly to accord, the ftrufture of p. 3^
the letters in general^ the punftuation and complication
of fome of them, and the centurial mark in the middle.
f he letters are of a good form and well-rounded, and
better in this refpeft than the generality of the cha-
rafter^ in the infcriptions( of Antoninus Pius ^ The
points alfo, being merely the round dots or periods, be-
fpeak an higher antiquity than the angular, . triangular,
and leaf-like- ones of Antoninus's infcriptions ; as the
life of the periods only, in the former, has more the
caft of antiquity, than the mixture of all four, in the
latter.
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74 THEHISTORV Bookl.
,xSca. IV. latter *• And the complications for UN in 'the firfl; line
^ and VA in the fecond are as little involved and mo-
dern, as thofe for NT, DR, and lO in the infcriptions
of Antoninus '.
The centurial mark, indeed, may feem by its uncom-
' mon form to fix a late date to our infcription. And fo
thought a confiderable critick in antiquities "*". But fo
he thought, I apprehend, for want of fufficicnt atten-
tion. The centurial mark rauft have been originally
CENT, CEN, or CE ; and the letters of the laft would
often be inverted, to diftinguifti it from the fignatures
of prefix names. It thus became 33, and the moment
that complications began was formed into a charafter
^hich partook equally of both, the very fame that ap-
pears on the Mancunian altar. This is older, becaufc
it is nearer to the original fignature, than :> the cen-
turial mark of Antoninus ''. And it occurs not upon
any other infcription within the ifland, but is found
with fome little variation upon many on the continent ".
And, if this cypher had been the invention of later
f, 49. ages, it could not but have appeared upon fome of the
many infcriptions that we have of them.
'EreQed then about the year 120, the altar was con*
fecrated by the centurion to Fortune, in grateful ac-
knowledgement to the Divinity that had fo often pre-
ferved him in the hour of danger. And to this Deity
have feveral altars been raifed in Britain by the hand of
miftaken piety. We have three dedicated to Fortune
.alone, a fourth to Fortune and other Deities, arid a
fifth to the Fortune of the Emperor ; and all five in
fupplication of future favours.* And we have three
others
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(!;hap.IL OF MANCHESTER. is
others in gratitude for thepaft;*the Mancunian, andoneSeft, iv;
which was difcovered about thirty years ago at Netherby
in Scotland, being infcribed to Fortune the Preferver ;
and another, which was found in Cumberland, being
addreffed to Fortune the Redux or Re-conduftor '*.
And it is pretty remarkable, that four of thefe were
crefted by perfons who had been of the fame corps,
and even of this the fixth legion, the altar at Man-
chefter, another lately difcovered at Cambodunum '%
a third by Julius Ralticus, and a fourth by Audacius
Romanus ; and thar the two firft and the laft of thefc
Tvcre raifed by centurions of that legion '\
But it is more obfervable in this altar, though it has
never been noticed by any of the numerous defcanters
uponjt, that it has no focus for the facrificial fire. It
is evident therefore, that no viftims were dcfigned to
be confumed, no libations to be poured, and no in-
cenfe to be burnt, upon it. Two others only of th^
fame nature have been difcovered in the ifland, one
dedicated to Jupiter and the Emperor at Dorchefter
in Oxfordfliire, and the other, like this, to the Goddefs
Fortune at Carrawbrugh in Cumberland **. And all
three therefore were appropriated to the oblation of
prayers from them, the prefentment of the fruits of
the ground upon them, or both.
Erefted upon one of thefe defigns, the Manchefler
;^ltar feems to have flood near the eaftern extremity of
the Caftle-field, and perhaps on the edge of the avenue
that led up to the principal gate of the camp. It hadP- 5^-
thence been thrown down the bank of the river, but
lugkily met with a fpft part pf the channclj^ and was
not
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76 THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea IV. not .broken by the fall. And there it lay undifturbed
and unknown for many ages, the lettered fide lying
upon the ground, and an oak fpreading out its roots
above it. In that fituation it was found in the yeat
1612 '^. The (lone is twenty-fcven inches and a quarter
in length, fifteen and a quarter in breadth, and nearly
eleven in thicknefs. And, what feems a full argument
of the hafte with which Jt was originally formed, and
remarkably coincides with the fuppofition concerning
its date before, it has neither capital nor bafe, and only
A large plane in front bordered on either fide by »
molding. , It is charged with a common prasfericulum
on the left edge, and with a common patera on the
right; and is ftill prefervcd in the oeighbouring hall
of Hulme,
* Graevius torn. x. c. 1044* compared with Vegetius
lib*, ill* c. 8. — * Grsevius c. 1044, — ' Dr. Stukely has
converted this altar into two, Itin. Cur. p. 55. — '* Calebs
Antonine p. 47. — ^ Horfeley Scotland N*" 4. and p. 79.
— ^ See b. I. ch. y. {t£\. 4?—^^ Horfeley, Cumberland
Fig. 46, and perhaps Suffex Fig. 1, Trajan ^s; Northum-
berland Fig. yy, and probably 59 (fee pref. p. xiv.), Ha-
drian^s ; and Scotland Fig. i, 3, 1 6, 25, and 26, Antoninus's.
— ' Horfeley, Scotland Fig. 1,2,3,4, ^^ 5* — ^ Horfeley,
Scotland Fig. 2 and .25. and Northumberland Fig. 7.
See alfo the imperial Infcriptions in Gruter and Reinefius*
— '° Horfeley p. 189. and plate N° i. p. 189. — " See
Horfeley, Northumberland W ji. — '* See Urfatus,
where it alfo appears in its natural pofition. — '^ Phil.
I TranC
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Chap.n. OF MANCHESTER. 77
Tranf. 1 763. p. 134, and Horfcley, Northumberland Fig. ^ea. IV.
52* p. 240, and Cumberland Fig. 68. See alfo a bath,
or an altar in it, dedicated to Fortune in Yorkihire
(Horfelcy Fig. i. and p. 352). — ** See b. L ch» iv. feft.
3. — ' V Horfeley, Northumberland Fig. s^ and 78.— •
'*Horfeley, Northumberland Fig. 32. p. 2x8, and Ox-
fordfliire Fig, i. p. 537. — '^ See Mr. HoUingworth's
MS. p. 3.
V.
While the whole area of the Caftle-field was thus P. 50.
applied to a variety of ufes, the low level of ground,
which is direftly to the weft of it, would naturally be
ufed as a pafture t)y the Romans. Lying along the
fertilizing currents of the Medlock and Irwell, and jiift
under the high bank of the ftation, it oflfered them an
excellent pafture. Such they neceflarily wanted in the
immediate vicinity of their camp. And fuch therefore
they would readily embrace in this, and turn the live
ftock of the garrifon into it. Bounded by the two
ftreams on two fides and an half, and terminated by the
ftationary morafs and an hedge on the reft, it muft have
contained an ample ej^tent of ground, and fufficient for
all their purpofes. And there their cattle continued
in fafety, ranging along the fruitful and well-watered
peninfula, and feeding under the immediate eye of their
mafters ; a ready fupply for thQ confumption of every
day, and conftantly recruited from the more diftant
parts of the country '.
Many
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j8 THE HISTORY Bobkl.
Soft. V. Many coins have been occafionally djfcoveral abour
die ftatioa in the laft and prefent century, and many
have been lately found in the prccinfts of . the town*
But none of th^n were uncommon, I believe. Only, one
was of that fpecies of brafs medals, which has . C.
CAESAR DICTATOR upon one fide and VENI VIDI
VICI within a laurel wreath on the other ; the fuppofcd
forgery of modern craft, and branded, but perhaps too
univerfally, as the mintage of the famous Paduan% —
A large Roman ring of gold has alfo been difcovered
in Gaftle-field *. — And about fifty years ago was thrown
up by the plough a fword of iron, very well preferved,
and five feet, five inches, and a quarter in length. The
handle is eighteen inches and a quarter long, and four
and a quarter in circumference, lined all round with
fome foft pieces of wood, » and covered over with leather ;
is terminated by a large ball of iron, about a pound in
weight, at one extremity; and croffed by an iron
guard,, twenty inches and a quarter in length, at the
other. And the blade, which is forty-feven long, car-
ries a double edge, is nearly two in breadth at the guard,
and tapers gently away to a Iharp point. The whole
weapon, lighter than the ftone-made Celt that is def-
cribed before, and equally with« it defigncd to be
wielded by both hands together, is feven pounds and
eleven ounces in weight. And it is plainly Roman,
being very like the fword that is defcribed upon ^
Roman monument difcovered in London; and is now
reix)fited in the elegant and . magnificent ipufa^ura of
my friend, Afliton JLeycr Efq- of Alkrington ^
Bwt
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,€bap-n, OF MANCHESTER- *^,
But in the month of May 17.72, clofe to the fecond Se^. V.
lock of the Irwell, and about two miles from Caftle- """""^^
field, was found a Roman Bulla of gold. * It was dif*
covered in deepening the channel for the paflage of the
boats, buried about a foot deep in a ridge of gravel.
And it is repofited with the fword in Mr, Lever's
Mufaeum«
This wellknown ornament of the Roman boys was
made originally of leather among all ranks of people,*
I apprehend ; as fo it continued among the inferiour to
the Idfti And, though it has never been fufpefted, it
was plainly, I think, intended at firft for an amulet ra-
ther an ornament* That lively fpirit of religioufnefs,
which I have noticed before in the genius of the Ro-
mans, was greatly tinSured with fuperftition* And they
hung amulets about the necks of their children, re-
prefenting different, parts of the human body, and even
thofe which are charafteriftick of man. Upon the fame
principle, affuredly, buUas were originally made- in the
form of hearts ^* Arid, what feems a full evidence
that they were amulets, they were frequently imprefled
with the figure of the fexual paris befides \
But they did not always retain the form of an heart,
any more than they were always compofed of leather*
As the wealth of the ftate and the riches of individuals
increafed, the young patrician diftinguiflied himfelf by
a bulla of gold, while the common people wore the
amulet of their anceftors *. And the figure of an heart was
laid afide for that of a circle. The buUas then became
fo generally round, and fomc even bearing the impreffipn
of an heart upon them, that there are not many of the
original'
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«o ' THE HISTORY iBookL
Se6t.'V. original form, I believe, to be found in the cabinets
'^"""^of the curious \ But many arc preferved of the
other ; and" one, particularly, was difcovered about
40 years ago in Lancafhire, being accidentally picked
up by a lady in the ftation of Overborough '. And,
when once the form had varied from an heart to a cir-
cle, the gradation was cafy from a circle to a fegment
of it. There was fome fantaftical reafon, no doubt, the
iuggeftion of the original fuperftition, ,for ufing the
former. And as good an one would eafily be found
in the reveries of religious folly, for adopting the lat-
ter. Our Mancunian bulla is of this figure, and the
only one that I knoW of in the kingdom. Very few
indeed haVe been found within it. I recoiled none at
prefent, but our own and the Overborough bulla. And
many cannot be expefted. The leathern, that were
loft, muft long fmce have perifhed. And what can we
hope for of the golden, when they were thrown off at
the age of puberty, and a patrician's fon was not likely
to come ovei' and ferye in the armies before ? They
can be expefted only from the fons of patricians fettled
in the ifland, and employed in the civil or military of-
fices of tlie country. And the number of thefe was in
all probability fmall.
But it is very remarkable, that the only two which
are known to be dif vered in Britain (hould both have
been found in Lancaihire. And ours at Manchefter is v
much more curious than the other. Many have been
coUefted on the continent in the round or Overborough
. figure ; but none, I believe^ in that of a fegment. And
it enables us to corrcft a prevailing mift'ake concerning
thefc
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Chap^n. OF MANCHESTER. St
thcfe little implements^ It is univerfally aflertcd by the Scft- V.
criticks, that the bulla was hollow for the reception of
an amulet *. But, as I have already obferved, the 'amulet '
was the bulla itfelf. And our own ferves to ebnfirm
the notion. Wheii it was firft found, it was nearly en-
tire, and, if it had ever had any relick or taJifman in-
clofed, would ftill have retained it. But, on exaihin-
ing the cavity within, nothing could be found except a
few particles of fand, that had infinuated themfelves at
the only breach in the whole, a fmall punfture at the
bottom of itf And the whole is fomething more than
three and twenty Ihillings ih intrinfick value. The two
flat fides are decorated a little diflferently. Both have
fegments of conccntrick circles engraved upon them.
One, however, is embelliflied only with plain ftrokes
of the graver betwixt the fegments. And the other has
ftars radiating between them, executed in an elegant
tafte, and interchangeably pointing upwards and down-
wards. This therefore was the front of the bulla, the.
fide which lay uppermoft as it refted on the breaft,
An4 I give this view of it here "*.
Vol. I. G. ^ See
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Si. THE HISTORY JBookl,
8cft.V. '
f/-,/ » Sec b. I. c. $4 f. 2. — : * Itin. Cariof. p. 55. — ^ A
Roman fword was alfo dug up a few years ago at Bad-
bury in Dorfctfliire (Camden c. 63), — * JVIontfaucon.
L'Antiq. Exp. torn. III. part I. p* 69.^^— * Sec two in
Montfaucon's plate, ibid. •— ^ Signum de paup^re loro, .
as Juvenal calls it* --^^.Four in Montfaucoru and two
have an heart i^on them. -^ ' Rauthmell's Overbo-
rough, p. 99r-ioo. • — ^ See Moptfeucon, refting on
the authority of Macrobiusi —. '"^ This, and alinoft all
the pieces that come afterwards in the hiStofjf were
Voluntarily and obligingly engraved for it by Mr.
William Macaulay, a young gentleman of Manch^fter^
who is equally ingenious in his taile and ingenuous in
his manners.
t- . <..
C H A P.
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Chap-fll, OF WAN CHESTER.
C H A P- III.
A DISCOVERY MADE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO
THE KNOWLEDGE OF ROMAN-BRITISH ANTIQUI-
TIES THE GEOGRAPHY OF ROMAN BRI-
TAIN ASCERTAINED — THE GREAT^
£R ROADS ACROSS IT^ BRITISH
OR ROMAN -r- AND THE OE-
' ^ERAL ROADS OF THJS
ROMANS IHLAN"
CASHIRi*
I.
TH £ only accounts that had defcended to us con- P. S3*
cerning the Roman itations and roads within the
ifland, in the year 1757, were the Geography of Pto-
lemy, the Itinerary of Antoninus, the Imperial Notitia,
^nd the Anonymous Chorography, But in that year
the fcie^ce of Roman antiquities received an extraordi-
nary iUyniinacion, from the difcoyery of a work which
contaii^js a very curious account of Roman Britain, and
exhiljits to us a new Itinerary for the whole of it. And,
what greatly enhances the value to ^ Roman -Bri-
tifh antiquarian, the latter is more antient than that of
Antonine, more extenfive ift its defign, and more cir-
cumftantial in Us execytioa-
G> This
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«4 TUEHISTORY Book I.
Tea. I. This appears to have been the furprifing collefiioa
'''■"^' pf a monk in the fourteenth century, who, having the
fpirit to travel/ had the good fortune to meet with and
^hc good fenfp tp^preferve thcfe invaluable remainSf
But in an age vsrhen general curiofity was little awake,
and antiquarianifm had flumbcred on for ages, being
perhaps originally confined within a few M8S, thofe
afterwards reduced to one probably, and that tranfported
put of the kingdom to which alone it had any relation ;
the work was in the moft imminent danger of perilhing
for ever* And in this ftate Mr. Bertram, an Engliih
gentleman, difcovered it at Copenhagen in 1747, and
immediately acquainted Dr. Stukelcy with the faft.
Struck with the nature of the work, a copy of which
had been tranfmitted to him, and with a fpecimen of
the hand - writing, which Mr. Cafley of the Cott
tonian Library- pronounced to be of the fourteenth
century; the Dp^or foUicited, and Mr. Bertram made,
a .publication of it. In 1757 ^^* Stukeley publiflied a
tranflation of the Itinerary with a comment in quarto,
from the tranfcript. And, in the beginning of the
^' H: fubfequent year, the whole was printed at Copenhagen
from the priginarMS, and a few copies were immediate-
ly fent as prcfents into England *.
The compiler was Richard, a native of Cirencefter
but a monk pf Wpftminfter, and the author of m^nf
• The title .^of the book is Rritannicarum Gentium Hiftoria Antiv
qi^x Scriptores ti£^, Kicardus; CoRiNfNSis, Gildas Badonicus»
N^ nius Banchprenfis; and at the cloiJB it is faid to be printed, Hauniac,
Typis Ludolphi Hcnrfci Lillie, Anno falutis 1758, Menfe Januario ;
\fiid one copy vtf2$ fent to ti^ Bodleian Libraiy at Oxford.
tiflpric^l
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Chaj). lir. D $• M A K C ft £ S t E R. if
liiftorfcal and tbieological pieces. And that the wbrk Is Scd. t.
genuine needs no proof* AH the embodied antiqua- '"
rians oFthe fdurtieetith and three fucceedlhg cen-
turies, could not have forgid fo teamed a dttail cff
.Roman antiquities^
Whence Richard cdnlplled itj vtc knbW ndt ; bt whe-
ther he found his authorities in England or at Rom^^
to which place he had a fpecial licence to traver\ Ht
lias thought propeif to fay nothing of either. He only
refers, and he refers frequently, to his voucher^,
Ptoleniy and his cotemporary writers, the tradition df
&e druids, antietit monuments, documetits, and hifto^
ries *• And the Itinerary, in particulaf, he declared
himfelf to have coUefted from fome remains of records^
Vfhich had been drawn up by the authority of a certain
Roman gfencral> and left by him for the ufe of fucceeding
ages ^
The date of thefe- muft be the period of the Itineraryi
And Dr. Stukelcy carries the sera of both to the time
of Agricola'sjcommand in the ifland, whom he fuppofes
to be the Roman officer here fpokcn of, and to whofe
days he thinks the general afpeft of the Itinerary to
look \ But thefe are furely reafons of too feeble a
nature) to fupport fo weighty a copcluGon. And th^
many parts of the work, as many there are, which are
later than the age of Agricola, direftly refute the {up^
poiition.
The eighteen Itinera, which Richard ha^ prcfentcd
to us, all unite to form an entire Itinerary. No fm^
gle part ftands forth of a difFetent texture from the
xeltt And the whole rcfars itfelf to one period ^ I« ?• tS^ i
G 3 was
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8^ THE HISTORY . BookL
Sea. I. wais compofed after the wall of Hadrian^ and even aft6r
'that of Antoninus, were erefted ; becaufe it exprefsly
menticms both ^. This ncc^arily reduces the date of
it below the year 13.8, the firft of Antonimts's reign*
And it was diawn up when die-Romans retained their
ilations on his wall and beyohd it, aod When they had
profecuted their roads and conquefts along the eaftefn
coafl: of the ifland as far as Invemefs*. Two of the
dghteen Itinera traverfe all the country betwixt Invcr-
nefs' and the friths. And« as fuch a road could not
have been made or fuch an Iter compiled in the days
6f Agricola, who advanced the Roman empire very
little beyond the Tay ^, fo could neither have 1>cen
done much later than the reign of Antoninus Hus.
We have the pofitive authority of the fame author, who
{ptdk^ affuredly from records, and whofe f^ardcular
mention of the year is a full argument that he does, that
in 170 the Romatns deferted all the country which lay to
Ae.north of Antooinus's wall '.
This reafoning, therefore, confines the date of the
Itinerary withm> a fmall circle of years. DraWA up
after igS^ it v^ras equally drawn up before 170. And
^is obliges us to aflign the confiruAion of the roads
beydnd the Tay, zxA the compofure of an Itinerary for
them, to the oi^ly one that could execute either, Lollius
Urbicus, the well-known govcmck of the ifland under
Antoninus Pius. This officer, being fent into the ifland
in 140'^, imniediately pafledthe foriricr bounds of the
empire, and invaded the country that lay to the ncnrth
of the fritlis. Betwixt them Agricola had formerly
erefted a line, of forts '°t Thefe had not been' dcftroyt
cd;
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Chap-liL OF MANCHESTER. if
cd ; and Lollius joined them tojgether by a long ram- Seflt. t
part"*. Agricola raifed them, before he advanced be-
yond the Tay* to the Grampiaii mountains"; alid
Lollius feems to have afted in the fame manner. He
feems to have erefted his wall in the year 140 '% and P* 5^4
then to have extended his conquefts' beyond it. Ariid
thefe he appears to have profecUted up to Inverttefs.
Hiftory, Or Time the deft toy er of hiftor/; has been
very unjuft to the memory of this galliant officer, and
fcarcely given us any intimation of his iignal vic-
tories. But, that he gained Confiderable advantages
over the northern Britons, is plain from the teftimony
of Richard, who exprefsly mentions the glories that he
acquired by his vifiories in Britain, and from the con-
current atteftation of Capitolinus, who fays that he con-
quered the Britons '\ And thefe aftions were efteemed
fo important and honourable by Antoninus, that he
affumed the name of Britannicus on his coins '\ That
he alfo carried his arms to Invernefs, may be eafily
fliewn. He only to the days of ^tolemy can bfe fup-
pofed to have paiTed the limits of Agricola's conquefts,
and 10 have fixed a garrifon there. And he did it ; a
Roman ftation being there in the days of Ptolemy, and
exprefsly mentioned by him under the name of IlT^pa;-
Toy XTptzjoTre^v or the winged camp. That this was
placed in or about Invernefs, the Geography of Ptole-
my fuggefted **, and the Itinerary of Richard evinces '^
And here, as at the utmoft boundary of the Roman
empire and the moft northerly point of acceffible ground,
Ptolemy, or fomc of the Roman officers, ' made the
G 4 aftronomical
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M . THEHISTORY IJookl
•
Sea. I. aftronomical obfervation which he has givctt us in the
fecond chapter of his eighth book.
To LoUius, then, the Romans owed the fubjefiioft
of moft of the countries beyond the friths, and Ptolemy
, the opportunity of having an obfervation made at In-
Ternefs. To him they were indebted for the continu-
ation of their military Toads to the latter, and, we for
the Itinerary which meafurcs them and Richard hap*
pily preferved. And in it LoUius has left a fervice^ble
monument to pofterity ; ufefiul to the memory of his own
aftions, which it has been the means of refcuing from
oblivion, and of which it will be now a perpetual re-
cord ; apd very ufeful to the antiquarian critick. The
very difcovery of a new Itinerary would have been of
P. 57. confiderable importance to the fcience of antiquities,
had it been of as late a date as Antonine's confeffedly
is, and even as much later as, from the mention cf
Conftantinople and Maximianoplq, it aftually appears
to be '^ ; had it been even as ftiort as that in its no-
tices, and as uncertain in its numerals. By the colla-
tion of one with the, other, much that was wrong
might have been reftified, and much that was doubt-
ful afcertained. But we have it with almoft every
poffible advantage. The numerals are in general exaft,
the notices given in it are .many and curious, and its
date IS equally certain and early. It was compiled 'as
early as the middle of the fecond century, in a period
when we have fcarce any inforniationa concernihg the
ifland from the Roman hiftorians, and the Roman em-
pire among us was in Its greateft glory and at its fart heft
extent; when the Romans had carried two walls
acrofs
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Chap.ni. O F MA N C H E S T E R. tfp
acrofs the ifland ; poffeffed all the north to the two frithsji Sea. L
and all the northreaft up to Invernefs ; and had one great *
road^ that nearly tr^verfed the whole country from In-
vernefs to the Land's-end '^.
This Itinerary has thrown a particular luftre upon
the Ronmn antiquities of Lancaftiire, and acquainted
us with one whole road, a part of another, and two or
three ftations, that we were ignorant of before. And
undeir' the guidance of it and the other Itinerary, and
with the occafional afliftance of Ptolemy, the Notitia, ^
and Ravennas, I fhall endeavour to point out the fites
of the Roman ftatlons in general within the county ; to
defcribe fuch in particular, whether within or without it,
as were the firft ftages. from Manchefter ; and, only men-
tioning the roads that iffuc from the former, carefully
trace through our own pariflx thofe which extend be-
twixt the latter *°*
* Stukcly*s Ck)mment p. 6. — * P. 3, 4, 18, 24, 28,
29, and 32, — ' P. 35, Ex fragmentis quibufdam a duce
quodam Romano confignatis et pofteritati reliftis. — * P.
12 and 71. — ' The only difTonant parts are thefe, which P. ^8.
fujfEciently of themfelves betray the interpolating hand
of Richard: Iter ij^Verolamio municipio 12 [unde fuit
Amphibalus et Albanus Martyresj ; Iter 3, Camoloduno
Colonia 9 [Ibi erat templum Claudii, Arx triumphalis,
et imago viftorise Deae] ; Iter 4, Eboraco Municip.
[^olim Colonia Sexta] ; Iter 11, Ifca Colonia 9 [unde
fuit Aaron Martyr]; &c. — ^ See appendix, 4, 9, and
10 Itinera. — ^ Tacitus Vit, Agric. c. 22, t9,' and 38.
' ' -«P.
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90 t H E H 1 S T O R Y Book I.
Sc6l, 1. — . * p. 52 ; and fee b. I. ch. xii. f, 2. — ^ Richard p.
^^ " '52.— '''Tacitus c. xxiii.— " Horfeley p. 158.— " Ta-
citus c. xxiii and xxix — '* Horfeley p. 203 and 52.
— '"^ Richard p. 52. and Hift. Aug. Scriptores p. 19.
Paris 1 620.*— ^* P. 50 of Cafaubon's remarks upon Ca-
pitolinus ibid. — "** Horfeley accordingly conjeftured it
to be a little to the north of Invernefs.— -^^ Iter 9 and
10.--— '*P. 9, a Conftantinopoli ufque &c. and p. 20.
Bertius. See a miftake therefore in Gale, Horfeley, and
others, who merely from the title of the work, and in
direft contradiftion to thefe paffages, have fuppofed it
to be written under one of the emperors that bore the
name of Antoninus, and particularly under Caracal la
the laft of them. — ^* In Richard is a Map of Britain,
drawn up by himfelf (as he fays) fecundum lidem mo-
nu mentor iim petveterum. This Mr. Bertram thinks
fuperiour to all the reft of Richard's Commentary, for
the [curioufnefs and antiquity of it (Preface). And it
is a great curiofity undoubtedly, being (I believe) the
oldell map of the ifland that is now extant, and the only
old one of Roman Britain. Maps of the ifland, how-
ever, were not uncommon in Richard^s time. He him-
felf fp6aks of fome, as recentiore ^vo defcriptas and
generally known (p. 3). And this is but of little value.
It is frequently inaccurate. It frequently contradifts
its own Itinerary. — ""^ Richard alfo drew up an hiftory
of England, under the title of Speculum hiftoriale de
geftis regum Anglise. The hope of meeting witii
difcoveries as great in the Saxon hiftory, as he has
given us concerning the preceding period, induced
me to examine the work* A MS. copy is pre-
'2 ferved
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(Ckap.Ili. OF MAttCHESTEH. 0i
ferycdin thepublick library at Cambridge, Ff, i, 28, Bea.I.
containing 516 pages« But my e:g>eftatibns were
greatly difappointed. The learned and deep antiquarian p. 59,
I found funk into a mere novice in hiftory, fometimes
the copier of Huntingdon, but generally the tranfcriber
of Geoffirey* Deprived of his Roman aids, Richard
ihewed himfelf tQ be .as ignorant and injudicious, as
any.of his illiterate cotemporaries about him.
To delineate the i&ritiih and Roman geography of
the iflahd, has frequently attracted the attention and
engaged the application of our antiquarians. But their
inchiftry has been hitherto exerted to little purpofe. 'A
deep doud has fettled upon the general face of our
country, in thofe antient days. And the few fcattered
rays, with which it has been hitherto enlightened, have
pnly fenred to make the darknefs morfe vifible to us.
The Commentary of Richard, hpwever, will now ena-
ble ua to difpellthe thicker part of the gloom. The
pofition of each Britilh tribe, and the extent of each
Roman-Briuih province, we may now afcertain with
fufficient precifion. And the whole interionr difpofitian
of Roman Britain, before as well as after the conqueft
of the Romans, may be iketched out with a pretty ac-
curate, hand. Some little darknefs mufl: always be ex*
peftcd to infoldthc antiquarian in his fearches. And he
Ihould conftaiUtly oblige himfelf to the talk of think-
ing over his wcffk* .- '
The
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/
p% . T H E H I S T O R Y Bookt
Se<ff. IT. The Rtouan conqucfts among us were divided, itk
" geacral, into higher or weftern and into lower or eaftern
Britain, the one being feparated from the other by a
line that was carried through the length of the ifland \
They were alfo divided, in particular, into the fix pro-
vinces md diftinguifhed by the fix denominations of
Britannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Fla via, 'Maxima,
Valentia, 2nd Vefpafiana. And a regular Itinerary, the
firft perhaps of Britain, appears to have been drawn
up by LolHus for the whole.
P. 60. * Britannia Prima comprehended all the country that
lies to the fouth of the Thames afid Severn, and of a
line drawn from Creekladc or its vicinity upon the one
to B^keley or its neighbourhood on the other ; included
eleven nations of the Britonsy and contained about
thirty-fix ftations, fubjeft to Ruttipae or Richborough
the provincial capitaL — ^The Cantii generally poffcffed
theexaft compafs of the. prefent Kent, being bounded
by the Thames on the north ^ and the Lemanus or
Bother on the weft *, and acknowledging Durovernum,*
Cantiopolis, or Canterbury for their capital ; but once
croffed the Thames, and annexed London, and all the
fouthern parts of Middlefex, to their dominions ^ And
the Regni refided in Suffex and Surry ; and Regnum,
Regentium, or Chichefter appears from its name to have
been their metropolis^, Inunediately to the north of
thefe were the Bibroces or Rhemi ; who originally oc*
cupied only the fouth-eaftern parts of Berklhire, from
the Lodden or its neighbourhood on the weft to the
Thames on the eaft, and had Bibroicum, Bibrafie^ or
Bray for their capital ; but afterwards fubdued the
Regni,
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Chap.m. O? MANCHESTER- ^j
Regni, and transferred the imperial feat to Ncmomagus, Scft. II.
a town in Surry ^. And contiguous to them on the
weft were the Attrebates, fpreading nearly over all the
remainder of Berklhire ; - were bounded by the Loddea
or its neighbourhood .on the fouth-eaft, the curving
bank of the Thames on the north-w^ft and weft, and
the hills of Eaft-Ufley, Lambourne, :'; i5;Jhbury,
or their vicinity, on the fouth ; and owned ^ >irieva or
Wallingford for their chiirf city. The Segontiaci in-,
habited the little remainder of Berklhire and the ad-
joining north of Hampfliirc, the Cunetius or Kennet
flowing through their dominions in the former, and
their principal town being Vindomis, Vindonum, or^
Silchefter in the latter. The Proper Belgae enjoyed
the reft of Haniplhire, held all Wiltftiire, except k fmall
diftrift on the north-weft, and had Winchefter for their
Venta or head-town. But thefe appear to have attadced
the Segontiaci before the Roman arrival, and to have
feized their dominions ; all the poffeflions of the latter
being pretty plainly attributed to the former by Ptolemy.
The Diirotriges or Morini lived in Dorfetftiire, and p, gi*
had Durinum, Dumovaria, or Dorchefter for their
capital. And the Haedui filled all Somerfetfliire to the
^ftuary U?ella, Bridgewater Bay, or the river Ivel on
the fouth ; the fouth-weft of Gloucefterfliire, to the*
Ijills of WQtton-Under-Edge or its vicinity ; and the
i}orth-weft of Wi'tihire, to the Avon and Creeklade ^
Thefe, however, appear from Ptolemy to have been
fubdued by the Belgae, their country being exprefsly.
afcribed by him to that people ^. The Cimbri extended
Qvcr the vtA of Somerfetfliire, except a fmall part to the
.eaft
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p^ T H E H I S T O R Y Book I,
Se£t II. caft of tlic Thone '"^j and along the nordx of Cornwall
^"^ ^as far as the river Cambala, the Caipel, or Padfto\*
Harbour "• The Camabii fpread pver the remainder
of the north of Cornwall, and overall the fouth-weft as
far as Falmouth Haven ^*p And the Damtionii poffefled
originally^ the reft of Soqierfetlhire '*, the reft of Corn-
wall| and aU Devpnfliire. Bui; before the coming of
the Romans^ the Panjinonu had fubdued both the Car-
sabii and Cimbri^ and uftirped their dominions '^,
*^ Britannia Secunda comprized all the country that
lies beyond the Severn and Dee, contained three tribes
of the Britonsi and reckoned about twenty ftatidns un-r
derlfca or Caerleon its capital,-^The Siiures inhabited
originally the counties of Hereford, Radnor '% and
Monmouth, and the fmall portioil of Gloiicefterihire
which is to the weft of the Severn, and acknowledged
Caer Gwent in Monmouthfhire for their metropolis ; but
afterwards conquered both the Ordovices and Dimetae,
who bordered upon them. The former at the Roman
invafion pofleJSTed all North-Wales, the counties of
Montgomery, Merioneth, Caernarvon, Denbigh, and
Flint (except a fmall part 6f the laft adjoining to
Banchor and belonging to the (Camabii), and thofe
parts of Shropfliire which are to the fouth and weft
of the Severn j but previoufly ppffeifed fome Contiguous
regions of Flavia, which ihall be fpecified hereafter "^»
And the latter inhabited all the reft of South-Wales^
the counties of Cardigan, PembrcAe, Cacriharthen,
and Brecknock j and Maridunum or Caermarthea was
their capitaU
!' flavia,-
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Chap.nr. OF MANCHESTER. fs
*• Fiavia;, or (as it was firft dMominajted) Caefari-; Seaf.II*
ends '% or (as it is therefore called in the Notitia) Fla- ""
via Casfaricnfisj took in ail the central regions of the?- 6^*
ifland, was limited by the two other provinces on the
fouth and weft, and by the Humber, Don *°^ and
Merfey on the north, apd had about eight tribes and
fifty ftations within it.-rr-The Trinovantcs refided in the
counties of Middlefex and Eflex, Londinium or London
being their chief town *'. And beyond the Stour, the
northern boundary of Eflex, were planted the Iceni *%
confiding of two nations. Of thefe, the Cenomanni in-
habited the counties of Suffolk and Cambridge, perhaps
the north of Bedfordihlre to the Oufe on the fouth,
^certainly the fouth of Nonhamptonftiire to the Nea
on the north, an4 the whole of Huntingdon(hire and
Norfolk ; being limited on the north by the Nen, and
having Cafter pear Norwich for their Venta or firft:
city. And the Coritani occupied the remainder of
Northamptonfiiire, all Leicefterlhire (except a narrow
line of it on the weft, which belonged to the Carnabii),
the whole of Rutlatid, Lincoln, Nottingham, and Detby
counties, and the little portion of Yorkfhire which is to
the fouth of the Don ** ; and Ragas or Leicefter was their
metropolis ^^* The CaiSi were originally mafters only
pf all Hertfordlhire, all or the reft of Bedfordlhire *%
and the adjoining parts of Buckinghamfiiire ^^, having
Verulam in a]l probability for their capital ; but before
the Rpman arrival extended their dominions, feized the
kingdom of the Trinobjmtes and the country of the
Dobuni*% and removed the royal refidencc toCamu*
Ipdunum or Colcheftcr in Effcx *'. The Dobuni or Low*
landers
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96 THEHISTORY Book I.
Sea, II. landers appear from their name to have firft poflfeffed
only the fouth of Gloucefterftiire, and had Corinium
or Cirencefter in it for their head-city ; but afterwards
extended their authority over the nordi of Gloucefter-
Ihire and the fouth-weft of Warwicklhire, over all the
extent of Worcefterlhire and Oxfordfliire^ and the
remainder of Buckinghamfhire, reaching up to the
weftern frontier of the CaiEi **, and ftill retaining
Corinium for their capital. The north of Gloucefter-
ftiire, and the whole of Warwicklhire and Worcefter-
fhire, were pretty certainly occupied by a people whom
I (hall mention hereafter '"^ ; as the whole of Oxford-
fhire, and the greateft part of Buckinghamlhire, were
^•^i' in all probability poffefled by the Ancalhes^". And
the Carnabii fpread over the reft of Flavia, and had
Uficonium or Wroxeter for their metropolis '*<
^^ Valentia included all the country that was bound-^
ed by the two walls and the two feiats, contained five
. tribes, and had ten ftations under its capital, — The
Ottadini inhabited the whole extent of Northumber-
land, except the fmall part of it that was to the fouth
of the wall, all Mers, half of Tweedale, and all Lo-
thian ; being bounded by the wall of Antoninus on the
north, that of Hadrian on the fouth ^^, and the Tweed
on the fouth-weft ; and having their chief town at Bre-
menium, or Riechefter in Readfdale. The Gradeni oc-
cupied the little portion of Cumberland that Was be-
yond the wall, Tiviotdale, Tweedale up to the Tweed,
and Cluydifdale as far at leaft asLanerkon the north-
weft; and their firft city was Curia, or Corsford by
Lanerk. And the Selgovae held all Anaudale, Nithif-
dale.
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$
Cbap.m. OlF MANCHESTER. 5^7
idale* an^ Galloway up to the Deie, and perhaps the Seft. II
fouth-eaftertt fuje of Kyk and the fouth-wcftcm of "^
Cluydifdaie. But beyond die Dee rcfidcd the No-
Vantes> fpreading over all the reft of GalloWay, and
acknol^ledgiiig Lucophibia ot Whitertt as fupreme.
And to tb^ north of thtec of thefc. tribes, the Novantes^
Selgov^> and Gadeni, were. the Damnii, poflelfing aU
Cjs^icl^, Cunningham, and Renfrew, the r&ft oF Kyle^
and the remainder of Cluydifdaie ; a chain of ttioun*
tains, fotiberly denoihiftated Monies Uxclli, running all
alpng the foUth, the barrier betwixt them and thehr
ibuthern neighbours y and the rampairt of Antoninus
r<|ngit^ along their northern border.
^* AH the region then which was bounded by the
two feas, the wall of Hadrian on the north, and the
Merfey, Don, and Humber on the fouth ; and which
contain^ the Whole counties of Durham, Lancafter^
ajad Wcftmorcland, all Yorkihire except a very fmaU
portion on the fduth, all Cumberland except a little
angle on the Uorth^ and a narrow flip of Northumber-
land on the fouth ; was entitled Maxima, or (as the
Notitia and Riehard^s Itinerary call it) Maxima Gaefari*
enfis ^*. Ittomprized,the Brigantes, Volantii, andSiftun*
. til. And it included about thirty ftations, befides the
line of the forts at the wall, and was fubjeft to Ebo-P. 64*
Iracum or York. The Siftutitii inhabited the whole
compafs of oUr own county, and the fouth^rn parts of
Wcftmoreland* The Volaptii pofleffed the remainder
of Weftmoreland and Cumberland. Arid the Brigan;e^
enjoyed the whole of Durham, and ajl Yorkihire tp
the Don and the Humber. The fixth legion appears
to have been fettled at York as early as 140. And that
Vol. I. H dty
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98 THEHII&tORV Book 1.
Sea. 11. city was raifed as early to the fame dignity 'under. the
"^ 'Roman government, which Ifeur or Aldborough had
previoufly enjoyed under the BritMh ^\
' Dio p. 794 ^^^ 795* compared with Ptolemy and
Antonine. Mr, Camden, p. iii. edit. 1607, makes
the higher parr of Britain to be the fouthern and the
lower the northern, carrying the former to about the
Humber or Merfey, But Mr. Horfeley interts the plan,
and makes the foUthern the lower and the northern the
higher, for this one good realbn, becaufe Caefar ex-
prefly calls the fouthern the lower ; p. 307 and preface
p. 22. The true divifion is into eaftern and weftern,
the legions at Caerleon and Chefter being placed by
Dio in the higher Britain, and that at York in the
lower ; and Pliny placing Ireland fuper Britanniam
(lilj. iv. c. 16). And Roman Britain is naturally broken
into Eaft and Weft, a chain of hills running from the
highlands of Scotland, and joining to the peak of
Derby, the moorlands of StafFordlhire, Edge-Hill in
Warwickfliire, and the Chiltern in Buckinghamfliire.
* Richard, p, 15, 17, 18, 19, aiid 20. In the deli;
neation of this province, Richard *s map is pretty accu-
rate in^ general. But Pr. Stukeley's, prefixed to his com-
ment upon Richard, which very falfely pretends to be
an exaft copy of the other, has totally omitted one tribe
that appears in Richard's map and ought to appear in
both, the Carnabii of Cornwall ; and has equally omit-
ted the dotted lines that divide the kingdoms. — ^ See
' alfo Iter i of Richard. — ^ Somner's Roman fons in
- Kent,
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Chap.ni. OF MANCHESTER. ^gg
Keat^ J). 40, &c. -^ * Ptolemy; He carries the Cantii Scft. II.
to. or nearly to the Attrebates, and places the Regni top, Sc*
the fouth of the formeri -h» ^ Ptolemy. See Regnum
in Iter 15 of Richard and 7 of Antotiiftus. — ^ Ptolemyi
The whole country of the Bibroces and Regni is given
to the latter by Ptolemy and to the former by Richardj
both confidering them as one people afsej the conqueft
ttf the bther, and Richard more accurately naming them
by the appellation of tne conquering tribe. — * ' feichard
p. 20 and 24, Quse intermiffione Uxellae amnis Heduo-
nim tegioni proienditur, and Thamefis pei- fines Hedu-
onim— -4n oceanum ^ influit. — * Ifchalis and AquaS
Calidae. So alfo Ptolemy places the Durbtrigejs, oot
Ibuth-weft, as he i§ generally tranflated^ but to thd
fouth and weil^ of the Belgse, ccrn:o ivrfjunfv kxi fjLsa-yjijJopiocg }
the Durotriges being to the fouth of the Somerfetflbiirc
Belga?, and to the weft of the Hamplhire.^^*'' Uxella
urbs is given to the Damnotiii by tlichard. — ^And
yet is given to the Hedui by the map, in ex^
prefs contradiAion to the account. — " Richard's mapi
-i— " Cenia urbs and Genius fluvius given to the Dam-
nonii by Richard. ^^ '^ Uxella urbs, Richard* -^ '^ Pto*
iemy and Richard p. 20, Damnonium Promontorium*
And ,the Damnonii are ^(jlikmIc^oi, or the moft wefterly
tribe j in the former. -^ '^ P* 21 arid 22. In this pro-
vince Richard's map is faulty, carrying the Ordovices
into Radnorfhirej and giving them Magna. Dr. Stukeley
hd^ torre^ed the miftakei but made others^ He h^
at once inferted and mifplaced the Heriri Moritesj
has fixed the Dimeta? to the fouth of the river Stuftia^
iHrhen be ought to have carried them beyon4 it to th«
H 2 Povf;
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100 THEHISTORY Book I.
Sea. II. Dory ; has entirely omitted this river ; and negleS-
'^'"'^ed the dotted lines that limit the three kingdoms;*
— '* Ciritas Silurum Magna, Richard p. 2i. — "' B. I.
c\x. V. f. 3. — ** Richard p. 15, 24, 25, and 26. lo
this province ]R.ichard*s map has committed two or three
miflakes, afcribing Forum Dianas to the Coitanni (or Co*
rkanni), which belonged to the CafEi, aiid giving them
alfo Bennona?, that lay among the Carnabii, and
Durnomagus, which was a town of the Cenomanni.
And Dr. Stukeley*s is fo confufcd, for want of the
di^fining lines of the original, that it would be idle to
criticize upon it, — *' Richard p. 25. — " Richard
Iter 4. — ** Richard p. 25 and Iter 3. Ptolemy, who
P. 66. places the Cantii in all the fouth of Middlefex, fixes
the Trxnoantes in Effex only, more eafterly than the
Icehi, and along the seftuary of the Thames. But, as
the Trinoantes once refided in Middlefex (fee Ri<^ard
p. 2 g), Ptolemy's account of the Cantii and Trinoantes
was taken from records of two different dates, and ought
therefcMTe to be referred to different periods. See
b. I. ch» xii. f. 2. — " Richard Iter 3. — ** Richard
Iter 4. And in Iter 18. is a ftation ad Fines,
meaning Gravelborough upon the Don, the limits of
Maxima and Flavia, and the borders of Yorkfiiire and
l>erbylhire. — *" See b. I. ch. v. f. 3. — ** Ptoiemy,
Salens. — *^ Richard^s map. — *' Dio p. 958, b. I.
ch. ix. f. I, and Richard p. 24. — **'Diop*959, —
•• Sinitimi iDobunis Caffii, Richard p. 24. And fee
his fljap. — ^"^ B. I. ch. v. f. 3. — ^' C^far p. 92*
— 3* See b. I. ch. iv. f. 2. — " Richard p* 15, 28, and
29* In this province, Richard's map is inaccurate hi
'2 one
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Chap.lIL OF MANCHESTER. iot
one particular, and Dr. Stukeley's hi maay. la the Sca.li.
former, the Gadeni are carried greatly too far to the
north, quite up to the frith of Forth i and the Damnii
are] placed to the north of the Novantes and Sslgovae
only, and not of the Gadeni as well as them.
In the latter, the Ottadini, who Ihould be extended
along the fea from Severus*$ wall to the frith of Forth,
are fettled to the north of the Tweed ; and the Gadenf,
who lived to the weft, are fixed direftly to the fouth,
of them, and betwixt them and the wall, Coria, the
caphal of the Gadeni, is given to the Ottadini. And
Bremenium, the metropolis of the Ottadini, is coqfigned
to the Gadeni. The Selgovas?, who lived entirely to the
eaft of the Dee, are even carried to the weft of it. And
the Damnii are placed to the north of the Novantcs
only, being thruft up into Cunningham and Renfrew.
•-^ '* Ptolemy (correfted) places the Novantaft on the
weft, the Selgovae to the eaft of them, the Damnii
to the north and weft of them, the Gadeni to the
eaft of the- Selgova?, and the Ottadini to the eaft of p. 67.
the whole ; affigning thereby all Mers and Lothian to
the laft. And fo Richard's map carries the Otta-
dini up to the frith of Forth. — " Richard p. 15 and
27. The map of this province in Richard is very in-
accurate. It places the Siftuntii along the fea-coaft of
Lapcaifaire, Weftmoreland, and Cumberland, and fet-
tles the Volantii at the back of then! and at the foot of
the hills. Such a fite is abfurd in itfclf^ And it is re-
futed by the pofition of Volantium or Elenborough on
the margin of the fea. But the map is ftill more inac-
irurate, placing Rerigoniura :not far from the mouth of
the Alauna, and very little to the fouth of it ; fixin^
lot THEHISTORY Book I.
8ca. 11. Coccium a good way to the fouth and caft of Reri-
gonium, and north of the Belifama ; and fettling
Portus Slftuntiorum at the mouth of the Alauna. For v
the abfurdity of thefe pofitions, fee the following chap-
ters. And Dr. Stukeley has added fome othermiftakes,
extending the Alpes Pcnninse through half of Valen-
tia, confining the Siftiintii to Cumberland, laying the
Voluntii at the back of them, removing Rcrigonium
nearly from the mouth to the fource of the- Alauna,
omitting the Belifama entirely, and putting Merfeia
flu : for Seteia,— '** Iter 4.-7- " Pcolemy-rand Richard
p. 27t
III.
IN the comprehenfive hiftory of that remarkable
people the Romans, there are few particulars which
fo ftrongly mark their native grandeur of foul, as the
r^ds which they laid over all the ample extent of theif
Empire. They girt the whole globe, as it were, with
new zones and new zodiacs \ And the tables of Peu-
tinger and th^ Itinerary of Antonine jgivc us a mag-
nificent difplay of the whole-
^ On their invafion of this country, in all probability they
found feveral ways in the fouthern parts of the ifland,
and among the Belgick colonies that lined the fouthern
cbaft of it. Such, we have every reafon to prcfume,
had been preiriopfly laid out, though rudely^ for the
P 68. P^^^l'.^'^ ^^^> ^4 adapted, though indiflFcrently, to
^e conveyance of its natural cpmmodities to the ports.
Had
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Ghap.III. OF MANCHESTER. loj
and the introduftion of foreign from* them. Afid this S©^- 1^*
commercial intercourfe, as well as the roads by which
jt was profeeuted, feein to have been extended much
fanher into the ifland, than the higheft ideas of our
hiftorians concerning its interiour condition would allow
us to apprehend. They fcem to have been carried
from the fouth- weft into Suffolk on one fide, and from
the fouth-eaft into Caernarvonfhire on the other.
From the joint teftimony of Richard's Itinerary and
Bede's Hiftory it appears, that the great way, which
reaches from Sandwich to Caernarvon, was diftinguifhed
among the Romans by the Britilh name of Guethdiqg
or Watling ftreet *. This has been hitherto fuppofed
to be not the original, but a pofteriour, appellation.
And it has baffled all the powers pf etymology. But
it is derived probably from the fame principle which
gave name to the Ikening-ftreet*. And both were de-
nominated, I think, from the people to whom they
were laid. As the Ikening-ftreet cgnfefledly fignifies
the way which led to the Iceni of the eaftern coaft, fo
the Watling-ftreet imports chat which went to the
Guetheli or Gatheli of Ireland. And thi^s Briti(h appel-
lation of the road, among the Romans, points it out to
have been previoufly a Brjtifh one. Had it not been fo,
as it could iave had no name at all when the Romans took
polfeflion of the country, fo could it never have adopted a
Bntilh name afterwards among them. And had it not
been conftruAed by the Britons before It was new- model-
led by the Romans, it could not have acquired among the
latter the gppell^ion of Guetheling, as the inhabitants
H4 of
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f 04 THEHISTORY Bode I.
Sea. HI, of Ireland were never known to die Romans by tbat
of Guetheli. The Watling^ftreet, therefore, was
originally denominated by the Britons Sam Gue«
thelin, or the way of the Iriflh^ And the Ikening*
ftreet was equally denominated Sarn Ikentn, or thii
p. 69. way of the Iccni. But a merely Roman road would
fcarcely have recdved any appellation that related
to the Iceni, and nono at all affuredly that referred
to the unconquered and nnattempted Irifti, And it cer-
tainly could not have obtained the appellation either of
Guetbel-in or Iken-in, thefe being the Britiih
plurals of Cuethel and Iken ^. Sqch roads indeed as
the Romans primarily conftruded in the %&md, like the
fortreffes of the fame origin, are diftingui^cd from
thofe which they found already Ijud out, by the obvious
difcriroinations of their names. And, if from the Iti-
nerary qf Richard and the voice of tradition we have the
Britiih appellations of Guctheling and Ikening for. two
W2^y3, from the fame Itinerary and the fame tradition we
have the Roman names of the Julian way and the Foffc
for two others ^, And the former feem as clearly evinced
to be Britifli, as the latter are to be Roman.
Thus were the two great roads of the Watling and
Ikening ftreets origii^ally undertaken end executed bcr
fore the invafion of the Rqmans; undertaken for the
purpofes of Britifli conveniency, and executed in the
flile o{ Britifli fimpUcity. Both muf^ have been beguii
by the BelgfiB of the fouthern counties. And, what is
very extraordinary, both appear plainly to have com-?
ipenced from the fovfth % Till tl^e Belgae came over into
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ChapJil, OF MANCHESTER. nos
Britain, either no commerce was purfaed by the Iflaad-^ Sea. Ill*
ers, <x it wasa)nfiiied to a few promoatories on the ^'
fouth^weft and a few veflels from Phoenicia. But the .
Belgdd were ftrongly a£hiated by a commercial fpirit,
and purfued its diredions fb vigoroufly, that^ withia
a century from their firft entrance into the ifland, the
moft wefterly tribes of them carried on a oonfiderable
trade with the Phoenictans, and all of them afterwards
a much greater with the Romans of Narbomie and the
Greeks of Marfeilles^. And^ in confequence of the
latter, the commodities of the country were regularly e:!^
ported into Gaul in the time of Auguftus, andcoa^
veyed by barges upon the rivers or horfes on the
roads acrofs the Gallick continent to both '« At tins
period therefore^ in all probability, the Belgse con-
trived and the Britons concurred in the conftruAion of ?.j(^
two great roads^ which (hould traverfe the central parts
of the iiland, and lead to fuch provinces as were ftored
with the faleable commodities.
In the progrefs of commerce from the weft, the
Belg?B of Dorfetlhire would naturally catch the enliven-
ing fpirit, before their more eafterly brethren of Kent.
And, when the ftaple was fettled at the iile of Wight
in br before the days of Auguftus, the former
would be nearer than the latter to the animat-
ing center of the trade. Thofe therefore would be the
^xH to contrive and execute the plan. And they ac-
cordingly opened to themfelves a communication with
the Iceni of the eaftern coafl. But the Cantii rivalled
jhe Durotriges in commerce at the period of Ca?far's inva-
fipp ', and would foon copy their example. They copied
it
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ro^ THEHI STORY Book I-
^a. Ill.jt in a bolder ftyle and upon a larger fcale. They
opened to themfel%es a communication with the north-
wefteni parts of Britain and the colonifts of Ireland^
that they might receive from them ihofe fupplies of
cattle which Ireland at prefent {o remarkably furnifhes,
and muft then have furnilhed ia a flill more con-
fiderablc degree* And fuch was equally the objeft
pf the Ikening-ibreet* Such would necefiarily be the
great objeft of both, ivhilc the riches of the Britonsj
like tbofc of the patriarchs, confifted almoft entirely
in their cattle. And thefe roads in all probability oc<^
cafioned the ef e£lidn of fevera) towns updn them, fome
inifed by the tribes upon the confiijies, and others in
the center, of their refpeftive poffeffions ; the former
a^ fortreflfes to guard thefe great avenues into their
dominions, and the latter as neceffary places of rcfrcfli*
ixient for the cattle and their attendants^ fo frequestly
pafling along them ^\
The Britons, I apprehend, muft equally have con-
ftrufted many other ways before the coming of the
Romans, inferiour indeed but pi^blick,, and leading in
different direflions from one ftate to another, or con-
nefting the different parts of the fame kingdom* The
^" 7 1* former feem to have been neceffary, as the marching-
ways of the armies which were fo frequently detached
by one tribe againft another* AQd the latter would
equally be wanted, as the neceffary chajn of eommuni*
cation betwixt the feveral fortreffes of the fame tribe.
But neither one nor the other, neither the fmaUer
nor greater roads, were likely to fatisfy the dcfires or
anfwer the exigences of tba Romans, a poBte and po^ .
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Chap- in. OF MANCHESTER. toy
litick nation^ ftudious equally of private pleaTure and&0^UI.<
publick emolument. They therefore made new ways,
two of them indeed, and many others perhaps, in the
line of flie Britifli, but all upon plans much more beau-
tiful and ufeful, and much better calculated for. imme-
diate convenience and a long duration.
Thefe however were not, as our antiquarians have
conftantly fuppofed them, the admirable effeds of Agri-^
cola's command in the ifldnd. In a country like this^
where forefts arofe and morafles fpread betwixt (lation
and ftation, roads would be nearly as neceifary as for-
tteffes, and therefore were nearly cotemporary with them.
And, as the Romans profecuted their conquefts in the
illand, they would multli^y their (lations and extend
their roads. Accordingly, the way that cro0ed the
country of the Silures, and retains in itsf name of Via
Julia Kthe appellation of its conftrijftor, appears from
this circumftance to have been laid by Julius Frontinus,
the fame legate that conquered the Silures '% The
redudion of the Siftuntii and Volancii occafigned the
Qiaking of other roads in Cumberland, Wcftmoreland,
and Lancaihire. And Agricola, like every other legate,
could have conftruftcd the ways of thofe provinces only,
^hicb he himfelf had ^educed.
A? the fprt of Manchefter, and its lifter ftations in
Lancafhire anjj Chefliire, were erefted in the ye^r 79,
t^e roads, which formed the neceffary line of conunu^
nication between them, would be laid out about the
fame period. They wpuld neceffarily be laid out m
l^e immediately fucceeding fummers of 80, 81, and^a. P. 73,
^p4 to t|ie making, of t^efe ^nd the more northerly
wjiyjj.
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ia8 THE HISTORY BookL
Se& in^ways^ efpecially, does Galgacos ia all probability re-
fer^ when in die year 84 he fpeaks fo particularly of
the roads that vrcrt carried on by the Romans ^*. Every
ireih conq^ueft indeed would have ftrongly fuggefted the
refie&ion ; but the neweft muft have done k the inoft.
And no ways but thefe could have been confiruded,
becaufe no kingdoms had been reduced^ during the
ten years immediately preceding.
The roadf> then, that iflue from Manchefter and
the other ftations in Lancafhire^ were all laid while
Agricola was making and fecuring his conquefts* in the
northf And from that particular, as well as from the
Above-mentioned fpeeph o( Galgacus, it appes^rs that
they were not carried on, as is frequently imagined,
and as the beautiful roads in French Flanders and our
own in Scotland were, by large detachments of the
foldiery. The ilomans were merely the di^eftors; and
the more laborious employ was imppfed upon the na^
tives. The former, fays Galgacus, are perpetually
exhaufting the health of the latter, in the painful
bufinefs of clearing the woods and paying the fens of
the ifland '\ The whole line of the road in all pror
bability was previqufly defigned, and the ^ourfeoflt
prcfcribed, upon paper, after an accurate furvey of
the country. And. the officers erf the neighbouring^
garrifons infpefted the execution by turns,
' See Itin. Cur. p. 72. — * Iter i, Ab eadem civitate
[Rhutupi] dufta eft via Guethelinga difta ufque iu
Segontium— fie ; and fo exaftly Iter 11, Ab Aquis-^
per yiam Juliam Menapiam ufque fie : And Bede's
Hift.
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P-73-
Chap-ttt. OF MANCHESTER. 109
Hift. lib. i. c. 7, Verulamium quae Verlama-caeftir CveScft.nL
Vaetlinga-caeftir appellatur — * See Itin. Cur. p. 105; ^
— * Ikemng-ftreet is alfo written Ikenild, as in the laws
of the Confeffor or Conqueror. That termination is
either Iken eld^ Old Iken ftteet, or perhaps the fame as
Ikeoin» and equally the plural termination of Iken, as
Uid, a Jew in Irilh, varies into Uidhil and Uil.-~ ^ See
Richard Iter 11. — * Itin> Curiof. p. 113 and i79»-—
^ See b. L ch. xi* f. 2.*— * See b. I. ch. xi, f. 2.—
^Cjelkr p, H9 and 7J* — " The Ricning or Ricnild
ftrect* or (as it is more generally written) the Iccning or
Icenild-ftreeti of Derbyflure^ muft aUb be derived from
the fame original. If rightly denominated Icening^ it was
perhaps fo called, fimply us terminating among the
Cwitaai, and as laid to their country after they were
confjucred by and received the appellatipn of Iceni (fee
b. It ch. y. f. 4). Atid if r^hcly called Ricningi as
Dr. Sttikeley affirms (Itin. Curiof. p. 50) and commoii
accuracy requires^ it was fo named in all probability as
leading to the R-Ioeni, the further or northern Iceni.
Thus Caer-nar-von is fo called^ as being oppofite to Von,
Mon, or Anglefey. . And thus fee Rerigonium, and
odier nameS) in b. I. c. v» f. i. This road extends frefti
the mouth of the Severn into DerbyjDure (Itin. Cufk
P* St, 58, 64, and 65), .and was originally conftrufted
(i fuppofe) by the Be^k* conquerors of the H«dui, a
people which poffeffed (as I have ihewed before) the
fouth of Gloucefterfliire aftd the north of Somerfetlhire.
— " Iter 1 1 of Richard, and Tacitus Agric. Vir. c. xvii.
So Appian way 'from Appius Claudius, — '* Tacitus
C. KXXU
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ORY
ltd . THE k IS TORY BookL
Sea. IIL c. Kxxi. Agric. Vit. — '* Tacitus c. xxxi. Corpora ipfa
' ac manus fylvU ac paludibiis cmuntendis — conterunti
THfi county of Lancaffer is itfterfeded from cftd to
end by four great roads of the Romans^ Two run firoid
eaft to weft, and two frort florth to fouth. One o^
the latter, the knowledge of which wc owe entirely to
Richard's Itinerary, enters the county dn the north-
Weft, and traverfes a ^ood part of it^ even till it meets
with another that is given ui by AntoniniSf, iftd comes in
Oft the north-^aft. And from the point of coincidenccf
both proceed in the fame route, which is given us by
^•74» both Iiinefariesi and profecuted to and beyond Man-t
chefter. The account of the north^weftern is a part
of the loth Iter of Richard, and in it the road runs
from I^uguvaUium or Carlifle to
Brocavonacis 22
Ad ALAUt^AM m. p
Cocciom. p...,.'.
Mancunio 18 '.
AnA the north-eaftem is defcribed in the loth of An^
«>ninu6> the foad going from Alione to
Galacum 19
Bremetonacis 27
Coccio 20
Mancunio m. p* 17*
tn Richard's Iter the (lation Ad Alaunam appeaca,
from the mention of LuguVallium and Brocavofakcis on
one
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Chap-UL OF MANCHESTER. iit
one fide and of Coccium and Mancunium on the cfther,S^'IV«,
to be fomewhere about the northern borders of
Lancaihire. And this, ^nd the name, carry . us
at once to the town of Lancaftcr. ' Its ftaticmary cha*
rafter has always been confefled. But it has been
fometimes fuppofed to be the Lugandinum of the Cho*-
rography, and more generally but naore wildly the
Longovicus of the Notitia. It now appears to have
been denominated Alauna, deriving its appellation frpm
it« fitc, and being placed upon a lai^n or the river
:Lan. And it was fixed upon die plane of the prefent
Caftle-hill, as the immediate vicinity of the river and
the hanging remains of the Roman wall, concur to de-
monftrate^*
In Antonine's Iter, Bremctonacae is what the anti-
quarians have previoufly fuppofed it to be, the Na-
tion of Overborough. The only bbjeaiou that could
have been made to the fuppofition, the want of a
known road from the ik>t:th to it, is Jiow precluded
as Jthis is 4ifcovered.' And two others appear. vifibly
to. go* away from the fortrefs, one towards Brugh near
Aicdg in Yorkfhire, and one to Ribchefter % The. latter
has: been hitfaeno believed to be the way, upon whi(:h
this Iter of AntoniniB proceeds through ,Coccium to
.M^nchelter; as another, that goes from Lancaftejr P- 7i-
to Ribchefter, iniiy be imagined to be the fame which
is meafured by this of Richard. .Both may be fuppofed.
But they muft be fuppofed. iu oppofition.to.decifive evi*
dence; That Rerigonium.is Ribchefter,. the confent of
Ptolemy, Richard,- aad'.remains-wjll demonftrate here-
- after*. Coccium therpforc cannot be .Ribchefter, tijc
one
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tu THE titsToinr Bepkn
8ea. IV» Ode being exprdsljr diftinguilhed from the other. And,
the former being thus difiodged from the fite whkh it
Has fo long maintained, we mud endeavour to gi?e it
its proper pofition, by finding a new ftation for the old
%aiQe, as we have found a new name for the old fta*
From the preceding acoottnt it is obvious, that this
Iter of Richard, from Lugaraliium to Brocavonacis and
Ad Alaimam, runs along the courfe of the prefent road
from C^liflc tot Lancaften And ah>ng the fame r(»d
I apprehend it to run from Lancaller to Gocciunu It
muit necefikrily point in general lov^ds lyiauichefter,
becaufe to Manchefter it afhialiy goes, and does not
reach it by the round of Ribchefter* It therefore
•ft retches away dire&ly to the fouth-eaft, and coiifeqtient-
ly in the lino of the preftntroad from Laneafter td
MancbeAer. Bqt this is not our only dureftion. We
have a ftiH more particolir ohe^ The diftance betwiict
Overborough and Cocctttm^ in AhtonimsSy is eoi^U£kd*
}y erroneous ; and that betwixt the latter and Lancafter,
in Richard> is either crroxKBous or lo& But the diftanoe
betwixt Coccium and MancQaiuma{>pears m bodi^ and
is feventeen chiles in Antonine and eighteen in Richard |
a vatiation, diiat in. Itineraries like thefe, wiiere the
fraSion$ ef miles are never Numerated as fuch> is
no difference. The frafiiiM omittfd by Aneonine is
computed by Riobard, and therefore reckoned fi»r a
whole miie. And tl^s agreement of the two bifierari^s
decifively afcertains the diftance of Coccium from
Mancheften Such a coincidence ihould always be
allowed as a decifive argument^ imlels the^ be densdti*
^ - ftration
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Chap. HI- OF MANCHESTER. it^
ftration to the contrary. And,- only with this excep- Sedt. IV.
tion, it muft always be fuppofed to arife from the ex- p, 76,.
iftcnce of the fame numbers in the originals of both.
