Part 17

_History._--Very little is known with certainty of the early history of Manchester.[1] A Roman station of some importance existed at Castlefield, and a fragment of the wall still exists. Another, perhaps earlier, was at Hunt's Bank. In the 18th century considerable evidences of Roman occupation were still visible; and from time to time, in the course of excavation (especially during the making of the Bridgewater Canal), Roman remains have been found. The coins were chiefly those of Vespasian, Antoninus Pius, Trajan, Hadrian, Nero, Domitian, Vitellius and Constantine. Investigations by the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society and the Classical Association have brought to light many relics, chiefly of pottery. The period succeeding the Roman occupation is for some time legendary. As late as the 17th century there was a tradition that Tarquin, an enemy of King Arthur, kept the castle of Manchester, and was killed by Lancelot of the Lake. The references to the town in authentic annals are very few. It was probably one of the scenes of the missionary preaching of Paulinus; and it is said (though by a chronicler of comparatively late date) to have been the residence of Ina, king of Wessex, and his queen Ethelberga, after he had defeated Ivor, somewhere about the year 689. Almost the only point of certainty in its history before the Conquest is that it suffered greatly from the devastations of the Danes, and that in 923 Edward, who was then at Thelwall, near Warrington, sent a number of his Mercian troops to repair and garrison it. In Domesday Book Manchester, Salford, Rochdale and Radcliffe are the only places named in south-east Lancashire, a district now covered by populous towns. Large portions of it were then forest, wood and waste lands. Twenty-one thanes held the manor or hundred of Salford among them. The church of St Mary and the church of St Michael in Manchester are both named in Domesday, and some difficulty has arisen as to their proper identification. Some antiquaries consider that the passage refers to the town only, whilst others think it relates to the parish, and that, while St Mary's is the present cathedral, St Michael's would be the present parish church of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1301 Manchester received a charter of manorial liberties and privileges from its baron, Thomas Gresley, a descendant of one to whom the manor had been given by Roger of Poictou, who was created by William the Conqueror lord of all the land between the rivers Mersey and Ribble. The Gresleys were succeeded by the De la Warrs, the last of whom was educated for the priesthood, and became rector of the town. To avoid the evil of a non-resident clergy, he made considerable additions to the lands of the church, in order that it might be endowed as a collegiate institution. A college of clergy was thus formed, whose fellows were bound to perform the necessary services at the parish church, and to whom the old baronial hall was granted as a place of residence. The manorial rights passed to Sir Reginald West, a descendant of Joan Gresley, who was summoned to parliament as Baron de la Warre. The West family, in 1579, sold the manorial rights for £3000 to John Lacy, who, in 1596, resold them to Sir Nicholas Mosley, whose descendants enjoyed the emoluments derived from them until 1845, when they were purchased by the municipality of Manchester for a sum of £200,000. The lord of the manor had the right to tax and toll all articles brought for sale into the market of the town. But, though the inhabitants were thus to a large extent taxed for the benefit of one individual, they had a far greater amount of local self-government than might have been supposed, and the court leet, which was then the governing body of the town, had, though in a rudimentary form, nearly all the powers now possessed by municipal corporations. This court had not only control over the watching and warding of the town, the regulation of the water supply, and the cleaning of the streets, but also had power, which at times was used freely, of interfering with the private liberty of their fellow-citizens. Thus, no single woman was allowed to be a householder; no person might employ other than the town musicians; and the amount to be spent at wedding feasts and other festivities was carefully settled. Under the protection of the barons the town appears to have steadily increased in prosperity, and it early became an important seat of the textile manufactures. Fulling mills were at work in the district in the 13th century; and documentary evidence exists to show that woollen manufactures were carried on in Ancoats at that period. In 1538 Leland described it as "the fairest, best-builded, quickest, and most populous town in Lancashire." The right of sanctuary granted to the town in 1540 was found so detrimental to its industrial pursuits that after very brief experience the privilege was taken away. The college of Manchester was dissolved in 1547, but was refounded in Mary's reign. Under her successor the town became the headquarters of the commission for establishing the Reformed religion. In 1641 we hear of the Manchester people purchasing linen yarn from the Irish, weaving it, and returning it for sale in a finished state. They also brought cotton wool from Smyrna to work into fustians and dimities. An act passed in the reign of Edward VI. regulates the length of cottons called Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire cottons. These, notwithstanding their name, were probably all woollen textures. It is thought that some of the Flemish weavers who were introduced into England by Queen Philippa of Hainault were settled at Manchester; and Fuller has given an exceedingly quaint and picturesque description of the manner in which these artisans were welcomed by the inhabitants of the country they were about to enrich with a new industry. The Flemish weavers were in all probability reinforced by religious refugees from the Low Countries.

