Page:Roman Manchester (1900) by Charles Roeder.djvu/87

 whole length of Deansgate, and was everywhere exposed to view, and on the light and yellow soil which over-spread it at Knot Mill, Gaythorn, and in the central parts the birch and hazel grew. The plants and mosses, the oak, hazel, alder, birch, bracken, which have been found, tell their own tale. Their habitats speak of turfy bogs, of woods, dry heath, moorland, woods, and shady banks; the land shells conduct us to hedge banks, garden walls, and grassy banks. Even in 1322 there still existed in Alport 30 acres of heathland, 20 acres of pasturage, 3 acres of meadow, and the unenclosed wood that stretched 1 mile in circuit. The Court Leet Records remind us of Sowce Hills (1564) and Pygott Moor (1642) in Deansgate. The Irwell, Medlock, and Irk, indented by knolls, doughs, and little gullies of picturesque red rock, were overhung with spreading trees, and their crests marked with broom, heather, and gorse; the heights of Cheetwood were occupied by moorland and oakwoods, and opposite the station extended the Shaw (forest) of Salford. The river beds and banks of the Medlock, Tib, and Irwell threw their curves closer to Deansgate, often flooding the lower grounds; the wild boar and the wild cattle roamed still in the neighbourhood.

Later on the more military character of the settlement passed away. It remained in the stage of its earlier days, its importance as an actual fortress had ceased. Attention was then more seriously diverted to the north, where greater concentration was needed. After the complete pacification of Lancashire and Yorkshire, its intrinsic military utility was lessened, the inhabitants went on probably in their quiet way, cultivating the soil, clearing and draining the land, and laying out many vicinal roads or occupied with barter and trade. But there was always sufficient stir and bustle to keep the place