Following then the prefent road from Lancafter to
Manchefter, till we come within feventeen or eighteea
Roman n^iles off the latter, we fhouldeipcA to find the
fitc of a Roman camp. And. lo ! juft at the requifite
diftance we find one, one hitherto unknown to fame,
but pointed out by the moft determinatjc of ftationary
charafters, the commencement of two roads from it to two
well-known ftations. Such is the village of Blackrode!
It is indeed about thirty-five meafured miles from Lan-
cafter, and forty-five from Overborough. But this is
a ftagc, which the afcertained diftance from Coccium to
Manchefter obliges us to make. It is ftiorter than another
in ' this Iter of Richard, that betwixt Brocavonacis and
Ad Alaunam being no lefs than forty-eight. And it
cannot but be very long, when only Coccium appears
betwixt Overborough and Maqchefter, though this
is nearly fixty meafured miles from that by the neareft
route, and though the diftance is here lengthened
by the diverfion of the road from the neareft
through Rerigonium to the rounding one through Coc-
cium ^
Tradition univerfally declares the village of Black-
rode to have been a confiderable town. And the con*f
ftru£Hon of a Roman road from Manchefter, and the
coinddence of another from Ribchefter with it, fliew
the town to have beeii originally Roman. A road,
which ftiall be defcribcd hereafter, comes direftly from
Vol. I. I. the
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114 THE HISTORY Bookl.
Scd. IV.tIve Mancunian ftation, by Stany-ftreet and Street*
Gate near Walkden-moor, to the precinfts of the prc-
fent village. And another meets h there, giving
jaame to the neighbouring Street in the townfliip of
Charnock^ and pointing to Ribchefter one way and
Btackrode another.
It is juftly obferved, by the Right Reverend and very
'^"^ learned enlarger of Camden's Britannia ^, that, whcrc-
cver we find the appellation of Street, we have good
reafon to expeA a road of the Romans. And his Lord-
ftiip might , with equal juftice have obferved, that
whet ever we meet with the one we may be certain oi
the other. We may be fure, that fuch a way has
formerly proceeded or ftill continues to. proceed along
the place. And, when a Roman road h^s.pedifired in-
variably in the courfe of a modern highway, the name
of Street, along the line of the latter, is the only procrf
that we can have concerning the exillence of the for-
mer. Stpaet, Strat, or Street, and EeajTOp, Caftcr,
or Cheftery are two words derived from the R^miaxis to
the Britons, and communicated by them to the Saxons.
In the ori^nal application of them by the Romans,
they could fignify nothing but their own roads and
their own camps. And, in the application of them by
the Britons and Saxons afterwards, they would natu-
rally be continued to the fame camps and be retained
by the fame roads. The Brhons adopted thdc appel-
lations from the Romans, before the departure of
the latter from the ifland ; when there were no publick
highways and no ftationary fottreffe* m the ifland, but
4 fuch
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dfiap-ta; 6f MANCHESTER. ^13
ibch as had been fomied by the Jlc»iia9$i And^ as the &A« IV:
6axoiis cicrivcd them frqm the Briton$ after the fub- '
je&bn of the latter in vfkr, and therefore found them
akeady affixed to the caftles and road$ of the Romans;
fo they aftiially appear to have Ufed the Mme of Cheftcr
fdt the chara£teriftick denomination of a Boman camp^
atid the name of Street for the appropriated appellatioa
cf a Roman way ^,
Thus t)la^nly is Blackrode etinced to have been for-
ixierly i ftationary tofwn. And hereafter I fhall point
dut the particular fitc of the iiation '. Hereafter ir
will naturally fucceed in its tcirn to be defcsmted upon^
as I trace tho feteral ro^dsfhjsit commence from Man-
chefter, aiiid extend to the neighbouring towas. Thefe
are many iti number^ proceeding in various direction^,
and iCuing as it were in r^dii from center tp circumfe-
tencew And I fiiall now begin to inveftigatd them,P.i9i
following Where they once rofc in ridges along our
heaths, and opened in yiftos actofs our thickets ; and
now feeing them prefent only fome half-formed refem-
.blance of a road^ or ileal forgotten and unknowni bus in
M fair eleTai;ion> 0ver our inclofures.
^ The original has no number of miles annexed to
Coccium. But Dr. Stukeley's copy has, and by fome
ftrange miftake gives us fixty-fix; p. 53. — * Camden
p. 617, and Leigh's Hift. b. III. p, 10. — ^ Mr*
RauthmcU's Overborougb p. 19-^20, and Mr. Perci-
I a * val's
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tJS ' tMt: fiiSfoRY Bbokl.
Sea. IV. yal's EflTay in PhU. Tranf; Vol. XLVII. p. 227; The
road from Ovcrborough to Ribchcfter had been pofi-
tively mentioned before By the knowing Camden
(p. 614); but later criticks (Horfeley, &c.) had
difcreditcd the exiftencc oF it by their doubts. —
'^ B. I. ch. V. feft. I. — ' And the fixty-fix miles
which Dr. Stukeley gives us were intended by him, I
fuppofe, for thirty-fix. The road from Overborough
to Blackrode, I imagine, pafled through Wierfdale fo-
reft to Broughton, where was a fmall intermediate
camp, I apprehend, and wh«:e it fell into the great
highway from Lanciafter to Blackrode. This, allowing
for the confiderable inequalities of the road over the
' hills of the foreft, would meafure, I believe, about
forty Uoitrin miles. And perhaps the number teas
thus expreflfed in Antoninus g, and, the upper pair of
tens being cafually omitted by a tranfcriber, the
number became, as it now appears, twenty. ^-^ * C*
'636. — ^ Bede's Eccl. Hift. lib. i. c. n. The Ro-
man refidencc in the illand (he fays) Civitates, Farus,
-Pontes, et. Strata? ibidem faftae, ufqtie hodie -^ teftan-
' tur. Sax. Chron. p. £2, fpeaking of Ceaulin's taking
three Roman or ftationary towns, fays that he took
three Chejiers^ III Eefrpo, Gloucefter, Cirencefter, and
Bathe-cefter. And Bede Hift. 1. iii. c. 19/ in Cqftro
^dam quod^ — Urbs Cnobheri vocatur, rtieining the
rOariannonum of the Notitia, or the prefcnt Brugh
jiear Yarmouth in Norfolk. We have alfo Stratfleur
P. 79« ^nd Stratfleur Abbey, and the hundred and monaftery of
Yftrad MargcU pr -Strata Marcelli, among the Britons
' ' . . ^ ^ '^ of
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Clu«),ni. OF MAJT^HEST^I^. iff
of Wales (Leland's Itin. vol. VII. p. 47 and 16. andSca.IV.
vol. VI. p. 105), and Temeceftre and Brumcheftcr
among thofe of Wales and Caledonia^ the former be-
ing in Montgomeryihire and the latter in Athol
(Itin. vol. VH. p. 15 and ij). -^ • B. h ch. iv«
fcft* 3.
Iji CHAP,
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CHAP. IV.
THE RpMAS R0AD5 TI^ACED FROM MANCHESTER
TO OTHER STATIONS, CAMBQD171JUM, CONPATE^
AND C0CCIUM-~THE SITES FIXED, AND
THE REMAIN^ DESCRIBED A:^D SOME
PURIOUS PARTICULARS LAID OPE^
fN THE HISTORY OF THE
JJRITONS OF WEST?
CHESHIRE*
I,
?• tOf IT T Iia$ been queftioned by the antiquarians, whctlief
X the ftations or roads of the Romans were prior in
time \ And no determination has been given to the
qu^ftioh* But the deciiion, I think, is eafy. The
ilatipns were prior, as I have previpufly intimated, and
the rpads were only the channels of communicatibn
between them. Many of the former neceflarily com-r
menced, as I have mentioned befcH-e, during the very
iconqueft of the country, and all of them at the con-
clufion of it. And the latter could not t>e conftruiSted
till the firft or fccond fummer after bpth.
The road from Cambodunum to Mancunium an^
from this to Condate is delineated to us by both Richard
^nd jA^toh^e, and one pa^rt ot it twice tiy bpth* 'I'he
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Chap-IV. OF MANCHESTER. tfj
whole IS given in the fecond Iter of Antonine and the Sea, I.
iixth of Richard, and the part is repeated in their tenth.
And the \vay to Coccium is equally traced by both.
But the four others, which connefted this and four more
of the neighbouring ftations, are given to us in neither.
The road from Cambodunum to Mancunium and
Condate ftands thus in
Richard's lixth Iter, And thus in Antonine's fecond,
Ab Eburaco Devam ufquc fie : From Eburacum to
Calcaria m. p. 9 Calcaria 9
CAMBODUNO22 CAMBODUNO 20
MANCUNIO 18 MANUCIO 18
FINIBUS MAXIMiE ct CONDATE 1 8
FLAVIN m. p. 18 Dcva 20.
CONDATE 18
Deva 18 ;
And that from Coccium to Mancunium and from p. 81.
Mancunium to Condate is thus
In Richard's loth Iter, And thus in Antoriine's,
From COCCIUM From COCCIUM
MANCUNIO 18 MANCUNIO m. p. 17
CONDATE 23 CONDATE 18
Mediolano 18; Mediolano i8#
We are concerned only with fuch of thefe ftations,
as are the firft ftages from Manchefter. And let us
begin with Cambodunum and the road to it.
*Thi^ commenced from the eaftern gate of the camp,
and would naturally have flanted along the left-hand
fide of the Caftle-field and the right-hand of the adjoining
gardens. But the pofition of the gate and intervention
of the ditch prevented the courfe. And it appears to
I 4 have
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lad THE HISTORY BookL,
Sea. I. have proceeded in a very gentle flant upon the left to
the extremity of the field, and in one common ftem
along it for the roads to two other ftations. There all
of ihem commenced, and took the lines of their fevc-
ral deftinations. And the road was cut down there
from the furface to the bafe in 1765 ; and the mate-
i-ials of it lay plainly diftinguiihed from the natural
gravel of the ground, by the melted bricks and broken
mill-ftones which were found incorporated with them*
It appeared to be conftrufted with a ftrong gravel,
mingled with large beulders and fragments of rock.
And the whole was about fourteen yards in breadth
and one and an half in depth.
Leaving this, which was the grand avenue into the
camp, and therefore laid out with an unufual width,
the road began its courfe to York, croffed the prcfent
highway, entered the oppofite garden, and went to the
right of the prelcnt windmill. And it then pointed through-
the left-hand corner of the dye-houfe beyond both,
croffed the Infirmary-lane, and left an hay-ftand very
ck)fely, and two new houfes more diftantly, on the
r. 82, left. Then croffmg the lane to Ardwick, and point-
ing direcHy through Stanley-barn on the other fide, it
fwept along the middle of the two next fields, flantcd
along the left-hand fide of the third, and obliquely de-
fccndcd the little flope of the fourth into Ancoats-lane*
And in all this courfe, fo contiguous to the growing
town, the trace of it is wholly obliterated, though the
fubfequent remains fufficiently point out the lipe of.
it*
CrpfSng
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ChaiuIV. OF MANCftESTER- i2i
Croffing Ancoats-lane betwixt a large houfc and the S^* '•
jTcfting-ftone, it is difcovered in the firft field beyond
it by ^ ridge of fixteen or feYenteen yards in width,
three quarters of a yard in gravel and one in marie laid
upon it, and floping towards Shooters-brook, Upon
the right and in the field but one immediately be-
yond the brook, it is evidenced by a ridge which
is about half a yard in height and four or five in.
width ; and the gravel, when the ground is ploughed,
appears powdering the fides of the furrows. In the
fourth field the ridge rifes to a greater height, and ex-,
pands to a greater breadth ; and in the fifth returns to
its former height of half a yard , and its former width
of four or five. And in the fifth and fiixth clofes the
gravel is very copious, as the ridge of it is pretty plain
in the feventh, and {till plainer in the eighth.
The road then relinquifiies the fields for a while,,
enters the right line of Butler's-lane, and pafies along
it beyond the fign of the Fire-engine, the left-hand
bank of the lane being near ita 'Commencement com-
pofed of the graveU And, at the corner of the fecond
inclofure on the right b«yond the fign, it once more
turns off into the fields, and appears for the whole
length of the third, or Brickhill clofe, half a yard iii
height and five- or fix in breadth, the left-hand bank,
of the ground being formed with the plunder of the
road.
Croffing the lane beyond in a confiderable ridge, it
appears in the firft field with an evident elevation, ex-
tending eight or nine yards in width, and fringed with
a broken line of rulhes on either fide. The ridge is
vifible
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l« THE HISTORY Bookt.
SdBt. I. fifiWe along a part of the fecond, and very plain along
whole of the third. Interrupted by a lane, it
fteals juft vifible along the fourth. But, in the boggy
extent of the fifth, the gravel becomes copious and the
ridge evident. And in the fixth it prefents a width of
nearly feven yards to the eye. In the feventh per*
ceivable by its flight elevation, it difappears in the
eighth, but is difcovered by the gravel in the ninth,
and along the floping fide of the right-hand brook.
And in the tenth the h^ck of the road is once more
cocfpicuous, arid th^ body of the gravel even with the
horizon.
It then croffes the lane which leads to the Mediock
and Bradford with a fair eminence, but immediately
lofes it, and is only difcovered by the fpade in the firft
field and along the left-hand edge of it. And, thus
pafling another field and a croft, it is cut through by one
of the wafhing-pits at the Well-houfe, and now furnifHes
an hard bottom of gravel to the water. Going through
the fold beyond it, the road enters the neighbouring lane,
and reaches Newton-heath. There, obliterated for the
firft hundred yards, it becomes very plain for an hundred
^nd fifty ; the gravelled ridge rifing more than half an
one in height, and fpreading eight or ten in breadth ;
and the brown-green colour of the track, in winter, being
ftrongly contrafted by the light hue of the rulhes along
it. For a few yards immediately on this fide of the
chapel, the courfe of the road is effaced, but appears to
have gone direftly into it, and through the whole
length of the foufhcrn fide j and was there difcovered
at
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ehzp.W. GF MANCHESTER, 123
^t the ereaion qf the prefent ftrufture. And on the Sea^l. .
pther fide of it the elevation appears ggain, but lefs
confplcuous and of a Ihorter extent 5 being only about
a quarter of a yard in height and feven or eight in
breadth, and continuing' about an hundred in length.
Here the line of The road poipts vifibly through the
right-hand extremity of the houfe, which ftands on the
caftern margin of the heath. . And the gravel of it is p. 84,
cafily found in the ground-flooring of the loom-houfe
^ithip it.
Entering the fields that lie betwixt the heath and
Back-lane, and traverfing them obliquely a little to the
right of the foot-road, the way is difcovered by the
fpade at the farther end of the firft field, appears with
a ridge in the third, and re-appears with another in the
eighth* In ihe third it rifes about half a yard in height, s
and continues acrofs the whole breadth of the field;
but, in the eighth, the ridge is fmall and the gravel
low. And from this point, running nearly parallel with
the cotirfe of the Back-lane and within the diftance of
a few yards from it, the road proceeded through the
Jioufes at the extremity of Lort-lane, and through the
barn and houfes of Wagftaffe-fold. And it was dif-
jcovered a few years ago at the conftruftion of the barn.
Soon afterwards, crofling the Back-lane, it falls into ^
the line of another, and extends along it about a mile
and ^n half ; going all the way in a direft courfe, and
being denominated Street. And, about eighty yards
from the entrance, are fome remains of the road which
?ire remarkably perfeft, and carry the grandeft appear-
fHice of any that I hayt? fccn i^ the ifl^nd.
flere
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124 THE HISTORY Book.^
Sea, L Here a mofs interfered the courfe of the way. An
" houfe on the right is ftill denominated the Mofs-Gatej
the fields on either fide ftrongly retain their mofl/
quality ; and the rotten flocks and bodies of trees arc
frequently difcovered by the plough. And this traft
apj)ears to have extended a whole mile in length .a<;rqf^
the road, fome parts of it being tQlera,bly firm, but otheri^.
dangerous and deep.
About fifty yards within the entrance into Street-
lane, the Roman road reaches the edge of the mprafs,^
apd immediately prefents a confidcrable ridge to the
eye, having kn elevation of a yard and an half above the
ground on the left. In fixty more, the ground flopiag
P. 85,' fiiarply away onihe right, the elevation is three ojc four
above it, as in other, fixty it is nearly five, and in feventy
more aftually fix/ And, thus gradually gaining a loftier
creft and a more magnificent afpeft, the road is carried for
no lefs than four hundred yards acrofs this hollow of
the mofs. The ridge of the gravel rifes gently for the
firft two hundred, and falls as gently for the next* And
the creft of it is nearly level' l4i^ei^i with the roof of
an adjoining cottage.
^ This extraordinary grandeur of the way is not, as
might naturally be imagined at firft, the. mere refult of
Roman contrivance and Briiifti induftry. It h^a heca
pardy occafioned by the accidental fubfidence of the
ground upon either fide, the thick coat of turf having^
been greatly cut away, ^nd the ground reduced nearly.
to its vegetable mold. And it has been equally pro*
duced by the procefs of the Romans in conftrufting^
the road. From a large opening which 1 made into,
the
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tlhap-lV, O'F MANckESTER. 125
the turf below the Roman gravel, they appeared Sea. L
■ to have trenched the line of the mofs, that was
deftined to receive the road, very deeply on either
fide. And the larger and more folid plates of turf,
Which rofe with the (hovel from the lower parts of the
trench, they laid upon the original face of the bog,
and raifed the level of it more than a yard in
height. For, on finking a pit along the fide of the
graVel atid a y^rd and an half irlto the black foil, no
ling or heath was found upon the furfac^ of thb olie
and immediately below' the other. It was firft found
about a yaM beloW the furface. And it Was tHcii dif-
covered in confiderable quantities. The whole work
was carried gradually floping upwards, from a broad
bafis of twelve or fourteen yards on the 'face of the
mofs, till, at the height of nine 6v teUj it terminated in
a creft of three or four, and ran even with the firm
ground at either end of it. And the Roman gravel ap-
pears heaped upon the loofe foil, aiid raifed near a yard
and an half above it.
The road having reached about forty yards beyond p. ge,
the tottage, and pafied the boggiefl: region of the mofs,
the turf of ^hich, even beheath the weight of the Ro-
man graVel, is fiiill very foft and fpongy ; the level of
the ground on both fides begins to atife, and the height
of the ridge is immediately lowered. But the track
continues to be very evident, the gravel even lying half
a yard in depth upon the firm black earth,' and the creft
rifing about a whole one in height above the fields about
it. Thus proceeding, the road fometimes extends into
the inclofures on the left, and the bafe of the left-hand
hedqe
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u6 tUE iiistoitlir Bookt
Sesa. I. hedge is almcrfl continually formed iifrith the grate! of it.
And in the third field beyond the cottage, where the
catt fometiitied plufiges to the axle-tree andi the bor£es to
the belly in the quaggjr foil, the border of the road is
Well kno^fii to the farmer by the^great dJlEcultj^ 6f har-
rowing the ground and the great fcantinefs of t^t com
upon it.
Thus does It eofitinae ailorig the lane, the ^ourfe of
it being ftitl denominated Street, and the gravel more
or lefs vifible all the way. But approaching the eotti-
mon.of Hollinwood, and the hne turning away on xhd
right and left, it deferts the latter aad re-enters the
fields, fweeping acrofs Wulfenden's meadow, where it
is frequently found, afcending the Kttle elevation of
Barnfield, where it is jufl: viiible^ and appearing iti ^
flairi green ridge along the rufliy kfel of Mofs-gravc.
And going through Mr.Kerfliaw's kitchen^roft and fold^
* and over Mr* Bent's gaitefield, it proceeds to Glodwick/
where it has been found by the plough in oitt part, anrf
is vifible to the eye for' a great number of yards together
b another. It is agahi feen at the defcent of the'bill^
arid in the grounds of Wellihole. It leaves Haigh Cha^-
pel a little on the fouthy, goes tip the hill to the vilkgd
of Ofterlands, and enters Yorkfhire ; keeps in the hx"
clofures along the fouthern edge of the High-moor^
and comes clofe to £not-hiil in Saddleworth. Cfoflins^
the Manchefter and Htithersfield road at Delf, and paf-
fing along the fields to Caillefhaw, it appears in one
long green feam upon Clowze-mofs, and is popularly
denominated the Old Gate. And it appears again in a
green track upon the hill which is called the Reaps,
leaves
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Chap.IV. OF MAIJCHESTER- 1^7
leaves March-hijOl a little to the norths and MarfdeA Sc6:. t
about a mile and an hatf to the fomh^ and runs over ^
the middle of Holm-moor^ up Cupwith-moor, and by
Polemoor-ftone, to the northern &ic of Gowkerhili *,
and the groondplotof Cambodunum,
This ilation has never been hitherto difcover^. Fixed
originally at Aldmondbury, it has fince been carried to
Gretland-moor ^# But the fame good reafon which oc- p, g^^
fioned it to be transferred from the former pofition^ that
lying too much to the fouth of the vifible road, has
equally caufed it to be removed from the latter, that
being equally too much to the north *. Thus uncertain
does the fite of Cambodunum remain. And, though
the moors have been fearched with uncommon diligence
by a couple of antiquarians % and the track of the roa^
is ocfafionally very plain over them, not a ftation or the
traces of one have been hitherto.difcovered ; except a
large camp at Kirklees, about a mile to the fouth of
the road's dire&ion and twenty-eight meafured miles
from Manchefter, and a imall one at Caftleihaw, diredly
on the track, but only about twelve from the town.
Neither of thefe can ftand for Cambodunum. The one
is too fmall, the other is too remote from the road, and
qeitfaer are about the fpecificd dift^ance of Cambodunuoi
from Maricunium.
From the concurrent authority of Richard and Anto-
june, the former appears to be eighteen miles from the
latter. And, as to Calcaria on the other fide, we may
fix. Cambodunum at any diftance from it, becaufe of
the difference in the numerals of the two Itineraries i
Richard's placing Cambodunum at twenty-two miles
from
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128 TH£ HISTORY BookL
Sea. L from Calcaria> and Antonine^s at twenty. But thefe
eighteen Roman miles, by the neceffary deduftiori of
one fourteenth for the difference betwixt the Roman
"and Englilh meafure, will be contrafted to fixteen and
three quarters Englifti, and by the as neceffary addition
of one fourth, for the difference betwixt the road and
horizontal mile acrofs this broad and lofty ridge of
mountains*, will be augmented into tWenty-rwo.
About the twenty-fecond mile therefore from Caftle-
field along the track of the Roman road, will be the
fite of Cambodunum. And juft about that diftance
from it and Madchefter I find it. The ground upon
which I fettle the town is vulgarly denominated Slack,
and lies in the townlhip of Longwood and the parifh of
Huthersfield. Here are four clofes, which are called
the Eald or old fields and crofts % and adjoin to the
P,88.courfe of the way from Mancunium, Thefe ' contain
an area of twelve or fourteen* acres, and are watered
with a couple of brooks, that meet juft at the • town
and curve round three fides of it. Here feveral foughs
have been found, pieces of thick glafs, urns, bones, and
flips of copper. And crouded foundations of buildings
have been equally difcovered along them, fome a yard
in thicknefs, and all compofed of ftrohg ftone and ce-
ment. Two of the fields have been lately cleared. But
the others remain to this day entirely filled up with
them. And the farmers have frequently broken their
ploughs in all.
Thus plainly have thefe Eald fields been the fitc of
fome confiderable town. And it was certainly a Ro-
man one. The pofition of it amid the wild extent of
dicfc
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Chap.IV- OF MANCHESTER. M^
thefe moors atid upon the courfe of the Rotnan toad Scft. I.
over them, and its exaA diftanCe from MadCtinlum^ '
do of themfelves declare it to be Roman. And a great
quantity of Roman bricks ha§ been difcpvercd in the
foundations, iqme long and fonie fquare, und all of a
beautiful red* The latter Were frequently twenty-twc^
inches in the fquare, and found in the floorings
of the houfes ; as in fome was dug up a thick cruft of
brick, rudely fcored into fquares in imitation of tef^
fellated Work, and In others a pavement, compofed of
pounded brick and very white morter. Near the
caftern fide of the area, where three ftone*-hcdges and
three lordfliips now meet, and whence a long line of
houfes appears from the dlfcovered foundations to
have extended towards the nofth, were lately found
three coins of brafs; tWo of which were foon loft
by the carelefnefs of Ignorance, and the third has
CAES. AVG. p. M. TR. on one fide, S and
C in the middle, and PVBLICA round the
other. And thefe two Roman infcriptions have alfo
been difcovered^
OREB V R R HU 1
And
O P V s *
The former of them, walled up in a building, was copied
for me by the Reverend Mr. Watfon. And the latter
is in my own pofleltion*
But near the place where the coins were difcovcred P. 894 ,
twis very lately a mount, one y^rd in height ta4 about
Vol- I. K -&iffty
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^3^ t H E H I S T O R Y Book L
^SeA. J. thirty in circumference. And in the nibbifh of it, and
ibout three .yards below the ground, was dug up the
foundation of a buildingj conftru£ted of ftone and
floored with bricks. Upon the eafteru fide of this, and
below the level' of the floor, was a fmall chamber,
four yards in length and two and a half in breadth. It
^as fupported by pilafters, rifmg half a yard in height,
and formed of fquare bricks. And it was paved with
pounded brick and morter, very hard, and about a yard
in thicknefs. This was clearly a Roman Hypocauft, and
the flooring was defigned to bear the requifite force of
the fire ; as the fpace between the pilafters was fuffi-
cient to admit the body of a boy, and the pavement was
" covered with a quantity of black aflies. And, on the
weflern fide of the building, were found a Roman
altar and its bafis. The former is now in my own
jpofleffion, and this is the infcription upon it.
FORTY N AE
'- • , S A C R V M
OANTO-MODES- ' I-
"^ V • S • L • M
And at full length it runs thas: Fortuna^ fachim.
Cuius Antonius Modeftus, centurio legionis /ext^
viftricis piae fidelis, votum folvit lubens merito ; Caius
l^ntonfus Modeftns, centurion of the fixth viftorious;
pious, and faithful legion, confecrated this altar t6
^- /i foTtune, and with pleafure difchargcd the Vow which
lie owedr ••' — — • ^
J .. . ^^
us
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^hap.iV. OF MANCHtBTER.
Thus plainly are the remains evinced to -be Roman.
'And what has been fought ineffeftually for a century
^nd an half, the real fitc of Cambodunurh, is iio# diP-
covered. The town was conftruifted along tliefc font
clofes ; and the ftation was placed upon thef neighbont-
ing fields, and immediately perhaps beyond the chan*
mei of the weftern current. There is a proper fite for
'a camp, a*" tongue of land formed by the union of the
two above-mentioned brooks, and defended by ihcii
deep channels on two fides.
So fitaated were the town and ftation of Cambodu-
num. And four Roman roads commence at both, and
'go away to Manchefter, York, and two other ftationsip. 90.
That from Manchefter, crofting the level of the fecond
and loftier range of the Yorkfliire hills, becomes ft
boundaTy to the parifties of Halifax and Huthersfield,
lias Longwood on the right and Stainland*modr on fhe
left, and, paffing within two hundred yards from the
ftation and town, throws off a way to them on the right;
And that from York, courfing fourteen yards in breadth
over Lindley-moor, defcending along the left fide of
Lee-hill, and going in the track of the Out-lane, throws
off another to the town and ftation. But 'both thefe . '
l)ranches are alfo parts of two other roads, which ex*
tended from this to two other towns* One ftretches
vifibly over Stainland-moor, appearing as a green lift
^crofs the heath, paffes over Foreft-hill to Stainland-^
X)enei and in fome inclofutes at the bottom has been
difcovered by the plough. It traverfes the valley neat
the prefent bridge into the townfliip of Barkifland,
Toeing itf this and that of Staihland denominated Saville^
K 2 gate;
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T H E H I S T O R Y Book L
gate; goes by Mofsleydcn-gate, andacrofe tbe town«
(hip of Riihworth^ to the old road over Blackflone
Edge, and to that part of it which is called the DeTiFs
Caufeway; and is denominated the Danes^road by the
fcepherds of Rifliworth. And it then runs to the Ro-
man way from Manchefter to Ilkley, and, as is afTerted
by the ihepherds, proceeds acrofs it into Lancafliire *•
The other goes away from Gambodunnm N. E. by N.,
has been difcovered in an adjoining field fix or fevea
yards in breadth, and crofles the Romian road from
York to Manchefter in a confiderable angle. It paffe«
along a green lane, and is therefore denominated
Green-gate. And, running by the foot of Lee-hill, it
points, I think, to the Roman town of Adel Mill near
Leeds %
The name of this ftation in the Itineraries of Richard
and Antoninus is wriuen Cambodunum, but Camun<»
lodunum in the Geography of Ptolemy, and in that
of Ravcnnas more rightly Camulodunum ; being fully
diftinguifhed in both from the camp which partook of
the fame name, the Camudolanum of the former and
the Camulodulum Colonia of the latter* External
P, 91, teflimony therefore, the only evidence that we can have
in the prefent cafe, favours one name as much as the
other* v Both were equally the appellations of the
ftation. And we (hall foon meet with. other fortrefles
that bear a duplicate of names. Camulodunum is
merely the general title of a camp, Camulus being one
i){ the Britifh denominations for Mars, and Dunum
fignifying a tpwn '°. And Cambo-dunum more fpeci-
fically imports the fortrefs on the ftrcam. The one
is
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Chap.IV, OF, MANCHESTER; ifSj
is defcriptive of its particular p6fition# And the other Sc^- !•
is declarative of its military application*
The pafs over the mountains, which goes along the
fite of Cambqdunum, is much lefs interfered with hills,
f allies, and rivers, than any other that could be found
for many miles on either fide of it"« This therefore*
in the time of the Britons, would be the cuftomary
paffage from the fouih of Lancafliire into that of
Yorkfliirc, And the Brigantcs and Siftuntii would
both of them, for their own fecurity, endeavour to
guard It by the ereftion of forts upon it. ; Nor was this
the only pafs that fecms to have been fortified. Brg- "
metonac in the north, a fortrefs about Colne, and
a fecond perhaps about Littleborough or Windy-bank,
in the middle, and a fourth at Caftle-fhaw in the fouth,
feem to have* formed a regular chain of camps for that
purpofe upon the Lancafhire fide of the mountains,
and to have been anfwered by another on the York-
Ihire ; Camulodune being oppofed to Caftlelhaw, and
Olicana anfwering to Colne. And that Caftleftiaw, in
particular, was once a fortrefs of the Britons, feems
pretty plainly evinced by fome few remains which have
been accidentally difcovered at it. Within the area of
the caftle, extended as from the prefent eminence of
jhe ground and* the appellation of the Hvifteads and
Caftle-hills it appears to have been, and containing
feveral ftatute-acres in its corapafs, have been dug up
thofe roujid beads of the Britons, that have been
equally difcovered in the barrows on Salisbury plain '*.
They were of earth or pafte perforated, ribbed or
fluted on the outfide, and coloured over with a bluifti p^ ^^^
. ^ K 3 green.
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n4 .r'T'H E H 1 5- T O R Y ; Book L.
Sffci. L gretin. ,. And within one or two fields. fyom it was ktely
difcovcrcd a bra?eu Celt, hollow in the blade, and
carryiQg a loop a|: the head'\ The region of Sad-
dleworth indeed, of which the fite of C^ftlelhaw ia a
part, now belongs to the county of York. But it ha$
jevi^Icntly been difmembered from Lancafliire, being
even now a chapelry in one of our Lancaftiire parilhes^
and the greater of this double range of hiH$ naturally
forming the barrier betwixt the Siftuntii and Bri-
gantes '\
The Britons finding a fite at Cambodunum that wa^
very well calculated for a . fortrefs ; fcreened from
the violences of the weather by the high groi;»ids around
jt, and yet no-ways liablp to be infulted from thcm.j
well providjed with water, and very capable of
defence ; they placed their tpwn upon it* Jt; was then
affuredly encompafled on every fidp by theforeft, which
xovejred -the moors to thefe later ages, and has given
the denomination pf Foreft-hill to a neighbouring
height. And here the Romans, for the fame reafon,
;^ftetwards planted a ftatiopary town. This appears
from its remains to have been confiderable, and from
ilichard to have even obtained the honourable privilege
pf the Jijs Latinura'\ And it mull once have given
,the chearful afpeft of cultivation to thcfe waftes, and
inade the bufy hum of men to /efound in .thefe foli-
vtudes. But, it was deftroyed very early in the period
pf the S^xons^ The voice of Tradition, which fpeaks
fo loujijy -at \the fites of fome Roman towns, is either
•jibfbytely filent or very faintly whifpers at this ; though
fcaic^ly afij^gje relick perhaps appears at the former,
M •. * . and
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Chap.jy. OF MANCHESTER. 135
and the remains are equally numerous and remarkible 21 Sea. I.
the latter. And the town was clearly, as Cambodunum . -
has been generally fuppofed.to have been, the'famous
Campodonum of Bede, and levelled to the aground
cluring the \vafteful invafion of Cadwallaun and Penda
in 633, and within a few years only after its firft fub-^
jniffion to the Saxons. With the Romans began the
glory of this hilly region. And nearly with the Bri-
gantes was it terminated for ever '^,
^Hqrfeley p. 387, and others. — * Mr. Percivars p. 93.
Effay in Phil. Tranf. Vol. XLVII. p. 2 1 9, &c. — ' Horfer
ley p. 414. — ^ Mr. Percival's Effay* — ^ Mr. Angier
of Heton (Horfeley p. 413.) and Mr. Percival of Ry-
ton. — •** Ogilby's Roads p. 41. 1698, and Horfeley p.
412. — ^ The name is vulgarly pronounced the Yekl
Fields, as the ireighbouring Ealand is popularly denor
minated Yelland, ^nd fome Eald houfes at Rufliulme
near Manchefter are equally called the Yeld houfes,
— ® The account of this road I received from the Rev.
Mr. Watfon, who lately refided at Ripponden in the
neighbourhood^ and obligingly affifted me in dif-
covering the fite of Cambodunum. — ^ See Phil. Tranf.
Vol. XXIII. p. 128'$. — '° Camden p. 322, Ca^Hir p.
164, and Gruter p. 56. — And fee alfo Montfaucon's
Antiq. Expl. torn. I. p. 46. plate 17. Mr. Pegge oji
Cunobeline's coins p. 15. fuppo(es Mars to have had
different denominations among different tribes, Camuliis
among the Caffii or Trinovantes, Belatucadrus among
the Brigantes, and.Braciaca among the Coritani. But this
is a miftake, I think. Mars appears from the other name
•of Cambodunum to have been called Camulus among
. K 4 the
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13^ T H E H I S T O R Yj Book L
'Sci9. 1, the Brigantes, as well as the Trinovantes or Caflii.
5^ — ^""^ And 4II the names without doubt were common to all
parts of the ifland.— " Phil. Tranf. Vol. XLVII. p. 225*
— " Stukeley's Stonehenge p* 45» ^^ *^ See ch, i. f. 2.
b- ;. •-r "* See ch,, v. f. i. b. I. — '* See b. I. eh. 8.
, f. I. — ' '* See Gampodonum in Bede I. ii. c, 14 : and
^hc B and P are frequently interchanged, as I fliall
fljew hereafter. Bafilicam (fays Bede) cum tota eadem
tilla fuccenderunt. It was levelled to the ground juft
thirteea years after its fubmiffion to the Saxons. Sec
b. ii. ch. 2. f. 5.
The antiquarians h^ve Ipng called upon their incor-
porated brethren of London, to publifti the many ufe-
ful fliffertations that were knowi} to be lodged in their
archive?. Tl^e work is at laft beguti. And the pub-
lick has been this winter* obliged with the fir ft volume
of the Antiquarian Tranfaftions. This is a valuable
prefent in itfclf. But it is mpre valuable for its future
confequences. It now forms a regular and refpeftablc
P. 94. Tepofitpry for the effufioqs of thp antiquarian genius.
|t will peculiarly ftimulate the ingenious aqd fenfible,
both in and out of the foclety, to remit th^ir difqui-
fitions to it. And \fc may therefore yery fafely affirm,
that each ftfcpeeditig volume will rifp fuperipur in fpirir,
fcntiment, and vffefulnefs to the firft.-r-In this, itiy learned
and ^pmmunicatiye^ friend the Rev, Mr. Watfon, now
reftpr of Stockpor; in Ghelhirc, and the late Thomas
f erciyal Efg; of Ryton near M^nchefter, have advanced
feveral particulars relating to the fubjeft of th? prcfcnc
? Thg wij^ter in which the firft Edition was publifhe^i that pf ; 7.70-7 !•
feSion,
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Chap. IV. OF MANCHESTER- 137
fe<JVion, which have been too haftily taken up, I ftiink. Sea. L
3ind are generally unjuft. And, as they claih with the
opinions that I have advanced in the text, I feel my-
felf compelled in my own defence to notice them. Thus
Mr. Percival in p. 63, on fuppofitions frivolous in
themfelves, and Mr. Watfon in p. 218—220, on rea-
fonings confeffedly contrary to authority, fix the boun-
daries of Maxima and Flavia, not (as they a£lually ran)
along the Humber, the Don, and the Merfey, but
along the Humber, the hills of Caftlelhaw, and the
Kibble. In p. 2i6--^2i7 Mr.. Watfon endeavours to
fix the Alunna of Ravennas at Caftleihaw, principally
becaufe it occurs in that Chorography near to Mantium,
the fuppofed Manucium of Antonine i when both An-
tonine and Richard confeffedly go over the road on
which Caillefliaw Hands, without the lead: mention of
Alunna ; when the very name implies a iituation the
reverfe of Caftlefliaw, a poiition upon a river, from
which this is at fome diftance; and the Alunna
of Ravennas fo obvioufly points at the Ad Alaunam or
Lancaftcr of Richard. And, p. 22 j, Mr. Watfon fixes
the Campodonum of Bedc at Doncafter, becaufe Al-
fred miftakenly tranflates it Donafelda, and becaufe
Campodonam was deftroyed at the invafion in which
Edwin was killed at Heathfield near Doncaflbr. But
the names of the towns in Bede muft evidently be fought
in the Itineraries of the Romans^ and Cambodunum
is obvioufly refle^led in Campodonum. Doncafter
would alfo have been mentioned by him under the ap-
pc^ation of Dano Cacftir or Caftrum a4 Danum,
^u4
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,38 T H E H I ^ T O R Y ^ Book l.
Sea, I., and k cxprefsly noticed by the Continuator of Ncnnius
^* under the firailar title of Caer Daun. And from this
latter circumftance it plainly appears to hayc not been
dcftroyed in A. D. 633. The Campodonum of
Bede, therefore, cannot be Doncafter. It can only beth^
Camboduqum of the Itineraries. And we have exaflily
a, parallel inftapce among the Brigantes of the Alpine
regions, the Cambodunum of Ptolemy (p. 62) being de-
nominated Cajnpodunum by Strabo (p. 3x6).
IL
p. 9^. To fettle the particular pofition of Condate, hath
long embarraffed the hiftorical criticks. Fixed origi-
nally at Congleton becaufe of ibme remaining fameneis
in the name, that only guide in the infancy of and-
^uirian learning 5 it has beea lately placed upon betr
ter principfes at or near Northwich. But it was at nei-
ther one nor the other. The fite of the ftation is
pointed out by the courfe of the road. And this Is af-
•certained by the broken remains of it, which fome-
times appear, by the direftion of them, where they
ccafe, and the fure fignaturcs of the name of Street,
t^here both fail us.
Richard's
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Ghap^lV. OF MANGHE;ST4R. f,^^
Richard's 6th Iter runs thus, And AntoiiineV ad thus, -Sea, IJ.
FromMAjSrCUNlUM From MANUgiUM to '""^^
FINIBUS MAXIMA
ET FLAVIN mvP- .18 CONDATE 18^
CONDATE ?8 .;
Deva , 18 ; peyat 20v
Richard's loth goes . And Antonine's loth.
From M ANCUNIUM to From M ANCUNIUM to
CONNATE 23 CONDATE 18,
Mediolano 18; Mediolano i9«
. The road to Condate did uot take ibc direft way
from tjie ftatbu to Throftle^neft, but made a l?u*gc
curve on the fouth t<:^ reach it» A right line Would
Jiave, carried it from the fouth-weftern angle of the
camp, acrofs the channel of the Medlock, and in thfe
line of the new canal into the road at Corne-brook^
Bat this route w^i^ prevjented by the .^eepnefs of, the
l>ank^ ihe want of a ford there aerofs the channel, and P- 96,
ih^ prudence of retainiog both in their natural ftftte,
as the prineipal barriers of the cainp on the fouth.
The way to Condate j^nd Cambodunum commenced
at the fame time from the eaftern gate of the flatioo,
and proceeded in one line along the eaftern fide of the
Caftle-fiold. And, parting at the extremity of the field,
the former winded along the defcjent' to the river, and,
a liitle on thi$ fid^ of Porne-brook, turned ori the right , ;>
to gain the courfe in which Jt ftiould originally hav/e
-mpved. Faffing from this point alopg the track of th«
. prefeat
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140 T H E H I S T O R Y Book I.
Sea. iLprefent highway, but twifted into angles by the un-
' equal encroachments of the inclofures upon it, it pro-
ceeded through the village of Stretford to the bridge
over the Merfey. And, as no appearance of the
Roman workmanfhip can be expefted along the line
of the prcfent road, fo none are difcoverable, I believe,
on the borders of the adjoining fields^ In the unvarying
level of thofe low meadows particularly, which ex-
tend from the village to the ford, the leaft ekvation
of a road would be immediately perceived. And, in
the coat of river-fand which covers them to a confider-
able depth, the fmalleft feam of gravel would as
readily be diftinguiflied. But no traces of a ridge ap-
pear to the eye above, and no remains of a fouadatioii
are difcovered by the fpade below '.
The road, having paffed the meadows and croffed the
ford, continued along the prefent lane to the village of
Crofs-ftreet, and proceeded through it to Broad-Heath.
There, the prefent way beginning to wind upon tho
left, and to point towards the town of Ahringham, the
Roman deferts it, and enters the fields that have been
lately inclofed from the heath. And the line of gravel
is frequently found in them by the fpade, lying upon
the black turf and white fand. And, at the farther
end of them, the road was difcovered in cutting the
canal, and the traces of it appear at prefent in the
gravelled fide of the bank. It then entered the inclo-
P. 97. fures of Oldfield-Hall, is invifible in the firft, but very
vifible in the other three. Thefe appear to have been
originally a part, of the neighbouring mofs, which is
denprainated Seaman's, which once fpread into a large
extent
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Ckp-IV. OF MANCriESTSR. 14,
extent on the rights and has ftill fome narrow remains Sea. II.
immediately on the left. And the road was conftruAcd
along them with a good elcYation. Within thefe very
few years, the gravel has been carried away to the
depth of a yard in many places. And yet the feam
remains very confpicuous along the third and fourth
fields.
But, leaving thefe, the .roads enters a clofe that was
hedged in from the mofs only a few years ago. This
was the moft boggy part of. it in the time of the Ro-
mans, as even now the foil is fo extremely loofe and
foft, that with great facility I pulhed a whalebone
whip a full yard into the ground. Over fuch a ixzSt
of land, the road was neceflarily raifed with gravel to a
confiderable height. And it ftill carries a lofty ridge,
being popularly called the Upcaft, and having a fall for
ten or twelve yards on either fide. And it lately carried
a loftier ; a great quantity of gravel having been taken
off from the fummit foon after the inclofing of the
field, and equably difperfed along the fides.
Having croffcd the mofs, it leaves the low grounds
to which it had hitherto been confined, and begins to
afcend the Dune or hill that terminates the valley 'of
Manchefter to the fputh-weft, and gives name to the
neighbouring Dunham. Not mounting the fummit,
but paffing along a lower flielve, it enters Dunhanv-
park, and once communicated the name of Street-head
to the height. And this is retained by the only ha-
bitation which is near it, a fmall houfe at the foot of
it and upon the margin of the prefent road.
Pefcending
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V4'2 ^ T H E ' H Ts T OR t • Book t
y^Sca.lL Defcendlrig the flope of the liill, ahd leaving thi
' -p/oS. park, itcroffed the little valleybeyood, and m rivulet
theBoUen, and once mote fell into the prefent road near
New-bridge. This one fignificant circumftance indi-
cates of itfelf. The whole length of the prefent road
from New-bridge to Buckley-hill is denominated
Street. The Roman road, therefore, ftrietchesr away
from the angle immediately beyond the bridge, along
the courfe of the prefent road, and left Roftherne-Meer
about a bow-lhot from it on the left. It thus proceeded
to Buckley-hill, being all the way popularly known by
the expreffive appellation of Street. From Buckley-
hill it pafled to Mere-town, going in the fame line and re-
taining the fame name. And about two miles beyond
the latter, paffing the hollow channel of a brook, it
affumes the name of Holford-flreet, and preferveS it
for half a mile together.
A little beyond the conclufion of this, the prefent
road beginning to tend too much towards Northwich,
the Roman infenfibly fteals away to the left. But
about a mile beyond the point, and in the dircftion of
the courfe, we recover it again. And this new part of
it is a well-gravelled lane; denominated Street, and ex-
tending in a right line for four or five miles together*
The appellation of it is written Kind-ftreet by the only
antiquarians that have named it, Mr. Horfelcy and Mr.
l^ercival ; but is invariably fpoken King-ftreet by the
people. The former however is pretty certainly the
name, and the latter merely* a corruption, refulting
from the natural humour among till nations, of aifinff-
lating ftrange to familiar names in popular pronun-
|[ ciation.
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Chap.IV. OF MANCHESTER. i^j
<iation. And it formerly led to Condate, and now leads Scft. il.
to Kinderton*. At its commencementi leaving the
town of Northwicli about half a mile to the right, the
Kind-flreet goes on about twelve or fourteen yards in
breadth, a great publick road, and wanting con-
liderable repair. * In its continuance, leaving Rud-heath P. 99.
on the left and Newton on the right, it pafles through '
Ravenfcroft into Kinderton. And the name of the
lane is heard of no more.
Here, therefore, the termination of the road and
the length of the diftance invite us ftrongly to fearch
for a ftation. , The name of Condate is pretty loudly
echoed in that of Kinderton ^. And, what is much
more weighty, this is the firft place convenient for a
camp about the requifite diftance from Manchefter.
The Kind-ftreet, pointing down the bank of the river
to the bridge of Ravenfcroft, forded the channel two
or three yards to the right of the bridge, and entered
the field beyond it. And here it has been aftually dif-
covered. This is denominated the Harbour's field,
and was plainly the fite of the Roman ftation. The
particular pofition of the ground betwixt the river?
Croco and Dane, is a ftrong argument of itfelf. The ap-
pellation of the clofe is an additional evidence, th^
Har-bourh's field figuifying the area of the military
ftation. And the fite and name, the remains about it,
and the tradition concerning it, are a decifive proof '^.
The ground is nearly a parallelogram about ten ftatute-
acres in extent, and bounded by a natural bank, lofty
and fteep, upon one fide, and the little Croco curling
at the foot of it; and by another, lels lofty but more
*• ' fteep.
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,44 Tfif; ttlSToHr. BookL
Sea* It fteeP) on a fecond^ and the Dane running diredly uncleif
^'''**^'*"^ it. And the former falls into the latter at the angle of dke
field. Upon the third fide^ but feveral yards within
the hedge^ are the conCderable remains of a ditch, rifing
lip the afcent^ and beipg once continued probably iot
the £ame line and along the hollow of the adjoining
lane. And upon the fourth the antient ditch preferred
its original perfeftipn, b€ing a fteep fofs about ten
yards in depth, and eight iii breadth at the top ; for-
merly converted, like a part of the other, into the
courfe of a road^ and lately made tkc channel of a
current.
K too. Such was the (lation of Cdndatd. And a road ha^
been difcovered commencing from it, traveriing a field
immediately without the camp, and frequently vifible in
a dry fummer for the whole length of the clofc beyond
both. This is ordinarily called the Roman road, and
from its diredlion appears to have gone to Mediolanum in
Shropfliire. Another went by Home-ftreet-Hall to
Chefter. And a third extended by Street-forge and
Red-ftreet to Chefterton near Newcaftle.
This then is Condate, the ftation fo long loft and (o
vainly fought. Ancj, that it has been fought and loft
fo long, may juftly excite our admiration. The road
pointing towards Chefter, becaufe to that city one Iter
of Antonine carries it; and pointing equally to the
fouth or fouth-eaft of Chefter, becaufe another of his
takes it into Shropfliire ; the courfe of it might have
been eafily inveftigated. The fure fignatarcs of Strct-
ford, Crofs-ftrect, Street-head, Street, Holford-ftreet,
and King-ftreet, names all occurring in the line, all
pointing
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poi^a^ out eithjcr wclJ-knowa villag€|s, cpt{ficti6us P^^^
toiigepces, ^or publick roads, ai^d fome .retained forfovfe^
cai allies together, trace out ^be -co^irf^ 5>f* jit 4^ ^^fg
|>l^Qe^ colours. And the clcjar traditioia of ^ Rom^fll
feattipV and ihfe' appellation of Kinclerton, at the cpnclur
ikm <rf the whde, feed the fuUeft light [vtpah the fit^
df C<;mdate.
The diftanc6 of ihh ftatidn frotoi M^ncurtidm is fixfe^
jby tbe iiixxh Iter of.Ridi^rd at thirty-fix miles, bUt\i^
.the tepth at tWerity-three, and by the tenth ai>d fecpfi^
-of AritonJile att only eighteen. And^ rn this diTerCty osf in-
forni^ti^s, we are fully at liberty to chvife fueh of the
ineaiures ^$ bed agree with tht real diftarice, and igt
j-ejeft .all qf them if none* agfee. We need not th^
.-evidence of the numbers, to afcer tain tht pofitioB of the
i^riip.
In 5he firft ineafure of iiichardf, *hich f ecfeoris thirty-^
fix liiiles from Mancmmim to €ion4ate, he Qiakes the
tematkable infertioh of a ffatioii betw/xt one arid th6
other. Attdthis he or h^ tranfcriber tas placed ^t
feightcen t^iks from bothy aad at the boundaries of the
two ptov>rt(^s, Flavi;i a.nd Maxima. 6ut^ certain a^wfe P. iof# ]
arc concerning tlie courfc of the toad, the very me'fitioa
6f thefe boundaries fi>fews the Eumber of the mile* tx>
be erroiedd^. The limits of the provinces are the bimks
of the Merfey at Stretford i and thefe are only four or
five iRoniaii miles frcte the Cafik-field. Add^ if Ri-
jfthaid^s otber diftan^e of twenty-three to Condate be the
right one, as we fhall find it to be, five muft be the
Aumber i^ this place; five, added to the following
. t^hteepi ixk Hit fi^ctb Iter^ beiiig ecjuivalent tp the twenty-
IfQU L Jtr • three
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If
t4«. f 'THE HISTORY Bookt
Sea. II. three in the tenth. This was pretty certainly the origi-
" nal number. And, the. eye of Richard or his tran-
fcriber unwarily catching the eighteen immediately
below, his hand inferted the latter inftead of the for-
mer ^
Differing equally from both and the truth are the
numbers in Antonine. But the difference may be re-
moved with cafe, and without ah^ alteration of the pre-
fent figures. The two Itinera of Antonine give us
cxaftly the fame length for the diftance betwixt Caflle-
•field and Kinderton, as one of Richard*s affords \is for
that betwixt Kinderton and Stretford. And from this
coincidence it is highly probable, that the intermediate
ftage was originally inferted in the tenth of Antonine
as well as the fixth of Richard, and had the number five
annexed to it in both ; and that the next reckoning of
eighteen miles commenced from it in the one as well as
the other. Such was very probably the original ftatc
of the Iter. And when this and all the fimilar notices,
which muft furely have been once inferted in Antoninc's
as they now appear in Richard^s Itinerary, were thrown
out of the fqrmer in order to contraft • the work, the
abridger overlooked the number annexed to this, and
left the next to fland as it flood before.
The real diftanceffrom Caftle-field to Kinderton camp
IS this. From the crofs at Manchefter to the inn at
Buckley-hill the ground meafures about twelve miles,
and from Buckley-hill by Mere- town to Middlewich
about other twelve. But, as we muft deduft three
""quarters of a mile for the diftance betwixt Gaftle-field
'^^* *and the crofs at Manchefter, fo muft we fubftraft about
a whole
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(JihiipilV, OF MANCHESTER- ; 14^
2 whole one, for the difference betwixt the direft roadi Sea* ^I*
of the Romans and; that of the prefent times from
Broad-Heath to New-bridge, and for the angle which
the latter defcribes^ in going nearer to Northwich and
then turning to King-ftreet* And^ thus fettled, the
real diftanee from the ftation at Manchefter to that
at Kinderton is; twenty-two Englifti miles, which are
very nearly equivalent to twenty-three and three quar-
ters Roman, and therefore fully correfpondent with jthe
number in the tenth Iter of Richard.
But here^ as we walk over the Roman Harborough,
let us refleft a little on the antient hiftory of this part
.of the country, which is fo near to the confines of Man*
chefter, and with which Condate, the firft ftage from
Manchefter to the fouth-weft, is fo intimately connefted.
It is utterly unnoticed by others. It is curious in
itfelf. And it will gready illuftrate the antiquities of
both. ' "
The Gornavii of Ptolemy, before the arriv?il of the
Romans, poffeffed that detached region of Flintfhirc
which adjoins to the village of Banchor, all Chelhire,
all Staffordfhire, thofe parts of Shropfhire which lie
to the north and eaft of the Severn^ alrftpft all
."Warwickihire, and the adjoining lands of Leicef-
.terlhire. They owned the .towns of Deva or Chef'
ter, Uriconium or Wroxeter, Bancborium or Ban-
chory ami-Etocetum or: Wall near Litchfield ^. And
*their dominions appear, to -have reached all acrofs
the whole extent of Warwicklhire to the fouth-eaft-
cm verge of it, as they.exqoyed Bennona? or Clay-
.chefter ; in the- neighbourmg fkirts of Lcicefl^rfliire,
L 2 and
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148 THiE HISTORY BookH
Sea, II and as, dill lower to tbe fouth, a part of Warwick-
' fliire, that lies betwixt "Southam and Coventry and along
the Fofcwaj', is denominated from them the Cornavy
to the prefent pcriod. Tbefe, and the Britons of
ComwaH in the fouth-weftern regions of the iiland,
and thofe of Cathnefe in the north-eaftem, are alt
equally called Carnabii by Richard-* AH of them
were named, we may be fare, from feme one feBcing
circumftance of pofitkm or origin which was common to
them aft. And they were therefore denominated from
P. 103. thenatwe of thcnr Cte. The Caimabft of ComwaM and
CaUhnefij mhabited a region exaftly fimflar 5n this great
partkiilar, that, open upon ^ne fide, it nftfrewed gra-
d\ian-y on the other, and^ •Qiot outtn a proilmmtory into
the fea- Such a pro}e(SS[on the Nitons called a Serena
ab, or an- horn of the fea. And from this> the com-
mon and fignificative charafteriftiek of the two^ countries,
the two tribes that poflfeffed^ them would naturally be
denoininated. - The Camabii, therefore, who inhabited
the wiiole of Staflfordlhire and C?heffiirej and* fereraf
parts of Shropfhtre, Warwickfhire, Leicdleribrre, and
Flintftrire, equally receiYcd Aeir appcHatibn fr©m the
nature of their coaft. And, as all their poffeffions m
the other counties are entirely removed from the fea, thii^
neceffarily carries us ifito -Chefliire. There, m the •
neighbourhood of the Dee, the Camabii are cxprefely
declared by Hichard to haire been originalfy-ftnateff^
And we havfe a region there limHar to thofe dTComwaft
and Cathnefs, open on onelidc, narrowmgo&thc other,
'and {hooting out into the fea ; as the county is contraftca
^n tha *wcft into the peninfiifei of Wirrall, .and -puflttfs
out
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Chap.IV. OF MANCHESTER. ^49
out in that long promontory betwixt the «lbiari€& of the Sea. H.'
Dee afld Merfey* Thus confidGred> the fame three ^^ "^^"^
names all refult from one a^ the iame circmnftance.
And the aniformity of the etymology k a proof of its
propriety '•
Within this peninfula then, and along the contiguous
parts of the county, the Carnabii originally refided.
And from them they originally fallied out, and fpread
their dominions over the reft of the county, over the
whole of StaSbrdihirey and the neighbouring parts of
Shropfture, Warwickflltire, Leicefterftiire, and Flint-
(hire. While they were confined withia the precinfts
of Weft-Cheihire, they feem to have had anly the towns
of Deva and Condate. And the latter appears from its
name to have been the capital, being compofcd of
the words Conda Te^ and fignifying the principal
city ^.
Thus was Kinderton the capital of Weft-Chefliire,P. 104^
and, after the acquifition of the reft of the county,
Staffordihire, and the neighbouring parts of ShropftiiFe,
Warwickihire, Leicefterfhire, and Flintftiire, the metro-
polis of all. But, as it had been ftript of its dignity before
the arrival of the Romans, fo did it moft probably lofe
it in confequence of an invafion from the Brigantcs.
When this aftive and fpirited tribe, about the com-
mencement of the Chriftiaa a?ra, had feizcd all the
fortrefljes that guarded the paffes of the Yorkfcire
hills, and fubdued the country that lay betwixt them
and the fea ; ,they appear to have carried their vic-
torious arms to the fouth and Aonh, croffed the
Mcrfey an4 Solway> and conquei^ed the Selgoras
L 3 of
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Jr5<^ THE HISTORY Book L
Sea. II. of Anandale and the Carnabii of Chefliire. The rc-
^ " duftion of the former Is evinced by a ftatue, which has
been difcovered in their country, and is infcribed to the
Goddefs Brigantia ". -And the conqueft of the latter
is equally Ihewn by an altar, which has been found at
Chefter, and was addreffed to the Goddefs-Nyraph of the
Brigantes". The Carnabii and Selgovae had received
themfelves,* and communicated to the Romans, the wor-
(hip of the peculiar or tutelar divinity of the Brigantes;
and therefore, at the Roman invafion, muft have
been both fubjeft to their dominion. Nothing can be
a fuller proof of the reduftion of one Britiih tribe by
another, than the cjefertion of its own national deity, and
its adoption of the other's.
And this reafoning is fully confirmed by the authority
of Ptolemy. He mentions not the Cornavii as thepof-
feffors of Chelhire. He gives them Chefter indeed ; but
for that purpofe has removed it far away from the
county, and even placed it forty-five miles to the fouth
of Wroxeier, and an hundred and five to the eaft of
it. And from a comparifon of the latitude and lon-
gitude of Seteia or the Dee with thofe of Devana or.
Chefter, as they are all given by himfelf, it appears
plainly, that he did not apprehend the latter to be
wichin or even near to Chefhire, having placed it ninety
miles to the eaft and an hundred and twenty to the fouth
ff i©|. of the former ". The whole county of Chefter was as
much fubjeft tothe Brigantes in thp time of Ptolemy, as
Lancafliire, Weftmoreland, and Cumberland; and
therefore he equally cedes them all to that nation.
JJe particularly extends their poffcflions on this wefter-n
4 fid?
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Chap.lV. OF MANCHESTER. i5t
fide to the channel of the Dee, cxprcfsly affigning ,tfacm Sea. II.
all the region that reached up to the Ordovices, who
certainly liyed beyond it '^ And he fixes the Cornavii,
not to the north of the Ordovices, in Chelhire, but
entirely to the caft of them, in the regions of Shrop-
fkirc and Staffordfliire«
The eruption of the Carnabii was plainly prior to the
invafion of the Brigantes; and this was equally
fo to that migration, which the latter made from our
weftern coaft into Ireland about the year 51 or 52 **f
Prom the friendly accompaniment of the Lancafhirc
Cangii with the Brigantes in the laft expedition ^\
it appears to have been many years after the fe-
cond, and when the conquered had fubdued' the firft
natural impreffions of averfion, and now began to aflb-
ciate in friendfhip with their conquerors. And the in-
vafion was a confidcrable time after the eruptbn, as, in
the interval betwixt both, the conquerors of three or
four counties were reduced enough in charader to be
attacked within their own dominions, and funk enough
in reality to be even fubdued within their original
territories. But, Condate 'being thus poffeflcd by the
invading Brigantes, the unfubdued Carnabii of Flint-
{hire, Shropihire, StaflFordihire, Warwickihire, and
Leicefterlhire naturally erefted a new capital, and raifed
Uricon or Wroxeter to that honour. And Uricon ap-
pears to have, been poffeifed of it at the period of the
Roman invafipn, Condate having then loft all its former
luftre, and being reduced under the power of the Bri-
gantes aad the fupremacy of Ifeur their metropolis '*.
L 4 ! Mr,
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rnt t$I STORY Bookl,
' Mr. Ferciva! therefopfi !a Phil, Trann, aflerting th6
f bad to' be traaeafete }n fKe meadows near tk€ fendgd^
ftrfTered life iiiifagfnatkm to impofe upon ins jXiA^ihtnU
And fuch inafpdfitiQns ^ifl fFcqueptly happeji ifi a^<?
^uarian {yprfuits, if af perfoii be not u|)on ^is gt^ard
againft^^them. -tt- * This is the road which Cannkfeh eon-?
jefttires to be Rom?nj| and erroneoufly irientioHs to-cxr
tend from MiddleWlch to North^ich (p. 461)^ -^ ^ Th(ft
iiaitie of KindertQn is probably formed only by' the pOf*
pular profnunci^tion of the letter R, as Pottage U ptQ-
pounced Pdtrage, ]R:acheI Tachey, GraiHmaiSfa Gi^dtn-
par, &Cf he. rr^ * Sofite of the people abotit Middk?
ip^ich ridiculoufly^ place the Rqman camp upon Ae area Of
feeilpcHDl-hiH in the adjoining field^ a moU^i {^^xreiatk^
ed wkh ditches arid the Danp, t)ut containing Only half
ah acre in extent. — - ' See b. I. ch. 6. L 2'. for thU
inferie4 ftatiori. — ^ Richard p. 24. — * ^ P. ^4^ A4
fiuvium Deyam primo-fiti erapt Carnabii. — * See Bax-
ter in Corihavii, and Carte vol. h p. ig8, for W^ etyr
molbgies that are as idle in tKenifeives, as they are fri-
volous in their application. — "So Coridat^ Rhedonum
in Antoninus &c. -r- '° Hprfeley, Scotland W 34* -rr
" Galc-s Antonirius, p- 53^ -^ " See b* I* ^h. v* fw i.
fbt Setph b(?ing the Pee. — '^ Under t^e Brigafite^
(fays Ptolemy), in the mpfl: wefterly regions, fefide the
Ordpvifes, and more eafterly than the Orddviqes arc
the Gornavii, — ^* Richard p. 51. r^ ^^ See b. L
ch. xii. f, 4. -T- '* Among the Carnabian towns, RelW
cjuarum marer Uriconium, in Richard p. 24 ^ and Utri-
ponion Cornoninorum in Ravennas, or^ as the Vatican
JV}Sj juftly rpads phe words, Urioconium Corn^viorum.
la
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In thefirft votemc of Af ok^eoh^s!, pulyMied this Scft^lt
^erf winter * by the AtfltiqutoJan Bodety^ I fltid tb« th«^' '^'"'"^
l^e Thonias PercJvd Efq; fixes Coftdate a< Kln^rtoii
*itk me; l^pt he aflcrts the Roman fwd from Mai!i*
rheftcrto "be ^^vifibfe alm6il all tie \rt^y (f^* <^>;
Krben^ tlie Rotnan amcf |>f efiiii^t afi!ctally jmtltibg almo^
all the Vay together, it is impbfSbfe for the for-
rhcfr to be mOfe than partiaflly and occafioftllly feen*
Atid he alfcr stfferts the R^mati cstfip to be ** yet ti-P. 1074
(^ fible at Kinderton tfherc the Dane stnd Weaver joitt ^
(p. 62) i whea It is feen miy h tht rem^iflsf of W6
jdkches, ^ftd thde stfe at the diffatrce of fbntt
itiiles frpm the conjunftiott of thofe rivers?. But Mr.
