Page:Roman Manchester (1900) by Charles Roeder.djvu/166

 which, splitting up, sent one branch across Chetham College ground to Hunt's Bank, while the other—the Blackstone Edge road—fell, cutting Fennel Street, into Old Millgate. But since the discovery at Hanging Bridge of Roman glass and a coin, brought up from the bottom of the gully, it is possible that the Ribchester Road passed, as Whitaker believed, viâ Hanging Bridge, through the west side of the Cathedral, straight along to Hunt's Bank Bridge. I have already shown that at the Chetham Library we find the Roman road, 15 feet wide, but the excavation here made was too small and incomplete for our purposes, to ascertain and settle the exact trend it took. Fresh excavations are in sight, however, for the erection of a lodge at the entrance of the college, and perhaps we may be lucky enough to hit upon traces of the road here, if it passed on a line as suggested by Whitaker. Meanwhile, this must be left an open question. Whether the small-cobble road, which was found on the north side of Hanging Bridge, leading to the western tower of the cathedral, represents the road is doubtful, it being only 5 feet wide.

We have to speak now of the road to Blackstone Edge, a secondary road leading to the borders of Yorkshire, which has a certain interest and importance, and of which but little has actually been known. Thompson Watkin says: "The most singular fact connected with this road is that no one has ever seen or heard of the portion of it between Manchester and Blackstone Edge from Whitaker's time to the present day." Our information has increased since that statement was made.

As mentioned before, we do not know yet at what particular point in the Hunt's Bank area the junction really was effected. On the north door of the cathedral we have Mr. John Owen saying that a pavement of rough