In the civil wars, the town was besieged by the Royalists under Lord Strange (better known as earl of Derby--"the great Stanley"); but was successfully defended by the inhabitants under the command of a German soldier of fortune, Colonel Rosworm, who complained with some bitterness of their ingratitude to him. An earlier affray between the Puritans and some of Lord Strange's followers is said to have occasioned the shedding of the first blood in the struggle between the king and parliament. The year 1694 witnessed the trial of those concerned in the so-called Lancashire plot, which ended in the triumphant acquittal of the supposed Jacobites. That the district really contained many ardent sympathizers with the Stuarts was, however, shown in the rising of 1715, when the clergy ranged themselves to a large extent on the side of the Pretender; and was still more clearly shown in the rebellion of 1745, when the town was occupied by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and a regiment, known afterwards as the Manchester regiment, was formed and placed under the command of Colonel Francis Townley. In the fatal retreat of the Stuart troops the Manchester contingent was left to garrison Carlisle, and surrendered to the duke of Cumberland. The officers were taken to London, where they were tried for high treason and beheaded on Kennington Common.

The variations of political action in Manchester had been exceedingly marked. In the 16th century, although it produced both Roman Catholic and Protestant martyrs, it was earnestly in favour of the Reformed faith, and in the succeeding century it became indeed a stronghold of Puritanism. Yet the successors of the Roundheads who defeated the army of Charles I. were Jacobite in their sympathies, and by the latter half of the 18th century had become imbued with the aggressive form of patriotic sentiment known as anti-Jacobinism, which showed itself chiefly in dislike of reform and reformers of every description. A change, however, was imminent. The distress caused by war and taxation, towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, led to bitter discontent, and the anomalies existing in the parliamentary system of representation afforded only too fair an object of attack. While single individuals in some portions of the country had the power to return members of parliament for their pocket boroughs, great towns like Manchester were entirely without representation. The popular discontent was met by a policy of repression, culminating in the affair of Peterloo, which may be regarded as the starting-point of the modern reform agitation. This was in 1819, when an immense crowd assembled on St Peter's Fields (now covered by the Free Trade Hall and warehouses) to petition parliament for a redress of their grievances. The Riot Act was read by a clerical magistrate; but in such a manner as to be quite unheard by the mass of the people; and drunken yeomanry cavalry were then turned loose upon the unresisting mass of spectators. The yeomanry appear to have used their sabres freely; several people killed and many more injured; and, although the magistrates received the thanks of the prince regent and the ministry, their conduct excited the deepest indignation throughout the entire country. Those who had organized the meeting, including "Orator" Hunt with Samuel Bamford and other working men, were imprisoned.

