Editing Castlefield (section)

===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".<ref name="mcc-cca-history" /> A house and park here became the home of the Mosley family in 1601 but, in 1642, after being used by [[James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby|Lord Strange]] as a royalist headquarters during the Siege of Manchester, it was burned down by [[Roundhead|parliamentarians]].<ref name="mcc-cca-history" />

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).<ref>Frangopulo, N. J., ed. (1962) ''Rich Inheritance''. Manchester: Education Committee; p. 33</ref>