In
47 AD, when the Romans reached the Fosse line, the kingdom of
Brigantia came under Roman rule, and suffered strict and oppressive
measures after the Brigantian revolt of 68 AD. Tameside featured
on the road which the Romans built from Manchester to Leeds
and a branch to the fort at Melandra ran through the northern
part of Mossley, within the present Borough.
After
Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410 AD, various petty invasions
and squabbles between local warlords took place, and by the
7th century Anglian immigrants had moved into the region and
occupied the land.
Most
of the place names of Tameside reflect this influence. The River
Tame itself (probably Norse meaning "dark river"), and other
places such as Werneth Low ("a place growing alder trees") as
well as Ashton and Denton (the Scandinavian word "ton" indicates
a town or settlement) - all show clear Anglian-Continental sources.
Oddly,
there seems to be little evidence of native British place naming
within the borough, suggesting that the Anglian invaders were
its first inhabitants and it had been hitherto unoccupied woodlands.
By
the time of the Norman Conquest of Britain in 1066, town and
village names had begun to be formalised and to appear in documents
of the time.
In
an entry from the Cheshire Domesday of 1086 the land was in
the possession of Hugh d'Avranches, earl of Chester - his possessions
were listed as also including Romily, Tintwistle and Werneth.
Though
Ashton is now the main town of Tameside, it hardly existed as
an entity in medieval times, though in 1413 a Market Charter
was granted to Sir John Assheton (after whom the town would
be named) to be held close to the church of St Mary and the
church of St Michael (the latter being St Michael's in Ashton).
The market was held every Monday at the junction of Old Street
and Cricket's Lane, where the town cross stood. The Charter
also granted a twice annual fair to be held in July and November.
The
markets were busy affairs as by the second half of the 16th
century Tameside had established a profitable local industry
in the production of mixtures of cotton and flax cloth. Later
it was to turn over entirely to woven cottons.
During the Tudor period there is extensive evidence of a thriving
textile industry, which including woollens, due, no doubt, to
the excellent sheep grazing pastures on the moorlands to the
east towards Saddleworth. Huge flocks of sheep were imported
from Ireland to develop the industry - at that time it would
still have been a cottage industry with production solely dependant
upon hand looms.
During
the Civil Wars, local Puritanism was very strong, and not surprisingly,
most of the towns of Tameside had Parliamentarian sympathies.
Robert Duckenfield (1619-1689) served alongside Sir William
Brereton in the defence of Manchester in September 1642 and
took part in the siege of Wythenshawe Hall, the seat of the
Royalist family of the Tattons.