PerCival Was only a ydting aiitiquarian when he died*
Ha<i he lived longer, his natural genius fbr thefe (ttkdiei
*rould hate been more highly cultivated, his fund ot
'^ejHliiag pprifiderably enriched, and his lively mind have
Required new vlgouf and additional s^ecuraey ffotti the
liabit of qbferv|«g and f pfteAing,
m.
fllchard's i©th Iter, Antonine^s leth/
ftdta Btotatdnad^ trom Oalacum
An Al AUKAte m. p. • • • ^ Bremet oKAcit m, p. zf
Cdccio ft. p....** CoceiottLp. 20
Mancunio 18. MAjTct;Nio m, p, 17.
t Tte Wintet of tke firft Edlliop, tliat (^s 770^7 x*
The'
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fS4 THE HISTORY BookL
SfA. IH. ' The road to Goccmaii' or Bladkrode did not "com-
^u.^ pjiu p^gjj^^ immediately^ from the Gaftk-field. It might have
begun at tie jfouth-weftem angle of it, have fwept
over tfee penbfula of Hulme-field, croffcd the Irwell at
the point of the meadow, and ftretched away for
Walkden-moorw And this would have been, the moil
dircft line of the road; But it was/pr,evented.by the
badnefs of the mojrafs betwixt Hulme-field ' and the
^ ftation, and the prudence of retaining fo ufeful a guard
to the latter. And the road to Blackrode afiually
began with the way to Kinderton, and proceeded with
it for more than a jnile. Taking the fame.courfe to
Throftle-neft, it there turned away to the right, and
forded the Irwell at the ihallow which gave deno-
jnination to Old Trafford, and was lately deftroyed
'by the commiflioners of the. navigation. And, having
?• 108. paffed the channel of the river, it then took its prope?
direfition, and fir ft pointed towards the ftation at Blackrode, .
It ranged over the eyes or water-meadows, mounted
the little heights, croffed the high road to Warrington,
and joined the prefent plain and continued remains
near Hope^hall. And this was even, in part, the
cuftomary way into the prefent town from that diftrift
of the country, as late as the prefent century. But, in
all this courfe from die river to the hail, the road
js wholly invifible; and the remains that begin at, the
iatter, and. extend for two miles together, arc the only
arguments of its courfe,
Proceeding along the foot of Harts -hill brow, and
eroding BropmHoufe-lane, it enters the eftatc of Hope-
•febU. It firft flanted along the fide of Dovehoufc-croft,
haa
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Chap.iy. OP MANCHESTER. 15S
has been there turned up by the plcfugh, and appeared S^^- ^^^•^
to be feven yards in breadth. And it is next difcovered .1
in the field which is beyond the old Hope-hall and de-
Bominated the Upper Broad-hope, by the gravel below
the furface, and in the next or lower* Broad-hope by
the long ridge above it. The feam of the gravel is a
proof of the road, as the ground is all naturally clay ;
and the courfe oi the ridge is very evident to the eye.
In the next or Little Brook-field, when the ground is
ploughed, the gravel appears very thick upon the fur-
rows, and ftill more fo at the extremity of the ground
and on the brink of the water. And, in all thefein-
clofures, the track is clearly marked to th6 farmer by
the great luxuriancy of the corn upon it.
The road here leaving the Hope-hall eftate and en-
tering the Heath-fields, the gravel is cafily difcovered
by the fpade in the firft of them, as it croffes the cor-
ndr of it. And in the fecondthe ridge appears again,
but much greater and very large, extending ten or
twelve yards in width, and having a fall on either fide.
Faffing through an angle of the third, the elevation
continues ftill evident, but reduced, in the fourth and
fifth, rifes to a very confiderable height in the fixth,
and retains it in Heath-lane and the field beyond iu
In the laft, it appears equally green and dry for twelve?. 109,
or thirteen yards in width, and is flcirted by a border of
rufties in the wet ground of cither fide. Bur at the ex-
tremity of this, in the next or Toad-hill field, and in
that beyond both, it entirely difappcars ; and the road
16 found only by the fpade in the hither end of the
f^cond and at the further of the third inclofure, and
by
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1^5 THE HISTORY Bookl.
jScsa. HX. fey the gravel which it <Kfcof ers lying upon the natural
^ ' ' feiK And here the ridge fcems to hare been tajten
away by the farmersr, and the ma^Jertak of it dJfpafed
■with ao equal hand over a part of the flopitig ground
©iii the right.
Croffing the next clofe and the lane, it points through
Chorieton fold and the land beyond it ^ a fecood kna
It ihere enters the Weftwdod-fidds^ and appears again
with a fmall ridge^ afcenc^g the flope of the fecond
inclofure> and pointing to a large oak upon the furzy
fummit of it. And at that tre^ aod m the adjoi^g
fiteld, the gravel it tery evident, lying thick upon the
road, and fpreadhjg feveral yards ia width. Iteroffes
the fecond clofe of Mr. Barley in a plain ridge, and the
firft of Mr. Watfon in a plainer. Lofing its elcration
at this end of Mr, Watfon's fecond field, it recovers it
svith an addition at the other.. But, in the ne:(t or Mr.
Bkwniley's, the gravel appears akmg alL the three clofes^
lying in a tall ridge of ten or twelve yards in width.
And, in the adjoining groiidds of Brookfide eftate> the
road ftill appears, though kfs coc^picuous, but retaiatng
an evident elevation, and poipling immediately by Dry*
wood-hdufa to Shaviijg-lajte or Shaving-ftreet, about
half a mile beyond it,
. . This name is preferved by a direft and open lane for
^ mile together, and loft only in that of Stany^ftrect
ja little on- this fide of Walkden-moor. There the Ro-
man becomes the prefent w^^ and pafles in a right
}ine by Street-gate towards the village of Blackrode;
And here it Was difcovered about fixteen years ago^
|>arallel with the prefent road* and at a little diftance
from
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Ctiq>.IV. OF MANCHESTER. . ^gt
/rom it; lying a foot below the furface, xrovcrcd with Sea. to;
ailrongcrop of furzes and briars, and three yards in p^no,
lyretdth smd eight or lune in length.
The name of Stauy or Stony ftreer would naturally
induce one to imagine, that the road which was fo dc^
nominated muft have been regularly paved. And fo*
it was. In the firft field which rt /enters belonging t»
ihe Hope^haU cftate, and in die difcovcry which the
plough made of it fome years ago, it was foimd to be
fct with large boulders. And the fmall piece of it,
which was laid open by the fpade at Blackrode, ap-
peared tobca regular paTcment, firmly jointed together^
mA omspofed of heavy ftones.
Sach was the road that led to tiie Koman flation df
Coccianw But where &aU we fix the adhial fire of the
ilation ? The town, as it fbetns, having been very cai^ly
^eilrofed, the craoe$^ of its amient dignity are almoft
i^ntsrety eraa^ed^ aa!d exH x>n}y at prefent in the faint
fet]!Q%»d of traditionaqr* bifUry and the ^gue geno^
Talkks of a-winter^B talc. And^ in this ft^e xaf uncer-
tainty^ tfarattoQUoii of an aotiquariaii is natoratly ^n-
-^iged at ik& by ikiz name of Caille-CFoft at the lautfth
ieaftern extiremicjr of t^e ftillag^ by the tradition of a
caftie upoft it,, and the evi^ont remains of ditches aroundir.
Bist diis can never :have beenthe^trea of a Koman camp.
It is merely haif an acre in extetit.. And the Aatioh
:€ais not hanre been on liiis fide of the village at all.. It
Wias a&redly on the other, and n;pon the lofty bank bf
\iixc cincer. There only are tfaofe parttcoiarities of fite,
twhieiithe Romans generally fqcnred in the pofition i$if a
•can^^ the convenience of a fiream and the advantage
' .; ^ . . of
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i^t "THE HISTORY fiook L
Seft. lit of a bank^ the cdncurrenc-c of a brook tirith a rivcf>
^^\ und a commodious point of ground betwixt both. The
F', III. one would afford a regular fupply of water to the gar-
riibn. And both would furni£h fome natural defences
to the 6amp»
Tradition affert^ the town to have been originally
erefted, not, as now, Hipon the narrow creft of a lofty
hill which has a gradual defccnt. on every fide of it,
but along the flope to the north-weft and in the line
of the way to Prefton. And, as that part of the Ro-
jmn road, Which Was fome time ago difcoTered at
Blackrode, lay pointing direfily to the river, fo the
diftance^ in the Itineraries lead us to it. The chapel
there is juft at the eighteenth meafured mile, along the
curving courfe of the prcfent highway, from the croft
at Manchefter. But from the ftation in Caftle-field,
and along the track of the Roman road, which falls
:into the other betwixt the feventh and eighth mile
from the crofs, and meafures only about five and a half
to the point, the diftance is merely about fixteen to
the chapel. And from this reckoning we muft deduft
about one fixteenth, for the difference betwixt the ho-
.rizontal and road mile, as the ground rifes gently aH
.the way from the ftation to the village, and is frequently
interfefted with narrow vallies^; and muft add one
fourteenth to the. remainder, for the difference betwixt
the.Englifti miles and the Roman. The former fettles
:thc diftance along the Roman road at fifteen Engliih
.horizontal miles, £^nd the latter at fixteen horizontsil
Roman. And^ as the fpecified diftance to the camp art
Blackrode is: mote than fevcnteen of the latter, wt
muft
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•muft proceed for more than a mile in the direftlon of theScft. a
above-difcovered road, before we can expeft to find
the fite of the ftation. ...
Advancing then in this line and for this length, we
come to the river Douglas, which rifes in the neigh-
bouring Pike of Rivington, and runs by Wigan to
the fea ; near the bottom of the defcent to Prefton^
and at the extremity of the ground on which tra-
dition has erefted the original Blackrode. And here
affuredly was the camp of the Romans. Here the p. 1 12.
Douglas forms a large crook in its channel, a brook
difcharges its little Urn into it, and natural or ^artificial
banks appear on the fides. - Clofely adjoining to thfc
fite is a confiderable barrow; and -tradition fpeaks of a
remarkable battle near it, in which a great officer wa«
flain, many of the foldiers were cut -to pieces, and th^ •:•- -^
Douglas ran crimfoned with tjie blood to Wigan. '
And, here only along the whole bank of the river, arc
all thefe advantages to be found united.
This ground comprehends two inclofuresi one pccfu-
liarly denominated the Rie-hay, and the other the SmJ-
thy-field, and both about feven flatute-acres and a
half*. Lying within a curve! of the Douglas- and, at the
union of a brook with it, they have the channel of the
former, and its precipice of five and feven yards in lengfli,
for the wholeof the northern fide and apa^t of the eaftem,
"and the courfe of the latter, -and its bitik frdfn two tb
•five in height, upon the weftern. Afid on the fouth was
a ditch, 1 fuppofe, winding along the edge of the neigh-
bouring* field, and going acrofs the prefent road' to the,
brink of the riv«r beloW^lic bartow; 1 :* * :
' - Thus
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t49 "rHt UiiTQtY , Bookt
^Scfcilt thitt fewted, the ft»fik)8 iS43f)€»i» t6 ^ at ^e th^
Jdocchwn of Richard iftd AjJ$<;)*iog .aad %i^ JUkgodmiiw
<5f ttolemy. ' Berth the former $kd fatte* hm^ fi^e^f
Jikhcffto i»i?gme4 tb kf^ xht Rih^cbeft^t of thie preferit
tijajesu Bttt I hw« .j^revio^y fc€?wn flwi fi:g)po6$oij t^
Ixs falfe Asoacerniag Coccium. Atid, as it Mates uf
** j^bigo^umzm^ it is dir^Iy <c^^f t& th^ tdtimohy <^
The rdativi ptffidons of th<e tm^^ in thfe a^ithori
tirt JXtAfly sis Inaccurate m general s^s hb sd^firiute.* An4
iHisi^oduimm in partic«dar 4$ ;pIao64 'by him th^'^ty miles
. icoihe^eaft of VinaipYiujsS ot 3»chefter, uHUi^^ny t9'
ihe weft of Devana or Chcfter; *rhen it k ^nnd^Yi
ncwrdisig to all the aatiguwna&s md the tmk, .<^mr
£drra}>ly to thie weft of the forieer atnid «^ of the lat^
?# ii^* Ktp 3ut, though <his 48 the cafe iwith his relajtive po-
JbMf9S of the towns, yet hk celajtive b^saiiings of <hp
Aptc ¥^1 Jfccefffi^ily, from -the progtefli?^ .p?^iflufei:ijy
of his coafting, and the ftrikitig.jHid J^tttfatieiSt iffttmsi
jt£ the i»ark5 in his d^fclrtptijan^ b* (tSf^lfimij ee^aft-
J4 f herefore^ i«re collate his pogticms of the <^/w with hfe
Imfin^Df the other, »nd detfetrmin^ ilie foe from bothy
'jfcwigb we mtfft expedt the r^eititeon W paftalce ,6f the
-^nrc^rj m the foijnfir, we &all K:0me nieairer to the iisitb
J^ tifettsdthiin jtny oi3**r 4«fedi^*-
J fl»U :ltese$f«ir jflicw rhe S««»<f^ .port of Jftofepyi
»bich is in xf «p of ejfterfl loS^tftdCj <o Ine wkjiiir
?«lw jwomh 0f i^e river .Rlbjbfc w^ At 'the /aftQi^ Neb
^ the >fefe. Rhigodwotf^ tl^j^reforc >*as ^ot .Rt .Riln
chefteii beewfe this is jctot, Jfiike tia«, f*?ty Jia^MOtf
miles m a right liot ;tQih« »il<fif lh» ,fpift; t)efagj **
Richard's
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Ghip-IV, OF MANCHESTER. ifli
Richard's Itinerary will faAreafter inform us, only twenty- Sea. HI.
three on the road ^. The fame harbour is alfo placed in
57"* 4S'of northerti latitude, and Rhigodunum in 57"*
30' ; a circnmftance that (hews the lattet to be no-wher^
upon the Ribble at all, as the channel of this river is fo
far from lyiilg to the fouth-eaft of its mouthy that it ac-»
tually runs to the eaft and north-eaft of it.
And, as Rhigodunum is thus Ihewn from Ptolemy's
poiition of the coafl: not to be Ribcheilerj it may ^
cafily be evinced to be Blackrode only. I fliall hereafter
prove Bclifama to be the river Merfey, the mouth of
which is placed by Ptolemy in ly^ 30' and 57"^ 20 \
Rhigodunum therefore, being in 18** 00' and 57"* 30', is
juft thirty miles to the eaft and ten to the north of that
mouth. This neceflarily confines us to the fouth of
Lantaihire and to Blackrode. And Blackrode is the
only ftation that in the leaft approaches the fequUite
diftances, being exaftly about thirty Roman or twenty-
eight Englifli miles to the eaft of the Blade Rock, and
xiine or ten to the north of it*
Thus plsunly docs Rhigodunum appear to have been
intended by Ptolemy for the Cocciuhi of Richard and
Antoninus, and to have been the capital of the Si{tun->
tian dominions^ And the former name is equally ex^ p,ii4^
preiQve as the latter, of the joint fupremacy of both
over the towns of Lancaihire. The latter, which from
the Roman termmation of the word appears to have
been Caer Coed, imports fiterally the city of the hig^
one. And the former^ which may be either Rigo at
Rjgod donum, iignifies the fortrefs of the king or kings ^.
Thus Rag:?, the Roman name of the prefent Lcicefter,
Vol. I. M and
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i6z THEHISTORY Book L
Sed. III. and the Britifli appellation of the Coritanim capital,
' and Reg-n-um or R^en-ti-um, the capital of the Reg*
ni» and the prefent Chichefter in Suflex, are exaftly the
fame with Rig-od and Rigrod-dunum ; being all of them
the Briti& plurals , of the fame word, and equally with
Cocci the deiignation of a metropolis ^ And a dupli-
cate of names appears to have been not uncommon
among the Britons in general for their Rations in the
woods i Caraulodunum and Cambodunum being two de-
nominations for the fame fortrefs, Regnum and R^en-
tium being equally the title of Chichefter, and the Bo-
vium of Antoninus only a different appellation for the
Banchorium of Richard.
The Britiih town, therefore^ which flood upon the
lite of the Roman Coccium, was the metropolis of the
kingdom of Lancaihire, before the Brigantes deicended
from the hills of Yorkiliire and over-ran the country.
It was then within the compafs of that great wood aflur-
cdly, which remained three or four centuries ago under
the denomination of Horwich-foreft, and the fite of
which ftill continues very near it under the appellation of
Horwich^moor. And it was placed there in all pro-
bability by the Britons of Lancafhirc, upon the irruption
of the Carnabii into the counties of Flint, Shrewlbury,
Stafford, Leicefter, and Warwick. On ftich an alarm,
the firft precaution of the Siftuntii would be to fortify
tjjieir expofed frontier on the foutb, and C(»iftru3 the
^wns of .Veratin and Mancenion. And the fecond
'VKQuld he. to fettle others in other pares of their little
P'li^ kingdom, to which the inhabitants might retreat and
t;^e cattk.bfi driven in cafe of an actual invafion. The
:.^ ^ • ' ft)rd
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chap. IV. OF M AN C HESTER. 163
ford at Warrington was fuffidently fecured^ as I (hall Scft. m.
fliew hereafter *; and as probably was that at Stockport,
becaufe it could as cafily be defended. But thofe at
Wulfton, HoUin*s-green, Stoneford, Stretford, Bar-
low, and Didfbury could not be fecured at all, becaufe
of the low grounds for aconfiderable way on either fide
of them, and for want of fuch a particular (ite as I (hall
fliew Warrington to have poffefled ; atid would therefore
be all neglefled. And this rendered it the more ne-
ceffary to conftruft fortrefles in the interiour parts of
the county. In confequence of this, the iriland towns
of Rerigon and Cocci would immediately be laid out j
as about half a century afterwards in all probability,
upon a juft fufpicion of the Brigantcs, two new forts
were fettled at Concangion and Bremetonac, and others
perhaps at Colne, Littleborough, and Caftlelhaw. But
of all thefe, and perhaps of mpre, Cocci was appointed
the capital. It was neareft to the center of the kingdom*
And any invafion of the country from the northern,
eaflern, or fouthern quarters, might eafily be notified to
the metropolis, and communicated by it to the kingdom*
A fire at Warrington, Manchefter, or Caftlelhaw, at Pen-
die-hill near Colne, or Longridge-fell near Ribchefter,
would immediately be feen from the fummit of Riving-
ton-pike, and might immediately be anfwered by another
from it J as one upon fome of the lofty mountains near
Kendal might be fucceffively repeated on Ingleborough-
hill at Overborough, Pendle-bill or Longridge-fell, and
the Pike. And we find beacons familiarly in ufe among
the primitive Britons and weftcrn Highlanders. The
belieged capital of one of our northern illes^ ii^ the
M 2 third
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1*4 T H E M I S T O R V Bookl.
Sea.llL third century, aftually lighted up a fire upon a.
""^ Cower; and Fingal inftantljr knew " the green
*' flame edged with fmoke '* to be a token of attack and
diltrefs. And there are to this day ieveral carnes or
heaps of (tones upon the heights along the coafl of the
Harries, on which the inhabitants ufed to bum heath,
as a fignal of an approaching enemy *. Thus would
all the tcwnft of the Sifluntii h€ diredly apprized of an in-
P. 116. Vafion, Open their gates to receive the women, children,
and cattle, and be immediately put into a condition of
defence. And docci, the capital of the whole, would
be as certsun as a town could be to be the lail attacked
by an invading enemy, and the beft prepared for a vi-
gorous defence againft him.
' See Horfeley p» 384^ 385, 397, 398, &c. ~ * Seq
b# I. ch. vi. f. 2. for another ftation on a rie or river
field.— ' B. I. ch. V. f. I. ~ -^ Ibid. — * See b. II. ch.
ii. f. 4. *- * Baxter in Cogidumnus and Lhuyd in p.
215. — ^ B. I. ch. V. f. 3. — • B. I. ch. V. f. 4. — * OfiSan
Vol. I. p. 19?, and Martin's Weflern Iflands p. 3$.
Edit. 2d.
In vol. I. of Antiquarian Effays, publiflicd this very^
winter *, I find Mr. Waflbn and Mr. l^ercival both agree-
ing With mc in fixing Coccium at Blackrode, but differ-
ing from nie In the particular pofition of it. And they
fettle the (lation juft at the entrance of the village, and
on the area of Caftle-croft (p. 70 and 63); when the
* Xftt of the firft E4uiOD| or of 1 7707 1.
• diftaace.
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Chap. IV. OF MANCHESTER. i6^
dldance, the fite^ the traditioDj, and the remaios all agree Sea. IIL
to carry it to the banks of the Douglas. Mn Watfon "^
mention* ** the remains of a Roman ftation to be there*'
(p. 70) ; which arc only thofe of a fmall modem caftle,
that^ I believe^ gradually occafioned the prefent village
to be conftrufted near it. Mr. Percival notices ** a mid-
dle-fized fort to be yet feen.^here," but acknowledges
that he ** had not time to trace the whole of it** (p. 63) ;
though the only relicks are thofe of the fmall caftle^ and
(I^ey are confined to the fmall compafs of the Caftle*
croft. And the latter, in his wild way of aflerting gc*
nerally without any ipecification of proofs, affirms '^ a
R(Hnan road to be yet vifible** from Blackrode to Pen^
wortham, Garftang, Lancafter, and Ovefborough, and
the three intermediate (tarions to have been dropt in
tranfcribing both by Richard's and Antonine*s Itinerary;
imd, in his wildeif way of fuppofing without advancing
any reafons for the fuppolition, imagines an Iter to
be loft in Antonine and Richard, that went from Kin- p.n;.
derton to five oamps at Warrington, Wigan, Penwortham,
Garftang, and Lancafter (p. 63), Of aflertions with-
out argument, and of fuppofitions without warrant, the
multiplication is eafy and the fate obvious. And, had
Mr. Percival been left to the guidance of his own un-
tutored genius in antiquities, he would have (locked
Lancafhire with an infinite variety of ftations ; and every
Saxon caftle, and even every modem one, would
have been fancifully heightened into a Roman camp.
That the only determinate charafteriftick of a ftation is
cither the appellation of Cafter affixed to the place, or
^M 3 the
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i66 THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. Ill.^e concurrence of Roman roads at the point, has never
yet been fufficiently attended to by the antiquarian critick.
And, for want* of fuch a deciGve ftandard, the min4
has been left to brood fondly over its own ungrounded
. ideas,, and to multiply ftations at the tandom fuggeftions
of the fancy.
CHAR
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Chap.lV. OF MANCHESTER. 167
CHAP. V.
OTHER ROADS TRAtED FROM MANCHESTER TO
OTHER STATIONS — THE SITES AND REMAINS
FIXED AND DESGRIBED A NEW ACCOUNT
Of- THE BRITONS IN EAST-CHESHIRE
AND DERBYSHIRE — ^ AND SOME
ROIAAN^ IrfSCRlPTiONS NEAR
WAllRiNGTON AP-
' 'frLI^D TO HIS-
' f ORY.
I.
THESE are all the ftations with which the two Iti-p. ng.
neraries reprefent Manchefter to be connefted,
and thefe are the roads which ran between them. But
there were alfo others. And one proceeded to Reri-
gonium or Ribchefter, another to Olicana or Ilkley, a
third to Buxton, and a fourth to Warringion. Thus
greatly defeftive are the notices which the Romans have
Ieft«us of their roads, even after the acquifition of a
fecond Iti nerary .
The way to Rerigonium iffued from the ftation about
forty-eight yards /rom the north-eaftern angle of
it, and muft have paffed the large hollow of the north- •
M 4 ern
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lig T H E H I S T O R Y Book L
S»^ If cm ditch by a bridge. It was difcovcrcd abput eight years
'' "" "'"* fince in the adjoining gardw, and is dill vifiblc from its
elevation, (tretching acrois the breailrii of it, and being five
yards in vTidth. And it was tlfo foond is the fecpnd garden
abont two and twenty years ago, in the line of an hedge,
of the fsMne width, bordered with laige iqimrift Aoiies
at the fides, an4 ruCtd into a convexity of half a yard
^bove the ground. Cioifing the narrow lane beyond
both, foip^ traces of it lately appeared* and pointed
^crofs Camp-fi^ld to Mr. Philipt's two houfes in Quay*
ilreet. And there it was di&overed 4>ottt nineteen .
years fince neat the door*way of the eafterly hoalct
almoft twQ feet below the fwrfiscc pf the ground, four or
five yards in breadth, and above one deep in ftones and
gravel. In the gardens and Gamp*efield it appeared to
be continqed, not direftjy in a line to Ribchefteir, but
fianting ^oniiderably to the eaft of ir. This obliquity
of the rpute was occafioned by the great curve of the
Irwell into th? margin pf Deanfgate and Huntsbank|
fi ii9« and the right line of the road. And it p^fltrd among
the houfes of Deanfgate, crpffed ;he area of the col-
lege chvirch, m^ restched . the prcjcipic^ pf Huntf-
bank.
Here the rocks falling very fteeply to the Irwell on
the weft aftd perpendicularly to the Irke pa the north,
the paffage of the Romans was pbftruSed by' them.
The labourers therefore wielded their pickaxes, fliaped'
the face of the weftern bank as we now fw it, and made
the firft way that had defcended alpn^ it to the rivers,
Cutting down the rocks on the eaftern fide of the in-
tended way into a lofty perpendicular^ Md leaving a
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Chap.V- OF MANCHESTER. Uf
fmall ledging of them on the weftern^ as a battlement Se£L t .
for the road and a fecurity againft the precipice, they " *
laid their materttfs upon the plane of the rode betwixt
them. Andy to leffen dbte ftarpnefs of the defcent, they
woald not carry the Ime of it dhrefily down th# fteep oi^
the Huntsbank, but, as the face of die eaftern £de in-
clines at prefent, gire it two or diree fnmll oinratures
in the fall. Having gained the bottom and made a fbrdi
over the river, the way did not proceed on, and climb
die High Knolls. But, having deviated frmn the right
conrfe for Ribdiefier to avoid the ftream of the Irwell^
it had neceflarily turned in the church*yard on the left
in order to reach the Huntsbank. And it now, there-
fore, turned again at the foot of the bank, and went
off in a flanting line for Ribchefler. It pafled obliquely
dirongh the gardens and houfes on the right of die
prefent way, entered Strangeways-lane> and edged along
the park of Francis Reynolds Efq. ^There it was dif-
covered fome years ago, in forming the prefent canat
at the end of the park. And £x)m this pdnt it ftretched
away in the track of the prefent lane, havmg the chain p. t^
of the High KnoIIf gradually approaching it on the
right. And, about two miles from the fiadon, it wis
diredly interfered by them.
This range of hills is particularly denominated die
Stony Knolls, and confills of three parallel ridges, that
commence from the extremity of the High l^olls on the
eaft, and extend to the Irwell on the weft. Afcending
the bog flope of thefe heights in the lane^ we begin to
fee the traces of the road again, and obferve the gravel
©f it <|iftwguiihed from the natyral (and, and s^jpeariog
in
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1^0 T H E H I S T O R Y Book L
Sea- 1, in confid^-able quantities. And thefe appearances in-
^"^ creafe as we proceed. . At the uj^er end of the lane,
it enters (the inelofures which are the fummits of the
, hilk, and pecidiarly called the Stony Knolls; and is
there reported to be the cflfea: of fupernatural
agency. In the entrance of the firfl: clofc it is feen at
once in pretty .good prefervation, being a llroijg thick
gra?el, three yards in width, and lying upon the natural
^d of clay and marie. . Rifing up the fide of the Tidge,
it is foiir yards broad, but i^on the crefl: is reduced
again to three; and points in a right line and in equal
prefcrvation over the next inclofure^ or the Higher
Stony KnolL And, as it defcends the one, and afcqnds the
other, it winds a little on the right to the bottom, and then
curves as, much on the left to the top '. In the fecond field i
it equally dilates into four yards in width, and. equally
contra£b it^to three afterwards, having a fall fipom it on
both fides. And it then enters a narrow laiKj, the line
(©f gravel continuing, efpecially on the left-hand fide
jpf it, and the road advancii^g up the third hill, the
kffer knoll of the Broken Bank.
H^re it iffucs into the highway that Ic^ds from
^oi^hton-ford to Kerfell-moor, and inftamly ' becomes
invifiblc. But the line of it i$. obliquely^ acfofs the
Wtfy, 'obliquely down the fandy bank, then not broken
P. 121. into an abrupt precipice, and along the courfe of .the
foot-way toKetfall-moor. And in this track Tradition
affert« ic to ha^ve gone, leaving the highway and a cottage
TO the rigbtb and avoiding the boggy declivities below
<Ju the lefi. But, on the turning of the foot-way,to reach
itemoor, the rpad deferted it, afcended the little Accp
in
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Chap^V. OF MANCHESTER- 171
in front, and ranged about two hundred yards from the Sea:, L
hedge of the common. And, foon afterwards leaving •
the parilh, it p'ufhed through Preftwich and RatcUfFc,
and to the eafl: of Blackburne *, to the ford which is a
little on one fi(Je of Ribchefter.
From the epithet of Stony, which the Roman way
has affixed to the above-mentioned knolls, it may very
reafonably he inferred to have been paved. And we
have previoufly feen the fame naniie of Stany-ftreet
giving the fame intimation concerning the road to Black-
rode. In the firft and fecond inclofure of the knolls
are many* large ftones, disjointed from each other, but
ftill appearing in the furface of the way. In the lane
leading up to them, are even feveral detached and
broken appearances of a regular caufey. And in the
fecond garden near Caftle-field, and on the fee of Mr,
Philips's houfc, the pavement was aftually dug up,
confiding of the largeft boulders, and having two
layers of ftones upon a bed of gravel.
This gravel appears from the road upon the knolls
to be light-coloured and fuHi of ftones. But from what
quarter of the country could the Romans derive itT All
that is near the track lies upon Dole-field, St, Mary's
Church-yard, and one or two other places, and is all
invariably, I think, of a red-brovm colour; and no
large pits appear in any of them. And, along the reft:
of the courfe, the foil is clay for a little way at firft,
aind light red fand continually afterwards. All the
rcfources for gravel at prcfent, along the whole line p. 122,
of the way, are placed in the attending channel of
the river. And from that did the Romans furnifli
themfelves with the materials of thcif road within the
z parifti*
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172 THE HISTORt Book I.
Soft. L parifli. They collefted them from thofe inexhauftible
Ihoals in the Medlock and Irwcll, which were at the
ford of Knot-mill, and arc now below the bridge of
Salfordy at Bolton-wcel near Strangeways, and at Scar-
wecl above Broughton-ford. And the broad ftem of
the two roads to Kinderton and Slack appears to hav«
been equally made of water-gravel, as the fragments of
rock, which have been occafionally difcovered in it,
fufficiently prove, Thefe fafts plainly refute the wild
opinions, that at prefent prevail againft the conftruflion
of our roads with fuch materials; as the compaftnfs of the
way under Mr. Philips's houfe, and the firmnefs of thq
avenue in Caftle-field, demonftrates them to be equally
binding as the land-graveL But, to give them this quality,
fomething more is required than the layers of our
northern roads take the trouble to praflife. The gravel
Ihould not be ufed in the ftate in which it is left by the
liver, deprived of its fand and loam by the filtering
waters, and thereby rendered incapable of binding.
For, being laid upon the road in this condition, the
ftones and pebbles arc viotently ground againft each
other by the ftrong preflbre on the whole, arid foon
powdered into dirt* But the Romans fuggcft to us 3,
fery different procedure, and advife prudence to add
what the water has waftied away. This we fee ex-
emplified upon Stony Knolls. And it was difcovered
to have been praftifed in the road along Caftle-ficld^
and in the way under Mr. Philips's houfe.
Thus conftrufted, the caufcy extended to the current
of the Kibble, and the elegant fite of Ribchefter beyond
it. This village the numerous remains of ruined mag-
nificcnce.
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Chap.V. OF MANCHESTER. 173
nificence, and the great multiplicity of Roman urns, Seft. I.
coins, and infcriptions, have long fliewn to have Ipeen
a confiderable city of the Romans* And thofe relicks of p, |, -,
time have been carefully coUcfted by Camden, Leigh,
Gale, and Horfelcy. But the greater curiofities of Rib-
chefter have been entirely overlooked by thefe critlcks,
and now ftrongly invite the curious eye and defcriptive
hand of antiquarianifm.
The Portus Siftuntlorum or XsJocyluffjvXiiAfiv is mentioned
^ually by Richard and Ptolcmy# But the fite of it is
yet unfettled. Baxter fuppofes it to be the mouth of
the Merfey, Horfeley the opening of the Ribble, and
Stukeley the entrance of the Lune \ And, to decide
amid this variety of opinions, let us endeavour to af-
certain what pofition is really given it by Ptolemy's
Geography and Richard^s Itinerary. If they dlflfer, we
are not entirely without a guide. Remains may make
that probable which both leave vii\certain. But^ if the
Wo firft agree in one teftimony, we can have little
doubt. And, if all concur, we are certain.
The abfolute pofitions of the towns in Ptolemy are well
known to be extremely erroneous. And his relative I
have (hewn to be little better *. Bin, in his coofting
along the lhc»^es of the ifland, this Geographer appears
to be pretty accurate. And the progrei&ve particularity
of a d^criptipn of the coaft, and the firiking and per«
^maaent ns^ture of the marks in it, as I have already ob-
ferved, will neceffarily give it a fufficicnt cxaftncfs *.
This then is our (tandard. And let- us now make ufe
<jfit.
Taking
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i74 T H E H I S T O R y . Book L
^Sca.I. Taking Ptolemy's account of the we/lern Ihore, but
inverting his order, let us begin with the seftuary of
' Sabriana, certainly and confefltdly the Severn* And
from this point the coafter goes direftly to the weft for
an hundred and eighty miles, to the promontory Oftopi-
tarum ; plainly Ikirting all the fouthern fliore of Gla-
morganlhire and Caermarthenlhire, and the fouthern and
fouth-weftern of Pembrokefhire to St. David's Head.
In advancing ninety miles to the north of this, he goes
firft fixty to the daft and then twenty to the weft, to
P. 1 24. the promontory of the Cangani ; plainly winding along
the deep recefs which is formed by St. David's Head on
one fide and Brachy-pult Point on the other^ and which
is denominated Cardigan Bay. So far we are certain.
And the remarkable nature of the fhore precludes all
miftake.
From Brachy-pult Point, in eighty miles more to the
north, the Geographer goes an hundred and fifty to the
caft, as in twenty-five more he turns and goes ten to the
weft. In the hundred and fifty he paffes through die
ftrait of Menai to the bottom of the bay^ which is
formed to the north and north-eaft of the Point. And,
in the ten afterwards, he comes out of it. But here
let us follow him gradually.
In the firft twenty miles to the north of the Point, he
goes fony to the eaft, to the river Toifobius. This ap-
pears at firft fight to be the Conway. And, as both
Richard's and Antonine's Itineraries place the town of
Conovium hereabouts, and the former exprefsly calls
the current by the two names of Tofibus and Cobck
tius*, it is undoubtedly that river.
From
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Chap.V. OF MANCHES'TER. 175
Frtm the Coaway, in forty miles to the nortli, we Sea, I.
proceed eighty to the eaft, to the sefttiary Seteia. This ^'"^^
is the opening of the Dee, as that could not be miffed
by a perfon ranging up the coaft, and^ if not miffed,
would come next in fucceffion. And Ptolemy's diftancc
of forty miles right north and fouth, from the Toifobius
to the Deva, cgrrefponds with great exaflnefs to the
more indireft diftance on the road, at which the Itine-
raries concur to fet the town of Deva from Conovium ;
Richard's fixing this at fifty niiles from that, and Anto-
nine's at fifty-one^. Both arguments together form an
irrefragable proof, that the Seteia of the Geography
cannot be any other aeftuary, than the Deva of the Iti-
neraries and the prefent Dee. And this is the more
particularly infifted upon, as it is of importance in itfelf,
and has been miftaken even by our learned coiieftor from
the antients ^.
Advancing twenty miles to the nerth of Seteia, Pto-^- "i*
lemy goes thirty to the eaft, to the aeftuary Belifama. This
is plainly the Merfey, bccaufe it is at the diftance of
that from the Dee, and fuch a conliderable objeft could
not be overlooked any more than the Dee. And thus far
we are certain of our conclufions.
But the Geographer, proceeding along the coaft of
Lancaflxire for twenty-five miles from the Merfey, turns
with' the ihore, and goes ten to the weft, to the harbour
of the Siftuntii. This demonftrates the latter not to be
at the mouth of the Merfey. And this equally argues
it not to be at the entrance of the Lune. Th«tprmer
i$ evidently >t»o fouthprly, ^nd the latter too northerly,
for it. 3fwcnty-firc miles to the north of the Merfey
* can
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f7« THE Al STORY. Sookl-
Seft. I. can carry us only to one place coofemcnt for ati harbour,
the mouth of the Ribble. Aad the opening c^ this
river would neceflarily be die not great particular aftcf
the Merfey^ which would ckaUenge the notice of the
coafting Geographer } as^ like the Merfey and the Dee^
it is too confiderable an dbjeft to be either mifled by in«
attention or omitted by ddign. Here, then^ Ptolemf
has fixed the harbour^ And here the couf fe of Richard's
Itinerary, and the prefent remains of amiqwty^ concur
to eftabliih the fiadon^
Upon Fullwood-moor near t'reflon are the evident
remains of a Roman road, which is popularly denomi*
nated the Watling-ftreet. It ranges from eaft to weft*
And tradidon afferts and traces demonftrate it to have
extended acrofs the ifland. Along this therefore does
P» rs6.the feventh Iter of Richard proceed* And that is thys
given us :
A PpjlTU SISTUNTIORUM
Eboracum ufque fie;
RERI60NIO m. p. 23
Ad Alpes Peninas -«- 8
Alicana — — to
Ifurio— — —.18
. Eboraco — — i6#
* And thus the inunedtstdy iiiccctxSi^ 7e&a$xfo{ MoricsmM iu
"i^tolemy, which means The Great Bend or Havent was die faicgd
opening into the land of Laocalhire which is fbrned by the ihores oC'
Xiancafter, Caitmel, Ulverfion,.i^ Walney Ifland, and into wlatSx die
Aren Ken and Lane difefaarge their waters ; as this Is the bfdy Great
Bend before we come to the aefiuary of Ituna» whi<tiia4MBi3K«ieiittoiied
hy Ptolemy, and k confefledly and clearly the mouth olri|<^Srjra>.
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Oiap-V. OF MANCHES^TER. 177
From this name of the Ribble-mbuth, Bdrtus Sea*I«
Siftuntiorum, the aeftUary appears to hare been cm** ' ^
ployed by the Romans asf an harbour for their veflels..
But it was then a much ihore coafiderable one than it is
at prefent* This is plain from the preference which
they gave it brfore the Merfey and the Lune^ though-
it now affords a much worfe harbour than either of
them, admits (hips only at the tide of flood> and «vea
then has only a natigable channel of an hundred yards
in breadth* And with this obfcrvation agree the pre*
fent appearances of the river, the popular traditioa
concerning it, and the more recent difcoveries about
a particular part of iu
From Ribch'efter to the fea, the Angular margin of
the current is formed by a level of fand, and bordered by
a ftecp bank of earth ; the latter of which is evidently
the original boundary, and the former the original
ftrand, of the tide. And, thus banked with high lands
upon both fides, the natural channel gradually widens,
till at the mouth it even ftretches into the ample extent of
eight o nine miles in breadth. At fuch an opening,
unobftrufted by the present fands, the tide would enter
with a vaft body of water, and flow up even to Rib-
chefter, as it now reaches within fix or feven miles off it-
And, that it once came up to this aniicnt village, is
intimated by the popular tradition which afferts the river
to have been formerly navigated, and by the many an-
c^rs, rings, and nails of fmall veffeb, that have been
4ifcovered near the area of the church *. Thefe indeed P, Hfm
maybe fuppofed to have been wrought at a., Romaif
Voi-. I. , N., ^^^k^^y
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lyg ^t tt E li I S T O ft t feookt;
S«ft»^* founiery tKcre, in order to have been afterwards tranf-
'^ ported by land to the vefFcls at the Ribble-xnouth. But
fach a fuppofition would be as frivolous in itfelf, as it is
Bnfopported by evidence* Ribchefter has no mines of
iron in its neighbourhood. Every ftationary iite bad
then a {Efficiency of fuel about it. And the trouble of
\he conveyance^ and expence of the carriage, would be
equally great and fbperfludus. Thefe implements
therefore belonged to the veffels of the garrifon; and
the large cutj ftill remaining at the place where they
were difcovercd, plainly confirms the notion. That ex-
tends for two hundred yards from the river to the northt
and is for part of its courfe three or fbur in depth and
eight or nine in breadth* And it could not have
i)een defigned for a military trench, becaufe it has no
foffes or traces of foffes corrcfponding with it* It could
have been caiculated only for the dock of the garrifbn^
as the channel of it falls with a gradual deicent to the
river. And it was clearly a flip, by which at high
'water a new boat was launched into the Kibble^ or an
; old one brought up from it for reparation. The ground
adjoining to it on the eaft was originally the dock-
yard of the town. And here were conftruftcd and re*
£t ed the many fiats and barges, in which the Romans
made voyages on the river, warping up the channd with
the tide, and laden vrxth the contents of the ihips that
- iay at anchor in the harbour *.
Thus does the Ribbie appear t j have been navigated
by the Romans, from the mouth of its current to Kib-
'..chefter. And the great diflference, which is now found
•. in the -flow of the tide up the river, could never have
been
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^ecii dccafipaed by the pircffurc of the iiitcHotir ocean, Se6^- 1*
ii,% ihfe Romadi denomiriate4 ^i. Gebrge's Channel "*% p, i^g^ '
knd by the graitluftl fcttleoietit of the fands at the motith
bf the harbouri Had this been the rerfou of it, the
Merfey tipc«i onb fide and the Lbne on the other would
have, partaken of the fame fite, aiid been Wbdced np
oy the fame f«d$; It was ptodac^ by a caufe a$
pirti^i as tha effeft* appcai- to be, and confined^ like
thcmi td the ftrcam of the Ribble. And tradition, the
futhful prcfervisir of many a fa^ which hiftoty has over-
looked or forgotten;^ fpeaks confidently of fuch a caufcj
afcribitig the final ruin of Ribeheft^r to the overwhelm-
ing violence of an earthquake. And nothing biu: fu«h
kn incident, I tbiiik^ coiild have drigin^Uy chdh^ed the
tiatnre of thii, once, the mofi remarkable ^iluary kl
thi cotmtjfi and have thrown up that large afad broad
barrier of farid which croffes the entrance into it, almoft
thoak^ the inlet of the tide, and contrafts the original
breadth of the navigable channel, iProm it^ majeftick
tatent of eight or nine milesj to the narrow fpsin of an
Jittndred yards;
Such was .theasftiiary dF thfe Ribble> \^heri it ifras ein-
'i>loyed al an harboUr by the Romans. And jErom the
* great iitigularity of the name which they conferred upbn
iti THE PORT OF LANCASHIRE, it appears to
have been the dnly river in the county that was fb'em*
|>loycd by them, i^affing through' the center of the Sif*
•ttintian country, and opeoinc with the largeft mouth
Into, tht fea, the Romans natnraliy preferred it to the*
, MerlHy or the Lnixe, and made it the one port for tl^e
county of liamcafter "•
N 3 The
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i^o THE HISTORY iBookl;
Sea. L The ftation, which was called by the fame appellation
x
of the Siftuntian Harbour, was therefore ereflted upOfl
the margin of it, and confequently within the mouth of
the prefent Ribbld. And we ihall not Wander long in
fearch of its lite. It was placed at the termination of
P. 129. the above-mentioned rOad, as the line is direftcd acrofs
FuUwood-moor to the weft. But this can never be car-
ried to the mouth of the Ribble. It will abiit fomewhere
upon the channel, at the diftance of feveral miles from
the mouth. And in h£k it points towards the famotis
Neb of the Nefe, the extremity of the nofe, or high
promontory of land, which projefts into the courfe of
ihe channel. Near the conclufion of that part of the
way which is denominated Watling-ftreet, looking dong
the track of the road to the weft, in a dear day one
fees the Neb of the Nefe dh'eftly in a line beyond
it*
And the fpecified diftances in the Itinerary concur
cxaftly vfith the courfe of the road* Thus, as Uerigo-
nium is obvioufly Ribchefter, from the harbour of the
Siftuntians to this ftation are twenty-three Roman or
about twenty-one'Englifli niiies and an hialf. And this
neceffarily leads us up the channel of the river. Thus
advancing, about ten miles from the mouth we come to
the above-mentioned Neb of the Nefe on the left^ which
is nearly nine from Prefton by the toad t)ver the marlh-
es, and eleven by the circuit of the higher grounds ;
as Prefton is about twelve from Ribchefter. And, in the
. line which the Roman road took, keeping on the
. heights, but not curving on the right to reach Prefton,
' ' and not making a return on the left to recover itfelf> tljat
2 point
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Chai>;V. 6 F M A N C H E S t ER. i8r
point of land is about twenty-one from Ribchcfter,. and Sea.L^
therefore at the requifiteJ diftance from it. .' ""-
Thefe two arguments concur to fix the Roman.ftation
about a mile to the weft of Freckleton, and at the well*
known Neb of the Nefe.. And here is even now a tole-
rably commodious harbour. The Ribble forms a large
half-moon facing the fouth, and receiving a fmall back-
water into it from the nonh. This is fecured from the
violence of the wind by the high^ lands which ikirt it, is
fcreened from the force of the tide by the projection of
the Nefs; and has a breadth of a quarter of mile, and a
^epth of fifteen feet, upon the ebb. And here i« eveij P- ^30.
now the little port of Prefton, a large warehoufe being
erefted upon a mole in the channel, and feveral veffel^
coming t;o it from London, Wales, and Ireland.
On the high grounds of the Nefs, then, was the Roman
flation which guarded the harbour of the Ribble* And
on the very Neb, the Iharp extremity of them, did the
ftatioji moft probably ftand, as there the lofty banks of
jthe Nefs would form a barrier upon three fides. Bur,
though the name is retained, the Neb has been long
walhed away. And the faft appears plain upon an atten-
tive furvey of the land which is the weftern horn, as
the height at the mouth of the Savok is the eaftern,
of the large femicircle of rifing grounds that curves
along the channel of the river. This was once affuredly
. the capacious bafon of the Roman harbour, a beautiful
crefcent formed by ihefe two headlands, and about four
miles over at the mouth. But of thefe the Weftern has
no Neb exifting at prefent, the land at the Nefs runnir^g
nearly in a right line from eaft to weft* And that con-
. : N 3 fpicuous
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tin THE HISTOEY BookT*
♦ • ■ . *
^^' I- f^icijotis point has loft nearly two ftatutc-acfes vittiT
* ' in thefe forty years, at^d, from the broken moplder^
ipg condition of the banks both on the eaft an4
foiith, appears to be lojSng every day. As the Roman
ftation therefore flood on the (extremity ojF this prpmoij*
tory, the fite of it and all its remains have long finc<^
melted away into the channel below. And there, fccur*-
kA by its natural banks of fifteen or twenty yards in
height upon thtee fides, and defended by a ditch on the
fourth, it would fully command the courfe of the
Ribbie, which then perhaps did not at low water fpr^atj
out a long beach of gravel on the •north-weft, iltrhica
winded, as now, round the weft and fouth, and extend-
ed into the fafe and ample harbour on the eaft*
From this ftation a road goes away along the hi^
grounds, and is vifible (as I have mentioned before)
upon Fullwood-moor, leaving the town of Prefton about
a mile on the right. It croffes the prefcnt way to
Lancafter^ juft before the latter makes an angle toleate
V. J 31. ' the common. And, going vifibly along the moor for
a quarter of a mile, it then affumes the name of Wat-
ling-ftreet, and retains it for a whole ope ; appearing at
jfirft a (harp broken ridge, afterwards widening, and at
iaft rifmg two or three feet above the natural foil, and
fprcading fourteen and twenty yards in breadth* AmJ
it terminates in a large clevatioii at the %dgepf^tbe
clofes, pointing fully to the village of Ribcheiler) a!i4
ending at Anchor-hill near the town '*.
Rerigoniom, the name of this'ftatfon and of thfe
previous Britifh fortrefs, feen^s compoppdcd of the
Words !lE RIGON, denoting the peculiar ijte of l)odi,
anq
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Chap-V. OF MANCHESTS'R. ,||3
and JOgnifyiBg to the north of the current. Re m its Soa.h
, primary import means the pofition Before* And 1$, Be- ^ ^
low, is the term of oppofition to it. Thus Ygrkftiirc
as well as Lancafliire having been firft. inhabited from
the fouth, die two towns, which were raifed upon the
fites^of Ribchcfter and AHborough, feem iherefore tjo
have aflumed the npimes of Rerigoni.um and Ifurium '\
And-'Rigon is the plural of Rig, txs Avon is of A?,j and,
like it, fignifiesabodyof water.
- The current of the Ribble appears to have always
, formed a curve at this place, which did not, as no^^r,
face the fouth, but opened to the nortb# Great haye
Ijeen the encroachments which the river has made upon
.{the town^ within thefe fixty years only* One whole
ftreet of houfes, and a range of orchards and gardens,
have been carried away by the ftream. The earth daily
imimbl^ and falls intp the ch^nneU And the churqh
itfelf, raifed as it is upon an eminence and placed a little
jiiftant frpm the margin of it, is likely to be fwept away
in fixty years more. But, while this has been the cafe P. ij^*
with the bolder bank of the town, the ground imme-
diately to tlj.e caft of it;, too low to have been ravaged
by the floods, npw ejftcnds as far as ever into the chan- ,
nel; and the lively, brook betwixt both mujfi: always
have fallen into the Ribble;^ »t the point of it^ prefent
conjunftion with it. Palling X)ver the Roman ford at the
bridge, and running difeftly under the Ibuthern fide,
the river is thrown by ^ fhelve pf \it direSly towards
the town, and Joins the brook at the point where the
lofty fite of it commences. And, in this difpofition of
the current| pftvj projeSion of the northern bank be-.
N 4 ' yond
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^s
184 THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea. I. yond the immediate line of the conjunAion^ would
form a crook in thie channel ; and the Ribble muft, even
within thefe hundred years, have cufved facing to the
north. The large cut that is carried from Anchorr
hill to the river, by its continuance even at prefent no
lefs than thirty or forty yards more foutherly than the
above-mentioned line, (hews the bank to have extended as
many at leaft to the fouth of it. For, if the river
had been fo much nearer to the Dockyard, the flip would
tavc ftretched away dire^Uy for it. And the great en-
croachments, which the current has fo lately made upon
the town, ftill prove the projeaion to have been more
confider^ble formerly. The bank of Ribchefler muft
have come fo far forward, as to range in a ftralght line
with the headland immediately below it, which now
thrufts iifelf a confiderable way into the valley, arid
remains an evidence of the original projeftion of the
whole. A promontory of land, which till thefe fixty
years hadwaftingly withftood the fary of a current dl-
reftly beating upon it for a long fucceiGon of ages, muft
* have been originally continued, with the headland .more
than half way over the valley. And the Ribble, pufll-
ing its ftream immediately againft the bafe of the
whole, was conftrained to carry its broken waters all
along the eaftern and fouthern fides of it^ in order to
reach the channel in which it nowmoye?, immediately
below the town. .
Upon this great curve in the current of the Ribble,
P? 133. ^^d ?t ^^^ prominent point of the whole, upon the
extremity of a bank that flopes gently in one regular
* decline from the neighbouring hills to the channel,
di4
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Chap.V. OF MANCHESTER, id$
did the Lancafhire Britons place the town of Rerigo- SeflLt
nittm* The river was a natural barrier upon two fides.
- A fofs would be carried acrofs the ifthmus. And a foreft ^^
fwept extenfively round it upon all '*.
Such was the fite of Rerigonium in the time of the
Britons. And fuch it was in that of the Romans alfo.
What originally changed the nature of the ground, tore
away the angular projeftion, and opened a way for the
river to gain as much upon the bank, as the bank had
before ufurped upon the river; it may feem impoffiblc
to afcertjun at this diftant period. But, as I have men*
tioned above, tradition refers the deftruftion of the town
to the ravages of an earthquake. And fuch an awful
convulfion was probably the original caufe; at oncQ
perhaps choaked up the channel of the river on the
eafi: and fouth, by the falling in of the banks; and,
loofening the foil of the remainder, rendered it lefs able
to fuftairi the weight of waters that now ru(hed upon it
The more pointed part of the prominience, perhaps,
was fwept away immediately, and the right line of the
bank/left to be preyed upon by the current. And, fince
thefe depredations have continued from age to age, the
river has acquired new force as it obtained more advan-
tages, ^U the arts of preventive induftry have been hi-
therto ineffeftual, and the ftream bears every day more
fwcibly on the fite of the town.
By this remarkable event in the hiftory of Rerigonium,
the town of the Britons and ftation of the Romans were
totally carried away, and the remains of both buried,
where fome have been difcovercd, under the bed of
fand which forms the meadows on the fouthern bank
of
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\f»6 THE HISTORY BpoJcL
Sea« h of the Ribbk. And in confequcQce of it tibe livcnr,
■' having formed a bay m the Dorihera banki now winds
P^ X34. along the funk/en ftreets of the RomanrBritifli town,
and rolls over the lefellec} remains ofthfi hpufes. And,
liear the foot of the fitde fireet that leads dpwi^ to the
iriver^ has been formerly feen in a dry fummer ^ long
jcxtent of a thifk wall, compofed of regularly fquared
^ones, and forming the b^s of a great building; as
about this part of the river in general whole piUars,
jbifoken capitals and bafes, ^und Hoinan cpins apd Iqt
fcriptions, vjii^ve been freqjjently diipovereid^ in tl)e
^hanneL
Froi^ this town^ befides the continued rpad of the
feventh Iter^ which I ihall have oc<:afion to. mention
hereafter, and among the fmaller ways to Lancalteri^
pverboTpugh^ and Manchefter> one pa0es through
.^halley and ppints to CWne *% And the BritiOi apr
pellation of the latter, the probable concurrence of a
Koman rpad from Cambodunum at it, the voice of tra?
dition, and the appellatiqn of Cafter, evince it to have
been the lite pf a ftation. The rqqd from Gamboda-
num ftretches vifibly over 8tainland-mopr,pafle5 through
^he townfliips of Barkifland and Rilhi^orth, crepes the
Devirs Caufeway, and the Roman road from Man*
chefter to Ilklpy '*^, and muft therefore, I fuppofe, have
terminated at Cplne. A f:oniiderabk quantity of Romaq
coins has been difcoyercd near this place^ a* Whe?ttleyr
lane» and by £^[Hnet'^ And the fiation was &xj9d
^^here tmditic>n fi^cs it, about a mile from the town,
and upon tb^ ewneoc^ of Gafter-cliff. There is fe^n
the skeleton pf » Rpm^ Gftmp a| prefent, a regular
' f yampart
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phap^Vy Pf MANCHESTER. fl«f
^ampar|t eQcirf:le(f by a fpfs. And^ ftaj3i4ing on ikd 8ba.L
funimft pf a lofty cliff, if comi^^aiids ^i) exi^ftfivp yijay -""^""^
of the couptry round it "*
This ftation ?ppear$ frcw the preioit name pf the
f:own, to have beeo 4iftingfiiihed by the Britifli appenation
pf Colania or Colne among the Rpn^ans ; as the ^itifb
name of theJatter could haye refulted only from that of
ttjie fprraer^ And accordingly we ^nd the apouymqus Chq-
jrography placing a camp of fi^ch adenominsitipn among
thefehllh; mentioning it next to one which ^as certalfily
among them^ the Cambodunum of Antoninus, and giving
it in different MS S. the t»ile of Calunium^nd Colanea*'# P- ijffy
And this feems to have been derived from the fame name
of the? river upon which it ftand?, the Colne Water of
the prefent times, l^hzx river enjoys the appellation ia
coixftnou with many others in the ifland, particularly
the ColnesrOf Colchefter and St, Albans* Nor were
^e flames of the latter, as has beqn frequently fup-
pofed*°, borrowed from the Roman colony of Camu-
lodunum on the one and of Verulan^ium on the other.
They were given, not only to thefe ^hich once had
colonies upon them, but alfo to others which never
had any at all, to our own in LancaCbire, the Colnes of
Gloucefterfbire and Yorkihire, and the Calne of
Wiltihire. And the names of all are derived from
|:he Britiih laiguage, Col-aun in Ccltjck lignifying
a current of waters. Thus jrt have the Cole iii
Warwickihire, the Calder jij Yorkfibire and Lancafhire,
the Cpllati within the county of Kilkenny in Ireland,
and the Coluii or Qun in Shrppfiiire; Avon being
fhaaged into Aqa, An, w Un, as Alauna, X^n^ and
Lui^
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ifeS * T tt/E HISTORY ^'Boolcr-
S6a.I. Lun is the varying appellation of the fame river within
"^^ ^ our own county* And the Golaun of Gloucefterfliire,
Yorkflbire, Wiltftjire, and Laac^lhire was gradually ab-
breviated into Colnfey' juft as the fame Alauna has been
contracted into Alne in the Warwicklhire Alnccefter or
Alccfter*% .
* See the fame in another Roman road, Horfeley p*
451— ^ Phil. Tranf. vol. XLVII. p.^28. --' Stukeley
on Richard, p. 50, 6S^ and 88, — "^ B. I. ch. iv. C 3. —
* ' - * P- 2 3 . — * Richard's Iter i . and Antonine's 11. — ' P,
27, Richard calls the Merfey, and not the Dee, Seteia.
And fo he does likewife in his Map. The etymology of
. this name is nothing more than Se and Teia or Deia, The
Dee (fee b. I. ch. vii. f. 4) ; as the Britons of Anandale
are called equally Elgovse and Selgovae by the fame
P. 136. Ptolemy, &c. — ® Leigh's N. H. of Lancalhire b. iii.
p. 2. and 6. ' — ^ Leigh b. iii. p. 2. and 7. unwittingly
argues againft the former navigablcnels of the river by
barges, becaufe it could not be navigated by ihips.
And fee a draught of one of the rings in Tab. L N"* 2 r.
and of one of the nails in N° 24^ — ^° Richard p* zi and
43. — ►" See b. L ch. ix..f. 5. and ch. xt. f. a. — " See
Leigh b. iii. p. 6. — '^ See miftakes therefore in Baxter
under Regulbium and Robogdium,and in Gale onlfnrium.
Thus Capfar fpeaks of iht fouthern or inferiour point of
Britain (p. 89)^; and Ptolemy conftantly ufes the prc-
pofition vTTo or Under to fignify the fouth, andw^^ or
Above to indicate the north. — '* This foreft is de-
fcribed )sl an okr.botti;ulary«i%cuidr:^s . two in nan^e and
oxre
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Chap-V- OF MANCHE:STER. x8$
one in efieft, beginning at the bridge of the Ribble, gai Seft. I.
ing to Steop-clough, betwixt Ribcbefter and Hadcrfal, '
— ^betwixt Chippin and Gofnaig, — to the water of
Lond or Laund, — ^by the demefne of Hornby,— to the
water pf the Lone or Lune, — ^and the current of the
Ken or Kent, down, the Kent to the fea^ along the
coaft of the fea to the foot of the Wire— and the Rib-
ble, and up the Ribble to Ribble-bridge.-r-A verdift
of 9 Hen4 liL p. 237. of Kuerden^ folio^ a MS. in the
library at Manchefter Arch. A. 18, 5, and a rude, ill-
arranged, and half-illegible Common-place^book for
the Antiquities of Lancalhire. — *' Mr.Percival in
Phil- Tranf. vol. XLVII. And fee next fcftion. — '* See
b. I. ch. iv. f. I. — '^ Leigh b. iii. p. iq..^ — '" This ac-
count I received in a letter from the reverend Mr. Wil-
fon of Colne.— The late bi(hop.of Carlifle and myfelf
were both at Colne very nearly at the fame, time, and
both failed of fuccefs in our fearches, though the name,
the remains, and the tradition are all fo ftriking.-—
. '^ Gallunium, the immediately fucceeding name in
Ravennas, has been fondly fuppofed to be Whalley
. (Gale in Ravennas and Pcrcival in Phil. Tranf.). jBut
. none of Ravennas's names- can with any, propriety be
applied to a place, till it has been previoufly proved
to be a ftation, Whalley has never been proved, and
certainly was not one. It has not the only determinate
fignature of a ftation, the Roman appellation of Cafter
or the concurrence of Roman roads at it. And G^-
lunium indeed is nothing elfe (I apprehend) than a i:c-P. 137*
petition of the fame name, Calunium and Gallunium
being the fame word. Nor are fuqh repetitions un-
common
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1^9 :1r H E H i s T o it ¥ ^bbfe h
fear* h imx^ in this ina6cwatc ChdrbgrtLphf * -^ *^ Partis
cutoly by Ltigh^ Gibfoii, and Baxter. -*^ ** Camden's
Irelud^* 1354 aifcd Shropihife c« ^46, and Richard
Iter I4^0nc of the two ri^rt at Alccfter is ftlll cafled die
'^lne> and the town which ndW ftahds on the Arrow
«as formerly upon it : S«! Ldand f oL IVi p. 54.
Hearne*
In the ¥olum€ poMilh^ tliU WmtS: ^ lay* tJi6 Ami-
•quarian Society of London, wc ha¥« the tWo ^Lan-
•tafhire andqiiariansi Mr. Watfon and Mr; Fctcltal,
raiploycd a» the lattv had been befcwfe in the Phih
Tranf. vol. JOLVII, in fixing a Roman ftation at the
•town of Bury, and about nine ftatntc-mi!es from Man-
-chefter. Bmtbe one great reafcn made ufe of by both^
-I think. Is irery incompetent to the occafion. Thd
' name of Bury, fey« Mr# Watfon p. 69, denotes it to
have been Roman ; and Mr. Perciral went tipofi this
, principle, or he went upon none at all, In affertingBury
to be Roman (Phil. Tranf* vol. XLVII)* Thelattcr may
ftandexcufedfortheaffertion* He knew too little of the!
Saxonto be capable of judging. But what fliaH I fay
• for my learned friend, a critick in the language ? Bury
carries bo Roman fignature at all with it. It merely
• figmfies either a caftle or market-town. And ^ tht
vifibie marks of a ftation,'* which both imagine them-
fehes to have discovered at Bury (Archjeologia p. 69 i
• ami Phil. Tranf. vol. XLVII), arc only the rdKcks of st
• fiiiore Inodern caftle. This Is liicntioned in otrr Mancunian
-*e65ordsj afid tradition derives all the ftodes of the
s preient church at Bury from iu Aiid the town lies
- -' ' » The wimer of the firft Edidon, th^t of ^^70-71/ -
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more than a nule on the right of the road to Ribch<s^V ShEt.1,
The not attending to the one only determinate eharafter "
of a ftatipn, has fcdoced the generality of our antU
qnarians into a wtldemefs of errour. And, on the ap^
plication of this ufeful teft, we fee Bury, Blackburni
(ArchsBologia, Mr. Percivars Eflay, p. 64)^ and tfp. j^j^
thoufand other ftations, all inftantly vanifli.
