Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/103

 7 6 THE HISTORY Bpofcl. to arife from the exiftence of the lame numbers in the originals of both. Following then the courfe of the prefent road from Lancafter to Manchefter till we come within feventeen or eighteen Romas? miles of the latter, we ftiould expert to find the lite of a Roman caftrum. And lo! juft at the requifite diftance we find otxe 9 one hitherto unknown to fame, but pointed out to be one by the moft determinate of all ftationary characters, the exiftence of two roads from it to two well-known caftra. Such is the village of Blackrode! It is r indeed about the diftance of thirty- five meafured miles from Lancafter and of forty-five from Orer- borough. But this is a ftage which the decifively afcertained diftance from Coccium to Manchefter neceffarily leads us to make. It is a&ually lefs than another in this Iter of Richard, that betwixt Brocavonacis and Ad Alaunam being no lefs than .forty-eight meafured miles. And it muft neceftarily be very long, when only the ftation of Coccium appears betwixt Over- borough and Manchefter, though the one is nearly fixty meafured miles diftant from the other by the neareft route, and though that diftance is lengthened, as here it certainly is, by the diver- sion of the road from the neareft route through Rerigonium to die rounding one through Coccium Tradition univerfally declares the village of Blackrode to have been originally x confiderable town. And the conftru&km of w Roman road from Manchefter* ! and ^he coincidence of another frora Ribchefter with it, demoaftra^s the town tp» have been originally Roman. A Roman toad,, which {hall be. ddfcribed : kereafter y comes direftly fromjtyt Mancunian ftation by Stany- ftreet and Stieet r Yate neap^alkden^mooF tQthe prceia&s qf tfie r preftnt village. >*Aad: in*thofe. prccia#s another, toid jpseets it, Gourfmg^ through the neighbour jag ftreet in the; tjQwnflugM •f ChariMcky, and. pointing to Ribchefcr que: way ao^d taRlacfe- uxk the other. It is jiiftly dbferved by the ^ right j evej encf and ' very learned ' enlarger of Camden!s. Britannia V thait^ wherever we, find tbc,ap— OUi