Castlefield Roman Fort

A Roman fort is a camp where soldiers lived. They usually include towers that are protected by walls and ditches. Roman forts were built along borders to help protect and defend settlements.

Britain was part of the Roman Empire for over three centuries, dating from the invasion by the Emperor Claudius in 43 AD until the early 5th century. 

The Roman name for Manchester is Mamucium, which is also the name of the fort. The name comes from the words “mamm”, which means breasts or mother, and “-ium”, meaning city of. The name is thought to refer to the breast-like shape of the hill where the fort was built.

Mamucium was built around 79 AD after a treaty between the Roman general Julius Agricola and the Brigantes failed. A timber and turf fort was built first for 500 foreign auxiliary soldiers to live in, and it’s the first definite record of people settling in Manchester.

The location for the fort was a rocky outcrop which was protected by two rivers – the Irwell and the Medlock.

A Roman village (or vicus) was built around it, and evidence has been found of a Roman temple, a hotel, and several other buildings. The village was home to over 2,000 people, including soldiers and their families.

Merchants from all over the Roman Empire travelled here as it was on an important trade route and sat between the cities of Chester and York, and on the route to Carlisle and Hadrian’s Wall if travelling from the south.

Many improvements were made to the fort over the years, with granaries built in 160 AD, and it was resurfaced in stone later. Around 200 AD, the site was fortified, and a stone entrance gate was built. By the middle of the 3rd century, the fort had largely been abandoned.

The new village of Manchester was built around 0.6 miles (1 kilometre) northeast of the original fort.

During the Industrial Revolution, much of the fort was demolished to build the Rochdale canal and several railway viaducts. The Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated the site, and the north gate was reconstructed in the 1980s using some of the stones from the original Roman gate.

In 1982, the fort and the surrounding area of Castlefield became the first Urban Heritage Park in England. Some parts of the fort were rebuilt, and it was opened to the public in 1984.

Castlefield Roman Fort is now classed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, meaning that it is archaeologically significant. This classification protects the ruins from any unauthorised changes.