And, like the bafelcfe fabrick of a rifion.
Leave not a wreck behind.
U,
ANOTHER joad of itbe Romansi appcaa toha^
been laid from the camp at Mancbeftef, and to h$ar^
proceeded into Yorklhire. Branching probably ftCBSl
the way to Cambodunum about Ancbats-lane^ an4
traverfing the townftiip obliquely, it paffed by Street-
fold in Mofton, Street-bridge in Chathenon, and
Street-gate in Ryton, and pointed ewdtotly for Littlo-
borough and Ilkley. And thefe three appellatioQS
afcertain the general direftioii of its courfc, and fapplf
the want of any aftual remains, or even of any .tradi-
tional notices concerning it. . :
Leaving Street-fold and the pariA, it adiwtniced by
Street-bridge and Street-gate, and was lately dug.u^
near Rochdale. About a quarter of -a -mile to tlie
Tight of the town, and near the Toad i rom Oldham, it
wa% cut though in making a maFle-pu, Jand ap9)earad
feveral yards in breadth and deeply gravelled. And upon
Black'*
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,j^ .THE HISTORY Bookl^
Scft. 11. Blackftone-cdge it is interfered, as I have mentipned be-
**'" ^ 'fore % by the way from Cambodunum to Colania*
Having croffed the edge, it ranges nearly from north to
fouth, and is difcovercd in this direftion along the
caftern fide of the mountains. Leaving Halifax con-
fiderably on t;he right and EUinworth a little on the
left, the line paffes through Dinham-park, and runs to
the weft of CulUngworth. And betwixt Cullingworth
andHainworth it is vifible, a paved way more than
twelve feet broad, and neatly fet with the ftones of the.
country. It is found in feveral places upon Harding-
moor, croffing the height of the common, and pointrag
on the Moor-houfe above Morton. And it is again
vifible on Rumbles-moor *. Upon this wild heath
it appears (as I am informed) a raifed, paved road,
overgrown with turf ; keeping upon the Ihelve of the
hills, to avoid the cliffs on one fide and the morafles on
the other ; and pointing direftly to the valley of the
Wherf and the village of Ilkley within it.
• The town of Olicana or Alicana is utterly un-
noticed by Antoniiius, but mentioned equally by
Ptolemy and Richard. The prefent remains at Ilkley
Ihew it to have been ^ ftationary town. And the
feventh Iter of Richard argues it to have been denomi-
nated Alicana. It lies at the diftance of more than forty
•miles fromMinchefter ; and had probably therefore, as
I Ihall ftiew hereafter, a leffer ftation about mid-way
betwistt both ^
This village is placed upon the great poft-road that
runs from Kcudal to Yorki but is almoft barred up by
tracklefs
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fciiap.tr. bP MANCHEStER. I93
trackicfs wattes atid impraaicable wa^s on ^every oilier ^* ^^*
quartel:. And it is equally dirty and infighificant, kndwn
only to the atiticjaarian for fomfe curious ihfcriptions ttiat
have been difcovcred at it, and to the invalid for a fine
fpring of minerat water \irhich has been found about a
mile from it. But it was cidre remarkable formerly^
though it feems not to have been ever cdnfiderabki It
ftands upon an agreeable fite, havibg i gentle defcent
to the north, and the Wherf flowing brllkly in the front
of iti This river, one oJF the three great ftreams bf
which thii Weft-riding df Yorkflilre is fo ufefully wa-»
tered for cultivatidri and divided for comtticrce, rifes
among the hills a little td the Wc^ft of thb towh, and
waCbes the gentle eminence on which it is erefted ; b^*
ing denominated Verb, Guerf, or Wherf *. And it jlp*
pears to have bben particularly formed into a divinity
by the Britons; a large handfome altar havmg btexi
fdund near the bank of it, confedrated by a Roman f . ^40*
officer to Verb-eia, the Goddefs^Nymph of the cur-
rent ^
tn this village center feVetal roads of the Romans-.
That which comes frdm Manchefter, and apjpears upon
Rumbles-moor, is found again upbtl Middleton and
Blueburgh-houfe commons beyond the town 5 being, as
before, paved with ftones uncommonly large, and edged
With ftrll larger; atid leads, I fuppofe, to Catarick. And
another ftretches over the hills from the Weft, and Is
evidently the fame which is traverfed by the feventh Iter
of Richard. ' This is traceable for three miles together
from Ilkley weftward, and then appears very cbnfpicu*
cms for a whole one, lying upon a large moor in the
Vol. L O cownftiip
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194 THE HISTORY Bookl,
Sea. 11. townfliip of Old Addingham. Here it is parallel with and
" ^ few yards to the fouth of the prefent way to Skipton,
and crofled nearly at right angles by the road to Colne ;
which falls afterwards into another nearly parallel
with both) though a good deal more foutherly than .
either. And from this line it appears to have not been
direAed to Colne at all. It plainly points foihe miles
to the north of that town and fome to the fouth« of
Skipton^ and bears upon Broughton ; a fmall village in
Yoric(hire about fix ftatute-miles to the north oE the
former, and four or five to the fouth^weft of the latter,
and lying upon the bank of a rivulet in a valley*
And Broughton therefore was the ftation, which is here
denominated in Richard Ad Alpes Peninas. The whole
range of hills that runs from Derbyihire into Scotland
Was naturally called by the Britons, as fome of the
mountains of Switferland are to the prefent day, Alp
Penin, the Penine or Apennine Alps, the high heads or
lofty hills *. And this part of them in fome meafure
retains the general appellation at prefent. An abrupt
t>cak to the foudi-wefl: is ftill denominated Pen-hull,
Pendle, or the head-eminence, and has been lately
found to be 1568 ydrds iii perpendicular height. A
lofty moor, ftill hearer to Broughton, is called Pen-how,
Pennow, or the head-hill. And a great mountain, a
few miles to the north of Broughton, and 1 740 yards
iri height, is named Penitent, Penigent, or the prin-
cipal head ^ The road from Broughton, like the feventh
P. 141. Iter of Richard, is alfo carried through .AUcaha to
" Hurium. Faffing along the fields near llkley, it traverfes
Banks's-croft, croffes the lane denominated the Town-
3 g»te^
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fckpiV, OF MANCHESTER. i^i
gate; eftters Scafe-croft, and haS becii fiwxnd ttnorig, th6 ^« y* ^
Uclofures for nearly ft miie^ going to the xtiirti of Ald<^
bbroyigh%
Thus dccifif dy is Uklcy (hewn to have been tf ftidoti
^ of the RoisaQS. Atid the arta cf the camp may be af-
tenained with equtd deci(itene&. It \i pointed but by
the ippellatiofi of Ciftle-hill,' the tiatttre o^ the {itti
and the temaiili of the rafnparti And the grcfnUd is
admirably defcftdcd by the Wiier^ oil ihk torth and
two brooks at the fides ; lobkiftg doWn upon the formed
froiri a precipice df tWcflty or thirty yards in hci^t; The
wefterh brook has had balf ni Waters ditertid lAto
another ehannd; mtfft therefore have been i ve*y lively
inrrent beforey and given idditional ftrength to a broW'
iiattfraliy ftecp^ and rififtg aboXit ten tit fifteen yards
above it. . Bdt the eafterft is remaAably briik; and
runi atbout twenty bcloW the trefi of the eminence^
And both of them difchaf ge their waters into the Wherf
hnmediatety beloW the ftatiorT/ The cainp was about
z htmdred: yards by a: hundred and fixtyy the nortli'erii
barrier (I fuppofc) ranging along the eourfe 6f die pre-
fent lane, ;ted patallel with, and about twenty yards tp
fee lirotthC of, the Roman road from Brottghtto to Ald-
borougb; And the wh6fe cOhtaibed about four atritf
6f gcoissid,' encompailing a building called th% Caftley
aid inclt^itfg the church and its cemetery. The Will
6f t^e ftatibn pi^efcnts itfcif «)' the eye at the ncfltl^
- ivve^m atigte, and is ddSly d5fc6vefcd undcf the turl
dlot^tbe wfaple verge of ch^ brows; btit^ the rovgb
iiag-ftonc* of the country/ eemented together with ra/
^ffi^ble npitcr. And ic was this nature of tfa^ groundf
& t #h]^
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»^« T H E M I S T O R T Book I.
ik^i It. trlikh origbally gave denomination to tbe fortrefs. Being
feated upon ^n eminence, it / j^aturally reeeiTed the
appellation of Al-i-can, or the fortrefs -on thfe
lieigHt%
P,i42. The t^jwn ^as *coi>ftr«£ted very tiearix> the ftatioit,'
tftd ^long the cotirfe - of the road from Brpughton^ ill
Banks's-croft, Scafe-croft, and fom^ adjoining clofes*
And there fragments of bricks renitarkably red have been
frequent!]^ dng up, and foandations of houfes remain
Very vifible stc prcfem,^ No new mfcrfptions have been
lately difcovered. But naany of the old have in all pro-
bability been buried "within the walls of the prefent
church. A ftone appears aftually buJlt up in the
foutli - eaftern corner of it, and exhibits upon the
outer fafce ^n infcript^n, that^ras once copied bj
Camden and Horfeley, but is now illegible ^''. And on
the northern fide of the belfrey withm k a couple of
flones, one of which was plainly a Roman altar, a pat^a
appearing embofled on the edge of h % and the other
exhibits a woaian wearing a large f>eaked bonnet on her
tead, and grafping a feake in either h^nd, which tiMe
their h^a^Js corifiderably over hci* flioulders "•
* fi.t, ck it. fed. I, and ck v. feft. i. --'.* Dr-
Jtechardfon in Leland's Itin. Hearne, vol. IX. p. 146,
ittid Mr. Angler in Horfeley, p. 41 3^ Mr. Horfdc^,
P* 373) ^as miftakenly carried this road fouth as far .^
•the RosHsft Way from Tadcaftef to Manchefter. —
•* Richard's feventh Iter ; Rerigoniuni) Ad Alpes Peni-
<fias, igie^ay ITu^um* A|id fee h* L th.lru fed* 2^.^^
^ •' ' ^ ^ Sec
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Ch^p.V. OF MANCHESTER. 197
♦ Sec Camden p. 567. *— ^ Camdefl p. 568. — ' Ri- Scft. 11.
chard p. 27. And in Moatfaucon's Antiquitc ExpH- "
quee torn. II. p. 419* is an Alpine Infcripticm to jQpi*
ter, by the title of Deo Pennine Optimo Maximo. —
^ So Pendleton and Pendlcbury, n^ar Manchefter, arc
written in all our old reo^rdl Pen-hull-ton and !^en-hull-
bury. Pendleton near CUtherow is alfo called Penhul-
ton in ao ^sntieHi: rccfotd of Dugdale'B Baronagje, vqil. I.
p. 789. And another emaence tio? far from Penigeftt,
aad in Wenfley-4aic, is alfo callecj Pen-hilJ. *— ' See
alfo Gale p. 17, Horfeky p. 37S/^ RicJjard'si fe?enth ,
Iter for this rpad- -r^ ' Ai for Ar, Upon ; fee Baxter
in Ibclnium axnl JJmyd iti p^ |i« • Hence Alicana and
Aricomum are the faipe^^ m Jwport.-f-Thc fpeicijed dif-
tanccs in the fewmh Jtaer, firofn.:Rorigon|i«m to Aid p, 14 j,
Alpes Penin^s.and Alifciftg, %xt certainly corrupted.
Only eigh$eea horizoaf^ Q^i^an or abouj twefttynone
Eaglifli road miles are gifcii m hetwi^ Hlbeliefter itod
Ilkley^ mkcu the real jliftftocp by CQlip or Bwughcoa
uieafures nearly forty. -- '"^ Sec Canrfeti p.. 5^8, »d
Horfcleyifi Yorkfliir^} Infcrlptiofls, Jlkiey. — ^ " It is
furprizing that thefq tftionu^ents efcaped tb^ notice of
Camden, who |)articalarly eipamined .t|iQ. iiifide of the
dittrch for Riaman rem^ijis (p. ^6^]^ A^id at Brough
ia Derbylhire, which was eqC^y a towo of the Rq-
usans, in 17^7^ I faw a ftope exhibitii^ t^, fomewhat
fimilar figure. It was large and roiigh, had been dif-
covered ia a field ia Utfle diftant frpip the Gritftone
. water, and then lay in one pf the hedges* Ajid in tfee
holjow oiom fide it prcfonted the half^len|pth
Q3 «f
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I
Ijj8 T HE H I STORY Bookl.
Se6t n. of a wpman, croffibg her hands on her breaft, and
^- ^' wearing a large peaked bcwnec on her head. Bpt there
l^pno&a^es^
m.
X T has never been fuppoied by the antiquariantf
that the Romans had a ftation at Buxton, But^ that
they had a bath^ is confeffcd by the criticks ^nd der
monftrated by remains '. And they fould not haTQ
had the bne without the other ; as a Roman bath muil
have been ereAed by ^ Roman garrtfoo. In theie thq
wildefl paf ts of the wtldeft region in England^ thq
l^eighbonrhood of a garrifon only could ha?e caufed
the medicinal virtues of thefe little fprings to be even
known to the Romans. And nothing bnt the vicinity of a
iiation eonld have oc^aiioned the waters, after they
were known, to be cotte^ed into a refervoir and cov^re^
with a building.
t, 244. The Romans therefore had a regular camp at Bujitpti.
And this is equally demonftrated by the confcurreace of
their roads at it. One proceeds to \t from Manchef-
ter ; another comes over the moors £rom Bropgh ; and a
third advances by Middle-ftreet and Over-ftr^et in thq
way to Braffington. And the ftation ipuft hav$ been
contiguops 10 tha bath. The latter, as I Ihall fooa
<hew, ' was by St. Anne-s well and at the bottom of the
hill. Tfie foriper was therefore immediately above it,
gnd ajoDg tHe plane of the eminence. And thp ground
IS
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Chap.V. OF MANCHESTER. 19^
is defended by a fteep afccDt upon two fide$) and the Htrle 5e&. jn.
Wye clamottring at the foot of it. ^
The Roman road from Brough appears a long and
narrow ftreak of green upon the heath about four miles
from it^ and pufhes by Smalldale-fold to Buxton. The
way from Braifington runs broad over Brafiington-moor
for fevend miles together^ giving denomination to
Over-ftreet a little on this fide of Hurdlow, and ta
Middle-ftreet a little beyond it. And that from our own
to this ftation commenced at the eaftern extremity of
the Gaftle-field, and betwixt the roads of Kinderton and
Slack. Croffing the prefent highway, it entered the
c^poiite inclofures, and flanted along them> not in a
line for Stockport, but at firft in a direftion for Garret-
lane, then in another for the Medlock, and afterwards
in a third for the Cornebrook. And the nature of the
ground, and the diredion of the line in Longfight, fuffi-
ciently fliewthis to have been the original track of the road.
Faffing along the border of Gathernes-field, and crof-
fing the brook beyond it, the Roman way afcended the
emineilce of Calley-banks, and continued upon the
edge of it into Garret-lane. This was the courfe of a
publick road even within the prefent century ; and there**
fore no appearances of the Roman conftrufkion can be
expefted along it. And, having now obtained a proper
line for the ford over the Medlock, it made a con-
fxderable angle, winded along the defcent to Garret-hall,
left Garrctfbridgc inunediately on the right, and paffed p. 14^,
along tbe bank of the river to the Old Ford over it.
So the paffage acrofs* this point of the Medlock is ftill
denominated. And the track continues ia, fome meafure,
4 aud
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400 T HP HISTORY Bqokh
S*ft- in^ and fo* part of iU cowfe, a publick way to the pre£cat
v_^ ^ipaoment.
It %h^ deferled ^Q Iw^ catered the lefij-haBd fields,
reached Coruebrook and tho prefcn( road at ibe l»ridge»
»nd feli ioGQ ihe commeQcbig Uof of liQi^figiit, Aoi
the wbole raoge pf tbe pxe&nt way to Stockport, from
this pqiQt to the Merfey, is popfularly dtecHmcat^
- High-ftrc^t, aod thereby fufficiently bcipcaks itfdf to
be Romaic* But the firil halfrmile pf it^ being rer
inarkably direA, has obtained the fignificativQ appella-r
lion of Longfight. Thps paffipg along the preient
highway, the road crofled the Mer&y at the ford, which
from the fleap^ ftop^ or jQ:eep upon either li3e of it,
received the appellation of Sppfoikl poong the Saxons %
find was about two hundred yards above the prefect
. bridge of Stockport, and about fixty bdow the union of
$he Merfey and the Tame. And it then mounred tho
brow of the CafllQ-hill to the market-place, and tra^*
verfedthcfite pf the town to Buxton.
The medicinal -waters of this village firft occafioned
the Romans to form a Settlement at it j as the fprings
that rofe hat at the foot of the downs, and fnjoaked in
currents ftlong the valky at Bath, indticed them, alfo to
fix their jefijience there, ^nd, had not fuch an pbjcft
invited themi they would neither have placed a fbtioii
upon a Coping hill and a ling}e brpok at the one, nor
have planted a colony mvithin the morafly hollow of a
f, 146. clpfedale, ^n^ upoij the m?u:gi;i pf i xxniddy^ ^eam, at
the other,
The Romans, on their fettlement in Britaki^ immedi*
jqoarHed aqd (:o|led^d the mineral f|>rings of the
iflapd^
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Chaj^V, OF MANCHESTER/ act
iflaQd, which had rlU^d op for ages either xMtrly uti« Seft. Ilf<r
noticed by the aatifcs, or wafting their waters on the' " ^
foUtaty wiid9 of th^ Coudtry \ And aixordingly we
fia4 the warm b^hs of Britaia^ ia general, mentioned
M early as the year 6i, within i8 yoBors only after the
&ft wintering of the Romans in the kingdom ^. And we
fee thofe of Soinerfetihire, in pairticular, noticed within
^ centnry afterward*. They arc fpokcn of by the
title of vS«7<» BepiMm in Ptolemy, Therms in Richard,
md Aquas Solis both in Richard and Antonmns '. And,
as we meet with Aqua^ in Richard for die defignatiooi
equally of B^tfa and Wells ^, fo hare we Aqiue in Ra«-
vennasfor th^ ticlij of a town Irhich lies fomcwhere be*-,
tween Lindum or l^iocoln on one fide and Camulodu*
lum or Slack on the other, and which, for the ex-
preilive particularity of the namti ia in aU probability
3uxton%
Thefe towns the Roitaan Brttdni probably diftinguifhed
by the denomination of Batham*Cheftprs, and the
Saxons afterwards by the limilar appellation of Baths.
And the Aqua? Soils of the Ronians is denominated
Bathan-cefter, a$ early eyen ^s the fixth century ^ The
Ronsm road aMb, yrhiich goes along the mqors from the
peighbpii^riQg Brpugh. to Buxton ^, is popularly ftiled
Batham-gate among the Peakrills. And even the p. 14^
village qf Bqxton is frequently denominated the Bath,
funong^l^e inferioRr o|:de!^ of peopk \^ the adjoining
^untieSf ^
Tkp Rpman bagmo J^t this place was plainly difcernible
by.|j$ rvlins within the prefcnt century^ The dimenfions,
ippjre then tj ap wblc by the eye. An^ the wall of it was '
bfick.
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%ot THE HISTORY BopkT.
Sc^. III. brick, ftiil rifing about a yard in height upon three fidcs^
and covered with a red coat 6f Roman cement, hard as
brick and refembling tile*^ The bafon was floored
with fione, and fuppUed, not by any of the fprings which
feed the prefent bath immediately abore, but by that finer
fouree of water which is now denominated St. Anne's
well, and was theii inclofed within it. And this con-
tinued the very curious and only remains of the Roman
baths in the kingdom, fo late as the year 1709 ; when
Sir Thomas Delves with a gothick generofity of fpirit
deftroyed the whole, in order to cover the fpring with the
ftoneralcove that is over it at prefent. But about fifty yards
to the eaft of this, on driving a level from the prefent
bath to the river in 1697, was found an appendage
probably to the Rc^nan bagnio, a bafon Sbout four yards
fquare, but made with iheets of lead, that were fpread upon
large beams of timber, and had broken ledges all along
;the borders. This additional bath was replenifhed from
another fpring, which is about fourteen yards to the
fouth of it, and called Bingham welU And both the
iprings, and all the others of Buxton, s^re only of a
blood-warm heat, and muft therefore have been more
congenial to theftate and more friendly tothc health of
the human frame, in the conftant ufe of them among the
Romans, than the boiling waters of the fun at Bath "•
But let us turn from thefe notices, to.furvey the
general condition of this part of the country in tl\e daysi
of the Britons.
Thefe appear to have beeii two nations in the ifland,
diftinguilhed by the one denomination of Uiccli^ Uices,
.or Vices. And the name fignifies a brav? pcc^k'%
This
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1
pkzp.V. OF MANCHESTER, 20$
This ekerefgre was Mmrally a popiitar appeUuidtuao^ ^^ Vh
f:hc military tribc» of ic Gdtm. And we find the'" ^ "^
Aulerci Eburo-Vices, the Aulerci Branno-^^ces, and.
the Lemo-Vices, in Gaul ; and meet with the Huiccii
pr Vices^ and the Qrd-Uices Qr Qirdo-inceSi in Bri-
tain *% • ^
The Huiccli of Bede are eyidently the Jugantes of
Tacitus, the appellation of the tribe being Huicc-ii and
Guice-ii in the fingnlar, or Jug-ant-es in the plural 't*
Thefe inhabited all Worcefterfiurc '% and poffcffed
probably the whole of Warwickfliire and the north of
ploucefterihire« And Bcannogeninm or Worcefter
. ieems to have been their capitaU The name is com-
pcmnded of the two words, ^ran or Bren, and Genion
,pr Cenion. The latter, as I have already Ihcwn in
our own Mancenion, fignifies limply a fortrcfs or town.
And the former, impordng a head or king, feems ftrong«
ly to murk it for the principal city '*.
TheOrdovice^ were diftinftfrom the Jugantes, and P. 148.
arc aAually diflinguiihed from them by Tacitus '\ And
they were fettled at firft, perhaps, immediately to the
. north of the others, inhabited only the county of Shrewf-
•bury, and acknowledged Uriconium for their capital.
, This county they certainly poffeffed, the town of Medio-
lanum in the north of it being particularly afcribed to
them by Ptolemy and Richard '\ And they extended
their dominions afterwards over all the mountains of
North- Wales, and* probably carried them over the
woods of StafFordihire and the plains of Eaft-Chcfliire.
The-laft were certainly not inhabited at firft by the
- Camabii j that tribe, as I have already ihewn, being
originally
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,304 THE HISTORY Bookl-
S^^ in. i^|iiglasdlf 'planted -ufiOD^t^ banks of the Dee m& 9long
^ -tht weftern fide of the county. And North-Wdes,
StafFordihiFey and Kaft^Ghefhsre were in ail probabUity
firft peopled at this period;: the fpreaidlog numbers of
the OrdoTices filing gradually into tbofe foUtary coun-
tries, and edging clofely to the fouth and eaft upon the
Caraabii. - - *
Havinjg thus enlarged thck poffefEons over all the
uninhabited diftri£b around them, and their nunibcrs
perhaps ihcreafing, the imqrtions. of war would com*
mence as the range of population was confined. Th^
accordingly appear to have, attacked the neighbouring
Huiccii on the fouth^ to have fcized their capital, ancj
fubducd their country "'. And, being mafters of North-
Wales, Shropshire, Staffdrdfhire, and Eaft-Cheihire,
andbecpmmg afterward the conquerors of Worcefter-
^re, Warwickfliire, and Nortli-iJlouccfterlbirc^ , pro^
bably at the former period^ more probably at the
latter, they affumed or received the diftinguHhing appel-
lation^of Ord-uices or Ordorviges, the Great Huiccii or
Bonoutable Vices.
Such was the wide extent of their empire. But fijch
it did not longreinain. TheDobuni aflailed it on the
■fouth, and cut off from it the' north of Gloucefterfhire,
r, 149. the fouth-weft of Warwickfliire, and the whole of
Worcefterlhire *% The Carriabii attacked k 00 the
north and weft, and reduced ail Staffbrdfliire, it^dy all
Warwickfhire, the north and eaft of Shropfliire, the eaft
. of Chefliire, and the little detached diftrifl: of Flintfinrc *%
And the Silures marched into the center of theirdominioni^
fubdued their remaining poffeffio^is in Shropihire and
North- Whales, and put a final period to their empire **•
5 Thpfc
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Chaj)-lr. O f M A K C H E fi T E R. ^0$
Thtfe were the Britifii Inliabltaiits of £^«€befiure«S«^* nt
But thofe of Dcrbyihire were tke Iccni, \^o under the*
c6ndu£^of their injured prmcefs, and with the affiftance
of two otiier tribes^ cutferenty thoufand of the Rotnan^.
and Romanized Britons to pieces, and deftroyed their
^ree towns of Verulam, Coicheiler, and London ^%
And thefe confifted of two nations*^.
One of them wais the Proper iceni» mid is/d^nomi^
nated Ibeni by Aotonihus, Cenlmagm by Casfar, Ceno-
mes by Ravennas^ and both Cernxnantii' and Cenimanm
J)y Richard *^ Theg^uinc and proper name thefe-
£orc was Cen-i, Y^'Ocn-i,, or Ccn-om-cs; die head ones i
and ihe appellations of Cenhnagni» Genimanni, or
Cenomaani fignify only the head m^/ Man being ecpial^
ty a Bricifli md Saxon word, and' retaiiied to this day
-in the Erfe *^. But both the denominations wer« coa^ral
^i^ Ae &c(k fettiemenc of the trSbe in Brftain. And
they were both derived, together with the firft colonffls
of it, from the Cenoiiaannl of the continent *\
Several nations of the aborigmal Britons appear to
bare retained the names of . the ^at^, of which they
were antiendy ihenibers, and itom. wbkh tlitey migrated
in colonies toBfitam.'^ Sueh were th^ Hasdni of So-
merfetfliire, d^icended f rem thdfe of Ganl^ andfabdued
by the Belg^ of HampSiire* Such were the Bibpoceis
or Rheira, who wei?e evidently a tribe of rfie old in*
hal^ttant^/ hec^vtCe they attacked and fubdued (as I hare
fliewed before "" ■) the fielgick R^ni of the fonth. And
the Attrebates were the fame ; being as evidently «l
natbn of the gennine Britons, bec^ufe they a<%]aUy
lay to the north of the <• Bibrocgs ^^ The Ancatit»
alfo.
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io6 THEHIStORY . Book l
' . •
^fi&. ni; alfdi defcended from thfe Calebs of Qaid; were clearly
^ ^ the anticnt natives of the tfland^^ hamng btoth the Af-
trd>ittes and Btbroees iti Hit iiSath df thtnii'^ And
T^i$Q.^^ Iceni or Cenonaani were Really abo tgines trith
all ; sis the Belgie had never feoecnted fy far into the
flandi and as the Calfiii the great etiemles of the Belgac
^and the conquemrs [iH the Belg^tk Trihdrantes ^ hy hbr
. jtediatdy to tke firath of theih*
. The odiet nat&m of iHt beni ta ealled Coritant by
Ftolemy^ Corn by Ravemtas^ and €ortt and Coitaitm by
Kichard '^« The Itinerariar of the firft and laft ineiitio]!!
a city belongmg to this p^dple^ and call it Ratis^Gorfoif^
exhibiting the name Corii m the poffcffite dtfe pltfraly
and writing it With the Greek ienhinatlon Kiftom And(
terminations of a fimilat natiire ocenr ih Antobtntis and
in both ; Fcorotone and GantiopAiis ih Ri^hard^ Catar-^
radoni and Olebon in him and Antonintis^ laid » htgt
variety in Ravennas ^^ Tl» name df this nstiodiiibtrt^
fore^ apptiits {rfatnly to have been Go^S^ Coritini^ and
Ck>itanni4 The laH appcUa^n 6f riiem^ whidt Ittehiliy
lignifies the woodlanders» is derived firokn the Cott-en oi:
woods which more pardcnfariy <jotered the fnr&ee of
their country ^^. And the two otheti are borfowed
from that one remarkable ctrcuoiAance in their condt-
tion, of which the woodinefi of their cotmiry is a fuffi-
cient argument, the fewnefs of their nnihbers and the
infignificancy of dieir kingdom^ The Godi mean tbb
Little People ^\ and Con-tan imports the country of
them. Their large dominions being very nearly one
extenfive foreft, the people muft have b6en certainly
few and the ftate infijpaificaQtr
Tbusf
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J
€hap.V. OF MANCHESTER, ^oy
Thus denominated, they were originally diftinfl: fromSeft-IIL
tifolceni, and independent of them ^*., And they were ^
fubjc& only to their metropolis, and governed merely
by their own monarch. Their capital is denominated
Ratae in the Itinera of Richard, Antoninus, and Ra-
vennas, Rajg^ae in all the copies nearly of Ptolemy's P. i^r.
Geography, and Ragse, only, in Richard's Roman def-
cription of Britain ^\ The real name, therefore, was
equally both; the former implying only the town or
fortrefs '*, and the latter importing it to be the metro-
polis of the kingdom. But, in the great weaknefs of
the Coritanian ftate, the difperfed inhabitants of the
country would be greatly expofed to the dangers of in-
vaiion, and lie an eafy prey to any^ cnterprizing nation
about them. Such, very particularly, were the Iceni
on their fouthem border. And thefe had accordingly
invaded their , kingdom and fubdued it before the com-
ing of the Romans, and given the mixed and cxpreffivc
appellation of I^cni Coritani to the conquered inhabi-
tants of it'/*
* Leigh's N. H. b. iii. p. 42. — * So Lean, Loan
~ Bcald, Bold — Neaght, Nought — Eald, Old —
and Sheaw, Show. And we have a Steop<lough be*
twist Sibchefter and Haderfal, in an old record, Kuer-
den, folio, p. 237. -T- ^ Tacitus Agric. Vit. c. xxi.
Balnea. •— * Dio p. 1007. — * Iter xoth of Richard
and T4th of Antoninus, and Richard p* 51* — ^ Iter
30th, nth, and 12th. — ^ So the Roman town, which
was conftru&ed at the hot wells of Provence in France,
was
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2^ THE tttStdiR^Y. Boofet
Se£L ni. was denominated Aquae (Aqase Sextia?) hj the Romans^
" and! is now called Aix. And there Were, I doubt not,
fixne medicinal fprings at Wells as well as at Aix v how-
ever thofe are unnoticed at ^eimt, as thefe were to the
prefent century. — • Sax. Chron. p. 21. — ' See Mr*
Peggc's Roman roads through the country of the Ck>ri*
tani, 1769, p. 12. — " Leigh's N. H. b. iii. p4 429
and Short's Hift. of Mineral Waters, 1 734, p. 23 and 44.
— . " Short ibid. — The Nat. Hift. of Lancalhire &c.
very gravely informs us b. iii. p. 42, That Buxton is
mentioned by Lucan. And this wild aflertion has been
carefully copied from it by almoft all the topographers
fince. ^ — '• Baxter in Iceni. — "' Csefar p* 172, Bede's
EccU^ift. lib. ii. t. 2, Ptolemy, and Tacitus Agric*
€• XTiii. — *^ Ann. lib. xii. c. 40. — '? Bede p. 765^ 766,
P. ip, 7671 and [769. — '* Branogena in Richard p* 24. i^
^the fame with Brannogenion, one havii^g the Roman and
the other the Britiih plural. -^ '^ Ann. lib. xii« c. 40*
arfd Agric» Vit. c. xviii. — " Richard p* 22, —
'• Ptolemjf and Richard p. 22. in Brannogeninm. ^*-»
**" Richard p. 24, Salina?, Branogena^ and Alauna. — *
*' Richard p. 24, Etocetum, Banchorium, Uriconium,
andBcnonae; — and p. 26, Carnabiis vicini Coitanni. — *
** Richard p. 22. -»" ** Tacitus Ann. lib. xiv* c. 32
and 33. — ** Richaiu p. 26. — *^ Antjonine's Iter 9,
Ca^p. 92, and Richard p. 26 and 3d Iter. -*-* ** So
Marcomanni in Caefar &c. — *' Cafar pi 172* —
•* B. I. cb- ill £ 2. — ** Gaefar p. 172 &c. -^ •^^ Ri.
chard Iter 14. and p. 26. ^ — Coritavi ftands for Cpri-
tani, asBoviumfor Banchorium, CaHera for Wall«n(or
Wallingford), andCdwioninoruminRavennasforGomj-
viorura. —
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J
Chap.V- OF MANCHESTER. 569
▼ioram. — *' Richard Iter 4, 9, 1.0, 14, and 15, and Seft. Ill*
Antoninus Iter i and 2, And Ravennas has a number "
of fuch words, Ravennatone, Melarnoni, Termonin,
Omire^ Ardaoneon^ Cimetzone, Metambala^ Macatonion^
Utriconion, &c. See a miftake therefore in Mr. Pegge's
Diflertation on the Coritani, annexed to bis Coins of
Cunobeline, p. 119. — '* Richard p. 26. — " Bax- ,
ter. — ^* Ptolemy. — ^' Richard Iter 14, and Anto-
ninus Iter 6 and 8, and Richard p. 26 and 36. --*
^* Rath iignifies a fortrefs in Irifh at prefent, and is the
Iriih appellation of Charlcville and (with the addition
ef Cuirc) of Cafliel at prefent, and the Irifti and Englifti ^
name forRathdowne, &c. And perhaps the Britilh name
of Lciceftcr was compounded of both, and was Rageu-
Rath originally, as Ri(^h-Rath is ufed in Irilh to this
day for a King's Seat ; and was afterwards broken into
two, as Cocci is ufed without the prefix Cacr, and
Rigod-dunum will appear hereafter (b.II. ch. 2. f. 4.)
abbreviated into Reged. — ^^ Richard p. 26.
IV.
THERE is one more ftation which was immediately
connefted with Manchefter. That is the prefent War*
ringtout And its right to the charafter of a Roman
town is proved by the concurrence of Roman roads at it,
one from Condate, another from Coccium, and a third p. 153.
.from Mancunium. The approach of the firft to War-
rington h clearly marked by the name of Stretton and
Stretton-chapel, betwixt the third and fourth meafured
V0L.I. P mile
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210 THE HISTORY Bookl
St&. TV. .naile from the Mwn. And the laft iffued out ^ tteroad
^ from Mancbcftcr to Blackrode about the tenffteatioa of
Hodgc-lanc, paffed by Ecdes, and ranged through
Barton to Warrington. Within the compais even of
the prefent century, 'Hodge-latie remained the iine
grat way to Old Trafforii and Manchefter from thk
•quarter of the tountry. And, near the bridge olf
Barton, the Roman road has configned the appelia^
•tion of the Streets or Street-fields to four meadows, that
range iucceflively along the northerti margiti of the
Irwell ; at once the memorial of its cxiftence, dnd the
indication ofitscourfe. The way from Coccium»courf-
ed, I fuppofe, by Strangeways 4n the towmftip of Hind-
ley '. And juft beyond the village of Aihton and elofe
to the hall of Haydock, on a flight deviation 0( the
prefent road to the right, it very plainly spears.
Entering the paddock at a large alb, it continues along
it about fix hundred yards, and then regains die reSified
line of the prefent road. Running about three hi^ndred
along the edge of the paddock, it croffes the. back-
avenue to the houfe, and is levelled to admit the plane
of it. And about as many yards of it are very per-
fef}-, and a hundred and fifty in the middle as compleat
almoft as they were originally. • For this fpace it is very
•fairly rounded, and has a fharp flope of nine or ten yards
on either fide from the croWn to the borders. And it
was found again a few years ago at Warrington, and
immediately from its appearance adjudged to be
Romam In 1756^ on digging into the ground in San-
-key-lane, where all the ccighbouring fields hafl beeq
• a heath within thefe thirty or forty years, in order to
- «- *^ form
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Chap.V. OF MANCHESTER. c 211
•form the ciftcm of Mr. Robert Patten^s great fugar- Sea. IV.
houfe there ; the workmen, at the depth of a yard,^ "
fomid a regular pavement of three feet in breadth, com-
ing from Dallam, and pointing towards the angle of
the lane and the Horfe-market. And it was equally
difcovored at the angle in 1752, on opening the ground
to lay the foundation of Mr. Patten's houfe ; being at
the fame depth and of the fame breadth, pointing
xAlkptlj acrofs the ftreet, and having a direftion to-
wards the old ford over the Merfey.
There all thefc roads muft have met. There the
northern and fouthern always joined, and there . was
the regular way into the town from Cheflbire, even to
the days of our feventh Henry and the ereftion of the
prefent bridge. And the above-mentioned Stretton,
which points out the courfe of the fouthern road near
Warrington, lies direSly in the line betwixt the old ford, p. i^^^
and the angle that is now defcribed in order to reach
the bridge. Here therefore, juft upon the ford, was a
Roman ftation, though equally overlooked by antiquari-
ans and forgotten by tradition.
This pafs over the Merfey was at the extremity of
fome flat paftures that are called the Broad Howley, and
led direftly into a village which from it is denominated
Latchford. It was formed by a (hoal of gravel on a
bed of marie, was about thirty yards in width, and hiad
frequently in a dry fummer not ,more than two feet of
w^ater upon it. And here the wildly varying hand of
nature had -planted one of the moft remarkable fitcs for a
fortrrfs, that imagination can conceive. Immediately be-
low the prefeat dam of the river, the current, proceed*
P ,»• ^ ing
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212 . THE HISTORY Bookt
Sta. IV. ing haftily to the Touth-weft, was fuddcnly diverted to
"" the e^, was foon turned again to the fouth, and as foon
compelled to flow over the old ford to the weft ; thus
concluding the beautiful curve within a few yards from
its comniencement. And within the compafs of it,
I apprehend, was the ftation of the Romans. This
its vicinity to the river, its poCtion upon the ford,
and the remarkable defenfibility of its lite, all concur
to fuggeft. And the nature of the ground, contiguous
ftrongly coincides with the notion, as this crook is the
only defenfible fite in the neighbourhood of the river and
the ford.
Upon a ftream, whofe largenefs has made it frequently
the boundary of kingdoms, and whofe rapidity and
decpnefs muft ever have made it formidable to pafiitig
armies, this ford, then (as it feems) the only paffage over
the river from the mouth af its channel to the ihallow at
Thelwall, would neceflarily be a poft of confider^ble
importance in war. And on a bank which, from the
lownefs of its level furface, could afford no convenient
pofuion for a fortrefs, fuch a fite, marked out by the
plaineft charafters for the area of one, and placed direftly
at the end of the ford, muft have been of equal impor-
P. i;^, tance for guarding it. So' would the Siftuntii naturally
think, when, on the irruption of the Carnabii into
the provinces of their neighbours, they refolved to
provide for their own fecurity by the fortification cf
their folithern border. Surveying the banks of their li-
jnitaxy ftream, and the fOrd at Warrington neCeffarily
aitrafting their attentioa, they swould eagerly feize thi^
lemarkable are^j aod inita;itly fettle a fuflScjent garrifQn
- . . : ^ ^ within
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Oiap.V. OF MANCHESTER. ii^
whhin it. And the ground of it was about eighteen Sisft. IV;
itatute-agres la compafs. The ifthmus in its narroweft
poiotwas only about four or five yards in width at the
height of the tide^ and ahout ten at its recefs, aad
Would eafily he fecurcd by a rampart and ditch. . And
arampartofoi^ly three or four feet in height, entered
as that at Mancbefter appears to have been^ not by
openings in the line of the wall, but by afcents to the
creft of it, would effeftually prevent all thofe accidental
overflowings of the land-floods, to which the ground muft
kave been previoufly fubjeft, and by which it is now
covered once or twice in a winter.
Wiien Agricola began to fecure his new conquefls
ii. Lancaihire by the conftruftion of feveral ftations, the
fame rcjsfons, which had previoufly impelled the Britons
to feleS, would equally induce the Romans to retain,
this Uttk peninfula of fand for the area of a regular
fortrefs. The extent of it indeed was larger, than what
they generally chofe for a fliation. But fuch a choice
was merely founded upon a principle of military oecono-
my, and only calculated to prevent expences by pre-
cluding the neceflity of more numerous defendants.
And the number could never have been larger for this
ftation, than for that at Manchefter\ as the foldiers
needed to defend only the breadth of thirty yards at the
ford, and the width of ten at the ifthmus. The rivfer
was a fiifficienr fecurity on every other fide, carrying
in all parts a depth of three or four yards, and having
probably, as even the prefect appearances of the channel
concur to fuggeft, thofe deep holes in fome \¥hiqh havfc
Jong given to the fite tbe popular denQminatiott of
... . P 3 HcUt
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2X4 THE HISTORT Book f .
S^ W. Hdl-hoksj» And the Roman road from CQCCtqm tcr
^'■''J^^^^Condate, pafling along the narrow ifthmns and approach*
log the weft era raqapart> would geotly curve ;on th«« .
right by the ibuth-weftera angle of the lattcfc aad edge
along the fide of the ftationr and }oft betow the fouth^
era barrier* ; The paffagc of the river could not be
attempted but during the abfence of the tide ; and thea
this road might have been fafety travelled, extending
along the lower bank of the river» and leading over tho
fliallaw to Latchford.
Such wa3 the iite on which the antlent camp of the
Romans, and the more antient town of the BcttonSy
were cpnftru<fted. But fo it is not now. The goeateil
ftrength of the ifthmus, and the point raoft direfilji
oppofed to the current, was about thi^ yards ia
breadth. Thus broad w^s it, after it had beea&r |gcj|
filently corroded and violently plundered by the ftreaiii
^nd tides*. And about thirty-feven years ago, the rivet
bringing down an e:}^traprdinary body of waters from its
hills, and difcharging the fury of it direftly ag^infi the
i;fthmus,' the, whole fubftance bf the mound b^^ to
fliake, opeiied, and difappeared. The Merfey, having
now obtained a direfl:. way, immediately defertcd its
rounding one, and transferred the fite of the fortrefs
from the northern to tlie Ibuthern bank j leaving ks
IDld important ford to become nierely a way into a paf*
ture, and: giving up its channel to be planted with popr
lars aiid.graj^ed upon by cattle*
This ftation is evid^tly the fame that Ravcfflnas fi^es
fomcWhere near Cbefter, and to which he gvcs the;nani«
pf Veratinum, Vaca-tin, or Fordftown *. -Thecotaiqty
gf ^ camp at Warrington, apd the grc^t fimilarity in
(he
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Chap-V. OF MAN'CHE5TEIL 215
the ftame of Veradmim to it, fufficieatly imimate the^ ^^' ^v.
former to be meant by the latten And in popular pro-
Qunci^ido tbe fimilarity is fldll greater, Warrington
bdng prcrtjoimced Warfatin even at prcfent. In the.
i?ecords of Dooralday, indeed, it is written Wallin*,
Wn; but i» Ip written from the cuftomary fubftitutiow
of an L for an R in the language of our Saxoa ancef-.P. 157*
tors, by whiqh the name of the Wiltihirc Ambrefburjr
is changed in the fame records into Amblesbury^
and the 'appellation of Sarum, the Searobyrig of the
Saxon chronicle, has long fince been altered into Salif-
bUIy^
At the diftance of a few miles from this ftation, but
QO tihe Ibudiern bank of the Merfey, were formerly
difcavcred^ more than twenty oblong pieces of lead, fomc
or which wer& faid to be imfccibed
IMP. VESP. VIL T. IMP. V. •
COSS.
And others
imp.domit.avg.ger.de.
CEANG.
The difcovery is fufficiently authenticated. And the
infcriptions are intereftingly curious. The venerable
father of our Britifii antiquarians has confidered them,
as the-mearoTial of fome viftory which the Romans ob-
tained over the Ceangi, or inhabitants of the north-
weftem region of Chelhire^. And this is certainly
the light, in which the firft refleftion prefents them to
the mind. But the late learned antiquarian qf Grelham
College has queftionedthe juftnefs of Mr. Camden's opi-
nion, and ad?anced a very different one of his own. He
P 4 confidcrs
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2i6 THE HISTORY BookL.
Sea, IV. confidcrs them merely as common pieces of lead, H^
"" cenfed only for the market by one infcription of the
name of the emperor, fccurecl to the proprietor . by
another of the name of his nation, and thrown by
an accidental wreck upon the Ihore of Cheihirc^ And
this account of them is adopted with commendations
by Dr. Stukeley *. But the hypothefis is ^ffuredly
wrong, and will appear to be fo from this cme argu*
mcnt only.
The Chelhire are not the only pieces of lead, which
have beendifcovered of a fimilar form and with a iimilar
infcription. In the reign of our eighth Henry, an obr
long plate of the fame nietar was thrown up by the
plough near Ochyhole in Somerfetlhire, bearing thefe
words, TI. CL AVDIVS CAESAR AVG. P. M. TRIB^
R Vim. IMP. XVL DE. BRITAN*. Intheprefent
p. 158, century another was found at Bruton in the fame county,
having this infcription, IMP. DVOR. A VG. ANTONINJ
ET VERI ARMENIACORVM ^ And a third was dug
up about thirty-eight years ago in Yprkfhire, , exhibiting
this, IMP. CAES. POMITIAN. AVG. COS. yil.
Of thefe, tbQ firft was plainly a trophy. This the
words DE BRITANNIS would affure us of themfelves.
And the remarkable impreffioii upon a particular coin
piroves it. The words are too gpneral for the purpofes
<^f %, W^fid'? fupjpofition. And the coin exhibits the
» tekpfi^ in bis AiTcrtio Arthurii, p. 33. edit, 1544, gives it u& thus,
Th CLAVD- CAESAFl' AVG. P, M, TR. P, Villi, I|^/pri,
pfe SRITANNIS, But fee Camden p. 168,
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Chap.V. OF MANG HESTER- iif
fame legend, together With* a triumphaJ arch, the figure Ssa/IV.
<tf a horfeman at fuUfpeedv and two trophies ^* This* "
plate of lead therefcM-e Was efefted as a military trophy ;
and the infcription upon it DE BRITANNIS wa$ the
memorial of a viftory, which the Romans gained over
the Hsedui, the Britons of thefe parts of Somerfetihire*;
And fuch the Profeflbr, with an ingenuous inconfiftency,
acknowledges them to be *''. Such therefore were alfo
the Chefliire plates, and the writing DE CEANGIS
upon them. And every principle of analogy proclaims
them to be fo. Molded exactly in the fame fort of
%nre, and prefenting exafily the fame kipd of iq-r
fcription, they mufl: both have been formed with th«
fame defign, and infcribed for the fame end. -
The piece of lead which was difcovered in the mord
foutherly parts of Somerfetihire, equally oblong as the
laft, was equally erefted as the record of a viftory over^
the iflhabitatits of it. This the fame principles of ana-
logy affert. And this the Profeffor inconfiftcntly acknow-
ledges again". In the joint reign of Aufelius Antoninus
and L. Verus, an infurreftion of the H^dui had been
foppreffed by the Romans. And the monument was
erefted in memory of the fafl. This therefore was alfo
the cafe with the Brigantes. Subdued by Oerealis in
the year 72 or 73, they attempted to throw off the yoke
in the feventh confulate of Domitian or the year .8? ** ;
but attempted in vain. The Romans reduced the in-
lurgents, and erefted the ufual monument- of their vic-
tories, the leaden plate and the triumphal infcription"^. p. 1^9,
And the latter naturally varied in its manner, and the
fo'rmer in its weight j the name of the 'cbnqtterdd natiqa
:^ being
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Mft THE HI5TORY Bookf^
8i^.lv.b^Qg fomedaM inipftiSRexlufKm tke plate» as ia the tmo
firft an4 the laft^ wd fometiittes explaio^d <^tjF ,by .fhie»
ylace of ks eredton^ as ia the tkird ; aud thie weight*
Wtng eithoc 9 hundred pQuj}d$i a^ in the laft^ onljr
ftfty* a$ in the thirdi or much lefs^ as ia both the ^fi;
probably **.
The Chefliite pieces <rf lead, then, were originally,
diefigned by the Romao^ as a monument of triumph
and the record of a viaory- over th^ Ceangi. And i\m
defign of them afcertains at once the pofition of thtt
people. Being the fervant$ of the Cajaiabii and the
attendants upon their cattle, they lived in the northimn
wpedsof their country, thjacikictedthe marfliy grxmAdt
T?hich ftill extend for mwy nules by Norton, Runchrf
«3Qiei and Frodfliam. along the iho(ce of the IMterfey.
Here the pif^es were dug up, apid here was thevifibryr
obtained. Aod the Ceangi, oter whom it was gained^
were very diftmft from the three, bodies of herdfmear
with whom they have been often confounded. They
were different from tbe^ Cangi; who bordered im^siedi«
ately on the country of the Iceni,, and therefore inhabit**
ed in all probability the wild extent of Cannock forefl: in
St^flfordihire ; it then rvmning aCoredly up to.Necdwood
foreft and the b^nks of tbeI>ove^ and its Caisigi being as
well as th^fo the ftrvants of the Carnabiv'^ And
they were oqftaljy difibrent; from the Cangani, whofe
habitajiions i^r^^ched along the weft^a Ihorei of Caer-^
narvonlhireju apd from the Gangii-, who dwelt amid the
foujtbern hillj of Weftmoreland '**• Sepai:aKd from the
firft by the ijpiterpdfmg Car^abii, andiromthe fec0ii4
by them .*afl ll|e Ordoviocs together, they were alfo
4 divided
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divided from tbe hSt by this v^le intermfidUte «^iniSeft« IV*
of thfi Siftunrii. "
Bat the dates of thefe infcrq^dma are obvIouSji dif-;
fisi^iit^ x^erring to wqMQeobr^^ one in, the reiga^ off
Vefpaiian, and the other in chat of Domkian. And the ^
ft)rmer legend^ itke thofe of Nt>stb * SoBieifetAiire^
poiatB without qi^ftioa to dte onginaL ced action. q£
the country ; and the lacter, Kke daofe of South-Somer-^
Ij^tihire and Yorkihsre^ to the fappceffion of a iubfb-
quent ibftunredion* The former^ howener^ ha& beenP. i6o.
fi> ne^gently: copied by ike p^fons vfap tranfmittei k
to Caoxden^ that it cannot be dependied upon vibk re- .
gard to the yeac of ks. date. This appears frcMn dia
giariug abfurdity ofit^ I thinks in giving die appeltatba
of Emperor to Yelpalian and Titns in the fame inftant '^»
And k equally appears from the confideration of a
certain faft, Thar in, the year 76, to which it refers, the
Geangi of Chdhire had not yet been attacked by tha
Komans. In the fummer of 78, when Agticola aflumed
die command of the troops in the ifland, the whole
lange of our noithreaftem coaft, induding North*
Wales and extendmg. to Scotland, was. yet unfubdued
by the Roman arms. The moft footherly of thefe Bri«
tons^ die Ocdovices of North*Wales, had been prer
Tioufiy attempted Ijy P9.ulinas ; but all the more north*
criy w/sre firfi attadoed by Agricgla*. And, having
totally Qonquered the former in the autumn of jS^
Agricola equally conquered the jatier in the fumtner of
yg, T^s ther^re is^^ the highefl: date to which any
Chcffair^ infboipi3on. can refer^ 2^ the coun<7 '^^ ^^'^^
invaded and firfl conqueijod' in that yicar*.^ This is alfo
the
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329 THE HISTORY Bookl.
«a*
S©a- IV. tlie loweft to which any bfcriptiou concerning Vcf-
pafian can be reduc^i as he died upon the twenty-fourth
of June in it. Afid to this therefore the cmginal pro-
bably referred/ and was thus wiuten^ im, V£sp. VIIIL
T.VESP,VII-coss.
Early then in the casnpsdgn of 7^ when Agricola ' led
his troops to the rcduftbn of Lancaihire^ the main body
appears to have advsoiced by the way of Warrington *',
The inhabitants of the north-w^ilnn region of Cheihice,
the hardy Ceti^ or berdfrnen of the Carnabii, were
jfecurc in the proteAion of their bpgs and forefts^ and
had not ycjt fubmitted to the Romap arms. But Agri^
cola p^rfued them to the laft retreat of their jnadhes
and the banks of the Merfey^ tbire attacked and de-
feated them near NortoiJi and fubdued the whole coon*
try.
This being fnccefsfuUy performedy the army would na»
tnrally ford the Mcrfey at the Ihallbw near Warrmgton,
enter the country of the Siftuntii, and take the fortrefe of
P. 16-1. Vcratinum* That was kitenlfled to guard the ford^ and
in all probability was then (kitted on every fide by the great
Wopdt- which was afterwards denominated the forcft of
Derbyflxire '^. And the detacihment, which had been
probably fent over the Merfey* at Stretford, ,and had
taken the fortrcfs at Manchefter^ as probably qontinued
its route direftly to Ribchefter and Oferborough^ feized
the fortreffes of Rerigonium and Bremetonaca*, and re^
limited with the.aarmy in the county of Cumberiancl^
In each o£ thefe Britifh towns the detachments, a^ng
ypon the fame principles- with the main body, would
fnccefliYely leave a competent garri^. And on each of
tl^cm
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Chap.V. OF MANCHESTER^ zzt
them did Agricola, at the end of the campaign; couflarttft Scft. IV.
a r^ular ftation and cftablifii a regular garrifoD* This was
the cafe of Bxemetonacse^ and Veratinum in pardculai^^
though the one is firft mentioned by the late Jtinerary of
Antoninus^ and the other by the later Chorography of
Ravennas. Both of them appear from their Briti0i
names to have been originally Britifli fortreffcs. And
neither could have retained thofe names^ if they had
not immediately been converted "into Roman ftations.
Veratinum was not upon the courfe of the great road
from Carlifle to the fouth, and is therefore unnoticed in
the earlier Itineraries* This road, paffing from Carlifle to
Blackrode, did not proceed from the latter to Kindertbn
in a flraight direftion'and the line of the prefent way ;
but, turning' to the left, rounded by Manchefter to,it*
And fuch, from the Irinerary of Antoninus, appears tp
have been its direftion.for two ages afterwards.
In the fourth century however, fome time after the
date erf" Antomne*s and before the pcriqd of Ravennas's
Itinerary, the courfe of the road was changed. As it
circled by Maochiifter, the diftance betwixt Blackrode
and Kinderton was about forty meafured miles. But,
if the one was laid direfily through Warrington, the
other could be only about thirty. The line was . ther&-
fore diverted from that town to this. And we havp P.z6i*j
other inftances of the fame nature in Italy and Britain,
new ro^dt conftrufted by the Romans of the lat«r agej,
becaufc the eld took a confiderable roupd''°. In coi>-
fequence of our own particularly, the ftation of War-
riligton, which before perhaps had only two fubordinate
ways to it, and a connexion by them with Manchefter
and
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2^ THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea. IV. ^tttdCtefter cmly^ ^was placed vtpcfa the courfe of a^eat
Mad, w» necefiWrilf tnferted in the later. Itineraries,
•and neceffarily engaged Hat tiotice of die tranrcribiiig
Chdrographer. And the prcfent appearance of the wa^
at Hay dock confirms the opinion. ConftruAed entirely
"With, die red eamk aoad red rock which form the nanral
ibll, it fttU retaias all the conveocity which "was ori-
gVaally giveh it, and was therefore conftrufted by the
Romans of the later ages> and fpeedily deierted in this
particular part adthf the Briiom<or Saxons after them.
And the diredbn dP our great north-weflem road ^K^as
now firft diverted from Manchdfter, by which it had
^utherto gone, and now firft carried through Warring*
ten, through which h: oominnes to go at prefebt. At
i!he fskme period in all probability the other part bf the
9oad, which bad previouily curved from Cohdate l^
Mediolanum and Uricontum to Wall near Litchfield *%
was laid direftly, as it now tends, over the hills of Talk
and Newcaftle, and by the Aations of Chefterton and
^erry-Bank. Chefterton is about two miles to the
^north of Newcaftle, and Berry-Bank about one to the
ibuth ef Stone. The former is fiifficiently cbatafteriaged
as a ftation by its common name, and the latter by that
'gf Wulfere-cefter which it bears in an antient :record*
And th^ latter is additionally marked by a camp upon
a lofty hill, extending about twohumired yards in dia-
.meter, and fecured by a double rampart aad deep «i*
-iwachfnents '*.
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Ch«p.V. OF MANCHESTER. tt^
' So oor <fffn Strangeways was nanied ftam tht Ro- Se£L tv«
man road that tvent by it. — * Sec Gale's Antotiinos '
p. 12^, where he juftly aflerts the Briu& Vara to be
the prefcat Ferry; and Lhuyd's Eiymol- Dift.p, 5.P. x6j.
Bamboroiagh in Northumberland vascallied Din-Guzyvk
•or Wzt^town by the Britons of the liKth century (Nen-
nius <:. 64). — ' Thus we have BuUium or Burrium for
the fame town among th^ l^Itons (fee Richard and An*
tontnus) ; Cselia and Ceria for the fame liquor among
die Spaniards (fee b. I. ch. vii. f* 30» ^^^ lalium^
Cerebram Cerebellum^ Liber Libellus^ and many otJbers>
among the Romans ; and Marmor Marble^ Purpura Pum
pie, and 'Harry, Mary, &c. popularly foftened into Hal,
Molly, &e., among ourfclves.-~*P, 463. — ^ PhiK Tranf.
A. B. 1755 2nd 175^. p. €96 and ^97. -*f- * Caraufius
ifol. I. p.177.---^ Itin. Curiof. p. 143.— * PhiK TranH
ibid. p. 6S7.— • Camden ibid.— .^^ P. 699.—" P. ^98.
" Sec Phil. Tranf. p. 695. — "' And this infurrefiicm
ieems alluded to in Juv. 44 Sat.
Dirue Maurorum attegias & caflra Brigantum*
— ** That the Romans frequently made infcriptions
upon leaden plates, appears from Dio p. 475 and
867. — '^ Tacitus Ann. 1. xii. c. 32. *— ** See the mif-
takes in Brit. Romana p. 34, Caraufius p. 177* vol. I,
and Reinefius p. 302. — '^ Mr. Horfeley p. 316. has
propofed this objeAion, but has mif-ftated it. His ar«
gument fuppofes both fets of infcriptions to be upon
platesof the fame date. And Dr. Ward has endeavoured
to remove the objeSion, but has miftaken it (p. 697
and 6g8). The title of Emperor is not given to Vef-
^ : ^ . > • pafian^
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124 THE HISTORY Book I.
Soft. IV* pafian^ Titus^ and Domitian on the fame pieces of lead^
or to Vefpafian upon one piece and Titus on another.
It is given to Vefpafian and Titus upon the fame^ and
to Domitian on difierent pieces* — *' Loca caftris iffe
[Agricola] capere, aftmria ac fylvas ipfe prastentare:
nihil interim ^pnd boftes quietum pati quo minils fubitis
excurjibus popularetur ; Tacitus Vit. Agric. — *^ A re-
cord of perambulation fays thus of it : It begins where
Sonkey Water falls into thcMerfey; afcends the water
through the middle of the townfhips of Par, Windlue,
P. 164. and Rainford ; paffes through the middle of Bickerftath
to Crowihagh brook ; goes to Romesbrook iii Aghton^
to Cockbeck, and Alt ; goes beyond the mofs of Down-
hollafid to Barton pull; ranges beyond the mofs in
Hanglowe to the fea; follows the line of the fea to Liver-
pool ; and purfues the line of die Merfey to Sankey Wa-
ter : 9 H. IIL Kuerden folio p. 238. — *° Galen 1. ix.
c. 8, Methodi, for Italy, and Horfeley p. 144, for Bri-
tain. — ** Richard's ift and 2d, and Antbnine's 2d, Iter.
i~** Plot's Staffordfhirc p. 407 and Leland's CoUeftanea
tqI I. p. I.
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Chap;Vt; bF MANCtifeStEfti 225
t ti A P. vi*
•
tJEiTEkAL feEMARKS ON tHE koAbS bF tkE ROlilANj
^^ THREE NEW SdRT S OF THEIR STATIONS
DlSCOVERfeD ABCixrT MANCHESTER—-
tfaEIR SUMMER-CAMP THtRE -^
AND THEIR FORCES THERit
AND IN THE
ISLAND^
TiifeSlE af i the Roman ^ays^ that irenl frdi6 p. i6r,
Manchefter to the neighbouring ftatioiis. And,
Tuch as thfey are, they muft fliare in the high commen-^
dation and praife, which the dntiquariaris have beftowed
on the roads of the Romans in gcneraU But furely thefe
gemlemen have beeii tdo lavi(h in their eiilogiums upon
tfaem^ Antiquariahifm is merely the younger lifter of
Hiftory^ lefs fedatc arid more fancifui, and apt to be-
come enamoured of the face of Time by looking
fo frequently iipon it. Let not this, however, be the
conduA of her fobcrer difciples. Let not theliiftorical
critick difgrace himfclf and his profcffion, by adrrtiring
Vol. L Q^ greatly
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^2i " THE HISTORY BookL
S^- 1- greatly what is merely antient and applauding fondly
■V"
what is only Roman. The pencil of Age may juflly be
allowed to throw a Ihade of refpeftablcnefs, and to dif-
fiife even a venerable air, over the produftions of very
antient Art. And we may appeal to the feelings of
every fcnfible beholder, for the truth of theobfervation*
But this is all that can be allowed to the influence
of Time. And the writer, that overfteps this reafonabic
limit, facrjfices fentiment to conceits, and gives up the
realities of Hiftdry for the dreams of Imagination.
The chief excellence of the Roman roads is the di-
reftnefs of their coarf^» Being conftrufted at a period
when the laws of property were fuperfeded by the
rights of conqueft, they vfere naturally laid in the
ftraighteft lines from place to place. From thefe they
could not be diverted, like many of our modem roads^
and thrown into obliquities and angles, by the bias of
private intereft. And nothing could divert them, but
the interpofition of a hill which could not be diredly
f. i66, afcended, the interruption of a river which could not
be immediately forded, or the intervention of a mofs
that could not be crofled at all. Thus, to adduce only
a iingle inflance, the Roman road to Slack courfes in
one regular right lin^ from the Caftle-field to HoUin-
wood^ while the modern and nearly parallel way to
Huthersfield, one of the ftraighteft that we have in
the vicinity of Manchefter, runs curving all the way at
a little diftancefrom it, and has no lefs than twelve or
thirteen confiderable angles betwixt Hollinwood and the
town.
But
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Chap.VI. OF MANCHESTER. 427
But the Roman roads appear !k>t. to hive been- Scft. I.
conftrufted upon tbe moft fenfible principles ih general/ ' "*
That over Newton-heath is a mere coat of (and and
gravel, the fand very copious and the gravel weak, and
not» compaftcd together with any incorporated cement.
And that at Haydock is only a heap of loofe earth
and rock laid together in a beautiful convexity, and
ready to yield and open on. any fliarp compreffion
from the furface. Such could never have been de-
figned for the paffage of the cart and waggon ; as they
muft loon have been furrowed to the bottom by the
wheels or crulhed into the ground by the load, and
rendered abfolutely impaffable by either. But for thefc
rough ferdces they were not intended. This the Iharp
conveidty of the road at Haydock mpft clearly proves^
which fcarcely leaves the level of a yard at the crown,
and throws all the reft of the furface into abrifk defcent.
