City of Manchester: History
=== Before 1066: Early history ===
The first major Celtic tribe in what is now Northern England were the Brigantes; they had a stronghold in the locality at a sandstone outcrop on which Manchester Cathedral now stands, opposite the River Irwell. Their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. In 79 AD, following their conquest of Britain, the Roman general Agricola ordered the construction of a fort named Mamucium to protect Roman interests in Deva Victrix (now Chester) and Eboracum (now York). Central Manchester has remained a continuously populated settlement since.
Fragments of the Mamucium fort remain visible in Castlefield. The Roman habitation of Manchester probably ended around the 3rd century; its civilian settlement appears to have been abandoned by the mid-3rd century, although the fort may have supported a small garrison until the late 3rd or early 4th century. The fort was first investigated by archaeologists in 1906, and opened to the public in 1984.
After the Roman withdrawal and subsequent Anglo-Saxon settlement, the centre of the town moved to the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Irk. In the Normans' Harrying of the North, much of the area surrounding Manchester was laid waste. The Domesday Book (1086) records Manchester within the hundred of Salford and held as tenant in chief by a Norman named Roger of Poitou. The town was later held by the Grelley family, who were the lords of the manor and residents of Manchester Castle. By 1421, Thomas de la Warre had founded a collegiate church for the parish, which would later become Manchester Cathedral; other church buildings have since become Chetham's School of Music and Chetham's Library. The latter opened in 1653 and remains open to the public, the oldest free public reference library in the UK.
Manchester is recorded as a market in 1282. Around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, which has sometimes been credited as the foundation of the region's textile industry. The town became an important centre for the manufacture and trade of woollens and linen, and by 1540 had expanded to become, in the words of John Leland, "the fairest, best builded, quickest, and most populous town of all Lancashire". The cathedral and Chetham's buildings are the only prominent survivors from that period.
During the English Civil War, Manchester strongly favoured the Parliamentarians who were led by Oliver Cromwell. He gave the town the right to elect its Member of Parliament; Charles Worsley was so elected and appointed as Major-General for Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire during the Rule of the Major-Generals. A diligent puritan, he shut down ale houses in the town and banned the celebration of Christmas.
Large quantities of cotton were used after about 1600, firstly in linen and cotton fustians; by around 1750, pure cotton fabrics were produced and cotton had overtaken wool in importance. The Irwell and Mersey were made navigable by 1736, opening a route from Manchester to the sea docks on the Mersey. The Bridgewater Canal, Britain's first wholly artificial waterway, opened in 1761, bringing coal from mines at Worsley to central Manchester. The canal was extended to the Mersey by 1776. The combination of competition and improved efficiency halved the cost of coal and the transport cost of raw cotton. Manchester became the dominant marketplace for textiles produced in the surrounding towns. …