Bloody British History: Manchester

AD 77–410

‘MAMUCIUM’

BEFORE THE ROMANS arrived on British shores, the city of Manchester would have been unrecognisable to the modern Mancunian eye. To begin with it wasn’t called ‘Manchester’. The terrain was marshy and uneven, with streams running down the familiar places we know today as Market Street, Deansgate and through the Market Place. The land was immersed by a dense forest, which would prove the perfect shelter when the Romans finally attacked in AD 79.

According to Roman historians, Mancunium or Mamucium as they called it, was under the direction of the Celtic Brigantes tribe, who controlled most of the northern territories. The Celts were a warlike people, and would frequently fight with other tribes. They were ruled by a king, queen or chief. When they weren’t fighting, the Celts would farm the land and tend to their crops. Two sub-division tribes called the Voluntii and the Sistuntii occupied the area to the west of Britain, which included parts of Lancashire and the Lake District. It is therefore probable that ‘Manchester’ fell into their territory. It is likely that the tribe settled in Manchester because it was naturally well defended, with three deep streams and a large bank that would protect the natives from attacks by other tribes.

The Romans building a fort at Mancenion in AD 80, by Ford Madox Brown. (With the kind permission of Manchester City Council)

When Julius Caesar arrived in Britain in 55 BC, the northern territories were probably unaware of his presence – the great British weather stopped him getting any further than Brentford. It would be another 100 years before the Romans reached the North West.

Under the reign of the Emperor Claudius, the Romans managed to put parts of Britain under the control of Rome. This was done by force and by wooing the tribal chiefs, taking them or their sons to Rome to show them the life they could have if they co-operated. Some tribes decided to show their alliance to the Romans, whereas others, such as Queen Boudicca, decided that she and her army would not go down without a fight. After a bloody uprising, and fearing defeat, she took her own life.

On 13 June AD 40, a Roman senator named Lucius Julius Graecinus and his wife Julia Procilla welcomed a son named Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Agricola was born into a prominent Roman family – both his grandfathers were Imperial governors. Not long after his birth, his father was murdered by the Roman Emperor, leaving him to be brought up by his mother. As a child, his mother sent him to school in Marseille, France, where he developed a love of philosophy. Agricola’s military career began as a tribune under the direction of Paulinus in Britain. Paulinus and his men arrived in the country in AD 58 and stayed until AD 62. Agricola’s time in Britain, getting to know the tribes, would pay dividends later on in his career. In AD 69, the Romans were in the midst of a civil war. Agricola took the side of Vespasian. It is believed that he aligned himself with the future Emperor after his mother was murdered on the family estate by Otho’s men. Vespasian rewarded Agricola by removing Marcus Roscius Coelius from the post of commander of an army in Britain and replacing him with the loyal Agricola. Agricola’s job in Britain was to take authority of any settlements that were still controlled by tribal leaders.

A statue of Manchester’s Roman founder Gnaeus Julius Agricola is proudly displayed above the main archway of the Town Hall.

A Roman camp similar to the original camp set up in Manchester.

In AD 78, Agricola and his men arrived on British soil. By AD 79, he and his army had reached Deva (Chester). After establishing a fort in the town, Agricola advanced west, passing near Northwich into Streford before finally reaching the River Medlock near Knott Mill. When he arrived it is believed that he attacked the native Britons and forced them into exile in the surrounding woods. Agricola decided that Mamucium would be the ideal place to station his army, being strategically well situated between the military bases in Chester and York. The first fort was built on a 5-acre site near where the River Irwell met the Medlock, now known as Castlefield. It was constructed using timber with reinforced turf banks lined with stakes. Between AD 90–200 the fort was modified and strengthened. The north gate was rebuilt, and most of the wood structures were replaced with stone. A road was built from the north-east into the fort. It was made out of small stones with two ditches either side of it. The Romans also constructed the A56 Chester Road, as it is known today. It stretched from Mamucium towards Deva (Chester).

As the years progressed, a substantial vicus – Roman neighbourhood – grew outside of the walls of the fort. The vicus housed the families of the Roman army and contained shops, storehouses and furnaces, thus providing facilities for making weapons for the garrison. Archaeological finds suggest that the vicus stretched towards the area now known as Old Trafford and towards Deansgate. It is also possible that it reached Hulme. The civilian population would have lived in single-storey timber buildings made with a clay floor that would have been covered in straw. Evidence suggests that between 600 and 1,000 troops could have lived in the fort.

Mamucium remained under the sovereignty of the Romans for the next 300 years. It formed part of the province of Maxima Caesariensis. When their departure eventually occurred, it was not altogether celebrated by the Anglo-Roman residents, who had prospered and been protected by the ruling force – the Romans had successfully defended the town and its inhabitants from a vicious attack by the Picts and the Scots. The residents were also immersed in the Roman way of life, using the currency and practicing their religion.

The Romans left at the beginning of the fifth century, when they were called back to Italy to protect the country from the Barbarian invasion. Those that stayed behind merged with the local farming community. The only visible part of the fort that remains today is a small section of the south-east gateway which can be found under arch 95 of the viaduct. The rest of the fort was destroyed over the years, due to the complete redevelopment of Castlefield. A statue of Agricola – ‘Manchester’s founding father’ – can be found over the main archway of the Town Hall.

In 1982 a group of archaeologists recreated the original camp in Manchester. This is what the north gate would have looked like in AD 200.

AD 430–800

THE LEGEND OF TARQUIN AND THE BLOODY SAXONS

THE ROMANS LEFT Mamucium in the first half of the fifth century. The fort, which was constructed where the River Irwell met the Medlock, was adapted into a castle, with curved stone walls and two watchtowers which were erected either side of the gated entrance. The castle became known by the residents of the town as ‘Tarquin’s Castle’. Legend has it that after the departure of the Romans, castles were being built across the country and they were inhabited by British knights. Fearing invasion from the Picts and Scots, the knights invited the Saxons to help them destroy the enemy. The Saxons travelled from northern Germany, Demark and the Netherlands across the North Sea, arriving on the shores of Britain in wooden boats. They first tried to land here during the Roman occupation, however they were beaten back by the occupying forces.

The assistance provided by the Saxons after the Romans had left didn’t quite go to plan. The Saxons, who had other ideas, seized the natives’ land for themselves and evicted the knights from their castles. Manchester’s castle was surrendered in AD 488.

One man who was unhappy about the behaviour of the Saxons was King Arthur. Arthur gathered his knights and fought tirelessly to stop the Saxons advancing. The king met with his knights around a round table in Camelot. The story has it that the leader of the Knights of the Round Table was a man named Sir Lancelot Du Lac. In one of