And the afpeft of the more flattened road over Failf-
worth mofs concurs to deqionftrate it ; being even now,
when it has naturally fpread out into a broader extent,
not more than three yards and a half in width. Both
of them, though the one was conftrufted for the great
weftern way into the north, and the other was the line
of communication betwixt Chefter and York, were plainly
intended merely for the walker, the rider, and the beaft
of burden '. ^
The only roads, that fcem to have been defigned for p^ ,g.
the waggon and the cart, are fuch as were regulsurly
paved with boulders. And of this nature appear to
have been the ways from Manchefter to Blackrode and
Ribchefter, and. from Ribchefter to Overborough *. Bur,
0^2 as
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i2l THE HISTORY Bookl.
Seft. L as this alleviates oot the cenfurc upou the narrownefs
of the coftds^ fo the paving of them is obvioufly an
awkward expedient at the befl;» And this appears fuf-
ficiently from thofe boafled .remains of the Romans,
the Appian and Flaminian ways in Italy ; which are fo
intolerably rough and hard, that the travellers, as often
as they can, turn off from them, and journey along the
tracks at their borders ^.
Many of the Roman roads, indeed, have continued
under all the injuries of time and the inclemencies of
climate to the prefent period, and fome few in excellent
prefervation. And^the Romans, having the whdle
power of the country at their command, and nations of
fubjefts to be their labourers in the work, were not fru-
gal of toil in difcovering the materials, and conveyingthena
to a confiderable diftance. Thus, as little or no gravel
was to be found along the track of the way from Hol-
linwood to the end of Street-lane, thgr dug up a gr^at
quantity of it along the (ides of the prefent Millbrook
on the former, and conftrufted with it all the road to
the latter. The long and broad hollow, which fliil re-
mains upon Hollinwood common, intimates to us the
one fafl^ j and the peculiar rednefs of the gravel along
the road evidences the other. And, what is much more
remarkable, the Stane-flxeet in Suffex, ten and feven
yards in breadth and one and a half in depth, is com-
pofed entirely of flints and pebbles, though no flints arc
to be found within feyen miles of its courfe"^. The
Romans alfp l^id their roads, not funk, like ours, many
feet below the level of the ground about them, but
riling with a jounded ridge conliderably above the for-
face;
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Chap.VI. OF MANCh'ESTER. 229
face; unlefs tbey were obliged to climb obliquely up Seft^L-
the fide of a deep hill, or defcend obliquely down iu "
And by this means the water never fettled upon their ways,
Clently fapped the foundations, and efFeftually demoUflied p. i68,
the works. But the continuance of many to the pre-
fent moment, and the peculiar prefervation of fome, re*
fult very little from thefe general circumftances, and
are principally the effeft of accidents. That the former
have not given them fuch a lafting duration, is evident
from the above-mentioned ftrufl:ure of all of tjbem with- '
in, and from the remarkable roundnefs of fome <rf them
without. And the faft arifes chiefly from the early de?
fertion of particular roads by the Britons and Saxons j
new ways being laid for new reafons to the fame towns,
ot the towns being deftroyed and the ways unfrequent-
ed. Such affuredly was the cafe with the fmartly
rounded road at Haydock. ' And fo it will hereafter ap-
pear to have been with the remaining one upon Stony
Knolls ^
But had they b^n always laid in right lines, always
conflrufled with a fufficient breadth, and never paved
with ftone 5 had the materials l^een bound together by
fome incorporated cement ; and h^d they been all cair
culated to receive carts and bear waggons ; they mufl:
Hill be acknowledged to have one eflcntial defeft in
them# They almoft conftantly crqffed the rivers pf
the ifland, nqt ^t bridgps, but at fhallows or fords, fome
of which nature had planted ao4 others art fupplicd*;
And in this ftate of the rpads ^he trayclling upon them
muft have been infinitely precarious, regulated by the
nuns, ai^d epntroulcd by the floods. Sutch would ccr-
* Q. ^ tainly
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THU HIST OR Y Book!.
tsunly be "tlje confequence at the fords of Ribcbeftcr
and Pci^wortham over the Kibble, at thofe of War-
rington, Stretford, and Stockport upon the Mcrfcy,
and even at tbofe acrofs the Medlpck and Irwell^
the Irke, and the Cornebrook, One of the very rainy
nights, which arc fo common in our Manchefter win-
ters, would raife a cpnfiderable dppth pf water upon
the fords, and fix an abfolute bar to the progrefs of
p. i6g. travelling. And, for y«rant of a few bridges, the Roman
roads would be often rendered impaffable during the
winter, and fometime^ for a confiderable part of it to*
gether -, the military communication between the fcve-^
ral parts of the ifland muft have been frequently fut
pended, attd the Roman empire within it continually cx-
pofed to danger ^. -
' From fome barrows in the roads. Dr. Stukeley in-
fers both the Herman and Watling Streets to have never
been travelled cvep by horfes; Inn. Curiof. p. 82,
104, and 106. — * Rauthmeirs Oyerborough p. co.
: — ^ Horace lib. i, fat. 5. fliews the Applan way to have
been as rough in the Auguftaa age, as it is in tlje pre-
fent :
Hoc iter ignavi divifimus, akifis ac nos
Praecinftis ijnum j minus eft gravis Appia tardis.
•— * Camden c. 199. Salmon's obferyation, p. 1 1 1. of his
Surrey, extends not to Suffex.— VSee b. II. ch. ii. f. 2.-r-
* The Romans had very few flations in the ifl^d, at
which they ^a^ cgnllfuapd briclgtij, Qnly $wp vp
i PWtioije^
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Chap.VL OF MANCBESTEB- «5r
mentioned by Antoninus, Ad Pontem apd Pontibus* Sea. I.
And ^i third is fpccificd by the Notitia, Pons JEIii* -
^ Dr. Stukcley, in the genuine fpirit of an antiquarian^
commends the wifdbm of the Romans for preferring du-
rable fords to perifliing bridges : Itin, Cur. p. 72. And
fee a (imilarly awkward expedient for croilin^ the rills
of vallies, mentioned p. 82. .
IL
, THERE are three forts of little camps conftruSed
by the Romans in Britain, none of which have been
obferved by our hiftorical writers. The inveftigation of
them will open to us a new field of notices, and cora-
pleat our view of the ftationary oeconomy of the Ro-
mans. And Manchefter appears to have had nine of
them, three of one fpecies, two of another, and four of
another i
The firft three were all upon the roads from It to p, 170,
Ilkley, Buxton, and Slack. And one of them was at Little-
borough, the fecond at Caftlefhaw, and the third at
Hanford. The little ftation at CafUeftiaw is very evi-
dent on the prefent track of the way to Slack. A fecond
was fixed at Hanford. And thefe neccffarily lead us to
expcft another upon the remaining road, a fortrefs con-
ftruded on a fimilar fite, and calculated for a fimilar
purpofe. Faft convinces us of the one. And analogy
requires the other. — The camp at Caftlefliaw is feated
direftly at the foot of Stanedge, and within a couple of
furlongs from the courfe of the Roman road* This I
<^4 hare
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aji THE *f| I STOUT TiQok:fr
SciSt H. have (hewn befjB& to harc be^n probably a fortrcfs trf
^^ "'-'^ the Siftantii^ but to have extended aloiig die area
which rifes over the reft pf the ground|. ^t4 h iU
^ually 4^^o°^i^^^^^<^ ^^^ Ifus-fteads and all disfined fo^
the Caftle-hills* But the Roman fiation fpn the fite
feems to have bepQ concraded intp a narfower fomj^s^
and tq hav^ been inclpfed within the fbf^^ that itip
appears encircljng ^ rpunded pminence hear the centef^
and encompaffing about three-fourths qf a ftatutcracre.
:: — And the camp at Littk-bprough gave denomination
to the village, and feenis to have bjeen fished upon the
groi)nd lyhijph is about half ^ mile to the call of it^
immediately on the left of the new road, and popularly
^enoraipated Caftle. l^his is direftly ^under the fte^
of Blackftone:Edge, nearly adjoining tp the fpqrfe qf
the Roman rpad, and upon tlie margin of a briik ihream.
And the fornficatipn, xij'hlph g^ye name to the ground,
is of fo antient a date, that ti^e x^njains of it haye va-
niflied from the eye, and tradition has forgotten its
exiftence.-rBut we have better evidences of a little
jcamp at Hanfprd, The Roman road from Manpheftcr
to Buxton T]i^ confidwbly to the weft ofitsgeperal
jdirefiioa from Stockport, in order tp touch at fqine in-
termediate ilatiox?. It proceeds by^ Pepper-^ftreet fold
\n Btainhall, and pafles over Street-fields beyond it^
pointing tpwajids Hanfprd-rmill on the BpUcn. And
Hanfprd appear^ to h^^ye bad three or fpw? rpads of
f?. i^r. the Romans converging to it. One crpffed the prefeiat
highway to Macclesfield about half a mile to the nordx
of Adlingtpn-hall, a long lane o^ the left ftill bear-
gg 'm appejlation of St|Feet4ane ; ^nd i» two or three
.. miles
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Chap. VI. OF MANCHESTER. ajj
miles would, coincide with the other about Hanford- Scft. II.
miU. This is the* continuation of the road from Man- '
chefter, as it iearps the ftation at Hanford, and bears
dire^lly for Buxton. And two others appear to have
reached it from two oppofite quarters^ having bequeathed
their names of Street to a lane in Alderley for three
quarters pf a mile, and to one in Cheadle for more than
a mile together*
But,'fituated as all three were direAly in a line under
the ridge of our eaftern hills, they could nqfver be cori-
firuded fpr the purpofes of exploration. And they
could be calculated, I think, for two purpofes only ;
that of fecuring die roads, juft entering the wild region
of the hilts ; and the more important one of being the
Qecellary baiting-places for the foldiers, juft mounting
the clifl^ pf th^ Britiih Alps.
Six other caftellets were fixed in the nearer neigh-
bourhood of Manchefter, and for the more immediate
copvenieijce of the garrifon at it. They were defigned
to proteA their cattle in the palhires, and fecuy thetr
conyoyson the roads. And the Romans appear to have
ha4 fuch fortrefles generally, in the vicinity of their
greyer ftati9ns% Such therefore are equally ob-
vious h the precinfts of others within the kingdom,
though they have never been noticed by any of our
local hiftorian?. One of thefe indeed has been previ-
oiifly menrioncd by a Mancheftcr antiquarian, and with-
put hefitation pronoynced to be a camp fpr the fummer *.
But, cpnftrufted as all of them are in the fame manner,
they cannqt be all camps for the fummer, any more than
]Chcy can be forts for exploration. They are fufficiently
5 diftinguifhed
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^4 T H E H I S T O R y Book I.
Sea. IL diftinguiflicd ffMi the latter by Ac height of their fites,
^ too low to be thofe of fpeculatory caftles; And they
are equally difcriminated from the former by the extent
of their areas, two fmall to be thofe of fummer-ftations.
Evinced to be Roman by the exprefs mention of one of
?• 172. them in the Itinerary of Richard, by the appellation of
Cafter which is given to another in an antient record^
by the concurrence of feveral Roman roads at a thirds
and the great uniformity in the afpeft of all ; they ap-
pear to have been fix of thofe tumultuary forts, as Ve-
getius calls them, which the Romans generally made at
a little diftance from their camps, and for the greater
fecurity of their. cattle and convoys \ And they fixed
them, as thefe are fixed, in the moil .adyantageous fites
that the places afforded ^ fortified them, as thefe are
fortified, not with a rampart of ftonc or even of earth,
,but only with large ditches^ and lodged afmallgarrifon
in them^ '
One of tliem Is fpecified by Richard in his fixth Iter,
and called, from its pofition Fines Maximae & Flaviae.
And it was placed on the fouthcrly fide of the Merfey,
on the right hand of the road, and about mufquet-
Ihot from the bridge. This the nature of the ground
along the banks of the Merfey points out of itfelf,
. that being the only fpot in the neighbourhood of
the road and on th? margin of the river, which
the Romans could have felefted for the fitc of a
ftation* And the voice of Tradition remarkably con-
firms it ; afferting in its own wild way of detailing the
cir:umftances of a fa(9:,That the ftones of the caftle at
-JVIanchefter were once tranfported to that part bf the
girpun4 ^hich is now denominated Scholes's-field, in or-
der
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Chap.VI. OF MANCHESTER. . 235
der to conftruft a church with them, and were after* Seft. IL
wards removed away in a fupernatural manner and "
a fingle night. The fite is a fmall eminence of gravel and
marie, now divided into two clofes ; and was once denomi-
nated, as the nearer of them is flill called, the Rie or
river field \ It is bounded by a long, deep, and broad
ditch upon one fide, the natural hollow having beea
greatly widened by the Romans, and now running in a
regular line more than twenty yards in breadth and three
in depth. And it was formerly bounded by the Red or
Read brook, which flowed dircAly along the hollow, but is
now intercepted by the new canal; by the river Merfey,
which received the current of the Read at the angle,*?. ,73,
and ran direftly Ader the fecond fide j by a large ditch,
I fuppofe, croffing the middle of Scholes's-field, on
the third ; and by a narrow fofs, which is now formed
into a lane, on the fourth. But, in one of thofe wild
floods to which the Merfey is peculiarly fubjeft, the
river opened the foft bank of Lancaihire, and now
flows many yards within the jcouuty ; having deferted
its antient bridge of three arches, and- its antient chan*
pel under the Roman camp.-^Such was the fite of the
little ftaiion Fines Maxim« & Flaviae, being about four
Roman miles and a half from the principal one,
^d containing more than two flatute-acres within it.
Fkced near to the ford of the Merfey apd nearer to the
jcourfe pf the road, it was well calculated to guard
them both, to fecure the convoys qf provifions that
pafl[ed along the one ^nd the other, and to receive them
into its area when the floods prevented a paflag^ acrofs
fhe channel ^ Aod a Roman rosid appean advancing
towards
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jj(5 THE H I S T d R Y^ Book iV
Sea. 11. towards it from the fouth-eaft, traverfmg the whole
^breadth of the parifh on the fouth, and ft ill carrying
n conliderable ridge in feveral parts of it. It is
particularly confpicuous at Birch, is popularly repre-
fented as a breaft-work thrown up againft the Danesj
and denominated Nico (or DeviPs) Ditch. The ravages'
of the Danes, in their plundering expeditions through
the ifland, were fo ftrongly imprefled upon the feelings
and fancies of our anceftors, that the memory of them
has generally fuperfeded all the other traditions of the
ifland, and the chronicles- of the vulgar refer almofl
every remarkable monument to the Danes. And the
road is noticed in a record of 1422, as aftually travelled
to that late period ; fome land being defcribed as abut-
ting upon a certain gate, or antient highway, which led
from Gorton-green to Reddiih **.
P. 174. Another ftation was feated equally on the courfe of a
Roman road and the margin of theMerfey. It was fettled
at Stockport, And the town appears to be a common
cepter to three or four very rarioufly direfted ways of
the Romans. The High-ftreet advances to. it froni
Manchefter, and. the Pepper-ftreet from Hanford ^. And
in the parilh of Aflieton and near the foot of Staleyr
bridge is a third road, commonly denominated Staley-
ftreet for a mile together. A braiich of this was th^
above-mentioned way to Stretford. And th^ main line
lies pointing from Caftleftiaw'to Stockport. Thefe are
fure fignatures of a ftatiQn her*. And the general
^ famenefs iri the pofitiou of this and the former
fort, this being placed, like that, upon the limits of
the two provinces and the bahk^ pf the limitary ftreain,
and
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Chap.VI. OF MANCHE.STER. ^37
and fettled^ like that, in the road betwixt two conCder- Scft. II*
able ftations, demonftrates a famenefs in the defign and '
requires a fimilarity in the nature of both. It was there-
fore fixed upon the plane of the caftle-hill at Stockport.
That is exaftly fuch a pofition, as the Romans would
inftantly felefl; for the ftation. It is. a fmall area, about
half a ftatute-acrc in extent, projefiing from the fide
of the market-place, and conneSed with it only by an
ifthmus. And it is a fquare knoU, which looks, down
upon a rocky bank, equally long and deep, and i$
guarded by the Merfey « the foot of it. This was the lite
of a fortrefs In the earlleft period of the Saxons, as a
port or caftle originally communicated its name to the
town ; aqd was denominated Stock-port from the.woods
around it^.. And the bill is flill incomparably flrong
in itfelf, and the pofiiion happily fitted for the ford»
The ftation had a fteep of a hundred yards in defcent on
three fides of it, and would;iaturally be fortified by a fofs
acrofs the ifthmus. Andthe Roman road intoEaft-Chelhirc
was effeftually commanded by it, being obliged by the
winding current of the Merfey to approach very near P. 17^.
to the caftle, and from the remaining ftecpnefs :n. the
other parts of the bank appearing to have aftually ad-
vanced up to it, and to have afcended the brow in a
hollow immediately below the eaftern fide of it.
. Such was the pofition of the two camps on the bor*
ders of the two provinces. But that of the four others
is very different.
One of them was on the right hand of the poad to
Bury, immediately beyond Singleton-brook, and upon
i^c fir ft field in the parifh of {^reftwichii. This ground
;o^ was
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»3« - THE HISTORY Bookl.
Sea. II. was foroderijr denominated Low-cafter% aad is now
' called fomctimcs How-caftle field, but more popularly,
thoa^to the fame purport, Caftle-hill. And it is a riiing
point of land, haying a plane of half an acre, and a
fine fpring of water under an aged oak. On one fide,
the ground falls away from it brilkly near the road and
. gendy at a diftance from it, and had probably a fmall
ditch at the foot of the fall. On another was a fecond
fofs, the traces of it ftill plainly appearing, and the
hedge of the field being now placed in the channel of it.
And the remaining fides form a very (harp flope from
twenty to forty yards in length ; and the ditch is flill
very evident below, now extending along the whole of
one of them, and lately curving round the angle and
proceeding for feveral yards along the other. At the ter-
mination of the fofs was the entrance into the camp,
which ftill appears afcending the bank obliquely,* and
diftinguiihed to the eye by the hollow of it. And, fixed
as this tumultuary fort was at the diftance nearly of a
mile from the courfe of the road to Ribcheft^r, it could
never be intended to have any particular relation to it.
The garrifon in the one could not be a fecurity to the
convoys on the other. And the fort was therefore con-
ilrufted with a different view. It was defigned only for
the proteftion of the cattle,* which paftured along the
adjoining fields on the weft. And the Romans com-
monly eftabliftied a tumultuary fort for this purpofe *'*.
The one townlhip of Broughton and Kerfall was in their
p ^,yj^ time all covered with wood, as fo it remained to the
period of the Norman conqueft. And the cattle^ which
they kept within it, were in all probability their hogs.
Thdc
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Chap^VI. or MANCHESTER. 239
Thefc generally compofcd the camp-provifion of the Seft. IL
lU^mans "• Two or three fields, that are near to Kerfall- "
moor and clofe to the prefeot bowline-green, are ftill
denominated the Hog-heys. And a right of pannage^
cren along the unwooded extent of the prefent common,
ivas about a century ago contefted in. a court of juftice ;
the townfliip of Salford aflerting a claim, and the lords
of Kerfall oppofing it. Lowcafter, then, was defigned
to protect the cattle of the Romans that fed in the wood
of Broughton. And the moor of Kerfall, which now
annually receives at the races the gathering thoufandt
of the town and its populous prccinSs, was in the time
of the Romans, perhaps in that of the Britons before
them, and for many ages after both, a thicket of oaks
and a pafture for hogs ; and the little knolls which fo
remarkably diverfify the plain^ and are annually covered
with mingled crouds riling in ranks over ranks to the
top, were once the occafional feats of the herdfmea
that fuperintended thefc droves in thewoods.
But, fettled as the fort of Lowcafter was at one ex-
tremity of this long thicket, it pretty plainly required a
correfpondent ftatipn at the other. And fuch was the
high mount of gravel and fand, which rifes tapering
f rota its bafe, overlooks the whole extent of the origi-
Bal wood, and is now denominated Rainefhow. Tra-
cUtion aflerts it to be the fite of an antient camp : and,
as it has but an irregular plane of an acre and a half
at the top, it can only have been an Agrarian one* And
it calces exaftly the fame general appearances with
JLowcafter, having a deep afcent on every fide, ditches
encircling P. 177.
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«40 ttt£ tits t Oft t feookti
Sea. a. encircling the hill, and a brook flowing at the bottom^
' ' The banks, howetdr, are much fteeper and higher thaii
thofe of Ldw-cafter, hating a fliatp fall of ^ hundred
yards upon one part, a; fliarper of eigjbty on another^
and> ftili (harper of fifty on a third. The ditches, *rhicli
arcjvery vifible ofa one fide, aiid may be eafily traced along
the others, are itpt at the bottdni of the liope> biJt
confiderably above the liiiddle of ^t, lind'frotii fifteen td
twcnty*five yards in depth. And the entraiice is th^
ptcfcnt road of accefs ftom the tnoor^ coining up the
lane from the brook, and afccnding the hili direftlyi
Another little ftatbn was placed Within the valley
©£ Broughton, in the toWnfliip ot Peridlctdrt, and iieaf
the conclufion of the lane that pafies through I7ew-hall
fold to the rirer. It is an oblong hillock of faftd, and
popularly denominated Hyle or Hill Woodi It has zA
uneven furface about half an acre in extent ; had itii
entrance,, as it ftill has, on the fouth-weft, and another
opening behind to the river ; and is furrounded in every
part by deep ditches, fteep afcents, or both, that fink
from fi/teen to forty yards below the level of the hill*
And amid the beautiful valley in which it is placed^
futrpunded by the floping heights of Salford, Pendle-
ton, and Broughton, and remote from every llationarf
road, it^ could have only one objefl: in vicw^ That was
the proteftion of the cattle, which grazed along the
valley. For fuch bufinefs the ground is particularly
fuited, as the hazel*coloured mold of it is rematkablj
rich, and the fite was fufficiendy near to the great fta-
(ion. And the ilream of thelrwell coi^fes thrice through
• r- . ■ the
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-J
CHapiVL Of MANCHESTER. ^V
the whole eitent of it. Sdme ftationary area therefore SeA; II*
was neceflaiy^ that fliould rife dver th^ reft of thep, j^g.
ground, and command the valley about it; But^ as none
prefented its ufeful elevation within the whole circuit of
the vale, art fupplied the omiffion of nature ; raifiiig the
prefent mount of Hill-wood, and fetching the materiab
from the bed of the Irwell. This appears from the par- .
ticular nature of its fituation, placed as it is in the nar-
row point betwixt two reaches of the river, and fecur-
ing the avenue into the ample and beautiful horfe-lhoc
which is defcribed by them. And the nature of the
foil confirms it, very different from the natural mold of
the fields, and merely a coUeftion of water-fand chequer-
ed with fragments of red rock*
Clofely connefted with it Was- a limllar fottrefs in its
neighbourhood. This is a rounded knoll, which is
denominated CaiUe-hill, and appears at a little diftance
upon the fide of the Kerfall-heights. And the foil is
gravel and fand, having an area of half an acre, ^oggy
grounds round three parts of it, and fteiep banks from ten
to twenty yards in height. Upon the fourth fide, which
had not the advantage of a defcent from it^ and had -
even the difadvantage of a gentle one towards it, arc
two large ditches, an outer and an inner^ which are
from fix to twelve yards in depth, and from ten to
twenty in breadth. And, where thefe terminate^ was
the road of entrance into the fort. Such is the litfrc
ftation upon the (helve of the hill^ very near to Bents-
h ufe on Kferfall-modr, but nearer to the Grand Stand :
and it has a (Iron^ faring of water breaking out a little
above, and defceiiding along the fide of it. And the
Vol. L R Romans
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'442 THE HISTORY Bcxikl-
Seft, II. Romans tnuft hate formed it with the fame views as
^"""^"^^ 'the ftation upon Hillwood, and for the fame pro-
P« 179. tedion of their cattle. Tht latter bemg fixed in
the narrow opening into the curve which is defcribed
on the* eaftern fide of the valley, and feparated by
the river firom the large extent of meadows on the
Iwreftern, northern, and north-weftern j it could be dc-^
figned to guard the cattlej only, that ranged within
the compafs of the pcninfula. But thofe in the divided
paftures would equally want a proteftion* And the
garrifon on the mount could not afford it ; as the
intervention of the river would render their communi-
cation uncertain, and their affiftance precarious, Ob-
ferving this, the Romans were obliged to form another
Agrarian fortrefs. But they were not compelled to raife
another artificial mount. They were forced only to fix
a ftation on the northern fide of the valley, as this great
curve of the meadows opened to the north. And they
fixed it on a convenient projeftion from the fide of the
north-weftern hills. For a conne£):ion with the fort at
Hillwood and a defence of their cattle in the valley, the
fite was as properly calculated as it was altnoft neceffa*
rily chofen. For fuch purpofes only was it properly
calculated at all ; being a jgood way upon the defeent
frofn th4 height, and much below the level 5f the moor.
And the conncftion is ftill aflerted by tradition, which
fixes kn army in both the caftles, and fets the one ill
oppoCtlon to the other " .
This, then, was the defign of the fix little fortreflcs,
that we find in the immediate neighbourhood of Man-
cheller. Three ef them demonftrativcly Roman^ and
all
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Cba^Vt. OF MANCtlESTER. ^^3
all equally Romanized in their general afpefl^ they Sea. II.
'Were the Agrarian forts appendant to the ftation oa the
Medlodc* And^ two of them being eftablifhed merely
for the proteAion of the conroys on the roads^ the others
were conftrufted for the iecurity of the cattle in the
paflures. The latter therefore were all fixed in the fame
quarter of our Mancunian precinfts. Settled there by
pairs, each of the two evidently carries a particular re-
lation to its fellow. And each of the pairs as evidently
bears a general affinity to the other. The dry grounds p. i8#<
of the hills, and the moift meadows of the vale, were
fucceffively and alternately the paftures of the Roijan
cattle. The Romans had a fimilar change for their fhep-
herds in Italy, confining their cattle to the marihes
during the fummer, and driving them up into the hills
at the return of winter *^ And the Roman Britons
equally appear, though they are not equally known, to
have adopted the fame practice. Britain, fays Gildas,
abounds in hills that are very convenient for the alter-
nate paftures of our flocks and herds, montibus alter-
nandis animalium pallibus magne convenientibus '^. An4
thefe low meadows are generally overflowed every win-
ter from the many curves of the Irwell along them, and
prefent a ftriking fcenery to the eye, a large expanTe of
. water tumbling round the valley. In winter, therefore,
they would be totally deferted by the garrifon, and
the Romans would behold the floods fecurely from
the hills above. And thus the two Broughtons,- thfe
valley and the townfliip, concurred to form the great
nurfcry of the Roman cattle, and regularly fupplied the
• R 2 fubotdinatc
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244 THE HISTORY Bookl
Sca^ll. fabordinate one at the confluence of the MciBock and
thclrwell.
■W-^V-^
* Vcgetius lib. lii. c. 8, ~ * Mr. Pcrcival in Phil.
Tranf. — ^ Vcgetius lib. iii. c. 8. — ^ Seeb.I. c. iy.
f. 3. for another ftation upon a field called Rie-hey.—
^ Vcgetius lib. iii. c. 8, Subveftio frumenti caetcrarum-
que fpecienum. — * Quandam Portam qua itur a Gor-
ton-grene ufque Redich ex parte auftrali; a deed in
'the cheft of the collegiate chapter at Manchefter,
entitled the feoffinent made by the feofiees to JohnHun-
tiftgdon Warden. — ' See b. L ch.Y. f. 3. — * And
hence we have Portwood near it at prefent. -^ ' In a
record of 1322, entitled Perquifitse Curi« [dc Manchef-
ter]]) and mentioning viam regiam inter Manche({er e(
JP. i8t. Burghton ufijue le Low-cafter (Kuerden fol. p. 279). —
*** Vcgetius lib. iii. c. 8. Animalium Pafcua. — " For
preparation of a fiege, fays Vcgetius, non folum pord-
num^ fed tt omne animalium genus, fliould be killed,
and kept in the larder ; 1. iv. c. 7. — ''It makes the
army on Raindhow to be Danes, and therefore fome*
times vainly fancies the name to be Dainelhow. —
'' JufUn lib. viii. c. 5. — '' Hift. c. i.
m.
THE ftations ift Britain being generaMy fixed
upon the foutherly flope of a hill or bank, they were
well calculated for our winters^ and as ill for our fu n*
mers.
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Chap. VI. OF MANCHESTER. 44^
mers. The Romans, therefore, naturally conftruftcd ano- Sca.IIL
ther camp for their refidence in the latter. And their '
caftra s&fliva are an addition to the regular fortreflesj
which has been long noticed in general, though it has
been feldom pointed out in particular. For this they
neceflarily fele£led fome advantageous fite, that was in
the neighbourhood of the flation, and fully open to the
north. And every fortrefs in the kingdom which has a
foutherly aQ>eA in itfelf, and any convenient ground
near it with a nonherlyone, muft have regularly enjoyed
the pleaiing appendage of a fummer-camp.
The ftation of Mancuniura, having both the former,
would equally have the latter. And fuch a camp was
peculiarly neceflary at Manchefter, as the beams of
fummer are uncommonly fcorching upon the flope of the
Caftle-field. But where would the Romans mod pro^
bably fetde it? The high grounds of Mr. Reynolds's
park, or thofe immediately to the north of them, th«
heights o^ the Stony Knolls, or the hills pf Broughton,
would each afford a fufficient elevation and a defenfible
fite. And thefe would be near or upon the road top, ig^
Ribchefter. But they are fome of them too remote from
the winter-ftation, others too diftant from a fupply of
water, and all without any traces of a camp upon them.
Shall we then pitch upon Howcaftle-field or Hill-wood,
for the fite of this additional ftation ? One of the very few
antiquarians, that Manchefter or its environs have hi-
therto produced, did fondly fuppofe the former to be
the adual fite '. But, as the latter is much too low .
apd both too fmall, fo is the former as much too remote .
^ 3 from
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M6' THE HISTORY BoofcL
Se^ III- from tbe bank of t{ie Medlock, being more tbsm tbree
' meafured miles and a half from it.
The real ground appears to have been pretty near to
the regular ftation, and about a mile to the north of
it; and is now the lite. of the old church, the college, and
many other btiildings. And this is indeed the only
pofition in the vicinity of the towp and ftation, that could
pretend to attraft the notice of the examining Romans.
Di the eariieft period of the Saxon hiftory of Manchef-
ter, felefted for the feat of its lord, as I ihall flicw
Iiereafter *, and accordingly denominated Baron^s Hull
and Baron's Yard ; it is exaSly fuch a fituationas the
exigences of the Romans required, k is banked on twp
^ iiijcjes by rocks, that are either very ftcep or abfolm^
perpendicular ; and looks down from a lofty fummit
upon tbe waters of the Irke palling along it on one
fide, and upon the llream of die Irwell breaking againft
it on the other. It fpreads its area of compared fand^
gently leaning to the north and weft } and froni the
lownefs of the gro'uu4 about it on the foiith-weft, weft,
north-weft, and north^aft, and from the cpnftant vcnr
tilations of the air by the briflnipfs of tli«- currents be-
low, peculiarly feels in the fummer a fuccelion cf rf-
freftdng breezes- And, thps admirably fitted f&t a
camp by its f6rmi4able barriers on two fides, and in-
comparably adapted for a fummer one by fts pofitio^ 6n
?. 183- two concurrent ftreams, its oyerlpoking aH the low
grounds of Salford and Strangeways, and commandifi^ a
, diftant view of the country cyen a^ far a? Hor^ch-
moor ; it had the Roman road to Ribchefter ftretthing
acrofs the wcftern fide of it, it ftill flicws tjie ftriking re,"
main
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Chup.Vl. OF MANCHESTER. Uf
mains of an antient dttcH alo^g the fouth and eaft^ and^t^ ith
juft <jontams within it3 limits the requifite number of
acres for a . fumraer-eamp. The area, furrounded by*
ihe ditch and rivers, is exaAly twelve ftatute-acres and
a half in compafs.
Ck)aiinencing from the lofty margin of the Irke, and
from th^t point of it where the common fewer now dif^
charges itfelf into tbp river, the fofs was not carried in
a right line through the ridge that direftly oppofed it9
courfc ; hut curved along the ground, which therefore
was fomewhat lower than the reit, and now forms the
fti«ets of Toad-lane and Hanging-ditch. And the names
of the ftreets point out the general dtreAion, as the
afpeft of them ihews the particular nature, of the fofs.
The line of both ftill curves as the ditdi curved. And
the kve) of both exhibits the hollaw of a channeU
bounded on each ilde by a ridge. . In the narrow ftreet
of Toad^lane the breadth of the fofs, commen^*
fiirate nearly with that of the ftreet, appears to
have been only four or five yards at the margin. In
the larger of Hanging^litch, it appears to h&ve open*
ed into eight or ten* And at the weftern termina-
tion of the latter, making a coniiderable curve on the
right, in order to avoid the knoll at the end of Cat-
eaton-ftreet, and to fweep along the lower ground to
the right of it, it runs very deep and broad to the Ir-.
well. The n(»rtbem line of the houfes in this ftreet,
;tnd all the buildings of the Hanging-bridge, are feated
within the channeU AnH the road to the churqh is
carried over it upon a lofty bridge of two arches. For
th$ grpsuer fecnrity of ^ ftati^n^ which had in all prof-
R 4 bability
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^4* • THE HISTORY Book I,
Se*. JU. bability no raippart cither of ftone or earth about it|
' the Romans naturally trenched through the whole width
of the ground from the Irke to the I^rwcll. And, for
?• f ?4- the greater coolnefs of a camp, which was certainly de-
figned only for the heats of fummer, the Romans as
patur^ly diverted the waters of the Irke into the trench.
An opening was made in the bank of the nver, which
remains very vifiblc to the pyefent period ; the angles
of the rock appie^ring rounded away, the chafm ex-
tending four or five yards in width, and a fewer of the
town being now laid into the cavity. And, three or
four yards lower in the channel, the marks of the dam
remain equally vifible. The rock appears cut away for
five or fix in breadth and three quarters in depth, iq
order to receive one end of the frame into it, and to
fix the whole fecure againft the violence of the ob*
ftru£led current. And the channel of the fofs was funk
confiderably below its prefent level, even in its deepeft
part about th.e weftern termination ; the ground a little
to the weft of the Hanging-bridge having been recently
found to be merely adventitious, for no \e& than nine
or ten yards ; atid the plane of the rock below appear-
ing fiirrowcd with the wheels of the carts, that in fome
later ages have pafled by this duft from Salford tp tjie
Hanging-ditch.
: This was the pleafing and impregnable fite of the
fiimmejr-camp of the Romans 5 guarded with impradica-
blc precipices behind, covjcred with a fofs enormoufly
lieep and broad before, and* infulated by three lively
J?. i>^. currents of water. And the two great gateways of it
^o\jld natui?ally be along the road from Caftlcrfield to
Jlibcheiter^
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Chap. VI. OF MANCttESTEH. j.^
Ribchcfter, where it entered and where it dcfcrted ^^ ^^
the area, and at the foot of the Deanfgate and Humf-^
bank. The road muft Have entered the fummer ftation^
as it communicated before with the winter, by the
ufeful intervention of a bridge ; becaufe it croflfed the
deepeft part of the fofs; But juft at the north-wefterly
extremity of the area, and taking in a good compaft of
ground about it, appears to have been the citadel of the
fortrefs, the fortified fite of the Pnetorium. This is
the part, which has been more recently denominated ;
Baron's Yard and Baron's Hull. It is neceflfarily from
its fituation, being at the angle of the two precipices^
and overhanging the concurrent point of the two ftreams,
by much the cooleft and mod defenfible part of the
flation *. And it has been aftually fecured by an in-
teriour fofs. On opening die ground of the new bury-
ing-place, and of the adjoining land on the eaft, in the
months of Auguft 1766 and of July and Auguft 1767,
appeared evidently the hollow of a broad deep ditch,
filled up with rubbi(h; the northern border ranging
nearly in a line with the fouthern wall of the burying-
ground, and the fouthern extending, I fuppofe, up to
the church-yard. And the black earth reached above
three yards in depth below the level of the ftreet, and
lay upcm the natural fand. Commencing at the edge of
the Roman road to Rtbchefter, and near the beginning-
defcent of the Huntlbank, it ranged along ;he Half-
ftreet to the end, and dcfcended the Long-Millgate to
the School. There, under the fecond houfe to the eaft
of the fchool, was it likA^rife difcovered in the year 1 76$
on ^nking the cellar; and appeared a channel cut
through
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«S« -THE HiatORT Book!.
Sta. m. througb the folid it)ck» twa yar^ in depths about
' three in breadth> aod four w five in length, teradnating
^t one end upon the edge of the precipice^ and point*
mg at th0 other up ^e line of the ^illgate. And m
this psurt of its conrfe it is esrprefsly mentioned as a cha&->
nel even in a late record of 1422^ and eiqpre&Iy car*
ricd up the Millgate to the top *•
Such was the fummec-camp for the garrifon at Man*
chefter ! Thither the Frifians removed in the beginning
e£ our fummcr. And there they refidcd during the
continuance of it. Not that the whole body of them
ever removed* Some undoubtedly remained in the
winter 'ftation, as many as were fufficient to fecure it;
and thefe were the more commodiouiOy lodged in the
abfence of the reft. The number of thefe, however,
was necefiarily the fmaller, as the camp of the fummev
was fo pear to that of the winter. And the area of the
former was covered, I fuppofe, not with flruAures. of
timber and ftone, but with tents. Thefe would be
Kakea down at the conclufion of fummer, and after the
return of the Frifians to Caftle-field } and be laid up
.in the little arfenal there. And the afpeA of this would
be nearly the fame as that of the other ftadon: the tents
pf the foldiers being ranged in the fame lines ; the co*
lours of the centuries and eufigns of the decads wav-
ing over them ; and the pavilion of the commandant,
the ftandard of the cohort, and the temple of the garrifons
rifing all equally together, and towering gracefully over
the whole.
' Mr,
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CbajvYI, QF MANCHESTER. 251
'Mr. Pcrcivalin Phil. Tranf. ^ * B-H. cli. iiu Sea.lll.
f; 2. -»— ^ So at the ftation of Broogh in Derby fliirc. '
There^ as kere^ the Prastoriuni was .upon one fide, and
along the lofty margin of the river-bank. — * In a r6*
cord kept at the coHegiate church of Mancheftei", en-
titled the feoffment lanade hf the feofl^es to John Hun-
tingdon warden.
IV.
IT is fuppofed by the fenfible and accurate Mr. Horfe- p, xg;.
ley, that the Roman garrifon in Britain during the fecond^
third, and fourth centuries amounted only to three le-
gions, the fixth Vidorious, the twentieth Valerian and
Viftorious, and the fecond Auguflan, and the auxiliaries
regularly attendant upon them \ And with this fuj^
pofition the Hiftory of Dio, Ptolemy's Geography, and
Antonine^s Itinerary feem all to concur; as they alt
mention thefe, and only thefe, to be refident: in the
ifland *• This number, as appears from the complement
of a fingle legion during the very fame ages, which was
fix thoufand one hundred foot and feven hundred and
twenty-fix horfe ' ; and from the ftated proportion of the
auxiliary tp the legionary troops, which was equal in
the infantry and double in the cavalry * ; muft have
contained about thirty-fix thoufand fix hundred foot and
fix thoufand five hundred horfe. Such would be the
greateft amount of them, even if every corps had itsf
jyft complement of men. And we can have little
dgubt, but among a nation which was extremely nu-
merousj^
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agt THE HISTORY . Bookl.
Seft- IV.mefous % and in a country which was Only in pait fub-
dutd, the legions and their auxiliaries were conftantly
fupplied with freih recruits^ and maintained in their full
force.
But, even thus confidered, three arc mfufficient for
the purpofes of garrifoning the ifland. And the long
lift, which the two Itineraries give us of the ftations in
Britain, fhews them to be fo. That prcfents us with
a hundred and forty or a hundred and fifty for-
treflcs, even after the Romans had retired to the wall
of Antoninus^ and abandoned the ftations that extended
from Invernefs to the Friths. Thbfe were all of them
defigned to be, and were all aAually, garrifoned by the Ro-
mans ; as otherwife they would neither have been con-
h i88* ftru^ed at firft, nor recited in the Itineraries afrcr-
wards. And I have ihewn each of them to have been
attended with various cafteliets, which would require gar-
rifons nearly equal in their amount to the . complement
of the principal ftation* But it would be evidently ridicu-
', lous to diftribute a body of forty-three thoufand men into
a hundred and forty principal forts ; as fuch a fcheme
could allot only about three hundred and feven for a
itatton and its fubordinate chefters.
The garrifon of every ftation in the Itinerary with its
appendages, except five or fix that were merely
conftrufted Ad Fines, could not have been lefs than
four hundred effeftive men. A greater number would
have been requifite for moft, and a fmaller could not
be fufficient for any. And, even in this difpofition, the
total amount of troops requifite for a hundred and forty
garrifons would be fifty-fix thoufand n^en, This is apr
patently the fmalleft number, that we can fuppbfe to
^ T have
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Chap- VI. OF MANCHESTER. 253
have rcfided in the kingdom. But a much greater was S«^- ^V*
refident in it ; as^ during the difperfion of the reft, fome
more confidcrable bodies would be kept together, the
more cflFeQually to overawe the conquered Britons with-
in the wall3 and the unconquered without. And fuch
aftually appear together; one large corps being quar-
tered at York, another at Chefter^ and a third at Caer<
leon in Monmouthihire.
This being the cafe, there were neceffarily more
than three legions in the ifland. The pofitive teftimony
of Jofephus aflures us, that there were four during the
reign of Vefpa{iaa ^ And the accounts of Richard, and
the difcovered infcriptions of the. Romans, prove that
there were more afterwards. — ^Several bricks have been
found at Caer Rhun or the antient Conovium in Wales,
which clearly exhibited the name of the tenth legion.
And the faA is very particularly authenticated, having
the united atteftation of the reverend Mr. Brickdale
and Dr. Gale, each (as far z% appears) unknown to the
other, and both cwcurring in the fame teftimony/'.
Hence the tenth legion appears to have been quartered
among the Ordovices, and at the ftation of Conovium. P. i8$.
And it remained there a long time ; becaufe the namex>f
a neighbouring hill, Mynydh Caer Lheion or the moun^
tain of the city of the legion % ihews the town to have
obtained the fame name among the neighbouring
Britons, that Deva, the feat of the fixih legion for three
centuries, acquired on one iide, and Ifca Silurum, the
reiidence of the fecond for as long a period^ ftill retains
on the other '.-^To this we may add the Claudian legion,
f$ the feventh was peculiarly called; having obtained that
particular
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554 THE HISTORY Bookl
8e£t. IV. particular honour from the feiiate^ becaufe of its fignal
' attachment to Claudius during the (hort*liyed but alarm-
ing rebellion of 42 ^» h was fettled at Gloucefler in
the reign of Claudius ''^. And at Gloucefler it continued
a conliderable time ; as, in the hiftorical monuments of
the Romans which Richard of Cirencefter infpefied
the town was den<Hninated frcmi it Legio Claudia^ and
in our own annals frequently bears the fimilar appella*
tion of Claudio^ceftria ".
Thus have we found five legions refidcnt for a long
time in the ifland, two additional to the number fup-
pofed by Mr. Horfeley, and feemingly fixed by Ptplc-
my^ Dio^ and Antonitos. But the legionary lifts in
thefe authors arc Very dcfeSive. That of Dio> which
is the fulleft, mentions only thirty-one in the whole ;
that of Antoninus (Mily tweilty^fix ; and Ptolemy's only
feventeeb. And, as the two laft of them appear par*
ticularly defeftive upon a collation merely with the firft,
fy is this exprefsly declared to be the lift of fuch le-
gions otily as confifted of Roman citizens '\ The
many that wete compofed of volunteers from the fub-
jeft nations, and which were very diftinft from the bo-
dies of auxiliaries fupplied by the natio^ial authority of
each ; as the fifth of the Gauls, the tenth of the Bata-
tiftns '', and the twelve others that are recited in the
following catalogue ; all thefe are prdfefledly oirdtted by
Dio **• The authetitick records of infcriptions demon-
P. 190. ftrate the number of both to have been fifty or Cxty ^t
leaft'\ And the fuggeftion^ of common*feafe, ftiii
, more authen tick than they, evince the nieceffity- 4rf as
many (independently of the national auxiliaries) .to A-
. -^ cure
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Chap-^L OF MANCHESTER. as^
cure the extended dominions oF the Roman empire. Sc6^» IV.
The exprels number of the legions appears ihdecd
from Dio, to have been only about twenty-three or •
twenty-five from the reign of Auguftus to that of Alex-
ander Severus**; aijd from infcriptions, I think, to
have never exceeded thirty-fix afterwards. And this
has been generally fuojpofed by our antiquarians, to be
abfolutely the vrhole of the Roman legions. But, as
feveral of tbcli were bodies of foreign volunteers, fo
each of the others, except perhaps the eighth, the
eleventh, the fourteenth, and the thirtieth, had feveral
extraordinary brigades of citizens or foreigners belong-*
mg to them; every one of which had equally the com-
plement and denomination of a legion, and was diftia«
guiihed from each other and the original brigade by
fome additional title. And this was fometimes derived
from the name of the emperor, under whom they had
been originally raifed, or by whom they had been par-
ticularly favoured ; but was generally affumed frt)in thfc
kingdoms of their firfl or lotigeft relidence. Henoe, in
Dio's catalogue of purely Roman legions, we find fo
many of diem diftinguifhed by the denominations of
Gallick, Cyrenean, Scythian, Macedonian, Egyptian,
Germanick, and Parthian *^ And the tenth Twin le- *
gion, being long fiationed in Germany, and the feconA
Auguftan, being longer fettled in Britain, appear under
the particular appellation of the tenth Geritianidc and
the fecond Britanick legions in Ptolemy and theNotitid.
But tlie original and additional battalions can fekiom be
diftiaguiihed from each other by their names. And
yet xhejfmaf.hf tke catalogue of Pio« Thm the.i^
V ■• : venth
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7s6 TH.E HISTORY Book!.
Sea. IV. vehth legion had the feveral brigades, which were called
' the feventh Claudian and the feventh Galban legions,
P. 191. both confifting of Romans* and therefore fpecified by
Dio ; iand the fewnth Twin, feventh Twin Claudian, and
feventh Twin Antonian, all three compofed of foreign-
ers, and therefore omitted by him '^ And the tenth
had the tenth Fretan and tenth Twm, two enumerated
battalions of Romans, and the tenth Antonian Auguftan
and tenth Batavian, two unnoticed onq^ of foreign-
ers 'V!
The tenth legion is mentioned by Dio, and placed by
him in Judasa ; and Jofephus had previoufly fixed it at
Jerufalem". And the brigade intended by both ap-
pears from the Notitia, to have been equally denomi-
nated the tenth Fretan *". It was fettled in Judaea by
Titus : and in Judaea it continued to the period of the
'Notitia. But the legion which was ftationed in Wales,
and which appears from the above-mentioned infcrip-
tion to have been certainly a battalion of the tenth, ap-
pears pretty clearly from a coin, which was dlfcovered
in that country and infcribed with the following
name, to have been the tenth Antonian Auguftan **. —
And many of the legionary brigades were denominated
Gemellae, Geminae, or Twins, becaufe they were com-
pounded of two, and had a double complement c^
men*\ Such was one of the tenth, of the thirteenth,
and of the fourteenth **. And fuch, as appears above, were
three of the five in the feventh* One df thefe, the
Twin Claudian legion, was that which was ftatkoed St
Gloucefter. It could not have been, as Dr, Scukdey j
fuppofes, the btigade whkh was denoiaisated more 1
fimply I
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Chap. VI. OF MANCHESTER. 257
fimply the feventh Claudian, which accompanied Caefar^^* ^^
in his firft expedition into Britain, and from the days
of Dio to the period of the Notitia was conftantly
ftationed in the Higher Moefia *\ Our Claudian legion
appears to have been continued in the ifland after the
time of Dio, and even to that of CarauCus**. And
It was therefore the only other brigade of the feyenth
which bore the title of Claudian, and bad the difcrimi-P- 19**
native appellation of Twin Claudian * ^0
The troops then, which' the Romans maintained in the
ifland, were five legions, one of them being double, and
all having their attendant auxiliaries j or about feventy-
three thoufand foot and thirteen thoufand horfe. And
the head-quarters of another, the twentieth, were
in all probability fixed at Chefter by the direftion of
Agricola, and at the termination of his war j as it cer*
tainly refided there within feventy years afterwards *'•
We have alfo the pofitive authority of Malmefbtiry,
perhaps the vehicle of tradition, but probably the copier
of hiftory, that one or more of the Julian legions,
thofe commanded by Julius Agricola, were aftually fet-
tled at Chefter *^ 5 and the better and more eKprefe at»
icftation of Richard^ that Chefter was conftruded by
the fpldiers of the twentieth ^°. And the Frifians,
who refided at Mancbefter, were in all probability a part
pf its auxiliafies ; on^ of the eight cohorts which were
annexed to the ten of the legion, and which ordinarily . -^
jLCCompanied it upqn expeditions in war, and Were ordif
narily difpofed within the ftations th^t Uy ncareft to it
ja peace.
Vol. I. S But
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s
258 THE HISTORY Bookl,
Sea. IV. Bat the whole of this cohort, as I have previoufly
mentioned, was not lodged in the camp on the Med^r
lock. Six detachments from it were conftantly kept i^
the fix fortreffes of Stretford and Stockport, of Lbw-r
carter and Rainefljow, and of Caftle-hill apd Hill-wood,
And the firft vyould require about nine Contubcrnia, or
a hundred men, for a garrifon ; the third and fourtl^
about a hundred and thirty j and^ the fifth, C^th, and
fecond about a hundred and twenty ^\ Thus about
three hundred and fifty of the Mancunian Frifians were
CQuftantly detached upon duty to thefe fix fubordinate
camps. Each corps would be uiidef the regulation of
the fame difcipline as the main body. And each would
y, 193* be fpeedily recalled to the duties of the principal ftation,
and fucceeded by a new draught fronv the principfij
' B.J. ch. y'u -r- ! Dio p. 794 and 795. — ' VegCr
tins 1. ii. c. 6. and 7, where he fpeaks exprefly of ordit
natio legionis antiquse. — ^ See Horfeley p. 87. — -^Caefar
P» 88, Hominum eft infinita multitudo. rrr * De Bell,
jud. lib. ii. c. 16. — ^ Camden cpl. 801. and Gale
p. 122. — , See therefore a miftake in Horfeley con-
cerning this legion. — And fee Camden col. 802,
for this hill. • — * See a miftake tKerefore in Dr. Gale p.
123. — * Dio p. 795 and Urfatus. — " Richard p. 24,
36, and 51. — " Richard p. 363, Higdep p. 198. Gale,
Oiraldus's Itin. Cambriae p. 839, &c. &c. — " Dio p.
7^4, ^pa}o7fs}a. UoTuJMoc^ an§ p. 797, tmv eK t» ¥ia}uX<yyH
ffOST
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Chap. VI. ^ OF MANCHESTER. 259
^jDo^n/ojutiywy,- — '^ Suetonius in Csefar cap* 24, and Gruter ScA. IV*
P- 5H« — ^^ Dio p. 797. -^ '^ Sec Urfatus. — ^^ Dio
p^. 794. and Urfatus. — '^ P. 794 and 797. — " Dio
p^ 795 and yg6, the two legionary pillars in Gruter p.
513* and Urfatus. — • ''Dio p. 795, Hotitia in Judaea,
Gruter p. 514, and Gale p. 112. And fee the annexed
lift. — *° Jofephus p. 1297. Hudfon. — " P. 91. Pan-
cirollus. — ** Gale p^ 122. See b. i. ch. ix. f. i. —
*^ Die p. 796 and Urfatus, and Ca?far p. 284. — *"* Dio
p<. 795 and 796. — *^ Dio p. 795 and Notitia p. 104.
— ** Stukeley's Caraufius v. I. p. 175, — *^ And the
additional title oF Gemina to this legion is omitted in
Dr. Stuk^ley's coins, as the appellation of Fretenfis to the
tenth is omitted in Dio and Jofephus ; as the epithet
of Gemina to the fourteenth is never mentioned by
Tacitus, though the legion appears from Richard to
have had it while it remained in Britain ; and as the
titles of V. V. or Valerian Viftorious to the twentieth
aredropt in the infcription upon an altar .at Wroxeter
(Phil. Tranf. 1755* p# 196). See alfo the annexed lift.
— ^ Horfeley's Cheftiire N" 3.—*' Malmesbury f. 164.
So the Appian Way in Italy from Appius Claudius ;
Cohors -flElia, Pons JElii^ &c* in Britain from ^ius
Hadrianus; aud the Julian Way in Wales from Julius "
Frontinus. -r- Sir H. Saville has altered Julianarum into
Militarium, without aiSgning a fingle reafon. The on-P. 194*
ly one, I fuppofe, was the remark of Lcland p. 56.
vol. ix, edit. 1769. And Mr. Selden has juftly blamed
Sir Henry for the alteration. The MSS, in Leland's
Itiaie rc5Wi Julianaruiiu And Mr, Selden's, one very
S z near
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96* t H E H I S T Q R Y Book I^
Sea. IV. near it) date to Malmesbur/s time, and formerly be?
' lOTging to the priory of St. Aifftin at Cnntcrhxirf^
rfead the fame (PoIy-OlbiqA p* 182. Part. I). — '*" Ro-
manorulii colonist Deva, opus yicdiqi^ legionis ; Richard
). fe4. — r *' Vc^tius lib. ii. c. 13^. -—?*^ Vcgctius libt
i? ?. 19.
I
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tUpM bf UAi^is^^t^ftt:
«6f
h i s T
OF TUi
ROMAN tEOiONSi
Cdllefled frbni Ptolemyj Djo^ aji4 Aptoninus; SiicK
a$ were conipofed of Roman <Jitizefis I haie hdted .
^Qcdingly* Such as wece embodied in or bisfore
the reign of Auguftu^i I have nodcie^ hy Ihbjoming
his name to them. And thofe^ Wl^lch lurere after-
wards raifed, I have referred to the^r propet Empi-
tors by 1 fimilaf note.
t*T0tE,4iY. f iilO.
Bemus;
LEG. I.
L. Geho^ijr ..
, P. 65:
LEG.i.ADJUT.
H. PiUuioiua..
P. 88.
Leg. I. iTAL.
P. 159.
ontheEuf^rates
P. 37.
tEG. i. AUG,
Brititia
LEG. i. ]V|I.
NE5.VIA
L. Oenn.
Ddmitiaa
LEG; I. Ai)J.
L. Pannoni^
Galba
LEG. i. ITAJ-.
L.Moeiia
Nero
LEG. I. PAR*
THia
Mefopotamia
SeveroB
LEG. 4. AUG.
Britaia .
Auguftus
Anton ^Mos.
P. 15.
LEG; u ADJ.
Paoinqi)ia
P' i^
LEG. I. ITAL.
Lov^Misfia.
P. fA.
LEG. i.JpVIA
L. Mflbfia
P. 31,
I^EG. t. AUG.
Btit^
ClTliE^S*
CItIZEN&
CinZENSi
CITI2EN5;
FOREIGN-
ERS.
CITIZENS
h^i
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^2
Sea. IV. Ptolemy.
^ s^ *
p. 196. - ...^
THE HISTORY
DiO. ANTONINUSt
P.C3-
LEG. TRAJAN,
L, Gennany
P. III.
L'EG. 3AUG.
Numidia
P. 163. ,
LEG
Arabia
LEG. 2. ADJ.
L. Pannoma
' Vefpafiaa
LEG.2.EGYPT.
TRAJ.
L. Germany
Trajan
LEG. 2.
ITALICA
Noricum
M. Antoninus
LEG. 2. MEDIA
Italy
Severus
Lfea 3 AUG*
Numidia
Auguilus
LEG.3CYREN
Arabia
Augudus
LEG. 3 GAL-
LICA
* Phoenicia
Augufhis
LEG. 3 ITAL.
Rhsetia
M. Antoninus
LEG. 3 PAR.
THICA
Mefbpotamia
Severus
LEG.4SCyTH,
Syria
Auguftus
P. 14.
LEG. 2. HER-
CULEA
Scythia
BookL
CITIZENS.
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ERS.
CITIZENS*
CITIZENS*
CITIZENS.
CITEZENS.
CmZENS.
CITIZENS.
CITIZENS.
CITIZENS.
CITIZENS.
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Chap^Vi. OF MANtiHESffeiti
Ptolemy; Dia. Antoninus.
iSi
p. 64;
Leg. • . . .
L. Pannonia
LEG. 6. V:
ICT.
Britain
LEG.4FLAVIA
Syria !
Veipafian
LEG.5MACED^
, Dacia
Aviguftui
LEG. 6 VICT.
Britaih
Auguftus
LEG.6FERREA
Judaea
Auguflui
ciTizeis. Pi 19?*
p. 14..
LEG. MACED.
L. Moefia
P. 14.
LEG. 6 VICT.
Britain
Sca.iY.
CITIZENS;
P. 44.
LEG. 7 GER.
MAN.-^pam
P. 86. .
LEGIO . • .
H. Moefia
P*5i-
LEG. 8 AUG.
H. Germany
•p. 63;
LEG. 10. GERl
H. Pannonia
LEG. 7 . .
Spain
Galba
LEG; 7 CLAUD. '
H. Mcefia »
Augafhis
CITIZENS;
CITIZENS;
.- P-2^-
Leg. 7 GE-
MINA
Spain
LEG. 8 AUG.
H. GcnnaB/
Auguilus
LEG. 10 GE-
MINA
Pannonia
Auguflu^
P. II.
LEGiT.
Mclbpotamii
P. zj.
LEG. 8.
Germany
P. IS'
LEG. 10 GE-
MINA^
Pannomii
CITIZENS;
CITIZENS;
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ERS.
CITIZENS^
CITIZENS;
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tjsa^
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^H
Soft. IV. Ptolemy*
P. 198. ._ ..._
THE HISTORY
Did* ^Antokinits.
Judxa
Auguflus
LEG. 13. GE-
MINA
Dacia
Auguftus
P.6^
LEG.i4.0ERM:fLEG. t^. GE* '
LEO.ri.
CLAUD.
L. Mcefi^
. ' Auguflaa
LEG. 12FUL-
, MINAN^
Cappadocia
Auguiliis
H. Pannbnia.
MINA
H. Pantijonia
Auguftus
LEG. icAPOL-
LIN.
Cappadocia
Auguftus
, P. 22 ami 13
LEG. 10.
Germ.andOaul
P. 14.
LEG. n.
CLAUD.
p. 25.
LEG. 12.
Oerm.add6auI
P. i$aiid[22f.
LEG. 13.
6erm.andGaul
JMkl.
cinzfiNs.
FOREIGN-
ERS.
CitiiENS*
P.' 14.
LEG. 14. GE-
MINA
H.Moifla
CiTIZENa.
FOREIGN-
ERS.
FQBEIGN-
CITIZENS.
{crriZEN&r
f
CITIZENS*
P. 2J.
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J
Chap.VL OF MANCHESTER.
Ptolemy. , ©lo* AwtOKiNus.
5^5
P. 14.
LEGIO . • • •
Gaul
P.37-
isEG, 10 VICT.
Britain
LEO. x;.
Germany
P. 22 and 23
LEG. 16.
(^ul and Germ.
Sea. IV.
i — ^— -*
P. 199*
FOREIGN.
£RS.
POREIGNE- ^
£RS.
P. 22.
LEG. 18.
Gaul
P. 29.
LEG. 20 VAL. leg; 20 VICT.
FOREIGN-
ERS.
VICT.
Britain
Auguflus
LEG. 20 VAL.
H, Germ.
A\igufiu8
Britain
P. 23 and 14,
LEG. 20. or
LEG.VALER^
Germ, and
L. Md^fia
P. ^3.
LEG. 22.
Germ, and Graul
P. 23^
LEG. 2^0
Germany
P.^2;3.
LEG. 24.
Germany
CITIZENS-
CITIZENS.
FOREIGN-
ERS.
FOREIGN-
ERS.
FOREIGN-
ERS,
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a66 fHI HISTORY
J^fJI]^;, ProtEiiT. Dio*
P. 200.
Btx>kL
P. 53.
LEG.3oUrPIA
htGtaaaay
LEG. 36GER.
ULPIA
Trajan
Antoninus.
P. «3- I
LEG.^j,
Getman/
P. If.
LEG* 30ULP.
Germaiqr
FORMGK-
£RS.
cmZEfis^
CHAP;
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Chap-VIL OF MANCHESTER* 267
CHAP- VIL
A REGULAR TOWN BUILT AT MANCHESTER, ANIX
WHERE — THE MODE OF LIVING BEFORE AGRI-
CULTURE INTRODUCED THE BRITISH NAMES
GIVEN TO OJijECTS ABOUT MANCHESTER
THE DRESS OF THE BRITONS AND
A VIEW OF THE COUNTRY
AROUND MANCHESTER AT
THIS PERIOD.
I.
RE.GULARLY as the Romans extended their fet-P. 201.
tlements in the ifland, they appear to have equally
crefted ftations for themfelves and cities for the Britons.
Thus the towns of Gloucefter, Colchefter, London,
and Verulam were conftrufted by Claudius, and imme-
diately after the firft permanent conqueft which the
Romans had made amongft us '. And, as many infe-
riour cities would be equally laid out at the fame period,
fo remains demonftrate Chichefter and tradition afferts
Cirencefter, in particular, to have been both erefted
at it*. Such was the praftice of the Romans on their
firft reduftion of the Britons. And fuch therefore was
equally their conduft afterwards. By this means, the
fuccefs of their arms was diftinftly marked by the pro-
grefs
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$68 tte^ feistoRlr &>oict
Sea. i. jEJrefs of cultivation^ arid the face of the iflaiid gfadaaliy
^'''*'^' ' brightened tip as the liile of their conqucfts was ad-
vanced. And, wheil Agricola invaded Lancafliiffe,- the
country hpoii one fide of t4ie line, under the refining
government of the Roiiiarts^ exhibited a pleafing pifliirc
of cities and eora^dids in the bdGbim of wdodd^ 9ild that
ba the other one uhif^mlf dreary ftcsife of motfes^
thickets, and marihes, brown heathfij aiid foUtary man-
fions.
This was licit long the general afpieff of liaiiGaflliire;
The Romans advanced into the copmy, and brought
in all the arts of civil IU4. They introduced them
indeed^ hot merely with the defign of foftening
the rough genius of Lanca(hire> and diffiifing the
fweets of focial happinefs among its inhabitants, but'
P* 203, to promote the purpofes of their cWn felfifli j^olicy.
That asternal wifdom however^ which gaVci all the central
regions of the globe to the Romans, and for reafods
Worthy the great Father of man, ditcfted their cumiifig
to his own ends, the higher cultivation of the rational
powers, afld the better propagation of the fyftcm of
redemptiOri, among the Britons of Manchefter and Lan-
calbire,
Agricola fubdiled thfe county itt his remarkable
eanipaign of fp. And in the autunrti of that year he
ordered the ftationary forts to be crcfted. Thts was
fteceffarily the f^rfl objeft of his attention. EJut hi^
fecond had a deeper iteach and mor6 permanent con-
fequences* Aftuated by ^ the fame ptindples of pru-
dence as had influenced the conduft of the preceding
legates, he adopted the fame political meafures. if
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J
Chs^^VII. OP MANCHESTER, ^69
the Britons of Lanpaftire adhered to their ori^al mode Se6t l.
of ilTtng, and dwelt 4ifperfed amid their forefts and ^
marflies^ they would 'keep alive in their fareafts theip
original fpirit of independency^ and be ever ready for
infmreAiom. Agricola therefore exerted all his ad- 1
^efs, by private encouragentents and publick affift-
^nces, by praifes and remoaiftraBceSi to invite the Si^
(tantii from their habitations in one or the other to a
pommon refidepce in towns. And his addrefs prevail-
ed. Many of die Siftantii deferted their woods and
fwamp^^ ai^ fQrme4 tbenxfelres ifito the communities of
cities ^.
