Page:Roman Manchester (1900) by Charles Roeder.djvu/154

 depth of about 7 feet the workmen thought they had discovered a pavement of rough boulder stones; it was about 9 feet wide, and appeared to point in a line from Fennel Street or rather from Long Millgate to the north door of the church."

The northern part of the area described is occupied by the Chetham College, which slopes away to the rocky banks of the Irk; while the southern part contains the cathedral, which rises up and stood on a high sandy boss, with 10 to 15 feet of running sand and gravel, as proved by the excavations made on the south side two or three years ago. Our esteemed member Mr. John Owen, with great devotion and carefulness, has followed the various consecutive alterations which have taken place between 1859 and 1872 in the cathedral, when part of the old foundations were disturbed and laid open, and his discoveries are of the utmost importance. I shall let him speak himself. He says in vol. xxiii., October 14th, 1863, page 130: "The first stone of the new tower was laid to-day on the north-east angle. The foundations of the old tower were of rubble and clay—the clay (boulder clay) apparently tempered, the rubble (of new red sandstone) and boulder stones of all sizes and shapes were imbedded in the clay up to the level of the ground surface, no mortar whatever being used." He tells me, these foundations occurred at a depth of 7 feet. The construction and nature of these old foundations correspond in every respect with the Roman foundation walls, as seen on the northern wall of the castrum in Castlefield, of which I have given descriptions and sections in the earlier part of my paper. Unfortunately, he omitted to take measurements and sections and to follow the direction and extent the walls took, as we may correctly assume that the Roman foundation did not necessarily