Naturally enough, the Manchester politicians took an important part in the Reform agitation; when the Act of 1832 was passed, the town sent as its representatives the Right Hon. C. P. Thomson, vice-president of the board of trade, and Mark Philips. With one notable exception, this was the first time that Manchester had been represented in parliament since its barons had seats in the House of Peers in the earlier centuries. In 1654 Charles Worsley and R. Radcliffe were nominated to represent it in Cromwell's parliament. Worsley was a man of great ability, and has a place in history as the man who carried out the injunction of the Protector to "remove that bauble," the mace of the House of Commons. The agitation for the repeal of the corn laws had its headquarters at Manchester, and the success which attended it, not less than the active interest taken by its inhabitants in public questions, has made the city the home of other projects of reform. The "United Kingdom Alliance for the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic" was founded there in 1853, and during the continuance of the American War the adherents both of the North and of the South deemed it desirable to have organizations in Manchester to influence public opinion in favour of their respective causes. A charter of incorporation was granted in 1838; a bishop was appointed in 1847; and the town became a city in 1853. The Lancashire cotton famine, caused by the Civil War in America, produced much distress in the Manchester district, and led to a national movement to help the starving operatives. The more recent annals of Manchester are a record of industrial and commercial developments, and of increase in educational opportunities of all kinds. Politically Manchester was Liberal, of one or other shade, under the first Reform Act; a Conservative member was first elected in 1868, and in 1874 two. Under household suffrage in 1885 that party secured five out of six members; in 1886 and 1892, three out of six. In 1895 and 1900 five Unionists were elected, but in 1906 six Liberals were returned, one of whom (Mr Winston Churchill) was defeated at a by-election in 1908. In 1910 three Liberals, two Labour members and one Conservative were elected.

AUTHORITIES.--Although several excellent books have been written on subjects connected with the town, there is no adequate modern history. The _History of Manchester_, by the Rev. John Whitaker, appeared in 1771; it is a mere fragment, and, though containing much important matter, requires to be very discreetly used. The following may be recommended: John Reilly, _History of Manchester_, (1861); R. W. Procter, _Manchester in Holiday Dress_ (1866), _Memorials of Manchester Streets_ (1874), _Memorials of Byegone Manchester_ (1880); Richard Buxton, _Botanical Guide to Manchester, &c._ (2nd ed., 1859); Leo Grindon, _Manchester Flora_ (1859); Edward Baines, _History of Lancashire_, edited by Croston (1886-1893), 5 vols.; W. A. Shaw, _Manchester, Old and New_ (1894); W. E. A. Axon, _Annals of Manchester_ (1885), _Cobden as a Citizen_ (1906); Harry Rawson, _Historical Record of some Recent Enterprises of the Corporation of Manchester_ (1894); _Official Manual of Manchester and Salford_ (1909); J. P. Earwaker, _Court Leet Records of Manchester, 1552-1686, 1731-1846_ (1884-1890), 12 vols.; _Constable's Accounts, 1612-1647, 1743-1776_ (1891-1892), 3 vols.; _Manchester Municipal Code_ (1894-1899), 5 vols.; George Saintsbury, _Manchester_ (1887); Thomas Swindells, _Manchester Streets and Manchester Men_ (1906-1907), 3 vols.; James Tait, _Medieval Manchester_ (1904); Charles Roeder, _Roman Manchester_ (1900); Sir Bosdin Leech, _History of the Manchester Ship Canal_ (1907), 2 vols. (W. E. A. A.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] In the _Antonine Itinerary_ the name Mancunium (q.v.) or Mamucium is given. This is the origin of the modern name, and has supplied the adjective "Mancunian" (cf. "Old Mancunians" applied to old boys of Manchester Grammar School).

MANCHESTER (popularly Manchester-by-the-Sea), a township of Essex county, Massachusetts, U.S.A., about 25 m. N.E. of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay. Pop. (1900), 2522; (1905, state census), 2618; (1910), 2673. Area, 7.64 sq. m. It is served by the Boston & Maine railroad, and is connected with neighbouring towns and cities by electric lines. The township, heavily wooded in parts, and with picturesque shores alternating between rocky headlands and sandy beaches, stretches for several miles along the coast between Beverly on the west and Gloucester on the east. It is one of the most beautiful watering-places in America, and is the favourite summer residence of many of the foreign diplomats at Washington. The "singing beach" is a stretch of white sand, which, when trodden upon, emits a curious musical sound. Manchester, originally a part of Salem, was settled about 1630 and was at first known as Jeffrey's Creek. It was incorporated separately under its present name in 1645.