Sxuk was the firft and original commencement qf the
prefent town$ of Lancaflure. And in the autumn of 79
arofe Overborough, Fredfletoq, Lancafier, and Black-
rode, Ribchefter, Colne, Warrington, and Manchefter.
The ereftion of the towQs, in general, is cacprefsly af-
ferted by Tacitijs. And the conftruftion of thefe, in par-
ticular, is attefled by that Itiperary which was compofed
about fixty years only after the conqueft pf Lancashire*
Six of them are fpecially mentioned in it> and not merely
as nations but cities, as cities adjoining to the ftations,p, ^03,
^nd included in the fame names and forming the fame
towns with them. And hence, only, could fome of
the forts in the Itinerary be recorded by hiftory, as en-
joying the honqurable title of Colonies, more of them
^ poffeffing the Freedom of It^ly, and ftiH^ more as
being merely Stipendiary *.
Thus was the autumn of 79 the very remarkable epoch
of the origin of our towns in Lancaflxire. And they
were placed in the neigbbpurhood of the Roman ila-
tions.
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/ f
i7o THE HISTORY Bookl
•
ScQ:. I. tions. So were all, that had been prcvioufly conftmfted
in the fduth ; fuch only excepted as were formed into
colonies from the beginning, and had therefore no fta-
tions attendant upon them* The city of London in
panicular, which even in the reign of Nero was famous
for the 'number of its merchants and the extent of its
commerce, but was not then converted into a colony,
was fettkd near the ftatioa on St. Paul's Church'-yard,
and carried along the line of the prefent WatHag^ftreet
arid Cheapfide \ And the towns of Lancaihire would
naturally be erefted upon fimilar fites. So fituated,
they beft anfwered the policy of the legate and the ac-
commodation of the garrifon. And fuch a poiition all
the Roman accounts of the ifland plainly Ihew them to
have had ; almoft every ftation in them being connefted
with one or other of our prefent towns, and antiqua*
rianifm being greatly employed in afcertaining the par-
ticular connexion.
The town of Rerigonium or Ribchefter was erefted
immediately to the north of the fortrefs, fpreadingf rom
the influx of a brook into the Ribble up to the fofs of
the camp* And at that point, which now forms the north-
ern margin of the river, the channel of its waters, and
fome meadow- gi'ound to the fouthof both, have been
found the moft confiderable remains. The Ribble has
been almoft the only difcoverer of antiquities. And as
it yearly bears down the baink of the town, and trans^
fers a part of the lite to the fouthem margin of its cur-
rent, the floorings and foundations of houfes have been
vifible in the face of the bank, and about two or three
feet below |he furface of it* — ^Thc tqwn pf Coccium or
lk:krode,
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J
(Ghap.Vn. OF MANCHESTER, 271
]Slackrode> as tbc r^ular tradition there afferts, was Sea. I.
ere£ted along the flope of the prcfent hill, and continued *p^ 204*
within a few yards off the ftationi the barrow called
Hafty-knoU, and the river Douglas. — And Veratinum
or Warrington was built upon the humble elevation of
the ground, which terminates the level of Broad How-
}ey qn the nprth-eaft. This was the neareft, lite to the
camp, that was raifed above the reach of the floods.
There the antiept church and parfonage continue to
fhe prpfeqt period. Apd Warrington remained there
to the conclufion of the fifteenth century ; even till the
paffage over the antient ford was deferted, a bridge was
thrown acrofs the Mtrfey below it, and the road was
fiiverted from one to the other.
The town of Manchefter was crefl:ed> not as the old
and .central parts of it are now placed, at the diftahce
nearly of a mile from th^ Caflle-field, but in the nearer
and more immediate vicinity of the flation. No^ tradi-
tion^ however, afcertains the particular fite. And, in
the neighbourhood qf a great town and a multiplicity
pf commercial avocatipns, little attention is paid to the
remain? o£ antiquity or the whifpcrs of tradition con-
perning them, But there is a fmall region which en-
compaffe? theC^ftle-field on every fide, is very frequently
pieniipncd in our records, and denominated ALDPORT
or Old Bprough. Somewhere therefore within the com-P* 205.
pafs of this diftrift did tlie town originally ftand* And a
Jittle fold of houfes remains in it to the prefent period,
which in all the deeds of the place carries the aflual ap-
pellation of ALDPORTON qr Old Borough Town \
The tqv^n tljprefpfe Vfu f??tje^ op tfec ground immedi-
atcly
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t^% THE HISTORY fiookl.
Sea. L atdy contiguous to thefe buildings. And betwixt diem
^^ — ^'^^jind the Caftle^fieJd is aq arfes^ of fixteen or feventecn
acres^ aow converted chiefly into gardens, and the ge*
nuine groubd-plot of the antient Manchefter. This lies
immediately U> the north of the ftadon, and extends up
CO the t»ew houfes and new church in the Camp-fidd,
Pdng in the immediate Ikirts of the town, the plough
mud ha?e ioi>g and frequently ranfacked the grcHind.
And the many antiquities, which it called into iigfat,
would either be neyer aitepded to at all, or be feen,
iidmircd, and forgojtten* But the foil of the fouthera
part is Hoerely a body of adventitious earth, fragments
iof bricks, pieces of hewn ftones, aiid remnants of urns.
V Huge bldjcks of a millftoue-grit, fuch as I have previoufly
noticed in the Roman foundations of Caftle^eld, and had,
Ifuppofe^ been brought down Wfth them by the floods
of the Medlock, have been recently dug up there with
their morter adhering to them. And the w^ole level
appears to have been tra^erfcd with ftreets pf regular
pavement, in a varjety of direSicms afcrofs it.
Upon thtat particular fite then, which is terminated
by a high bank and a mprafs below it on the weft, by
the great fqf$ of the ftafion on the fouth, the prefent
highway of Aldport-lane on the eaft, and Tickle-ftreet
«r Gamp-fiel4 on thp north, was the TOWN OF
MANCHESTER origmajly erefted. Apd upop this
plat, then in the depth of the wood of Arden, were
the Siftuntii of this region induced by Agricola to ereft
a town* They felled the trees, which from the firft
habitation of the ifland had been the Only occupants of
the foiU Jhey laid op$n the area, thpn ^rft Jaid open,
to
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Chap* VIl. OF MANCHESTER, 273
to the infltiehce of the fun and winds. And they con- ^^* ^*
ftrufted their houfes with the timber. The town would p. ^06.
naturally be erefted along the courfe of the way to
Ribchefter'; commencing at firft n^ar the tretich Of the
ftation, extending in one direft ftreet along the road,
and afterwards forking off into others* And the ways
of our toWns Originally received the Roman appellation
of ftreets, becaufe our hdufts were conftrufted along the
line, and the paffages betW(?en them were carried upon
the ridge^ of thfe Roman highways or ftreets.
Such Was the fpot which Agricola felefted for the
pofition of THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER. And
fuch was the commencement of a city, that was to be-
come fo confpicuous afterwards, to lengthen into fair
ftreets and open into graceful fquares, to contain af-
fetnbled thoufands within her circuit, and extend her
commerce beyond the bounds of the ocean. It was
founded very early in the reign of Titus, about tlie
time of the firft famous eruption from Vefuvius and
the deftruftion of Herculaneum, and the months of Sep-
tember and Oftober in the ever-memorable year 79.
* Tacitus Ann. lib. xiv. C433. and lib. xii c. 32, and
Richard p. 24. — * Richard p. 24, and Stukeley's Itin.
Curiof. p. 195. — ' Ut homines difperfi ac rudes, eoque
bello faciles, quieti et otio per toluptates afluefcerent,
hortari privatim, adjuvare publice, ut templa, fora, do-
mos extruerent, laUdando promptos et caftigando fegnes,
&c.; Tacitus Agric. Vit. c. 21. Thefe and the fub-
fequent words have hitherto been ftrangely applied to
Vol. I. T the
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374 THE HISTORY BookK
Seft. I. the conquered Britons at large* But, as I have here
' ' (hewed, toWns had been erefted in the fouth before. — •
* Richard p, 36, &c. — * Tacitus Ann. lib. xiv. eg 3,
and Wren's Parentalia p. 265. — ^ From fome con-
ftruftions made here many years ago by a gentleman of
the name of Hooper, the old appellation has been pp-
P. 207. pularly altered into Hooper-ton. And fo Aldport it-
felf, being once made a park, has the name of Aldparc
in Camden. But in all the deeds the one is invariably
denominated Aldport, and the other Aldporton.
IT.
TO this period the Siftuntii of the neighbouring
region had lived, as the Britons of the fouthern counties
lived before, and as thofe of Ireland and the Highlands
have continued to thefe modern times. They were di-
vided into clans or families ; and each acknowledged the^
authority of its proper regulus or lord. The number of
clients in each was difierent in different clans, and natu-
rally greater or leffer according to the wealth of the chiefs.
And the retainer always attended the car of his lord to
war, and was always fettled about his habitation in
peace \
This was fometimes fixed confpicuoufly on the lummit
of a hill, peeping over the tops of the furrounding trees,
and commanding all the neighbouring country ^. More
commonly it was placed in the hollow of a valley, and
either upon the margin of one ftream or the confluence
of two> for the conveniency of water and fecurity from
winds ^
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Chap.Vlt. OF MANCHESTER. 27$
winds \ And, in both cafes, the followers lived immc- Se<ft. II.
diately about the perfon of their chief, or-in little booths
along the windings of the valley ; the latter being al-
ways within reach of the ufual fignals from the houfe,
the ftriking the Ihield or blowing the horn of the
lord\
The houfes of the Britons, as I have formerly obferv-
ed, were roomy buildings of a routid form, and covered
with a convex roof. And two edifices exaftly of "this
flhape were preferved as monuments of antiquity, in the
(hire of Rofs, within thefe two centuries and a half; be-
ing, as the cotemporary relater of the faft expreffes him-
felf, rotunda figura, in formam campanae fafta^ The
lord*s manfion was, as our fuperiour houfes generally
remained to the laft century, all conftrufted of wood on
a foundation of ftone ; was one ground-ftory ; and com-
pofcd a large, oblong, and fquaijjfti courts . A co»-
fiderable portion of it was taken up by the apartments
of fuch, as were retained more immediately in the fer-
vice of the feignior. And the reft, which was more
particularly his own habitation, confifted of one great
and feveral little rooms **. In the great one was his ar-
moury ; the weapons of his fathers, the gifts of friends
and fpoils of enemies, being difpofed in order along the
walls K And there he fat with his children and gueftsP. 208,
about him, liftening to the fong and the harp of his bards
OT daughters, and drinking from cups of ftiell \
The venifoji of the Britons was prepared in a manner
equally curious and artful. It was laid upon a bed of
flaming fern, and covered with a layer of fmooth flat
ftones and another of fern above it ^, And their ordinary
T 2 liquoB?
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27tf THE HISTORY Book I.
Se6t II. liquors were only water, milk, or metheglin "• But on
" all fcftival occafions they drank what was then denomi-
nated Curmi, and is now called Curw by the Welflh
.and Ale by the Engliih ". This liquor, the natural
fubftitute of wine in fuch countries as could not produce
the grape, was originally made in Egypt, the firft
planted kingdom in the difperfion from the eaft, that Was
fuppofed unable to produce it "• And, as the Noachian
colonies pierced further into the weft, they found or
thought they found the fame defeft, and fupplied it in
the fame manner. Thus the natives of Spain, the in-
habitants of France, and the aborigines of Britain, all
ufed an infufion of barley for their ordinary liquor.
And it was called by the various names of Ccelia and
Ceria in the firft country, CerviGa in the fecond, and
Curmi in the laft; all literally importing only theftrong
water '^ «
With this every chief feems to have been fufficiently
^ provided, the barley being probably brought into Lan-
caihire from the more foutherly parts of the ifland, and
regularly exchanged with the Siftuntians for their cattle.
And a commerce appears to have been aftually carried
Pi 209. on, even after the arrival of the Romans, to the ex-
trcmeft boundaries of the north'*. Each chief, there-
fore, would be furniflied with the implements of a
brewery, and prepare his own liquor. But, as the im-
plements could only be few and the preparation fimple,
fo the liquor feems to have been very ftrong, and both
in colour and flavour little inferiour to wine '^
In this ftate of rural magnificence did the chiefs of the
Mancunians live, when Agricola firft urged them to
Tefi4e near the ftation. - And from this did Agricola in-
duce
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Chap. VII. OF MANCHESTER. 277.
duce one of them to depart, and build the town of Seft. II.
Manchefter. Attended by his train of followers, he
relinqui(hed his abode upon the heights or the valleys
around u€. And he fettled with his clan on the northern
bank of the Mcdlock^
* Csefar p. 120 and Diodorus p. 352 for the Gauls;
and Tacitus Ann. lib. xii. c. 36. regiisclientelis, Agric.
Vit. c. xii, clicntes propugnant, and Offianvol. I.p.i^^'
&C.J for the Britons^^ — * OfEan vol. I. p» 157 &c. —
^ Offim vol. I. p. 99, 129, &c. and vol. IL p. 183. —
Casfar gives us this curious account of the Gallick
houfes : iEdificio circumdato filv^, ut funt fere domicilia
Gallorum, qui, vitandi asftiis causa, plerumque filvarum
ac fluminum petunt propinquitates j p. 126. — * OfEan
vol. I. p. 136 and Vol. IL p, 71. ^— ^ See ch. I. f. 3,
and Boetius Scot Reg. Defcrip. fol. 4. 1575. Paris;
and OiEan vol. II. p. 36, and Mona p. 89 and 246. And
Dio calls the Britifli houfes (TTCfimi ; and Zonaras (Bafil,
1557, p. 185) makes Caraftacus call them otcW^oj* -^
Oflian vol. L p. 1 10. -— ^ Oflian vol. I. p. 99, 165,
and vol. II. p. 222* — « OfGan vol. I. p. 72, 240, 16,
and 27, and Pegge's Coins of Cunobeline 4—^1 and
3, — ^ Oflian vol. I. p. 15 for Caledonia, The fame
mode of cookery was praftifed in Ireland, and is flill in
feme meafure retained by the prefent Highlanders on
their hunting parties; fee Critical Diff. p. 132. —
^"^ Caefar p. 89, Diodorus p. 353 of the Gauls and 357
of the Spaniards, and Strabo p. 305. — " Vofliusde
Viuis Serm. in Curmi, and Camden p«4i9. — " Dio-
T 3 doru«
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6
2^8 THE HISTORY Book I.
SeA;iL dorus p. 24. — ""^ Diodorus-p. 350, Strabo p. 233,
and Voffius and Camden ibid. See alfo the note below. — -
^"^ Offian p. 116. vol.1, and Richard p. 32.
Mr. Macpherfon vol. I. p. 74 is inclhied to think, that
the Britons of Caledonia generally drank wine in the time
of Fingal. But this is utterly incredible ; and p. 1 1 6.
P. 210. vol.1, entirely refutes the notion. Speaking of cups
ftudded with gems, the tranflation fays thus, ** Tbe
" Blue IVaier trembles on their ftars and feems to be
^' fparkling fF/»^.*' This proves the Caledonians to
have been acquainted wkh wine, but to have generaMy
drunk a different liquor. What idea, however, the
ingenious tranflator annexed to the words Blue Water ^ it
is not eafy to conceive. Curmi, the Britifli word for
Ale, may fignify alfo Blue Water, Curm meaning Blue
and Ui Water. And, as Blue is faid to be the popular
term for Ale in Som©rfet(hire, fo Ctirme is now the
Highland word for a great feaft (Crit* Diff. p. 329).
This therefore, I take it for granted, Was the word in
the original •, and Mr. Macpherfon, not adverting perhaps
to the particular meaning of his author, or not ac-
quainted with the explaining paffages of the antlents,
has put down one fignification for the other. And this
among other reafons induces one ftrongly to wifli, that
the truly fpirited tranflator would either publifh the
originals, or depofit them in fome publick library. See
preface to vol. I.
The true word for Ale (as appears from the
names Casl-ia, Cer-ia, ^ Cer-vifia, and Ctir-mi or
Cur-w) Is compounded of Ui or Uis Water, and of
0^1, Cer, and Cur, all one and the fame word, and
importing Strong. Gar, Ger, or A-ker fignify lite-
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Chap. VIL OF MANCHESTER. ^79
rally Sharp or Rough : fee Baxter in Garionenum^ and Sca.IL
Catalogue under Eager in b. II. ch. vi. f. 2,
'^ Diodorus p. 4, 41, 242^ and 248^ and Oflian
vol. L p#74 and ii6«
m.
UPON the eftabliOimem of the Siftuntii in the
vicinity of tke ftation, fuch parts of the wood of Arden,
as ikirted the lite of the town, would inftantly be cleared
away. And this was an employ, for which the Britons
■were fufficiently provided with inftruments; as I fliall
fliew them hereafter to have had large forges, and many '
artifts employed in them '. Furniftied therefore with
the requifife weapons from the ftorehoufe of their p. ^n.
chieftain, the Mancunians would proceed to the necefla-
ry bufinefs of deftroying the woods immediately about
Chem, and of opening a fufficient area.
Loud founds the axe, redoubling ftrokes oh ftrokes ;
On all fides round the foreft hurls her oaks
Headlong ; deep-echoing groan the thickets brown.
Then ruftling, crackling, cralhing, thunder down.
Pope.
The whole Cte of the prefent Manchefter would now be
firft cleared of its trees, and it and the land about it for
the firft time feel the hand of cultivation. And both,
as we may cafily conceive, foon prefented to the
eye a gay fcene of pafturcs, meadows, and corn-fields,
T 4 finely
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28o THE HISTORY Book!.
Soft. III. finely contrafted by the gloom of the woods around
them*
The arts of agriculture were ftudioufly profecuted
among the Romans. This appears from the variety of
their writers on the fubjeft. And they were equally
purfued by all the tribes of the Gallick, and many of
the Britiflb, Ccltas. Of this the numerous particulars,
which the antients have mentioned concerning both, are
a fufficient evidence *. But, as the Cekae varied from-
the Italians in fome parts of their couduft, the diflferent
modes of management compofed two fyftems of agri-r
culture. And, though the Britons of Manchefter migh^
naturally be expefted to have adopted the Roman, they
aftually preferred the Celtick. The latter had been long
tried in thefe northern climates, and long approved by
their brethren of Gaul and South-Britain ^5 and would
therefore be fqpppfed the beft adapted to the qorthern
latitude of LancafliirCi,
Among the various manures with which the Roman
farmers enriched their lands, they were totally unac-
quainted with the ufe of marie. The Celtse of Britain
and Gaul were the firft that had marked this fertilizing
clay in the earth, and had applied it to the purpofes of
agriculture. And they found it the moft forcible and
lafting of all manures, and therefore gave it the ho-
V. 212. nourable appellation of marrow, Marg, Margil, or
Marie ^ They had even the credit of recommending it
to the Greeks, who had a communication with both
through the colonifts of Marfeilles, 'refiding in the
country of rhe one and trading to that of the other *•
And it was diftinguifhed into two forts, the rough and
the
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Chap.Vn. OF MANCHESTER. 281
the rich; which were eafily difcriminatcd in thehandling,Seft» HI.
and were.very ufeful either for corn-fields or grafs*lands^
And many others were ckffed under both: the white
fend-ftone, and the red, under the former; and
the white, the pidgeon, and the fandy, under the lat-
ter **. — The firft of thefe was reckoned infinitely
fruitful upon corn-fields, if gathered from a fprin-
gy foil ; and was thought to bum the ground^ if
laid upon it in a large quantity ^. And this is the
fame probably with the marie of Derbyfliire ; which
has a great quantity of fand in its compofition, and is
of a hotter nature than the generality of our marks
are ^ The red was mingled with gravel-ftones, and
thought to be impregnated with fait ; but was not half fo
heavy in the carriage as the others, and was fpread in a
thin coat upon the ground ^ This is perhaps' the red
marie of Suffex, which has frequently a mixture of
gravel in it^ And both retained their influence for
fifty years together upon corn-fields, meadows, or paf-
tures ** — ^The white was the principal of the rich marles,
and fubdivided into feveral forts, the very biting, the
filvery, and the fat. The filvery was the favourite of
the Britons, and the foft chalk of our Kentifli far-
mers at prefent; and lafted eighty years upon .the
ground". And the fat was particularly ufed for
grafs-lands •, often producing a good crop of grafs upon
corn-fields betwixt the end of harveft and commence-
ment of feed-time, and lafting thirty years '% The
pidgeon marie was collefted at firft in hard and ftone-
like maffes, but Vas diflblved by the force of the fun
and froft, and became equally ufeful as the other ". And
this
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2*2. , THEHISTORY Book I.
Sea. MI. diis is plainly the ftone-marle of Cheihire and Bamf-
fliirc, which is a kind of foft flate, bluifli in tfee former
county, and blue, pale-brown, and reddifh in the lat-
ter ; and is ftill laid in large maffes on the ground, diffolves
flowly with the froft, fun, and rains, and k reckoned a
TCry durable raarle "• The fandy was ufed only for
fwampy ground, if any other could be got, and was pre-
ferred to all the reft for that •, and fand is ufed both in
Chefhirc and Ireland for the improvement of their mofles
and bogs at prefent, and it or gravel are efleemed the
moft effeftual manure for the latter ^\ — And, as the dry
was laid upon moift lands, the fat upon dry, and either
the filvery or pidgeon on thofe of a proper temperature;
fo was every fpecies ploughed into the ground, and
mingled with a little dung '^.
^^21$. This curious account of the Celtick manure clearly
fliews us the minute refearchcs and accurate knowledge
of theCdiidc farmers. And the Briti(h> particularly,
appear to have had confiderable flcill in their profeffion,
as they chiefly had marked the fuperiour excellence of
the filvery marie "^ Both the Britifti and Gallick had
made the difcovery of feveral of thefe forts, jufta little
before the conqueft pf Lancaflxire '-^ And the know-
ledge of all, which the Britons of the midland regions
had previoufly borrowed from the fouthern, were now
communicated by them to the northern. The Mancu*
nians now opened their inexhauftible treafures of marie,
and purfued the fpreading veins of it in the ground ;
not following them, as their brethren of the fouthern
counties were obliged to follow them, and as we now
trace the veins of coal, by flaking their quarries from a
narrow
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Chap. VII. OF MANCHESTER. 283
niarrow mouth above to a large cavity below ""^ In France, Seft. IIL
where the marie generally runs eighty or ninety feet be-
low the furface, and in South-Britain, where the
foft chalk was denominated the filvery marie, a
mining procefs would be neceflary, and is ftili purfued
in both. But the genuine marie of Britain lies much
nearer the furface, feldom more than feven or eight
feet below it, and commonly about three or four only*
In our own county, it is generally found about two or
three below the ground ; and muft therefore have been
always followed, as it is ft ill dug, to the depth of as
many yards only. And the marle-pits which were '
now made, and were for ages probably the common ^
ones of our Manchefter precinfts, were as proba-
bly thofe large cavities at the extremity of Shude-
hill and Marketftreet-lane, which are called at prefent,
and have (I believe) been for centuries denominated,
THE DAiTB-HOLEs. The Original pits were certainly near
to the town, becaufe the precinfts at that time extended
but a little way from it. And the Daub-holes remained
very lately in their original condition of marfc-pits, and
from the emphaticalnefs of their name appear to P. 214.
have been always the moft remarkable about the
town.
This manure was peculiarly adapted to the ftrangely
varying nature of the Mancunian foil, which is a com-
paft clay or a light morafs, a ftrong gravel, or a deep
fand. And the ufe of it was now firft introduced into
the parifhi where it is ftill the one principal manure of
the lands, and the one operative caufe of their great
fertility; where, and in the adjoining Chefliire, the ap-
plication
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284 THEHISTORY BookL
Sea. III. plication of it is better underftood than in any other
part of the kingdom, and has changed their barren
heaths and moffes into fome of the beft lands within
them.
There were two forts of fcythes ufed in Europe at
this period, the Italick or Roman, and the Gallick
or Celtick. The former was a Ihort one, like our pre-
fcnt fickle; and, like it, was managed by the right hand
alone. And the latter was a large one, like our prefent
fcythe '\ The Britons of Manchefter preferred the
Celtick to the Roman, and firft introduced it
. among us at this period* And here, as all over the
kingdom, it has continued to the prefent moment;
our farmers ftill continuing to aft upon the model of
the' Gallick,. to cut the herbage at a diftance
from the ground, and leave a confiderable remainder
behind '^
Thefe are two diftinguifhing particulars, which the
Mancunians adopted from their brethren of the fduth.
And they feem alfo to have derived from them the know**
ledge of the flail and whetftone.
The only methods praftifed among' the Romans for
feparating the grain from the llraw, in the reign of
Auguftus, were either to trample the corn with cattle
or prefs it with the tribulum ^°. And the ufe of the
flail was firfl introduced into Italy, about the period of
the firfl Roman conqueft in the ifland*'. The colonies of
P. 215/ theBelgse, and the tribes of the neighbouring Britons,
had therefore borrowed the Gallick inftrument of threfli-
ing already. And, whatever they had adopted in general,
their more northerly brethren appear to have copied
from
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Chap. VII. OF MANCHESTER. 285
from them. This inftrument, however, was probably the Seft« HI.
flail ; and it was as probably introduced into Italy from
Gaul. The Romans had confidcrable conneftions with
that country in matters of agriculture **. Such an im-
plement was the more likely to be invented there, as the
Gallick fanners generally cropped only the ears of their
corn, and the tribulum or cattle were found lefs efFec-
tual upon thefe than the flail *\ And, when the latter
was firft introduced among the Romans, it was ufed
only as the Gauls would have ufed it, upon fuch corn
as had been reaped in the Gallick manner **.
The Romans had formerly imported their whetftones
at aconfiderable expence from Crete, Laconia, and other
equally diftant places. And, as they were of no effi-
cacy without the aflillance of oil, the Italian haymaker
was obliged to carry a horn of it conftantly by his
fide. But, a little time before the reduftion of Lan-
cafhire, Italy was found to produce very excellent whet-
ftones, which were equal to a file for the purpofes of
fliarpening, and required only the aflifl:ancc of water.
Such, however, had been long ufed by the Gauls, and
were denominated Paffernices among them ^\. And
therefore they had been equally ufed by both the ruder
and more civilized Britons, for fliarpening their axes,
da^ers, and • fwords, aid giving a finer edge to their
razors **. Thefe the Mancunians might eafily have pro-
cured in the vicinity of the town. And one of them
was difcovered about fixty years ago at Craven in York-
fliire, as another was found about feventy in a mofs
within our own county. The latter was accompanied
by an axe-head of copper, and the former by one of
poliflxed
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a86 THEHISTORY Book L
Se^. IIL polilhed marble, and fome broken inftramcnts of pointed
bone ; fufEcient indications of their &itiih original. The
hone of Lancafiiire was a ftone of a very uncomnfon
P. ai6.fpecies. And that which was difcovcred in Yorkfliire
was a blue-grey one, three inches in length, neatly
one in breadth> and an eighth of an inch in thick-
nefs*\
Thus the Gallick fyftem of husbandry, which would
be originally purfued by the Belgse of the fouthern
ihores, be fucceffively tranfmitted from them to all the
civilized tribes of the Britons, and therefore before the
year 79 be extended into StafFordfliire, Derbyfhire, and
Yorkfliire, was now brought from thence into Lancafliire.
And the forts of grain, which were introduced with it,
would naturally be fuch only as the farmers of Gaul,
and the fouthern and midland natives of Britain, had
previoufly known. Barley, long familiar to all the
tribes of the Celtae, and previoufly brought in for the ufc
of the Lancafliire breweries, would now be raifed as thefe
Were continued. And the wheat was not of the Italian
fort, white and heavy, but red and light, like the
Gallick* This was originally the peculiar produce of
Gaul, and continues to this day the only wheat of
Lancafiiire. It was denominated by the Gauls Brace,
Brae, or red coloured **. And Brace is a word yet in
ufe among the Bretoons for a fpecies of grain, and Breach-
tan among the Irifli to figniJy wheat particularly.
The flour of this would be firft refined by the hbrfe-
hair fieves, which the Gauls originally invented, and
our Mancunians continued to ufe within thefe fifty
years; and then be kneaded into bread*'. That lighted
3 and
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Chap.VIL OF MANCHESTER. 287
and propereft aliment for the human body, in all pro-Se6t. III.
bability, had never been tafted hitherto by the Lanca-
Ihirc Britons, and was now firft introduced into the
pariih of Manchefter; as a wild part of Argyleflbire is
laid, cveu lately, to have been equally unacquainted
with bread ^°. And the Brace was remarkable for the
neatnefs of its grain ; and for yielding near a fourth more
of flour from any commorf quantity, than any other
fpedes of wheat ^''.
About the time of Agricola's entrance into Lanca-
Ihire, a new fort of loaf had been introduced at Rome ;
which was formed only of water and flour, and much
efteemed for its Hghtnefs. And it was called the water- P. 217.
cake from its fimple compofuion, and the Parthian roll
from its original inventors. But even this was not
comparable to the French or Spanifh bread for its
Hghtnefs. The ufe of Curmi and the knowledge "of
brewing had acquainted the Cckes with an ingredient
for their bread, which was much better calculated to
render it light and pleafing, than the leaven, the eggs,
the milk, or the wine and honey, of other nations. This
was the fpume which arofe on the furface of their
Curw in fermentation, and whichthe WeMK denominate
Burm and we Barm. The Celtes of Gaul, of Spain, and
moft probably therefore of South-Britain, had long
ufed it. And then: bread was, in confequencc of this,
fuperiour in lightncfs to that of any other nation in the
world ^^
'B.
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288 THEHISTORY . BookL
Sea. III. ^ B. I. c. IX. f. 2. — * Pliny lib. xvii. d. 15. dud lib-
xviii. G. 30, and Palladius lib. vii. c. 2. — ^ Pliny lib-
xvii. c. 6. It is called Margil in Gallick (Baluzius tom« ii«
C. 188), Maria in Irifli, and Marie inWelfh. —* Pliny
c. 6, Gallia et Britannia invenere, and c. 7. — ^ Pliny
c. 7. — ^ Pliny G. 7 and c. 8. — ^ C. 7, and Morti-
mer's Hulbandry, 17 16, v. I. p. 88. — * Ibid, and Mor-
timer p. 89. — ^ Ibid. — ^"^ Seefome of thefe quarries of
the filvery marie in Camden p. 236 (Kent) and in p*
318 (Effex). The latter are large and feveral (Sal-
mon's Effex p. 297). And the former were dag for
marie, ^ven in the opinion of the inhabitants near two
centuries ago (Lambard's Kent, 1596, p. 445). — '' C^
8. — " Ibid, and Mortimer p. 87 and Pennant's Tour in
Scotland p. 126. — '^ Ibid, and Mortimer vol. II. p.
16-1 8. — ^^Ibid. — *^ Ibid. Hac maxime Britannia
utitur. — - *^® C. 7, Duo genera fuerant, plura nuper ex-
erceri coepta proficientibus ingeniis. — '^ C. 8. — "' Pliny
lib. xviii. c. 28. — '' Ibid. ~ *° Virgil's Georg. lib. i.
164, and Varro de Re Ruftica lib. i. c. 52. — ** Colu-
mella lib. ii. c. 21, Baculis excuti, and melius fuftibus
tunduntur, and Pliny lib. xviii. c. 30, Perticis flagella-
tur. This however had been long ufed in the Eaft
, (Ifaiahxxviii. 27. &c.). — "See Pliny lib. xvii. c. 15,
lib. xviii. c. 30, &c. — *^ Pliny lib. xviii. c. 30, Pal-
ladius lib. vii. c. 2, and Columella lib. ii. c»2i, ipfa
^ut^mjpica melius fuftibus tunduntur. — ** Columdla.
P. ^18. lib. ii. c. 21. — *^ Pliny lib. xviii. c. 28. and lib. xxxvi.
Ci 22. — *^ Ca^far p. 89. — ^^ Differt. prefixed to
Hearfic*s
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Chap.Vjr. OF MANCHESTER; ,89
Hearne's Leland vol. iv^ Leigh's Lancafliire b. 1. p. iS.Scfi. IIL
andb. iiu p. 18 r, and Montfaucon's L^Aniiquite Ex-* ''"^
plique totn. v* p* 195 for fome weapons of fliarpened
bone, difcovered in a Galllck fepulcher and among Gal-
lick weapons on the continent. See alfo a draught of
the Lancafliire whetftonfe in Tab. iv. W 2 of Leigh.
It was found in a mofs at Sawick^ about nine miles
froin Manon Mere. — •** Pliny lib. xviii. c. 7, GalHse
quoque fuum genus farris dedere, quod illic Brace vp-
cant^ apud nos Sandalum. The Romans called it by a
Latin name exaftly fimilar to the Gallick^ Sandalum
bebg the fame in import as Brae, and both naming the
ivheat from its fimilitude in colour to the brogues or
redifaoesof the Celtx. — ** Pliny lib. xviii. c. ri.*—
'•* Pliny lib* xviii. c. 7. And fee Birt's Letters on the
Highlanders, v.IL p. 278 — 279, 1754* — '* PUnyKb.
^ xviii. c. 7 and Up '
IV-
^ THE tqiwn rf Blwcheftcr bemg pow ereJftcd in oyr
Atdb^ a]»l. the woody circuit of it laid open, the f&f
veb^parts of the latter ^Quld begm to aflume their
dend^atiocs. : What thefe were ynt know but unper*
f^^ .^w of the Britilh names haying defcended to us^
' '^^jagii^^ion^ .1^ places have been all loft.
3v^^^io%;Of otiriWcrs arc generally prcferved* The
. jl^^^j^ ;CoafinQd to a fmall extent of region, and
^^kgg«f(:( Qpt| to^ But rivers flow through a length
. 5^cQiiill3^ ipd i^municate their names and waters to
J^&x^j^^^^ While
tboCr there^^ aiie eafily k>ft, thefe are pretty faithful^
Vor • L U setaiaed*
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apo T H E H I S T O R Y Book 1.
Sea. IV. retained. And moft of our rivers in the kingdom prefervc
^^ '~ to the prefent hour, the names which were irappfed upon
them two thoufand years ago; and, ftijl ^s they flow, refer
us by their titles to that remarkable aera in our hiilory,
when the Britifti ftag took Ihelter. in their ftreams -from
P. 219. the chace, or the Britiih warriours were aau^cied
on their banks for fight. Such are the Avon^^ the
Cams, the Tyn^s, and the Edens of other, counties,
and the Ribble, Douglas, and Calder of our own*
And moft of our Mancunian currents received at or
before this period the very fame denominations, wkh
which we diftinguifh them at prefent.
. That which rifes in the hills of Oldham, divided
Droylfden and Failfworth, Clayton and Newton, and
at bft winds aiong the foot of the.Caft]^-field, w^s
calljcd Medlock or the River by the BriloBS. ]VIgd or Mat
and Lug or Loc equally fignify Water j and ip con^^ipa
imply a quantity of it, either a river or z lake*: .Thefor^
mer conftitutes half the name in the famous Med-way of
the Roman Mad-us ; the Rorhan Met-aris or Boft on-deep in
Xincoln(hire ; the Met-aurus of GalKa Tpgafaj and -alfo
of Brutium, in ant lent Italy ; . the Med-uacius q£. tbt
Veneti in Gallia Tranfalpina ; and the Modc-wy^ I^^Eotbe^
way, or Methe^wie of Caermarthcnftire. ^^di^f Mat-
ter forms the whole of it in the Loxa of^ S^x)CJUx)4 ^d
the Logia of Ireland, tlie Lug x)f Hcrefor^ibijrs^^he
Luc-US of Liguria in antient Italy, the Loche of;-^>|pcr-
fctfhire, and the great variety of Lochs in Irel^ii^anrf
Scotland '. . ..;._,,
There is alfo a little brook, that is nojy nearly, j^ in
ks own ififi^nificance and fortune, but was Qnqc impoijant
enough
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enough to claim the ttbrice of the Britons, and to giveSe^l-iy.
ftame to a ftreet of the pref^nt town; From the Bfitons* "'"'^"^^
it retfeivcd a denomination^ which no lapfe of timfe and
no revolutions of hiftofy hate been able to take awayi
And Jt rrtairii to the preleilt moment its piimitite ap-
pellation of the Tib* Oozing from a fmall colleftion of
watc(r, which ftagnatfe In Newton-lane and is fed by thd
drainings of the neighbouring fields^ arid ha?iiig alrriofl
all its ftreatii diverted into the great refervoir on
Shude-hili ; it fcarcely fcdntiniles its current atlong the
borders of the town, but croffes the upper eild of Market-
ftrpet and Tib lades, and communicates its name to thd
iatttr. And a little beloW Cal ley-banks it termi-
"fiate* its- Aorf eourfe in the Medlodk* The Bri^
ti(h denominations of oui^' rivers have been ftrangely
ejtpkdned, In general, by all the interpreters 6f P. zio4
fhtoir And ^ the Gharaaeriftick genius of the Britifh i
language/ I thlnfcj has been little confulted in the
explanations* -I have previoufly Ihewn the word Avon
' to 'hav€l beetl' frequently contrafted intb Avin, • An^
-4!Hr•Un^' 'Jij\dy '^ D-avon and T-avon are both thd
'fame with It, foare they contrafted in the fame manner^
1?he formei' Is abbreviated into Dane> the popular name
0f theDaven at Middlewkh; into Danus, Don, or Dun,
the aadent and prcfent appellation of the current at
JDonfcittfter,^ into Done, the tide of a ftream in the county
of Mar 5 andMhto D^tn^ the popular appellation of
Ptoi^my's Devana at Aberdeen. ^ And the latter is re-
duced into Tayne, the name of a frith in Scotland ;
- into Taune or Tone, that of a river in Somerfetfliifej and
mo Teync, that of a current in Staffordflxire. THe
U 2 * name
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^92 THE HISTORY Bookl.
tea. IV. name of Tib aftually occurs ia the elevi^h Iter of
^ ^Richard, the antient denomination oi the river at Car-
diff in Wales. And like the Tavee, t^e Daff, and the
Biff^ the prefent Tarying appellatjoa /ar the Tibia of
Richard; like the antient Tavus and Tobioa; and like the
Teivi, the Towey, the Dove, or the Dee, at prefent ;
it is merely an appellative, and fignifies merely the
Water \
The ftream which burfts in many fprings from a
M ild heath under the greater ridge of the Yorkftire hills,
paffes by the town of Afliton, and iflues into the Mei^
fey below Portwood-bridge, was 4iftinguilbed by a
nam$ equally indiffpraminative and exactly the fame.
Various are the fubftitutions of one letter for another
in the flexible language of the Britons. And Tib,
Tar, or Tarn are one and the fame word. Thus did a
petty rill receive the fame appellation from the Britons
^* * as the mighty Tay. And a {hort mountain-torrent
fliares the title of the majeftick Thames.
Thefc are all of them general and uncharaderiflack
liames. And fuch are alfo the following ; the Britoas
naturally marking their rivers by the fimple denMoina*
tion of Water, and only diftinguilhing one from the
other by a different appellative. Thus the current
which rifes in the townlhip of Gorton, croffes die roads
to Stockport and Stretford, and then lofes itfelf in thelr-
well, was denonainatedCorin, Corne, or Waters. And the
fame title was originally given to the rivulet that named
the antient Corin-ium, Duro-cornov-ium, or Cireii'-oellber;
as it is ftill continued in the prefent half-foften<^iip-
pellation of the Ciren or Churn ^. Thus alfo the farift
^ ibreaiq.
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Chap.yn. OF MANCHESTER. 293
flream, tliatfprings at the foot of a hill in the chapclry8«^*IV^i»
df ShaWy puihes its hafiy current by Ryton, Chathcrton, '
andBiakeley^ and falls into the Irwell at Hunt(bank^ was
denominated the Irke. And the greater one^ that rifes
from a double fountain in RofTendalei and wheels nearly in
one large circle about the townlhip of Salford, affumed the
fimilar appellation of-thc Irwill or Irwell ' . The latter is like
the Yr-wis or Ere-wafli of Nottinghamfliire ', and the Irc-
wer that falls into the Tay ; the Wyles of Nottinghamfliire,
Ybrkfliire, and Derbyfliire ; and the Char-well of Ox-
fordftiire : as the former is like the Arecha of Brutium
in antient Italy, the Arche of France, the Arke of
Ydrkfliire and the Weft-highlands, the Herke of Flan-
ders, the Girch of Caernavonlhire, and the Eatke or Irkc
of the fame county. And both equally with Come
fignify only Waters.
But fome of our rivers would receive thdr names be-
fore or during the exiftence of the Bricifli fortrefs, and
long before the conftruftion of the Roman-Britifli town.
And the large important current of the Merfey, which
ranges along the confines of the parifli for many miles
together, muft have had one as early as the firft popu- p. xz^.
lation of Lancalhire. Iffuing fronf the waftes of Wood-
head and the moors of Motiram, and fucceffively re-
ceiving the Goit, the Tame, and the Irwell ; it becomes
equally rapid and deep, fuperiour to all the neighbour-
ing rivers, and the natural boundary of kingdoms and
provinces in every period; and yet was diftinguiflied by a
name of the fame import only with thelrwel*, and called
Beli-fama * or the Current of Waiters, Thus we have the
U 3 Bcale
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ft9f T H E H I S T O R Y Book I,
Sea. rv* Beale and the Bewl in Kent, the Beile in Lancafhire* the
Below in Yorkfliire, the Bellow in WeftiiiDrcland, and
the Bily inSuffex; the Somer-gill in Shropfliirc, the
Some-gill in Radnorfhire, the Seaipcr in Yorklhire,
fhe Sambre in Flanders, and the Somme iji France.
And in a later age, while the Siftuntii rcfijied in the Caf-
tie-field, they could not but have given an appellation to
the river, which led its ftrcam dire£tiy againft the fite'
of their woodland fortrcfs, and is maacto fweep found
the front of it in a large curve. They mufl: Hkewife
have given names to moll of the more remarkable ob?
jefts around them, the current of Gornebrook and the
eminence of Huntsbank, the valley of Broughton, xh6
Irke, the Irwell, and the High Knolls. This would
naturally be the cafe with the precinfts of the original
Manchefter. And it ferves tp clear up a confiderable'
difficulty to us> with regard to the primseval fortreffe^
f)f the Britons in the north.
As the rivers Eden and Irthing divided the Volanti(
from the Gadeni and SelgQva?, and the Tyn^ arid Tip-
pal feparated the Brigantps from the Ottadini ; when
encroachments were attempted and jealoiifies entertained
by thefe northern powers, the four rivers would na?
turally be fecured with a chain of fortreffeg. The Ga-
p. 323. 4eni feeoi to have erefted Aljallaba upon the Irthing
and againft the Volantii ; and the Ottadini Vindolana,
Procplitia, Vindobala, and Segedpnum> alopg the ftream
pf the Tyqe, and againft their jnorp dangerous pncmie^
jhe BrJgantes. The Volantii raifecj * Axelodunupi and
]^^ugjL]vallium upon x\^ Siden, againft the Selgovse and
(gadeni ; and the Bri^an^s ^onftru^cdi Gall^va upon
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€bap.VII. Of MANCHESTER. 2^5
Eaft-AIlon river and againft the Ottadini. And thefeSc^^- IV.
appear diftinguiflicd from the fortreffes about them that
carry Britiih appellations, by their vicinity to the
bounding currents and the peculiar Cgnificancy of their
names. They are almoft all of them planted direftly
upon the margin of the rivers. And they are all
<!^mced . by their appellations to have been aftu-
ally the ftations of the Britons ^ Such or fimilar, I fup-*
pofe, was the ifete of the boundaries, about a century
before Agricola invaded the north. And the confines
of other tribes in the ifland were affuredly fortified for
the fame reafon, and lined, with ftations in the fame
manner. But the more numerous conftruftion of Romaa
forts m thefe than other parts of the kingdom, and the
prefervation of their names m the Imperial Notitia and
two Itineraries, have accidentally given us a more par#
ticular account of the previous fortreffes of the Briton*
in them.
And, in the fortified ftate of thefe extenfive frontiers,.?. 224,
the precinfts of the feveral towns would have theit
particular objefts diftinguiflied by particular names^
Thus the Voluntian garrifon of Axelodunum, I fuppofe,
gave the appellation of Goats-bead to axemarkablc emi^.
nence near them, on which the Romans afterwards con^
ftrufted the ftation of , Gabro-centum. The Gadeni of
Aballaba, or fome nearer fortrefs, would give the names
of Con-gavata and Arobo^glanna, the (helving or the
rounded dale, to two remarkable vallics in their neigh-
bourhopd. And the Ottadini of Vindolana, Procolitia,
yindabaia^ and Segedunusn conferred the denominations
U 4 of
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^9$ THE HISTORY Book L
Sea, IV. of iEfica or Water upon an adjtMnii^ rivulet, and al Q-
lumum or Creek upon a bay in an adjoining ftream;
and thofe of Hunnum or the Green, and of Gondercmn
or the Height upon the water^ to two neighbourtog
places ^. In this or fome fuch manner would the
flriking objefls, m the vicinity of the Britifh forts, be
all particul.arly denoipinared among the Britons# Husy
impofed the names upon the places, before the Ro«
mans invaded their country ; and would naturally con«*
tinue them, when they fettled in to^ns uncter tkf pro^
te&ion of the ftations. And the Romans as naturally tc^
tained the one, when they conftriified their little camps
oti the other ^.
For want of the fame notices, as th^ have thus
tranfmitted to us concerning the Britifti fertrefles
in one particular region of the north, the uameU
of the principal objeSs in the vicinity of the ordinal
Mancheiler are mofl of them loft. And the IrweP, the
Medlock, the Cornebrook, and the Irke are almoft the
only remainder of them. What the others were, how-
ever, we may pretty nearly conjefture, in genoral, frtm
the above-mentioned names in the neighbourhood o^
the above-mcfntioned fortreffes. The valley of die Ro-
man cattle, being nearly encircled with a fweep of hills,
P» *25. niight have received the peculiarly appofite denomina-
tion of Amboglanna; the eminence of Huntfbank have
affumed the title of Condercura ; and the Hig^ Knolls
have borne the name of Gabrocentunu And» fo con-
ferred, would all the appeilacions be tranfmitted ffom
the ibldiers of the old tp 'the^citizens of the uenr town^
receive
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Chap^yn. OF MANCHESTER. 297
receive ao addidoo ci others from the latter ; and be all Sea. IV.
regularly xoDtinued among the ]l^cons of Manchcfter, "
to the laft iad period of the SUtuntian pofleilions and the
laft fad clofe (d the SUtuntian name '%
' Richard Iter 15, Ptolemy m Ireland and Scotland,
and Richard, in Scotland p. 32. — * * B. I. ch. v. f. i.
--« ' So Dun*dee, a town upon the Tay^ Lan-daff and
Caer-di9> towns upon the Tavee> &c. And fee a va-
riety of erroura in Baxter^ Camden^ and others^ under
Veratinum^ &c. — ^ Sec Baxter's Urange etymology
for Corn or Corinium; which makes it fignify a great
or principal river^ in oppofition at once to the true
principles of etymology and to real fad. There are
other rivers in England fo called^ Vut all mean and trifl-
ing ; as the Come near Ludlow, &c. — * The name
is BOW univerfally written Irwell, but is oftener Irwill
in our antient records. And for the Yrwis fee Thoro-
ton'ft Nottinghamihire p. 205 • — * Seeb.L ch, v* f. i,
which proves the Merfey of the prefent times to be the
Belifama of Ptolemy. — ^ Vindo-lan-a and Vindo-bal-ap. ;w6.
iignify thesfortson the Vents or heights -, and Lugu-vall*
ium» Gal-at-a, and A-ball-ab*a, thofe on the water.
Gual, a rampart, is formed into Wall, Val, Bal, and Ual
or AU Hence Bala remains to this day the Wel(h and
Iriih appellation of a town ; and we have Bano-val-um,
the fort on the Bane, in Ravennas, and Bal*clutha and
Al-cluid, the fortrefs on the Clyde, for the fame place
in Oifian and Bede. And, as Sege-dunum and Axeloh
dunuBi carry the fame meaning,, the high axid dry town.
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49» THE HI St Okt BookL
^^' IV. fo pro*colitia lecms to mean the fort in the woodlands.
See alfo Al-ncchma6t in b I. ch, xii. f. 4, Baxter's vari-
ous miftakcs under thcfc and fimilar names, and Horfeley
for the fites of theft towns. — ^ ' See Baxter for thefe names
and Macpherfon in Oflian for Inis-huna. I have here
chofen to produce the etymons of others rather than my
own. — ^ Magnis, Borcovicus, Petriana, Corftopitum, and
Pons iElii have all, I fuppofe, merely Roman names.
Sec Baxter for Borcovicus ^nd Corftopitum. -^ " In
this feftion I haVc interpreted fome of the names of our
Manchefter rivulets, a little diSereBtly from what I bad
in .the £rft edition. I have, fmce that, had occafion to take
more comprehenfivc furvey of the general appellations
of our rivers. And I hope, in fome future work, to
enter fully into this fubjeft, to bring all the coincident
tiames in the ifland and on the continent into one view,
and to make them reciprocally illuftrate and explain each
other.
V.
WHEN Agricola made his application to the chiefs
of Lancaftiire, and urged them tp unite with their clans
ip towns, and fettle in the neighbourhood of the Ro-
man ftations ; the prejudices which they had received
from education, and the pride which they took in their
folitary dignity, would naturally prevail upon them at
firft to refift his folicitations and negleft his rcmon-
flrances. But fome did not long cither refift or negleft.
By the happy addrefs of the legate and bis .fenfiblc ap*
plication
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CbAp.VIL OF MANCHESTER, i^^
plkation.to their paffions> the fcheme of ^reiaiiTg tOWflS S^^. V*
iva$ m^de the mark of politeneft^ Ind the defire of im- "^
mediately fettling lu them a fobjedl of semulation \ And
It fpirit \Vas excited by Agricola, which of itfelf . foott
executed all his political . defign&. The neW citizeftS P.227/
quickly paffed from the conveniences of a rural life> 16
the refinerachts and luxuries of a t6wn onct And
when otKc the old afTociations c^ ideas arc broken, and
the fuUen adherence to revered cuftoms is overcome,
the natural impotence of the mind generally tf artfports it
into the rage of innovation and iht violences of ex-^
cefs.
The drefs of the Lancalhire thfefs, to this period,
muft have been the fame with that of the Britifli iit
general, and of the Celtick in France alld Spain. Andl
this is the curious delineation of it.
Tacitus, with two ftrokes of his lively pencil, feei1i:t
to have given us a compleat head of a Lancalhire Briton.
His words are thefe ; and they have never yet been no-*
ticed, becaufe they have not been underftood. Rutilai
Caledoniam habitamium comae — ; Silurum colorati
vultus et torti plerumque crines *. The- red hair gene*
rally prevailed among the more northerly Britons ; as, X
think, it does to this day. And the Britons of Wale i
were diftinguifhed, as the mountaineers of it and of
Lancaftiire are at prefent, by their curled hair, which 1$
jgenerally black, aiid their freih-coloured countenan<!es ,
•^— This hair, equally in the lord and client, was turnedl
back upon the crown of the head; and fell down, as itj
did amopg the Iriih within thefe two centuries, in Idng
Inllhy curls behind ^ And the bfeard of both Was fuffer*
ffit W ^M M> ? fonfiderable leiigth.j. but, as equally
^» among
300 THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. V. among the Iriih^ was con&ied tx> the upper lip ?• Both
* ^ of them appeared naked in battle: and the Hi^hlandeir
retained the prafiice in part to the prefent times ; as
late as the battle of Killicranky throwing off their pbids
and ihort coats^ and fighting in their ihirts. And this
rude cuftom was attended with two others, ihe painting
of their bodies for the fight^ and the wearing of a ring
round their middles. On all other occafions, the com-
mon people (as J^fliall flxcw hereafter *) were cloathed
in fkins ; an^^their Iot^ appeared in this, the one fan*
cifcil unifoi?m ,^f t|)e chiefs through all the Celtick re-
gions of E\irope**
The trunfc^of die .body was covered with a jacket,
"which the Britons called a Cotk and we dencnninate a
Waift-coai. It was plaided, and open before, bad
long fieeves extending to the hands, and reached itfelf
to the middle*^ And below thi$ began the trowfers,
which were called Braccae, Brages, or Breeches by the
Britons, wrapped loofely round the thighs and lcg$,
and terminated at the ancles ^. Thefe alfo Were plsud^
cd, as their name intimates; Brae iignifying a parti-
coloured objeft, and the upper garment of the High-
landers bemg therefore denominated Bfeac and Breacan
to this day \ And trowfers were equally worne by the
Batavi of Holland aijd the Vangioncs of Qermany, the
Sarmatae, and the Perfians \ .
, Over thefe wa? a .Roofer ^rmeritt denominated for*
P. zzB. inerly by the Gauk a iack, and by the Irifli lately a
snantle. This was equally plaided, and was of a thick
iftrong contexture. And it was faftened upon the body with
"buttons, and bound round the belly with a girdle.
The former appear to have been placed one ^om
; /' cither
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• "■■ J
Chal>-Vn* OF MANCHESTER. 301
cither ihonlder, where the Highlanders ufe a fort ofScitV.
pins at prefcnt ; and are feen diftinAIj cm thefe three
coins of fome British monarchs.
And the latteri which k frequently ofcd to this day hf
the Highlanders, and alfo appears upon t)ie followii^
coiiv
feems to hate been parti(!ularly ornamented ; «s fimiq
of the Gauls bound thdr garments irith belts that were
decorated
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,3Q2 . T H g H I $ r O lit Y '^ fiedt t
S^- V. 4pcorated mth gol4 ^4 filver, and a« in t\xe Roman tri-
jumpb over CamQf(cui Mb pb^krse sngdc a part of the
fplendid fliow ^
Rwnd the naked neck .was st' largci chain,-. .H^ich
Jiung down upon the naked bread; and Cff^the-v^dle
or fccond finger of both hands was. a ring. ..Thc^na-
mental chains of Caradlacus were i^hibiited ^wkfc his
phalersB in the proccffion at Rome., iVnd botkj^ere
made of gold among the chiefs, and of iron actjong
their followers ""• They hgd. flioes upon ^xheir feet^
which were the fame afTuredly with the b^^ikina^ that
were ufed within thefe five centuries in Wale^jt'; and
witl^ the light flat brogues that are worne to ikh day
by fomc of the Irjfh and Highlanders 5 and, Kke;tfceiD,
WerjC made of a raw cow-hide that had the. hair tpmed
outwards "'. And they wore round bonnets on their
heads".
This, remarkable drefs of our Britiflb anceftors* «bich
continued very nearly the fame to the, commencem^t of
th^laft century among the natives of Ireland .'%' and
haa.a£hially defcended to the preftnt ampng the Jaoun-^
taineers of' Scotland, and is therefore renderi^ . v^ry
\iaD0iU2tf to our ideas; carried in it an aftbnilhjflg j^p-
: .pearance to the Romans"* And it feems to have been
equally the drefs of the mea and women, ampng the no-
bles of Britain/'^. But, in a few years after the erec-
tion of the Romah-Britiih .t;owna in t^^. jw>rth, and in
the progtefe. of refineriirat. am©ng-tbfim> fhts antient
habit beg3.n torte; difeiteeiT)e4»fey' t^ of the
cities, andi. looked upon., as^ riie. hadge^ erf antient bar-
b^^ifm. . And the grpwing pjciydU^e? F^r^ fpp^^ £0
greatt^ln^rpy^d;^ that, withm ti^WII y^ar?- fply-^aftpr
■''**' ' . ' ', the
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Chap-VII. t3F MANCHESTER. ^of
&c ^eonftrtiaioG of the towi^, the Britifh Siigum wasS^^ftrV*
»€fcuiilly r^figwd aijd the Rgmw Togaaffymed by many — ''~^
oftbem'^
The gowji, hoWey^r, .nev^r b^caffle qniVj?rf»l in
Sritain* Aad Jt feenis to have been adopted only by
the barons of the cities and the officers of ths croirn; m^
has therefore been tranfmitted tp us ^9 th$ rqbe of rfv«r
rence, the enfign of literature and the mantle of magif-
tr^cy. The W)ljcn andrplaided garmei^eftherchiefs hav-
ing naturally fuperfeded the leathern vcftures. of their p. 22^
clients, the former "were {KU!wQrne by the ger^ality of
the Britons. And they were retained by the gentlemen
of the country, and by xhe /commonalty both irf country
^Hd city. That this wasr the cafe, appears evi^nt from
the correfpondent conduft of the Gauls and Britons ;
who kept tixeir Virgata Sagula to .tj[>e Isft, and? commu-
nicated theni to the Frank sjand Saxons '^. The pl?iided
drapery of- the. Britons ilill appeared gener^ in the
flreets of IVfenchefter ; and muft have 6)rmed i ftriking
' contraft totiie gown of the chief, the.d^rkmantl| of Italy.
And it, and the ornamented buttons on the {ho|lder, are
preferved among us c^ven to the prefent m6mei|t, in the
particoloured cloathing and the taffelled ihouller-knots
of our footjnen/^ _ t
, The Romans,', therefore, appear plaifily noti to have
foftered any prejudices in the Britons a^ajnft me habits
of their mhmrand did not endeavours-^with the
policy of the Tartar conquerors of China, tp affimilate
the natives to themfelves in the diftinguifliing exteriours
ofdrefe. And the general drapery of the nation was
Britifli, improved only with fome additions from the
Roman wardrobe*
~ . . The •
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3«4
tHE HISTORY BookL
The Britifli gentlemen, like ttic Gallick, retained
their antient ornament of chains "• And the Britoffi
in general did not adopt the Roman Ftleus or Peta-
fus as a covering for the head ; but continued their
own Kappan, Hata, or Boined in ufi;^ as they have
tranfmitted them aftd their appellationsr td us '% We have
a variety of caps ddliifeat^ upon their antient coinsi
as.
i.ri
And thcfc are apparently the fame, that are uC^^by
our meaner Mancunians at prefent. We have ijfo a
Highland bonnet on another piece, and fuch as h ftill
Worne
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Ghap- Vn. 6 F M A N CH t S f JE R. ;^
worne in oirr Blaecbat-Hofpital at Manchefter, iiid by Sea- y*
ibmc of the Lofwiand {>eafants in SdotHndv
And the foUoMiing hats were engraved aboVe 1700 years
ago^and yet correfpond pretty well to the form and ap«
pearance of the modem '^ /
VquL
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The
3o6 THE HISTORY . Book L
Sea, V. The Britons feem to have equally retained the tunick erf
their anceftors ; the long-Ileeved waifl:<oat having re-
mained among us nearly to the prefent period as the
general undrefs of the nation, and continuing the or-
dinary habit of our Mancunian rufticks at prefent *°.
They feem alfo, like the Gauls, to have preferred
the ftrufture of their own ftioes to that of the Roman ;
ftill making them of hides, and in the form of our pre-
fent half-boots and prefent pumps ; ftUl denominating
tbem^ as the Brfctoons atid Irifli itill call tLetr fliocs,
B»caiB tMT Boots tmd Buimpis or Pumps ; aftd kanrj^g
the names and the fliocs to thdr brethren bf Armorica
P, 230, and Wales, and to their conquerors the Saxons of Eng-
land *"•• And they plainly kept their antient trowfers ;
as they afterwards communicated to the Saxons their own
appellation of Breeches for them, and as our failors con-
tinue to wear them at prefent*
But they borrowed fome additions to their original
drefs from the fuller wardrobe of the Romans. The
Subucula or Shirt of the latter, at the beginning of
their r^fidence among us, was not compofed of linen,
but wast merely a jacket pf flannel "» And this appears
to have -been generally worne in the nation, as^it remains
to this day the (hirt of fome peafants in the more nor-
therly parts of England,; and of moft of the common
people in Wales. But, as the Roman ladies always
wore fiibuculae of linen *% their- cond^ft would i^tu-
rally be> followed ^t laft by the gentletwn {.and a- gar-
ment fo cpromotive of bodily elegance bprrCjoitunop Co
botk .
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Cbftp. Vll. f)f U iA.NC « ? S r JP R. go?
botli. Thofe at Rome had accordingly adopted it before Se^- '^•
the clofe of the third century ; and at the commence- ' '
ttieht "of the fourth it was becomi^ univerfal among
them*^.. Aiid, familiar in the ifl and before the departure
of the Romans^ it was retained by^ the Britons of the
tenth century, and communicated 'to the Saxons arid
us *^ Stockens are alfo another afticle in the drefs of
the Britons, -which was derived from the Romans. The
ufc of them was introduced among the latter about the
condufion of the comntopwealth, atidAugufttis is the
firft peffon in hiftpry that. i$ mentioned to have worne
ftockens ^^« It Was late before they were contrived,'
and it was long before they were liniverfally adopted.
And, in confequeiice of them, the trowfers would na-
turally be abridged of their cuftomary lengthy and re-
duced to the form of our prefeiit breeches *®. But
ftockens were not ordinarily worne by the commonalty
of the provinces ; as may plainly be coUefted from the
mode fubfifting four or five centuries ago among the
Welfh, add kept up by the lower ranks of them
within thefe two ; ftill retained among the'populace of
the Scotch Lowlands, and even occafionally follqWcd by
the peafants of Mancheft«r at prefent ''^^
And fome of the Britifh ladies probably dreffed
their heads, as feveral of the Roman in Britain did,
exaftly^n the high ftyle of the prefent falhion. This is
the curious^ repfefentation of a Roman lady^s head,
which Was found fome y^ars ago at Bath ; the baii:
dreft in flat open buckles, and mounting upwards
10 a peak, ,
X 2 The
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368 THE HISTORY Bookl.
Scft,V.
C^ju^^et. t^r^ o^tfri^-^^^^^^.
The fafliion commenced about the middle of the firft
century in Italy \ and, what feems very furprifing to a
fpeculatift on the quick revolutions in our modern fa-
fhions, it continued to the clofe of it, gradually grow-
ing all the time. It then fell into difcredit, and dlf-
appears on the coins of the Romans. But its difappear-
ance was only temporary* And this part of its hiftory
is pretty fimilar among the Romans and ourfelves.
Like the high commodes of King William's days, re-
vived with variations in the prefent head-drefs ; it re-
turned at Rome about the fame diftance of time from its
banilhment, and once more afTerted its empire over the
caps of the ladies *^ And it feems from the buft above
to have eVen returned with that fmall appendage to the
head-drefs of the prefent times, the fide or ear lock.
One appears in the plate; a little different in the fonn,
but the fame in reality and defign.
And with this mifcellaneous drefs, partly Roman and
partly Britifti, the provincials pfefervcd the diftinguifhing
cuftom
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Chap. Vn. OF MANCHESTER. . 30^
cuftoraof their anceftors, and ftill coloured all the naked Sea. V.
parts of their bodies with paint. . The whole united
corps of hHlorians and antiquarians hare indeed Tup*
pofed and aflcrted the direft contrary: but they have
fappofed it 'vfithout authority, ai^ a&rted it againft
proof. We Ihall hereafter find the Saxons retainipg this
extraordinary cyftom in the higheft advances of their
civil refinejnents, and to the final period of their empire*
They could not have imported it with their colonies
from the banks of the Elbe, this Indian faflilon being
unknown to all but the Arians in Germany. And they
muft therefore have received it, and are exprefsly de-
clared to have borrowed it, with many other modes of
perfonal decoration, from thofe Britons over whom
jhey triumphed and among whom they fettled in the
ifland*\
A body of men, juft emerging from a ftate of real or
fuppofed barbarifm, and adopting the refinements of
their neighbours!, will fgarccly ever proceed with a fober
;aad fenfible difcrimuaation. The aflbciatjon of vicious
with refined manners is eafily avoidable in fpeculation.
