Community Assembly of Manchester

Serving, supporting and protecting our local community

The Community Assembly of Manchester is located in the place where the history of Manchester began as a civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium . It was established around AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages, Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand significantly with a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city.

The name Manchester originates from Mamucium , the Latin name for the city, or its variant Mancunio ; its people are still referred to as Mancunians . These names are generally thought to represent a Latinised version of an older Brittonic name. It is generally accepted that the etymology of the Brittonic name is from * mamm -, which means ' breast ', in reference to a breast-shaped hill on which the city was built. However, more recent work suggests that the name could have instead come from the Brittonic * mamma , which means ' mother ', in reference to a local river goddess.