This was the place of Roman Fort, it was a wooden fortress and was called "Mamuciam" (sometimes spelt 'Mamucium' - meaning "a breast shaped hill")
because of the then distinctive shape of the outcrop.
It is said that name Manchester is derived from this word.
The site of this encampment is marked today by Camp Street (actually in Salford). Original fort covered some 5 acres and was then surrounded by woods where deer and wild boar were still to be found. Over the next 3 centuries, a stone fort was built further downstream at what was to become Castlefield (simply known by medieval times as the "castle in the field"), and the inevitable small encampment (or vicus - a place to live) grew around it - at its height it is estimated that some 2000 people lived within its walls, including soldier's wives and families together with craftsmen and traders. Many of these would have been Britons who eventually intermarried with Roman legionaries. This was the origin of Manchester, and the people became the Romano-British.
The later stone fort was built at the present day site, where the 1970 excavations and reconstruction is visible, and well worth a visit. In summer, two tour guides dressed as Roman legionaries, conduct guided tours around the fortress.
A Roman exhibition can also be seen in the nearby Castlefield Visitors' Centre. Many valuable archaeological finds exist, including fragments of Spanish pottery and a word square bearing the words "Pater Noster" (Latin = "Our Father" - the beginning of the Lord's Prayer) - these two are dated at between 170-175 AD, the oldest known Christian relics in Great Britain.
The reconstructed North Gate has been built on the excavated foundations of the original fort, using evidence from other Manchester excavations as a guide. It shows how the gate would have appeared around 200 AD This position is flanked by the two original defensive ditches which were built during the 3rd century AD. Above the arch in the gate is a guardroom, furnished with reproduction furniture in the style of the period. An inscription on the gate commemorates a detachment of troops from the provinces of Rhaetia and Noricum (modern Austria) and their centurion, Lucius Senecianus Martius.
At its height, the fort and the spreading civilian settlement around it probably amounted to about 2000 people. The fort was abandoned in 411 AD, marking the complete withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain, and the township (the vicus) probably fell gradually into disuse. Over time the purpose of the ruined fortress was lost in obscurity, and "the castle in the field" suffered as did most other ruins, as a useful place for locals to acquire (steal) ready dressed stones to repair their houses and barns.

This British colonial government quarters, called Newlands, was once occupied by famous American writer, Agnes Newton Keith, who penned Land Below The Wind in 1939. Two books followed her first success, namely Three Came Home (1946) and White Man Returns (1951). With the exception of the second book, Land Below the Wind and White Man Returns were written in the house on the hill where she had the best views of Sandakan Bay at the front and the Sulu Sea at the back.

Newlands was rebuilt some time in 1946/47 and was the first government permanent timber dwelling to be built after the Second World War. It was built upon the ruined foundations of the original house that was destroyed during the war.

The house became home to Agnes and her family, Henry (also referred to as Harry) George Keith, who was the Conservator of Forests and their son, George. When the Keiths left Sabah in 1952, the house was occupied by subsequent Conservators of Forests, forestry officers, volunteers and other staff. Though the Keiths never retuned to Sabah, the house was always referred to as Agnes Keith's House by visitors who never stopped coming to see it.

Today the house has been restored and turned into a heritage house, providing interesting insights to life during British North Borneo. It is furnished with a reproduction of colonial furniture and antiques. A gallery on the first floor tells the story of this remarkable woman, her books and her family. A Keith time-line starts in 1873 and ends in 2004 tracing the past to the present Keiths.