And yet it was never efcaped in praftice. The city-
chiefs, copying the politcuefs of the Romaqs, copied
alfo thofe wretched accompaniipents of it, iqdulgences
which unbraced the body $^nd foftneffes that unmanned
the miud. The robuft an4 hardy Briton, whofe nerves
had been ftrung by the healthful energy of toil, now
repaired to ;he fprings of Buxton or Bath, and ftewed
in the relaxing waters. And that frivolous fpirit of
gallantry and iqdolenc?, whjch annually cfouds both thofe
j)la9es at pref^pt^ had its commencement at this period.
^3 He,
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Sid THEHISTORY Book I.
Sed' V . He, whofe blood had been purified by a healthful fim*
plicity of diet, now imitated the elegance of the Roman
tables. And he, whofe range was the foreft and the
P. 2^2. mountain^' conftrufted porticos on pillars, and af*
fefted the lu:{ury of m airy fauntcr in a walk of
ftate*U
' Thcfe, however j arc ftriking evidences of the fpeedy
growth of civility, and the rapid progrefs of folite*
xiefs, among the natives of the north ; of a civility,
which muft have been more and more widely dtffufed,
and of a poHtenefs, which muft have been confiderably
refined, through the long courfe of the fiibfequent ages.
And in all thefe improvements the mind would necef-
farily fliare. The fons of the chiefs were now taught
to expand their views, beyond the circle of a hunting
life and the details of traditionary hiftory ; and to enlarge
their minds with acquifitions of knowledge. Their cbn-
neftion with the Romans put into their hands the great
volume of human literature, the hiftory of man and the
aflemblage of the fcienees. And they de^ermmed to
read it. The difficulties of the Roman language gra-
dually funk before them, and. the unknown worlds of
fcience lay open to their view. They entered, feized
the literary treafures of antiquity, and,'^ for the firft
time, introduced them into the regions of the north.
Nor did they reft here. The luxury of ftudy, and the
pride of intelleft, foon led the new votaries of learning
from the ufeful and inftruSive, to the ornamental and
pleafing, branches of literature. They invaded the fairy
regions of cjaflical tafte. They ftudied the purity of the
Roman
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Chap.VII. OF MANCHESTER. 311
Roman language* And they cultivated the graces of Sc^. V.
the Roman compofitions ^""^ '
* Honoris emulatio pro neceffitate ecat, Agric. Vit.
c.21.*^'' Agric. Vit. c. 11. — ^ Strabo p»305, Dlo
pt 1003, Diodorusp. 351, and Caffar p. 89; Harris's
•Ware p. 60 and 176, Davics p. 185, and Camden
p. 792, for the modern Irifh ; and Camden p. 707 for
the Highlanders. — ^ B. I. ch. xi. f. r. •— ' Caefar
p. 89 ; Diodorus p. 353, fpeaking of feme Gauls that
ftili cominncd to 6ght naked ; the general account of
hiftorians reduced to a confiftency ; and Herodian
Jib. iii c. 47. For the battle of Killicranky fee Mac-
pherfon's Grit. Diff. p. 1 64. — ^ This is called XJ/ftv p. 235.
by Dk) p. 1003, fpeaking of Bunduica, and by Diodo-
rus p-i*353*, fpeaking of the Gauls; is faid by the for-
mer to be «rflfju,7ro/x/Xo^ or all variegated, and declared
by- the latter to be Xp6**/>wtf(r/ "SfrcsyjoSocTroig ^tyiyGto-fisvog or
flowered vphh various colours in divifioos* And fee
Strabo p. 300. — ^ Martial lib. xi. E. ii. of the Bri-
tons, Diodorus and Strabo (ibid.) of the Gauls, and
Himerius in Photius's Bibliotheca c. 1135. Rothpra. —
See alfo Critic. Diff. p. 166. — • Voffius de Vitiis Serm.
in Braccae. — ^ Dio p. 1003 and 1004, Diodorus and
Hiraeriusibid., Strabo p. 233 c>^v9ivogy p. 265, and p. 300,
and Camden p. 793 for the modern Iriflj. Sagum (fays
Varro) is a Cehick word ; and Saic fignifies in Celtick a
Skin or Hyde, the original name probably of the antient
X 4 drcfs
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^}% THE HISTORY Bodfel,
Sjpa. V^ drcfs (Critical Diff. p, i ^6). •— Tlicfe cdns are Bwlafc 1 4,
L.^'..' Stukeley 21 — 7 and 6—4, and Pcgge 5—3 ; (pc ch. i;ic.
f. I.— SeealfoDiodorusp.353 for the Gj^lick belts, and
' Tacims Ann. lib. »U. p. 36. for the Britifti. — ''* Dip
pf Buodulca p. 1003, Tacitus ibid, of Caradacus^ Dior
dorus p. 35 1, of the Gauls, Herodijin lib. iii. c. 47, an4
^liny ^b. xxxiii. c. 1.-77" Sec Ware's Ireland, Harris^
p. 178, and Birt's Let. from Scot. y. II. p. 115, 185,
^nd 186; and Giraldus's Cambrian Defc. p. 887. Camden.
— " Sec the figure of a North-BritOp upon a Homan
monument in Horfcley W 3 pf Scotland, -rr '* See
Camden p. 707, and Diodorus p. 353,;^And yet MpnC
Voltaire, ^nd otherjj of our hiftqricaj writers, have mpft
fidiculpul][y affertcjd this dref? to be tbe remarkable re-
piains pf tji(? Rpman. -r- '* P^o fox Bundpica, and Cam-
jien p. 793 for the JriOi jvonien. — '^ Ipcjc habitus
ppftjri hopor & freiqpen? toga (Tacitii? c. ?i)f r- '* See
^n old author in Balfizii C(^pitula^ia c. 741. fpm. II.
And fee b.JI. ch. yi. f. i.— *' Martial I. xiy.£. 129,
Roma magis fufeis yeftitur^ Gallia rufis.
Froni this paflage, as well as frpm the fecondary fenfe
of the word Brae or Brog, fignifying jrufus or red in
the brace or red wheat mentioned before; the red, an4
not the blue, appears to have bcjcn the predominating
colour in the Celtick garments. Pr. Mappherfon's tra-
dition therefore (Grit. Diff. p, 1 60 is as wrong, as his
application of Claqdian is unjuft. Caerulcasor blue (^
pasfar affurcs us p. 89) was the favourite colour| not
pf the Briti(h ploaths, but of the paintings on their
bodies*
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ClbapiVIL OF MANCHESTER. 313
bodies. And for that re^pn Claudian giTCS Britannia Scd. V.
9 Cflerulus or blue garment^
Cujtrs veftigia vcrrit
Cserulus^ oceanique aeftum mentitur^ amifhis*
-r- *• Evans's Welfli Poems 1765 p. 72, Eurdorchawd,
?ind p. 78. — ^ '* See Suetonius p. 82, Solis — w bibcr-
ni quidein patiens, [Auguftus] domi qnoque nonnifiP«^34»
petafatus fub dio fpatiabatur; and Montfancon plate 15.
jom. in. L'Ant. Expliquee, — ^And thefe coins are Pcgge
3 — 9, 4 — 3, and Camden 1-^-2 ; Stukeley i — 10 ; and
Pegge 5 — 3, Stukeley 4 — 8 and 14—6 : and fee ch. ix.
f. I. — - *"" And fee Montfaucon ibid. c. 17. He there
mentions fome antient reprefentations of Roman Gaute
difcovered hi France, the fleeves even of whofe gowns
thus reached to* the hands. — *' So the Welfli near
the clofe pf the 12th century were pedibus — corio crude
confutis, barbarispro calciamento />^re?»/^2/j utentes, Gi-
raldus's Cambriae Def. p. 887. So the (hoes of the
Gauls in plate 47 and 48 of Montfaucon torn. III. all
cover the foot eritirely, and reach up to the calf. And
fee Howel Dha lib. i. c. 39. A. 5, and Birt's Letters
y. I. p. 8<J. —7 ** HiemeAuguftus — fubuculae thorace
ianeo— muniebatur (Suetonius p. 82), and Horace lib. i.
Ep. I. — *' Pliny lib. xix. c. i. — . ** Hift. Aug. Scrip.
p. 1 28, Bonf lintearainis appeiitor fuit [Alexander Se-
verus], dicens. Si lintei idcirco funt ut nihil afperum ha-
heani^ — quid opus &c. Here the cxpreffion, Ut nihil af-
perum habeant, plainly determines thefe linen garments
tq be worne the next to the lkin> and flxews Montfau-
con and others to be WFong, wha date the original
• of
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314 ' THE HISTORY^ BdokT
Sea. V. of linen fliirts lower than this period. — ** Howel
Dha lib. i. c. 39. A* 5, where the breeches even of
the court-apparitor are- meutioncd to have been of linen ;
and, if thefe were, the Ihirt mud be prefumed to have
been.fo. . And fee Baluzius in Capit. torn. II. c, 741. — '
** Auguftus — hieme — tibialibus— muaiebatur (Sueto-
. nius p. 82). — And fee Howel Dha I. i.e. 39. A. 5. — In
Giraldus's Carabriae Defer, p. 887, the lower ranks of
the Welfh nudis pedibus ambulant vel &c., even when
going to war. And within thefe two centuries they ufed
^commonly to travel bare-legged, carrying their ftockens
''* on their neckj^ to fave their feet from wearing, be-
caufe they had no change*' (D. of B. in HQllingQicad,
i586,p. 181). — *^Mufgrave's BelgiumBritannicum v.I,
p. 217 — 220, Itin. CurioC p. 149, audHorfeley p. 329
and Somerfetfhire Fig. ii. This drawing is taken
from Mufgrave, and is one fourth of his. — • *' See b. II.
ch. 6. f. I. — Malmelbury f. 57 (Saville^s edit.) afferts
the Saxons to have been Pifturatis ftigmatibus cu-
.tern infigniti. — *^ Paulatimque difceffum ad delini-
menta.vitiorum, porticus, balnea, & conviviorum ele- ^
gantiam: idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur
(Tacitus c. 21). — ^^^ Jam vero principum filios libera-
libus artibus erudire — , ut qui modo linguam Romanam
abnuebant eloquentiam concupifcerent (Agric. Vit,
C.21); Martial,
Dicitur & noftros cantarc Britannia verfus ;
and the Romans appear in Dio p. 1007 to have early,
introduced the fnbinitting Britons to an acquaintance with
;general hiftory.
VI. WHILE
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Chap. VII, .OF MANCHESTER, 315
VI.
WHILE the northern Britong were thus happily p. 23 j.
adopting the elegant refinements of Italian politenels,
and catching the ingenuous fpirit of Roman literature ;
the precinfts of Manchefter would be divided into farms.
Thefe afluredly were large and extenfive, as fuch were
' thofe of the Gallick hufbandmen '. And buildings
would neceffarily be erefted for the management of them,
the firft farm-houfes that arofe in the neighbourhood of
Manchefter. Thefe maft have been generally raifed
upon the Convenient border of a ftreami, on the edge
of Shooter^s brook, the bank of the Irke, and the
margin of the Medlock. And in them and their offices
would all the concerns of the farm be tranfaftcd.
iThe milk of the Britons had not only furniftied them
with a ple^fant liquor, but had long been formed into
an agreeabfle food ^. This was butter, an article of
provifion for the table that was utterly unknown to the
Romans. And, to a mind delighted with the hiftory
of human manners, it is curious to obferve the terms in
which one of their writers defcribes it. He fays, that
it is the fpume of the milk, that it is more concreted
than what is denominated the butter-milk, and that it
has the nature of oil in it '. Buttfr was highly cfteemed
by the tribes of the Celtaa, and the ufe of it was con-
fined to their chiefs ^. And the procefs in making it was
effentially the fame, as it remains to the prefent mo*
meat %
To
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3i6 THE HISTORY Bookl.
Sea. VI. To thefc the Mancunians would now add a third
fpccies, of milky food, and for the firft time tin-
derftand the art of making cheefc *. And thofe,
which were mod in eflimation among the Romans of this
period, were the Gallick, and particularly fuch of them,
as were produced at Nifmes and two villages of the
Gevaudan. Thefe were calculated only for immediate
ufe ^. And fuch affuredly were thofe of the Britons,
P. 236. which the Belgick colonifts had been long accuftomed
to make, and many of the nearer Aborigines inftruftcd
to make after them *.
' The Britons hadliives In all probability, before, near
the manfions of their chiefs ; bees having been brought in
colonies with their queens from the woods, and metheglin
made of their honey '. And they affuredly had them
near their farm-houfes at prefent; arid conftrufted thefc
as well as other implements of that neat contexture qf
willows, for which they were peculiarly famous, and
to which they gave its prefent appellation of Bafcaud or
Ba/ket work *''• Such a hive was found about eighteeii
years ago in Chatmofs, fix feet * below the furface,
and in finking a turf-pit. It was a cone two yards and
a half in height, and one in diameter at the bafc j
confifted not of a fingle chamber, but of four ftories, one
hive taking up the whole of one ftory. It was ipade of
unpeeled willows, and had doors large enough to admit
91 full-grown hand into the hives. And it contained
compleat combs and' perfe'ft bees within, which foon
mouldered into dnft upon the intrpduft^qn of the air tp
them'\
The
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Chap. VII.' OF MAN CHE ST ER^ 317
The Britifh chieftains had kept poultry about their Scft- VI.
feats before; not for the purpofes of food, but merely '
for the fatisfaftion which they had in their fecial afpeft,
and the pleafure that they received from their domeftick
notes **. And thofe of the foutkerly counties had
equally laid out gardens near their houfes before '^. But
at this period, and for many centuries afterwards, the
flower-garden, the orchard, and the kitcheii-garden of
the prefent times were all united in one. The firft
would be little cultivated at the beginning. And the P. 137.
few native flowers of the ifland were eafily colle^ed, as
they ikirted our woods or checkered our flopes. But the
kitchen -garden and orchard muft have been more care-
fully attended. And the wild fruits and woodland vege-
tables, which had frequently afforded an occafional re-
paft to the hunter or the traveller, would now be ga-
thered, and tranfplanted into the precinfis of the town.
The carrot flioots naturally wild in Britain and France,
was originally carried into Italy from the latter, and is
only altered by manure and meliorated by care '*. And
the turnip was particularly ufed m Gaul,, and even dif-
penfed as a food to the Gallick cattle in winter '^ ; an
application of roots, which has been vainly efteemed the
refult of modem genius, and is one of the greateft im-
provements in modern agriculture*
The rabbet was not yet an inhabitant of the ifland ;
and therefore there is not any to this day in all the
nonh of Scotland '^. But the hare had always been.
This animal the Britons made ufe of for the purpofes of
divination *\ And they never killed it for the table '•.
But, from the delight which they took in breeding it,
4 they
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^i8 . THE HISTORY Book!.
Scft-Vl. tlicjrJcq)t Humbert aboot tbe courts of rbdr diiefe'%
' And the idea of a hare-warr^Q* and the mockl of a
pork, were or^iiially denved to us from ^e primaeval
Britons.
The boar would be often purftted JnW tie tQiU^ re-
sooted alive to die farm-houfe, and made a fervieeablei
anitoal for the ufes of the table. And the iUfcipline
of the knife would reduce the wild ranger of the woods
into a peaceful inhabitant of the farm-yard. But the
Britons of Lancaihire muft now at leaft.have done more,
as thofe tof the fouth certainly had *°r; and feizing the
litter in the den, and transferring them to the •domefii-'
P. 338. eating diet and confinement of the farm-houfe in their
tender years, have foftened their tempers with greater
faccefs, and provided for the table with greater eer-»
tainty ; the original ftock being perpetuated by a re-
gular fucceilion, and the ISriginal natnre loil: in a few
defcents.
On every fide about the town, and fpreading from
it to the skirt of the neighbouring woods, would be the
meadows, xorn-fields, and pafturesjf-the. £rft enriched
with the foreign trefoil, the only artificial grafe of the
Romans at this period *' ; and all three enlivened with
the fweepings of the town and marie of the Daubholes.
The paftures would be replenilhed with ftieep and kine;
atri here and there probably have little hovels among
them, in which fome of the peafants watched with their
maftiffs, for the nightly prote<aion of both againft the
inroads of wild beafts from Arden. And wc may cafty
i;eprefent to-ourfelves the general (late and fcenery of
things at this jeriod, the flocks and herds ratting over
3 .. ^^^
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Obap.VII. OF' MANCHESTER. 31^
the fite ct.ihe ptefept lown, grazing ia theMarfcet-ftrectr Sea VL
lane^ and pafturix^g alo^g the Si»khy*door; and the
bleatings o£ the one md lowii\gs <o^ tiie other rcturoed
in eddying echos from the woods arouDd them^
' Pliny lib. xviii. c. 6. and 29. — ^ Pliny lib. xi. c. 41.
They made curds as well as butter of their milk; den-
fantes in acorcm jucundum et pi-ngue butyrum. It is
plain from Piigy's account compared with Co^far's p.
122, that the Germans are not meant by Pliny among
the barbarians, that were acquainted with butter and un-
acquainted with chcefe.; ^s it is. from Herodotus (lib.
iv) that the Scythians, -and from Strabo (p. 23.3) that
the CeltSB, . were. The Spaniards (fays Strabo) ufe but-
ter inftead of pil.. — - ? Pliny ibid. — "^ Pliny lib. xxviii.
c. 9* — ^ Ibid. . And fee alfo Columella lib. vii. 8.
Lo^ga vafa angufto foramine^ in Pliny, are evidently
churns. And Pliny abfi>rdly -derives the word buty-
r>*m or butter from .the -Greek ^ and vpos ox-cheefe..P. 239.
It is in all probability Celtick, and adopted by
the Romans from theif Celtick neighbours. And it.
feems nothi-qg more than Bi^d Ur, the chief or excel-
lent food, being appropriated (as I have obferved
above) to their chiefs. ^— * Strabo p. 305. — ^ Pliny
lib xi. c. 42. — ' Strabo p. 505. — ^ Diodorus p. 35c,
and Offian vol. I. p. 147* and vol. II. p. 62. Solinus
c. 22. afferts the Britons of Ireland to have had no bees
in his time. But the Caledonians appear from Oifian
to have had them. — ^^ So Kauelh, a hamper or large
basket in WeHh, is a beehive in Cornifh (Lhuyd's Com-
par^
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320 THE HIStORY BoakI,
Sea. VI. par. Etym. p. 3). — " Another fuch hire was fcmnd
about forty or fifty years ago iD the neighbouring Liny-
daw Mofs* — " Caefar p. 89, Gallinam et anferem guf-
tare, fas non putant: haectanien altmt aaimi volup-
tatifquc cauH. — '^ Strabo p. ^o6. — '* Pliny lib. xix.
Cr 5. — '* Columella lib. ii. c. 10. — ** Varro c. 12.
lib. iii^and Birt's Letters vol. L p. 315.— '^ Dio p.
1006. — '* Csefar p. 89. — i» '• Leporcm alunt animi
voluptatifquc caula (Cafar p. 89).— ** Wife's Nummi
Bodleianij iJS^p P* 95 ^^ ^^7» for &fow and pigs
defcribed upon a Britiih coin. And fee Strabo p. ^01,
in whofe time the Gallidc fows ranged abroad ii^
the fields, very large, ftrong, and fwift, and as dan-
gerous to be approached by a ftranger even as a wolf.
And there is to this day a fmall mountain-kind of fwine^
called Purs, in the ifle of Man, which are admirable
meat; Sacheverel's Ifle of Man, London, 1702, p. 4»
And in Cathnefs, Scotland, are reared great numbers of
fwine, which are Ihort, high-backed, and long-brifiled,
fliarp, flender, and long-nofed, and have long creSt
ears and moft favage looks ; Pennant's Tour p. 156.—
'^ Pliny lib. x\^ii. c. 28. And this is mentioned in the.
tenth century, and in the laws of Howel Dha lib. iii.
c. 2. A. 49, as then cultivated in Wales.
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Chap.VIi!. b1? SlAKCUEStEili^. ^2t
C It A I^. VllL
tItE l^UMBER OF R£G0LAR "f OT^NS W ROMAN BltltAW,
AND THEIR POLITY— *THE MODE OF GOVERNMENT
IN THE BRITtSH KINGDOMS — ^ Tltz ESTATES
IN EACH -i- THE ORIOIN OF HUNDREDS,
TbWNSHiPS, AND BARONIES — AND
The BRITISH CdURT3 6t
LAW, AND ADMINIS-
TRATION OF
JUSTICE4
t
WtJEN the Romans had feen their little village of P. 540^
hurdles and clay become the magnificent me-
tropolis of Italy, and began to extend her dotninions
into thofe of the neighbouring powers ; they did not
model their pew conquefts, as they had previoufly mo-
delled their old. They inftltuted a new platform of
polity for them, and diftinguifhed them by. a new de-
nomination* They now divided them into diftnfts, gave
them the appellation of profinees, and fubje&ed them to
praetoi^s and qtaeftors. The ifland of Sicily was the earlitft
conquefl of the Romans bfcydnd the limits of Italy, Wa$
therefore the firft of all their provinces, and received
the firft model of their provincial regimen* And this
Vol. I. Y and ^
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Sea. I, and every other was governed by its own praetor and
qua?fl:or. The' former officer was charged with the
whole adminiftration of the government, and the latter
deputed to manage the finances UQder him \ And this
was equally the conduft of the Romans in our own
ifland particularly. The conquered regions of Britain
were divided into fix provinces, and governed by fix
praetors and fix quseftors* Each province formed a
diflinflggyernmentof itfelf. And they all acknowledged
one head within the ifland, and were all fubjeft to the
authority of the proconfijl, the legate, or the vicar, of
JBritain *.
^- ^4'- In our own province of Maxima, the prsetor conftantly
refided at York. There, in the capital, was his man-
fion-houfe, denominated Palatium or Domus Palatina
by the Romans \ In this was affembled the principal
court of juftice, judicial cjgterminations were made by
the praetor, and the imperial decrees and praetorial
cdifts proraulged by his minifters. And other courts
v/ere opened under his commiffion in the other towns of
the province, in which his deputies prefided, infienour
caufes were determined, and the decrees and edi^s
equally promulged. Each prastpr had many of thefe
deputies under him, as each province had many of
* thefe towns. Britannia Prima comprized about forty,
Britannia, Secunda fifteen, Flavia fifty, Vakntia ten>
and our own Maxima t^J^rcnty-five. And Britain fro©
* the fouthern fea to the friths of Forth and Cluyd, at the
*clofe of the firft century, h^d a hundred and forty towns
'in all. Of thefe the neighbouring Cbcfhire had foui;
'or five, Kinderton, H^nfor^, Chefl:cr,..and others \
' . And
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CUp,fltt, Of KtAiJCHfeStER. pf
And l.ancaftiil*e (as I have pretioufly (hftwn) had eigtit. Sift. I..
Blackrodcj Freckleton^ Ribcheftcr, and Colce, Overbo-
tongh, Warrington, Lancafter, and Manchefter ^
Thefe totmi were of different degrees. They varied
grqatly From themfelves, ncrt merely in the rank df their
civil €ftimatiofl> but even in the nature of their con-
ftitutlofitJ. They '^frer^ particularly diftinguifhed into
the fotir orders of towns municipal and ftipendiary, colo-
nies, and "cities invefted l;^ith the Latin privileges *** And,
as diefe ijrould ileceffarily be many ftipendiaries in every
conquered kingdom, fo were there no lefs than t\vd
municipiay nine colonies, and ten Latin towns, in ouf
own ^» The generality of the Britilh cities, therefore, Wd^
merely ftipendiary. Such wete Winchefter, Canter-
bury, Ea^eter, and Leiceftcr, in particular ^ And
fuch alfo Was Manchefter; and, like them, tvas fubje^t
to all the ptotincial regimen. It was governed by a >
particdlar Commandant, the deptity of the prretor, and a
merely aftn\<al officer. *. This praefeft afied as an tedile, P- 24^*
and therefore had the whole pvastorial authority over
the town and its vicinity delegated to him. But the
garrifon in the (tatton, we may be fure, viras independent
of him, and fubjeft immediately to the prWtorlal autho-
rity.- And, like the prator, he had his qaseftor with
him, stppointed pretty certainly by the provincial quje-
ftor, and authorifed to receive the taxes of Manchefter *''.
Thefe were officers now firft introduced among us, and
ncfccffarily introduced with our towns by the Romans,
By the fortoer waa all the difcipline of the Mancuni^ui
j)olity regulated. And all the occonomy of the Mdti-
cunian taxes was adjufted by the kttef.
. Y2 The
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1
324 THE HISTORY ' Bookl
Sc6t. L The payments, affeffed upon the provincial Britons,
confifted of four or five different articles. One was an
impofition upon burials, which is particularly urged as
a grievance by the fpirited Boadicia". Another was a
capitation-tax, which is likcwife infifted upon by that
Bfitifti heroine ". A. third was a cefs upon lands ; which
amounted to two (hillings in the pound, or a. tenth of
the annual produce, in every thing that was raifed from
feed, and to four feillings or a fifth in all that was rai^fed
from plants ". A fourth was an impofition upon cat-
tie'*. And all the commercial imports and exports
were fubjeft to particular charges *^ Such, in general,
were the taxes of our Britifli anceftors under the go-
vernment of the Romans. And, as they Were the badges
of the Roman dominion over them, they were naturally
difliked by - a newly conquered people. As they were
embittqred to their minds by the never-failing haughtinefs
of a viftorious foldiery in general, and of the Roman in
particular ; they were as naturally hated by . a gallant
one. But they were not oppreffive in themfelves* They
were merely an equivalent, in all probability, to the
duties which they had formerly rendered to their own
fovercigns. The amount of them was fcarcely fufficienc
to anfwer the expences of the civil and military eftablifli-
ments in the ifland '^. And the weight, was certainly
Jight; as the fmallnefs of the coUeftions at lafi ftiniii-
lated the policy of avarice to abolifc all the provincial
p. 54J. taxes, and fubftitute even the Roman m their ftead *'•
., In this general condition of our tovms, fome were
rjaifcd above the common rank by* the communication
of the Jus Latii or Latin privilege "% This was an
exemption
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Chap.Vin. OF MANCHESTER. 325
exemptioafrom the ordinary jtirifdifl-ion of the prsetor ''. Sea. I.
And the inhabitants of a Latin town welre no longer
governed by a foreign prsefeft and foreign quasftor, but
by a quaeftor and prsefeft elefted among thenafelvcs *%
A Briton was their prefident, a Briton was their jufti-
ciary, and a Briton was their tax-gatherer. And every
iiihabitant of fuch a to\ta, that had borne the offices
of pnetor or quseftor, was immediately entitled to the
privileges of a Roman citizen **• Thefe rights the Ro*
mans firft communicated to the conquered Latins^ and
afterwards extended to all the Italians. Caefar feems
to have been the firft that carried them beyond the
bounds of Italy, and conferred them upon a provincial
town. Novum Comum' certainly, and-moft ^probably
Nemaufis, in Gaul rieceived this diftinftion from him;
and werie perhaps the firft provincial towns that received
k". And it was afterwards beftowed upoii feveral of
our cities in Britain, Durnomagus or Cafter near
Peterborough, Ptoroton orlnvemefs, Viftoriaor Perth;
Theodofia or Dunbarton, Lugubalia or Carlifle, and
Sorbiodumam or Salilbury; Coriaium or Cirencefter,
Catarafton or Catarick in Yorkihire, Cambodunam or
Slack in Longwood, and Cocciutnor Blackrode in our
own county **.
Thefe were the names, and thefe the conftitudons,
of the towns which we!*e inhabited principally by the
Britons. But there were others which were chiefly pof-
fefled by the Romans, and had therefore a very diflferent
polity. Thefe were colonies and municipies.
The commencement of the Roman colonies was nearly
^paeval with that of the Roman conque(l's« But the
Y3 ^^ firft,
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p€ . TUS maXORY -BeokL
Sea. I. iirft, iku was planed \n any of the proisiBC*8|, was pro.
" jcftcd by the geaius of the cekhr^^ed Galas ' Graccbus^
and fettled upon i^e fite of th$ mfenjorable Carthage **.
p, 244* And others were cftabliflied on the fame pripciple in
Britain ; Claudius fettling ^ ftrong body of legionary
veterans at C^mwlo^unum or Cokhefter., the fif ft of all
the Roman coloQies ifi B^it^i.n ;. apd he and the fu^eed^
/ ^^S ^g^^s fixing 0Q l§fsi than eight others, in other
quarters of the ifland, at Richbprougbj,. LondoQ» Glou-
celler, iind Bath,, at Caerieon Id Monmouthfl^ire,^ CbeA
terford. i^ear GaiQt>ridge> l-iQcoln, andebe;fter*'.
Ti^Jit colony vy^s efte^ied* ^s. the headrquarters of the
legion, where fonae of the prwipal cohprtB.^ece lodged,
the eagle was rjspQGted, ^t^d. th^ coipmwd^!: was,refi-
dent. Such wa§ Deva^ for the trwpntietb Valerian
Vidorious, Eboracum for the i9]s;th Vi^riooS) Ca^leoi^
f^rithe feoondrAuguftaq, and.Qlevum for; tb^^ feyenth
Twin Glaudiafi-*^, And the reft werg RCX)pled;hy the
mh&t cohorts of thefe If^^pns ; as we ihajji her«aft€^ fee
Gaerl^n, London,. st|jd SicWb^qroi^h all peopi^ by
thofe of the fccond Aijgiift^ii*/ : and tie tomb Anto-.
nian w^s lodged in th(^.C(^ino9 ftatiQi)Sy^ as. the K^nti^
legion had th^e^. the twclfib, five,, apd t^^e tj^^tyj-fpcond
fix, in Germany and GauP% Thus were-lprg^bgdief
of the fpldiery kept together by the^ J^omaii^, .at;Mch-r
borough, London, Golchefter^ Cbefterfoixl* Lipcoia
and York, aloiig the e|i{i^B:fidc of the '^i^d^^^kd- at
B?ith, Gloucefler, Caerleon, ai^ Cbefter, upon the
weftern ; ready at once to f^ppre^ any infurre^yon at
liome, and repel any iov^fipn ffQfl^, abroad. Aod^the
l^oimn iegipngfies liy^l flP^tl^i^: miboot s^y great
ifltermixture
'%
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Chap.VirL OF MAN G HESTER. S^^
intenBiKture of tlic natives^*^ allowing, few probal^ly to Seft, r.
tefide with them, bat the ufefuL traders and neceflary fei^-
vams *^.
As their gtivernment- was pfeirriy civil, the legionary
colbnifts \*ere fubjcft to the Roman laws, were go-*
Temed by their own fenators or decurioties, and enjoyed
ail the priTiieges of Bbmani citizens ^\ And, as it vnstt
equally military, they flirengthencd their towns with
regular fortifications and guarded them with regular
watches, had their names retained upon the quarter^
mafter's roll, and were obliged to match at' the generars P. 245.
command ^'. Bur, as in a feries of yeai^^the number of
males in the colonies would necefikrily increaie, and as
they were all df them legionaries by birth, ujpon any
military exigeiice a diiaught would be made out of the
colonifts, and fuch a number levied as was requifite- to
the occafichi; And thefe towns naturally afilimed the
nanlesof the legions to which the colonifts belonged,
freqUeAdy in accompaniment, and fometintes in fuper- •
fedencc, of their own Britifh appellations. Thus we have
Camulodumim and Glevum mentioned with the addi-
tions! (Sties of Gcmina Martia, Colonia ViAricenfis, and
Claudiw". And wfe have Mca Legio Secunda Augufta,
Ifca Legio Augufta, Ifca Secunda, Ifca' Augufta, and
I:/)ndimumf Augufta; Deva Legio Vicefima Viflrix,
DeTOT Viftrix, and Deva Getica; and Eboracum Legio
Sexta Viftrix, Colonia nomine Sextae, and Sexta ^^
It was happy for our Mancunian anceftors, that their
Mancheftep was not, like the neighbouring Deva or
diftant Caipulodunura, converted into a colony. If it
fead been by Agricola in 85, by Lollius afterwards, or
Y 4 any
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^tS THE HISTORY Book I,
Seft. 7. any of the fucceediog legates ; it migbt perhaps h^ve
^ ", T ""^' ftood more diftinguiihed in the pages of our national
hiftory, or have appeared with greater luftre in the
fragments of our ifland antiquities. It might have
enjoyed ther fatisfa^lion^ to gaze upon the initials
of its own name glittering fairly on a Roman coin;
or to catch the whole of it jufl fading into obfcurity
upon a Roman Hone. And it might have had the fe-
licity of being clafled by tthe antiquarian among the
cities t^t had poiTefCbd the privilege of a mint^ and of
being ranked by the medallill among the towns that
had contributed to enrich his €olle£Hon. But the
houfes yrhich our fathers had built, and the lands which
they had c^Ftivated^ i^rould probably have been feized
t>y the rapacious legionaries, and they and their families
obliged to abandon Manchefter for ever ^*t
Nor would the condition of the citizens have been
l?ettered, if the town had even obtained the higheft
degree in the fcale of civil privileges, and been
I?. ^6. modelled like Verulam and York ^^ into a municipium»
The latter was certainly a military one : and fo affuredly
were both. This appears from the treatment which the
inhabitants of the former received from the revolted
Pritops under Boadicia,* and which was ihewn only to
Cokhefter, a colony of Roman citizens, and to London,
the refidence of Rpman-Belgick traders ^^. . Verulam, as
well as York, was a colony before it became a municir
pium '^ J and it, as well as the other, was therefore in-
habited by Roman legionaries. And both enjc^ed a
pFiyi|?^C Wih npn? of jh? ppipnjcs |)ofeffed^ the right
9f
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Chap.Vra. OF MAN C BEST ER* 5*^
of exemption from the imperial ftatutcs, and the liberty ^^ ^
of cnafting then: own laws ^ '. .
But Manchefter foon Enjoyed all the advantages of a '
^colony, without feeling the leaft inconveniences of it*
And the privilege of Roman citizenihip was frequently
communicated to individuals among the Briton^, and at
lail beftowed upon igdl of them. In the towns difr
tinguiihed by the Latin Hberties, as I have previoufly
xnentiotted^ it became the conunon right cS all that had
borne the offices of aedile or quieftor in them« Bm^
when philofophy and Antoninus Pius were inveited
with die imperial authority, thefe narrow reftraints
were taken away ; and the Roman citizenihip was ex^
tended to every Briton c^ property and worth ". It
ou^t to have been extended to alK This Mascena^
particularly recommended to Auguftu$ ***, This huma-
nity didatcd and policy prefcribed. And the cunning
avarice of Caracalla communicated, what the virtuous
\rifdom pf Pius (hould have beftowed *% By this aft,
the lower rank of the Mancunians was freed- from a diF-
graceful punilhment, and no longer liable to be fcourged
with rods^*. The higher was delivered from a dif*
graceful exclufion, and admitted to a participation
of marriages and a communion of honours with the
Boinans^'. And all the inhabitants of Mslncheftei'>
now^ created citizens of Rome, were raiied to a footing
of equality with their Roman mailers, empowered to tied
their own officers^ and at liberty tobe^vexiied by their
own townfi|ieQf
! Cicero
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^ .: THE Hi»TOKY Book I.
P. 247« . ' Cie«i^ contra Verrem |h ^}2'. tol8« IV. Oii^tt,
prima onmxum pro^inscia efl: appellata^^^and Strabo
p., XJ97^ *— * Tacitus and Notitk., — ^ ^ Spartiiin's
Scfenas Cr 22* — * Sea befofe and KL chvxi. fw i.
bcEcafter. — ^ Bsichprd p. 17-4-2^ ^pd Itioefapy. -^
• Ridiard p. j6i ' Ibid^ -r^ ^ RiAafd p. 56. --'
•. Rojc' fi/ctf in Appiaa^ ^^443^ Stephaaui, is^rf* — *
'"^ Afopoiififji^i in Strabe p» ^85^ ^ffxpv in Appito ibid.,
«nd Tftffjoi in Strabp ibid.-r"'Dto p. 10^4 — " Ibid.—
'^ Ibidw-^and Appian pk 353 aod'5i6: — '* Ibid* ibid.—
'* Starabo p» goiJ* -^ *^ Appiafviil Preface p>.p — - ^ See
below;-^*® Ricihardp. 3^. andPUnyVN.H. lib. iil. e. 3.
. — '^St^abo p. a«;5. — *° Ibid. — *" Appifen^ p. 44^,
itm"^^ and S^fabo p.285.— " Ibid, ibid*—" Richard
p. 3^6%—** Vdlems F^terculus- lib* i. c. 15. — ** Tacitus
Aiin# fib.jiSi. c« '^ and Richard p.^ 2*5 and'35% — ^^^B. L
cfa.od.f. 4; apdch. xU. f. i.-^^^ Amoninus p. 2 2 and
ajf, B^rtttft.— ^ Tacitus Ann. litf. xiv. c. 31.—^° Colo-
nial — jttra^ conl^tiutaque <Svmvk populi Ro'manl habent
^pRi\\k% GcX^v^ in Nod:. Mu lib. 3Ci<i. c; 1 3), and Hotfe-
leylnBathy— ^' Tacitus Ato. lib. xiv»c.3i and' Horfc-
le^ bi !•' ch*'Vi« So a number of the legionaries at Ca-*
HMjlodunum had been dran^tfd' qutf for fcrvicey jaft
befo]?a tho. infarre&ionr of Boadlcia : InMat' modic^'nu^
Jkilin: i9^m>s^ tutela templl fr^fi/ f^$f Tad«Q3 Ann^
Ub- 3dvt ;c. 3i3^ —'* Richardp.t36, and Camden p* 3231
-^" Richard p. 27 and 36, Ptolemy, Amdninci Rar
tennas, and Notitia compared with its own rude map.
Sec a grcatmiftakc in Horfeley p. 362.— ^"^ Tacitus Ann.
3 Kb.
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Cbap^VnL OF MANCHESTER- 531
lib. xiv. c. 3,1 of Cainuiodunun% PeUebant daxnib«, ^^?^«^
$u^^baba^t agris.-^*^ RLcImd p. j6» — ^* Tadtus^ Ann.
Ub. xiv* G, 33, Soqiorum^— ^ " Agricola? Vk» €% v^ la^
cenfsB cQloDiae^-^^^ Aijiluy Gellius in]!Joa:.Att.Ub^x¥i.
c, 13- ^ ^' Gruterp.Ao8. N° i-^**'Dkip.674. -^
^^29^5. -^ '^^ Appian.p..443, and.A£^ of tb^AjpoHles
ehap. 3«iitr^*^ Gruter p^ 498, W r.
THE iminediate defi;eqdaots o£ tbe firft great pair
wef<e all neceflarily- born under the controul of a mq-
parchical government. The power of the father, being P, 248.
amefnable to no fupeiionr author ity^ was. the prerogative
of the fovereign; and die.ofapedience of the fon> being
challenged by no fuperiour jurifdiAioni was the: fub-
^(mSky;^ of a fubje^t. And th^ remoter defcendants.
vi^re oqpally bomf under th^ fan:te^vemm(3nt.. The
dftabliibnieat^of the primageniturer provided^ for t^erde*
ioefiXf of the powery and . inftituted- monarchy immediately
fu0ceeded to^ natqral '• This, therefore, wa&^ the firft
ppjfey of the firft. nations which hiftory holds up to our
view. And it waB particularly the original csconomy of
all the tribes qf the Britons» The vsurious nations^ that
ha4< planted^ the whole compafs of oui^ ifland,; were^ail
fUftin^i ccmununities . gpverned by. diftinA; Idng^ ^.^
Many of thefe fovereigns were allowed by the Ra»
mans to continue in pofleiHonof their thrones^ and en-
joy K\kp f«U «|eat of their autient aythoriQr* They
were
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33? -'THE HISTORY. Bookt
te^. IL x9tTt confidered as allies, and their dominions were not
" . reduced into provinces. Such was Prafutagus, the mo-
narch of the Iceni ^ ;' Venutins, die king of the Jugaa-
tes ^ ; and Cartifmandua, tHe fovereign of the Bri-
gantes '. But this indulgence was merely the refult of
temporary policy* Detached for the prefent from the
general interefts of the nation, thefc moharchs bedimc
the imconcemed fpeftators of the Roman progrefs.
And, having contributed to enlarge the power of their
enemies by the defertion of their friends, they all fell
in fucceffion after them, juitiy facrificed to that defertion,
and equally reduced by that authority.
But even in this condition of the iiland, under all
the rigour of the provincial regimen, the foverdgns pf
the tribes were allowed to remain in general. This our
liiftorians have never fuppofed before. And the rc-
verfe of it has been univerfally believed ^ But the
faft is fufficieptly authenticated.
Cogi-dunus or Cogi-dubnus appears from his name
to have been originally the cogi or king of theDobtihi,
F. ^49. arid JFrom the additional appellation of rek, which 15
given him by T^eitus, to have retained the fame an-
thori'ty under theRomians ^. Nor was this all. He was
even ihvefted by them with the fovereigrity of : feme
other ftates, which had probably loft tbe.line of their
princes in the profecution of the war, and were now
fiibjeSed to the fceptre of the Dobuni *• One of thefe
was the Regni of Suffex and Surry ^ 5 and the reft
were therefore the nations that lay betwixt the Dobuni
arid them, the intervening tribes of the Proper Belgse
(arid their fiibjefts the Hcdui and Segontiaci), the Attre-
bates^
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Chap. Vm. OF/M A N C HJi S T E R- 5:31
bates, and the Bibrotc^i. And this extended empire Srfl. II*
over a part of Waiwlcklhire, a coi^detable portioa
of BuckinghamQiire and Somerfetihirie^ nearly all Wiit^
ihire, and aftually all Berkflure, Worcefterflure, Ox*
fordfhire, Gloucefter0iir?, H^mpihke, Surry, , and
Sutfex, Cogidubnus retained to the days o£ Trajan ^''t
when not only thefe, counties, but thei'v^holejextcnt.of
England and Wales, had been long molded into the form
of a province.
This then was allowed in the firfl; and fecend ceo*
turies, and at the firil modelling of the Roman tonquefts
among us. And it muft therefore be prefumed tohaire
been equally allowed, through all the period of the Ro*
man government afterwards^ Accordingly we find many
mpnarchs in general within the conquered regions of the
ifland, during the courfe of the third century ". We
meet with Cunedag alfo, reigning the^ Jcing of the Otta-
dini, and fucceeding tp the fovercignty of the Ordot
vices, in the fourth } though Ottadinia and Ordovicia
had both been reduced into a province three ages be-
fore, and though both continued members of one. to the
lime of the Roman departure ". And, at this re-^
markable asra, we fee monarchs appear immediately
in every quarter of the ifland 5 and the whole body of
the Romanized Britons as much divided into diftinft prin-
cipalities as ever the primaeval had been, and as much
under the government of diftinft princes '\
Hence, only, arc the fubjeft Britons reprefcnted by
Tacitus, even in the reign of Trajan, as only brought
into obedience, not reduced into flavery ; Dcnnitt ut P. zp..
pareant, nondum nt ferviant **• Hence, only, are the
' 4 colonies
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n*
TH« HIST OUV feadcl*
84a.lL colcmiets tdF 4&e Belg^ p^nk^^Afy ikncHi^ted by
^^^■■^"^TadiTO tils fijdi bellies of tie 1^ intbemgti of
Hero; -and cfen. tlwe wbde tckiiftry <rf the protiacW
Britons is niaitiooed by Dio> in the lat^4ays o£ Stv^^
tm^ as n tpaiu» Of the region of ffieftds **• And tlie
Britons aute aifti^ly defcrlbed by Stiietonius l^a^linus^ the
fe^ereft of Jiil their Conquerors, to be, even in their
hKswi OT' mbft abjeft fubmiffion to the Romans^ {till
iX£t/6spi or poffeffed of their antient freedom, and ftilf
0eS^lJM m^gwetncd by their aAtieht laws "^.
The Brhifli fovereigns, then, retained their dignities
under the ^gotcnjmebt of the ttomafis, ahd Lancafliire
yet enjoyed the privilege of its antient monarchy. A
king Gomtiotted to preSde over our Mancunian ancdlors 3
but be necefikrily retained only a fubordinate fway, and
poffeffed a diminilhed authority. The great power of
life and death was undoubtedly taketi from him, and
transferred to the provincial prcetor* And, to guard
againft any' exertions of this authority by the fovereigriri
was probably the principal defign of the tax upon fti-^
nerals.
But he was allowed to enjoy the whole extent of hi*
civil power* And all the internal economy of the ftaw
Was regulated, as it was before, by him# This appears
clearly from the above-mentioned affertion tonceming
the inbje^ Sritons, that they were ccvjcpoyjot, or gcrverned
by their own laws. And it appeart more clearly from
the certain continuance of the Britifli polity among all
the Britc^s y being derived even ta the Wcllh of thefc
later ages> ^d obfervcd eqnally in the conquered king-
' don»
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ChtiprVm. -Of- MANCHESTER. ^^
4(im^ of Brit^i^U Seq|o4a md the |ii«:0oqufifcdf c^tfoM ;fta> g>^
Tfee defcent of jh^ croimsmtrngtheBditoOToffl^ii-
c^feirc wpoki be, *5itwa$ among thciffer^br^iogft.
n^ajj in the courfe of m. htvsi^uy, KawU add cog-
Batick ^ix^fliori. Mandobratius fuGpe(eded £us iatiicr
lamjanueniiius in the throne of the Trinovantcs ; th* finp, 251,
of Cuneda followed him regularly in the ,/ovcrcigntjr
of the Ordovices ; and Trenmor, Trathal, Comfaal^. and
Fingal, father, fon, graad-foa, and great-grandHfoh,
fuocefliYely inherited the ijwnarchy of Mpif^for their
patrimony '*• And it is exprefly declared by the Bri-
tons of themfelye», that tljey were ufcd to be governed
by women, as well a* men ; and by thc'Romansi cans-
cerning them, that their .njotiarcbies dcTolved tdquaUy m
foxxefljon ypoa the" daughters and ihm$ of: isoyslty ^^.
Thus xj^.asBbftdida the queen ofjhe:lOToi,.aridCartif-
mundoa of the Brigante$; and both m. their own '
right ^^ -
Btit this hereditary fucceilion appears plably not to
have been inviolable. , It \fas defeafible amcHig the Sar-
QQS, a^lfliall prove hereafter *'. It was defeafible, l-
apprehend^ in ail the eariier monarchies of the world.
And it waa equally fo among the Britons^ The law of
fucceflion, however, was not to be infringed bjr the ge-
neral interpofition of the people, but by the prerogative
of ihe nobles or the aintlwrity of the king, or ratbcc
by the concurrence of the king and the nobles together.
And iuch it appears, in the earliefi inftttmionsof the
Wellh, and the correfpbtuicnt cuftoms of the Irjih. In
that very remarkabk compilation of laws which was
made
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536 '^ Tttie HlStonY Bookt
4M^ a. fnaaet^^ Havel Dha a little before the middle dF the
' tenth century ^, and which is principally compofcd of
".-the u&ges exiftiog previoufly among the Welfh Bri-
tons*'; we find the king's fon, brother, or nephew to
•iiave been the coftomary inheritor of the crown, and
tiie reignfng monarch or nobles to have feleAed the par*
. . licular perfon **. And, in the moft antient prefcriptions
of the.Ixilh, we fee the hereditary fucceflion fuperfeded
jby the rule of Taniftry ; a member of the royal family
|>0ing adopted at difcretion by the nobles^ and de«
nominatecLby the law the Taniil or fecond In dig^
iity*^ '
The monarchies of Britain^ therefore, acknowledged
BO indefeafible right of fucceffion. Arid they were as
. little abfolute and arbiaury in their nature. The Bri-
tons were not unacquainted, though hiftory has never
iuppofed: them to be adually acquainted, with that
P. 2i;20 propereft reftraint upon monarchical defpotifro, the ra-
tional, the manly, and the free inftitution of parliaments.
No power but the royal could either make or abrogate
a publick law *®. And fixed upon this neceffary princi-
ple hangs the central balance of every monarchy. But
even the king could not make or abrogate one vtrithout
the confcnt of the country *^ And grounded upon the
bafis of this maxim ftands all the fair ftrufture of popular
liberty. The moft antient conftitutions of Wales have
.exprefsly recorded the exception. The terms «f it carry
^fufficiently a reference to parliamentary concurreiK^*
And we have a decifive argument for the exiftence of
3ritiih parliaments, in the prefaces to the laws of Howel
Dha, the moft authentick regiftcrs of the legiflative
authority
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authority bjr which rficy wcce naSit. Wje dief e find Sea. H.
fix itieii fotti^oncd out of cterjr coxninat or centopry iri ^
Wales^ t^e moft wife and xnoft powerful peiibiis in the
l^itkgdoiD, an order to meet a&d affift the Icing in the
^re^t work of legillatioii. The parliament behlg af^
fembied, by cointiion caunfd and confeat they e^onined
the anti^snt lavs» r^ori&ed and cancelled fatne^ added
6thers> dnd dtg^fted both into a regular code; And
this they ptcfented to the king. The mofnafrch aj^oved
<>f itj and gat^e it the ratifying faefiion of IA$ own au-
tfeqrky. And both he and the fcnators concnrred to iin-
.t>rfecate tl\e wrath of God^ 1^ parliament, and all the
country. Upon fuch of the people a$ ihotdd niolate, wd
fuch of the kiigs as Ihonld abrogaar, aiiy of theie con-
jiitdticus J tinlefe they were annulled in a coiindl,- e^ally
natiQ^ ai that in which thty had been recently
e*^
in thefe :iat*5s of the Good Howd, the curiotis ihind k
^f efented with ^ remarksfbic (feUneaticm of a BritlSi
.courts The ffr iking fimplictty of the draught (hews th<{
t^eat ajkiqutty o[£ the originah And upon ^ this- modaf
were ^ll co^tsy and our own jn pariicular^ formed at
th^ bC'ginmng*
Tftc royal manfioD aiici Its offilc^^ cohGfted merely of
a Newadd or hall,^ an Yfdafell or parlour, and a.Bwytty
<>rblitteryi an Yfdable or ftable, a Cyn-hordy of dog- P*«f3^
Jkcntiel, aoLd aft yfgubawf or granary; an Qdyn, oven,
or bakehrrtjfei a Ty Bychaif dr bbghoufe, and a Hundy
Or bedroom *^. The fire-patt was of iron, and the fuel
of wood ^^ And the bed was* ofily of flraw, as it evea
CQCtinued fo be in the royal chambers of England as ,
Vol. I. Z lacd
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338 T H E H I S T O R Y Book 1.
Sea. II. late as the conclufion of the thirteenth century ". The
king's own drefs was a mantle and tunick, both^ I fup-
pofe, of woolen ; a ihirt and breeches, both pretty cer-
tainly of linen j ihoes» ftockens, and gloves ^* ; and a
cap of Ikins ". And the queen's was nearly the fame,
her majefty only wearing fillets under her cap ^*. The
great officers of th^ court were the Pen-teulu or maydr
of the palace, the Difdain or fteward of the houihold,
the Pen-hebogydd or mailer of the hawks, ' and the
Brawdwr Llys or court-julliciary ; the Pen-gwafdrawd
or prefident of the grooms, the Gwas Yfdafcll or lord
chamberlain, the Bardh-teulu or cOurt-poet, the Gof-
degwr or king's ferjeant, and the^en-cenydd or mafter
of the king's hounds; the Meddyd or king's cellarer,
the Meddyg or phyfician to the houlhold, the TruUiad
or butler, the Dryfawr or porter, the Cog or cook, and
the Canhwyllyd or curator of the lights. And, in this
;eftabliihment of a court, we fee the head of the falconers
and chief of the grooms, the poet-laureat, and the cook,
all ranked immediately among the great officers of ftate.
Such a precedence was naturally given them in a- court
generally devoted, as all originally were, and as all in
illiterate ages will ever be, to the pleafures of the feaft
and divcrfions of the chacc. And, among the officers
of king Hardicnute's houihold, we have Stir his^major
domo, majorem domus, or mayor of the palace; Edric
his butler; Thrond his butcher, fuum carnificemj and
other perfonages of great quality, & alios magna dig-
nitatis virosj.fent in a joint commiffion with Aifric arch-
P. 254. biiliop of York and Godwin earl of Kent •'^
5 Thcfc
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v r >, r ^
fchap.Vill.. OF MAJSrCHESf JER, 339^
Thefe all executed their diftindi offices in pferfoii. tt SeSilL
was the bufitlcfs of the Gofdegwr, to commahd Clencei
jH the king^s hkll at dihridr by ftriking updii a jiahicuiaf
pillar ; df the Grwas Ydaffell td ftiake the king's bed ;
^nd of the DryfaWr to protide ■ itraw for all the bedSj
atid to kindle ail the ^res, in the court ^**, And the
fameeftablifhmem prevailed ^xa£ily id the Engli(h, trilH^
.^hd Scottiflx eoiirts. The houfe of Stuart atid the fa-
mily of Butler are fufiiciehtly krioWil td have derived
their appellations, frorfi thefit- hereditary offices in thd
palates of Scotland aiid trdahd. The duke bf HamiU
tbh is hereditary pdrter to' the king of Scotland, and
the dukes 6f St. Albans and Aticstfter are hereditary
chamberlain ind falconef td that df England, at pre-
fent. More than one toanour is held at this day under
dilr owii trot^, tivith the fpfecial obligation on the lord
to attend and officiate in the feing*s kitthfcn at the coro-
nation, and to ptefctit the fovereign ^ith a difli of his
6wn cddkirig. And the royal pdrtet of England, as
late as the thirteenth century, was exprefsly obliged td .
ptovide litter for the beds, and to light all the fire^, ia
the palace ^'.
But thd privileges df thefe Britifli offecdrs \frere par*
ticularly ftriking. They weire all of them prefehted an-
iiually with i piede of linen and wdolen by the king
knd qufeett '% atid regularly gratified befides with old
tloaths from the toytl wardrobe. The king's' ridlng-
toat was three time^ a year gi^^en away to the maftcr of
the mews ; his daps, faddles, bits, arid fpurs became
the perquifite of his mafter of the horfe; and the
chamberiafn appropriated to himfclf his old doaths
^ ^ Z 2 aQd
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340. THE HISTORY Book I.
Sea, II. ^^ olcj bed-quilts ^*. And the. chamberlain of our own
court, cv<a in the reign of Ed^^wd the firft, by antient
cuftom received the king's old (?overlets(, curtains* and
bedding ; and to this day receives at a coronation the
furniture of the chamber,, the bjedi and the bed-drds,
in which the fovereign fkpK the night before ^^'^ But, in .
the palaces of the Britons^ this principle was carried to
fo great a length, that even the wardrobe of the officers
was in fome cafes inheritable by their inferiours; as
the coat of the Pen-tculu deyolyed three times a year to
the Trulliad, the Trulliad's defcended to the Bardh,
and the Bardh*s was received by the Dryfawr '^'. And
thefe were not all their privileges. They had equally
P. 255. a right to ftated mefles of meat, 'when they gave any
entertainments in their private apartments,;, the pre-
fident of t^ie palace being empowered to command three,
difhes and three horns of the beft liquor,; and th^e mafter
of the thews three horns and pjicdiih '*\ But the latter,
was cautioufly required to bring, his oup in perlbn to
the hall at every repletion of it, left he fhou Id drink too
much and negleft his birds /^\ Thesprefident might re-
quire the bardh to fin g tohim, whenever he pkafed ^**
And if the mafter .of the mews, in the king^s prefence,
. killed one of the tbr^ hit^ tli^t yvere denonunatcd no-
ble, the king was bound to affitt hira in difraouming
and remounting, and to hold his horfe while he took
the game *^ But, if he killed it in the.abfeoce of the
king, he was required to haften to the -palace, andprc-
fent the game to hismajefty ; and, by the etiquette of the
court, the king rofe up in compliment to bim, as ,elfe
gave him t|ie m^atle whkh he was wearing ^^.
: . •■"■ The
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Chap.Vnr. OF MANCHESTER- 341
The cuftomary enfign of royalty for the foverel^s Sca.lL
of the Britons was the imperial diadeniy whk;h was com-
mon to them and the eaftern monarchs* This was- fome-
times only a plain fillet tied roumi the head, as it is ftill
worne occafionally by the loweft of our people at Man*
chefter, and regularly by the young unmarried women
of the Highlands ; and as it appears upon thefe two
coins of the Britons-
Z3
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34^
T H E H r g T O R Y Book I.
Sea. IL But at other times it was ornamented with the mufcle
pearls an4 fparry diaRionds of the ^mitrj; a? j^
Jhefe.
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It
Chap.VIIL OF MANCHESTER. 343
It was frequently wome by the monarch immediately Scft, II.
over his hair, which was raifed in one, two, or three ^
rows of curls above it I
---. . \
and frequently upon a fmall dofc cap, that j[uft covered
the head and wa& ^ged by the fillc^t '
47
24
Ana
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THE HISTORY >pkl,
And it was oftien accompanied with ai ornament, which
jhas jbeen takw by Dr. Borlafe and myfelf for a crofs
fillet
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t3iap,Vin. O^ MANCHESTER, 345
fillet and a dafp^ This appears upon |CWO of tbe coii^Seft. tL
p^ve, 9n4 again upon thcfe j
jnid is engr;aved by \t&^ upon the foUo'viog.
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346 THE HISTORY
Sea. 11. Thcfe concur with others hcrc^
J^ookJ^
to prove it a diftinft and fcparatc omamcht, and ij^mq*
thing very different from a clafp and a^ fillet. And I take
it to be a bodkin Yor the hair. It carries great rofem-
blance to fuch an implement. And, what feems a ftrong
confirmation of the..cpnje£hire, in a Britifh fepujcher
that was opened fome/years ago on Salifbury-plain,
along with beads of earth, glafs, and amber, and one
even covered with a film of pure gold, was aftually found
a bodkin of filver '^^.
But after the coming of the Romans, when the fa»
vereignties of the ifland fubmitted to the authority of
the empire, and the king and his fubje& adQpte4^the
manners of Italy ; the corona, koron, or crowp^w^^ in-
troduced into the ifland, and worne by the mons^fchs
of iu And we have a very curious deUwajian pf aq
^ent
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ehap.VIII. OF MANCHESTER. 347
antient Britifh crown, upon the tomb of a fovereign that Scft. 11^
reigned in the fifth century. The ftone was difcovcred *^ ' ^
in the ifle of Angli^fey about the time of Charles the
fecond, lying fix fept under the ground. And, as the
edge of it bears a remarkable inlcription to the memory
of Pabo, fo the plane exhibits t^ie figure of the king,
dreffed in his armour, grafping a fcepter, and wearing p. ^^5^
a crown ; the former being a ftrong weapon of iroi^
pointed in the form of a lily, and the latter a circlet
Itydded with ibrs and decorated with flowers *'.
' Genefis tv. 7. — '' Csefar p. 92, Mela lib- iii. c. 6,
plo p. 957, Diodorusp. 347, Tacitus Agric. Vit. c. 15,
fingulos fibr olim reges fuiffe, and Richard p. 15. How
inconfiftent and miftaken therefore are Diop. 1280 and
Richard p. 7! —^Tacitus Ann, Ub.:Oav. c. 31.-—
^ Ihid. lib. xii. c. 40, — ' Ibid. — "" See Carte particu-
larly vol. I. p, 133;^ 137, &c. — / Agric. Vit. c. 14,
kno regi. And in Dip p. ^57 we have Togidum^
uus.
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348 THE HISTORY fiookl.
Se&. II. nu$, the foil of Cunobeline, plainly appearing from the
^^ "^ 'tenour of the hiftory, as well as the import of his ap-
pellation, to haye been the Togi or leader of the Do-
btint, and dying in the defence of his dominions againft
the attacks of Plautius ; p. 958. — " Tacitus Agric.
Vit. c. xiv, Qa^dam cititates — donate. — ^ See the
Chicheftcr infcription In Horfelcy. — "*" Agric. Vit.
c. xiv. — " Porphyry in that well-known but mifap-
plied faying, that Britain was then Fertilis provincia
tyrannorum (Hieron. Epift. ad Ctefiphontem) ; Richard
p, 15 ; and Nennius c. 18. — ** Appendix to Nen-
nius c, 64, and b. L ch. xii. f* 5. Nennius brings Cu-
nedag de rcgioue tc- Guotadiq into Ordoviqa : the ge-
nealogifts therefore are miftaken in derivitf|; him from
Cumberland (fee.Mona p. 146 and Carte p. igp)*
And Carte, who, like the other hiftorians, verbally
denies the exigence of any Britiih kings under the
provincial government, virtually acknowledges it p.
139 and 163, menrioning the kings of the Ordovices.
And fee a great n^iftake in him p.- 1 63 &c. r— ^^ See b.
11. ch. i. f. I. -^ '* Agric. Vit. c. i g,-rr- '^ ^tacitus Ann.
lib* xiv. c. 33, and-Diop. 128?, Andiii Galgacus's
fpeech (Agric. Vit. c. 3 1) the Romans are faid to call
ihemfelves the Amici of the Britons. — ^* IJipp. 10 10.
— '^ Moni p. 130 &c. — '* Ceefar p. 92, Nennius c.
64, and Offian*s poems. — "' Tacitus Ann. Ub. 3riv. c.
35, and Agric. Vit. c. i5. —r? *° Tacitus Ann. lib. xiv.
C. 35* — *' See b. II. ch. iv. f. 2. — r *^ See the prcfece
to Wotton's edition. — *^ See the original prefece or
prefaces to the laws. — ** Lib. I. c. ix. art. 2, 7, and 8.
— • *^ Iq Ireland (fays Ware) the fwceflbr wa^ appdnted
by
257.
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Chap. VIII. OF MANCHESTER^ 349
by the common votes of the people (Ant. Hib. c. i?iu). Soft, IL
See atfo Davies p. 1 1 7. And fee f. 3. here for all be-
low the nobles having no power or weight in the affairs
of goTernment. ~- ** Howcl Dha lib. iv* c. 6^. a. 4.
— *' Ibid. — *' See Wotton^s edition. — ** Ub. i. c.
47 1 a. 8. And compare it with the accounts of the
Letty or bedrocmis of the great officers. In (or, as it
ought to be tranflated, over) the Neuad was the bed-
room of the royal heir.^ There, fays c. 9, he (hall flecp.
attended by young nobles. Another great officer. lay in,
over, the granary, c. 15; another in, over, the odyn,c..
;2i 5 and a third in, over, the kitchen, c* 26. — ^° Lib.
ii. c- I. a. 6. (In many houfes it was of ftone, p. 362),
and lib. i. c. 42. — ^' Lib. i. c. 18. a. 9. And fee an
extraft from Fleta in note to preface, and Camden c, 35 1 .
-^'* Lib* i.e. 17. a. 6. — ^^ Lib. i..c. iS. a. 7. and
lib. i. c. 17. a. 8. — ^^ Lib^ 1. c. 32. a. 2. — ^^ Howel
iibi c. I, and Florence of Worcefter p. 6^3, Frankfort
edit. — ^* Lib. i. c. 20g c. 18. a. 4, and c* 40.. a. 15*
— fl See extraft from Fleta in note to preface to Howei'
Dha.--^^* Lib. i. c. 2, &c» — ^^ Lib. i. c. 15, c. 17, and
c. 18. — *° Extraft from Flera in preface to Howei
Pha.-r— ^* Lib. i. c. 1-4. — '*^ Lib. i. c. 12 and 15. — ^
"^^ Lib. i. c. 15. — ^"^ Lib. i. c. 12. — ^^ Lib. i. c. 15.
— ^^ Ibid. -^ *^ See Pennant's Tour p. 1 65.— Stukeley
2—3 ; and Stukeley 14—8, i — 5, and i — 6 ; and
fee ch. ix. f. i* and Agric. Vit. c. xii : Borlafe's Corn-
wall b. iii. ch. xii, 16 and 20; Pegge i — 5, and
Stukeley ii~io and 13 — 8. — ^^ Stukeley 3-^io>,
3*^7» ^-—2, 3—4, 15 — 10, and 20—5; and
Stonehenge p. .45 and Gordon's Itin. Sept. p. ij/f.