See _Manchester Town Records_ (2 vols., Salem, 1889-1891), and D. F. Lamson, _History of the Town of Manchester, 1645-1895_ (Manchester, 1895).

MANCHESTER, the largest city of New Hampshire, U.S.A., and one of the county-seats of Hillsboro county, on the Merrimac river, at the mouth of the Piscataquog river, (by rail) 18 m. S. of Concord and 57 m. N.N.W. of Boston. Pop. (1890), 44,126; (1900), 56,987; (1910 U.S. census) 70,063. Of the total population in 1900, 24,257 were foreign-born, including 13,429 French-Canadians; and 37,530 were of foreign parentage (both parents foreign-born), including 18,839 of French-Canadian parentage. Manchester is served by the Southern, the Western, the White Mountains, and the Worcester Nashua & Portland divisions of the Boston & Maine railroad, and by inter-urban electric lines. It is situated on a plain about 90 ft. above the Merrimac river (which is spanned here by three bridges), commands extensive views of the beautiful Merrimac valley, and covers a land area of about 33 sq. m. On the east side of the city are two connected lakes known as Lake Massabesic (30 m. in circumference). Manchester is known for the attractive appearance of the residence districts in which the factory operatives live, detached homes and "corporation boarding-houses," instead of tenement houses, being the rule. The Institute of Arts and Sciences (incorporated in 1898) provides lecture courses and classes in science, art and music. Among the other public buildings and institutions are the United States Government building, the city-hall, the county-court-house, the city library (1854; the outgrowth of the Manchester Athenaeum, established in 1844), St Anselm's College (R.C.), a Roman Catholic cathedral, four Roman Catholic convents, the Elliot hospital, the Sacred Heart hospital and the hospital of Notre Dame de Lourdes, the State industrial school, the State house of correction, the Gale home for aged women, an old ladies' home (R.C.), St Martha's home for working girls, the Manchester children's home and four orphan asylums. In the largest of five public squares is a soldiers' monument, consisting of a granite column 50 ft. high, surmounted by a statue of Victory. The city has two parks, and in one of them, overlooking the Merrimac, is a monument to the memory of General John Stark, who was born and was buried here. The water-supply is obtained from Lake Massabesic. Amoskeag Falls in the Merrimac are 55 ft. in height, and by means of hydraulic canals Manchester is provided with a fine water-power. Steam power is also used, and the city is by far the most important manufacturing centre in the state. It is extensively engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, boots and shoes, worsted goods, hosiery and other knit goods, and locomotives; among the other manufactures are linen goods, steam fire-engines, paper, edge tools, soap, leather, carriages and beer. The value of the city's factory products increased from $24,628,345 in 1900 to $30,696,926 in 1905, or 24.6%. In 1905 Manchester produced 24.8% of the total factory product of the state. Manchester ranks fifth among the cities of the United States in cotton manufacturing, and ninth among the cities of the country in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

On account of the abundance of fish in the river here, Amoskeag Falls and vicinity were a favourite resort of the Penacook Indians, and it is said that John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians," preached to them here in the summer of 1651. The first white settlement within the present limits of Manchester was made in 1722 by Scottish-Irish immigrants at Goffe's Falls, 5 m. below Amoskeag Falls. In 1723 a cabin was built by some of these immigrants at the greater falls, and gradually a small settlement grew up there. In 1735 Massachusetts granted to a body of men known as "Tyng's Snow-Shoe Scouts" and their descendants a tract of land 3 m. wide along the east bank of the Merrimac, designated as "Tyng's Township." The Scottish-Irish claimed this tract as part of their grant from New Hampshire, and there arose between the rival claimants a bitter controversy which lasted until May 1741, when the courts decided against the Massachusetts claimants. In 1751 the territory formerly known as "Tyng's Township," and sometimes called "Harrytown," with portions of Chester and Londonderry, was incorporated as a township under the name Derryfield; in 1810 the name was changed to Manchester, the change having been suggested by the town's manufacturing possibilities; and in 1846 Manchester was chartered as a city. The first sawmill was erected as early as 1736, and during the years from 1794 to 1807 a canal was constructed around the Amoskeag Falls through which to carry lumber. As late as 1830 the town had a population of only 877, but in 1831 the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was incorporated, the construction of hydraulic canals and the erection of cotton mills followed, the villages of Piscataquog and Amoskeag were annexed in 1853, and the population increased to 3235 in 1840, to 8841 in 1860, and to 33,592 in 1880.

