of the Roman road (equivalent to Watling Street), between Deva Victrix (Chester) and Eboracum (York). Another road branched off to the north to Bremetennacum (Ribchester). The neighbouring forts were Castleshaw and Northwich. Built first from turf and timber, the fort was demolished around 140. When it was rebuilt around 160, it was again of turf and timber construction. Around the year 200, the fort underwent another rebuild enhancing its defences by replacing the gatehouse in stone and facing the walls with stone. The fort would have been garrisoned by an infantry cohort of around 500 auxiliary troops. Evidence of pagan and Christian worship has been discovered. Two altars have been found and there may be a temple of Mithras at the site. A word square was discovered in the 1970s that may be one of the earliest evidences of Christianity in Britain. A civilian settlement () grew in association with the fort, made up of traders and the soldiers' families. An area which has a concentration of furnaces and industrial activity has been described as an industrial estate. The civilian settlement was probably abandoned by the mid-3rd century, although a small garrison may have remained at Mamucium into the late third and early fourth centuries. A reconstructed part of the fort stands on the site and is open to the public. Medieval and early modern periods The village of Manchester later became established a kilometre to the north and the area around the vicus became known as "Aldport" or "The Old Town". A house and park here became the home of the Mosley family in 1601 but, in 1642, after being used by Lord Strange as a royalist headquarters during the Siege of Manchester, it was burned down by parliamentarians. The River Irwell was made navigable in 1720s, leading to the construction of a quay in the area for loading and unloading of goods (vessels of up to 50 tons could dock here and ply between Manchester and Liverpool). Industrialisation The Bridgewater Canal arrived in Castlefield in July 1761, around the time the Industrial Revolution is considered to have started. The Rochdale Canal, and a network of private branch canals joined the Bridgewater at Lock 92 in Castlefield. The Bridgewater Canal company hesitated in connecting their canal the adjacent Mersey and Irwell Navigation until the Rochdale Canal Company had almost constructed its Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, and the railways