Pre-historic finds in the parish of Eccles include dugout boats found at Barton-upon-Irwell, an arrowhead, a spear and axes at Winton, which taken together appear to suggest the existence of a hunting and travelling society.
The village may have been founded by refugees from Manchester (Mamucium) during the Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century,[REF] although excavations in 2001-05 revealed that the civilian settlement at Manchester had probably been abandoned by the mid-3rd century [REF].