Consult M. D. Clarke, _Manchester, A Brief Record of its Past and a Picture of its Present_ (Manchester, 1875).

MANCHESTER, a former city of Chesterfield county, Virginia, U.S.A., (on the S. side of the James river), since 1910 a part of Richmond. Pop. (1900), 9715, of whom 3338 were negroes; (1906 estimate), 9997. It is served by the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, and the Southern railways, by electric lines to Richmond and Petersburg, and by numerous river boats. It is finely situated in a bend of the river, with about 2 m. of water front; on the heights above is Forest Hill park, a pleasure resort, and adjacent to it Woodland Heights, a beautiful residential district. From the surrounding country come much agricultural produce, coal, lumber, bricks and granite. There is a good harbour and excellent water power. Among the manufactures are paper, flour, cotton goods, leather, brick, railway supplies, &c. The value of the city's factory products increased from $1,621,358 in 1900 to $3,226,268 in 1905, or 99%.

MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL. The advantage of a waterway for the conveyance of goods between eastern Lancashire and the sea is so obvious that so far back as the year 1721 Thomas Steers designed a plan for continuing to Manchester the barge navigation which then existed between Liverpool and Warrington. Parliamentary powers were then obtained to improve the rivers Mersey and Irwell from Warrington to Manchester by means of locks and weirs. This work was successfully carried out, and proved of great benefit to the trade of the district. The duke of Bridgewater, who had made a canal from his collieries at Worsley to Manchester, afterwards continued the canal to the Mersey at Runcorn; this extension was opened in 1722 and competed with the Mersey and Irwell navigation, both routes being navigated by barges carrying about fifty tons of cargo. The Liverpool & Manchester railway at a later date afforded further facilities for conveyance of goods, but the high rates of carriage, added to heavy charges at the Liverpool docks, prejudiced trade, and the question was mooted of a ship canal to bring cotton, timber, grain and other goods direct to Manchester without transshipment. The first plan was made by William Chapman in 1825, and was followed by one designed by Henry Palmer in 1840, but it was not until the year 1882 that the movement was originated that culminated in the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal by Queen Victoria on the 21st of May 1894.

In determining the plan of the canal the main point which arose was whether it should be made with locks or whether it should be on the sea-level throughout, and therefore tidal. The advantage of a still waterway in navigating large steamers, and the facilities afforded by one constant water-level for works on the banks and the quick discharge of goods at the terminal docks at Manchester, secured the adoption of the plans for a canal with locks as designed by Sir E. Leader Williams. The fresh-water portion of the canal extended between Manchester and Runcorn, while from the latter place to Garston it was proposed to improve the upper Mersey estuary by constructing training walls and dredging to form a deep central channel. Parliamentary powers to construct the canal were sought in the session of 1883, when the bill passed the committee of the House of Commons but was rejected by the committee of the House of Lords. Brought forward again the next year, it was passed by the Lords but thrown out by the Commons. The opposition from Liverpool and the railway companies was very strong; to meet to some extent that of the former, a continuation of the canal was proposed from Runcorn to Eastham along the Cheshire side of the Mersey, instead of a trained channel in the estuary, and in this form the bill was again introduced in the session of 1885, and, notwithstanding strong opposition, was passed by both houses of parliament. The cost of this contest to promoters and opponents exceeded £400,000, the various committees on the bill having sat over 175 days. Owing to difficulties in raising the capital the works were not begun until November 1887.