Castlefield Pub Walk: Romans, Religious Relics, Railways & Real Ale

We will pop in for a half at the pubs of Castlefield as we uncover the oldest stories in Manchester. These stories, that are more than two thousand years old, reveal some strange surprises. At the foot of what is now the Beetham Tower, a piece of pottery proving there were Christians in Manchester long before the Romans saw the light, was found in 1978. At the foot of where now stands the tallest building in Britain outside London, Sarah Duffy found a magnificent altar in 2008 on an archaeological dig.
One piece of authentic Roman masonry survives in its original position in Manchester. It is a block of stone, about six inches high and a few feet wide, dating from around the year 200, which can be found turning left at the end of Collier Street under Arch 95 of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway. How it has survived is a miracle, as nothing else similar has, although the Earl of Ellesmere did urge workmen to save what they could when the railway lines were built in the mid-19th century.

Host or Publisher New Manchester Walks