This bodkin feems to have loll its crook-like or femi-
^ knar
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550 tHE lilSTOttY iSookL
Seft. 11. lunar termination either hj the fire which has injui'ed
^"""^the reft, by time, or by accident. And the crefcent,
vrhich appears at the ears of fevcral monarchs otx the
Briciih coins, as in one of thofe exhibited abovc^
Stukeley 14—8, and in Pegge 2 — B,andStukdey (J — 10,
8 — 7, and 9 — 4, is nothing but the head of this bodkin
projefting from the hair, while the body is buried in it ;
as appears from the fame, crefcent appearing upon two^*
of the coins abovci Stukeley 3— 10 and 15— 10, witlt
the body of the bodkin plainly conncfted to in. -*- *^
' Monap. 158.
IlL
WHEN the great colony of the Siftuntii Was firft led
into the plains of Lancalhire, the dommandant ot
fovereign of tbem, the young.er fon moft probably 0^
fobe of the more foutherly kings, would take pdffef^
^. 258. fion of the lands by the* privitege of occupancy, and
make them all his own* He would then grant them
. out to his principal fpJlowers^ affigningeach his par-*
ticular proportion, and obliging tbeto to particular re*
turns for it. And thefe would continue obliga^fy up-
on the lands, and defcend to the prefent proprietors
under the Romans. Such remained among the Briton^
of Wales to the fixteenth century j and amdng thofe
of Ireland to the feventeenth*
Immediately below the fovereign ranked the equity
or knights, the Uchelwyrs, magn«:es> or high mei!}
holding their lands immediately from the crown, and
prefiding as lords over their particular domains*.
And,
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Ghap;Vm. OF MANCHESTER. 351
And, as the immediate tenants of the crown,* they wereScd. IIL-
obliged by their tenures to certain fervices to it, the ■ "^ ■
cxprefs conditions of their fees, and all honourable in
their nature *. Some retained their lands under an ob-
-ligsition which ftrongly refembled the grand ferjeanty
of the Normans, the duty of attendance upon the king
at dinner, and the obrigatton of perfonal fervices to him
at it 9 to hold the king's feet in their bofom, and rub
him with a flefh-bruih ^ But moft were bound upon
fummons to attend the fovereign in arms, and to follow
him to the war *• This was denominated the Gwaeth
Milwyr or fervice of the foMier, being borne at timt
.own expence whenever they were carried into the field
within the limits of their cwn country, and once an^
nually without them for the period of fix weeks ^ And
they were bound to engage always, at the call, in the
conftruftion or reparation of the royal caftles *• They
wqre alfo affeffed with rents either in money or kmd, "
but ftated in their value and gentle in their amount. For
a fee containing about a thoufand acres of land, the
knight^ immediately before the commencement of win-
ter, remitted to the king's palace a horfe-load of his
beft whesu: reduced to flour^ one oxe, a barrel of mead
nine palms in length and eighteen in breadth, or two
of braget or four of common ale, and a hundred and
fixty-eight equal threaves of oats for the liable ; a fow
three years old, a falted gammon three inches in thick-
• nefs, and a pot of butter three palms Jong and three
broad ^ But, if the provifion was not furniflied atp. 2^9.
- the time appointed, the chieftain paid in lieu ofira
pound and twenty ^f our pence j the former payment
being
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an4 tfec latief Argim Y Gwyncfs or Suppcr-flrcr V
Vnderthe trfehrf of thefic f^rfic^ angrf payincnis, th«
acbeJwyrs Wd » fall property in tketf lands^ ftis«! O^dM
^Qfmit them to ^hcir heifs *. The eftates were orijgl-
mti&f ceded by the lining under the limitation ^f Adb
jduries* Tbe nonperformance of them neceffarnj ex-
tiiiguilhed the title of the chief. And the laiftdj feycrtcd
to tbe erowt t^ ,gm& th^ea ^^^^
I»fcriot» to ttKft, .^nd holcfit^ ffcWa them «J tercfe
ia fecf jor Bfce thew immediately irom the cto^n, waJ
'^gtm b^y of t^e peopk j being efteewd, a$ iC^faf
^edarc$thecommo!Jgljy in Gaul to havcbeM feckoncd,
pene ieiVorlim loco, and all in a Jdatje of TtUaioage ".
:And thefe ^ere divided into .the tiro ,cla&s jof nativi
Jib^i or frdei and of puri aativi or coftplcsrf, vjtllaina '%
The formefr ire/^ allowed, jo 'r#liniitfi& -theit ktids^ .or
temain upon thcifay at their ofWffi difcrction ; watc pri-
Vitegcd to buy and fdl j aod charged with fervices
ihc moft honouraibie of tbe menial kind, aod all stf-
foredly determined '\ The latter Iffrere retkoaed ab-
iiilutely the property of the lord^ difpolable to my oac
at his will, and faleable as ^ |)art\of hi$ eftate '**• And
:ljtefewere bound to fertices the moit fervile and in-
jtetermlnate, to conftruftafid .re|>ajr the lord's holifes,
aiid execute all his drudgd^ies of htfibajidry '\ They
were -both ftibj eft, like the chiefe/ to attendance in
1f«c, and to payfhents in money or retntns in kind.
And » ftfOngly toarks the great huniaihhly atfd fre^
genius of thefe villain tenures, tbat both had thfem gc^
, SbcrsiUy as fettled and afcertained as they. Tfee villain?
en
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Chap.Vin. OF* MAN CHESTER. 353
on a fee of a thoufand acres made annually two largeSea, IIT.
remittances to the lord '•. One wa? like the noble's, ' " '
immediately before winter ; and confifted of a fow three
years old, a veflel of butter three palms long and three
l>road» a barrel of braget nine in length, and twenty-
four equal threaves, of oats for the horfes; fixty-
fix loaves of the beft wheat that grew, if any grew, P. a6o.
within the fee, fix made of wheat purged from the
bran ; apd, if no wheat was raifed, fix loaves of the
coarfer oatmeal, equal in breadth to the meafure of the
arm from the elbow to the wrift, and fo thick as not to
bend though they were held by the margin *'. And
the other was made at the beginning of fummer, and
confifted of a wether three years old, a mafs of butter
as large as the largefl di(h in the fee, and a couple of
the lefler palms in thicknefs ; twenty-fix fuch loaves as
were remitted before ; and a cheefe compofed of all
the milk, that all the cows within the fee could furnifh
in one day **.
But befides thcfe payments, both of which were
fcarcely equivalent even to thofe of the knights, the
villains were neceflarily fubjeft to additional impofi-
tions* The fovereign in panicular retained a confi-
derable portion of lands in his own pofleflioh, the ap-
propriated demefne of the royalty, and denominated
Loghty among the Irilh ^'. And the villains upon
them were required every year to entertain the king,
the ■ queen, and fome of the great officers ' of ftate,
with their attendant trains.. But they were obliged to
receive them only by a certain cycle or rotatldn, and to
maintain them merely for a certain period *^ Some
VoT • L A a wcve
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354 T H E m St O R Y ^ Book I.
Sea. III. ^vere bound to entertain the king himfelf, to provide
ftraw for his bed and wood for his fire, and furnifh
him with mutton, lamb, or kid, and butter, cheefe, or
tnilk, as long as he continued with them*'. The
royal court was continually ambulatory and itinerant **.
And the king's domefticks were annually divided into
three bodies, fbme of the principal officers, all the
huntfmefi,, and all the grooms; and each took its
afligned quarters among the villains *\ And the fame
tights of fupremacy, which were pofTelTed by the king
ever the royal peasants, were equally enjoyed by the
X tichelwyr over his own ^^. But this branch of the
regimen under both was as gentle as it was determihate^
being conftandy fettled in proportion to the eflate of
the villaiIi*^ And the fame fort of oeconomy was
aftually retained in the modern feuds ; the tenants of
the lord of Manchefter^ in the fourteenth century, be-
P. a6r. ing obliged to furnifli his fworn bailiff and the four
deputies with bread, beef, and other necelfaries, and
with provifion for their fervants and horfes, upon no-
tice of their arrival among thefti *^.
Thefe were the two only ranks of Britifh citizens^
the nobles and the villains *^ All below the latter were
Caeths or flaves, made fuch by the voluntary fale or
publick coftdemnation of their perfons to fervitudcj
were fometime^ denominated Yfdafellawgeu or cottagers,
anfwering to the Bordarii and Cottarii of Doomfda/
Book ; and, like the flaves of the Saxofis, were pofTefled
' of fome property ''^ And both thefe ranks were ob-
noxious to the payment of a heriot tipon the deceafe
of the pofrellbr, and to the impofition of a relief^ or
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Chap.Vnt. Ot^ MANCHfiStEft. • ^55
fine of renewal, on the fucceffion of the heir* ^ TheSe6t. III.
eftates of both difcharged equally to their rcfpeftive
fuperiours the maritagiuni, or the fine for the marriage
of a daughter '** Both did homage to the lord foi*
their land, and their infants in orphanage received a
tutor and guardian from his appointment ^'* Both were
obliged to attend their lord to the wars, or to pay him
a Lluyd, an efcuage, or commutation for it ^^» And
the fee of the former was forfeited to the crown oii
negleft of the fervices^ and devolved to It upon failure
of iflue *^ But thcfe payments were all, except the
efcuage, regularly afcertained by the law* The mar*
% rfage-fine for .an uchelwyr*s daughter was a hundred and
twenty petice, and for a villain*s only twenty-four^**
The henot and relief wef e combined together under one
common appellation of Ebediwj as 1 fliall hereafter
(hew both to have been denominated th^ Heriot among
the Saxons, and the Relief aiiiong the JTormans "* And
the ebediw of an uchelwyr was fettled in general at a
hundred and twenty peiice, of an Uchelwyr's villain at
fixty, and of a king's at riinetjr ^^. The royal villairl
enjoyed on6 third more advantage from his eftate, thai!
the private. And the Britilh nobles paid much eafier
htriots than the Saxon ^^ ,
Such Were the tenures of the lands in Wales, before
theEngliih ciiftoms were tratifplahted into ttietountry,
by the Englifli arms* The difcovery of the fatte holdings,
even fo early as the tenth century and in the laws of
HoWel l3ha; holdings not formed by that gresit legiflator
of Wales, but referred by him to prior inftitutes and
afcribed to the earlier Britons ; protes the great and
A a 2 flriking
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356 THEHISTORY Book I.
Sed, III. ftriking antiquity o^ them. And the general appearance
/^"""^^ I'^of the tenures, equally among the natives of Wales and
the aborigines of Ireland, demonftrates the t^rhole
fyftem of polity to have been derived from the conci-
mon parents of both, the original, tribes of the
Britons'*.
This, then, was the nature of our tenures in Britain
and Lancashire, at the clofe of the firfl; century. And
they appear to havebeefl purely military in their deiign^
and abfolutely feudal in their eflence. The inftitution
of feuds is unanimoufly deduced by our hiftorical and
legal antiquarians from the northern invaders of the
Roman empire j and the introduSIon of them into thi^
ifland is, almoft as unanimoufly, referred to the much
recenter epocha of the Norman conqueft. But they
exifted among us before, and even formed the primi-
tive eflablilhment of the Britons. By the feudal pre-
fcriptions only, could the lands of the BritiQi chiefs
Tiave been enjoyed under the king as the fupreme pro-
prietor of all, and poffeffed under a baron as the im-
mediate lord of the fee, with the obligation of inilitary
fervice toJiim, or with the' payment of a fine of com-
mutation for it ^'. This is the firft great fignature and
higheft charafteriftick of the feudal fyfteta, and is ex-
prefsly declared, Jn. fome of the earlieft inftitutes of the
Britoqs, to have been the principsd fervice of their
. ' fees'*'*. By the feudal prefcriptions only, could the
lands of the Britilh chiefs and villains have been ob-
noxious to herlots, reliefs, and homage, to wardfhip,
marriage Jlcences, and efcheats. And, by- them only,
could the lord of the fee have afted as the Britiih lords
afted
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Chap.Vin. OF MANCHESTER. 357
aSecl in the earlieft ages; have taken the eftate into Sea. HI.
his own hands upon the death of the occupant ; havep^ ^5 -
retained it in his own poffciSon, till the heir came to
requeft the right, or the fuirvivor was capable of per-,
forming the fervice due to him for it ; have then made
a formal furrendery of it again to the heir**; and have
obliged him to pay an acknowledgment for the invef-
titure or premier feizin of it**. Thefe were all the
prbduftions of that great principle of the feudal polity,
which acknowledged the lands of a kingdom or a ba-
rony to have been originally held by the conceffion of
the royal or private lord ; which confeffed the right of
the primary ddnation to have been terminated by the ,
-death of the grantee; and received the continuation of
the grant to each fucceffive heir^ as a new donation from
the chief. The heriot therefore was paid upon the
dedth of every poffeffor^ as the lord's feizin of the
whole ;' and other difcharges were made at the renewal
of the grant or the portioning of a daughter, as an ac-
knowledgment of his primary right to the whole. And
the fame principle, gradually operating downwards,
affeflted the villain eftates in the fame manner. The
Britiih peafai^t exprefsly held hb land to the laft, as the
gentleman muft have held his at firft, dependant on the
will of his lord. But, though the original tenure of
villainage remained nominally the fame, property
gradually gained upon thefe precarious holdings in
the. villain as in the freehold eftates; and the former
had early begun, like the latter, to be continued for
life and defcend to the heirs among the BritODs. The
latter were become abfoluiely, and the former parti-
Aa'3 ally,
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3^8 THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. Ill, ^Uy, hereditary before the age of -Howel Dhai; the
^^'^"'''"^ houfe defcendiDg by law, and the lands devolving by
allowance, to the pollerity of the previous occupant *^»
And hence, only, could the heriot and relief have been
at all the equal incidents of the freehold -and villain
eftates among the Britons.
Such was the curious and original frame of the Bri-
tifh tenures ; a compleat fyftem of feuds in miniature,
;ind the fame in efFeft with the more enlarged one of the
Normans. The famcnefs is great enough, to (hew the
very near relation of the former to the latter and the
P. 3564, common family of feuds. And the difference is fuffici-^
ently ftriking, to demonftrate the defcent of the former
by a line abfolutely diftinft from the latter, The Bri-r
tilh is plainly prior in its origin to the Norman, becaufei(
is much lefs complicated and diffufive than it. And, the
tenures of pure and free villainage correfpqndipg witli
great exaftnefs to the fame holdings of later ages, the
knights-fervice among the Britons was compounded of
the mixt tenures of the barony and free foccsge ^mong
the Normans ^\
Thefe feudal tenures feem to have beep derived from a
very antient and primitive origin, and to have exifted coap*
val with the firft plantsition of the ifland. And they were
plainly, I think, the joint refult of 2^ colonizing ^ncj a
military fpirit. The former providentially aiiipaated the
firft ages of the Noachidac, w^s conftantly profecuted
under the difcipline of regular order and the controul of
regal authority, and had whole regions tp partition
among the members of the colony. And the latter was
excited by the frequent migrfitiops of parties, and the
liumerous
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Chap.vm. OF MANCHESTER. 359
numerous invafions of fettlements, in the fame ages ;Sea. IIL
and naturally provided for the fecurity of the infant ^^ "^"^
plantation by the inftitution of a military eftablilhment.
Nearly all the lands in the kingdom, therefore, would
be charged with the feudal obfervances ; and the only
allodial eftate6 within it be fuch, as belonged to there*'
lations of the royalty. The word Allod or AUpdjuqi
has cffeftually baffled ajl the difquifitions of etymology
to the prefent moment. Like many of the other terms of
feudalifm, it has been valply explored, I apprehend, in
languages to which it never bore any rclatipp. And it
is, I fufpeft, like many of them, neither Saxon qor
Normgn in its origin, but Britilh. Britilh feemingly is
the charafterifti<:k terpi of the whole, Feod or Fee ; oc-
curring particularly in the language of the Irifh, Fod.
andFich, and Cgnifying literally Glebe or Land *'• Bri-
tifli certainly is the remarkable Heriot of the fyflem,
the Daered of Howel Pha, the Hasred of Anglefey^
and the pronounced Hared of Lancafliire ; as the plgii^
unwrefted import of the word, an obit or mortuary, p, 26^,
evinces of itfelf ^*. And Britilh certainly is the fanjous
Mercheta of the Scottifh feuds in particular, which ha§
given occaiion to that fiftion of folly in the beft hif-
tories of Scotland, that the lord had a privilege to fleep
with the bride of his vaffal on her wedding-night ;
which has been explained by derivations' equally obfcene
and ftupid, and is apparently nothing more than the
Mcrch-ed of Howel Dha, the daughter-hpod, or the
fine for the marriage of a daughter ^\ Equally Britifl^
is the feudal appellation of Villain, appearing equally
in the laws of the Britons, Bilain or Filein, and figni-
A a 4 fying
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360 T H E H IS TO R y BookL
Sea. IIL fying a husbandman or pcafaiit *'. And the two wcU-
' known and peculiarly feudal denominations of Baron'
and Manour are alfo Britifh, though both have been
appropriated to the Normans; and the former, like
villain, fo abfolutely, that the appearance of it has been
even adduced as a pofitive argument againfl: the au-
thenticity of fome Saxon charters **. They both occur
in the antient inftitutes of Wales, and Manour no lefs
than a hundred and twenty years before the Conqueft ;
are written Barwn and Maenawr, and fignlfy a military
man and a diflrict ^°. And Allodium, I think, is de-
rived from the fame language. Allodial land is an
cftate difchargc^i from all the feudal fervices, and;i as I
have obferved already, ijiuft naturally have been fuch
only as belonged to the relations of the crown. And
the eftates of the Ealodeu or members of the royal
family, 'the children,, nephews, or coufins of the reign-
ing monarch, are all exprefsly exempted from the im*
pofition of the Ebediw in the laws of Howel Dha, and
are aftually the only lands in the kingdom that are fa-
Toured with fuch an exemption '*.
The prefcribeJ mode of defcent for all the noble or.
freehold eftates in the kingdom, at this period, was by
the couffe of the cuftom which is denominated Gavel-
kind. And this antient ufage appears equally in Ire-
land and Wales, is recorded as early as the tenth century
in the laws of the latter, and exifted for ages afterward
the univerfal rule of inheritance in both '*. Familiar
among the Saxons, it was then allowed to operate only
P. 2(36. upon a fmall portion of their eftates, on cenfual lands
or free foccages. But it extended its influence through
2 ihc
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Chap.Vin. OF MANCHESTER. 36^
the whole circle of landed property among the Bri-^^™^
tons^\ That, as I have already evinced, was formed
merely of one fpecies of tenures, at once militaxy and
cenfual. And it was naturally denominated among the ,
Britons Gafael Kinead, or the family eftate. Gafael
or Gavel carrying exaftly the fame fignification an the
Britifh as Fich and Fod, the addition of Kinead or
Kind was neceffary to reftrain the generality of the
cxpreffion, and to diftinguifli the legally hereditary
eftate of the Uchelwyr from the legally undefcendible
.pqffeffion of the Filein. And both together import
pr^cifely what Fee and Feud Cgnify at prefent, a free
tenement and its appurtenance, a noble eftate and the .
modal tenure of it ^^ There were three particular
prefcriptions of this Britifh inftitution ; and all feem to
haye been intended as improvements upon the feudal
fyftem. The inheritance of the Britifti baron, the only
freeholder in the kingdom, was divided equally among
the fons, and in failure of them among the next heirs
that were males ^*. This was calculated diredly to
multiply the number of the military tenants, and to pro-
vide againft defers in the military fervices. The fc^
males of every degree were precluded from the inhe-
ritance, till the utter extinftion of the jnales ^^ They
were unable to perform the fervices, and therefore
efteemed unfit to, receive the tenures. And, what was
very extraordinary in itfelf, but naturally refulted from
the fame feudal principle of gavelkind, no diftindion
Wa$ made in the line of the males betwixt the fpurious -
and legitimated^. They were both qualifiod equally to .
execute
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3^2 THE HISTORY Book I.
Scft. Ill-exccute ihe .fervices of their father, and admitted equally
" toa fliare in the patrimony ^*.
But, though the fee was divided among the fons, and
though the fpurious fliared it with the legitimate, yet
the legitimate and the eldeft was conGdered by the law
as the aftual proprietor of the whole ^^ And under
this ufeful reftriftion, which continued the feveral
p. 267. branches of the original family together, and kept them
in due. fubordination to the Pen-cenedl, the head of the
family or manour, and the eldeft legitimate line of the
barony^* ; this common law of inheritances feems to
have been cooeval with the commencement of the Britifh
feuds, as it evidently refulted from the faipe military
precautions with them. Thus, if the furvivpr of a feu-
datory could not immediately difcharge the fervices duQ
to the king for the fee, it was regularly retained in the
• king's poffeffion till he was able ^'. And, if the pof-
feffor of a feud left one fon perfeft and another imper-
feft in his bodily faculties, the former, whether he
was legitimate or illegitimate, became the proprietor of
the patrimony 5 becaufe, as the law exprefsly fubjoins,
the latter could not perform the duties to the fovereign
for the fee in the forum and the field ^°.
Founded upon thefe fixed principles of the feudal
fyftem, gavelkind continued univerfal in Wales and
Ireland even nearly to the prefent period. In the latter,
the ufage was uniformly obferved to the very recent and
fignal epocha in its civil hiftory, the regular fettlement of
the whole frame of the Englifli polity by the good-fenfb
and authority of James the firft *'• In the former, a
l^w of the 1 2th of the firft Edward permitted the antient
ft«n
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€hap,Vin. OF MANCHESTER. 363
ftcm to continue in iti naitivc fofl; but lopped its two Seft.!!!.
principal branches away^ the admiiSon of baftards to
the inheritance^ and the precluiion of females from it*
And a ftatute of the 34— ^gsth of Henry the eighth for
ever levelled the venerable trunk to the ground ; all the
lands in Wales being then required to be holden " as
^^ Engliih tenure to all intents^ accordbg to the com-
" mon laws of this realm of England/*
The rule of gavelkind was confined to the defcent of
prmte inheritances. It did not mount up to the throne. •
It could not. The whole defign of the inftitution being
the better difcharge of the military duties to the crown, '
the inheritance of the king could not be aflfeded by it.
And accordingly, in direA contradiction to a fundamen-'
tal principle of it, I have (hewn one of the royal fanuly
to have regularly fucceeded in the throne by a peculiar
and exclufive privilege. And it was never permitted, among ?• *68»
the Irifli, to ei^tend its influence to the eftate even of the
Tanift or immediate heir of the crown **. The lands of
our Mancunian fathers devolved by the laws of gavel-
kind : but the impartible monarchy of Lancafhire de-
fce^ded by hereditary right. And from this difference
the crown muft have derived a very confiderablc advan-
tage, virtually creative of abfolute authority and fub-
verfive of Ipgal liberty. It could have been under no
appreheniion of danger, apd even in no fear of oppo« *
fition, from the greatnefs or exorbitancy of an accumu*
lated fortime in any of the barons^ The lands were
parcelled out, at every frefli defcent, intd a frelh variety
of inheritances. And the weiUtb of &e chiefs, in a (e-
ties
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3^4 . T H E H I S T O R Y Book I.
Scft*IIL ries of fuceeffiofas^ would be broken into a tlioufand
fragoicnts*
Such Were the feudal tenures of tlie Bi'holis. And,
in- the continuation of them under the Rbmans, the bbli-
gjition of attendance upon the king in his wars would
ftHl be retained by the crown, but enforced only it the
command of the conquerors. Prudence would induce
them in this manner to' continue the antient privilege '6f
royalty, which could never be exercifed agaihft them,
and might be foAifefuUy exerted for them. It would
enable them upon any emergency to raife a number
of foldiers^ and embody them with their own, with
great £adlity and wiriiotut cxpence. And, hadfucha
pow^ of the crown l)een taken away from it durmg all
the long «a of the Roman refidence, it would never
hate been recovered afterwards^ and confequehtly- could
not have defcended to the Britifh fovereigns of Wales.
And this feems to have been the only hardfcip of the
Siftuntians under the government of Rome, that, addi-
tional to the taxis of the empire^ they were bound to
the feudal payments and military fervices 6f^ the king-
dom. But, for this, they were relieved by the Romans
from all the fear of incnrfions and the danger of rapines.
And for diis they^ were equally difcharged from all the
expenees of mdntaining their numerous garrifons, and
engaging in their frequent wars.
P. 269. * Caefarp. 118, In omni Gallia eorum hominum qui
aliquo funt numero atque honore genera-^funt duo ; — al-
* . terum: eft Druidum, alterum Equitum : — Howel lib. u
C. 12.
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Chap^VIIL OF MANCHESTER. , 3*5
c« 12* a. I, lib.iii. cy^lib.u.c. x8.a. i» 2fid p. 340806^. IXL
and 341. See alfo.Mona p,i2i, 132,. and 133. — *^ *^~^
^ Lib. iv. c. 79.. a, i, p. 340, lib. ii.. c. 17. a. 7. and
p. 337, and Mona p. 132 and 133. — /Wb. i, c* 37*
a. 2 and 3. — * Lib.i. c. 47. a. 6j p*3i2 and 331, and
Mona p. .127. — ' Lib. ii. c. 24. a. i. and Mona p. 128.
— * Lib. ii. a 24. a. 2. — ^^ Lib. ii. c. 29. a. 2 and 3, and
c 19. z^ II.—* Ibid, and lib. ii. c. 23. a. i. — ' Lib. ii.
c. 14. a. 6, 7, and 8, Mona p. 124, and Ware's Ant*
Hib. c. 13. — ''' P* 332, 337, and 348^ and Mona p.132.
*— " Cafar p. 118, In omni Gallia eorum tiominum qui
aliquo fi^nt numero atque honore genera font duo ; nam
plebs paerie fervorum habetur loco : lib, i. c. I9>lib«ii«
.c. 18, and ibid, c.21 — " Lib. iii* c. 7, p. 450. a. 28,
and lib. i. c. 3, and Mona p. 121. — '^ P.45o. a. 28,
and Mona p. 122 and 126. — ** P. 498, a. 4, and Mona
p. 122.—'^ Lib. iL c. 25. a. 8, and c. 26. a. 7. — '^ Lib*
ii. c; 29. a. 4, and Mpna p. 1^7. — '^ Lib. ii. c. 29. 11^.5.
— '• Ibid. a. 6. See a^fo Davies of the tru^ cayfes why
Jreland was never fubdued, 1761, p. 189, for the villains
in Ireland paying rents in butter, o^tpwei^l, .^qd the like,
to the .i;eign of James the firft, when thejr were feduced
to payments in money. — '.^ .Lib. i. c. 3. &c., Mona
p. 130, and Ware c. 8. — '"^ Lib. i. c. 15^. a. 23.and 24.
— *' Lib. ii. c. 26. a. 7. a.nd c. ^5. a» 3, and Dayies
p. W4* — ** Lib. i^ c. 12. a. 7. ?^nd Mopa p. iji8.
- — *^ Lib. i. c. 12. a. 23 and 24, c 15. a» iPf andl
c. 21. a. 8, 14^ and 15, and Davies p. 124. — ** Lib..iL
cu 18. a. i.-^*^ See lib.ii. c. 26. a. 7. — *^;F,ram a re-
prd of inquifitioiji 15 Edw". II, ^322, ift KUerdcn folio
g. 279.---^*' Cafarp. n8,, lib. i. C?9. a^ 8^ ibid., c. 19^^
' ^ a. 12,
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3156 T H E H I S T O R Y Book t.
Sea, III. a* 12, and lib. iii. c. 7. — ** Csefar p. 119, and Howel
p. 324) p. 217^ and lib. ii. c. 21. a. 35 and ^6. An[d
fee b. II. c. iv. f. i. — ^'^Lib.i. c. 14. a. 29 &c., c. 38#
a. 7, lib. ii. c i; a. 66, and note p. 12 and gloflary.-—
^"^ P* 369 and 370, lib. ii. c. i. a. 68 and 80, and lib. U
c. 14. a. 27, c. 17. Zk 18, c. 18. a. 12, c. 21. a. 26, aitd^
c» 38. a. 7. — ^' Lib. ii. c. 30. a. 8, lib; iv. c. 79. a. 1, and
. lib. ii. c. 30. a. 5 — ^* Lib. i. c. 47. a* 6, p. 3 12. a. 54,
and lib. ii. c. 12. a. 13 and Mona p. 123 and 128. — ^
. ^^ Lib. i. c. 47. a. z and 9, lib.ii. c. 12. a. 7, lib. iK
c. 30. a. 9, p. 337, lib. iii. c. 3. a. 27, and p. 343.
:. — '* P. 369 and 370. — " B.n. c. 4. f. i. And fee note
P. 270. P» 12 in Wotton. — ^* Lib. ii. c. 21. a. 28 and 30 &c.-^
.^^ See b. II. c. 4. f. I. — ^" See Mona p.i 30&c.>Warc cV5
and 13, and Davies p. 124, &c. — *' Howel p. 337. And
fee before— "^^ P. 331. — *' P. 348 and 365 and lib. il.
c» 14. a. 6.—** Lib. ii. c. 22. a. 9. and p. 365^—'^^ Lib*
ii. c. 14. a. 6, 7, and 8, and lib.ii. c. 12. a. 11, atld
c. 18. a. 3. Though the law is exprefs that the villain
fon Ihouid not fucceed by right to his father's lands
(lib. ii.c. Ii. a. 11), yet he certainly fucceeded in fad
at this period. The houfe is pofitively declared to bft
hereditary (lib. ii. c« 1 2. a. 1 1) ; and the whole coitipaik
.of. the villam town{hip was divided betwixt th^ fons and
the other villains (lib. iii c. 1 2 . a. 1 1 . and lib. ii. c. 2 1 • a.
., j). Nay, the lands Were fo divided, that the fons wetfe
ordered by law to be left as much as poflibleiipaq their
fathers grounds (Hb. ii. c. 12. a. 12)1 And the fon of atl
uchclwyr, bred up for a y^ar and 2I disty by a hative vil-
lain with the permiflion of his lord, is declared to hatf^
a right to (hare the lands and goods of the villain, as if
S her
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Chap. VIII. OF MANCHESTER. ^67
he had beeh the villain's fon (lib. ii.c. 26. a. 8). AndSec^- M;
a free villain became by law the proprietary of his "
lands in tht courfe of four generations (lib. ii. c. 18.
a. 2),— ^^ See b. II. c. iv. f. r.— ^* See an IriOi-Englifti
Dictionary printed at Paris, quarto, 1768. So Tir or
Land is ufed for a Feud in Howel Dha ; fee lib. i. d. j>.
a. 14, lib. ii. c. 14. a. 6, lib. ii. c. 17. a* 8 and 10, p.
347, 348, 365, &c. — And Fich or Fioch, which is
only Fiudhuc pronounced in the Celcick manner, by
melting down the intermediate dh (fee the Diflionary),
is theqrigin, I' think, of the Saxon Feoh and the Ehg-
liih Fee, as Beach, Irifh, is of Beo and Bee. Fich or
Fioch, accordingly, Cgnifies either a portion of land or
a fee-farm in Irifli at prefent (fee DiS.). And Fod,
Fhjdhuc, Fioch, Fich, and Fith, are all one and. the
fame .word moft probably ; as they all equally fignify
land, as Feud and Feod is now melted amongft our-
. felyes into Feoh and Fee, and Feuders (or Feudatories)
are called Feuers in Scotland to this day. -^-* ** Lib. i.
: t. 13. a. 10, lib. i. c. i6. a. 12^ and Mona p* 13U —
'^^ See Merched, lib. i. c, 14, a. 27, &c. ; and fee alfo
.Macpherfon's Crit. DilT. p. 192—1983 who idly derives
it from a mark or piece of money. And fee Seidell's
.Titles of Honour, Blackftone's Comment, v. IL p.8j,
and a thoufand others, who all aiTert the truth of the
;fable. — ^' Lib. i. c. 3 and 9, &c. — ^' Hickes's Diff.
;£pift. p. 68, andSpelman in Manerium. — *° Lib. if.
c. 19. a. 9, 10, II, p. 340. Barwn-jeid or barons, and
Baxter in Garnia. — ^' Lib. i. c, 9 and 12. TheEalod
was to render his hawks, horfe, and dogs at death to
the king : but then he received them previoufly from
him.
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kr^
.368 T H E HI S T'ORY BookL
Sea. Ill* hiin. And the Bradwr Llys or court-judge is the only
perfon befides that fecms to be exempted, being except-
ed ia Kb. i. c. 16. a. 42. • But even he is obliged in
F.ifu lib. i. c. 18. a. 12^ — ** Ware c, 8, Davjes p. 93 and
1 17, Howel lib. ii. c. 17. a. 3, Mona p. 122, 12th of
Edw. L, and 34— 35th of Henry 8th, c. 26, item 91.
*— ^' See Gafael for a Feud or Eftate in Howel Dha,
lib. I. c. 9. a. 14., &c. — Silas Taylor, the firft critick
who deduced the cuftom from the Britons, and the
only one except Wotton, p. 149, and his prefacer, de-
rives the word Gavelkind, as Wotton alfo derives it,
from the Weifli Gavel Cenedl, a Noble Eftate. But,
as the iriih is much near<;r than the Welfh to the old
Celtick (fee Lhuyd p. i), fo it furni(hes the very word,
Kinead or Kind. — ** Ware c. 8, Davies p. 117, la
Edw. I, and 34^35 Hen. VIII.—" Howel 1. 11. c. 1 7.
a. 3. and p. 338, Ware c* 8, 'Davies p. 93, 12 Edw. I,
and Howel p. 347 and 348- — ^* Ibid* — '' Lib. ii. c. 14*
a. 8 and p. 347,— *^ See lib. ii. c. 22. a. 6. compared
with c. 20. a. I. — '^ P. 348 — '^ Ibid.— •^ Ware c. 8
and Davies paffim*— ** Ware c. 8, and Davies p. 1 17.
And fee a great miftake in Carte p. 179 &c., and in
the fenfiblc Silas Taylor p. 24 and 28, Powers Hift.
of Wales by Wynne,^ ^^7 9 P» 22, Davis's Diftionary,
&C. &c. Nor is Gavelkind, as is generally fuppofed,
confined to Kent at prefent. It is equally retained in
Yorkfhire, and is the cuftom of Swaledale to this day:
fee Thorcfl>y*s Lced$ p. 2 1 5.
IV. IN
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i3uJp.VIH; OF MANCHESTER. 36^
IN tHis difpolition of the lands of Lancafhire, it Wad
neceffary to ^ have the country cantoned into particular
regions^ and divided into leffet or greater dlftrifts. Such
a partition of a kingdom is dne of the earlieft efforts of
its civil polity. And the affigiinlent of eftates to each
ef the chiefs; it firfti wcJiild produce filch divifigns v^ry
early in bur oim county ; and Lancashire be par-
celled int6 diftri£ls coaevally with the firfl: plailt^tioti
of it.
,Thefc were fimilar to bur prefent townfliiplfe, and the
adhial or^a of then!. Aud the Tref or manfion of th^
lord and his more immediate attetidantsj the neighbour
ing thobgh difpetfed cotes of hiii retainerSt^^ and the
lands imniediatdy adjacetlt to both^ wotild Heceflarily
form one divifiop or townfhip; Such were the Vici of
the Gauls^ of vtrhieh the.Helvetii had fohi hundred
chough they had only twelvfe tbwn», ahd which t^ere
both confiderable houfes and partictilar diilridd '• Ant!
fuck were in the earliefl ages^ and are at this periqd, the
' Trefs of the Wel(h|; deriving their denbminatidh ftbm J^^ ij^i
their oHgirij and declaring the one by the father *;
Thus did the little divifiobs of bur townfliipsi in Lacf^
cafhire>: eoinmente with the firft colony that fettled in
it. The lands vfrithin the cbmpafsof one tcwnfhip were
jtffigricd tb one chief, and bfecame a lordfliip uiidfcr him,
the grariog-grounds undoubtedly of his domeftkk ftock.
The reft of his cattle Wejfe fent moft j>r^ably, eith^
Vol- h B b into
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%J6 THE HISTORY Beokl.
^- IV, into fucH of the neighbouring heaths and woods as af-
forded a common right of pafture, the fells of Fur-
nefs and Weftmordand, or both. And the ordi-
nary care and coramoa guard of the forts, that were
f aifed by the Siftuntians afterwards ; raifed in the depth
of extenfive woods, and confequcntly Qpod lands be-
longing to the crown, as having never been ceded to ^
feudatory ^ ; was configned by the king, perhaps, to a
determinate number of the neighbouring townfliips.
Thefe little diftrifts could have fubfifted "by them-
felves, only for- a fliort period after their appointment*
And the more regular adminiftradon of juf&e, in the
kingdom, would foon occafion the combination of fcve-
ral townfhips into one cymmwd or commot, axxd of many
into one cantref or hundred. Such diTifioas 'we a£lu*
ally find among die Gauls, the Wdfli, and theliifli;
and in the earlieft inftitutes of the Welfli wferred to
the primitive Britons ^. And, as the denoimQatia& of
Cantref was given to a region from the nuttibbr^f town*»
fiiips of which it confifted, the word itgnifying a htui-
dred trefs ; fo the Helvetian Gauk haid four hun^
idvcd vici or town&ips, and juft four pagi ior .tarn-
tr€fs\ » .
Such v^as the beginnmg of thdfe larger cantens In
Lancafhire, which we now <knominate the Hiimfacds of
it. Formed fome time before the towns were conftru&cd,
they would borrow their appeilaticms from the wa& re*
:inarkable objeds of nature within them. And, as we may in^
£er from thepartition of the large country of Helvemlnto
four cantrefs oi^y ; a country fpreading about two hun-
dred and twenty Ron^^n miles i& length and a hundred and
^ . -. eighty
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Chap.vm* OP mancheiSter- sn
eighty in breadth^, but loaded with mountains in every Sect IV*
part; Lancashire could not hare been divided into many.p, ^73.
The region, which lay to the fouth of the Ribble, would
not be partitioned into more than two ; one perhaps
taking in the weftern fide of the county, and the other
the eaftern. There could not have been more than two
"hundred townSiips to the fouth of the Ribble, at the pe-,
tiod of this inftitution. And Lancafliire in general muft
have beenconfiderably populous, even in this difpofition
t>f the fouth ; being divided at leaft into three cantrefs or
hundreds, and comprizing at leaft three hundred trefs of
towflihips. Very well inhabited, we are affured by Cafar
and Diodorus \ was the whole compafs of the ifland ;
and proportionably fo muft every kingdom of it have
been. . And the counties of Durham, York, Cumber-
land, Weftmoreland, and Lancafter arc exprefsly declar-
ed tobavebeen uncommonly populous, even before the
fettlement of the Romans within them '.
Nor was this imeriour oeconomy of the county de-
ftroyed, as at firft fight it may feem to have been, by the
conqueft of the Roindns and the ereftion of their towns.
When Agricola induced the chieft to fettle with their
followers in cities, he did not prevail upon all. He pre-
vailed upon few. And the greater number adhered to
iheir original mode of living. This the fewnefs of the
towns, which Agricola induced them to ereft, very
plainly dem'onftrares. The compafs merely of eight
fmall cities, and the narrow prccinfls of their cuhivated
areas, could haviJ contained • but a very infignificant
dumber of the Britons of Laot^aOiire. Only one of
B b 1 the
1
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37t T H E H I S T O R Y Book t
Se6l.iv.tbe neareft barons was pcrfuadcd to fettle iir the town
of Mancbefter, attended by all his clan. And he would
retain his old manfion and old townfliip, keeping the
former perhaps as a lodge for huntings and ftill uiing the
latter as a pafture for his cattle^
This chieftain muft have continued to be, as I fliall (hew
his fucceffors in the barony of Manchefter to have inva-
riably been, an hereditary member of the Britiih par-
liainent '. At that period and for feveral ages after it,
P. 274. the Britiih councils were compofed only of fuch members.
And an eleftive eftate of the legiflature, that favourite
branch of the conftitution to every genuine Engliftiman,
was entirely unknown. The commons of the Gallick
kingdoms were of no confequence at all in the general
eftiftiate of polity, and allowed no ful&ages in th^ na-
tional affemblies of the country '°. And thofe of Bri-
tain, as I have already demonftrated, were all in a ftatc
of villainage. The conftituent parts of the parliament ,
in the days of Howel Dha, the only antient one among
the Britons of which we have any records remaining
at prefent, are exprefsly declared to have been the men of
wifdom and the men of authority in the kingdom ". And
the feudatories of Britain, like thofe of Normandy,
were obliged by the tenure of their fees to the perfor- 1
mance of certain civil as well as military duties to the I
crown,. expreCsly denominated the Services of the Forum,
and in feidt relating equally to aAs of legtflation as the
adF»tmftration of juftice '*.
The canirefe were, equally kept up under the Roman
gQveniiwent. And the continuance of them among the
Britons of Wales abuadaotly proves it- They were wi-
ginally
I
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Chap.VIIL OF MANCHESTER. 37 J^
ginally ufed by thofe of Lancafliire, probably, for-Sca. IV.^
many pwpofes of a civil and military nature, the col-
ledion of taxes, the muttering of forces, and execution of
the laws» And to thcfe they would ftill be applied by
both ih^ Romans and Britons, The quagftor of Man-
cbefter, perhaps, was charged with the coUeftioQ oi all
tlie Roman taxes, and the prsefeft at Manchefter com-
miilioned to fit lipon all the capital *ofFences, that arofe
within the compafs of the caftern hundred.
But the inftitution of trefs, commots, and cantrefs
would be particularly fubfervient to the adminiftration
of civil juftice. ' The territorial judicatures of later feuds
were all exemplified among the Britons. And every can-
tref, commot, and tref had a diftinft court of juftice, the
appropriated .tribunal of the diftrift or the feigniory. '
Thus the poffeffor of a villain eftate, under a royal
or private lord, was exprefsly bound to his appearance
in the court of his own villain tref or townlhip '''/ An p. 275,
uchelwyr is equally declared to have had a right of de-
termining the caufes, that arofe within his own do-
main ^^f And we find the courts of the commot and
cantref to have been held. In virtue of their office, by
the appointed governors of thofe extended diftrifts "%
Every baron, in right of his fee, was at once an here-
ditary judge in the fupreme court of juftice, the parlia?
ment, and an hereditary jufticiary in his ownjurifdic-
tioa **• The claimant of sin eftate was obliged to com- '
mence his aAion before the lord, who had the imme-
diate fcignory of the land '^ And aperfon, that had
received the inveftiture of a fee fropi the king, Was not
tii^qQ any fuit concerning it ta anfwer in the Llys of a
B b 3 freiiyfT
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^^^ T H E H I S T O R Y Book I.
^a, IV. frchyr-ja"sri or private lord, but before tbc ja<%e of the
principal court .
In thefe, as well as in the faperiour one of parlia**
. nvent, chat great, that amiable principle of th^ feudal
fyftero, the limited neceffity of a cpncunrence in the
governed to render talid the a^ of the governor,
was fully reduced to pra^jtiee. In ihc inferiour meet
Qf the tref, the ceconomy of juftice fecms to have been
conduced with the concurrenpeof the principal viUaios^
And, in thefe later ages of the fepds and tb# fanie fort
. of baronial coufrts^ the. free fbocagers^: I apprebendy
were afleffors with the mtfhc lord, and the villatii
ibccagers with the king^s bailiff^ But every owner
of a noble fecj within the juri^idipn of a cpnsinot cf
.c^ntref cpurt, appears to have inherited a feat and fuf-
frage jn it^^. Thefe were d|?noniii>ated Ae Seniors,
and their decifion was ftiled the Verdift^ of the Ckmn-?
try,, And they are retained by rppfefpntation in the
jury of the prefent times ^°.
Such was the eftabliibmcnt of courts in the kingdomf
of Britain, agreeing pretty exadly with the judicature^
ereftied afterwards ; that of the tref anfwering to the
moot of the mefne lord, that of the commot to the Icflt
of the fup^riour barony, and that of the cantref to the
judicature of the hundred. Only tlie fecond waino|
ainong the Britons, a? it was with th^ Normans,
iP, *76* the private court of a feiguiory. It was like the thirc^
among both, the publiqk judicature of the fcrown.
^ The difputes betwixt members of different trefs being
^j^fprr^ to the court of the co|Qmot| and betwixt
\ j ' , thoft
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Chap-VIIL OF MAN CHE ST EH. 375
thofe cf di&rtm commots to the moot of the can- Sea. rv.
tref ; the controvcrfies between the inhabitants of dif-
ferent cautrefs were carried to a court, which was fu-
periour to all, and ^refore denominated the Priii- ,
cipal one *'. In this^ the fupreme judicature of the
iciagdom^ were determined all the various fuits that re^
fpe&ed the fees of the royal feudatories, and fuch other
«ittfes as were too dubious to be decicted in the inferiour
courts **. And the king preiided in perfon or by de^
puty^ and was denominated the Judge of the Principal
Court; and the feudatories of the kingdom were aflef-
fcnrs with him*\ But befides tbefe there were others'
the regular and official judges of the kingdomi and by the
nomination of the king the prefidents in th^ courts of z
commot or cantref *"*. And thefe were called Brethons,
Brehons, orjudges in Ireland and Caledonia, and invefted
with feuds that defcended with their offices tq their fons * \
This is a brandi of polity, which has been univerfally
fuppofed to be merely Celdck ; the refult of the Celtick
genius untutored in judicial fpeculations, and vainly
imagining the knowledge of tt.e law to be as inheritable
as the office and the feud. But.it was founded upon as '
fenfible principles as the baronial judicatures of the
feudal natiansy and was adually exemplified in the he«^
recttary earldoms of the Normans. It was indeed an
itni^ovemcnt upon the common judicial principles of
feuds \ the Brehon being of courfe not charged for his
fee to any of the military fervices, and therefore at
liberty to fis his whole attention and his fon's upot^ the
ftudy ofthelaw. And the fame drain of polity, how»
cvqr k has been utterly unnoticed by ouf lawyers, is '
B b 4 equally
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syS sT H E H I S T om Y Bopk I;
S^. IV. equally difcovcrable in the judicial fyfteqi of thefe kttr
ages. In a record of the 1 3th of John, the two lords
of Whithingtorf near Manchcftcr are cxprtjfsly declared
to " hold bnc knight's fee under the ,baron of Man-
*f chefter ^in antietit manner, apd finding one judgo^
^^ for the lord the king*V^ And, iji ?i rtpcrd of the
?. 377. iame period, the lord' o£ Pilkington pear MswheCtcr is
equally mentioned to pofiefs oiie fourth of a fee from
the iame baron, *^ in antient farin, and finding one
V j^^g^ for the king *\^? Thefe courts determin^4 ?J^
the difputes emergent in the little empires of tke Priioas*
Cut to the fovercigh's own private determination were
referred the caufes that related fo the crp^^, rcfpcfted
himfelf, or belonged to any of the royal family *^
All thefe Gorfeddau, pr courts of judicature, werq
convened under the Romans, ias they, were afiembled
at firft, in the open air, upon the^ fummit or flope of
a hill, and within ibme appointed circle of fiones or fome
appropriated amphitheater offtonesapd turf. In the
regions of Caledonia and Ireland, they were held for
ages after this period on the fide of a hill, and the
judges were feated upon green banks of earth ; the
grodnds being formerly denominated the Mut? or Moot
Hills in the forrtier, and now entitled the Parle or
Parling Hills in the latter*^. And, in the Romanized
iregions of Britannia Secunda or Wales, even the fo*
pfeme judicature of the kingdom, which wa? frequently
held by iht Icing in perfon, was in all caufes of in-
heritance convened in the open air as late as the tenth
century '°. The judges were paid for their decifions
by the gainer, of the caufe^ and the rate of the pay-
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Cix^.Vin, OF MANCHESTER. S77
mcnt was fettled by law *'. And they determined byS€ft.nr.
z Brawd-lyfr^ a Caufe*book^ or code of laws, which .
appears to have been drawn up before the reign of
Howel, was mod probably compiled at this particular
periodj ^d contained all the antient inftltutes and an*
thentick cuftoms of the isountry, the coinmoxirlaw pf
Laocafliire and Britain ^*.
The cafualties of wrecks and treafure-trove belonged
to the king, who was neceflarily, in all the. feudal ,
kingdoms, the general owner of fuch property as was
challenged by no other claimant "t The half of the
former, however, was refigned by the crown to the
priFate lord of the domain, upon which it was acciden-
tally thrown ^*. And the uninterrupted poffeflion. pf
^n eftate reafonably conferred an abfolute right to it.
But it was the pofleffion of no lefs than a hundred and p, 2}8«
eighty years, a term rudely fuppofed to be comment
furate with three generations '\ Any proprietor in
the kingdom might annually let out his land at
his own difcrction; but could not either fell or
mortgage it, without a licence from hb lord ^^. All
the elbites in the country were entailed, and could not
be alienated from the line, unlefs the king and the rela^^
tions of the pofleflbr, his brother, cdufins, and coufins
ions, concurred in the ad ; and unlefs the alienation
was made in order to pay the fine for murder, a pay-
fnent in ii^hich the law confidered the fon as equally
interefted with the father '^ And nothing could be
|>equeathed by a teftament but debts ^% The fon was
of age at fourteen, and the daughter at twelve ; and,
by a ftrange abfurdity, the former had a jufl ground
' '^ "- ■ ■ " 'of
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^7f T H E H I S T O R Y Book R
^A.isn oi i&on agakift his father for any corfcAiom sifter^
"^ wusdi ". And the general peace of the canntry wa*
focmxA by that wife oeconomy of civil polity^ which
tfpum fo greatly improved among the Saxons> the
i^kntiosi €£ Frank-pkdges. The free-man ornoble
msi% ceiponiible to the &axs £»r the conduft of hi& ions
and yillains, and obliged to fattsfy the got^^nment
for any ofeices which they committed ; mileft, as was
"f ery feldom the cafe, the punifhment was the forfeitwe
of h£e and limb^''. Being enttded to receive fatis^
fafHon kat any o&nce& againfl theflT» he was natui^ly
isrqui0ed to make it for any committed by them ^^
The general jurifprudence of the country was regti-
lated^ as it feems to have been in all nations at firft^ and
as ic particularly was among the Germans ^*^ No crimes
woreordinarily capiud. And they were punifhcd only with
an £ric or fine. Such was the cafe formerly in Scot-
land^. Such was it equally in Ireland^*. And
&ch it was alfo in Wales* Thefe fines were of
two appellations and degrees^ the publick and theprt-
.vate"^*. The former were twelve cows or three
pounds^ and tbdatter three cows or a hundred and
eighty pence ^^. And a theft, a rape, and a riot were
generally puniflied by the f9rmer ; as all other c^en-
P. 179. CCS, except murder, were by the latter ^^ In fome circnm*
fiances, however, the criminal received perfonal cor-
rc£tions* The noble is exprefsly declared not to have
been anfwcrable for bi> villain, in any caufes that
affiefted either life or limb *^ And even robbery was
fometimes puniflxed with banilhmeiit, flavery, or hang-
The
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aap.Vm. OF MANCHESTER* %f9
Thr right rf coawpurgfatioa, which uiijuftly fceiiisSA.IVi
lb extraordioaiy n toft fo Hie ju^i^mciit of thefc kt»
ag«iy aod w»} verfhrnilm to tbe Sa2cons> appears to
hvft been equally in uftt among the Brttonsu And tlie
«athwas admioiftered probably upoa fome of duaf
9rn»> as h ^Bsrns to hate been with all the nations o€
Ac Nwth ; being taken upoa their military flandaf dt
«aiofl^ the Gauls* by the Iriih about two cenmries
ago upon their fwords, among the Highlanders lately
en their dirks^ and by the Danes antiently upon the .
military bracelet of their monarch'*'^ Tbe accufedl
hating thw aflerted his own innocence^ a number of
his friends appeared in courts and fwear equally to their
belief of it* The rank of the witnefs was required
among the Sa»)ns and Britons to be the fame with that
of the accufi5d^°. And the number varied with the
nature of the charge. In all civil caufes, the oaths of
twenty-four men were required to take off the force of
m accufation concer nbg the value oiz hundred and twen-
ty pence, and thofe of forty-eight for the valueof two
hundred ai^ forty ^\
In all the modes of a criminal procefs, the forms df
proceeding in the BritiQi courts exactly coincide widi
the Saxon in fome particulars^ and are eflentially di£-
tinguifibed from them in others. The three afis of mur-
der, theft, and houfe-firmg had eax:h nine AflEieth or acn* •
jceffory parts of the crime, for which a perfan Was equally *
jefpcmfible to the law as for the a^al perpetratbn, and
fubjefted to different degrees <rf puniihment '*• And
the three firft circumftantials of murder, in particular,
were to point out to the murderer the proper place for
the
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SBO T-H E H I S T OR Y Bopk t
Sca.IV,the crittie, to advife him about the execution^ or en*
courage him to the fad ; and each required^ upon axle-r
ptal of the charge^ a compurgation of a hundred meq,
0T was followed wftfa afine of a hundred and eighty
pence, upon confeiSon^ The three next were to pcmic
out the perfon intended to be murdered, to accomfAny
' jihe murderer a little on the road, of attend him to
the very fce&e pf villainy ; and if each accufatiQp was
oot refelled by the oaths of two hundred men, each
P. aSo. crime vw puniflied with a muld: of three hundred ^nd
fixty pence* And the other three were adaally to afEfi:
the murderer, detain the unhappy maq till he came up^,
or ftand by and behold the commiffion of the crime ;
and were each to be anfiBi^ered by three hundred men,
or mul£led five hundred and forty pence". The fine
for the perpetration of murder, the Werigild of the
Saxons, was denominated Gwerth among the Britons,
the worth or price of the murdered. Even thq king
had his gwerth, as among the Saxons ; though the
Britifli law has not, like theirs, fufficiently told us the
rate of it ^^» A^d the gwerth of an uchelwyr waa
fettled at fixty-three cows, or fifteen pounds fifteen
Aiilliogs, in all ; and'that of an uchelwyr's villain at half
the money ''. The fine was difchfirged to the lord and
relations of the murdered. All the kindred of the iRur-
dcrer were obliged to contribute to it, in certain pro-*
portions afcertained by the law. And, if every penny
was not paid, the former might put the ipurdere? to
death with impunity ^^ .
In
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Cfep. Vni. ■ - F M A N C H E 5 T E R. 38^
In civil proceffcs, the Bfitifli forms of ptocecdiilg ^eft. IV.^
ftafid ciftirely diftinguiflied from the Sfixon. Every ' '
caufe that refpeAed inheritances was referred to the
pincipal courts to the examination df the king or hik
deputy, the official judges, andtheba^onl^*^ Andth^
other courts were contiiiually open : but this was ocr
^afianally Ihut. Its juridical year was divided into
tjerms. Thefe were onty two in number ; and in thi%
thd infancy of civil polity, were naturally regulated by
the feafon of fo wing* and the period- of haryeft^*. The
former commenced upon the 9th of May, when the
feed-time was concluded 5 and kfted to the 9th of Au^-
guftt And the latter began upon the 9th of Novem*
ber, when the faarveil w&s^compleated ^^ and continued
to the 9th of February ^^. Though the foics in tbefe
courts refpefted the defcent of inheritances, the moft ii|-
volved and perplexing c^ufes, I think, that are brou^
before our prefent judicatures ; yet the aftion was fo
generally decided within the compafs of afingle te^i^
that, if it ever extended beyond the clofe of it, it was
neceffarily re-commenced at the beginning of the next **'*.
And every caufe was profecuted with the fimpleft P.a8f#
forms, atld confeqiiently decided in a luminary manner.
At the commencement of the ' fuit, the plaintiff and d^.
fendant were ordered to propound their pleas, and al-
lowed three, nine, or fou'rteeh days for producing their
witneffes, according to the diftarices at whkrh they af-
ferted theih to refide. Upon the' day appointed, rfife
judges repaired to the difput'ed eftate; and each took
"his feat in the open air ; the king or his deputy, firi
, placing
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$U THE HISTORY Bookt
Se6tIV. pludiig imnlelf with hit back to the fun or weather.
^ The parties gave fecurkks for their peaceable fubnoSffion
^ the award of the courts fecnrities chat w^re a£hisd
holbges and lodged in a piifoB. Silence Wai pt^
tisdmed. The breach of it was fevereiy fineable* And
«ach party in perfon briefly ihited the nature of his
^t^ and offered to prodace has witness, tf they
^ere prefen'*, the point was immediately determined*
And) if they were abient, another intenral of three^ nhi^
t^ fourteen days was allowed. The fecond meeting
^was decifive. The hofts^t were brought into coart.
The witnefib delivered their teiHiiMmiei^ And the
judges retired for confultation. The perfond digwtf ,
te well «s m^mber^ of the witnefies mfi«enced the de<-
<:ffiMi^ And eontTflryto all the printiples 4^ ^ity,
H^fch ot tin equaiky of evidence alvtrays detertiiine in
fattiur of the poiidrort the defendant Was nonfnited,
tmlefs his witness were not only equai> bbt even Ibpe-
^AMir in number and ^gnity^ to the plaintiff's ^^
^ "^ Giefigirp^f and 214. And iee below* -^ * Howtt
4»b. u» <• 19% -^ ' See Wotton's Gloflary to Howel under
Xfifittih Brenin* **^ ^ Howel lib. iii. c^zy. a. 425* And
Jbe lib* U. c« 19^ Mona p. 117; and Davies p« 84* -^
* G»&r p. 3 and 7 and iiy.-^^ Caefar p. 2. — ^ Diodo-
ifpB p. 347i mku-mSfuorof v^fPOf, ami Caeiar p. B69 Hookh
Ji«m eft iofimta multicudo. — ' Tacitus Agric« Vit« 6 17^
Srigtstes ««-* civiias * anmerofiffima . totius ^rovincia^. ^^
• Sec
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Chap^VIIL OF MaNCHESTIER. $^§|
• See h. II. cli. iv. f. s*— " Ctefai: p. 1 18 concerning theSeft^TV.
Gattlsi Pld>s penc fervorum hd>ctur loco, ijvwfe per fe
H?ha ftttdtfit, & nuUi adhibettrr wncilio. — ** Seethe ^- *^^
Prefaces to the laws. — " Lib. ii. c. 17. a. -6 &c., p% 34^^
and Pref* to laws. — ** P. 325, and lib. ii. c. 26. a. i:
-^ '^ Lib. 1. c. i6, a. 30, lib. ii. c. 2. a. 3, and p. 315/
c. 85. — *^ P. 389, 405, 468, lib. i. c. 15. a. 1 and 2,
and lib. i. c. t6. a. 3. — ** P*93» i^7j 3^7^ 377j and
403. — '^ Lib. ir. c. 70. a. i. — *' P. 325.— ** P. 187,
121, 325, and 405, and Mona p. 121. — "^ Lib. il.cio.
a* I. and Irb. iv. c. 76. a. t. — *' P. 121 and 390. —
** P. 325,lib.i.c 16. a. 36, p. 19, and p. 27.— *^P.325,
and lib.ii.x. lo. a. 12. — '* Lib. ii. c. 10. a. 12, lib. i»
C.16. a. 35, and fib. iii. Prcf*. 2. — *^ Ware c. viii.and Ctit.
Diff. p. 1816. — ^^ So thieBreJionsin Ireland, witkin tirefe
fwotn: three tenturies, always brought np their childrefli
or relations to the fame ptofeffion, and left one of them
to fucceed (Camden p. 788). — Kuerden folio p. 274.— ^
^' Ibid. — *' Lib.i. c. 27. a, 10. — ** Ware c. viii,
Stanyhurft's Def. of Ireland p. 45. in HoUingihead's
Chrom 1586^ Crit. Diff. p. 187, and Spelman in I^ar-*
liameotum. In Bbrlafe^s Cornwall p. 20S Is a^ ainpbS-
theater^ wbkh I take t6 have been for tbil tifd. jflmd^b
theTinwald of ibe Manks, and the Stannary PariiamentI
of the Cornifl), to thik day* — *** Lib. ii. c. 10% a» il.—
^' Lib. i. c. 16. and lib. ii. c. 27. a. 21. — ^^P. i85,
3od, and 408. And in Ireland (fays Ware) they deter-
mined from certain prefcripts and cuftoms of the king-
dom (c. viii.) — '^ Lib. ii. e. 17. a. 12 and 13, c. 27. a.
9, and c. 13. — '* Lib. ii. c. 17. a. 14. — ** Lib.ii*c.i7m
a-r
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384 . THE HISTORY BookL
Sea. IV. a. 7 and 8.—'* Lib. ii. c; 17. a. 29.-^" Lib. li. c. 17. 24
"^""' J, — *• Lib. ii. c; i; a. 15. — " Lib. ii* c. 30. a. 8 and
12. — ^"^ P. 325 and lib. ii. c. 30. a. 5. — ** Lib. iii. c. 2.
a. 32, &c. &c. — ** Tacitus c. 21. — *^ Grit* Diff. p.iSy^
— ** Ware Ci viii. ahd Davies p. 116. — *^ Lib. iii. en
a. 17.— *• Ibid.— *^ Ibid;^*' P. 325.—*' P. 210, 217,
and 325.---*'' Caefar p. 135 for the Gauls^ Kit's Letters
Tol^ n. p. 244 for the Highlanders, Spenccr*s View of
Ireland p. 220 of his works, 1679, for thelrilb, and
Affer p. 28, Wife, Spelman's Alfredus Oxonii p. 22^
and Ethelward F.480, for the Danes.— Lib. iii. c. 3. an
49 and 54, and fee b. II. ch. iii. f. 4. — ^' Ibid. a. 51
and 52. — '* Lib. iii. Pref. 2. — " Lib. iii. c. i*— **Librf
i. c. 4. and lib. iii. c. 2. — '^ Lib. ii. c. 30. a. iq, lib* iiiw
c. 2. a* 9> zxxd lib. iii. c. 1. a. 17, — - ^/^ Lib. iii. c. i. Zi
15, 16, and 20, 24, and 2^. — ^^ Lib. ii. c. 10. a. ii^
and p. 325. — *' Lib. U. c. 10. a. 7. — *' Ibid. a. 3 — 6#
— "** A. 10.— •' Lib. ii. c. lo*
The dcdu£lioaS| which t hate ttiade in this chaptet
from the colleAion of WeHh laws publifhed by Dr/
Wotton, are not formed, as the reader will remark^
inerely from the fourth and fifth books of them} whicbi
like thofe of the Confeflbr ih thd l^axott code,< a!re
P* 283. 0jjjy commeiifaries upon thcptevious inftitutes Jthoti'gfe,
like them, as Commentaries andem and fenfible, they
are at once ufeful in their notices aftd f efpefiftble fOr"
their authority. And they are nOt even made, as the
reader \(riU equally remark, merely from a feW detathed
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Chap. VIII. OF MANCHESTER. 3S5
paflages in the three firft books, which contain the laws^^SV. IV,
of Howcl Dha in particular ; but from the general and
uniform tenour of his whole work. Thofe might be
the produftion of that interpolating hand, which we
clearly difcern in forae parts, and therefore fufpeft in
others. But this cannot. It can flow only from the
genuine and original fource of the whole. The true
idea of thefe deduftions, therefore, is to be taken from
a full and comprchenlive view of them. And thefe
evince one regular fcheme of military and civil polity
to be exhibited in the laws, incorporated into the frame,
and the very life and fpirit, of them. Such a fcheme
could as litde be the creation of Howel, as the inven-
tion of any of the kings after him. He made infertions
in the code exifting before him, as the fucceeding kings
inferted in his. And the ftrong and ftriking agreement
of the whole with the unwritten fyftem of Ireland, fully
proves the interpolations of all to have been only trifling
and immaterial ; and demonfl:rates the prefent code of
Howcl and his fucceflbrs to be a fair and faithful ex-
emplar of the municipal laws of the Britons.
END OF VOL. I.
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